Narrowboat Independence: October ramblings of a man with a bad back

Those of you waiting with bated breath for news of my back/hip will be sorry to learn that I still have it....the pain I mean. Obviously I still have the back and hip. Been generally buggered for last few days and "caning the charpoy" as we used to say in India. Anyway fizzio booked for Monday and hope it's sortable

(Charpoy:a bedstead of woven webbing or hemp stretched on a wooden frame on four legs, common in India)

The weather (Monday) is the perfect weather for staying in bed till 2pm and feeling manly about the pain. The weather is atrocious and trying to ger the sodding fire going when one's hip is hapless aint no fun. Managed it though and there is nothing like an open fire to cheer an old boater- better than a rub down with the Sporting Life

The perfect antidote to a hopeless, hipless, hapless day

The Blessed Pam has done some shopping for me so Fish'n'chips tonight. Deep joy.

Yesterday, Sunday, was a beautiful day though a bloody cold morning. Took the camera with me as I limped down the towpath and there were some great cobwebs.

Sadly, all is not beauty. Opposite my mooring a dosser boat has moved on leaving his rubbish. When I'm Queen dosser boaters leaving rubbish will be made to buy Fulham Season Tickets. That'll cure it.

Inconsiderate Git

Further north about half a mile (by Bridge 138) all is not well in the Bench dept of Canal and River Trust. Now if you've a dodgy hip,back,leg,foot, whatever then a bench can be a welcome sight. There is a bench by Cowroast Lock which was similarly knackered which we (Cowroast Lock Moorers and chum, Geoff) restored in memory of our late friend Sid to whom we dedicated the bench complete with brass plaque. Perhaps we should do something with this one.......

Changing the subject slightly this picture was published on Facebook

German exchange students assisting Berkhamsted School pupils unloading a narrowboat with materials for a new playing field. Grand Union Canal by the Moor . April 1936

Sad to think that 3 years later they'd be killing one another. Any of my boating friends got an idea on the identity of the craft?

A BIT OF BACKGROUND if anyone's interested

AYLESBURY-BASED CANAL CARRIERS:
THE LANDONS AND A. HARVEY-TAYLOR

THE Aylesbury firm of John Landon & Co. were coal merchants who also ran a small fleet of horse-drawn narrow boats from the Basin; according to a trade directory for 1852, they even operated a weekly “fly-boat” service to London. Taken at face value, this suggests there remained – after the railway had creamed off most of it – sufficient high-value trade to justify an express canal service:

“CONVEYANCE BY WATER: To LONDON, William and John Landon’s Fly Boats, from Aylesbury wharf, Walton St, every Saturday.”

Slater’s Directory, 1852.

By 1869, the Landon’s non-stop fly-boat service had been replaced by still faster “canal steamboats” operated by the Grand Junction Canal Carrying Establishment, John Landon now being their agent:

“WATER CONVEYANCE. London, Birmingham, & all parts of the kingdom, by canal steamboats; Grand Junction Canal Company; John Landon, agent. Goods delivered in London at the ‘White Horse,’ Cripplegate, & at 30 Wharf, City Road basin.”

Kelly’s Directory, 1869.

In 1876, the Grand Junction Carrying Establishment ceased trading. Landons continued in the business, although no more offering a service to “Birmingham & all parts of the kingdom”; the firm’s advertisement in Bradshaw’s Canals and Navigable Rivers(1904) offered merely a service “between London and Aylesbury and towns en route”. Incoming cargoes would have supplied the various businesses around the Basin, but other than condensed milk, the return journey would probably have depended on anything that could be collected along the way, such as animal feed and straw from along the Arm and perhaps building aggregates from the many pits below Rickmansworth.

Landon’s business was taken over in 1923 by Arthur Harvey-Taylor, who enlarged the all-wooden fleet by having craft constructed at local boat building yards (Costins at Berkhamsted, and Bushell Bros. at Gamnel). The firm dominated the carrying trade on the Aylesbury Arm for some 30 years. Coal was their major business, the firm supplying amongst other concerns Nestlé’s, the Aylesbury power station, the Aylesbury Steam Laundry and, further afield, John Dickenson’s various canal-side factories and that of A. Wander & Co. (makers of Ovaltine) at Kings Langley, as well as domestic consumers. Large customers for other goods included Mead’s Flour Mill at Gamnel Wharf and Garside’s sand quarry at Leighton Buzzard.

