isle of dogs

The Isle of Dogs is a horseshoe of land that curves into the River Thames. Water surrounds it on three sides and Millwall and Cubitt Town are to the east and west with Poplar to the north. Queen Elizabeth the first was said to exercise her dogs here hence the name, but in the 20's and 30's my father and grandfather raced greyhounds around the island too. Whether they were ever successful at White City depends on ones view. For one of them broke loose from the track and somehow landed on the doorstep before the family's return. Another, Billy Boy, liked buses. My dad, as a youngster, preferred a quick bus ride to a long walk before school. And Billy Boy was only too happy to oblige. All this and more in the Rivers books.