# thames (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 3 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover thames. Page: Feed: --- ## [The Sultan’s Elephant](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/08/16/the-sultans-elephant/) _2026-08-16 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ The ‘special event’ marked on this ‘no parking’ sign, was the arrival of a Girl in a spacecraft that churned up the central area of Waterloo Place by The Mall. Not an ordinary girl but a giant space-travelling girl operated by the skilled technicians and puppeteers of the Nantes street theatre company, Royale de Luxe, … Continue reading "The Sultan’s Elephant" ## [Nationalising water – the Thames numbers don’t add up](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/publications/nationalising-water-the-thames-numbers-dont-add-up/) _2026-08-12 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ There are many reasons why nationalising Thames Water would be a bad idea. Long gone are the days when governments had the competence to run major companies. The current examples are mostly dire. Nationalisation of the railways resulted in immediately conceding to the rail unions’ pay demands and freezing prices. CalMac, Scotland’s ferry company, is \[ \] The post Nationalising water the Thames… ## [Favourite boats](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/08/02/favourite-boats/) _2026-08-02 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ A few of my favourite boats seen once, or several times, along the central London River Thames, snapped and trapped in time. Some of them have changed owners and liveries but most are still serving the river well. AMADEUS was built in 1927, designed for taking her guests on luxury trips on the Dutch canals. … Continue reading "Favourite boats" ## [NESO – an accident waiting to happen](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/energy/neso-an-accident-waiting-to-happen/) _2026-07-27 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ It’s very hard to know how close the electricity system recently got to a blackout. Probably not that close, but it’s also hard to know how good NESO (the National Energy System Operator) is at forecasting future demands, and even harder to know whether a system grounded on intermittent small-scale and geographically dispersed wind turbines \[ \] The post NESO – an accident waiting to happen… ## [Podcast 93: Some new faces, same old problems](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/podcast-93-some-new-faces-same-old-problems/) _2026-07-22 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ Following on from the latest change of Prime Minister and announcements about his new Cabinet, what is going to change? Andy Burnham has a new ten-year plan, and is promising a fundamental revision of politics, but Britain’s deeper economic problems remain unresolved. The fact is, underneath the headlines, the country is still trying to live \[ \] The post Podcast 93: Some new faces, same old… ## [Summertime](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/07/19/summertime/) _2026-07-19 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ As many of you will know, even if you weren’t around at the time, the 50th anniversary of the 1976 prolonged heatwave and drought has been much talked about in the news lately. In London, we have just had the third heatwave of 2026 so here are a few of my photographs of our recent … Continue reading "Summertime" ## [How much debt should a water company take on?](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/publications/how-much-debt-should-a-water-company-take-on/) _2026-07-13 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ Following on from OFWAT’s 55% indicative preferred gearing, signals from DEFRA are that it would like to make this a legally binding upper limit. At first glance this sounds like a good idea. It would prevent the sorts of gearing that have got Thames Water into trouble and which might yet bring others down in \[ \] The post How much debt should a water company take on? appeared first on Dieter Helm… ## [Podcast 92: Hotter days](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/podcast-92-hotter-days/) _2026-07-08 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ Climate policy must be judged not by good intentions, but by its real-world costs, impacts and global effectiveness. Renewables alone cannot deliver cheap, secure and clean energy. The wider costs of electricity systems, storage, back-up power and networks also need to be taken into account. The UK’s choices need to be seen in the international \[ \] The post Podcast 92: Hotter days appeared first… ## [By the Riverside…](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/07/05/by-the-riverside/) _2026-07-05 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ Boats, birds, and buildings that caught my eye on a Saturday morning walk along Lambeth Reach in June. Boats Gabriel Franks was the first British police officer to die on duty when he was hit by a bullet during the Wapping Coal Riot in October 1798. His name lives on in GABRIEL FRANKS III. She … Continue reading "By the Riverside…" ## [Podcast 91: Beyond the nationalisation slogan](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/podcast-91-beyond-the-nationalisation-slogan/) _2026-07-01 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ With the renewed political enthusiasm for nationalisation, what, in practical terms, does it mean and what would actually change? How might “Manchesterism” apply in practice? Using buses, rail, water and electricity as examples, in this podcast I argue that public ownership and public control are not the same thing, and that different sectors require different \[ \] The post Podcast 91: Beyond the… ## [Non-Custodial Crypto Gateway (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ed8faZIKhHyP) _2026-07-01 · **Sponsored**_ Accept multi-chain crypto, automated fee handling, and trustless escrow with real-time settlement. ## [The Bazalgette Embankment II: The Artwork](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/06/21/the-bazalgette-embankment-ii-the-artwork/) _2026-06-21 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ Looking down from Blackfriars Bridge the artwork on this new Thames-side space seems somewhat distant. However, walking onto the embankment itself your attention will be caught immediately by Nathan Coley’s five dark sculptures, Stages. Glasgow artist Nathan Coley was commissioned by Tideway to create sculptures for the newly formed