Nighttime on Still Waters

Playing hopscotch (across the great abyss)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0100

While work pressures have made tonight’s episode a little shorter than usual, the pause feels serendipitous. This evening, we embrace the quiet, celebrating the small, sacred pockets of stillness that naturally invite us in and away from an increasingly tumultuous and noisy world. It is a gentle reminder that even a brief moment of reflection can anchor us, offering the support and connection we all need to navigate the chaos.

As we slow our pace, we are also invited to look through the window of lock-wheeler and fellow boater Ana McKellar, sharing in her unique perspective and finding comfort in the shared rhythms of a day on the water.

Step inside, leave the noise behind, and share this gentle space with us.

Journal entry:

1st October, Thursday

“The thick darkness
Of a mole-blind morning.
Feet slip on gravel and tiredness.
Racing clouds lower themselves
To the earth in rain.
No moon or stars,
Just waterlogged sky
And the wind among the alders.

But that is alright,
For I have Stars enough
And that wind-song among the alders.”

Episode Information:

This episode’s ‘Night View: Through your window’ is provided by fellow boater and lock-wheeler of this podcast Ana McKellar.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

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.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
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I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Autumn Drift

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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The slow drift from summer into autumn is underway and with it comes gentle shifts (both seen and unseen) that are the pulse and rhythm of the earth and life along the canal. Join us tonight on the Erica as we celebrate this slow dance of the seasons. We also join Jeff Van Booven for a special night-view from his window in the sultry darkness of a summer midnight in Missouri.

Journal entry:

18th September, Friday

“Standing beside the convocation of oaks
First geese fly over and then the raven pair.
On days like this, even these friendly fields
Remember that they cannot be tamed.”

Episode Information:

In this episode, I read haiku from Chora and Taigu. I also read ‘I Wasted the Day’ and ‘Autumn Harvest’ by Felix Dennis and ‘Apples’ by Laurie Lee. I also conclude with a very short reading from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

‘Night Views: Through your window’ is provided by Jeff Van Booven.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Uncertainties of Geese

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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It’s a beautiful night, but there is an autumnal damp chill in the air. So, snuggle up with us aboard the Erica as we enter the mysterious, but perhaps not so different, world of geese, and we find out what happened when nine of them flew in on one late summer’s afternoon.

In celebration of the life of Wendell Berry, we read his poem 'Wild Geese.'

Journal entry:

3rd September, Thursday

“Awake to a jewelled morning
Fresh washed in last night’s rain.
There are puddles along the towpath
And glass-like rosehips glisten
In smoky hedges of old man’s beard.

Last night I listened to rain
Drumming on the cabin roof
And its hiss upon the stirred water
Of the canal.”

Episode Information:

In this I read Wendell Berry’s poem ‘Wild Geese’ in commemoration of his life and work. Night Views: Through your window will resume in the next episode.

You can find more information about Canada geese, including their calls, on the British Ornithological Trust’s site, here: BTO – Canada Geese.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Slipping beneath the surface

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0100

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Welcome to the Erica on a still summer’s night. The canal may seem quiet, but below the surface the fish are busy and it is far from silent. Join us tonight as we listen in to their world and find out what it sounds when ducks swim above your head. We also get to step aboard the NB Precious Jet and take a look at the view from her duck hatch.

Journal entry:

20th August, Thursday

“An oak leaf.
Parched and crisp by summer drought
Floats on the surface of the canal.

The water cups it gently,
Cushioning it within
The meniscus of her palm,
As if the canal knows that it is carrying
Something valuable and sacred.”

Episode Information:

The underwater sounds used in this episode was recorded on the warm, still evening of 3rd August 2026 from the stern of the Erica.

Our view from the window was provided by Steve Tyrell aboard the narrowboat Precious Jet recoded while he was opposite The Nickelodeon pub in Wolverhampton. You can follow Steve and Precious Jet on his YouTube channel: Steve Tyrell.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The impression of remembered light

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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It is a glorious summer’s night, but the canal is officially closed. Join us tonight, as we ponder over what this shutdown means for permanent liveaboards and the fragile ecosystem left behind. Plus, we playfully ask: does the canal miss us when we are gone?

Journal entry:

6th August, Thursday

“From here, the alders look black
The sky behind them afire
With the sun’s setting.

Ducks swim through
Clouds of baby pink
The fish are rising.

The water is warm around my toes
And the tea has been drunk
Long ago.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from Tom Rolt’s Narrow Boat, and my ‘Sometimes the canal is silent.’

Listener, Lee Thomas from Colorado (USA), shares with us the view she has from her cabin high in the foothills of the Colorado Mountains.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Boater (Summer Readings - 8)

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0100

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Summer is finally here, and nothing quite beats finding a cool and last spot (preferably in the dappled shade of a willow tree or two) and idling away a few hours while losing yourself in a captivating book.

Why not wrap up your evening with us tonight for this year’s review and recommendation for your Summer Reading? Join us as we explore a wonderful book that gently carries you along England’s peaceful (and not so peaceful) waterways while drifting through centuries of history: the poet and archaeologist, Jo Bell’s Boater.

Episode Information:

This episode of Summer Readings features Boater: A life on England's waterways by Jo Bell and published in 2025 by HarperCollins.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Gentleness (of the shortening days)

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0100

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A welcome breeze plays among the reeds and carves ripples on the canal. Tonight, the Erica is moored on a perfect summer’s night. We welcome you to join us as enjoy the quiet and go searching for older attitudes to summer, the shifting dates of Midsummer's Eve, and just why Midsummer Night’s Dream was so unsummery.

Journal entry:

10th July, Friday

“Sitting chatting over a mug of tea
On the stern of the boat
The sound of music and children playing
A swirl of energy at the end of day.

Voices float across the water
That dances with light.
A mother with six newly hatched ducklings
The sun sinks behind Horse Hill.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read short extracts from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by Dent, and Alexandra Harris’ (2015) Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skies published by Thames and Hudson.

I also refer to Hana Videen’s (2022) The Word Hord: Daily life in old English published by Princeton University Press, Eleanor Parker’s (2022) Winters in the World: A journey through the Anglo-Saxon year published by Reaktion Books, and Lia Leendertz’s (2024) A Year in Story and Song: A celebration of the seasons published by Hatchette UK.

You can find Karen and Jason's YouTube channel here: Just Two People.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

In the Cool of the Evening

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0100

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As the heat begins to settle, join us tonight on the narrowboat Erica as we enjoy that special time of a summer’s day, when evening falls and cool breezes ripple the water’s surface. The heat and work pressures have meant that tonight we are freewheeling a little. We also take a peak out of The Land of Green Ginger's window. Settle back in the cool and enjoy a gentle ride to wherever.

Journal entry:

24th June, Wednesday

“Back from a hot city
In a hot field
With a hot dog.

We sit in the scrabble
Of shade under
An old ash tree.

The scarlet pimpernels
Have already begun
To close.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read ‘Heatwave (Realities of UK Houses)’ by Mind Shambles and a couple of very short extracts from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac.

You can find Jason and Karen’s videos here: Just Two People. You can also catch up with Jen Ratcliffe’s ‘Water Book Club’ interviews on her Substack: Mess in a Boat.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

How old is Mindful's Vanessa (and other questions I don't have the answer for)

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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As we edge towards midsummer night, we’re reminded how everything is in constant change. This is particularly the case in the fast-moving world of podcasting. It is a good opportunity to reflect on what it all means for this podcast; the challenges and plans for the future, and also why is everyone suddenly so interested in Vanessa's age (and why would they think that I know what it is)?

Journal entry:

12th June, Friday

“Soft the wash of rain
Soft the feathered touch of yarrow
Soft the call of wood pigeon
Hidden in ancient trees.
The canal responds in kind.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a short poem by Jen Ratcliffe. You can read her Substack here: Mess in a Boat. You can see Vanessa in her wonderful vlog The Mindful Narrowboat.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Moonlight on Ox-Eye Daisies

Sun, 31 May 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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It’s the night of a blue moon. Following a hot and busy sunny day the canal settles down into a contented stillness. It’s a perfect night to join and to sit back, let the quietness wash over us, to relax and to let our minds play with some big ideas.

Journal entry:

23rd May, Sunday

“Voices lift across the water
No words, just sound
A copy of Baisao in my hand
Lingering over phrases and lines
In the soft evening sun.
I too have my cup of tea beside me
Pine wind among the reeds
Carp twist in crystal light
Swallows dip low to drink.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I reflect on Jeff Van Booven’s reflections following the previous episode on time.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

More Raven than Rook (The clock-winders)

Sun, 17 May 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, as the rain falls softly outside and the kettle sings on the hob, we are letting our thoughts roam free. Together, we shine a light into the forgotten corners of history to explore a quiet, essential rhythm; the often-overlooked role of the people who wound the parish clocks, and the precious gift they gave, the burden of time,

Journal entry:

11th May, Monday

“Mother and a host of tiny ducklings
(Don't count them. Just enjoy).
A raven alights on the One Oak
And barks at the morning sky.
A thrush peels off notes in triplicate
Expansive, avant-garde.
I listen with the untutored ears
Of a school boy
Taken to the Proms.”

Episode Information:

If you would like to watch my original video that accompanied some of the words that I read in this episode you can find it here: The Last Winding (YouTube link).

More photographs featuring some of the inscriptions and the clock mechanism can be found on the podcast’s website.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Evensong of the Wild

Sun, 03 May 2026 14:00:00 +0100

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Join us tonight, in the golden glow of a late spring twilight at our favourite mooring spot under the Forest of Arden’s mysterious gaze. As twilight begins to fall settle back, relax and enjoy the majestic splendour of the ancient evensong of the wild; a symphony in which every voice has a part.

Journal entry:

1st May, Friday, Beltane

“The dip and swell
Of these gently folding fields
Home to shadows and sheep
And trees who have become
Old friends.”

Episode Information:

This episode features sound recordings made on the South Stratford upon Avon canal on the afternoon and evening of the 25th April 2026.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Finding Erica (On choosing a boat)

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0100

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There’s a warm welcome aboard the Erica tonight. But why the Erica? Why not any of the other boats we viewed and discussed? What was it about the Erica that made her special enough for us to buy, even though there were other boats that seemed to be stronger contenders? How did we know she was the right choice? Jo Bell’s brilliant book Boater helps us to find some answers.

Journal entry:

12th April, Sunday

“From Bridge 55

Children and old men
Lean on Georgian ironwork
Warmed by the sun
And gaze in silence
Into the waters below.

One sees time
Like slow waters
Drifting past,
The other the wonder
Of a world unfurling.

Maggie plunges her head
Under calm waters
Retrieves a stick
And I thought I saw
A smile in her eye.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I talk about and read a couple of short extracts from poet and industrial archaeologist Jo Bell’s Boater: A life on England’s waterways including her poem ‘A Marriage.’

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Between the Borrowing Days

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0100

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Join us on a noisy and stormy night of high winds at the tail-end of winter as we contemplate the messiness of these between times that lie at the edges of the seasons. In a world used to binaries, these times can feel messy, frustrating and even unsettling. The old idea of ‘borrowing days’ helps us to navigate these ‘untidy’ seasonal borders in a different way.

Journal entry:

30th March, Monday

“Sometimes,
The canal is silent
Biding time
Keeping counsel.
Don't ask
Let things be.

At other times,
It reaches out
With whispers
That sing soft and low
Holding memories
Of old friends.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I recommend Jen Ratcliffe’s interviews for the ‘Water Book Club’ on her Mess in a Boat Substack.

I also read an extract from Bridget Haggerty’s post on the Irish Cultures and Customs website.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Seeds of Spring ('Somewhere, right now')

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

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The temperature is dropping and it looks like a frosty night is ahead of us. So, why not join us in the Erica’s cosy cabin as we contemplate the coming of spring, the therapeutic and philosophical aspects of planting seeds, and joy of sunshine on your shoulders.

Journal entry:

19th March, Thursday

“On Horse Hill
The light scrubbed clean
By the sharpness of frost
Two rooks harry a buzzard pair
Who fly on wings
Of feathered nonchalance.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the poems ‘Crows in Spring’ by John Clare and ‘Everything is Going to be Alright’ by David Mahon. With special thanks to Jasmine Wilder from the Tiny Joy Project for the inspirational post 'Somewhere, right now.'

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

An Under-Sung Companion (to the canal)

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us tonight as we reflect on that often under-appreciated companion to the canals, the humble towpath. We uncover its vital importance in the past and how in, recent years, its relationship with the canal has been changing. We also meet up again with E Temple Thurston and the good captain Eynsham Harry as the meet a figure of the forgotten past.

Journal entry:

5th March, Thursday

“A warm sun that hums
With the buzz of big bodied
Bumblebees busy among
The soft fall of plum blossom.

A gust of wind swirls
The petals like stirred tea.
The call and response
Between mother and lamb.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Alice McGladdery’s (2016) Canal Boat Ancestors: A beginner’s research guide, information given by The Rothen Group, the Jerico Wharf Trust, and the CRT’s 2026 report Vital Connector for People and Nature. I also read a short extract from E Temple Thurston’s (1910) The Flower of Gloster.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Seventh Word (Reflections on canal-life - 2)

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

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In tonight’s episode, with the help of a few of our listeners, I continue to reflect on life aboard the Erica and how it might have changed our lives as well as go on a hunt for the elusive 'Seventh Word'. There is often a lot of talk about how canal-life is helpful for mental wellbeing. Is this really the case? We also go in hunt for some mysterious bramble cutting vandals.

Journal entry:

21st February, Saturday

“A silvered dawn.
Milder air
With the promise of Spring.
Plum blossom and cowslips.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read two short poems by Wendell Berry; ‘Song (2)’ and ‘Woods’. I also refer to a line by WH Auden from his poem ‘Herman Melville’.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

In the Belly of Winter

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

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This year, the Bita kaulo munthos (the little dark month) has brought with it yet more rain. This time of year can be a hard time. Mid-winter; the time of lambing, Imbolc and the Cailleach. Strung halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox, Imbolc heralds the mid-point of what for many seems to be turning out to be a very hard winter. Join us tonight around our fire as we contemplate how this time can help to prepare us for the uncertainties of the coming year.

Journal entry:

6th February, Friday.

“A stern hatch slides back
And a head appears.
‘Has it been raining all day?’
I am asked
'Just about.' I reply.
We laugh as
I splash passed.

One of the puddles
In the field goes up to
Maggie’s tummy.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Lea Leendertz’s (2024) A Year in Story and Song: A celebration of the seasons, as well as reading short excerpts from Ruth Binney’s (2010) Wise Words and Country Ways: Weather lore and John Clare’s poem ‘November.’

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Sixth Winter - 200th Episode (Reflections on canal-life - 1)

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

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Tonight, we’re celebrating our 200th episode while enjoying our sixth winter aboard the NB Erica. To mark the occasion, I’m looking back at how the watery path of canal life has reshaped our lives, sometimes in unexpected ways. So, settle in as we ponder the intricacies of synoptic weather charts to the quiet, unique qualities of living on the water.

Journal entry:

24th January, Saturday

“A silver sun
Leans on a lonely wind
Casting hard light
Upon the world.

I can taste
Winter in the air
It’s old and it’s brave
Unheeding of complaints.”

