Howard Birchmore can remember exactly the moment when the shape of light on the water first caught his eye. He was aged five and standing on the edge of the River Thames.
He recalls: “It was back in the 1950s and at that time, believe it or not, there used to be an artificial beach on the banks of the Thames by the Tower of London. My father would regularly take us down there on a Sunday to lark about and enjoy the novelty of this sand in the middle of the city.
“I can remember one time just playing on the beach and then looking up and noticing the light dancing off the waters of the river as they moved
