October 2014 – Mort's Riverwatch

Doug Myers produced this map showing where the flood alleviation channel will empty into the Thames just downstream of Shepperton Lock.

Residents channelling their own flood plans

30/10/201421/12/2025Mort SmithComment(0)

I’ve been contacted by an old friend – Doug Myers – with concerns about the proposed River Thames Scheme to reduce flooding risks.

Nature

Small problem with a lot of mussel…

23/10/201421/12/2025Mort SmithComment(0)

You probably wouldn’t think a small shellfish would be much to worry about in the great scheme of things – but then you might not ever have heard of the quagga mussel and the impact it can have when it gets into a waterway.

Coade stone sculpture Old Father Thames by John Bacon in Terrace Gardens, Richmond

History

The ‘liquid history’ of our Old Father Thames

16/10/201421/12/2025Mort SmithComment(0)

I’ve spent most of my life on, in or around the River Thames and it has never ceased to fascinate me – and occasionally I find myself pondering the question: Why?

History

Memories of a magical – if nerve-wracking – time

09/10/201421/12/2025Mort SmithComment(0)

I’ve always loved the pleasure boats that carry passengers up and down the Thames and I wrote in a recent column that as a youngster in the 1950s I used to enjoy watching the steamers coming and going from the pier at Richmond as they carried passengers upstream to Hampton Court or downstream to Westminster.

Light Through a Lens tells the story of Trinity House, the corporation responsible for the lighthouses and navigation buoys that surround the British coast.

Books

Guiding lights since the days of King Henry VIII

02/10/201421/12/2025Mort SmithComment(0)

I suppose it’s not surprising that someone like me who loves messing about in boats – either on the river or at sea – has a corresponding interest in the workings of the Corporation of Trinity House.