Episode Information:

For our 200th episode we begin our short series on looking at different aspects of life on water.

In this episode I read a section of my poem “A Narrow Path.”

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Susan West
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Canal Life (Now and Future)

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

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The failure of the Whitchurch embankment offered sobering viewing for those on and off the canal. This episode responds to listeners’ concerns and questions and then reflects on the wider implication of incidents like these on the future of life on the canals. *Spoiler -it is not all doom and gloom!*

Journal entry:

6th January, Tuesday

“Colder night
But slightly milder dawn
A few desultory snowflakes fall
Flightless feathers
With no wind
Upon which to dance

Will these small flakes
Ever get the chance
To find the sea?”

Episode Information:

For a video diary of the Whitchurch Breach see Paul and Anthony’s Narrowboat Life Unlocked. For Prof Tim Wilson’s comment on canals in Britain, see The Sinkhole in Shropshire.

I also refer to Skempton’s (1996) article on construction of early embankments and cuttings (railways), and the 2025 report by Whitfield Consulting Services.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Remarkable Tale of Bertrum Crane (A story for Christmas)

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

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It's Christmas on the canal, and the time when we traditionally gather around by firelight and tell stories of wonder and magic. So, tonight, there is an extra specially warm welcome aboard the Erica as we turn the lights down low and listen by firelight to a rather remarkable (and I think wonderful) tale of canal-side Christmases past and the magic hidden along the towpath. Grab a mug of your favourite drink, settle into your cosiest chair and join us into the heart of a canal-side Christmas.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

An Advent on the Canal

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000

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As advent candles burn into their second half, and berries blaze along the towpath, why not join us tonight aboard the Erica to hear about what it feels like to experience this advent on the cut.

Journal entry:

8th December, Monday

“A ragged river of rooks
Stream across
A watery sky
On purposeful wings.

They rise and circle
Around the One Oak.
The fire of their
Jubilant chatter
Warms the day.”

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Night Speaks with its Silences

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

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These are the days of the long nights, when ¾ of our day gives way to the dark. If we listen carefully, their gifts are rich and restoring. In these strange times we need, once more, to slow down, look up, and hear the night speak to us with its silences. Come aboard the Erica and let’s journey into the night.

Journal entry:

27th November, Thursday
"This morning,
The kingfisher wakes
To a softer, kinder day.

The willow leaf
Finds the current
That I cannot see.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extracts from:
Jen Ratcliffe’s wonderful and highly recommended Substack Mess in a Boat (with spoken word version).
Chet Raymo’s The Soul of the Night (1985) published by Cowley.

I also read Tom Hennan’s ‘Summer Night Air’ from his collection Darkness Sticks to Everything (2013) published by Copper Canyon Press, and refer to Nic Wilson’s Country Diary column.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Colour of Storms (Storm Claudia passing through)

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us tonight aboard the Erica’s warm and cosy cabin as storm Claudia rages outside. Let us experience together the intimate feeling of being snug and safe in a tiny home afloat on the storm lashed canals.

Journal entry:

14th November, Friday

“Sky of smudged greys,
Chalky, sooty, dirty laundry water,
And a light of such silvery metallics
Lead and steel, iron and zinc,
That makes the canal surface shine
And adds richness to berry and leaves.
Why is it, that on dull mornings like these,
Do I become so aware of such colour?
The colour of storms.”

Episode Information:

The soundscape was recorded in the stern study of the narrowboat Erica at the height of Storm Claudia on 24th November 2025.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Morton's Rise (A canal story for Halloween)

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 16:00:00 +0000

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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 canal at Morton’s Rise under the glowering presence of Draid Hill?

Journal entry:

31st October, Friday (All Hallows’ Eve)

“The day grows thin
Between light and darkness
Heron spanned
Silent as owl flight
The canal listens.

Samhain, All Hallows’ eve,
Nut-crack night
Hop-tu-Naa
Halloween
The canal waits.”

Episode Information:

This episode features a reading of my canal-side weird tale Morton’s Rise.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Common Thread (Sunday at the moorings)

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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Have you ever wondered what it was like to visit a ‘moorings’ along one of Britain’s waterways and to stand and watch and listen as this small world flows to its own daily rhythms? Although every 'mooring' is different, we explore the common thread that unites them. Why not join us for a sunny autumnal Sunday and listen to the day unfold.

Journal entry:

6th October, Monday

“Wind buffets and rocks the boat
The mooring lines tighten and then slack.
Fenders creak and the calendar on my desk
Gently swings.

Reed pennants measure the gusts
That sweep the length of the canal.
Rooks stream ragged across
A sky stabbed with jackdaw calls.”

Episode Information:

In the episode I read a short section from John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar (‘The Leaves of Autumn’).

The soundscape in this episode was recorded at our current home mooring on 26th September 2025.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

That Very Particular Joy of Friday Nights (and crisps)

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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It's a blustery, moonless, and nearly starless night tonight, with the ever-present hint of rain in the air. So, why not come aboard the Erica for a while and reminisce about inconsequential things, the joy they bring, and how they form such strong bedrocks to our lives in an unsteady world?

Journal entry:

17th September, Wednesday

“Summer has left
And strewn all along the towpath
Is the detritus of its sojourn.
Rusting wires of sorrel and dock,
Hogweed spokes like upturned
Discarded umbrellas.
Hawthorn berries
Litter the ground
Like carelessly flung confetti
The wind has now blown out
The willowherb candles
A few whisps of seeds
Hang like cobwebs.

Now is the time
For autumn’s
Fires
Hips, haws, rowan,
Bryony and firethorn.”

Episode Information:

In the episode I mention the wonderful and beautifully produced celebration to nature and life on the canals and rivers of Britain, The Mindful Narrowboat vlog.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Down to the River (On this blue and grey September day)

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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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 let us see what we can see.

Journal entry:

4th September, Thursday

“Clouds pillow and pile
Black skies behind us
A fleeting sun catches
the scarlet of bryony berries
That wrap themselves around
Spiky vines of midnight blue blackthorn.
The canal reflects the flight
Of a raven passing overhead.”

Episode Information:

The soundscapes and washes for this episode were recorded beside the River Avon on 3rd September 2025 on the ‘River Steps’ in Bancroft Gardens, Stratford-upon-Avon, and by the chain ferry.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Under a Canopy of Trees ('Your word')

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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A newly born moon is still below the horizon and the parched ground breathes in the quiet of a summer's night. The water levels may be low, but you're assured a welcome that is full and warm aboard the NB Erica as we catch up on life with all its ebbs and flows, and unfuriating complexities that make it all so worthwhile.

Journal entry:

18th August, Monday

“Rain in the night
Woke up to streaks on the windows.
I take the rake off the cabin roof
And lower it into the water.
Still a good rake handle's worth of water.

The levels have now dropped by almost 9 inches.
Somehow, it feels more.

The skies brood,
But no more promises of rain.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read numerous extracts from Darby Hudson’s (2024) You’re Going to be OK (Because you’re fucked no matter what) published by Ingram Content, as well as a couple of my own poems; ‘Poems like prayers’ and ‘Your word.’

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Back from Blacking (And the ingenuity of drydocks)

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0100

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Could the humble drydock be the perfect example of canal engineering ingenuity? Find out why in our latest episode and join us back afloat onboard the Erica as we explore some surprising facts about this often-overlooked marvel.

Journal entry:

1st August, Friday (Lammas Day)

“Fields the colour of linen and calico
Under turbulent skies of heavy cloud.
As I chew on a blade of grass
The wind whips up dust devils
Across the dry, hard-baked hill.
Apples fall, half ripened.
Harry, the goat, stands on his hindlegs
And sniffs the air; nostrils flaring.
Lammas Day
The first fruits of harvest home.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read ‘Summer Moods’ by John Clare and ‘Autumn Weeds’ by Lauren Binyon. I also read an extract from Athenaeus of Naucratis. Click here for more information on the Tessarakonteres.

More photographs of the drydock can be found at noswpod.com.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

With Tom Rolt on the North Stratford Canal (Summer Readings)

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0100

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It’s been a long sweltering day. Darkness is reluctantly beginning to fall, and a restless heat lies heavy over the canal. Let's settle down and listen to some echoes from the canal-side past as we hear Tom Rolt’s account of his journey up the Stratford upon Avon Canal (North) and the ‘battle for Bridge Number 1 (Lifford Lane).'

At a time when many of us are feeling the strain of today’s network, Rolt’s account reminds us of just how far we’ve come — and of the grit and vision of those who fought for the future of our waterways.

Episode Information:

Tonight’s episode was recorded under some rather challenging conditions, a failing voice being one of them! Apologies for the sound quality and extraneous noises floating in from outside!!

The reading featured in this podcast is from the second volume in Tom Rolt’s Landscape Trilogy, Landscape with Canals (1977), republished by The History Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Summer Wind among the Alders (Speaks of Lludd and Llefelys)

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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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 to the summer wind play among the alders and hear a very old story that understands our modern world.

Journal entry:

3rd July, Thursday

“Walking up the hill.
The grass crackles and scrunches
With each step.

If I closed my eyes
I would have said
I was walking through deep snow
If it were not for the hum of bees
And the wind that wraps me in warmth.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to the tale of Lludd and Llefelys as told in the Mabinogion. A very good retelling of this story can be found in Amy Jeff’s (2021) Storyland: A new mythology of Britain.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Unsettled at the Still-Point (Of the year)

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0100

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It is a hot midsummer night of warm winds that makes the Erica creak at her moorings. Tonight, we find ourselves at a year’s turning point — caught between the stillness and the unsettling. Join us as we explore the solstice, the shifting seasons, the rhythm of carnival swings, and the restless nature of the mind, uncovering the connections between them all.

Journal entry:

16th June, Monday

“Cresting
The eternal now
The carp and I
Share the summer sun”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to the website’s ‘The start of it all’ page where you can find all the links to episodes featuring readings from Mum’s book.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A brooding sky and mirrored waters (Fen Country)

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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Join us on a quiet night of summer rain as we listen to rooks and explore the beauty and ambiguities of two liminal places with a lot in common. We learn about the web-footed fenmen and are guided by Luke Sherlock to a ruined church under haunting skies.

Journal entry:

6th June, Friday

“We walk through the sheep field
As the rain pours down.
My boot socks still wet from last night.
The rooks muster noisily at the One Oak.

Even the magpies’ cackles cannot wake
The lambs still asleep
Nestled beneath the blackthorn hedge.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Edward Storey’s ‘You walk the roof of the world here’ and Jeff Moore’s ‘The worked land.’ I also read an extract from Luke Sherlock’s Forgotten Churches published by Quarto and refer to Adam Porter’s podcast ‘The Water Road’

More information about the campaign for a flag for the fens can be found here: Flag of the Fens.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers:

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Erica's Place

Sun, 25 May 2025 12:00:00 +0100

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Welcome to tonight’s episode where ‘Erica’s Place’ by Mindshambles awakens a kaleidoscope of reminiscences about Mum and ‘elevensies’ and her never ending supply of fresh scones. As the different memories flow and glide past, it slowly becomes clear how much of ‘Erica’s place’ and Mum’s philosophy still lives on and unconsciously shapes these podcasts. Welcome to Erica's place.

Journal entry:

20th May, Tuesday

“The yellow flag are out.
Unfolding the origami of their petals
From the squashed chrysalis of their buds.

Yellow iris arrives flat-packed
To be assembled without sound
Held only by a dance of air and light.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the first verse of John Betjeman’s ‘Upper Lambourne’ and a short extract from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac.

I also read ‘Erica’s Place’ by Mindshambles (2025)

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Gabriela Maria Rodriguez-Veinotte
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Totally Worthwhile Risk - 4

Sun, 11 May 2025 13:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, we float upon a starfield of hawthorn blossom under a waxing moon. Why not join us as we continue with the final part of Mum’s account of the ‘totally worthwhile risk that was never regretted.’

Journal entry:

9th May, Friday

“A westering sun
Lays long shadows across
The towpath and canal.

Two geese in a field
watch me from across the water.
A pheasant’s rasp
The scent of may.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the first part of John Clare’s (1793-1864) ‘In suns and showers luxuriant May came forth’ published posthumously in Madrigals and Chronicles (1924).

For photographs accompanying the reading from Mum’s account, please go to this episode’s page on noswpod.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Gabriela Maria Rodriguez-Veinotte
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Totally Worthwhile Risk - 3

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

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Join us tonight under a waning April moon as we think about the local ducks preparing for the ‘long sit’ and hear more about what happened to Mum and Dad after they had landed in Canada to start a new life together.

Journal entry:

25th April, Friday.

“Down in the engine bay
De-rusting for painting.

I am once more a clumsy adolescent.
My feet grow too large and my knees
and elbows get in the way.
I no longer can bend as I once did.

The march of time becomes visible
In both the engine and my body.
The engine gathers grime
I gather aches.

From time to time, we both groan.”

Episode Information:

For accompanying photographs, please go to this episode’s page on noswpod.

The website featuring the MS Seven Seas that I mentioned in this episode can be found here: SS Maritime.com.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Totally Worthwhile Risk - 2

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, clouds build as the high pressure breaks. Speculative gusts of wind kick blackthorn blossom ghostly white along the towpath and the full moon seeps heavy and watery through a blanket of cloud. Join us tonight as we continue hearing Mum's account of a risk that was totally worth taking.

Journal entry:

7th April, Monday

“Warm snowflakes
Of blackthorn float and drift
Along the towpath
Among cowslip yellow
And bluebell blue.

The sheep are loathe
To move, preferring to lie
On the grass
White with night frost,
Enjoying the heat
Of the sun
On their backs.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read:

‘Blackthorn Blossom’ by John Bond
‘Young lambs’ by John Clare

In the thumbnail photograph, Mum and Dad are the couple facing each other and closest to the camers. For other accompanying photographs, please go to noswpod.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Gabriela Maria Rodriguez-Veinotte
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Totally Worthwhile Risk - 1

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0100

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It's a spring, moonless night - not quite 'Bible black', but nearly! It's a perfect night for stories. Why not join us to hear the first part of Mum’s account of their great adventure when, 68 years ago, almost to the day, Mum and Dad embarked on a totally new phase of their lives.

Journal entry:

26th March, Wednesday

“The ash are heavy with bud
Blistered garnet, raspberry-
Shaped jewels
That glow warmly in
The low sunshine
That picks out the
Slow contours of the fields
In barley light.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Vanessa’s The Mindful Narrowboat vlog: Our Narrowboat Definitely isn't Ready for this Challenging Tidal River Journey! #231.

I also refer to the write-up for this podcast in Towpath Talk (issue235) you can read the article online (page 70).

You can listen to Radio Lento here.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Cloud Herder (Won't you spin us one last story?)

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

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Along the towpath, the battle between winter and spring has begun with days of warmth and days of sleet. Although even the young ducks teach us a lesson in conflict avoidance. Join us tonight as we celebrate the lives of two people who were central to the creation of Nighttime on Still Waters.

Journal entry:

12th March, Wednesday.

“The day winds down.
A last walk along the canal side.
Pebbled rings form in the open water.

A kick of sleet
Drives against my face.
Captivated by the golden sun
Shining through rain mist.
Such unimagined golds.

Behind me
A pale rainbow
Bows and fades to such majesty.”

