'A Little Clinker-Built Boat' (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 1)
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 users!
Journal entry:
5th June, Monday
“Hawthorn petals turn pink and brown
Little tidal laps of autumn
In the great surge of spring.
A chiffchaff scissors the morning
Neatly into squares.”
Episode Information:
In this episode I an extract from Mum’s book Life and Erica (unpublished) that describes the time when she (with Dad and Wendy) decided to live on a boat and having found the Kathy she relates the adventurous journey to her mooring at Hampton Hall Farm, Rickmansworth.
Mum on the Kathy
Mum's water colour painting (from memory) of the Kathy at Hampton Hall Farm (the 'moorings')
You can get more information on this time and more photographs by clicking on thr The Start of it All tab on the menu bar.
With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Laurie and Liz
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory and MJ.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith
General Details
In the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org.
Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.
Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.
All other audio recorded on site.
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JOURNAL ENTRY
5th June, Monday
“Hawthorn petals turn pink and brown
Little tidal laps of autumn
In the great surge of spring.
A chiffchaff scissors the morning
Neatly into squares.”
[MUSIC]
WELCOME
The wind has dropped slightly, but there is thick cloud and no moon tonight. The canal is scalloped and bevelled as twilight deepens.
This is the narrowboat Erica narrowcasting into the dark to you wherever you are.
It is so lovely to see you, thank you so much for dropping by. Come inside and welcome aboard.
[MUSIC]
THE ‘KATHY’ CHRONICLES (PT. 1)
This week’s episode is a little different, as I am having to pre-record this much earlier in the week than normal, as I will be away from the boat when I usually do the recording and editing. However, it has given me the chance of doing something that I had planned to do right at the very start of doing this podcast and never got round to it. That is, to read to you some of the book that Mum wrote about her (and our) life.
If you have been listening to these podcasts for a while, you will no doubt already know that the Erica is named after Mum and that is primarily because, apart from her childhood in Tilford, the time when she, Dad and Wendy (my sister) lived on a boat (the Kathy) on the Grand Union canal, were the happiest, and were the times she most often talked about with the greatest sense of fondness. Incidentally, it was also the time when I was born. Unsurprisingly, it was this period that features strongly in her book and I have wanted to read it out to you. I am sure you’d find it fascinating and evocative of a world that has long gone, as well as giving you, what the literary types refer to as ‘a bit of a backstory’ to these podcasts. The section of the book is still far too long for a single episode, but I think, this year, I will try and record it in sections – this being the first.
Actually, the whole book (at least, up until the 90s) I think would be of interest to you and if there is enough people who express interest, I might do a separate recording of it.
However, tonight, I want to read to you the section where Mum and Dad and Wendy, who would be around 12 to 18 months old, decide to move onto a boat. The excitement and frustration of buying a boat might be familiar to anyone who was experienced this particular rollercoaster – and so too with the problems with canal stoppages occurring precisely at the most inconvenient time, and the shortage of long-term/permanent moorings! Therefore, you might find some crumbs of comfort to know that these are nothing new and that these things were the norm even 65 years ago!
What I find so interesting about this account is that it gives us a really clear snapshot of the canals and waterways at the tail-end of the 1950s. This was the time when leisure cruising was only just beginning to become popular and, by today’s standards, rather rudimentary. However, what strikes me is the way in which Mum describes the idea of living on a boat. In many ways, it sounds much more modern – it is almost exactly what you might be reading in a Sunday supplement today!
Before I begin, I will give you just a little bit of background to this section.
Mum and Dad had sunk all their savings into emigrating to Canada. The venture hadn’t worked out and so they had to return and were now re-establishing themselves back in the UK with very little money and ‘Old Joe’ their ex-services Jeep – and, of course, Kismus, the cat. Initially they lived in a caravan. It was a natural choice; they had enjoyed a very happy time living in a caravan just prior to leaving for Canada. However, after Wendy was born, they began to look for somewhere more suitable, ending up with renting rooms at the Plough, a pub in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. During this time, Mum acted as housekeeper for the owner of the pub, Bill. It was intended as a very temporary situation, but the arrangement seemed to work well and, again, Mum’s recollections were always very happy.
I will let Mum now pick up the story.
[READING]
SIGNING OFF
This is the narrowboat Erica signing off for the night and wishing you a very restful, peaceful night. Good night.
WEATHER LOG
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