Some loving TLC as we restore a little wheel power to beloved Terra Nova

What a beautiful weekend we’ve just enjoyed. Temperatures up into the high teens, wall-to-wall sunshine and memories of that abysmal winter rapidly vanishing into a distant haze.

Sometimes people come up with brilliant ideas out of the blue – an innovative way of attacking a problem that suddenly reveals the obvious solution from a fog of uncertainty.

I was absolutely delighted to receive an email from Alan and Jean Barrett of Walton following on from my piece about the restoration of the old paddle steamer, the Medway Queen, in last week’s Herald and News.

It was well worth the wait. My brother Alan and I finally took Terra Nova out for a run two weekends ago and it was wonderful to be back out on the water.

My brother Alan, and I have been working on our old Seamaster Admiral cabin cruiser, Terra Nova, to get her ready to go back into the water.

I took a wander down to the Bridge Marine boatyard on Sunday – just to check that Terra Nova, the old Seamaster Admiral cabin cruiser that Julie and I own along with my brother, was still where I left her when she came out of the water back in October.

£60,000 refit to keep lock gates in pride of place for years to come

I usually ignore all television advertising – I haven’t believed a single claim manufacturers make about their ‘wonder’ products – commercials are simply an annoying interruption to whichever programme I happen to be watching as far as I’m concerned.

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.