Episode Information:

This episode is dedicated to the memory to two people without whom this podcast would not have been created: Michael Goode and Clifford DeHaven.

Among many things, Clifford was a great musician. One of his musical incarnations was as 'Mournful Hornet' which seemed to capture his offbeat character and heart. You can hear him on SoundCloud. I also read the words of Meg Kara (Poetic Meg).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

On the Leading Edge of Spring

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 19:00:00 +0000

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Along the towpath winter slowly fades. If we are not quite in spring yet, we can feel it close at hand. Join us tonight as we celebrate the shifts in light and tone across the landscape and from deep within.

Journal entry:

26th February, Wednesday

“For me, there are few things more beautiful and soul inspiring than this:
Rain on water,
Old growth by the waterside,
Time-bleached reeds
Standing like Nepalese prayer flags.
The song of home.
Signals of transcendence.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read following poems:

‘Winter’ by Frank Mansell
‘XXXIV’ by Idris Davies (adapted by Max Boyce ‘When we walked to Merthyr Tydfil’)

I also read excerpts from Book of Seasons by William Howitt (1833) and The Golden Age by Kenneth Grahame (1895).

I also refer to the 1973 BBC Play for Today ‘Shakespeare or Bust’ which can be viewed on YouTube.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Winter Readings ('The Great Frost of 1895' and 'Day of the 'Iceberg'')

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000

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A winter’s night on the canal, starless and wind gnawed. A snug cabin with a warm stove. A hot drink in a favourite mug (and a biscuit or two). A cosy chair waiting for you. It’s just the perfect kind of night to curl up and listen to some accounts about life on the canals in winters past, when the ice was 2ft 6in deep.

Journal entry:

14th February, Friday

"Steel-grey half-light.
Rooks swing round the naked oaks.
The daily clamour of heading for home;
Roosting time.

Their exuberant crow song
And sense of life
Fill me with a nameless emotion.

It's something about
A longing for home."

Episode Information:

The two readings featured in this episode are:

‘The Great Frost of 1895’ by Monica Bennett and ‘Day of the ‘Iceberg’ by Ron Whatley. They both can be found in Up the Cut: An anthology of inland waterways edited by Ivan E Broadhead, published in 1994 by Alan Sutton Publishing.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Orion Still Looks Down (On the land my shadow knows)

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

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It’s a bitingly cold, sleety night. There’s a warning of snow in the forecast for later. It’s a perfect night to sit together around a warm stove snug inside the Erica’s cabin, while the wild world rages outside. The kettle is singing, the biscuit barrel is full. The night belongs to us.

Journal entry:

7th February, Friday.

“Yesterday’s spectacular
Blood-orange dawn
Has given way to a dawn
Without colour or feeling.

We pick our way between
Rutted potholes of slippery mud
To the Magpie’s scalding laugh.

A wicked wind cuts
In from the north-east
And reminds me that I am,
After all, an embodied being.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read ‘Where does Comfort’s Bosom Glow?’ by John Clare from his Madrigals and Chronicles: Being newly found poems and ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy (1900).

I also quote from William Blake’s (1796/7) The Four Zoas (Night the Second).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Changes that Come

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

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There seems to be an awful of change happening recently, often unasked and with far-reaching consequences. Knowing how to deal with it can be difficult and lead us to feeling unbalanced and overwhelmed. Tonight, we try to find some still-points within the chaos.

Journal entry:

23rd January, Thursday

“A robin, one winter,
Riding out a sleety squall
On the flailing branch
Of pyracantha fire.

He often springs to mind
When squalls hit
And my world lurches
Fearfully beneath me.

I wish for his poise
And his ability to find
And surf upon the
Still-point of chaos.”

Episode Information:

In this episode, I talk about Orange Cookie’s beautiful ‘Still Waters and Nighttime Bats’ tea towel that is inspired by this podcast. You can view this and her other designs at Spoonflower.

I also read a very short extract from The Monk and the Butterfly by Kai T. Murano (published independently, 2024).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

General Details

Theme music: ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

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.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Wrapped in Freezing Fog

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us aboard the Erica, as we sit around the stove on a raw night of ice and freezing fog. Tonight, we reflect on boat (and other) life in the times of hard frost, the trials of swan and kingfisher life, and we finish with a short reading from Tom Rolt.

Journal entry:

9th January, Thursday

“The shatter of January light
On fractured ice.
The smouldering
Of fallen leaves
Frozen into the ringing silence
Of stilled waters.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Sue Wilkes’ (2011) Tracing your Canal Ancestors: A guide for family historians published by Pen and Sword.

The episode concludes with a very short extract from LTC (Tom) Rolt’s (1944) Narrow Boat now re-published for its 70th anniversary in 2014 by History Press.

The sounds of ice were recorded on the Erica in February 2021.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark 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.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Into the Silence (The Undreaming)

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

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I am probably not the only one feeling a little disoriented and uncertain about what the upcoming year will hold. While it is great to have plans and dreams, these are not always possible and sometimes, I think, not even desirable. There are times for wisdom to be silent and for the 'undreaming' to occur before we can begin to discover new music and new dances.

Journal entry:

1st January, Wednesday

“A dawn of tobacco and salmon
And racing clouds.

A solitary raven rows
Swiftly against the current of the day.

Hacking cough and aching limbs
There is more than one way to enter a new year.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I give a short update to why there was no Christmas episode this year and we welcome in 2025.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Practically Speaking (Listeners' questions - 7)

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 13:00:00 +0000

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Join us tonight under the soft light of a veiled full moon as we consider the wash of winter tree colours, when to start looking for a mooring, and how practical do you have to be to live on a boat?

Journal entry:

11th December, Wednesday

“All week, a north-easterly
Has raked across the bevelled
Waters, aching and raw,
Rattling the stern hatch doors.

The reeds whisper cold
Lullabies to the moorhen.
A kingfisher darts dimly
Through the dusk.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read two short extracts from John Clare’s ‘December’ from his Shepherd’s Calendar (1820).

I also read ‘The Long Village (Oct 2024)’ by Mind Shambles.

You can read the about the names of the full moons (in the UK) at the Royal Museums Greenwich website.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Winter's Whispers (The wisdom of the long nights)

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us round the stove tonight as we celebrate the joys and reflect on the lessons of living on a boat when winter approaches in the good company of Tom Rolt and Christine Rigden.

This episode is dedicated to Dad, who would have been 96 today.

Journal entry:

28th November, Thursday.

“Old moon
Curls with his back
To the dawn.
A slivered, sickled
Crescent of cold silver
That bathes the ivy
In frost.

My feet slide
On beauty.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Tom Rolt’s (1944) Narrow Boat and ‘Winter Boating’ and ‘Gone Aground’ by Christine Rigden from her volume (2015) Metamorphosis.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Days of No Shadow (... and then a deer barked)

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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Recently, Britain experienced a blocking high pressure system, leading to an extended period of ‘anticyclonic gloom.’ Such are the conditions in which myths are created and as Blodeuwedd and Lleu indicate might still be created.

Journal entry:

15th November, Friday

Early light.
Thick mist
Licked with salmon
On the eastern edge.
Frost glitters
Along the cabin roof
And rimes hoary
On the solar panels.

Rooks pour off
The music stave
Of telegraph wires
Whirling around the one oak.

The mist erupts
With black wings
And ragged song
And such mysterious
Determined intent
That there is something
In me that flies
Off with them.

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer the story of Blodeuwedd and Lleu from the Mabinogion. I also refer to Gwilym Morus-Baird’s reading of it.

The female tawny owl was recorded in the field by Sean Townsend (Freesound 2013).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

"Stretched into Tales that Leave a Mark"

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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Two rather wonderful things have happened recently that has prompted this episode to take a reflective look back at this podcast and the journey we have taken together. Join us tonight on NB Erica as we celebrate sharing these night-times on still waters.

Journal entry:

31st October, Thursday, Samhain – All Hallow’s Eve

“Still air.
Wood smoke blends with night mist.
A tawny’s call shivers
Across the fields to the south.

I pass a couple of boats
With pumpkin jack o’ lanterns
Grinning candlelight
Onto their bows.

The distant music of memories
Swirl me loose from my moorings
Casting me adrift into
The night-times of my boyhood.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read two poems
‘Slow Radio’ by Seán Street
‘The Narrowcaster’ by Archie.

I refer to a previous episode, ‘The sun that shone on Eden (Still shines upon us here)’ and I include recordings from ‘Duck calls in the night.’

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Lois Raphael
Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Long Village (Villages and tribes)

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, we are hunkered down awaiting another storm. So, come and join us for a cosy night as we reflect on the fairly unique nature of canal-life and the community that it supports, with thanks to Wayne (NB Spudley) for drawing attention to a great new canal-based charity and some wise words from Rich (by Bike & Boat).

Journal entry:

16th October, Wednesday

“October drips onwards.

The towpath washed with mud
And brushed silvers
Wet with fallen leaf
And windfall twigs
Greets me with
A familiar squelch.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Edward Thomas’ poem ‘Digging.’

Wayne’s Narrowboat Spudley vlog is ‘Keeping heads above water – just!’ The charity’s website is Forces Veterans Afloat.

Rich’s photographs and writing can be found at by Bike & Boat (Facebook).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Sami Walbury
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Touch of Autumn (Apple picking time)

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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Join us on the narrowboat Erica on a moonless, star-filled night as we celebrate autumns, real and imagined, present and remembered. Although October (at the moment) is far from 'golden', it is apple picking time mem ries of which take us meandering down the wandering paths of my childhood.

Journal entry:

3rd October, Thursday

“Afterglow of sunlight
Ash etched into ice blue
Overseen by a watching rook.

Smoke curls
Listless on no wind.
Cabin lights call me home.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the following poems:

‘Equinox’ by Roger Garfitt
‘Autumn, 1964’ by John Betjeman.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Consolation of Ducks

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0100

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Did you know that ducks participate in ‘coordinated loafing’? But that might not be the only surprising/endearing thing about them. Tonight, we celebrate the joy ducks bring thanks to video posted by a stranger in Canada.

Journal entry:

20th September, Friday

“Hanging at the still-point between
Summer and winter’s
Swing and counter-swing.

Rooks roister joyously westwards,
Red with promise.
Above them, fourteen successive
Straggles of geese
Head eastwards
Flying on swift wingbeats
Against the grain of the day.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Mark Hogben’s video reel (11/09/24) on Instagram of him feeding the ducks.

I also briefly mention the following:

Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac
Godfrey Baseley’s (1977) A Country Compendium
Stefan Buczacki’s (2002) Fauna Britanica
Jennifer Ackerman’s (2021) The Bird Way.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

It turned a bit wet (Afloat in Hiroshige's rain storm)

Sun, 08 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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Join us tonight as Erica a wends ‘snailward’ home through a heavy rain storm - recorded, aptly enough, during another heavy rain storm! Hear also about our adventures with a drowning pigeon.

Journal entry:

3rd September, Tuesday

“Cruising through a Hiroshige
Woodblock print;
Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge.
Even the reeds look like bamboo.

A heron pilots us home.”

Episode Information:

During this episode I read a short poem by Issa and read some of the lyrics from Finnegan Tui’s latest song ‘Old One.’

I also refer to Hiroshige’s woodblock print Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake, Cynthia Barnett’s (2016) Rain: Natural and cultural history, and an extract from Thomas Merton’s (2003) When the Trees say Nothing.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Shot through with wonder (First glimpse of the sea)

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0100

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Traditionally, August has been the time for Britons to head off to the seaside for their annual holiday. This week’s episode celebrates this custom and causes me to reconsider the momentous moment when I saw the sea for the first time.

Journal entry:

23rd August, Friday

“All night the winds blew;
Battering and hooliganing
Around the boat.
Perhaps that’s why I woke
In a disquieted mood.

I stand on the bank
And feel my feet set squarely
On the towpath.
Each morning, a raven rows his way
Across the sky, from east to west.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Mind Shamble’s poem ‘Over Steam (Spring 2021)’ and read excerpts from John Betjeman’s poems, ‘Seaside Golf’, ‘Trebetherick’, and ‘Greenaway.’ I also refer to the song ‘Morningtown Ride’ by M. Reynolds and sung by The Seekers.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Holiday Interlude (& the Cap'n's Dad)

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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We’re on HOLIDAY! And so, a rather truncated and spur of the moment podcast tonight. However, join us as we enjoy a spot of tranquillity canal-style. We also hear a lovely story from one of our long-time listeners and lock-wheelers.

Journal entry:

25th July, Thursday

“The sun flashes off the canal
in a shimmering dance of light.

Sweet fruit hang amid
The dappled leaves and butterflies,
Rotting on the higher branches.
We below them look up
Rueing such waste and decay;
Sweetness lost to the wasps.

But for the bottle green beetle
There is no decay, only ripeness
And life.

For the plum tree,
There is no loss, no waste,
Just the culmination
Of a winter’s worth of survival
During the long cold of
Darkened days.

My world must seem so
Totally incomprehensible
To them.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I recommend Wes and Amy’s vlog: Boat Time.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Meursault's Walk & Mine (Dad's ashes)

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0100

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Join me tonight as I recount a strange and rather unnerving experience that I had just over a week ago, of feeling as if I were walking in the footsteps of Meursault, the main character of one of my favourite books, Albert Camus’ The Outsider.

Please note that this episode contains themes relating to death and cremation.

Journal entry:

25th July, Thursday

“First light of iron and steel.
A mist of rain
On the back of
A wind from the south.

A raven calls from the
Topmost branch of the tallest
Of the convocational oaks.

We both look west
And share this morning light
Of rain and southerly wind.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Albert Camus’ (1942) The Outsider translated by Sandra Smith and published in 2012 by Penguin Classics. I also briefly refer to his The Plague also published by Penguin.

To listen to the episode that I refer to in this podcast: Walking Home (in fading light).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

David Dirom
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Spun by Wonderment (above Hemel Hempstead)

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0100

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There are times that can touch us deeply. Very often they are not about finding a place of peace or somewhere outstandingly beautiful. It is something else. Something beyond these things. It is about encountering something wonderful, and being spun by wonderment.
Join us tonight as we recover from dragging a very smelly and wet dog out of the canal!

Journal entry:

13th July, Saturday

“Loosestrife sets alight
The greyness of the day
With purple fire.

Chiff chaff squeak
Like rusty wheelbarrows
Among the dog-rose
And willowherb spires.

Maggie sniffs each stone
in turn of the snapped-back bridge
As we pass underneath it
With a thrash of white water.

The heron is back
And so are we.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I briefly mention a line from ‘Waltzing Along’ by James (1997) and Kai T Murano’s The Monk and the Butterfly, self-published in 2024.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Living inside the Seasons

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0100

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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 and celebrate the unfolding of the summer.

Journal entry:

25th June, Tuesday

“First day this summer
Of real heat.
All day, my shirt has stuck
To my back.

This evening
The clover field
Hums with
The work of bees.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I recite a number of Larry Hammer’s translations of Japanese poems from the Kokinshū from his (2018) Ice Melts in the Wind published by Cholla Bear Press, as well as haiku from The Four Seasons published (1958) by Peter Pauper Press.