A pair of Harvey-Taylor narrow boats in Tring Cutting. Note the telegraph poles ― selling wayleave to telecommunications companies provided a useful source of revenue to canal companies from the 1860s onward. On this section, a fibre optic highway was installed during the 1990s.

Sunday school outing in a pair of Harvey-Taylor narrow boats, 1931.
Reproduced by kind permission of Miss Catherine Bushell.

Enough history. But if you want more.... http://gerald-massey.org.uk/Canal/d_aylesbury_arm.htm

Tuesday, 7th Oct.

Hip still very restricting in wanting to sort boat stuff etc. At least it's sunny and a good day for a walk.The cut is busy today probably because anyone who didn't have to move yesterday will have stayed moored with a good fire, a crate of Guiness and a good book. Today they are all moving.

I see from notices posted that the bridge over the canal at Cowroast Lock is going to have some work done. The old girl certainly needs some tlc as various bits have fallen off.

Wednesday and out of reverence to my non-improving back I've ordered a new mattress for the boat. Means some minor carpentry work to fit it in but nothing an old bodger can't handle.

Thursday and changeable weather-very Octoberish. Bought myself a snugglybuggly hot water bottle to assist the back.

Pam has booked tickets for a charity do next week for Save the Children. It's an Indian meal at the Berko Boys' School and those that want to dress up can do so. Can't resist going as Ghandi though some unkind types might have hinted that the physique is inappropriate. Watch this space.

Oh and it's a Murder Mystery evening. Great Fun.

Talking of Pam and charity she recently did one of these Ice Bucket Challenges

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203888878615770

on behalf of

http://www.mndassociation.org/get-involved/donations

Feel free to donate and reward Pam for one of the sillier things she's done.

Fabulous full moon last night and so clear that I thought there would be a helluva frost. Courtesy of the back I didn't get out of bed till 10 so no sign when I surfaced.

But this pretty little fellow came poncing bread

Talking of bread I was a little worried t'other day to discover that having bought bread at the Farm Shop I had then bought some more at Tesco forgetting the first purchased 10 minutes before. (Happy Ducks).
Is this the beginning of my demise into daftness or have I always been an idiot. Discuss.

Roy, my boating neighbour, arrived Thursday evening. He is moving a boat from Braunston to Cowroast over the next few days and I had hoped to assist but there will need to be a major improvement in the back dept. Very frustrating. We enjoyed a tonic in the Cowroast and then I retired to my boat for fish pie ( a specialite de la maison) and watched England win 5-0 against the mighty San Marino
To bed with the new hot water bottle.
Sleep would not come so I compiled one of my mental lists; this one is to name three England capped players starting with each letter of the alphabet. I was asleep by Joe Hart. I woke at 6 a m wondering if there had ever been a Wall capped for England.

Behold!
My only disappointment was that he played for Man Utd but it was a different world.
Note they bought him for £175 and sold him to Oldham for £200. Shrewd even then. He also had to work in the docks after his career finished playing for the Manchester Ship Canal! Oh how times have changed.

George Wall was born in Bolden Colliery, near Sunderland, on 20th February 1885. A talented outside left he played local football for Boldon Royal Rovers, Whitburn and Jarrow.

In November 1903 Wall joined Barnsley. After he scored 24 goals in 75 games he was sold to Manchester United for £175 in April 1906. Manchester United went on to win the title by nine points. Wall finished as second top scorer with 19 goals.

On 18th March 1907, George Wall won his first international cap for England against Wales. The following year he played in England's 3-1 victory over Ireland.

Wall also won a FA Cup winners medal for Manchester United in April 1909. He also played in three games for England that year. This included him scoring two goals in the victory over Scotland.

In the The United Alphabet Garth Dykes describes Wall as "very fast, tricky, and had a wonderful knack of cutting inside and shooting when least expected... he was also a superbly accurate crosser of the ball".

Wall and Manchester United won two championships in four years.

During the First World War George Wall served in the Black Watch Regiment joining up in 1915.He played for England 7 times and but for the war would havbe played more. After the war he was sold to Oldham Athletic for £200. While at Manchester United he had scored 89 goals in 287 league games.

Wall also played for Rochdale in the 1922-23 season. While working in the docks he played for the Manchester Ship Canal team about whom I know nothing.

George Wall died in Manchester in 1962 aged 77.
Having watched England's sparkling victory over Estonia (1-0 )I wonder what George would make of today's set up.