There can’t be many better places in England to paint Thames barges, or quirky houseboats and abandoned ships' hulks, than Pin Mill. If you want to see how timeless the place feels, try and find an old 1950 movie called “Ha’penny Breeze” which was all filmed on location in Pin Mill. It hasn't changed much. Or an Anglia TV episode of “Look Stranger” from the 1970s about Bob Roberts, the last commercial bargemaster under sail, who lived in Pin Mill and held his daughter’s wedding in the Butt and Oyster pub. If, like me, you’re now itching to get down there and paint, but can’t because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the next best thing is to watch trailers (or even better, buy the DVDs) from Town House Films. Several of their artists have made demo DVDs there, including Charles Reid, Steve Hall, Chris Daynes and Ian McManus.