History (Canals) Episodes

Summer is finally here, and nothing quite beats finding a cool and last spot (preferably in the dappled shade of a willow tree or two) and idling away a few hours while losing yourself in a captivating book. Why not wrap up your evening with us tonight for this year’s review and recommendation for your Summer Reading? Join us as we explore a wonderful book that gently carries you along England’s peaceful (and not so peaceful) waterways while drifting through centuries of hist...

There’s a warm welcome aboard the Erica tonight. But why the Erica? Why not any of the other boats we viewed and discussed? What was it about the Erica that made her special enough for us to buy, even though there were other boats that seemed to be stronger contenders? How did we know she was the right choice? Jo Bell’s brilliant book Boater helps us to find some answers. Journal entry: 12th April, Sunday “From Bridge 55 Children and old men Lean on Georgian ironwork W..

Join us tonight as we reflect on that often under-appreciated companion to the canals, the humble towpath. We uncover its vital importance in the past and how in, recent years, its relationship with the canal has been changing. We also meet up again with E Temple Thurston and the good captain Eynsham Harry as the meet a figure of the forgotten past. Journal entry: 5th March, Thursday “A warm sun that hums With the buzz of big bodied Bumblebees busy among Th...

The failure of the Whitchurch embankment offered sobering viewing for those on and off the canal. This episode responds to listeners’ concerns and questions and then reflects on the wider implication of incidents like these on the future of life on the canals. *Spoiler -it is not all doom and gloom!* Journal entry: 6th January, Tuesday “Colder night But slightly milder dawn A few desultory snowflakes fall Flightless feathers With no wind Upon which to dance Will these small fla...

Could the humble drydock be the perfect example of canal engineering ingenuity? Find out why in our latest episode and join us back afloat onboard the Erica as we explore some surprising facts about this often-overlooked marvel. Journal entry: 1st August, Friday (Lammas Day) “Fields the colour of linen and calico Under turbulent skies of heavy cloud. As I chew on a blade of grass The wind whips up dust devils Across the dry, hard-baked hill. Apples...

It’s been a long sweltering day. Darkness is reluctantly beginning to fall, and a restless heat lies heavy over the canal. Let's settle down and listen to some echoes from the canal-side past as we hear Tom Rolt’s account of his journey up the Stratford upon Avon Canal (North) and the ‘battle for Bridge Number 1 (Lifford Lane).' At a time when many of us are feeling the strain of today’s network, Rolt’s account reminds us of just how far we’ve come — and of the grit and v...

Welcome to tonight’s episode where ‘Erica’s Place’ by Mind Shambles awakens a kaleidoscope of reminiscences about Mum and ‘elevensies’ and her never ending supply of fresh scones. As the different memories flow and glide past, it slowly becomes clear how much of ‘Erica’s place’ and Mum’s philosophy still lives on and unconsciously shapes these podcasts. Welcome to Erica's place. Journal entry: 20th May, Tuesday “The yellow flag are out. Unfolding the origami o...

Send us a text Join us aboard the Erica, as we sit around the stove on a raw night of ice and freezing fog. Tonight, we reflect on boat (and other) life in the times of hard frost, the trials of swan and kingfisher life, and we finish with a short reading from Tom Rolt. Journal entry: 9th January, Thursday “The shatter of January light On fractured ice. The smouldering Of fallen leaves Frozen into the ringing silence Of stilled waters.” Episode Information: The shattered glass of...

Life afloat can throw up some rather singular challenges from being frozen in to sinking, running aground, being attacked by wild kittens and the dangers of runaway working boats!! Join us tonight as we ride out Storm Antoni (apologies for some background rain patter) for the concluding reading of The Kathy Chronicles, where the decision is made to leave life on the canal and embrace new adventures. Episode Information: The Five of Us: Me, Mick, Erica, Kismus (puss), Wendy Photograph taken be...

What was it like to give birth on small 30 ft boat in the 1960s? Mum continues her account of her life afloat on the Kathy in this week’s instalment of ‘The Kathy Chronicles’. We hear about the some of the challenges and joys of bringing up two very small children on a boat as well as Dad’s battle with the Pithers stove and a strange event that remains a mystery. Episode Information: Mum holding me in the entrance to the Kathy's galley. Dad, Mum, me, and Wendy on the Kathy On the moorings ...

What was it really like to live on board a 30ft canal boat in the late 1950s before there were such things as service points and fully equipped marinas? This week we continue with ‘The Kathy Chronicles’ where Mum describes how they began to settle into life afloat, whilst making extensive alterations, as well their plans for the arrival of a new baby. She provides a fascinating picture of the realities of what it was like to live-aboard a canal boat in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Episode ...

Travel back in time to the scorching summer of 1959. Although the canals were still mainly used by working boats, leisure cruising was growing in popularity and so too the idea of living on a canal boat. Tonight, I take us back to that world as I read Mum’s reminiscences of the decision to live on a boat with a young baby, eventually finding their future home, the Kathy, and their nail-biting journey taking her to their home mooring. Some of which could sound all too familiar to modern canal use...