I also refer to Lev Parikian’s (2021) Light Rains Sometimes Fall published by Elliott and Thompson, and Beth Kempton’s (2018) Wabi Sabi published by Piatkus.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Children of the Children of Lir

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0100

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Join us on a wet and windy night as, tonight, we listen the strange and untameable tale of Fionnghuala, Oadh, Fiacra and Conn, the children of Lir, and meet up with our own (children of the) children of Lir who share their own wild mythologies.

I also give an explanatory statement about the YouTube podcast channel.

Journal entry:

11th June, Tuesday

“Standing knee deep
In a green ocean of grass.
The woodpecker’s
Seagull laughter
Tumbles among the trees below.

And here am I,
On a summer’s evening,
Skimming stones across the stilled waters
Of a restless mind.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I retell the story of the Children of Lir. As can be expected from a tale birthed in orality it can be found in many forms. A good introduction can be found here: Wilderness Ireland. However, oral stories are not so much about the precise details but what you, the listener, bring to them.

I also refer to our old friend, Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Sunday Morning in May

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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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

“Standing looking south-west
Across the vale.
Four ducks circle above the water.
Then swoop down and land in unison.

The fields and hills in the distance
Fade into soft light.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read John Clare’s poem ‘Day-Break’ and a very short extract from his Shepherd’s Calendar.

You can visit Deborah Vass’s beautiful website here: Still Sketching.

Cally Conway’s gorgeous nature inspired linocuts can be viewed here: Cally Conway Prints.

You can view Karen and Jason Politte’s videos: Just Two People.

The soundscape was recorded in Weldon Woodland Park on 26/05/24.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

First Impressions (On canal life)

Sun, 12 May 2024 14:00:00 +0100

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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.

Journal entry:

8th May, Wednesday.

“A May evening of golden haze
And drifting willow down
And the busy day winds down.

Nearby, lambs call as mothers graze and nuzzle
Beyond them, chiff-chaff, robin, and bluetit.
Further distant, the sound of children playing.
Beyond that a dog barks and another answers.
Further still a train clatters over some points.

Encircled by ever increasing concentric
rings of soundscapes
That pin me to the epicentre of this
May evening of golden haze."

Episode Information:

Karen and Jason made a video of their time on NB Sam's Drum. You can view it here: Leaving America for a Narrowboat.
With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Dusts of Winter (Spring Cleaning)

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0100

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Journal entry:

20th April, Saturday

“A ring of coltsfoot heads has been placed
In the crevice of an oak-beam used as a picnic table.
They lie bleached and desiccated
Shrouded in fine cobweb and dust.
They look just like the vestige
Of some prehistoric ritual.

Perhaps some child placed them there
On a sunny day of picnic and leisure.
It is good to know
That we have not grown so far distant
From our forebears to have forgotten
Our need to be human.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the opening pages of Kenneth Grahame’s (1908) The Wind in the Willows republished by Penguin Classics.

I also refer to Roy Vickery’s (2019) Vickery’s Folk Flora, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson and

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Just shadows on a summer lawn

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0100

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For us the river of the year has, so far, been roaring and fierce. It is difficult, at times, to see the bank or to even know whether we are floating or sinking. However, that is only one small part of the picture. What follows is a rather incoherent attempt to find coherence amid the noise.

Journal entry:

10th April, Wednesday

“This morning dawned in chilled silver
I wore my coat up to my chin.
Now the sun is out
And coltsfoot down dances
On a warm wind.”

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

On Surveys and Winter Warmth (Listeners' questions - 6)

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000

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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 narrowboat?

Journal entry:

7th March, Thursday.

“A grey wind blows
From a grey sky
Troubling the surface
Of the canal.

Damson blossom
Torn from branch
Spun snow-like
With each gust.

Sweet smell of woodsmoke
And the throat-catch of coal
Crosses my path, head high,
And is lost along the towpath.

þæs ofereode,
þisses swa mæg
(That passed over…
so may this)

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Miles Hadfield’s (1950) English Almanac and Eleanor Parker’s (2022) Winters in the World. I also read a verse from John Clare’s ‘Last of March written at Lolham Briggs.’

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Walking Home (In fading light)

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 11:00:00 +0000

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As a family, we gained a reputation for the way our 'short walks' often turned into marathon hikes which invariably meant staggering home long after dark (usually without a torch). In this week’s episode I reminisce on the lessons learnt, their prescient significance, and living in a culture that does growing old and dying so astonishingly badly.

Journal entry:

24th February, Saturday.

“Cloud cliffs, grey and climbing
Early spring sunshine
Catching the stonework traceries
And Benedictine flint and brickwork.

The hub of politicking and commerce
Silenced by the wheel-turn of centuries.
Now trees stand where monks walked
And daffodils nod in silent prayer.

An hour of gentle talk and laughter
Among such emerald greens of spring.
And crows bathe in the Stiffkey brook
As the wayside flames with primrose,
Crocus, and snowdrop.

Later, vast flights of wild geese fly south
Along the coastline.”

Episode Information:

This episode comprises largely of family recollections, but please note that it also touches on the themes on death and dying.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

Chris and Alan on NB The Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Rough Crossings

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 11:00:00 +0000

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Welcome aboard the NB Erica on a wet winter’s night. It is a perfect night to snuggle down and listen to JM Synge’s turn of the 20th century accounts of his travels to the Aran Islands in a small currach on stormy seas.

Journal entry:

14th February, Wednesday (St. Valentine’s Day)

“Outside,
No coat,
On the hill that runs down to the cut.

Warm sun, fleeting,
Cloud chasing with the gulls
And the circle of two buzzards.

Maggie sits, watching,
From a throne of dried grass
And teasels.

I too watch,
As the seconds pause.
I had never realised that the cormorant’s
Buoyant flight
Was quite like that.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read passages from JM Synge’s (1907) book The Aran Islands republished by Penguin Classics (1992).

For more information go to the episode page at noswpod.com

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

I Felt the Anchor Shift (An Update)

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:00:00 +0000

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It has been a rather tempestuous year so far! Currently, I am many miles from the boat and have not been able to record any podcasts. I have rather rushed this episode out to update you on the reasons why I have been so quiet of late and to bring you up to date with what has been happening.

Apologies for the sound quality of this episode. I do not have my recording gear with me at the moment.

Episode Information:

In this episode I read parts of the lyrics from ‘Sit Down’ by James, written by Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, Tim Booth, Gavan Whelan (1989).

I also read a very short extract from John Moriarty’s (2009) Dreamtime published by Lilliput Press and featuring the words of Julian of Norwich.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Christmas Eves of Childhood

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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You are invited to join us for a very special episode as we celebrate Christmas Eve onboard the Erica and remember the Christmas Eves of our childhood.

Journal entry:

21st December, Thursday, Winter Solstice

“The year’s turning
And the longest night.

There’s a rough wind
And angry skies.

The polestar oak
Finally felled.

The ducks don’t seem
To notice."

Episode Information:

Can I take this opportunity to wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a happy NEW YEAR!

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Afloat with Maggie (Listeners' questions - 5)

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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You have seen the Instagram photographs/videos of happy boat-dogs gambolling along summer towpaths, dense with colour and sunshine, or happily curled up in front of cosy fires, but what is the reality of sharing a boat with a dog really like, especially in the winter?

Journal entry:

15th December, Friday.

“All night,
The owls echoed
Along the valley
In the long tunnel
Of the night.

This morning,
A magpie scratched
Her jagged song
Across the metalled dome
Of first light.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a short extract from Tom Rolt’s (1944) Narrow Boat re-published in 2014 by The History Press

Links to all the vlogs that I mention in this episode can be found in the transcript below.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Sean James Cameron
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When Mum married Dad (95th birthday edition)

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us on a stormy December night to listen to the next part of ‘How Mum met Dad’ in celebration of Dad’s 95th birthday. This week, we hear about their crack of dawn wedding and their honeymoon on the Norfolk Broads in the Whippet.

Journal entry:

7th December, Thursday

“Untidy smoke trail of jackdaws
Stream across an iron sky
Of scalding wind and rain flail.

Maggie and I pick our way
Across the sheep field,
December sings through the oaks.”

Episode Information:

For more information, photographs and readings from Mum’s book: The Start of it all.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When Mum met Dad (95th Birthday edition)

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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This week is a very special episode as we celebrate Dad’s 95th birthday and we go back in time to hear about how a 1938 Hilman Minx was instrumental in how Mum met Dad.

Journal entry:

1st December, Friday

“Short sections of the canal
Are covered in a frosted skim of ice.
Wafer thin
But firm enough to bear a moorhen’s weight.

She walks parallel to the offside bank
Left foot raised in a high arc
Then place it flat upon the ice
Slide it forwards half an inch or so.

Pivot

Right foot raised in a high arc
Then place it flat upon the ice
Slide it forwards half an inch or so.

Pivot

And so on.
This is how to adapt
When your environment
Is suddenly changed
Beyond recognition.

Skating slowly
With an assured deliberation.
The canal is still
Your home.”

Episode Information:

Vanessa’s vlog can be viewed here: The Mindful Narrowboat.

For more information, photographs and readings from Mum’s book: The Start of it all.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Sean James Cameron
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Battered Landscapes of our Edens

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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Autumn is a good time for contemplation and a place by the fireside encourages reflection. Recently I have been revisiting the journals of Thomas Merton and, with the help of John Moriarty, I have found myself relearning some valuable lessons. The Edens of our flourishing are sometimes not quite what we dream them to be.

Journal entry:

15th November, Wednesday

"Across the fields,
A train clatters it's way to Birmingham.
The lit carriages flickering like
A procession of glow worms
Through the hedges.

A rabbit's tail strobes white in my torchlight.
The hill becomes alive with
Unblinking ovine eyes."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a number of entries from:

Thomas Merton’s Dancing in the Water of Life published in 2009 by HarperCollins.

For more information on John Moriarty and the ‘yoga of horror’ see his What the Curlew Said published in 2007 by Lilliput Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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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 have anything to do with it!).

Journal entry:

8th November, Wednesday.

“Look down for the healing.
A reluctant dawn this morning,
South wind plays with stray raindrops
And birch leaves.
Scars of grey paving slabs lined with green.
Willowherb, spurge, dandelion.
Green healing the grey.
Always there's the healing.
Look to the healing
Beneath your feet.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read very short extracts from:
Ruth Binney’s (2010) Weather Lore published by David and Charles.
Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by Dent and Sons.

I also read a brief extract of John Clare’s ‘November’ from his The Shepherd’s Calendar (1827).

‘Norfolk Greg’s’ blog post on Banbury Canal Day.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

November Fireside Nights

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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It’s a foul November night, so why not come and join me aboard the Erica by the warm glow of fire light. I have with me a lovely book that I found last year in a second-hand bookshop and think that it's perfect for a night like this.

Journal entry:

1st November, Wednesday.

“November is born brave
This morning.

The dark water is alive
With movement
And a scatter
Of light.

The walk from the boat
To car
Is under a starfield and
A bold moon.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the following poems:

‘The Chilterns’ by Rupert Brooke (extract)

‘Cotswolds’ by David Ashby

‘Cotswold Roads’ by Eva Dobell

‘Tewkesbury Road’ by John Masefield

‘The High Road’ by John Haines

‘Dedicatory Ode’ by Hillaire Belloc (extract)

‘The Ancient Wall’ by Brian Waters

‘The Cotswold Farmers' by John Drinkwater

All poems (excluding Brooke’s) are found in Forest and Vale and High Blue Hill: Poems of Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds and Beyond collected by Johnny Coppin (1991).

I finish with an extract from LTC Rolt’s Narrow Boat.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Autumn Forest

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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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 Chase by BB.

Journal entry:

26th October, Thursday.

“Darkness.
Mizzle transforms the water
Into star-fields of pinpricks of light.
Evanescent.

Like walking
Through the tangle
Of watery
Spiders’ webs.

A dance of tiny droplets
In the torchlight’s beam.
Cloud-walking
Beside the canal.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from BB’s (1944) wonderful Brendon Chase republished in 2016 by Puffin Books.

I also refer to Miles Hadfield’s An English Almanac (1950) published by Dent and Sons.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Rebellious Light of Beauty (The last dandelion of summer)

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0100

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It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the global events of the last couple of weeks. Following the battering of Storm Babet, this week’s episode offers a space for us to reflect on a world that can be often violent and far from perfect.

Journal entry:

13th October, Friday

“Battered by the winds of the world
I stop to watch the free-flight of rooks
Diving from an oak into the full force
Of a westerly gale.

Gothic wings outspread,
They surf the blast
Hanging on its back
In a rage of ecstatic life.

I stand alone below
Looking upwards
And for a short while
My feet have left the ground
And I master the gale.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Seán Street’s poem ‘Listening with a spider’ from his 2021 collection The Sound Recordist published by Maytree Press.

I also read an extract from Melanie Challenger’s (2023) essay: ‘Animals in the room: Why We Can and Should Listen to Other Species’.

I also refer to Thomas Hobbes’ (1651) Leviathan, Tennyson’s (1850) ‘In Memoriam’, and Max Richter’s (2003/2018) album The Blue Notebooks.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Words & Music (Listeners' questions - 4)

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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The temperature outside is dipping down towards zero, so join us for a cosy night by the glow of a hot stove, as we chat about two subjects close to my heart and the surprising way that living on a boat has altered my attitude to them.

Journal entry:

13th October, Friday

“Battered by the winds of the world
I stop to watch the free-flight of rooks
Diving from an oak into the full force
Of a westerly gale.

Gothic wings outspread,
They surf the blast
Hanging on its back
In a rage of ecstatic life.

I stand alone below
Looking upwards
And for a short while
My feet have left the ground
And I master the gale.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I answer the following questions from listeners:

10:59 = How did we decide which books to include in our library on the Erica?
19:39 - Will you do an episode on writings about the canals?
21:09 - Did you have a record collection and how do you listen to music on the canal?28:48 - Have you considered recreating the first voyage of the 'Kathy'?

Click link to order a copy of Ruthie Windsor-Mann’s 12 months of 12 Acres.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Swings and Roundabouts (Listeners' Questions - 3)

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0100

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There's an old and trustworthy adage on the canals: when two or more boaters meet up it is only a matter of time before the conversation will turn to the subject of toilets. So guess what the topic of this week's episode is?!

Journal entry:

3rd October, Tuesday

“Light fades.
Dew Falls.
Maggie follows a rabbit’s scent-trail
Through the long, wet grass.
Two rooks head east into darkness.

I struggle in the half-light
With the padlock on the gate
So we head upwards over the hill
Then down to the line of boats
With their windows shining into the night.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I answer the following questions from listeners:

11:33 - What are the pros & cons of pump-out toilets?

22:55 - Can boaters use compost toilets?

29:39 - Is drinking tap water safe & how do you know when the water tank needs filling?

To watch the episode when Maggie meets Zephyr on The Mindful Narrowboat: Come Here For A Narrowboating Break.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast.

Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Sean James Cameron
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Under the ghost of a Harvest Moon

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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A week of serious problems with our internet has meant that I have been unable to record the episode answering listeners’ questions. However, join us tonight to enjoy a special meeting under the ‘ghost’ of a harvest moon.

Journal entry:

29th September, Friday

“Early this morning,
We met the swan slipping
Light upon the night-time mists.

Behind us,
Cows stood knee deep
in milk- white meadows.

