Wandering Canuck

I am presently in Warwick, having navigated from Braunston over the past 2 days. Been fairly busy with lots of heavy locks, but I’ve had a chance to do them with a friend, Nick, and his boat ‘Pendragon’. Sharing the double locks means a lot less banging and bumping- saves my new paint!

I plan to go up the 21 locks of the Hatton flight tomorrow- after helping install LED lighting in Nick’s boat. Then I will likely cycle back to Warwick for ringing and Palm Sunday services in St. Mary’s church- where one of my ancient ancestors is buried.

Nick has to return to Devizes for family reasons, so I’ll likely cycle back to my boat Sunday afternoon, and then tackle the Lapworth flight at the start of the Stratford canal north section. All part of the adventure that is canal cruising. Hope you enjoy following those adventures.

Take care.

“we’re on the road again” Well- not exactly the road, and not so much we, but I am again cruising, having completed most of the boat work , and said my goodbyes to the wonderful friends that I have made in the Braunston/Daventry area.

I am headed north, up the Grand Union Canal to just past Warwick, where I will join the northern part of the Stratford canal, and then make my way through Bourneville (where Cadbury makes their confections). Then through Birmingham, and on to tackle the Wolverhampton flight of locks. That will make 3 major flights (sets) of locks within a week (Hatton 21 heavy double locks Saturday, The Lapworth 21 narrow locks at the start of the Stratford canal section, and then the Wolverhampton ones.). Nothing like starting the season with a little get-in-shape exercise. Yesterday we went down the Stratton locks, and today just 12 along the canal. All part of the canal cruising experience. I will try and get a pic or two of these flights of locks.

I also intend to plot my path on the first link under the photo of my boat: Interactive Canal Map. Here you can zoom in to approximate area (from info I provide here) and see where I really am.

The weather today is a perfect spring day. A little cool in the morning, but by noon, the sun had warmed everything. The leaves are popping out everywhere, the cherry trees are in bloom, and the rapeseed planted last fall is beginning to bloom. Yellow fields in mid-April are a very different sight!

I want to thank all the people of Braunston and area for the kindnesses they have extended through the winter. I’ve felt a welcome part of the community, and learned a great deal about Britain and its history and culture- what I really came to Britain to learn. I’ve had a very special time and especially in the bell-ringing world, felt very luck to have met such wonderful people.

Now- Sunday will bring new parts of the canal system, and I am very excited!

Wow, what a week.

Spring has arrived, and there are daffodils, pussy willows and baby lambs everywhere.

New lambs near Braunston

Ringing this week has dominated all the ‘free time’ between renovation boaty things. I had a chance to ring in Ashby-St. Ledgers on Monday- one of the older sets of bells in the area. Having been duly warned that the bells were ‘difficult’ to ring, we raised the bells and all was well. We started off to ring rounds (bells in descending order by pitch). No so good on first attempt, but the second was going well. We finished by ‘standing the bells’ and this is where the special things started. Instead of stopping as the bell is upright, the bell continued all the way over, pulling the rope (and ringer!) towards the ceiling. I let go, and the rope continued, disappearing through the roof. Hmmm. A trip to the bell chamber showed that a piece of the mechanism called the slider had come loose. A very rare occurance, apparently, so it was replaced and back down to ring again. This time, the ringer of the treble had an issue, we all stood the bells again, except that again, my rope made for the heavens. The other ringer’s bell had dislodged a plank of wood from the bell room, her bell had hit this plank and smashed it to smithereens. Graphic evidence of the power of a swinging bell. Again, the slider had come off, so prudence said no more ringing of those bells!

Tuesday saw me ringing in Daventry, and we were gifted with a visitor who proceeded, in inebriation, to stand-up while we were ringing. This is very dangerous (see above!) so ringing suddenly ceased while he was escorted out.

Thursday, I was asked to Fawsley where a very old church stands in the most delightful surroundings overlooking a small lake. The bells are the oldest complete set made by the same founder, probably about 1440. They have been rehung, but are delightful in sound and relatively easy to ring. It is a set of 4 and I rang 3 of these 4 very ancient bells.

