Thames

Pronounced /tehmz/.

Seems cleaner than rivers in other big cities (like the east river in NYC that I lived near for a year), but I still wouldn’t dare swim in it. Perhaps a spot of condom fishing?

is an innovative & environmentally-friendly approach to dealing with the litter that is a growing problem on the world’s waterways! I’d LOVE to see this used on Puget Sound! Any ideas how this could happen here??

Those days people used to wear fleece’s and ugly shapeless jeans and no one cared because…....well because… it was normal. I was 7…. i was happy with myself, having a pot belly wasn’t a problem…having wild unfashionable hair was ok why? maybe because it wasn’t important… we were young and free.
So im 7, the thames is a big thing… its like the seaside but in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. A magic spot
that contained fish and mermaid just like all those disney films…. My mum tells me we are going on a boat ride….im excited… no, estatic. I cannot wait to go, counting down the days. It finally arrives, i have a packed lunch for the boat ride. It has fun food, a bounty, cherries, a unhealthy milkshake…my 7 year old mind thinks this is the highlight of the month.
We take a bus down to the thames, i pester my mum asking questions about the type of fish we will see, she tries to explain “very unlikely that you will see anything”. I brush that aside, i believe what i want. We reach, its fun filled. Lots of tourists and other young children. I grip my mum in one hand and my lunch in the other. We give in our tickets and await the boat’s arrival. It’s huge head nudges the port. I am practically jumping out of my skin with the excitement… I grab the rail and haul myself on board. I immediately run for the rail where i can look into the water…my mum calls out..i blank out any unwanted sound…i am focusing on the murky water expecting the entire cast of the little mermaid to come and welcome me to thier underwater metropolis.
The boat judders and shudders and i hear the engine cough into action and start chugging across the water. I smile, “this is it”..... It’s over much too fast, no sea creatures spotted but despite that i had such fun watching the disturbed water snaking away from its manmade intruder…I vacate the boat and wave goodbye to the driver… he smiles and tips his hat at me. I savour that day…