If you’re extremely lucky, you may occasionally glimpse a kingfisher on our stretch of the river – and if so, treasure the moment because these brilliantly-coloured birds are becoming increasingly-rare as more of their habitats are destroyed.
Author: Mort Smith
Such a vital contribution
My articles about the activities of the Upper Thames Patrol during the 1940s seem to have stirred a few of memories with readers.
Traditional skills survive
Traditional skills are rapidly becoming a thing of the past so it’s fantastic to find that the Herald & News area is home to one of the last wooden boat builders on the Thames – Michael Dennett based at Laleham Reach in Chertsey.
Time for winter dreams
Christmas is a rapidly-fading memory, the New Year hangover has only just lifted, the huge credit card bills which were run up before the holiday are winging their way through the mail towards us and the reality of going back to work during the long cold winter months is starting to hit home – but, fear not, help to lift the gloom is at hand – the annual trip to the Boat Show.
And yet another year flows by
Shiver me timbers – where on earth did that year go? I was amazed when I came to write this final column of 2008 to realise that I’d been doing it for nearly 12 months – firstly in our now defunct sister paper, the Leader and more recently in the Herald & News.
When Lord Lucan dropped in
It’s funny how things can spark all kinds of memories for some folk. Jennifer Willis from Weybridge read my Riverwatch column on the history of Staines Bridge and was prompted to get in touch to say that it brought back recollections of her youinger years growing up beside the Thames at Staines where she was a successful competitor in punting races.
Remedy for disaffected youth
At a time when youngsters are regularly vilified for congregating on street corners and causing problems with antisocial behaviour, many people say there is not enough for them to do. Well, there is – and the sea cadets corps might be just the way to encourage the next generation to do something constructive with its spare time.
Des’s painful memories
Des Davidson from Shepperton has contacted me about my column describing the activities of the Upper Thames Patrol, a branch of the Home Guard during the Second World War, who were given the responsibility of defending the locks, weirs and bridges on the river.
Arch rivals on the river
Hundreds of thousands of people cross them every year in cars, on cycles and on foot and they are a vital part of our day-to-day lives. Without them, many people would be unable to get to work, to do their shopping or to visit friends and family. So maybe it’s a little surprising that few people give much thought to the bridges that cross the River Thames – we just take them for granted.
Out-of-season delights
I love this time of year on the river. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a bright, crisp autumn day or a dull, misty morning, the Thames has its own very special moods.