Jottings in an Oarsman’s Journal. Jottings in an Oarsman’s Journal #3. Harriet Fairclough. The realisation that the next stretch of river has a series of rapids that would demand my utmost attention to the steering of the craft and will take much of the day with such labour. I decided to first make a stop at the small hamlet of Rhine Villa, now renamed “Cambrai” to go to the store and refresh my supplies just in case of spillage or damage whilst traversing those rapids..for one cannot be certain of what forces will take hold of my being whilst under the power of the river…so best “be prepared” as is the scouts motto. The hamlet of Cambrai consisted of a scatter of houses in an ordered grid survey, with the usual central points of post office, soldiers memorial hall, church and manse along with several well-constructed houses along a main street that led toward the river bridge just to the west of the newer railway bridge of the Sedan railway li...