I always know when the boating season has really got under way because I head down to Lord Montagu’s lovely little pad at Beaulieu in Hampshire to take part in what has become the biggest boatjumble in Europe.

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.

Young sailors from the Thames Valley and London competed amongst over 1,000 Olympic hopefuls at the RYA zone championships held at the end of September.

I know it’s a bit outside our area but there’s an event happening this weekend that I just had to draw to readers’ attention – the Teddington River Festival and RNLI Station Open Day.

I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of politicians. Most of them seem to delight in avoiding answering straight questions and a significant number probably wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the face.

I'm delighted to record that Eve Gould from Weybridge Ladies’ Rowing Club celebrated her 86th birthday earlier this month by heading out on the river as the number three in a quad – just as she has done so many times before over the years.

Ashford's Queen Mary Sailing Club pushes the boat out with dinghy for aspiring disabled sailors

Following on from last week’s Riverwatch in which I outlined an idea for closing off Walton Lane at the Walton Bridge end that was put forward by Doug Myers from Weybridge, I’ve had a note from Nick Pollard, the chairman of the Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society.

Most boat owners would agree that having a vessel of any kind – sailing dinghy, rowing boat, canoe, sailing yacht, cabin cruiser, you name it – means that over time you acquire ‘stuff’.

Please accept my apologies – I know I’ve said this before but I do so love the start of a new year because it means that the London Boat Show is upon us – and it’s one of my favourite events of the year.