At the risk of sounding like that famous 'review' of Lady Chatterley's Lover that is said to have appeared in The Field many years ago (... this pictorial account of the day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is full of considerable interest to outdoor minded readers...unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material in order to discover and savour those sidelights on the management of a Midlands shooting estate...) there is a prog tonight on BBC4 about a recreation of Handel's Water Music that I thought would be of rowing interest as well as a musical treat. After all, that was the only power available in 1717, wasn't it?Unfortunately it seems that the barge was stationary, and we won't be getting any 18th century oarsmen or a full performance of the famous music either. What a rip. It's on at 8 o'clock.
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As it turned out, the barge was hauled from Whitehall to Chelsea by tug. But the programme did feature Michael Turk of Turk's Boatyard (founded 1710) who said some of his ancestors might well have been at the occasion, either taking part or ferrying clients in the massive fleet of boats that accompanied the royal party (though they probably couldn't hear a note of Handel's music).
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