Rowing in stone

The New Adelphi is a hideous 1930s office block in London, but it has some top-quality carving on it including this panel in the main entrance by sculptor Newbury Trent, showing watermen on the Thames possibly on some sort of rescue mission. The bloke rowing a skiff at the top has a swimmer hanging over his gunwale, a chap is diving in and another is throwing a life preserver. But everyone seems cool, calm and collected. Perhaps it is just a regatta on a hot day, with the usual collective immersion.