I thought I’d take a look at the progress being made on the construction of the new river crossing at Walton on Sunday morning by going to the Surrey County Council webcam.

They do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I suppose I should be somewhat flattered to learn that Surrey Police has joined forces with Spelthorne, Elmbridge and Runnymede Neighbourhood Watches to launch a new crime reduction initiative called – River Watch.

Photographs are great for keeping a record of what’s happening on our lovely river – but somehow paintings capture more of the spirit of an event that even the best photograph in my view.

While a lot of attention is being focused on the Surrey Police initiative called Project Kraken – designed primarily to encourage a kind of neighbourhood watch on the river to spot possible terrorist activity – many local residents are still unhappy with the lack of a permanent dedicated officer on our stretch of the Thames.

At the tail end of 2009, Surrey Police announced the launch of Project Kraken – an initiative designed to alert people on our stretch of the river to the dangers of terrorist and criminal activity on the non-tidal Thames.

It's that time of year when the Thames regularly resounds to the shouts of enthusiastic coxes urging on the oarsmen in the boat in front of them and one of the highlights of the season is always Staines Amateur Regatta which takes place on Saturday, July 24.

Huzzah! The river bobbies are coming back. Earlier this year, I bemoaned the loss of the very excellent PC Jim Halstead who was a regular sight aboard the launch he shared with Environment Agency officers whilst patrolling our bit of the Thames.

“What's going on down by the river at Weybridge,” asked my regular contact Doug the Ancient Angler, “and just why have they chopped all the beautiful trees down?"

As regular readers of this column will know, I deplored the decision by Surrey Police to remove the only officer dedicated to patrolling our stretch of the Thames back in August.

Generally speaking, boating is a very relaxing and enjoyable pastime – in my opinion you just can’t beat pottering along the river on a beautiful day enjoying the tranquility and watching the wildlife.