CLEAN-UP SQUAD: Members of the Thames Anglers Conservancy take their responsibilities for keeping the riverbank – and the river – clean and free from debris very seriously. Here a group of volunteers are working on Desborough Island
So, finally, a small spark of common sense appears to have appeared at the Environment Agency – with the news that they have put on hold their controversial plans to sell off ten of the 57 lock-keepers cottages on the River Thames.
Many thanks to my old chum Roger Jolly for taking over the tiller while I toddled off down the Thames on Terra Nova last week. I’ve escorted the old boy back to the ‘Laughing Ferret,’ bought him a pint, given his parrot a handful of grapes and he’ll be fine until the next time he’s called into action.
As regular readers of this column will be aware, I’ve often expressed doubts about the Environment Agency’s decision not to replace resident lock keepers on the Thames and to rent out their empty houses to the public.
