Riverwatch: Suspended animation

I AM FED up with this long winter. It seems a very long time ago that I felt even remotely warm and on the very rare occasions we've seen the sun over the past few months, it's just been fleeting glimpses.Read

Riverwatch: Stay away from the water

SEVERAL readers have contacted me following my article last week about the removal of trees and the proposed work to be carried out by the Environment Agency along the stretch of riverbank between Weybridge Ladies' Rowing Club and D'Oyley Carte Island.Read

Riverwatch: Why it's bare on the bank

A FEW weeks back, I wrote an article highlighting the anger of a number of local people about the Environment Agency's decision to cut down a lot of trees on the towpath of the Surrey bank of the Thames, near Weybridge.Read

Riverwatch: The thames in all its glory

MANY people take the Thames for granted. It's something we walk beside, drive over, fish in or navigate very regularly.Read

Riverwatch: Little ship may have changed course of history

BOATBUILDER Michael Dennett has a very special reason for his love of Dunkirk Little Ships - his dad was one of thousands of British servicemen plucked from the beaches outside the French port back in 1940, as part of what was known as Operation Dynamo.Read

Riverwatch: Lucky numbers all round

WHEN 74-year-old John Molnar put £2 into the bowl for a charity draw on the London Boat Show stand taken by Shepperton's Bridge Marine, he didn't think he had much chance of winning the prize - an outboard motor.Read

Riverwatch: Ignoring red boards could even be fatal

A COUPLE of weeks ago, I wrote in this column about the rowing four which wrapped itself around one of the stanchions below Walton Bridge and was quickly turned into matchwood by the fast-flowing stream.Read

Riverwatch: Derek's treasure trove

MANY readers will remember with great affection Herald & News columnist Derek Belsey who, for many years, provided us with words and pictures about his favourite obsession - birds.Read

Riverwatch: An almost fatal lesson

YOU sometimes wonder what goes on in people's heads, don't you? You probably read in last week's Herald & News about the youngsters whose rowing four crashed into Walton Bridge, throwing its crew into the water and totally wrecking the boat.Read

Riverwatch: Christmas build-up brings thoughts of the Boat Show

I LOVE this time of year. Everybody is getting very excited in the build-up to Christmas, there are (with any luck) some of those glorious bright and crisp sunny winter days to lift the spirits and, most importantly, the London Boat Show is looming ever larger on the horizon.Read

Riverwatch: Stocking-fillers for skippers

FOR all those suffering the annual problem of what to put underneath the tree for their boat-obsessed other halves, here are some suggestions - some to be taken more seriously than others[2026]Read

Riverwatch: Kracken news for Thames

HURRAH! The river bobbies are coming back. Earlier this year, I bemoaned the loss of the very excellent PC Jim Halstead, who was a regular sight aboard the launch he shared with Environment Agency officers while patrolling our stretch of the Thames.Read

Riverwatch: A terrible slur on left-handed men

EARLIER this year, I took my old Seamaster cruiser Terra Nova up the Thames from her mooring at Shepperton towards Staines - and as I passed Dumsey Meadow, I was struck by how beautiful Chertsey Bridge looked in the morning sunshine.Read

Riverwatch: We should have been asked!

WHAT'S going on down by the river at Weybridge? "asked my regular contact Doug the Ancient Angler, "and just why have they chopped down all the beautiful trees?"Read

Riverwatch: Camera classes aid the boat project

CHARITIES find very diverse ways of raising money for their causes but one of the most original - and effective - has been demonstrated by the good people associated with the Thames Boat Project, which was set up to help make the Thames more accessible to a wide range of people.Read

Riverwatch: Seal fans, look away now

SO THE clocks have gone back, Marks & Sparks has got all its Christmas merchandise out and the youngsters are letting off fireworks left, right and centre.Read

Riverwatch: Kraken idea, hope it works

REGULAR readers of this column will know I deplored the decision by Surrey Police to remove the only officer dedicated to patrolling our stretch of the Thames, back in August.Read

Riverwatch: A summer of contrasts

HEAVE ho and avast behind, it's your old shipmate here again, standing in for that gadabout Mort Smith, who's got a bit of shore leave amid the bright lights and temptations of Lower Sunbury.Read

Riverwatch: Fitting tribute to a lifesaver

IT'S NOT often you have the opportunity to remember a courageous deed in a practical way, but Staines Boat Club members have managed it by naming their new rescue boat after a former oarsman who died while saving the life of a fellow crewman.Read

Riverwatch: Art and river craft

IN MAY this year, I reported on a walk by artist Sue Bailey and photographer Pamela Chapman-Burrell from the source of the river down to the Thames Barrier which was designed to raise money for a very worthwhile charity - the Thames Boat Project.Read