This is the stillness that falls
After the storm.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a section from Neil Young’s Harvest Moon published in 1992 by Big Deal Music.

I also read poems 137 and 42 by Ryokan from The Zen Fool Ryokan by Misao Kodama and Hikosaku Yanagishima published in 199 by Charles E Tuttle.

I also read a short passage from Eido Frances Carey’s biography Kakurenbo published 2013 in by Temple Ground Press.

You can find Vanessa and Zephyr on The Mindful Narrowboat vlog.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Uncertain Futures (Listeners' questions - 2)

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0100

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There’s a chill in the air tonight and there will be mist on the water in the morning. Join me tonight as I answer some hard questions about how viability is a long term in the Erica on the canals?

Journal entry:

21st September, Thursday

“For a short while this evening
The crescent moon and the setting sun
Shared the same length of skyline.
A fiery bronze heart and the ghost of bone.

Then a robin sings as rain drops fall.
Here is tranquillity and peace.
The horned moon
And evensong among the patter
Of elder leaves.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I answer the following listener’s questions:

Have we burnt our bridges?
What do we do about dentists and GPs?
How will the funding cuts affect us?

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com. It will also allow you to become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even, if you want, leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'No Regrets' (Listeners' questions - 1)

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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On a dark night that is damp with an autumnal chill, join us as tonight I answer some of the questions posed by the listeners of this podcast which range from the decisions and motivations behind our choice to live afloat to canal etiquette.

Journal entry:

14th September, Thursday

“Thin drizzle.
The jackdaws sound like
Monosyllabic gulls this evening.
Woundwort heals the breach between
The canal and me.
Red berries.
Some days that is all you need:
Rain and red berries.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Jim Batty’s book Narrowboat Life published in 2016 by Adlard Coles. I also mention Peter Warnett and Alan Thornhills’ The Three Mile Man published in 1980 by Harper Collins.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Anna V.
Sean James Cameron
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Home thoughts of a Pilgrim (Chasing the wind)

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 15:00:00 +0100

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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 caught afire
With the westward
Apricot sun.

And look at how the nettles glow
Translucent with the touch
Of unspeakable wonder.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Chasing the Wind by Tony Bell ©2020

If you have a question, drop me a line on nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or got to the noswpod.com website and click on the contact form or record a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon. Or leave a comment/message me via Facebook page, Instagram, Mastadon, or X (formerly Twitter).

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Roots do not hold you down (Hedge wisdom)

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0100

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The hedges are ablaze with colour and they call to us of lessons that we have long forgotten.

Journal entry:

2nd September, Saturday
“At the edgings of the day.
A delinquent V of geese
Transect a sinking sun.
As they reappear
Another flight has joined them.
They continue in a loose straggle
North.

A cool whisper of air
As we round the base of the hill.
Distant voices float across the water.
As the sun sinks below the west
The chant of jackdaws.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read extracts from:
Tristan Gooley’s (2018) Wild Signs and Star Pathspublished by Hodder & Stoughton.
Sharon Blackie’s (2018) The Enchanted Life published by September Publishing.
William Carleton (1830) The Hedge School open access text.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information visit our website at noswpod.com wher you can become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

As long as the rain talks (I will listen)

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0100

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Rain has a quality to touch us both physically and emotionally. Thomas Merton and Tristan Gooley are two very different people, but both offer insights into the language of rain and what we can learn through listening to it.

Journal entry:

24th August, Thursday

"We drop down the hill
To field-edge and thistledown smoke.
A moorhen scatters at our approach
Leaving only a fading trace in the water.
Maggie methodically sniffs the undergrowth
While I search for gold in the clouds.
A bee crawls into a hole in the bank.
Evening."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read extracts from:
Elizabeth-Jane Burnett’s (2023) article ‘It’s a pause between seasons as the skylarks fall silent’.
Thomas Merton’s (2003/2015) When the Trees Say Nothing published by Ave Maria Press.
Tristan Gooley’s (2022) The Secret World of Weather published by Hodder and Stoughton.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Anna V.
Sean James Cameron
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

An August-coloured Evening

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, we celebrate and enjoy a special August evening at the moorings, filled with golden light, gentle chatter, a rolling wind, duck call and church bells. A rare ‘August-coloured’ evening.

Journal entry:

15th August, Tuesday

“Chasing clouds and sunshine.
The ground still wet from yesterday's rain
We walk the loop, Maggie reacquainting herself
With familiar places.
Me too. It seems a while.
It's good to be out again.
The air smells green and fresh."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Tov Jansson’s classic The Summer Book: A novel republished (2003) by Sort of Books.
I also read ‘Piping Pebworth’ attributed to Shakespeare.
Videos on the boatman's cabin refit of Narrowboat Precious Jet.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Adventures and Departures (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 4)

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0100

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Life afloat can throw up some rather singular challenges from being frozen in to sinking, running aground, being attacked by wild kittens and the dangers of runaway working boats!! Join us tonight as we ride out Storm Antoni (apologies for some background rain patter) for the concluding reading of The Kathy Chronicles, where the decision is made to leave life on the canal and embrace new adventures.

Episode Information:

You can see some family photographs from this time by going to the noswpod website.
Listen to part One, Two, and Three.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The New Baby Arrives (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 3)

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

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What was it like to give birth on small 30 ft boat in the 1960s? Mum continues her account of her life afloat on the Kathy in this week’s instalment of ‘The Kathy Chronicles’. We hear about the some of the challenges and joys of bringing up two very small children on a boat as well as Dad’s battle with the Pithers stove and a strange event that remains a mystery.

Episode Information:

You can hear earlier episodes of 'The Kathy' Chronicles here: One, Two.
You can see some family photographs from this time by going to the noswpod website.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Anna V
Sean James Cameron
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Crochet by Lantern Light (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 2)

Sun, 23 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

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What was it really like to live on board a 30ft canal boat in the late 1950s before there were such things as service points and fully equipped marinas?
This week we continue with ‘The Kathy Chronicles’ where Mum describes how they began to settle into life afloat, whilst making extensive alterations, as well their plans for the arrival of a new baby. She provides a fascinating picture of the realities of what it was like to live-aboard a canal boat in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Episode Information:

You can listen to part 1 - here.
You can see some family photographs from this time by going to the noswpod website.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Sean James Cameron
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Low along the Fox Paths

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0100

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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 midnight.
Lying in bed and listening
To the drum of rain
On the cabin roof.

All day I have watched the dark
Clouds boil in the cauldron
Of the west.
Storm heads tower
In castle greys.

Maggie and I stood
On the hill with no name
Watching the ragged veils
Of cloud-tear
Sweep towards us

It falls like brush strokes
Played on a snare drum.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from the Ladybird Book What to look for in Summer by E.L. Grant Watson (1960) published by Wills and Hepworth.

I also read the following Sabbath Poems XXII and XXIII by Wendell Berry (2013) published by Catapult.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Sean James Cameron
Laurie and Liz
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Changes (lessons from a field edge)

Sun, 09 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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Join us tonight on a hot sticky night of lingering light and stubborn twilight. With the summer’s tilt shifting wider and deeper changes are felt. "Life is a motion. Life is growth. It is never static," says the corner of a field.

Journal entry:

4th July, Tuesday

"Goldfinch carnival
Among the teasel heads
And early sun.

Dark clouds to the west
Bringing rain.
Spindrift of fine drizzle
Freewheels on the breeze.

The cows are in no hurry
Neither am I."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read ‘The Summer Day’ by Mary Oliver first published in House of Light (1990) published by Beacon Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Facing the Fears with Maggie

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

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This has been rather an unexpected and eventful week. This is a special episode where we welcome a board a new fellow traveller (along the canals and through life).

Journal entry:

30th June, Friday

“Endless motorways. Endless traffic.
Red lights all the way.
A frightened face and soulful eyes.
I sit on the stairs out of sight; out of the way.

A short drizzle of rain.
The smell of hay in fields.
Sitting as darkness falls,
My arm is licked by a new friend."

Episode Information:

Photographs of Maggie can be found on the podcast’s website: noswpod.com.
In this episode, I mention this episode from Heidi’s narrowboat vlog: The Narrowboat Pirate.
For those experiencing pet bereavement you might find an earlier episode of this podcast helpful: ‘No Small Gift’.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Five Finger Widths (above the horizon)

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0100

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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 down a setting sun and reflect on the rich culture it created.

Journal entry:

23rd June, Friday.

“The alder saplings are growing thick at the water’s edge
Vying with the green spears of teasel
And purple knapweed plumes.

This time last year
Some of them were forming as catkins
On its parent tree, under a sun
That fiercely blazed and under which
We welcomed its shade
And the coolness of grass.”

Episode Information:

For those interested in reading a bit more about the different solar myths and legends across the globe, Stanford Solar Centre have produced a useful and nicely presented overview.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Laurie and Liz
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mike and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

These are the Long Days (on Windmill Hill)

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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These are the days when the nights are short and the days are long. On the cusp of the summer solstice, the year's turning reaches its zenith, join me tonight in celebrating the unique joys (and challenges) of the long days with a special visit to Windmill Hill (Grid reference SP 33 42).

Journal entry:

14th June, Wednesday

“Sun down.
A lone swan swims up the canal.
Serene strokes from strong feet.
Each ripple she makes catches fire.
The goldcrests’ chatter falls silent
And the bank-side grasses blaze
With the sun’s dying flame.”

Episode Information:

I highly recommend Greg Chapman’s website on his life boating on Britain’s canals and waterways is Greg Afloat. It is well worth a visit!

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Laurie and Liz
Phil Pickin
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly.
Tony Rutherford.
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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'A Little Clinker-Built Boat' (The 'Kathy' Chronicles - pt 1)

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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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.

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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

In Praise of Locks (and lock-keepers)

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0100

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There’s something almost indefinably special about canal and river locks. Tonight, I relate my struggle to outwit the ghost of Odd Lock as well as take time to celebrate the lock-keepers of old and their newer iteration – the volunteer lockie (I’m guessing at the spelling!)

Journal entry:

2nd June, Friday
“North easterly winds
Grey skies.
But there are five ducklings
Braving the bluster
And a swallow scissors low over
A meadow of buttercups.
This light makes the yellow Irises blaze."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read short extracts from:
Ernest Temple Thurston’s (1911) The Flower of Gloster re-printed (1972) by David and Charles.

Julian Dutton’s (2021) Water Gypsies: A history of life on Britain’s rivers and canals, published by Coles Books.

Ivan Broadhead’s (editor) (1994) Up the Cut: An anthology of inland waterways, published by Alan Sutton Publishing.

LTC (Tom) Rolt’s (1944) Narrow Boat now re-published by History Press.

I also refer to:
Sue Wilkes’ (2011) Tracing your Canal Ancestors: A guide for family historians published by Pen and Sword.

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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.
All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Sun that Shone on Eden (still shines upon us here)

Sun, 28 May 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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Come with me for a walk by the canal and I will show you something wonderful! This week we explore how names and memories have the power to root and reinforce our connections with home and tell us something very important about ourselves.

Journal entry:

27th May, Saturday

“Late afternoon sun slants into
The tobacco-coloured waters.
Fifteen or more carp weightless
Among the cow pastures of weed-drift.

With a flick of a tail, they all glide as one
In a lithe piscine murmuration
Look! They’ve formed the shape of a starling
Flying in a tobacco-coloured sky!”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to the work of Elinor Gwynn and Keith H Basso’s (1996) book Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and language among the Western Apache published by University of New Mexico Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Nightingale Sang (and the world listened)

Sun, 21 May 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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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 remains today.

Journal entry:

18th May, Thursday,
“Is there anything more beautiful
Than the softness
Of April and May light
While the clouds scramble
For height
Amid a sky of towering blue?”

Episode Information:
In this episode I read from:
Charlie Connelly (2020) Last Train to Hilversum: A Journey in the search of the magic of radio published by Bloomsbury Press.
Seán Street (2012) The Poetry of Radio: The colour of sound published by Routledge.

The nightingale song was recorded by ‘reinsaba’. You can access the full recording at Freesound.

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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life on the Erica on our website at noswpod.com. It will also allow you to become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Up on the Roof (Waiting for the rain)

Sun, 14 May 2023 11:00:00 +0100

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We are back! Spring sunshine and showers are transforming the fields and the canal and it is wonderful to be behind the microphone once again!
The roof of a narrowboat can acts as a special extra room offering you panoramic views of a world of thee worlds. Why not climb up here and join us up on the roof of the Erica to enjoy rook play and the approach of a thunderstorm.

This episode is dedicated especially to Stu and Vania.

Journal entry:

10th May, Wednesday

“A game of Pooh-sticks and listening for the train.
The level-crossing gate feels warm in the sun.
The ground is spongy with rainfall and forget-me-not.

Rumours of thunder to the west.
Water dropwort and young leaf
The minglings of sunlight and water.
Chiffchaffs’ scissoring notes.
Erica among the bluebells.”

Episode Information:
All sound recordings for this episode were recorded canal-side in April and May 2023.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Tony Rutherford
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.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Three of Seven (At the conclave of oaks)

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, the clouds are racing and the young moon has already dipped below the horizon. Spring comes roaring on the back of a raging southwesterly. Join the Erica on a windy March night as, with the help of Rory's favourite book, we explore the significance of the conclave of oaks on the hill top.

Journal entry:

21st March, Tuesday.

“Long day.
Darkness has long since fallen.
On the bank, the two swans emerge,
Glowing ghostly white.
Their beaks quietly nibbling the grass.
Night-time snacks.
They are my harbour lights
That guide me home.”

Episode Information:
In this episode I read an extract from Shel Silverstein’s (1964) The Giving Tree now republished in 2010 by Particular Books.

I also read a very short passage from Suzanne Simard’s (2022) Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the wisdom and intelligence of the forest published by Penguin Books.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers for supporting this podcast:

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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When blackbirds learn to sing

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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After a blustery week of wild, mad, March weather, why not join us tonight as we enjoy a sunny moment beside the canal and contemplate on the powerful word-play of some very old Celtic bards.

Journal entry:

17th March, Friday

“The sun is warm
To the west the clouds are Prussian blue
Like mountains of the imagination.
A woodpecker laughs
From somewhere across the fields
Which fill with lambs
And the sound of young
Calling to old.
A branch hangs whose scars are unhidden.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read extracts from the following poems:

Amergin Glúingel: ‘The song of Armergin’

Taliesin: ‘An Unwelcome crowd.’

In also briefly refer to the following:

Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by JM Dent and Sons.
Alexandra Harris’ (2015) Weatherland published by Thames and Hudson.
Hana Videen’s (2022) The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English published by Princeton University Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

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

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Night Swimming (After the snows)

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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Curl up with us tonight as we enjoy the warmth of a cosy cabin as snow gives way to sweeping rain and our stove glows brightly in the gathering darkness.

Journal entry:

10th March, Friday

“The convocation of oaks rises to my view
From a swirling mist of snow and blown spindrift.
Their trunks wrapped white.
Icicles hang from their branches.

I want to say,
“Don’t worry,
Spring is on its way.”

But they know that.
They have known that before I was born
They have known that for centuries.
What can you tell trees that they don’t know?”

Episode Information:

In this episode I briefly refer to the following:
Christiane Ritter’s A Woman in the Polar Night originally published in 1938 and republished by Pushkin Press in 2019.

