This year is the 200th anniverary of Johan Zoffany’s death. The artist, closely associated with the River Thames, died on 11 November 1810. It seems that the bicentenary exhibition planned appropriately for Thames-side Tate Britain has been cancelled for fear that it will not attract enough people. The Royal Academy of Arts has stepped in […]

Southwark marks the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity not with a service or talk but an ecumenical walk. It was a pleasure to join in visiting first St Hugh’s, Guy’s Chapel and La Salette Church near London Bridge. After walking along the river, and looking for the seal as we crossed St Saviour’s […]

I sometimes mention Vincent Van Gogh teaching at Isleworth although this was only for  a short time. The Real Van Gogh exhibition opening at the Royal Academy of Arts on Saturday reminds us that the artist knew the river downstream at Lambeth and Westminster much better. On display is a letter written in Paris in […]

Since Sunday there has been at least one seal in St Saviour’s Dock next to Butler’s Wharf. Updates are appearing on the London SE1 website which has a picture. See page 27.

Good news this week for lock keepers on the Thames which is good news for all of us who care about the river. Over twenty lock keepers and their families will keep their riverside accommodation thanks to a deal negotiated by UNISON. Last May the Environment Agency had planned to sell the cottages. “Having lock […]

I am sorry that the new owner of Swinford Bridge wants to remain anonymous. I have never objected to the owner being allowed to avoid tax as upkeep of an 18th-century structure can be expensive and the obligation to provide a ferry if the bridge becomes unsafe would also be costly. The mystery buyer paid […]

An engraved paving stone has been laid in the pavement outside 54 Festing Road in Putney where David McKee created the Mr Benn cartoon series. David, who now lives in France, called the street Festive Road and has Mr Benn living next door at number 52. Festing Road is the last turning off Putney’s Embankment […]

Candida Lycett Green takes a look at Inglesham Church as part of her ‘Unwrecked England’ series in Christmas issue of The Oldie. The writer, who is the daughter of John Betjeman, recalls joining her parents rowing up from Lechlade past the Roundhouse and landing at the farm behind the church. This is the same stretch […]

Last August I wrote about the pleasure of lunching at the Surrey Docks Farm cafe. Now it’s closed. The cafe is shut “until after Christmas” I am told by farm manager Kath. There are not enough winter visitors. But it’s worth calling in on Sunday 13 December for the Christmas Fair when the cafe will be […]

Eel Pie Island book by Dan van der Vat and Michele Whitby Eel Pie Island is a mystery to most of us. It hides Twickenham from the walker on the towpath but most of us are not sure what happens on the only inhabited island in the tidal Thames. There are myths about what used […]