ROB MARSH has a dream. He wants to make Shepperton Marina the best on the Thames – no small ambition when you consider some of the competitors he's up against.

I know that climate change is a serious concern to many, but its effect on our part of the Thames appears to be more rapid than I had thought it would be.

If you happen to be walking down by the Thames at Runnymede most Sunday mornings you might have wondered at the rhythmic drumming that occasionally emanates from the river.

I remember fondly summer holidays with my children at Southwold on the Suffolk coast when one of the regular highlights was taking part in the annual crabbing contest. We regularly used to lift out hundreds of crabs of various sizes by dangling old fishheads and bits of bacon rind into the water.