For those living close to the river, the past few weeks must have been an absolute nightmare.

The terrible flooding, which has followed days of heavy rain, has caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to home and businesses in our area and there has much coverage elsewhere in this newspaper about the impact on the lives of local residents.

It's always a pleasure writing about the sports clubs that dot the banks of the Thames throughout our area

As regular readers of this column will know, this is the time of year when I get really excited - because the London Boat Show is about to open its doors.