This years Womad festival brought fans music from around the world - ranging from country music to belly-dancing.

Thousands of rubber ducks took over the River Thames on Sunday, for a charity race.

Cyclists create a human link between three Olympic venues, exactly six years ahead of the 2012 Games.

Government identifies two options to improve River Thames quality

,BYM News is an internet only boating & boating industry News Service, with no need to hold back stories for a print edition, which makes it the world's most comprehensive & up-to-date recreational marine News Service.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is to mount a legal challenge to prevent the construction of an incinerator next to the River Thames, arguing that it could scupper efforts to recycle London's waste.

It's one way to beat the heat - swimming the length of the Thames (all 203 miles of it).

THREE lucky sightings of swan families took place on the Thames on Tuesday as the Queen's Swan Marker arrived in  Marlow.

Swan Upping, the annual census of the swan population, took place between Cookham and  Marlow Lock on Tuesday afternoon and the Free Press managed to travel aboard a boat observing the ancient tradition while it took place.

The Royal Swan Marker, David Barber, said the swan numbers this year looked promising, despite problems.

During the trip three families, known as broods, were examined and tagged something Mr Barber, 56, said was quite rare during afternoons.

Mr Barber, of Frieth Road, Marlow, said: “The numbers are fairly in line with last year. So far it is looking ok.

“This year we had more dog vandalism such as dogs attacking swans or disturbing nests.
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“On this stretch you are lucky to see three broods because first thing in the morning everything goes like clockwork. But later in the day people get tired and it can become more hard work to find the swans.”

Cygnets were marked, weighed, and received a health check, after the swan uppers surrounded them and brought them ashore for examination.

Mr Barber's team was joined by the Vinters' and Dyers' livery companies, which share ownership of the swans on the Thames.

A record of the census, in order to monitor swan numbers, is kept in the University of Oxford's zoology department.

Mr Barber said the majority of cygnets belonged to the Queen, while the remaining 50 per cent were shared between the two livery companies.

He has been staging talks with local schools during the census to educate children on the importance of responsibility on the Thames.

He said: “Our biggest disaster is fishing tackle. We lose 40 per cent of cygnets to this.

“It is important also that the education side has been brought in to stop youngsters shooting swans in the future with air rifles and to teach them a bit about their welfare. ”

Shouts of “all up” could be heard as the three boats surrounded the broods.

The first, in  Cookham Lock, were a brood of seven cygnets whose father had been taken away for treatment after suffering an injury days before.

The second brood was further up-stream at Cock Marsh and a final brood of four cygnets were examined past Bourne End Marina. The parents managed to shield their young from the markers and escape towards the marina before eventually being examined.

The markers are due to finish at Abingdon Bridge tonight.

Lincoln, Nebraska's most complete source for local news.

Part of the Thames Gateway could be turned into a wetland park, says a report leaked to the BBC.

FORGET The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge . The only event on the Thames this year worth attending will be when 30,000 shades-wearing rubber ducks race down the river for charity. - South London headlines

The Wharf - Letters

An adventurer today set off on a bid to become the first person to swim the 203-mile length of the River Thames.

PLANS for an east London heliport to cater for the capital's ever-increasing helicopter traffic have been mooted by London City Airport.

The capital has only one official heliport at Battersea and with the 2012 Olympics looming large the Royal Docks airport (designated LCY) believes it is time to develop a co-ordinated approach to helicopter activity.

LCY put its suggestion to the London Assembly Environment Committee (LAEC), which is conducting an investigation into helicopter noise in London.

Airport managing director Richard Gooding outlined plans to site a helipad on the banks of the Thames.

A specific site has yet to be identified but he ruled out the airport, where helicopters would conflict with existing operations.

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