In Memory of Sir Peter Harrop

We all owe a huge debt to Peter for his wonderful support of the Boat Project in so many ways for over 30 years, until his recent death, aged 94.

The River Thames Boat Project was a particular interest for him. In 1988 Peter became one of the Founding Trustees of the Project at the invitation of Martin Emerson, then Mayor of Richmond. Martin wanted the charity to acquire a boat for cruises on the Thames which would not only be accessible to wheelchairs but also an “ecology boat” providing environmental education.

Peter’s appointment followed his long civil service career with the Department of the Environment where he eventually became the Second Permanent Secretary. Peter continued as a Trustee for 18 years, during five of which he was Chairman, and later he was elected President.

As a Trustee Peter was Treasurer of the Project for 4/5 years, followed by Paul Barry. While Chairman from 2001, until he handed over the chairmanship to me in 2006, he moved the charity forward in many ways. During the 10^th anniversary cruise Venturer visited 8 mayors in 8 boroughs along the Thames in 7 days. Peter enthusiastically supported all this, helping with hosting the different events. Later he also hosted the visit of the Prince of Wales to the boat in 2004.

After Peter retired as Chairman in 2006 he remained closely in touch with the Project. He visited the Project’s office regularly and was always on hand to give wise advice. Peter’s enthusiasm for the work of the Project drew in many helpers as Trustees, Volunteers, Friends and Donors.

Peter was most generous with his time and spared no opportunity to further the Project. His wise counsel was always appreciated and he was a huge support in so many ways even after his retirement as Chairman and Trustee. He will be greatly missed by so many people who became his friends.

Throughout all these years (1988-2020) his wife, Margaret, has given great support to Peter and to the Boat Project.

Richard Robinson, former Chair

PS. The reminiscences of Miranda Jaggers have been a great help in writing this. My thanks to her and also to all who passed on their thoughts about Peter.

 
 

LOCK-KEEPERS  This is my 11^th year as a summer relief Lock and Weir-keeper. Summer reliefs are employed by the Environment Agency to supplement the year-round Waterways workforce of 45 resident lock-keepers and 12 permanent reliefs. This year 13 summer staff were taken on. Relief lock-keepers cover the resident’s days off, leave and sickness, and usually cover around 6 locks.

This year my ‘patch’ is Bray, Boveney, Romney, Old Windsor, Bell Weir (pictured below) and Penton Hook (my local lock in Staines). In previous years I have worked at 12 different locks from Cookham down to Molesey. Interestingly, 10 of the 70 ‘lockies’ are lady lock-keepers, an increasing number.

LOCKDOWN   The summer season is usually April to September, but for this (Covid) year we were not called in until the lockdown was eased and we started back on 1^st July. It’s a very different work environment this summer, with barriers and gates to separate lock staff from boaters and from the general public, and with antibacterial sprays and hand gels galore.

DUTIES   Lock-keepers assist the passage of boats through the lock; taking mooring lines and where necessary, expertly packing the lock to achieve maximum efficiency. We need to be alert, particularly with hire boats coming into the lock. Already this year I have had three boat crew fall into the lock - Man Over Board procedures then come into play.

During the August ‘heat wave’ (5 consecutive days of 30°C

Update on events

We hope you are all still keeping safe and well. 
 
The RTBP staff team is very happy to be back at work. Welcoming Latchmere School on board in September was a big highlight and there are plans for some cruises during October. There are some adjustments to how days on the boat operate, in order to be COVID-19 secure, including additional cleaning requirements and staff and volunteers wearing visors. The safety of volunteers, staff and clients is of paramount importance. 
 
After some very hot and sunny September days, we have had more of a mix of weather, but October is still a great time to be on the boats. The leaves look beautiful and the river is a little more peaceful. We hope we can bring special time on the river to some people over the next few weeks.