There’s something almost indefinably special about canal and river locks. Tonight, I relate my struggle to outwit the ghost of Odd Lock as well as take time to celebrate the lock-keepers of old and their newer iteration – the volunteer lockie (I’m guessing at the spelling!) Journal entry: 2nd June, Friday “North easterly winds Grey skies. But there are five ducklings Braving the bluster And a swallow scissors low over A meadow of buttercups. This light makes the yellow Irises blaze." Ep...

As the nights draw in and the cosy glow of a fire gets evermore inviting, it is the perfect time to share stories. It is not surprising that ghost stories have an enduring appeal. Many stories of the canal feature them. Ghosts like the canal networks themselves create a link between our worlds and the past. Tonight we enjoy the skill of Ian Douglas’ retelling of a ghostly encounter at Blisworth tunnel and why these stories are important. Journal entry: 18th November, Friday. “Stainless ...

The second of our reading this year takes back to the working-boat families of the First World War. Geoffrey Lewis’ beautifully detailed and cleverly structured tribute to the people who worked the boats through this turbulent period is a lovely and moving tribute to their hard work, sacrifices, and bravery. The Longest Trench follows the lives of two families as they work their boats and provides an intimate and carefully-researched window into their lives, charting not just the hardships, ...

On the week that the cygnets of our swan pair hatched, we explore the rather contradictory nature of the canal through the eyes of poets Jo Bell, Nancy Campbell, and Ian MacMillan. We find romance amidst the unromantic and beauty in the unbeautiful. Journal entry: 1st June, Wednesday "Heron, streak of grey light, Standing on the bank, Coverletted in Moon's-Eye And the first flush of poppies of the season. Rain falls as needles of sunlight. The heron preens for a while And then is gon...

Banbury has a significant place in the history of canals, most notably for being the location of Tooley’s boatyard and its association with canal restoration campaigner LTC (Tom) Rolt. However, the relationship between town and canal has not always been easy. Join me today, as we explore the town through the eyes of Temple-Thurston, Rolt, and Pearson, from the comfort of a coffeeshop window seat on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Journal entry: 7th May, Saturday "Another early start. At lea...

Why are canal boats and traditional canal-ware so colourful? When did the custom of painting working boats in bright colours begin and why? This week we explore our attraction to bright colours and what Tom Rolt describes as the ‘working boaters’ inborn gypsy love of colours.’ Journal entry: 25th April, Monday "Heavy grey clouds, ragged and torn drift overhead. Two women sit cross-legged on their cabin roof. A blackbird scissors the sky above forest green conifers. A hint of Ea...

This week we catch up with news of our little swan family and explore the strange word ‘gongoozler’. What does it mean? Where does it come from? In some ways it functions as a shibboleth. Its use identifying the ‘true’ canal people from those outside the community. However, it also shines a light on tensions of modern day living. Journal entry: “15th September, Wednesday Dawn filled with the scent of autumn notes. Rooks stream like smoke or falling leaves Across the ragged sky Haunted by gees...

In this second Summer Reading Special we discover the delights of Ernest Temple Thurston’s The Flower of Gloster. Published in 1911, Temple Thurston is writing about a very different world to the one in which last week’s authors (Hassell and Hollingshead) were writing. It is a nostalgic nod to a world that Temple Thurston recognises is dying. Described by LTC Rolt as unashamedly romantic, it is a lyrical description of his journey aboard the horse boat (pulled by a horse) ‘Flower of Gloster’...

This is the first of our Summer Reading Specials devoted to one or two books that are in some way related to waterways or life on them. They replace the normal format while Penny, Donna and I are away, off-line, and having adventures of our own. The first episode explores two very different authors who are writing when the canals were in their heyday. The first is John Hassell’s account of the Tour of the Grand Junction, published in 1819. We then embark on the almost exact journey some 4...

A listener has asked, "After we left the boat and went to live in a house, did canals continue to play much of a part in my life?" After the boat, we moved to Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. It was there I grew up and found my place within the world. At the time it was still a fairly small village. The main industry was the Ovaltine factory that bordered the Grand Union Canal which bisected the village. Working boats were still a relatively common sight. As well as through traffic from London to B...

The fascination of boots and canals. Boots have always been one of the most essential pieces of equipment for canals and canal-life. In this episode we re-join impresario, journalist and social reformer, James Hollingshead on his journey up what would later be known as the Grand Union in the late 1850s. We will discover his fascination with the footwear of those working on the canals and find out that the importance of the boot for canal-life is every bit as true today as it was in Victorian tim...

Stormy nights like this, when then wind howls among the reeds under a hunted moon, are perfect for curling up with a ghost story or two. In this episode we hear about two ghost stories set in locations close to where NB 506812 is currently moored and explore what do these stories tell us about the worlds that produced them and us today. Journal entry: “18th February, Thursday. Each dawn and dusk skeins of geese fill the winter-bruised skies; soundscapes of the enclosing nights of autumn. And ...