I knew from a very young age that I loved the water. It didn’t matter whether it was pottering about in a small rowing dinghy on the Thames at Twickenham where I was born or flinging myself through breaking waves on the beach at Holland on Sea in Essex where we used to stay with my uncle and aunt most summers – I just loved the water.
More than anything else, our lovely river should be fun for all who have the opportunity to use it. And nowhere is that spirit of fun better reflected than in the annual Shepperton Village Fair raft race, which is sponsored by the Nauticalia marine supplies company based in Ferry Lane and organised by Desborough Sailing Club.
I was rather encouraged to see that a London MP had put down an Early Day Motion to bring the vexed question of the future of resident lock keepers on the non-tidal Thames into the public spotlight.
