Updates

The inflatable Pink Dog floating downstream with the charity Thames Doggy swimmers should reach Richmond at noon this Wednesday 26 August. The afternoon paddle goes past Kew Gardens and Chiswick to end at Putney, outside The Duke’s Head, at about 4.30pm. The final day is Wednesday when the Pink Dog and party, probably safely in a boat, […]

Ten swimmers set out this morning from St John’s Lock near Lechlade hoping to reach Putney by next Wednesday 26 August. They are sponsored to raise over £200,000 for the Stem Cell Foundation. The challenge is called the Thames Doggy because all ten are promising to do a doggy paddle rather than the breaststroke or […]

Lammas is Anglo Saxon meaning loaf mass. On Lammas Day 1 August the first wheat from the harvest is made into a loaf for the bread to be consecrated with the wine at Mass. This was the forerunner of Harvest Festival now held after the harvest. Riverside Southwark Cathedral observes Lammastide on Friday 7 August […]

Another stretch of the Thames Path is to be moved off road to the riverside. Vacant Lombard Wharf, immediately downstream of Battersea Railway Bridge, is being redeveloped with a twisting 28-storey tower which is likely to be a controversial landmark. From 2017 the Thames Path will cease to turn inland from Albion Quay to the […]

Doggett’s Coat and Badge race takes place today Saturday 1 August at 11.30am. It is a long time since the race was on a Saturday but it used to always be on 1 August and this year is the 300th anniversary of the first on 1 August 1715. Dublin-born actor Thomas Doggett had just retired […]

There are two Thames obituaries on The Guardian today. The daughter of David Sharp writes about her father and his campaign for the Thames Path. On the same page the daughter of Graham Corneck recalls her father as incumbent of St Nicholas Church at Deptford Green. The ancient riverside parish is where the lighthouse authority Trinity […]

The scarlet coated Queen’s Swan Marker and the accompanying Swan Uppers of the Vintners’ and Dyers’ Livery Companies will arrive in six rowing skiffs at Henley for lunch today, Wednesday 22 July. They set out from Marlow this morning having started the week at Sunbury. Tonight they reach George Clooney’s new home village, Sonning. Tomorrow […]

Plans have been released for a new pedestrian bridge linking Pimlico with Nine Elms. The pending arrival of the American Embassy and massive redevelopment between the Waterloo railway line and Nine Elms Lane has led to this initiative supported by Wandsworth Council. The landing for the bridge will be the riverside St George’s Gardens in […]

This Thursday 23 July is the feast day of St Bridget of Sweden who founded the Bridgettine Order. Its English house opened on the banks of the River Thames at Syon in 1415 thanks to Henry V who was about to leave for France and the Battle of Agincourt. The site is now occupied by […]

William Morris’s bedroom comes in at number 25 in The Daily Telegraph Saturday feature Far from the madding crowd: 50 hidden gems. The room is part of Kelmscott Manor at Kelmscot by the River Thames near Lechlade.