Tom Hennen’s Darkness Sticks to Everything published in 2013 by Copper Canyon Press.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Mary Keane.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory and MJ.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Miles We Have Walked (You and Me)

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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This episode is dedicated to my pair of walking boots who has shared life with me for nearly 45 years (and both of us are still going strong). We have walked miles together. Where have they taken me and to what (and to whom) will they take me in the future?

Journal entry:
24th February, Friday

“The jackdaws' chant hangs
Among the eaves of the ancient wood.
Aconite, anemones, and ransoms,
Green spears among rich leaf mould.

A church on a hill
Swims among deep drifts
Of snowdrops
A sky lark sings in mizzly rain.”

Episode Information:

There are some old photographs featuring my ‘lumberjack’ shirt and desert boots, as well as some early backpacking pictures on the NoSWPod page for this episode.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Mary Keane,
Arabella Holzapfel,
Rory and MJ,
Narrowboat Precious Jet.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Songs to the Younger Part (Hymn of the Pearl)

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:00:00 +0000

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Blustery late winter nights are perfect for retelling old stories. Tonight we listen again with new ears to the ancient story told in the 'hymn of the pearl' and explore how old myths and folktales can weave such powerful tales if we just allow them tell their own stories.

Journal entry:

15th February, Wednesday

“An old moon leans back against the dawn.
Gulls scythe and cry
Between street lamps and traffic noise.

Chaos above and chaos below.
But between the concrete
There is green.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I retell the story of the quest for the pearl which is based on the ancient Syrian (possibly Indian) song, ‘The Hymn of the Pearl’.

You can find the text in English here: The Hymn of the Pearl.

The song is part of a much longer late second/early third century gnostic text, the ‘Acts of Thomas’. You can read the full text here translated into English from the Syriac: The Acts of Thomas.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelers:

Mary, Arabella, and Stephen.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Lock Wheeling

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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Any boater who is faced with the prospect of numerous locks ahead will know how wonderful it is to find someone who is prepared to take on ‘lock-wheeling’ duties. This episode takes some time out to reflect on the podcast as well as explore the many listeners who have become tireless lock-wheelers for it.

Journal entry:

10th February, Friday

“Ice skates lines across the water.
A thin brittle veneer that cannot hold
The oak’s reflection.

The morning sun sets fire to the reeds.
I am dazzled by their flame.
My own, canal-side, burning bush,
Sans angel.”

Episode Information:

If you want to become a lock-wheeler for Nighttime on Still Waters or would like to know more about it, you can find more information here: ‘Lock-wheeling’ for Nighttime on Still Waters.

In this episode I refer to the work of Tim Dee. He discusses ‘Adam’s curse’ in his book The Running Sky published in 2009 by Penguin Books.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

February Dawning

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0000

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All along the canal side, the wintery tees and hedgerows are filling with spring song and life. Subtle shifts and changes, the play of light through the trees, the shimmering reflection of an old oak, auger new seasons awaiting us. It might still be winter and cold weather is on the way, but why not join me tonight in a ‘secret’ spot, canal-side, where we can listen together to February dawning?

Journal entry:

1st February, Wednesday.

"The conclave of oaks at the top of the hill
Bask in this golden morning.
Their tiny buds touching the sunlight
Alive with the chilling south-westerly wind.

The hill rolls down towards
The owl-chapeled oak
Who stretches tall shadow shapes
On a velvet gown of grass."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Philip Larkin’s ‘Coming’ from his collection The Less Deceived (1955).

The recording used for ‘February Dawning’ was taken in the early morning near ‘Mile 19’ on the Stratford upon Avon Canal on 4th February 2023 using an Edirol R-09HR sound recorder.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A train in the distance ('Night Mail')

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000

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Canals and railways are often very close near neighbours and so trains can be a frequent part of the canal soundscapes. This week we explore why the sound of a train in the distance (thanks to Paul Simon) can be so evocative which gives me the opportunity to reminisce about my childhood and revisit some wonderful poems.

Journal entry:

24th January, Tuesday.

“Racing head. Not much sleep.
So I am out here, trying to walk it out.

The ground crunches and splinters into Icy shards.
The kingfisher pool has now frozen over.
Today, the ice, the cold, seem to exhibit a deliberate malevolence.

In front of me the morning sun emerges above the trees
Making the canal ice and frosted towpath glitter with golden fire.
I stride out of the woods.
Today, for a while, I walk on jewels and sun light.

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the following poems:

Philip Larkin – ‘Whitsun Weddings’ (excerpt)
Edward Thomas – ‘Adlestrop’
Paul Simon – ‘A Poem on the Underground Wall’ (excerpt)
Robert Louis Stevenson – ‘From a Railway Carriage’
WH Auden – ‘Night Mail’

You can watch the film, Night Mail, free (and I highly recommend it!) at the BFI website: Night Mail.
You can watch Vanessa and Zephyr on The Mindful Narrowboat.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

One day last summer

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 13:00:00 +0000

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Join us around the warmth of a glowing stove tonight as ice once more grips the boat and freezing fog thickly mantles the winter-naked trees. On nights like these, it is good to remember summer days and so, tonight’s episode takes us back to one particular day late last summer.

Journal entry:

16th January, Monday

“A westering sun paints the opposite bank in amber,
Soil and bark glow warm with gold.
A tangle of twisted roots, bramble brush and rabbit holes.

Eight ducks emerge from the undergrowth
And march in single file across the muddy slime of the towpath.
Each, in turn, drops down into the water with a little splash.
A crocodile line of school children.”

Episode Information:

All the recordings for this podcast were taken on location.
The soundscape for ‘One day last summer’ was recorded in September 2022 on the towpath of the Stratford upon Avon canal.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Tuesday Morning, 5.30am (The Voyage of Bran)

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

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Rain and mud are all around us at the moment, but there is wonder there too. The ancient myth of ‘The Voyage of Bran’ helps us to find the extraordinary within the ordinary and (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel) the beauty of Tuesday Morning, 5.30am.

Journal entry:

13th January, Friday

“Boggy ground, although I am high on the hill.
Standing in the cluster of four oaks waiting.
Waiting for I don’t know what.

I turn, and behind me, the sunrises in red and gold
Through the dense brush of woodland that lines the horizon.
How wonderful is that?

What is even more wonderful is that, further to the west,
Another sunrise will break over other woodlands, but this one
Will be through the lattice work of these trees I stand under.

And so the sunrise is shouldered across the land from tree to tree
And the one human who is waiting…
… for something.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read extracts from ‘The Voyage of Bran’ (Imram Brain). I use the Kuno Meyer’s translation of it which can be read here: Voyage of Bran.

I also read the first lines of William Blake’s ‘Auguries of Innocence.’

You can read more about Sharon Blackie’s ‘sit spot’ challenge in her book The Enchanted Life published in 2019 by September Publishing.

John Moriarty’s (2011) Nostos: An autobiography is published by Lilliput Press.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When darkness falls (Skating on 'un-time')

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000

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Happy New Year! New Years can be exciting times, marking new beginnings, a clean page, awakening dormant dreams and ambitions. However, sometimes it is not always like that. This year, in particular, many face the new year with trepidation, filled with anxieties, a sense of being overwhelmed and unable to cope.
What do we do when the future looks dark?

*Please note that this episode candidly discusses issues of mental health*

Journal entry:

4th January, Wednesday.

"Silver light on Cotswold stone.
The raucous clamour of rook song
over sedge and bog grass.
The wind is filled with flung bird
and winter sounds.

Damp gusts bully down alleyways.
That particular smell you get on entering an art shop.
Outside the pavements glisten
with the darkness of the sky."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the opening to Minnie Louise Haskin’s (1912) poem ‘God Knows’ [often called ‘The gate of the year’].

I also refer to Bede’s (ca.627 CE) account of King Edwin’s conversation and the lesson of the sparrow from his Ecclesiastical History of the English People Book 2 Chap 13.

Vanessa’s beautiful Mindful Narrowboat vlog can be viewed here: The Mindful Narrowboat.
The episode featuring the Hatton Flight can be viewed here: #131: Narrowboating towards Birmingham.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Christmas Heron

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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It’s Christmas Eve and the perfect time for a canal-side story. Have you ever heard of the Christmas Heron? No? Well, there’s probably a very good reason for that, but I will tell it to you anyway. So, curl up in your special armchair by the stove and I will tell you all about the Christmas Heron.

Journal entry:

24th December, Saturday (Christmas Eve).

“Christmas Eve dawns with a silvered light.
The canal is mirror calm.

A choir of rook song.
A lone swan flying south.
The cormorant, cruciform, ornaments the ash.

Tinsel ribbons of memories stream away into
the distant Christmases of my childhood.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I sample the following recordings:

‘Harsh cries by one Grey Heron’ recorded by ‘Dobroide’ near Caño de Guadiamar, Doñana National Park (Spain): https://freesound.org/people/dobroide/sounds/65264/

Swans in flight recorded by ‘Dibko’: https://freesound.org/people/dibko/

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'Earth stood hard as iron...'

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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Join us around the stove tonight, on a very cosy NB Erica that is currently ice-locked into a frozen landscape, as we think about the Fimbulwinter of old, and why Midwinter might be mid-winter after all!

Journal entry:

14th December, Wednesday.

“Ridges of frost form ribs on the sweep of hills.
Two rooks throw calls against a sky
Marbled by the setting sun.
Beyond the horizon, a pheasant startles a distant wood.
My fingers and toes burn.

Episode Information:

In this episode I read very short extracts from:
Christiane Ritter’s beautiful A Woman in the Polar Night republished in 2019 Pushkin Press.
Christina Rosetti’s poem ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ (1872).
The section on seasons from the Anglo-Saxon collection: Maxims II.
Bede's The Reckoning of Time (11th-12th century)

I also refer to:
Alexandra Harris’ (2016) Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skiespublished by Thames and Hudson
Eleanor Parker’s (2022) Winters in the Word: A journey through the Anglo-Saxon year published by Reaktion Books.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Those eyes of old (look out at me)

Sun, 11 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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“Those eyes of old look at me and, through the haze of your futures, I look back at you…”

On this freezing December night, snuggle closer to the stove as I reflect on the strangeness of coming across an old photograph of me as a small child as well as the adventures of the Archdeacon on ice.

Journal entry:

9th December, Friday

“The scent of wood smoke and cold air.
The warm, dry sound of someone splitting firewood.
Each teasel head is framed in a perfect halo of sunlight.
Today, at least, their sainthood is revealed.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from the Anglo-Saxon poem Andreas and I refer to Eleanor Parker’s book Winters in the Word: A journey through the Anglo-Saxon year published in 2022 by Reaktion Books.

You can see and buy a copy of Dru Marland’s wonderful ‘Canal Ice Scale’ from her Etsy site: Dru Marland ‘Canal Ice Scale’ (postcard).

Please go to nowspod.com to see copy of the photograph featured in this week's episode.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Nightwalk 2 (Moon shadows across the water)

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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The night is chill and crisp, a bright moon rides the racing clouds and stars shimmer on the surface of the canal. It’s a perfect night for a night walk. Snuggle down and wrap up warm as you join me on a canal walk washed by moon light.

Journal entry:

29th November, Tuesday

“Reluctant daylight.
The sun's cold shoulder.
Three ducks bob on ruffled water.
I walk on uphill
Grateful for thick socks.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Niall Mac Coitir’s retelling of the myth of Halcyone and Ceyx in his (2015) book Ireland’s Birds: Myths, legends and folklore published by Swift Books. The book by Alexander Porteous that I refer to on the walk is The Forest in Folklore and Mythology first published in 1928 and subsequently republished by Courier Corporation (2001).

I also cite a portion of Ralph McTell’s song ‘Streets of London’ released in 1969. You can listen to the complete song here: Ralph McTell – Streets of London.

The first NoSW ‘Nightwalk’ can be heard here: Episode 5: Nightwalk.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Rainy town (as darkness falls)

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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Tonight, we enjoy the special beauties of a rainy town in central England as darkness begins to fall, listen to Thomas Merton on city rain, and spend awhile at a window seat in a small café and create for while our own version of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.

Journal entry:

26th November, Saturday

"Sometimes, all it takes
To make a day full
Is to have breakfast in a half-empty
cafe filled with chandeliers
And crescent moons
With someone you love
As a watery sun
Climbs into the morning sky.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to Edward Hopper’s (1942) painting Nighthawks and Thomas Merton’s (1966) essay ‘Rain and the Rhinoceros’ from his book Raids on the Unspeakable published by New Directions. An open access copy of it can be found here: Piefurcation: Rain and the Rhinoceros by Thomas Merton.

The sounds for this episode were recorded on Henley Street and York’s Café, Stratford upon Avon on 24th November 2022.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

· Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Stories are for listening: Blisworth Tunnel (Ian Douglas)

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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As the nights draw in and the cosy glow of a fire gets evermore inviting, it is the perfect time to share stories. It is not surprising that ghost stories have an enduring appeal. Many stories of the canal feature them. Ghosts like the canal networks themselves create a link between our worlds and the past. Tonight we enjoy the skill of Ian Douglas’ retelling of a ghostly encounter at Blisworth tunnel and why these stories are important.

Journal entry:

18th November, Friday.

“Stainless steel
An empty room.
The stark coldness of strip lighting.
The white skirting board is scuffed.
The head-swimming bite of the scent of
Eugenol and dentistry.

I look around for old copies of Giles cartoon annuals
And dog-eared editions of Punch,
But there are none.

Outside oak leaves shimmer
Against an ocean of sky blue.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Ian Douglas’ account of the ghostly encounter in Blisworth Tunnel (and his epilogue) as told in his (2021) Folk Tales from the Canal Side published by The History Press.

You can watch David Johns’ (Cruising the Cut) own ‘ghostly’ encounter at the tunnel here: Is this a ghostly encounter at the Blisworth tunnel?

I also read a short extract from Storm Dunlop’s (2021) Weather Almanac 2022 published by Harper Collins and make a reference to Allan Scott-Davies’ (2010) book Shadows on the Water: The Haunted Canals and Waterways of Britain also published by The History Press.

The earlier episode on the liminal nature of canals is: Ep 5 ‘Down the cut’.

The soundtrack for the tunnel story was recorded cruising through Shrewley Tunnel in August 2021.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Of cormorants and graduands

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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This week saw the return of the cormorant which prompts a visit to Ernest Ingersoll to find out why they have no voice. A fairly severe reaction to the Covid jab meant that I missed attending this year’s graduation ceremony so join me as I think about past ceremonies and reflect on the journey of those passaging from graduand to graduate.

Journal entry:

9th November, Wednesday

“Here they come’
Like a stream in spate,
Rolling black pebbles in its wake.

Half a dozen tree-fulls of rooks,
Crows, jackdaws pouring
across a skyline of dying embers
And mauve.

Their chatter
rises up to me, intense,
busy with life
and the most serious of pleasures.

Their words are full of comfort.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an excerpt from Ernest Ingersoll’s (1923) Birds in Legend, Fable and Folklore published by Longmans, Green and Co. (link will take you to free open access text).

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Today I held back time

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000

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This weekend the clocks change (in the UK). These small markers in our calendars can touch us in deep ways. Join me tonight as we stop the clock, step out of time, and savour together the unspent, untouched hour as the world around us sleeps on.

