Update on events

We hope you are all still keeping safe and well. It has been a busy few months with the restart of our activities and everyone has been delighted to be back on the river. 

Education days restarted for the summer term very positively and bookings are looking good for the autumn term. Cruises started a little later due to the extension of restrictions, but we are regaining momentum and our clients are regaining confidence. Our boats provide a safe and secure environment and the chance to enjoy time outdoors on the river. Thames Discoverer has been busy during July and August and we have bookings through September into October.

June was a major highlight with the very positive news that River Thames Boat Project was honoured with The Queen’s award for Voluntary Service, the equivalent of an MBE for volunteers - more on that later. 
 
River Blessing at Teddington Lock: we enjoyed the annual river blessing on Sunday 11^th July in Teddington at St Mary with St Alban Church. Thames Discoverer was on the water with Gunnar at the helm and Kate took part in the procession in the church and down to the river. It’s a great community tradition and celebrates the river and the benefits it brings to us all. 

River Thames Boat Project Thames Challenge 2021 sponsored river event: 
Thank you to everyone for taking part in RTBP’s Thames Challenge 2021 on Saturday 11^th September and for all the sponsorship support!
 
We did it! It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time by the river with volunteers, friends and family. We had great weather and the river looked beautiful. We were a group of 21 in total including one cyclist and one paddle-boarder. Ten walkers (pictured right) did the full Putney Bridge to Kingston Bridge 13.4 miles and a further nine joined us along the way for different sections. We received the usual RTBP warm welcome at the dock in Kingston from Pete Gallon, John Tamsitt and Megan and Jack Dodds who made tea and coffee and served up all the wonderful cakes made by Linda, Megan and Pippa. We enjoyed a rest for our weary legs in the late afternoon sun on the deck of Thames Venturer.  
 
We have raised over £1,200 so far but would love to get to £1,500! The funds will be a huge help in this difficult year when we are rebuilding back up to our normal levels of activities. 
 
There’s still time to support us if you didn’t get a chance to already!

Running events restarting from September: the Harry Hawkes Half Marathon is the first date in the diary on Sunday 26^th September and the Kingston Half Marathon will be on 24^th October. We will resume our water station and marshalling support for these events. We receive a donation from the organisers which contributes to the fundraising pot. It’s a busy, fun few hours by the river and we have food and drinks onboard Thames Venturer afterwards. If anyone would like to run at either event, please let Kate know kate@thamesboatproject.org as we can get some free entry spaces for RTBP supporters. You can check out the details for both these events at Quicksilver Running.

If any of you would like to fundraise in any way, do let us know. Every donation makes a difference. Please go to the RTBP website for details on how to support the charity: https://thamesboatproject.org/about/give/

We’ll keep you updated and if you have any ideas for fundraising, please share them by emailing Kate at kate@thamesboatproject.org 

Linking People Afloat Cruises: we have done three day cruises which were very much enjoyed. These cruises are for individuals who are not supported by a group, to come by themselves or with a carer or companion. It’s a safe and caring environment with just 12 passengers and a chance to meet new people and share experiences. Time on the boats provides a welcome respite and a positive boost to everyone’s spirits. 

Summer cruises: we enjoyed four short cruises over the summer for volunteers, Friends and supporters. It was the chance to have a little time on the river on Thames Discoverer, to reconnect and be reminded of the benefits of being on the boat. 

Private hire opportunities are also available into October, so please get in touch with Pippa pippa@thamesboatproject.org if you would like to enjoy a cruise onboard Thames Discoverer.

Thank you to our funders: we are very fortunate to be supported in the work that we do. We charge a fee to our client groups for cruises and education days, but this is heavily subsidised and we make up the balance of the costs of our days on the river through grants, donations and our own fundraising. The work that we do would not be possible without this support. Over the last few months, we are very happy to have received confirmed funding from the Hampton Fund, Richmond Parish Lands Charity, The Childwick Trust and The Barnes Fund. Thank you. 

Kate Dodds, Marketing and Fundraising Manager

June and July saw an increase in activity with more than 20 days trips across the two months. During this time I was able to get to grips with both the Schools on the River and Eco-Venturers education programmes and fully appreciate the extent of our volunteers' knowledge. Despite weather ranging from rain and the threat of thunderstorms to extreme heat and humidity, the volunteers maintained their enthusiasm and successfully engaged with all of our school groups. A regular request we receive from students is to come back the next day/week and this is testament to the quality of the experience we provide. 

The end of the term also brought a new clientele - a nursery booked two half-day cruises with some educational activities for their graduation celebration for the children who would be moving to a primary school in September. The groups made model boats and learned about different power sources. They then designed, made and named their boats and tested their ability to float whilst holding cargo. The children were delighted with their creations and their trip as a whole. Although taking nursery groups was a first for the charity, both I and the volunteers had a fantastic time working with the group and we hope to see them again next year.

The River Thames Boat Project was one of 16 organisations in the Greater London area and one of two in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames who were honoured with this award. It’s the equivalent of an MBE for volunteers and recognises the amazing dedication and hard work of all our volunteers. 

The process started in the summer of 2020 when Gillian Norton, the Representative Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Richmond, put together our nomination. This was followed by an assessment phase from September through to December. Our assessor was Richard Kornicki, the Representative Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Ealing. In normal times this would involve face to face meetings and in our case, some time on the boats. However, due to the pandemic, this was done by phone and video calls. Thank you to all the volunteers, clients and supporters who spoke to Richard and provided letters of recommendation. Richard was wonderful to work with and even attended our AGM via Zoom. His evaluation then went forward to the National Assessment committee chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis, CBE. We received the fantastic news that we had been successful at the end of April 2021 and we were able to officially announce it on the 2^nd June.

On 27^th September, Nigel Williams, volunteer skipper/crew/education assistant and Linda Varney, volunteer crew and Company Secretary, will represent RTBP for the presentation of the Award. This will take place at Westminster Abbey and we will receive a certificate and a crystal award from Sir Kenneth Olisa, Lord Lieutenant for Greater London.  

In May 2022 there will then be the opportunity for two RTBP representatives to attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham palace to celebrate the 2021 awards.

We received a lot of positive coverage in local publications about the award, as well positive feedback from Friends, volunteers, supporters and funders. It helps to raise the profile of the work that we do on the river and sharing the news in June was perfect timing as we restarted our activities.

Kate Dodds, Marketing and Fundraising Manager

 
Points of Interest along the River
 

Long time River Thames Boat Project volunteer Peter Finch - also Chairman of the River Thames Society and extremely knowledgeable on all things River Thames - has kindly written a comprehensive list of 'Points of Interest' to be seen from the river, both upstream and downstream from Kingston.

Examples that might catch your eye as you travel upstream beyond Hampton Court are the beautifully restored houseboat, pictured above, and the unlikely 'Swiss' chalet. They are both featured in these lists as follows:

Astoria houseboat built for Fred Karno 1913, later sold to Vesta Victoria, famous for song “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow Wow”. Now owned by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, as a recording studio.

If going inside Taggs Island, Swiss Chalet, brought as a “flat-pack” from Switzerland c1882 as a summer house for a mansion called Riverholme, since demolished.

These documents are available on the RTBP Friends website, as hardcopy on Discoverer or by clicking
Upstream or Downstream.

If you don’t have a trip on one of our boats planned, these will encourage you to do so!

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