Yesterday Remembered

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Fun and Games on the Water

Colin Sweeting of Barkingside, Ilford, Essex remembers:

Forty years ago, we were living in East Anglia, the children were growing, and we needed a bigger house – preferably one with a good-sized garden. We found what we were looking for and, unexpectedly, it came with a lake in the garden. Looking after it was going to be a steep learning curve as my only previous experience of aquatic life was a tank of guppies when I was a teenager.

The lake was well stocked with fish and had been let out to an angling club by the previous owners. Herons were frequent visitors. We didn't begrudge them dining on the small roach, rudd and perch but preferred them not to feast on the carp as they were too big to eat whole and the remnants remained for our Labrador to eventually find and roll in, requiring one rather smelly dog to be hosed down. Strangely, she never did go into the lake itself.

The lake came with a resident pair of Canada geese which bred and attracted their mates. Some relations came to visit with their young dog that had never seen geese or water before. She ran at the geese, which promptly took to the water. The dog followed and much to her surprise got an unexpected soaking.

To get some fun out of the lake, we heard of a local Scout group updating its canoes, so we acquired four of their old ones. It proved to be a very popular acquisition both for our family and visiting children. There were no mishaps apart from one occasion involving a young carpenter.