Not that long ago, you will recall, David Walliams swam the length of the Thames to raise money for charity – and promptly became rather ill from swallowing river water that had been polluted by sewage.

There are some sights that really bring home to me that autumn has arrived and winter can’t be far behind it – and one of those is seeing the huge flocks of rooks that wheel in acrobatic formations over the Thames mornings and evenings.

Photographs are great for keeping a record of what’s happening on our lovely river – but somehow paintings capture more of the spirit of an event that even the best photograph in my view.

More than 100 people turned up to a meeting of the River Users’ Group, section eight (RUG8) at the Thames Motor Yacht Club at Hampton Court last Tuesday (November 1) and sent a clear message to the Environment Agency demanding a rethink on its proposals to freeze the recruitment of lock keepers and to rent out lock side houses left empty by retiring keepers.