An occasional look at the ebb and flow of the Thames
We all take locks for granted as we travel up and down the Thames. These days, the modern electronic controls and smooth hydraulics that are in use at most locks allow easy passage from one river reach to another and the hardest problem for lock keepers to face is simply trying to fit a huge number of boats into the lock chamber.
Shiver me timbers – where on earth did that year go? I was amazed when I came to write this final column of 2008 to realise that I’d been doing it for nearly 12 months – firstly in our now defunct sister paper, the Leader and more recently in the Herald & News.
At a time when youngsters are regularly vilified for congregating on street corners and causing problems with antisocial behaviour, many people say there is not enough for them to do. Well, there is – and the sea cadets corps might be just the way to encourage the next generation to do something constructive with its spare time.
Further to my recent coverage of the Environment Agency’s desire to sell off several of the lock-keeper’s cottages in our area, I’m delighted to report that there is potentially some good news.
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.
It’s quite astounding how much junk there is in the River Thames. Everyone has probably seen a supermarket shopping trolley nestling in the shallows close to the bank or the odd lorry tyre rotting gently in the mud.
It’s definitely that time of year when the thoughts of many folk turn towards the possibility of getting out on the river.
Three cheers for the River Thames Guide, the website which provides a comprehensive information service about all things to do with the Thames, which is launching a project aimed at encouraging youngsters to get involved with bird-watching along the length of the river.