Friday, I went to the Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough, where I retrieved the bell I have obtained for my boat. They supplied a mounting and clapper, and I will spend some time mounting this on the front of Wandering Canuck. Photos to come! Taylor’s has just finished casting a replacement bell for one of those damaged in the Christchurch, NZ earthquake of a couple of years ago. The tower collapsed, sending all the bells crashing down. They were retrieved, sent to Taylor’s, and renovated to mitigate the damage. It turns out that one bell needed repair, one was recast, and one additional bell provided. Earlier, I went to the foundry as saw this bell being cast. A Victorian appearance in the foundry, where the scene couldn’t be told from one of 200 years earlier, but for the electric overhead hoist.

Hi,

I’ve been getting the boat front cabin renovated, and am just about finished. This will complete the refit of the ‘Wandering Canuck’, and provide good accommodation for guests that wish to join me as I continue to explore the waterways of Britain.

I’ve spent the last month doing the boat work along with the professionals of ‘Days Afloat’ here in Braunston. They are super at getting things right, and working with my ideas. I am looking forward to being finished by April 6, and then setting off northward Apr. 7. Nick and Chris in Pendragon are thinking of traveling north as well, and these really good friends that I met with Pat and Kerry last fall, would be especially good traveling companions. We had thought to go up the eastern side of England, down the Soar and Trent rivers, but there is a major, unplanned stoppage because of a broken lock which is not expected to be repaired until mid-My, so I’ll go north another way. That is still to be determined, but the goal is to spend 2 weeks getting to Nantwich on the Shropshire Union canal, where I will meet Nicole, my daughter for a period of cruising and touring with her.

I have spent the last month working hard to improve my ringing skills. This is a VERY challenging project (and one that will be on-going.) However, I have met some fantastic people through ringing, and I especially want to thank Peter Wenham, the tower-captain in Braunston, and an exceptional teacher of ringing. For a very different (and humbling) example of change ringing, this youTube video is worth a view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLXKZguQIA&list=FLeLdyAJsTY6Je7Br_Wa19Tg&feature=mh_lolz It is in the Black Bull Inn, near Frosterly near Durham. Noth the lad ringing the treble (the smallest bell). Their ringing is FAR beyond what I can do (yet?).

I will be posting significantly more often as I begin this season’s touring. Check back often, and leave comments if you wish!

Hi, With winter in Britain providing a significant, record-breaking amount of wind and rain (especially rain), I have been mostly staying close to Braunston, and practicing change ringing of the bells in several local towers. To many, bell ringing is what you see in the movies: Quasimodo, or the kids in Sound of Music. Alternately even less exciting as someone hauls on a rope and somewhere a bell dings. Change ringing is very different than that, and I invite you to see this article in Scientific American that helps make the concept much clearer. There is video and sound!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mathematics-of-change-ringing-and-peal-bells/

The bells I ring are not nearly so ‘clinically’ hung- the ones in the village of Hellidon were cast from 1615-1635 (and one new little bell cast in 1993). They have been re-hung: the wooden frame (what the bells hang in) has been replaced by a cast iron one sometime in the 1800’s, and the ropes have been replaced many times.

The furry thing that the ringers grab is called the Sally (??why), so rope burn is avoided.

Hellidon has only 5 bells, where Braunston has 6, and Daventry has 10 like in the video. The more bells, the more complicated and precise the ringers have to be- as there are 10 bells ringing in the same time that 5 or 6 would be.

Ringers have the bells balanced in the ‘up’ position where relatively little effort is required to tip the bell over and make it ring. You can see the bells ‘up’ in the video. Notice how fast the bells swing- being very careful with the rope is an important issue- especially as some of the bells weigh in excess of a tonne! Hanging onto the rope as the bell swings over is decidedly unwise- and in worst case would slam you against the ceiling of the bell-ringing chamber, which is almost always separate from the bell chamber-( to keep the volume of the sound to reasonable levels).

the wheels of the bells in Braunston

Getting expert tutoring is essential, and I have been very fortunate to have one of the grandmasters in Peter Wenham help me ‘learn the ropes’. He has written several books on bell ringing and is an exceptionally patient individual. Peter is the ‘tower captain’ or boss in Braunston. The top of the bell you can see between the spokes of the wheel is the Braunston tenor bell, which weighs 15cwt – 1qr – 6lb (1714lb or 777kg) and sounds the note F. I ring this bell sometimes!

Please comment if you are interested in further information about bell ringing.

A winter cruise poses some different challenges. You must expect that everything is cold, stiff, and less simple. You must dress in lots of layers. Hot drinks are essential. However unappealing some of this may sound, there are significant rewards. The canal is MUCH quieter, you can see a great deal more as tress and hedgerows have no leaves so are easier to see through. Wildlife is easier to see. There is a crispness to everything that is invigorating.

