The Ceremony of the Keys

Every day on my way to work, I walk past the Tower of London.  Until tonight, I had never been through the gates.

Tonight some friends and I had tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. This tradition of locking up the tower gates has happened every night, without fail, for the last 700 years. Even in World War II as bombs were falling upon the tower, the Chief Yoeman Warder still managed to perform the ceremony, albeit 10 minutes late.

This YouTube video I found has a good description of the ceremony I just witnessed:



It was great to see such a fine, formal tradition, whilst standing in the dark and slightly spooky courtyards of the famous landmark.