Some youngsters just exhibit a natural talent for sailing when they get out on the water – but for Isobel Mitchell, it might have come as a bit of a surprise because what she actually wanted to do was to windsurf.
Last week, I chronicled the story of the first two bridges to span the Thames between Walton and Shepperton but they were followed by three further structures, while a sixth is still on the drawing board.
Last year in this column, I wrote that I thought the authorities should introduce a mandatory test and a licence of competence before anyone was allowed to take a boat out on the water – and several people jumped down my throat, berating me for proposing to introduce more bureaucracy into our leisure time.
