Shine-a-light!

As far as I can tell, this is a rather lovely and unusual oil lamp. I've never seen one where the lamp-glass is cylindrical and neither have I seen one where the oil reservoir is covered, but I am certain that is what this is. Unfortunately its location is so dimly lit by perfectly good electricity that this was the best shot I could get. 

But that's atmosphere for you.

On my way home from work today there were plenty of rowers powering their way up and down the river in singles, pairs and fours. For the first time I saw that each boat has a small white light at its prow and a little red one at the stern and I wondered why. Everyone on the river is travelling backwards, they can't see where they are going and they certainly won't see the lights of an oncoming boat. For this reason there is an upside and a downside, so why the lights?