I used to spend a lot of time with my grandad, Jim Cooper, and he used to have these old rowing boats he used to row about fishing and things. He’d always done that. You’ve got to remember he was born in 1883. This was in the sixties and he was nearly ninety when he died. He used to go out, never very far, only to Bouldnor or down to Fort Vic. and somewhere in between. He went up the river a bit. Sid Kelleway was always up the river and they used to have their little territories. Grandad had two boats, one about eighteen foot long he used to stand up and row, and a small one he would stand up and row as well, pushing forward rather than pulling back on the oars, one foot slightly forward of the other one. If you stand with your feet parallel you go forward then you’ve had it, so he always had one foot slightly ahead of the other. You don’t see anyone do it now, but you could do, if you had the right boat and the right oars. Alec Cokes b 1945
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Jean Maitland: Trips and Treats at Sandhard
When we were kids, we would be met at church by our parents and then go to Sandhard for our Sunday Lunch, us and all of the Gatrells. Of course there was a toll on the bridge in them days so our dad and the Gatrells used to borrow a boat and row us over. We used to stay over there until about half past six. Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928