Journal entry:

28th October, Friday

“Wild winds race ragged
As starlings sport and shoal.

Golden leaves, sherry warm,
Stream head height across the canal.
A flash of brave blue. A kingfisher
Swims the leafy cataracts of air.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a couple of short extracts from Susan Hill’s (1983) The Magic Apple Tree published by Penguin Books.

Photographs of the clock I used to wind and the words for ‘Today I held back time’ can be found on the nowspod.com website.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'By badger light and lantern's sigh' (Magickry)

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 15:00:00 +0100

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Tonight, as the evenings draw in and autumn takes a firmer hold of towpath and fields, let's gather close beside a woodland campfire for some unabashed romanticism.
For life teaches us two things:
1. Romance does the heart good and brings a smile to the soul - and, on these darker and chillier evenings, who would deny us that?
2. Small boys will always be totally captivated by a wild heart and a gypsy smile ;)

Journal entry:

18th October, Tuesday

“Low cloud, like smoke, sweep down the weeping slopes
Turning fields and woods to smudgy greys.
Scattered below the wordless wood
blurred sheep graze like finger marks in window putty.

Above, cirrus clouds float like flamingo islands in chalk-blue oceans.
Dry leaves rattle.
This morning I walked beneath a cave of stars
And now I see the sun.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a couple of short extracts from two poems ‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’ and ‘Errantry’ that featured in JRR Tolkien’s (1962) The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book published by George Allen and Unwin.

I also briefly refer to John Masefield’s (1903) ‘Cargoes’.

Bonfire recorded by ‘Kyster’ and uploaded to Freesounds on 17th June 2010: https://freesound.org/people/Kyster/sounds/99280

Fox call recorded in Jersey on 14th May 2020 by ‘Ionskwad2020’. https://freesound.org/people/lonskwad2020/sounds/518135/#

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Autumn colours the tattered garments of summer

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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The colours of autumn this year promise to be spectacular and the towpaths are being transformed by the brush of autumn’s artistry. Join us tonight as we drink in some of the sights and ponder why this season can evoke such a mixture of emotions within us.

Journal entry:

11th October, Tuesday

“A wash of gold afternoon light
That fresh clean scent of damp earth
And falling water

The sluices are full and running,
Laced with curtains of pearl and crystal.

A yearling ewe, with her forelegs
Knee deep in the water.
A heron, a couple of feet away,
A statue centre stream, watches her.

Their eyes meet and for a moment,
The world pauses. Face to face
Eye to eye.

They drop their gaze and the world
Is once more filled with the sound
Of falling water.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

I also refer to Jacque’s monologue, ‘All the world’s a stage’ from Shakespeare’s As You Like It (Act II Scene VII).

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Living in Rehoboam's land

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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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 entry:

7th October, Friday

“Day off.
First a few jobs around the boat in the gold of autumn sunshine.
The alders are beginning to drop their leaves
I kick them up as I walk through them
Their sound reminds me of when I was young
Conker hunting
By the A41
In huge drifts of whispering leaves.”

Episode Information:

You can read an account of King Rehoboam’s reign in 1 Kings 12.

In this episode I read a short extract from the Anglo-Saxon poem ‘Deor’ and talk about the Old English phrase ‘þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg’ (‘that passed over… so may this’). There is a beautiful recitation of this poem in its original form (with subtitles) performed by John Farrell: Deor: The Anglo-Saxon Poem.

I make a passing reference to the final lines of Mary Oliver's 'The Summer Day' and end with a reading from her poem, ‘Whelks’.

We look at more Anglo-Saxon poetry in episode 58: 'Winter Wisdom (Wintrum Frod)'.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Rory's episode (Red gumboots and a yellow summer dress)

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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This episode is especially for our youngest regular listener to the podcast, Rory, who had her 6th birthday a couple of weeks ago. So tonight, we explore the narrowboat Erica and what it is like to live on a boat, and then, especially for Rory listen to a story about another little girl who met some rather strange and wonderful people.

Journal entry:

29th September, Thursday.

“The reservoir is grey and slabby today,
Crests form on wavelets the colour of old ice.

Ghosting veils of low cloud sweep mizzly rain
On a wind that lifts the gulls and redeems my world
With their cries.”

Episode Information:

This episode is dedicated to Rory Braso (aged 6) who lives in Massachusetts, USA – and, of course, her dad, MJ.

Photographs of the Erica can be found on our website at noswpod.com.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Church bells among crow song

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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This week much of the country fell silent for a while and that stillness was the occasion for a chance encounter and finding within the silence the music of bells among crow song. Join us aboard the Erica tonight as we are touched by the enigmatic qualities of bells and stillness.

Journal entry:

21st September, Wednesday

Dew, the smell of sheep and wet grass.
Rooks jostle the lightening sky.
The company of ducks hunched at the water’s edge
Shake themselves awake
And drop into the pool of water
The colour of dawn.

Episode Information:

fAll field recordings made on 19.09.2022 and features the bells of St Peter's church, Wootton Wawen.

In this episode I read short extracts from:

SeánStreet’s (2012) The Poetry of Radio: The colour of sound published by Routledge.

Seán Street’s (2019) The Sound inside the Silence: Travels in the Sonic Imagination published by Springer.

I also read two short extracts from John Betjeman.

John Betjeman (1958) Introduction to English Country Churches
John Betjeman (1960) Summoned by Bells originally published by John Murray

Steve Tyrell’s vlog recording his adventures on the NB Precious Jet can be viewed here: Narrowboat Precious Jet.

David Keating’s Instagram account to view his photographs: david_keating.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Longest Trench (Summer readings)

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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The second of our reading this year takes back to the working-boat families of the First World War. Geoffrey Lewis’ beautifully detailed and cleverly structured tribute to the people who worked the boats through this turbulent period is a lovely and moving tribute to their hard work, sacrifices, and bravery.

The Longest Trench follows the lives of two families as they work their boats and provides an intimate and carefully-researched window into their lives, charting not just the hardships, but also their joys. As such, it is a touching and heartfelt celebration on an aspect of British life that has been long over-looked.

The novel is framed in such a clever way that allows Geoffrey to contrast the wide range of experiences working boaters encountered, from running multiple boats, being No. 1s (owners), different types of cargo. It also shines a light on the practical challenges that this life raised. For example, how do you conduct a courtship when the two parties are on different boats and on different routes? What happens when a young child becomes seriously ill?

Publisher’s (SGM Publishing) blurb:

“Careful research and Mr Lewis’ of the canals make this novel a realistic picture of boating people in the days of horse-drawn narrowboats, and once again his characters become real people whose fortunes matter to his ardent readers: Joy and sadness meet them along the way as news from the various theatres of war is received, while the burgeoning romance between a boy and girl carries us along towards Armistice Day.”

In this episode I also read as short section from Tom Rolt’s Narrow Boat.

More information and bibliographic details.

Lewis, Geoffrey (2014) The Longest Trench. Kidlington: SGM Publishing.

Rolt, LTC. (1944) Narrow Boat. London: Eire and Spottiswoode.

I have found that the best site to locate Geoffrey Lewis’ books is at The Canal Shop.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Canal Pushers (Summer readings)

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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The first of our ‘Summer’ readings this year is from Andy Griffee’s meticulously researched, fast-paced, crime thriller Canal Pushers.

Set on the West Midlands canals from Stratford-upon-Avon up to Birmingham and down to Hanbury (a handy map is included at the front of the book). The detail of the canal systems travelled is beautifully captured as is life aboard a narrowboat for would-be owner Jack Johnson.

I initially started the book with some slight apprehension, being drawn by the canal setting and the rave reviews. However, I was quickly hooked. If crime thrillers are your thing, you are going to love this. If canals and narrowboating are more your thing, I think you will love this too.

The publisher’s blurb provides the following synopsis:

“Book 1 in the Johnson & Wilde crime mystery series, featuring ex journalist Jack Johnson, the enigmatic Nina Wilde, and a narrowboat with a top speed of 4 miles per hour…
Jack Johnson is newly divorced, recently made redundant and in search of a fresh start. But when a young boy he meets on the canals turns up drowned, trouble seems determined to follow him. With the encouragement of Jack’s unlikely companion, Nina, who’s come aboard his narrowboat, Jumping Jack Flash, to help him navigate the waterways of the Midlands, Jack is soon tangled up in a police investigation that doesn’t quite add up. Is there a serial killer stalking the towpaths? Jack’s got more pressing problems too: can a canal boat outrun an organised crime syndicate and a media manhunt?”

More information and bibliographic details

Griffee, Andy (2019) Canal Pushers. Leominster: Orphans Publishing.

Andy has written (to date) two further adventures featuring Jack, Nina and Eddie (the border terrier); River Rats (set on the Kennet and Avon) and Oxford Blues (based around the Thames at Oxford).

More information about Andy can be found on his website: Andy Griffee.

You can follow Andy on Twitter @AndyGriffee to find many pictures of the real-life Eddie!

More information on all the Jack Johnson and Nina Wilde mysteries can be found by going to the Orphans Publishing website.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Milky tea and four sugars (Walking with elephants)

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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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:

30th August, Tuesday.

“Day’s end. I stand up here and try to see what is Infront of me. But the future is just a confused blur of uncertainty. When I look back, I can so easily draw-out the most intricate constellations that map the chaos of my footsteps of the paths that I have walked. In them I begin to see order and meaning. Why can’t I do the same for my futures?

But now, all I see is the hunch of the owl-chapelled oak, in its small bowl of nettles and the sheep whose shadows stretch long across the sunny curve of the hill. Perhaps one day, looking back from some future vantage point, I too will be able to find lines of connection and clarity. The clear path that was taken through my future uncertainty.”

Episode Information:

This episode is dedicated to Angela Oliver who, with her husband Roger, through extraordinary sacrifice enabled an unlikely man to continue to walk carefree and tall with elephants.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Beside a young willow (in a thunderstorm)

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0100

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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 overhead and all the richness it brings.

Journal entry:

19th August, Friday.

“An impulse forage among the brambles on a
Blustery day of tall clouds and sunshine.
I pick the high berries, you the lower ones.
I extricate you when a bramble thorns your sleeve.
Thirty-seven years fall away
And my heart melts once more,
Like it did
When we first met.

We have done this hundreds of times before
And will do again.
But not like this.
Never again, will it be exactly like this.

These few spontaneous moments
Pouring blackberries into our bag
Will somehow be the most cherished memory
I take from this holiday.

Both instinctively aware of its special quality
A golden moment that joins us.
Those few moments when we
Completely filled the world with our quiet presence.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read two of Wendell Berry’s Sabbath poems:

XIX – ‘Some Sunday afternoon’

XXI – ‘I was awakened from my dream of the ruined world’

You can listen to the MIND Station using the imbedded player at Mind Station.

Recording of the rain and thunder recorded on Erica: South Stratford Canal (16.08.2022).

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Hot August Nights (Listening for the thunder)

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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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 entry:

10th August, Wednesday

“The last of today’s sun slowly climbs
the dolphin-backed ridge of hill,
colouring the broad cluster of oaks
and tawny grass with long shadows.

A few hundred yards from me
A barrel-roofed lock cottage,
Its red door peeling
And windows now blind.

My notebook lies empty beside me
While my head is filled with so many thoughts
That have track of words to convey them.

Bats fill my silence.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to the music of the jazz singer Cassandra Wilson and refer specifically to versions of Darkness on the Delta and the achingly beautiful Love is Blindness.

The field recording of distant thunder was recorded by ‘sagetyrtle’ and uploaded to Freesound in October 2010.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Scent of God

Sun, 07 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0100

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Join me this week as we moor on a still August night, under a proud stand of poplars studded with starlight and moonlight. Tonight, we explore the evocative power of scents and smells.

Journal entry:

6th August, Saturday.

"The sun is three fingers above the horizon
and washes the bankside reeds with golden fire.

Three ducks cast perfect wakes of Vs
Slowly, swimming the channel of molten bronze.

There is something ethereal about this light
Like stepping from one world into another.

The sun has always been an alchemist at heart."

Episode Information:

For more information about Noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula), which is the largest bat in the UK, there is an excellent article on the Woodland Trust's website: Noctule Bat.

For photographs relating to this episode, please go to our website – details immediately below.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Down by the Cattle Pond

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0100

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There is a spot of ground that is special to me. Perhaps you have one too. They often are not particularly attractive, but somehow they are places we can go to find quietness. Join me to tonight when we visit one of my special places as we go down to the cattle pond with the help of Wendell Berry.

Journal entry:

27th July, Wednesday

“Drifts of mist rise and ghost upon the water
In the pre-dawn light.
The air is deliciously cool.

The heron is in the cow-splash down by the oaks
I climb the hill
And look down on dawn.

And wish for rain.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from Simon Barnes’ excellent, quirky, and altogether wonderful, A Bad Birdwatcher’s Companion published (2005) by Short Books.

I also read Wendell Berry’s poem ‘A Standing Ground’ which can be found in his volume The Peace of Wild Things: And other poems published (2018) by Penguin Books. You can listen and watch Mary Berry read this poem here: ‘A Standing Ground.’

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Let the Stars Sing out your Stories

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0100

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The forecast hot weather has come and gone, but its psychological, as much as physical, effects feel a bit harder to shift. So join with me tonight as we gaze deeply into the mirrored dome of the night sky and its web of starlight, to discover what stories they tell and their challenge for us to begin to create newer ones.

Journal entry:

22nd July, Friday

“Every day shakes the kaleidoscope.
Lift it to your eye.
Twist the base and look.

Today, three young jackdaws chase each other
Through the feathery green of the ash tree
In a carnival of silver rain.

It calls to somewhere deep inside of us,
Doesn’t it?
You, me, and whatever is behind
Our biggest questions
And lies beyond the heathlands of right and wrong.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I quote a section from Jack Johnson's song ‘Constellations’ which was released on his album In Between Dreams on Bushfire Records in 2005. You can listen to it here: ‘Constellations’.

I also read an excerpt from Susan Hanson’s essay ‘Deep in the Heart’ found in Let There Be Night edited by Paul Goodard (2008) published by Uni of Nevada.

John Moriarty talks about the impact of western mythology on the psyche and culture of western civilisations in many of his books; particularly, Nostos, An Autobiography (2001) and What the Curlew Said: Nostos Continued (2007). The best introduction to John’s writing is the excellent John Moriarty: Not The Whole Story (2018) written by Mary McGillicuddy. All these books are published by Lilliput Press.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Dog Days of Summer

Sun, 17 Jul 2022 11:00:00 +0100

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These are the long days. The days of heat and dust. The days of quiet skies and dulled colours. Days of eclipse and renewal. These are the dog days of summer.

Journal entry:

23rd July, Saturday [Should be 16th July - blame the heat!!]

“Martins twist and flit around the large ash,
Clustering in the branches like cockney parakeets.
En masse they drop, forking down to the water surface,
Swimming the air with dolphin-like grace.

We slip the mooring ropes and leave.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read two short extracts from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by J.M. Dent and Sons.

Soundscape of dusk, recorded at Wilmcote (South Stratford upon Avon Canal) at 21.15 on 16th July 2022.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Unfamiliar Mirrors (... and a herring)

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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Old stories can lift an unfamiliar mirror up to our lives so that we see ourselves anew and as we really are. Tonight, I will tell you an old story. It’s a story about a silvery day of sea fret (mist), rolling ocean waves, empty fishing nets, and a solitary herring.

