Freya’s article was the runner up in this years Creative Writing module – we wish her all the best in the future.
London heaved with swarms of people that hurried down to its river banks to gaze upon the fantastic sight that lay before them. For the last month, the Capital City had been gripped with the deepest darkest winter in history and as the Thames had frozen into an enormous block of ice, it was declared that a great fair, the likes of which had never seen before, would be held upon it.
The year was 1683, and although only 17 years ago London had been a city filled with flames from the Great Fire, it was now a world made up of cold and frost.
People from all walks of life, both rich and poor, had travelled from all over England to visit the fair. Endorsed by King Charles the Second, it seemed even more thrilling with the added chance that the King himself could be walking the ice!
There was so much to do and see, the air surrounding the whole of London seemed to buzz with excitement at just the chance to forget the hardship surrounding the circumstances of the winter and to finally try and enjoy the weather.
Upon the Thames itself, there were sights, sounds and smells that most people had never imagined being emitted from a river before! The air was rich with the scent of coffee, ale, roasting meats and animals; two great bulls had been acquired and were set up in a fighting ring, and horses were trotting the best they could along the river, drawing carriages like sleighs. The sounds of laughter and music played on lutes echoed along the banks of the river, bouncing off the brick walls that lined the river bed.
A young couple nestled in a carriage being drawn by one of the horses, waved at the people and smiled, completely enthralled with the experience. The onlookers watched jealously but waved back; now was not the time to think of what separated the rich and the poor, there was something for everyone to enjoy at the fair.
A maid, rushing out on her lunch break was sat on a step, eating a piece of hot roast beef, washed down with ale. She had saved for the event since the news was announced and she couldn’t believe her luck that she was able to say she had attended it. She smiled and went back to work happy, knowing this was a story she would be able to tell her Grandchild in years to come.
At the far edge of the walls of the Thames, two young boys had climbed a tree, desperate to watch the bull fight. Their mothers had forbade them from going, terrified of the ice cracking and sending them to the bottom of the frozen depths of the water, but they were determined not to miss the action. They cheered with the crowd watching as the two animals crashed into one another, their heavy breath sending great clouds of steam above their heads.
Dozens of people jostled around the shops, desperate to buy a souvenir, whether it be a hand crafted wooden toy or a tiny glass and wood mug engraved with the details of the fair, among many other things. Everyone wanted to take home a tiny piece of the magic, to remember how the tragedy of the winter had brought forth such a miraculous event.
Never before was the Thames as alive as it was then, as hundreds walked upon its glassy surface, and although as centuries passed, there were other fairs held upon the ice of the Thames, none would be as great as the 1683 Frost Fair
Freya Wilson.
I am a recent graduate of Brunel University, having studied Theatre and Creative Writing, and have been passionate about writing and journalism since a very young age. My hobbies include getting lost in London, finding new varieties of green tea to drink and collecting cats. I would like to thank Vivid Magazine for the opportunity to be published and ending my academic year on an excellent note!
