Vee and Reiver along the Thames at low tide.        During our search for a new rental flat, we discovered the village of Barnes on the Thames River in the Borough of Richmond. It is still in Greater London. I checked out rentals in Chiswick, Putney, St. Margaret, Kew, Woolrich, Isle of Dogs and Twickenham, but Barnes stole our hearts. Plus, it is close to our other favorite, Richmond-on-Thames ("Ted Lasso" is set and filmed there).  We made an offer on a 2-bedroom flat that is the  renovated top floor of a now-closed pub. It was historically called The Manor Arms, but most recently was called the  Idle Hour.   There were three other offers.   We had to up our game by offering £50 more per month than the asking price and, gulp, to  pay a year in advance.   They took it.   Our flat is atop a closed pub. To the    right is Barnes Primary School.           The flat is not furnished but the l...