Tunnels Under the Thames

It was hot yesterday, down in 'Landon'. I had been touring the East End and decided to cross the Thames at Greenwich. I have previously used the bridges, but to avoid the hot air and traffic, I walked beneath the great river using the Greenwich foot tunnel from the Isle of Dogs. Later in the afternoon, I would walk back under it, using its sister tunnel at Woolwich. The air below the waters was icy cold, and wonderfully refreshing. Both tunnels date to the early 1900s and there is still a little hint of grandeur as one enters the domed turrets at either end. The welcome reduction in temperature (from 28 centigrade) to about 4 in the tunnel was just what I needed.

Greenwich Tunnel

Twice in the Authorised Version of the Bible is the word ‘cool’ deployed. Firstly, in Genesis 3:8 which describes the Lord walking in Eden immediately before Adam’s judgement:

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

And again in Luke 16:24, when ‘Dives’ in hell seeks relief from the heat:

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Where the Lord is found, all is peaceful and soothing; from where He is absent, it is hazardous and scorching. Although coolness is a generally more desired attribute in a middle eastern land than a northern European, we can all appreciate some nice respite from the sun’s glaring heat. Writes the psalmist in 121:6:

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

Our world is characterised by extremes of temperature, and from both does the Lord promise to preserve us, both in this world and the next.

Woolwich Tunnel