Well, the 1st July dawned grey and damp and we were worried ! worried that no one would show up , worried that people would show up and it would then start to rain, worried that we would be on yellow boards and worried that all our hard work would have been in vain.

As it turned out , we needn't have worried at all !! Barring one brief spell of rain around 1pm we had a great day. Admittedly not as hot as previous festivals, and perhaps the crowds weren't quite as large , but the day was still a resounding success. The RNLI performed rescue demonstrations, the lock continued to work as normal , the bands played and people ate , drank and were merry !!

There were a lot of things to see and do, a mini funfair, various stalls and sideshows , a beer and Pimms tent and of course, boats to see.

A shot of the island taken from the bridge. A bit windy , but still warm.

The Teddington Lifeboat crew  on a rescue demonstration.

The Chiswick Lifeboat attracted a lot of visitors, this class of lifeboat ( E Class ) is only in use at three places in the country, Chiswick , Tower Pier and Gravesend.

Although the barge lock was closed to traffic on the day , the launch lock operates as normal. The audience had a good show as there were boats constantly travelling up and down stream.

The Great British Duck Race ( www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk) had a stall there selling tickets for the world record attempt duck race scheduled to take place on 2nd September at Hampton Court Palace. They also had a giant duck there that was loved by kids and grown ups alike ! It's not too late to enter the Duck Race , why not visit the website and sign up ?

The bands played on in the sun to the early evening , and the people stayed to watch...