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Robert Gibbings

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Sweet Thames Run Softly Paperback – June 8, 2009

by Robert Gibbings (Author), Luke Jennings (Introduction)

4.9 20 ratings

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In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, Robert Gibbings launched his home-made punt on the River Thames and began a slow journey downstream, armed with a sketchpad and a microscope. From the river's source at the edge of the Cotswold Hills to the bustle of London's docks, Sweet Thames Run Softly is a charming, often eccentric account.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Little Toller Books
Publication date

June 8, 2009
Dimensions

6.1 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
ISBN-10

190821306X
ISBN-13

978-1908213068
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Toller Books; Revised ed. edition (June 8, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 190821306X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1908213068
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #8,087,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,530 in Sociology of Rural Areas
- #4,748 in Rivers in Earth Science
- #6,112 in Nature Writing & Essays

Customer Reviews:
4.9 20 ratings

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John the Reader

True yarns....

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2012

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"If ever there was a saint on earth before me it was my father." You do have to careful reading this delightful yarner, although generally he holds to the truth with his history and research. Gibbings was, at the time of writing this book, already appearing on early television and with a war and several careers behind him, was now a senior lecturer at Reading University. He had travelled extensively ..."over 50,000 miles on salt water" ... when he decided to build a small punt and float down the upper Thames, from source to ... well, back to his old home again as he fished out at Chelsea.

As he drifts, he muses and writes and produces those startlingly good woodcuts of his, and he looks and listens. From his gentle floating then we get this quiet charming book that wanders with his Celtic wit from bees to Greek fables. He actually packs a microscope aboard to inspect the smallest life he can find in the river's mud.

Reading Gibbings on nature and the plants, insects and wildlife he discovers is like listening to one of the Bartrams, the great American father and son botanists, perhaps Puc-puggee himself but with his 18th century English updated into a more modern tongue. On hunting and big game fishing - both pursuits of which he was guilty of following when younger ... "By all means,Gibbings says, let us kill for food. I am even in favour of a mild form of cannibalism when necessary"!

There are several other touches of his "Oirish" wit among the clear facts of river wildlife, history of the villages and characters and several cheerfully suspicious yarns that must also be true, for, as he says "did I not just invent it myself?"

4 people found this helpful

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D C Edgecombe

Very clean copy

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022

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I disliked nothing about this book.

I agree with the seller that this was in very good condition, especially as it was printed in late 1945. I saw none of the browning that occurs when books are improperly stored - all the pages were in perfect condition.

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2018

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A beautiful peaceful tranquil glimpse into the past ...

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Theodore A. Rushton

A perfect book for those who delight in good writing

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2009

A good book, in content and manufacture, is a rare find in the modern world which emphasizes efficient cost-effectiveness rather than a pride in workmanship, durability and quality of content.

Gibbings is an articulate observer; he writes of Halfpenny Bridge at Lechlade which gets its name from the toll that was once collected cross the bridge. Dredging was being done above and below the bridge, and he paused to go through some of the heaps of gravel. One find was hooked-nose shells, which he was informed were "devil's toe-nails."

He took some to a Professor of Geology at Reading University, who told him they were fossils of an oyster which lived in the Thames valley some 200 million years ago. It reminded him of an Aran Islands man who described a a fossil in a rock as being, "there when God was born."

Nearby he found a neolithic hammer-stone; this chance find brought to mind an incident in school when he was so impressed with a minister's Sunday sermon that instead of his usual penny Sunday offering, he dropped four pennies onto the collection plate. It was every cent he had, and afterward he wondered if he had been too generous.

The next day, watching a school cricket match, he found three pennies neatly stacked in the grass. Since no one claimed them, he kept them for himself and "took the incident to be a direct message from heaven that, whether the Chinese starved or the Africans lacked loin-cloths, I was not expected to contribute more than my usual penny per week to their welfare."

Such is the delight of Gibbings' writing, an aimless relaxing stroll through fields of memories that are mostly irrelevant but always amusing, heart-warming and with subtle meaning. In 1939, juist as World War II broke out and this book was written, literary ideas were always the start of a new course of thought rather than a bold leap to any conclusion.

The war was largely between forces trying to suppress new and sometimes dissident ideas and those who opposed the imposition of any ideology. Perhaps this book is only for the elderly, those who remember the joy of finding an old penny -- the size of a modern quarter -- and agonizing at a nearby store counter about whether two-for-a-penny or three-for-a-penny candy is the wisest choice. Odd? What modern author could write a page or two about the emotions of a modern child who finds a penny?

The trouble with the old is they think too often only of the past; their minds stopped when they were in their twenties, or teens, or pre-school years. Tweets are irrelevant, perhaps in their infancy. To them Tweets are irrelevant, perhaps because they never knew the precise compact form of eloquent haiku. Maybe someday the 140-character limit of Tweets will become a literary form similar to that of the haiku.

It's the story of life. Gibbings understood links between 200-million year old oyster shells and his world; most people can't understand the connection between beer and a belch. It may take time for an understanding to develop between Tweets, rap and haiku; if it happens, Tweets will become a new literature, if not it will fade as quickly as eight-track tapes.

In today's world, the human mind is set for "On, Sleep, Off." There is no "On, Cruise, Sleep, Off" setting. Yet the most creative insights always come in the "Cruise" mode. It's why "The Philosopher's Walk" exists above Heidelberg; it's a slow climb into the wooded hills with just enough challenge to stay alert and just enough ease to nurture fragile new ideas.

It's not great literature, because today's great literature is based on enough pithy quotes to provide easily repeatable and memorable sound bites or catch phrases. Instead, it's a comfortable conversation between kindred minds; meaningless for those who cannot understand the creativity of leisure, a treasure for those who let their minds wander.

Consider his description of rain:

"But towards sunset banks of white vapour gathered in the east, and in the west tall nimbus clouds reared their heads towards the mackerel flecks in the upper air. Sudden sharp squalls of wind hit the river, now from the west, now from the east. As the sun sank behind wine-red clouds large drops of rain fell one by one on the canvas cover. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The birds became silent. After a pause the rain came again, spattering the river with silver rings, and giving many young leaves their first wetting. In an ever-increasing crescendo it rained and continued to rain, and with the rain I fell asleep."

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Urban lumberjack

A flowing tale on the River Thames

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2021

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A gentle tale that echos the flow of the Thames along with interesting characters, observing the natural environment and a variety of wildlife. All before the horrors of the Second World War.

One person found this helpful

A. D. Print

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2019

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Excellent book pleased it’s a World War Two copy for the forces

Mrs. H. J. Schrager

swift efficient service

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2013

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