Strange boat on the Thames

A STRANGE boat indeed, with 36ft Olympic rings now cruising the Thames to advertise the Olympic Games.

These have been launched to denote that it is 150 days before the start of the games, but there was a hitch as the boat could not be launched at Battersea Bridge as advertised, as the tide was not taken into consideration, Alan Tilbury reveals.

£1 million

Instead it had to be launched at London Bridge, but is now cruising the river. The rings are 36ft high and 82ft long, are the Olympic colours on one side but have light-emitting diode lights on the other. They cost just under £1 million.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has announced that there will be a floating opera inspired by The Owl And The Pussycat staged on the city's canals.