WORDS once SPOKEN now CAPTURED
Boat Blacking
April 11, 2021
Boat blacking is when the hull of a boat is painted or sprayed with a protective – usually bitumen-based – paint to help minimise corrosion of the steel hull. For painted blacking, it is a process that occurs every 2 to 3 ye…
Canalscapes of Childhood
March 28, 2021
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…
Man on the Bicycle
March 21, 2021
The journey from winter into spring is often messy and ill-defined. Sometimes it feels as if we are making progress and at others the cold and damp of winter days returns. As we are also contemplating moving from lockdown it…
'Boots as thick as a moderate slice of bread and butter'
March 7, 2021
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 o…
A Whispered Spring
Feb. 28, 2021
Everywhere the world is filled with the whispered spring. The first of this year’s lambs scamper and nuzzle in the field above us and skylarks sing high from under a bowl of Wedgewood blue. A softer, warmer wind blows, and t…
Haunted Canals
Feb. 21, 2021
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 5068…
When Ice Sings
Feb. 14, 2021
Tonight, the NB Erica is locked in ice. There’s a wolfish southeaster blowing and the night is filled with rasping creaks and groans. There are times when the ice sings. Acoustic lightning flashes that dart across the frozen…
Canal Time
Feb. 7, 2021
One of the first things you will experience when you cast off onto the waterways is, what is sometimes referred to as, ‘canal time.’ What is canal time and how is it different to land time? Canal time functions not so much a…
Snow on Water
Jan. 31, 2021
This week the first proper snow of the winter fell. For a while, our world was transformed. If you love snow, a boat is the perfect place to enjoy it. If you hate snow, a boat is the perfect place to escape it! Journal entry…
Deep and Wide
Jan. 24, 2021
Another January storm has passed over us. But, tonight we have a stock of gingernut biscuits and the knowledge that each day the daylight gets longer and the spring is coming. In this episode, with its usual sprinkling weath…
Morning Sun: Living the dark days of January
Jan. 17, 2021
January 18th (2021) is 'Blue Monday'. The third Monday in January is considered by many to be the most depressing day in the calendar. As we enter the dark days of January, this episode considers the importance of the hope o…
Keeping Warm
Jan. 10, 2021
What is it like to be on a narrowboat in the grip of a winter’s cold spell? How do you keep warm on a boat? Living and working on the canal systems in winter has been notoriously difficult and hard. In this episode we reflec…
Greet the New Year
Jan. 1, 2021
For most people, 2020 has been a stressful year of frustration, disappointment, fear and anxiety. It is not surprising that we look forward to welcoming in 2021. Join me on Narrowboat 506812 as we reflect on the significance…
Christmas Eve
Dec. 24, 2020
A chance to say to you Merry Christmas. This episode celebrates a Christmas Eve that is different and yet, in a number of important ways very similar to those our ancestors experienced. Journal entry : “Christmas Eve 24th De…
Winter of 1962/3
Dec. 19, 2020
A first-hand account remembering life aboard a small boat with a small family during the harsh winter of 1962/3. The time we lived on the Kathy were always very precious to Mum and she later wrote about them. Her writings ev…
Cygnus
Dec. 13, 2020
Why is the swan an oxymoron and if it is so unlucky to kill a swan why are there so many recipes for them? In this episode we reflect on the place of the swan within its natural and cultural environments. Lockdown and being …
Nightwalk
Dec. 6, 2020
The temperature is just above freezing and the ground is slick with mud. Join me tonight for a night-walk to Bearley (Odd) lock to see what sounds we can hear and feel the quiet stillness of the canal in the depths of winter…
Down the Cut
Nov. 15, 2020
‘The cut’ is one of the old vernacular names given to the canal. It was the one most of us used during my childhood. The name reminds us of its history and construction. This episode explores the strange and sometimes ambiva…
Narrowboat Lockdown
Nov. 8, 2020
The UK enters its second lockdown. Movement on the waterways is once again restricted to 'essential needs only.' It's the same, but different. This episode reflects on this and what it can teach us about ourselves. There is…
Tumblehome
Oct. 30, 2020
In this episode we walk through NB Erica and answer some of your questions about life aboard a narrowboat. We touch on the vexed question of whether it is 'port and starboard' or 'left and right', and we learn about tumbleho…
The Erica behind the Erica
Oct. 18, 2020
In this episode we explore the history of NB 506812 before she became our home and meet the Erica behind the Erica. Journal entry: “16th October, Friday. The canal continues to thread its silent way through autumn. There’s a…
Duck calls in the Night
Oct. 4, 2020
Join me on the first Nighttime on Still Waters podcast. It is really a getting to know you podcast where I introduce you to the Erica 58ft narrowboat and this is the beginning of our audio journal about our life aboard and t…