The nights may be drawing in and the leaves may be turning, but the year isn’t over just yet and there’s still plenty of fun to be had out on the water
Author: Mort Smith
Learning to swim in the River Thames
From Tumblin Bay Weir to Desborough Cut, readers relive their memories of splashing around in the river for fun or with classes of youngsters from schools in the area
Bridge paintings in festive card surprise
In the latest instalment of his regular feature, Mort Smith looks at the first two bridges that crossed the Thames at Walton, both of which had an unfortunate ending
Thornycroft memories
It seems I was not alone in mourning the passing of part of the old Thornycroft launch works on Platts Eyot which was destroyed by a fire recently – it brought back memories for a couple of families who had happy associations with the company.
Steps to improvement
One of my earliest recollections of the River Thames takes me back to when I was five or six.
More water babies
It is obvious that lots of you have fond recollections of swimming in the Thames during your youth and I’ve received a number of phone calls and emails from people thanking me for reviving old memories.
Good Thames times
One of my colleagues recently decided to swim in the Thames to raise money for charity and she bravely navigated the river all the way from Hampton Court to Kingston Bridge in just over an hour and three-quarters which was good going.
A summer favourite
It’s one of my favourite weekends on the river this Saturday and Sunday when Sunbury stages its annual regatta – always guaranteed to be a great fun day almost regardless of what the weather throws up.
Very sad end of era
I was really sad to see this photo of the ruins of the old Thornycroft yard on Platts Eyot going up in flames last week. It truly marked the end of a era in a very sad way as the blaze, which was fought by fire crews from all over the area, put the final nail in the coffin of what was once a thriving local business that built some of the finest fast launches in the world.
Life-affirming project
I’ve always had a lot of time for the charity called the River Thames Boat Project, which aims to introduce people to our wonderful river and to give people – particularly youngsters and the disabled – the chance to spend time on the water.