Author archives: Patricia Stoughton

We are living through a time of anxiety and trouble the like of which our country hasn’t seen since the Second World War. And as has happened to many of you, my plans have been disrupted and proposed interviews shelved so I would like to take you back to 1907 when artist Thomas R Way […]

Spend a little time on, or around Tower Bridge, and you’ll see a lot of activity, not as in the past when this part of the Port of London was a teeming mass of cargo ships and barges but there’s certainly more movement than a few years ago. Not only has an effort been put […]

Imogen Forster …its brown expansefilmy, torpid, featureless.The sandy edge gives wayunder my foot; a man is fishingfrom the log-jammed bank.This is not as I imagined it. Harassed by winter gulls, the archaic bird secures its knotted prey, swallows, and extinguishes the glinting silver string. The self-entangling fish and the glossy cormorant, head raised to the […]

The distinctive livery of passing Bennett’s Barges and their tugs is sure to catch your eye as you look out over the river.  Part of the Livett’s Group, their tugs and barges are working on the western section of the super sewer for London.      Bennett’s Barges was founded in 1983 and was involved with […]

As you walk along the banks of the central London Thames, you can see there’s no doubt about the sense of purpose of waste-towing Cory tugs passing on the river. Their names are a strong indication of their resolve. As Reclaim; Recovery; Redoubt; Regain; and Resource tow their barges up and downstream, you can watch […]