Plans for autumn cruises
Due to the move to Tier 2 restrictions on Saturday 17th October, we have had to review some bookings for October/November. We had been planning to welcome smaller groups of 6 passengers, including carers, onboard Thames Discoverer. We did our first cruise with a group of 6 on Tuesday 13th October and they had a very enjoyable day. However, we are now only able to welcome groups onboard if they are from the same household/family bubble. We won’t be able to interact with our passengers as much as we normally enjoy doing, but we know that time on the boat provides a welcome respite and a positive boost to everyone’s spirits. Private hire opportunities are available. If you are coming onboard as a single family bubble, we can accommodate up to 8. Please contact the office if you are interested, on 020 8940 3509 or info@thamesboatproject.org 

We will keep reviewing the situation and adjusting to any changes. Hopefully the New Year will bring some different opportunities to get together, have some fun and do some fundraising at the same time.

AGM online on Monday 9^th November
New format this year on Zoom! Due to restrictions on gatherings, we will be bringing people together this year from the comfort of their own homes. Many of you will have been keeping in touch via video calls over recent months. Some of you may have attended AGMs online for other organisations. Pippa and the team are working on plans for the evening and will circulate the information over the next few weeks. Please put the date in your diaries and we look forward to seeing you online.
 
River Thames Blessing
We had just one event over the summer, but the sun shone and it was a special experience. On the 10^thJuly, Discoverer, with an RTBP team of Gunnar, Sophie and Ian onboard, joined the River Blessing with St Mary with St Alban church in Teddington. This was our 3^rd year of taking part and although it was a smaller group, in order to meet social distancing requirements, we were happy to accept the Rev Joe Moffatt’s invitation. Jane Newman represented RTBP in the church service and procession down to the river – waving the flag for RTBP. Thames Discoverer was ever present in the background on the river for the rest of the service there. Teddington RNLI crew also joined us onboard Thames Discoverer for the occasion. The service was filmed and shared on the church website. You can see the film by clicking on the link River Thames Blessing

The return to schools has also meant the return to the river for the Boat Project! During September, Latchmere Primary School attended four days of the “School on the River” programme on Thames Venturer at Teddington Lock. All four days were a success and enjoyed by the children, teachers and volunteers alike. It was great to be back teaching on the boat again and gave a sense of normality during this unpredictable period.

New Covid-19 secure measures have been put in place and the teaching programme has been adapted to comply with government guidelines to ensure the safety of the school and volunteers. All activities have been moved above deck, PPE is provided for the volunteers, and there is an increased cleaning regime. We are hoping to have more education bookings soon, following the success with Latchmere School, and are looking forward to welcoming more volunteers back on board for further refresher and training sessions.

Volunteer Training

We have now resumed training sessions for our volunteers as we are starting to get back on the river. On the 10^th September, we had a training day for some of our education volunteers in preparation for Latchmere School’s visit. This was a useful refresher on the teaching content as well as introducing the new health and safety measures.

Additionally, we organised crew training onboard Thames Discoverer on the 2^nd October which was a good opportunity to recap crew duties, re-familiarise everyone with the boat and include the new Covid-19 secure measures for cruises. Thames Discoverer also received a deep clean on the 8^th October, with the help of a small group of volunteers, ready for our first cruise of the season on the 13^th October.

Due to social distancing, there have been limited spaces on our training days, therefore, we shall be running further training sessions to ensure all our volunteers can attend. It is very exciting to be resuming our activities again, with the updated precautions, and the RTBP team is looking forward to welcoming more people back on board in the near future.

Sophie Owsianka, Education & Volunteer Training Coordinator


Farewell to Sophie

We're very sorry to report that Sophie is leaving us in December to pursue opportunities in Marine Biology (which was her degree subject) in the Caribbean. Sophie started with us just before Covid-19 arrived and, notwithstanding all the resulting and fundamental changes to what we and she expected she'd be doing this year, has been a fantastic asset to the charity in this short period. She has been creative, thoughtful and dynamic, contributing hugely to our education offering and the training of our teachers, and, latterly, running our successful first "Covid era" teaching days with Latchmere School. 

I know Sophie is sad to be leaving and that she has really enjoyed her time with us, but the opportunity to pursue her passion is a rare one which she simply cannot miss. She will be staying in touch and may even be back at times to teach, so it is definitely a case of "au revoir". We all wish her the very best and will be letting you know in due course about plans to recruit a replacement, so watch this space! 

Jon Chapman, Chair


Fundraising News and Opportunities
 

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