My first kingfishers swooped glittering by as I sculled past Nuneham Courteney on Friday - harbingers of more wonderfully generous gifts which are taking my tally towards £3000. This bis great because although the Treehouse Project which I am supporting is closing in on the initial target of £20,000, the chief energiser, Tom, tells me this is a conservative estimate. So I'm afraid that I will go on begging.

Meanwhile, my practices are hugely enjoyable as the Thames is a beautiful and constantly varied river and the view of the world from the water is magical. Reading up the history is fascinating too. Above is a drawing of the Arcadia which the generous Earl of Harcourt provided for the public on the riverbank in the 19th century. Picnickers famously included Lewis Carroll and the Liddell family (Alice L being the model for her namesake) and also Henry James. He wrote memorably of 'encountering in hundreds the mighty lads of England, clad in white flannel and blue, immense, fair-haired, magnificent in their youth, lounging down the stream in their idle punts, in friendly couples or in solitude or pulling in straining crews and hoarsely exhorted from the bank.'

I am no longer magnificent in youth, if I ever was, but I managed almost four hours of rowing from Sandford to Abingdon and back. Occasionally a felt a slight twinge in my left, er, buttock and discovered back at home that this thorn was responsible. I know I am testing my ailing powers but I readily admit that this was a step too far.