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6 WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, AGAIN!
(22.08.12) Saturday morning and I went up to Darley and titivated before setting off on the eventless journey to home.I tied Darley up opposite and locked her up and walked round to the house to...
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7 SLUDGEY SHACKERSTONE
1st-2nd.Sept Not a lot to say about Shackerstone really apart from the crawl up the muddy Moira cut. It was getting dark as we made the turn at Marston Junction but I carried on until it was getting...
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8 WINDMILL END
(12-14 Sept) Went down to Alvecote on the Wednesday evening and had a night in the Bulls Head, Polesworth with Lawrence Williams. Headed off at about 9.00am the next morning and were soon making the...
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9 TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS AT TIPTON.
(23-24 Sept)Always have a good week end at this show, I think it’s something to do with the people there, being back home so to speak, and a weekend of folks spaykin proppa. When we left Darley there...
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10 HORSING AROUND AT PARK HEAD.
(29-30Sept) Arrived home straight after work on the Wednesday, loaded car, and were off. After unloading everything into the boat we walked down to the Victoria chippy in Owen street, Tipton (highly...
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11. THE FOGGY FOGGY DEW.
This last week end we had a lovely gentle time travelling up to Stone. On Friday we took both cars up to Stone and left my car there then gave Paul Barber a lift to Alvecote where Whitby was Saturday...
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12. FUN AT THAT FULLER DO
Well that’s it; all the shows of the year are over for us and now only the Winter to look forward to. Got plenty of maintenance jobs to be getting on with though as well as quite a few jobs painting...
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Article 9
A WINTERS TALE.Brrrr the Winter is starting to bite, and that is not helped by having no coal due to someone on a newly set up coal boat forgetting to deliver the coal that we ordered off him last...
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CLOTHING UP A NARROWBOAT
As I said in yesterday’s blog, clothing up Darley for the Winter made me think I should write a blog on how to cloth up a working boat, so here it is. Before I even start, and before anybody...
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COAL BOATING WITH THE BOYS
At just after 8.00am on Saturday I got up and prepared for another day doing jobs around the house. Dawn has this agreement, I don’t, but Dawn does, which consists of: I can spend loads of time on the...
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A FEW HOME REMEDIES
I hate this time of the year! The days are short and the weather is cold and wet. I don’t get to go boating and so have very little to blog about, unlike the summer when the days are longer and dryer...
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EATING IN THE FIFTIES & SIXTIES
Writing that last blog made me think of other things about the 1950’s so here’s a mish mash of my thoughts: Pasta had not been invented, a pizza was something to do with the leaning tower, curry was a...
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ADVERTISING IN THE FIFTIES & SIXTIES
I’ve started so I’ll finish. Now I’m on a roll as far as the idyllic life in the 1950’s – 60’s when all was innocent. Not really I’m sure, it just seemed that way but as always we tend to look back...
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THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
I have decided to continue with my ‘growing up in the 1950’s theme’ (mainly because I have nothing to blog about boating this time of the year, but plenty of time on my hands) I will start by stating...
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FOLLOWERS
Well tiz the season to be jolly, so as I am not going to be doing any boating, I thought I would wish all those followers a very merry Christmas, and for a bit of fun I thought I would post a Christmas...
View ArticleCHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS
Well I’m most disappointed, not one person had a go at my quiz, but as promised here are the answers.1 The Groveland aqueduct carrying Brindley's old canal over the Netherton Tunnel Branch. Here a two...
View ArticleIT'S A COLD WIND THAT BLOWS NO GOOD!.
Well what a day! As Dawn works on a Saturday, except when were off boating of cause, it is the only day I get to have a little lie in as I usually stay in bed until Dawn leaves for work so I don’t get...
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Article 2
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO BLOSSOM.I was recently linked through Facebook by a good friend of mine, Martin Catterall of coalboat Halsall which trades around the Four Counties Ring, to the Canalworld.net...
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Article 1
BRING ON THE BIG GUNSIn 1966, Cliff Sherwood and myself were driving up Factory Road in Tipton when we saw a plume of smoke rising from the rear of the Tipton gauging station. Stopping to investigate...
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Article 0
THE BIG FREEZE.1963 was a very big and traumatic year for both myself and the British canal network, especially the BCN. The effects on both were due to the same reason. It started back in December...
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Bricks, floods and rattling chains
As is already known to many, the old industrial area in the heart of the West Midlands known as the Black Country, was a direct result of the large mineral deposits to be found readily available there...
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Article 1
WERE GOING THROUGH THE TUNNEL, PUSH BOYS PUSHAs I have stated before, I started ‘messing about on boats’ at a very early age scrounging lifts of boats, helping at locks etc. but the passion really...
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OVERGROUND, UNDERGROUND WOMBERLING FREE
As mentioned in my previous blog about Dudley Tunnel, its very being was due mainly to the vast quantity of Limestone that Dudley, Wrens Nest and Mons hills are made of. From the Tipton portal, the...
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Article 1
THE COAL MAN COMETHIn October last year, Jason Gallop, Four Counties Fuels Limited, asked me if I fancied loading Darley to help him out with deliveries. Canal and River Trust had a scheduled...
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Article 0
HANGING UP PLATESI don’t think anything looks nicer than a properly dressed back cabin with all its brass, lace and especially hanging up plates. Some call them ribbon plates while some call them lace...
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