three-acre public park on the banks … Continue reading "The… ## [The regulated asset base – the concept, tradeable RABs, the split cost of capital, and pay-as-you-go versus pay-when-delivered](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/publications/the-regulated-asset-base-the-concept-tradeable-rabs-the-split-cost-of-capital-and-pay-as-you-go-versus-pay-when-delivered/) _2026-06-16 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ Origins and context The regulated asset base (RAB) was brought in after privatisations. When the initial prices to customers were set, they were essentially based upon what current pre-privatisation charges had been, in some cases juiced up to attract more investor interest and a higher value at privatisation. These initial prices, carried across to the \[ \] The post The regulated asset base – the… ## [Podcast 90: Why can’t we build infrastructure in this country?](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/podcast-90-why-cant-we-build-infrastructure-in-this-country/) _2026-06-15 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ Politicians have been seeking for decades to put right the infrastructure crisis in this country that is rooted not in a lack of ambition, but in deeper economic and political constraints. Building in Britain is exceptionally costly, with high energy prices, high labour costs and high financing costs making major projects difficult to deliver at \[ \] The post Podcast 90: Why can t we build… ## [Performance politics and the Thames Water scandal](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/publications/performance-politics-and-the-thames-water-scandal/) _2026-06-12 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ The water industry in England and Wales has been the subject of some awful performance politics. First, give the water company executives a good kicking. Let the public think that failures will lead to directors being locked up. Put the blame on them. Next, give OFWAT a good kicking too. Say it’s a failed regulator \[ \] The post Performance politics and the Thames Water scandal appeared first on… ## [Lambeth walk for London Rivers Week 2026, Thames21](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/06/06/lambeth-walk-for-london-rivers-week-2026-thames21/) _2026-06-06 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ Honoured to have been asked by Liz Gyekye, of Thames21 to lead a leisurely walk, as part of London Rivers Week, from Lambeth Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge, on, as it happened, one of the hottest days of this year so far. Not a great distance obviously but there was so much to see and to … Continue reading "Lambeth walk for London Rivers Week 2026, Thames21" ## [The cost of energy and what to do about it](https://dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-climate/the-cost-of-energy-and-what-to-do-about-it/) _2026-06-03 · Cate Dominian · Dieter Helm_ 1. Where we are Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson have a lot in common when it comes to energy. Johnson asserted in a government document that the leaders of Russia and China would be looking to Britain’s energy policies so that they could learn how to emulate us.\[1\] Miliband presumably shares this view on the \[ \] The post The cost of energy and what to do about it appeared first on Dieter Helm . ## [Another Look…](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/05/24/another-look/) _2026-05-24 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ …at some past pictures, as a distraction from more serious matters, and while I’m working on another project. This really was a brief people-less moment. There are usually queues waiting to have their pictures taken against this world famous backcloth.\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* As many of you know, I spend a fair amount of time by the Thames … Continue reading "Another Look…" ## [The Bazalgette Embankment I: images of work in progress](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/05/11/the-bazalgette-embankment-i-images-of-work-in-progress/) _2026-05-11 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ A new public space close to Blackfriars Bridge, has been created by Tideway as part of their extensive work on London’s ‘Super Sewer’. I followed progress there on and off, somewhat randomly, and took photos as I passed over Blackfriars Bridge, or viewed the site from the opposite side of the river. Co-ordinated work on … Continue reading "The Bazalgette Embankment I: images of work in progress" ## [With the Flow](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/04/19/with-the-flow/) _2026-04-19 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ There are windless moments during slack tide when the Thames seems lake-still, perfectly mirroring trees and buildings on its surface but as you walk alongside, it’s the disturbance of tidal ebbs and flows that will catch your eye. Notes All pictures were taken along Lambeth Reach, mostly from Victoria Tower Gardens.For tide times of the … Continue reading "With the Flow" ## [Liz Gyekye, Communications Manager, Thames21](https://thetidalthames.com/2026/04/05/liz-gyekye-communications-manager-thames21/) _2026-04-05 · Patricia Stoughton · Ebb & Flow_ On a sunny March morning, I had the pleasure to meet and talk with Liz Gyekye who has worked for the environmental charity Thames21, for five years. Strongly committed to the aims of the charity, she explains that her mission as Communications Manager is “to raise awareness about the work Thames21 does to connect communities … Continue reading "Liz Gyekye, Communications Manager, Thames21" ## [Find it on Amazon (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/KgQqblKMhRxg) _2026-04-05 · **Sponsored**_ Open the Amazon product listing to see details and availability ## [Design Thinking In and For Your Career](https://pritirangnekar.substack.com/p/design-thinking-in-and-for-your-career) _2026-02-11 · Priti Rangnekar · Priti Rangnekar_ Transcript of a talk I've given for UCSD Women in Business - based on learnings from Stanford's courses in Designing Your Life and Product Management for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists. ## [Priti Rangnekar](https://pritirangnekar.substack.com/p/priti-rangnekar) _2026-02-10 · Priti Rangnekar · Priti Rangnekar_ I specialize in translating complex user, market, and technical insights into clear product strategy, effective communication that drives user understanding and adoption, and AI solutions that are technically sound and responsibly governed.