The annual Beaulieu Boat Jumble takes place in Hampshire this weekend

Smells like happiness

When Lt Colonel Bill Kilgore, the character played by the wonderful Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, tried to express his feelings for the Vietnam War he said he loved the smell of napalm in the morning – it smelt like victory.

Home Guards’ ‘Mac’ was the guardian of the lock

One of the things I love most about writing this column is that every now and again I’m contacted by someone with a lovely story to tell connected to our stretch of the Thames.

The captain of clean-up

My brother Alan, and I have been working on our old Seamaster Admiral cabin cruiser, Terra Nova, to get her ready to go back into the water.