On 6 February 2024 I was made a Freeman of the City of London. One of the old privileges that comes with it is the right to drive sheep across the bridge. I’d assumed this was one of those things nobody actually does. It turns out the Worshipful Company of Woolmen does it every year, and on Sunday 28 September 2025 I found myself at their annual Sheep Drive, part of the Sheep Drive & Livery Fair, flat cap on and Little Bo-Peep’s crook in hand, on Southwark Bridge.
The Guild of Young Freemen of the City of London were on hand to assist, which was just as well, as my shepherding experience up to that point was precisely none. You pay for the honour, and the Company puts the money towards charity, so even the sheep were doing their bit.
I came away with a certificate to prove it, and a new-found respect for anyone who does this for a living. Less brutal than Lapland. More sheep.
