Let's bid a warm welcome to British Summer Time and hope that the signal for the clocks to go forward is also a signal for the warmer weather we enjoyed over the weekend to continue.

It seems incredible to me but this is the 200th Riverwatch column I’ve penned since first starting it just under five years ago.

So plans are afoot to install four ‘Archimedes’ Screw’ electricity generators at Sunbury Weir – and, not surprisingly, there is a good deal of opposition to the idea being expressed.

Muriel Gooding – Micki to her friends – has lived beside the Thames just off Chertsey Lane in Staines for 44 years and in that time, she’s experienced quite a lot.

It seems that many readers have also observed the huge flocks of birds swooping and wheeling over the river each morning and evening that were mentioned by Nigel Brecknell in Riverwatch a couple of weeks ago.

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.

Many readers will remember, with great affection, Herald and News columnist Derek Belsey who, for many years, provided us with words and pictures about his favourite obsession – birds.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Dot Beeson, the lovely lady who runs the Swan Sanctuary in Felix Lane, Shepperton and told the story of how she first became involved with helping injured birds and other wildlife.

I’ve met a host of lovely people whilst writing this column but probably none as charming and dedicated to her cause as Dot Beeson, the woman behind the Swan Sanctuary based in Felix Lane, Shepperton.

There are many idyllic places from which to enjoy the beauties of the Thames but one of the best kept secrets around seems to be Truss’s Island – a tiny ait on the Surrey bank of the river quite close to Staines Bridge.