Well, it seems I must be one of the few people who hadn’t heard the stories about prize-fighting taking place in Shepperton!
Author: Mort Smith
Prize-fighting puzzler
I’m always delighted when readers get in touch to share their memories of the River Thames – and I owe a major debt of gratitude to Brian Griffiths of Burgoyne Road, Sunbury who was clearing out his loft and found a number of books about the river which he very kindly brought into the Herald office thinking they might be of interest.
Sea legs in the genes
Let’s face it we’re a seafaring nation. The greatest part of Britain’s history has been spent dominating the seas and protecting our island from unwelcome visitors and whether we like to admit it or not, most Britons fancy themselves as natural seafarers – it’s in the genes, isn’t it?
Book for a rainy day
One of the most frustrating things about planning a day out on the river (or the sea for that matter) is that you can arrange everything to your liking with one notable exception – the weather.
Walk yourself better
News of a couple of riverside walks taking place in the near future is top of the agenda this week.
Do the decent thing
I get really angry with people who drive their cars on the road without paying the annual road fund licence. They are the kind of people who obviously think they’re more important than the rest of us and that the law doesn’t apply to them.
Memory frozen in time
Pictures of the frozen UK jogged a memory for one of my readers who now lives in Queensland, Australia.
A dangerous friend
My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who died when a small boat carrying six people overturned close to Pharoah’s Island at Shepperton.
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.
Well, wooden it be nice…
It’s wintertime. There are icicles hanging from the gunwhales of your boat and even the water in the bilges is frozen solid. Spring seems a long, long way away and you’re wondering how to fill those dark evenings and dreary weekends.