Tom and Liam Fannin joined me for another few days (they helped me take the boat to get painted before Christmas). We had no particular agenda, other than experiencing the canals in winter. We set off eastward from Braunston, up the 6 locks and through the Braunston tunnel. We stopped in a sheltered area just east of the tunnel for the night. The next day, in magic sunshine, we went to Watford junction and then north for a bit on the Liecester branch of the Grand Union Canal. Gently moving along we turned around before the Watford locks, as we didn’t see the point in going up then straight back down. We returned to Braunston through the tunnel and back down the locks in increasing wind as the stormy weather loomed. Once secure in the marina, groceries were stocked up, and the storm had arrived with driving rain and winds approaching 100 km/h. We spent a rocking night as the boat bounced in the wind (even in the marina!)

Watford junction

New Year, new paint and new experiences.

The last few days have been full of new. I am back in England, and have spent the past 5 days ‘camping’ on my boat as the final details of the new paint job were completed. Yesterday was ‘moving day’ and the boat is back in the water, from Nuneaton on the Coventry canal. Today after overnighting in torrential rain, the sun was out (I got sunburned from the glare!) and all was as great as could be for a winter cruise. The photos are from my favourite stretch of canal north of Rugby: peaceful, secluded, and sheltered.

I am glad to be back aboard and cruising. After more than 5 weeks away, being back on board, and with the peace of canal time really returning, I am glad to be on the boat. I think the new paint and signwriting stands out. Your opinions and comments appreciated.

I will be back to Braunston tomorrow, and re-establish contacts with the community there. I have guests early next month, and then???

Hi all,

I am on my way back to the UK after spending a delightful month with family and friends in Canada. Thanks to all who have hosted me and been so kind.

The boat is nearly finished and will have an entirely new look- pics will be posted as soon as possible. As far as I know, it hasn’t floated away in the rains which have made parts of Britain look like a swamp. I will try and bring the sunshine I am experiencing in Ottawa (but not the temperatures that go with that!). There is something absolutely special about walking in the snow that crunches underfoot, while snow-diamonds twinkle across the fields and lawns. Every place I visit has it’s own special circumstances and surroundings: I find peace and beauty in them all.

I wish each reader the very best for 2014. Please feel free to comment or email me: I appreciate hearing from you!

Take care.  Ed

Change ringing bells of tower in Braunston, England

I am enjoying my return visit to Canada, with fond memories of learning to ring bells in Braunston. Such a different tradition than most in Canada!

Nicole and I enjoyed time in Whistler, BC, though there was not enough snow for safe skiing. We trekked around, walking over the lake ice, which I hadn’t done for some time. Then back to Gibsons where Nicole lives, and I also stay when in Canada.

Gibsons, BC, Canada harbour

Nicole at Gibsons, BC Canada

Then, travel to Alberta for family Christmas. Wonderful holiday with three of my sisters and my parents, then back to Edmonton to visit friends there. Experienced my first Alberta blizzard in a long time, and this somewhat restricted my travel plans. It has rained, iced stormed, and blizzarded since I got to Alberta so the ‘if you don’t like the weather, wait a moment’ is really valid here.

I’ll return to Vancouver and spend New Year’s with Nicole, then to Ottawa and another sister and family visit, and then back to Britain and my newly painted boat.

Happy New Year wishes to all my blog friends. Please leave a comment if you will, so that I can keep in touch! Take care.

What a change in scenery! I am in Canada, having spent time in Vancouver, and then several days in Whistler with my daughter. This is a magic place, with special opportunities for all sorts of activities in the outdoors. Unfortunately, although we had planned to ski/snowboard, the snow is really skimpy, and very icy, so we decided not to attempt skating on thin ice, and instead spent the time walking the trails and touring in the village. Some indoor rock climbing reminded me of lots of forgotten muscles, but as we were walking around and across the frozen lake, it started to snow. There is something entirely peaceful and relaxing about snow gently falling, making everything fairy-tale white. The temperature also seems to rise (even though the thermometer suggest otherwise).

I then went with Nicole to Gibsons where she lives. Idyllic sea-side town (and site of the 1980’s TV series  The Beachcombers.) Although the weather is foggy and wet, the slow pace somewhat reminds me of canal time.