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 ...
I've always felt that there is something rather singular about the month of November. Tonight I try to find out what it is and end up recounting the time when Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown (which might or might not hav...
This week marked the anniversary of what has been considered by many to be one of the most important cultural events of the twentieth century. Tonight, we try to recapture that moment and explore why its power to move still r...
Stories have always been part of our world. From antiquity, stories create the light that help us find our way through the darkness. We need to rediscover those stories to help us face the dragons in our lives. Join us tonight as we listen closely t…
Sometimes episodes have a mind of their own and take you to unplanned places they think you need to go. This is one of those episodes. One ‘soft’ Sunday morning in May in John Clare country. Journal entry : 31st May, Friday “...
I am not sure if it is just me, but so far autumn doesn’t feel quite so ‘autumny’ as it usually does. Therefore, I think that it is a perfect time to savour a reading from one of my most favourite childhood books, Brendon Cha...
Although a little delayed, the long-awaited rain and thunder did eventually arrive. Join us tonight as we hunker down beside a young willow and enjoy, with a field full of crows, the wonder of a thunderstorm as it roars overh...
Tonight, for a little while, let’s leave the sleeping canal in peace as it slowly recovers and heals after the summer long drought. Instead, let's go down to the river where the water is alive with light and chuckles and laps under rowing boats and …
The archdeacon is one of the colourful local characters who live here. Irascible and combative, he is nevertheless an important part of the social life of this small portion of the watery world. He’s a feral domestic duck wi...
In tonight’s episode we meet a couple of beautiful spring flowers with some fearsome reputations and go about spring cleaning a very messy and cluttered boat with the help of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows . Journa...
Watching the sun sink below the horizon, particularly after long sunny days such as these, can evoke a mass of mental and emotional responses that seem to tap into something deep within us. Join us this week as week count dow...
It's a hot sultry night in the late eve of summer. Join us tonight as we spend time with the gentle words and wisdom of a friend of mine. Journal entry : 6th September, Wednesday “This evening The wool of traveller’s joy has ...
It has been a sweltering hot week with temperatures in the 30s (90F). Join me onboard NB Erica, on a hot August night just as the heatwave is about to break, as we listen for the rolling sound of distant thunder. Journal entr...
For many, these are not easy days in which to live and our futures can appear so uncertain. How do we live through such times? Join us tonight as we listen to some deeper wisdom offered by a magpie and an alder tree. Journal ...
This episode was inspired by a sentence in Beth Kempton's Wabi Sabi and explores how calendars can connect us more closely to the world around us. Join us tonight as we explore the year through the eyes of some Japanese poets...
It’s a wild and wet July night of wind and rain. So why not step aboard for a while as we meander down some fox trails and contemplate the pleasure of sunshine and dark skies. Journal entry : 11th July, Tuesday “A quarter to ...
For our final summer readings session we are looking at a very different piece of writing. It is Lucy M. Boston’s The River at Green Knowe . Lucy M. Boston is probably better known for her earlier book The Children of Green K...
There’s a warm welcome awaiting you under the heavy night skies of summer’s hinterlands. Tonight we meet a very special person with a lop-sided smile and who might be able to teach us to walk with elephants. Journal entry : 3...
Welcome to Halloween on the canal. It’s a perfect night to turn down the lights, curl up in comfy chair with a warm mug, and listen to a spooky tale. Can anyone explain what really did happen on that celebrated (or notorious) section of canalat Mort…
As the slow march of Spring travels along the canal and towpaths, tonight I answer two more questions: How do we keep the boat from freezing when we have to leave it unattended, and how long does it normally take to buy a nar...