Jake Kavanagh was born into a boating family and for many years lived by the Thames at Marlow. After a variety of jobs, the River eventually drew him back; Jake joined the Thames Water Authority as a lockkeeper, working the locks around Windsor for many years. Jake, well known as a boating cartoonist and freelance boating writer, is also the author of Worse Things Happen at Sea, also published by Adlard Coles Nautical.

A light-hearted look at the lock-keeper's job, be it a rural little lock on the canals, or an ultra-modern affair at a huge marina. Jake Kavanagh presents a humorous survey, using his inimitable cartoons and anecdotes, of the scrapes people get into when trying to use locks. He focuses on notable events like the Henley Regatta which afford many opportunities for horrors to unfold. Readers have enjoyed Jake's tales for decades; this is the perfect book for his devotees.

'Do not read this book while edging your 52ft hired narrow boat towards an impossibly small lock. It would seriously damage shipping.'

Southern Evening Echo

'Excellent reading whilst queuing for those over-busy Thames locks on a summer weekend.'

Waterways World

'One thing you never get in a Kavanagh cartoon is a blank face. His variety of facial expressions, ranging from panic-stricken wives to grinning spectators, from horrified lockkeepers to determined skippers, are a treat.'

'Open it at any page and you are guaranteed a chuckle; it is a fun book from beginning to end'

'An ideal bunk-side book, or for home by a roaring fire in winter.'

The Ups and Downs of a Lock Keeper is now in its seventh reprint and takes a lighthearted look at the work of a lock keeper, whether on a pretty canal or by a huge automated seel gates.

A light-hearted look at the lockkeeper's job, be it a rural little

lock on the canals, or an ultra-modern affair at a huge marina. Jake

Kavanagh presents a humorous survey, in cartoons and anecdotes, of the

scrapes people get into when trying to use locks.