I was rather encouraged to see that a London MP had put down an Early Day Motion to bring the vexed question of the future of resident lock keepers on the non-tidal Thames into the public spotlight.
Ties that bind man and boat
One of the things I’ve always loved about boating is the fascinating array of skills that it has engendered. That includes everything from basic seamanship to weather prediction, from understanding how a diesel engine works to finding the correct technique for sculling.
Amy Gentry – a stroke of genius
You only have to look at the success achieved by British women rowers at the 2012 Olympics to realise that we are among the best in the world in this particular sport. But it wasn’t always so.
Road will drive us round the bend – or not
Now here’s a dilemma. I’ve been a staunch supporter of the plans for a new bridge in Walton ever since the idea was first mooted. I urged Surrey County Council to stop faffing about and get on with it.
Seeing red over safety
I thought I’d take a look at the progress being made on the construction of the new river crossing at Walton on Sunday morning by going to the Surrey County Council webcam.
An oarsome relationship
I knew from a very young age that I loved the water. It didn’t matter whether it was pottering about in a small rowing dinghy on the Thames at Twickenham where I was born or flinging myself through breaking waves on the beach at Holland on Sea in Essex where we used to stay with my uncle and aunt most summers – I just loved the water.
Basingstoke Canal restored
Canal and waterway restoration seems to have taken off in the past couple of decades with more and more waterways being put back into public usage – and I take my hat off to all those hardy volunteers who put their backs (and quite often their own money) into this kind of environmental reconstruction.
I’ve neglected the old girl for too long
I took a wander down to the Bridge Marine boatyard on Sunday – just to check that Terra Nova, the old Seamaster Admiral cabin cruiser that Julie and I own along with my brother, was still where I left her when she came out of the water back in October.
Dirty work but it has to be done
The River Thames is probably cleaner today than it has been for decades. Yet there is still much to do.
Club together for love of the river
There are some people you always enjoy visiting – and among those of my wife, Julie, and I are the lovely folk at Weybridge Sailing Club (WSC).