Journal entry:

6th July, Wednesday

“I sit on the bank, one leg hanging down.
A drake mallard in eclipse, treads water,
with slow, lazy strokes of his feet.

He watches me.
I watch him.
We are both waiting for something...
but what?

I smile, but it means nothing to him.
He softly chuckles, but I hear only sounds and intent,
But not what that intention is.

He could be Penny - a little soul staring at each move I make.
Trying to read me, as I try to read him,
Or the sheep in the neighbouring field.
Or the horses, frozen,
on the dolphin-backed curve of the hill.

I want to tell him 'it'll be alright'.
But we both know, it isn't.

But that is the point, isn't it?

Neither of us live in a world of fairy tale endings.
We're just trying to find our ways in a crooked world.
Not so that others will follow the paths we make,

But that they may hear our songs (you, duck, and me) and
Know that they are not on their own.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from Roy Vickery’s (2019) Vickery’s Folk Flora, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

I also refer to Sharon Blackie’s (2019) Foxfire, Wolfskin and other stories of Shapeshifting Women, published by September Books where you can read her (much briefer) version of the story of the herring and the fisherman.

Field recording
The waves on a shingle beach was recorded by ‘ermine’ at Felixstowe (14/10/2006) and can be found here. The herring gull was recorded in Scheveningen, the Netherlands (05/10/2020) by ‘Canardo55’ and can be found here.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

This one unremarkable dusk

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0100

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With apologies for sounding like an asthmatic badger, tonight we explore the special qualities of an unremarkable dusk and why we can feel so at peace with it and the darkness it can bring.

Journal entry:

28th June, Tuesday.

“I stop work to breathe in the storm-wind
And bathe in the whirlpool of its noise.

My shoulders feel heavy
As If I alone am holding
up the blanket clouds
That sag grey above my head.

The water hose, snakes and hisses around my feet.

Head upright, neck relaxed, the cob swan pushes towards me,
Lazily, doggy paddling a V of disturbance on the water’s surface.

My day begins to smile.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to an interview with John O’ Donohue recorded by Krista Tippett (2008/2022) ‘The Inner Landscape of Beauty’ on the On Being podcast.

I also read a very short extract from John O’ Donohue’s (1999) Anam Cara: Spiritual wisdom from the Celtic world published by Penguin Random House.

I also refer to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s article ‘Nightfall’ published in Paul Bogard’s (2008) Let There Be Night: Testimony on behalf of the dark published by University of Nevada Press.

I also refer to the following works:

Matthew Beaumont (2016) Nightwalking: A nocturnal history of London published by Verso Books.

Roger Ekirch (2004/2013) At Day’s Close: Night in times past published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson

The episode finishes with a reading of Tom Hennen’s short poem ‘Summer Night Air’ from his Darkness Sticks to Everything: Collected and New Poems published (2013) by Copper Canyon Press.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Love Letters (Written in Canal Water)

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 15:00:00 +0100

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It is funny how, looking back, distinct paths and interconnections can be found. It is, sometimes, tempting to see them as clear paths that we are destined to follow. However, sometimes, they are coincidence or simply a case that one can spot significance after the event. But they can also be 'love letters written in canal water'.

Journal entry:

21st June, Tuesday, Summer Solstice.

“Mist burns off the water, baptising the canal in red and gold.

Three newly hatched moorhens, a chaos of fluff and bald-headed,
walk on water on a broken iris leaf.

On the opposite bank, a smallish carp, asleep in death,
lies in the middle of the towpath,

light flecking off the lively scales.

Just down from here the body of a vole floats on the listless current.

How do I make sense of all this?
Can I really live kindly and with joy on this earth?

Those three moorhen seem to know.
They walk on water.”

Episode Information:

For those wanting to watch Steve Tyrell’s wonderfully soothing and informative cruise click this link: Cruising the Ashby Canal!!! The sound of a Gardner 2LW. You can see more of Steve’s videos on his YouTube channel: Narrowboat Precious Jet. It is well worth a look if you are interested in the more practical aspects of boat-life (which I tend to stay away from!).

I also refer to the lyrics of ‘Society’ written by Jerry Hannan and, probably, most famously sung by Eddie Vedder as part of the OST for the film Into the Wild. There are numerous YouTube videos of this song. The official version is: ‘Society’ OST. A version featuring the lyrics (with rather idiosyncratic spelling) is: ‘Society’ with Lyrics.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Lessons from the Breadlady

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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The heat of the past few days has broken with sweeping skies filled with rain and lowering clouds. Join me tonight, as we reflect on life on water in the heat of summer, listen to the poetic words of one of our listeners, and discover the wisdom of making bread through the words of another listener and Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Journal entry:

14th June, Tuesday.

“The day starts fresh with clean skies and grasses that glitter with rainbows.
Beneath the rushes, a moorhen fusses.
The air is scented with summer wine.”

Episode Information:

This episode features the writing of two listeners; Margaret Jacobson and Sue ‘Breadlady’.

I read the poem ‘The Colour of Water’ by Margaret Jacobson and a post by Sue on her love of bread.

I also read a small extract from:
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s (2020) Braiding Sweatgrass published by Penguin Books.

I also refer to a video created by boat vlogger 'CountryHouseGent' that features the soothing sound of a vintage canal boat accompanied by video of a cruise along a canal. The video cn be viewed on YouTube and is titled: Relaxing Vintage Engine Sound Canal Boat Sleep ASMR

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'I've Got Her Now' (Love and Hawthorn Blossom)

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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This week has been one of extremes that encompasses the splendour of solitude and an onboard visit by three very enthusiastic police dogs (and a puppy)! Alongside all this, we took time to listen to some bats, watch the cygnets as the grow ever stronger and contemplate the hidden depths of the most surprising people.

Journal entry:

8th June, Wednesday

"The wind is kicking up among the branches of the ash and oaks while clouds as heavy as wet blotting paper begin to gather.

There is that excitement in the air that portends change though the barometer stays level. The rooks are playing up and large spots of rain fleck the towpath.

It is the time to stride across the ridgeways and old greenways in seven-league boots and drink in every second of the howling night...

it is the time to close the hatches and listen to the rain as it rakes the cabin roof and batters on the window by my bed."

Episode Information:

I am planning to feature bats more fully in a future podcast.

However, if you are interested in finding out more about bats, there is a very good introductory guide to (British) bats on the Woodland Trust website: Bats.

The bat sounds featured in this episode were a type of pipistrelle. We are not too sure which, but most probably (through population size) they were Common Pipistrelle. For more information: Common Pipistrelle.

The recoding was made using a Magenta Bat5 bat detector and a Edirol R-09HR sound recorder.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Caught in a Rhyme

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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On the week that the cygnets of our swan pair hatched, we explore the rather contradictory nature of the canal through the eyes of poets Jo Bell, Nancy Campbell, and Ian MacMillan. We find romance amidst the unromantic and beauty in the unbeautiful.

Journal entry:

1st June, Wednesday

"Heron, streak of grey light,
Standing on the bank,
Coverletted in Moon's-Eye
And the first flush of poppies of the season.

Rain falls as needles of sunlight.
The heron preens for a while
And then is gone."

Episode Information:

In ‘News from the Moorings’ I refer to Mark Nicolaides’ beautiful and exceptionally informative website on the swan: Swan Life. You can read more about swans’ nesting and hatching behaviours in the section: Incubating Eggs.

There is a very good collection of canal-themed poetry on the Poetry Society’s website where, in conjunction with the Canal and River Trust (CRT), there is a section that includes works from past and present ‘Canal Laureates’: Waterlines.

In this episode I read the following poems:

Jo Bell - ‘How to Live on a Boat’

Jo Bell – ‘Frozen In’

Nancy Campbell (2018) – ‘Recipe for a Towpath Garden’

Ian MacMillan – ‘Canal Life’

For information about Pete Tuffrey’s paintings see his Etsy page.

I am not sure how current Pete’s Etsy page is as most of his more recent artwork appears to be on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TuffreyArtist.

You can also follow Pete on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeteTuffrey

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

On Drying Days (Like This)

Sun, 29 May 2022 12:00:00 +0100

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May slowly rolls into June, but is summer really here? The towpaths and hedgerows are garlanded in summer colours and the ducks (and swans) are beginning to move into their time of eclipse. Some of the mallard drakes are beginning to look very travel-worn! Meanwhile, days like these seem to bring a lot of childhood memories to mind.

Journal entry:

27th May, Friday

"Two hours until sundown and a stillness already settles.
Shadows creep low and long through the sedge and long grasses on the bank.
The swan stretches in her nest under an alder that shimmers with blackbird song.

Later the peace will be disturbed and the sky explode with shouts and light.
But not now.
Now all is still."

Episode Information:

All birds moult (‘molt’ – US spelling) or go into ‘eclipse’. You can find more information about the eclipse or moult that ducks and swans experience on this site: Understanding Waterfowl: The amazing molt. More information can be found here: What is eclipse plumage?

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Colour of Water

Sun, 22 May 2022 15:00:00 +0100

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I want to describe to you what I saw today, but I can't. We have so many words to describe and represent the most complex of concepts. Why then is it almost impossible to describe something so simple and ordinary as the colour of the water earlier today? Kathleen Jamie and Thomas Merton (with a little excursive with Hana Videen) help us to find some answers.

Journal entry:

17th May, Tuesday

"The hills are painted a dusty grey and the world is filled with the quietness of sheep, the cry of distant crows and drip and splash of rain upon young oak leaves.

The warm touch of bark beneath my hand and the shiver of a silvery mist. A perfect way to watch the slow dance of dawn."

Episode Information:

In this episode I cite or read extracts from:

Kathleen Jamie’s (2004) Dublin Review article ‘Sabbath’ (open access), which can also be found in her (2005) book Findings published by Sort Of Books.

Hana Videen’s (2022) The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English published by Princeton University Press.

Thomas Merton’s (2015) When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on nature published by Ave Maria Press.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When David Came (Cruising the Cut)

Sun, 15 May 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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The Greek myths tell us that there are times when the gods come down from Olympus to walk amongst mortals. We had a very similar experience when, on a sunny day in late March, David Johns came to visit us and record an episode for his canal-based vlog Cruising the Cut.

Journal entry:

11th May, Wednesday

“The carp are spawning!

May rain casting rings on thrashed water,
The flash of fin,
And a watery thunder
That rumbles along the side of the hull.

I lie in the half-light of dawn,
Suspended above the silty jungles
Filled with so much life.”

Episode Information:
Cruising the Cut

David Johns’ canal-based YouTube channel is Cruising the Cut.

You can view David’s episode on Nighttime on Still Waters (via YouTube) here: 265. Evoking the spirit of pirate radio - on a canal.

Wooden Writer's Box

For information about the wooden writer’s box: Blue Star Crafts.
I have the smaller A5 version of the Messenger Wood Box. There are a number of companies producing this type of box. Another popular maker is: Galen Leather and their Portable Writer’s Box and Desk.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Banbury Town (Rainy Saturday Afternoon)

Sun, 08 May 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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Banbury has a significant place in the history of canals, most notably for being the location of Tooley’s boatyard and its association with canal restoration campaigner LTC (Tom) Rolt. However, the relationship between town and canal has not always been easy. Join me today, as we explore the town through the eyes of Temple-Thurston, Rolt, and Pearson, from the comfort of a coffeeshop window seat on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Journal entry:

7th May, Saturday

"Another early start.
At least it is now beginning to get light when Donna leaves for work,
Chalky whites and greys leaching the darkness and stars from the night.

A busy day lies ahead. One from which I shrink.
And so I make another cup of tea and sit on the stern in the chill of first dawn.

The swans are still asleep. The cob tucked beside his mate on the nest.
A breeze ruffles the deep umber water.
A mallard swims over.
Chuckling to me, he eyes me with curiosity and caution.
A swallow swims the air above the water and then alights on a boat's aerial.

I stare at nothing. Hear nothing. Lost on the still waters of the mind.
I want to hold this fragile moment forever, drink deeply from it,
But I don't know how."

Episode Information:

You can find out more about the history and current workings of Tooley’s Boat Yard at: Tooley’s Boatyard Trust.

In this episode I cite or read short extracts from:

Michael Pearson (2003) Pearson’s Canal Companion: Oxford and Grand Union, published by Central Waterways Supplies.

L.T.C. Rolt (1944) Narrow Boat, first published by Eyre and Spottiswoode

E. Temple Thurston (1911) The Flower of Gloster, published by William Norgate.

Linda Aubry’s narrowboat themed fabric designs

Linda’s fabric designs, many of which have been inspired by traditional narrowboat canal art, including her toile designs, can be seen on her Spoonflower site: Designs by orangecookie.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'A Gypsy Love of Colour' (Painted Boats)

Sun, 01 May 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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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 the ‘working boaters’ inborn gypsy love of colours.’

Journal entry:

25th April, Monday

"Heavy grey clouds, ragged and torn
drift overhead.

Two women sit cross-legged on their cabin roof.

A blackbird scissor the sky
above forest green conifers.

A hint of Earl-Grey tea.
Two dandelions fierce in their growling yellows.

There is something freeing about
dark skies like these.

The water shivers in the skittering breeze."

Episode Information:

For more information about Soundcamp’s livestream, environmental, sound project: Soundcamp – Reveil.

You can watch Vanessa’s progress on creating her ‘daisy’ stern cabin panel art on her YouTube channel: The Mindful Narrowboat. She begins her work in Episode 91

In this episode I cite:

Julian Dutton (2021) Water Gypsies published by History Press.

Jim Batty (2019) Narrowboat Life: Discover life afloat on the inland waterways published by Adlard Coles/Bloomsbury.

L.T.C. Rolt (1944) Narrow Boat, first published by Eyre and Spottiswoode

John Hassel (1819) Tour of the Grand Junction. London: Printed for J. Hassell.

John Hollingshead (1860) Odd Journeys In and out of London. London: Goombridge and Sons.

Sue Wilkes (2011) Tracing you Canal Ancestors, published by Pen and Sword Family History.

E. Temple Thurston (1911) The Flower of Gloster, published by William Norgate.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Entanglements with the Archdeacon

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0100

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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 with a chequered past and a strong sense of his own importance. A rather restless, listless day resulted in me drinking a lot of tea and reflecting on him and the work of Donna Haraway.

Journal entry:

16th April, Saturday

"I like it up here. It's not miles away from anywhere, but it certainly feels like it. The broad sky. The rise of hill. The tawny dried stems of last year's grass that rustle in the breeze that surfs over the hill's crest.

I could walk to the top and look down on the world beyond but I won't, because then I'd know I am not on a fellside in Teasdale, buttoned with gentians and quartz, with the smell of tent canvas and crushed grass and the brassy shine of a primus stove.

And I'd know that the world is waiting for me, even now, seeping across the borders of my mind."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the first verse of John Betjeman’s poem ‘Upper Lambourne’. You can read the full poem here: Upper Lambourne. You can also hear John Betjeman read it on this video: John Betjeman reads ‘Upper Lambourne’.

I also refer to the work of Donna Haraway. She has written a lot on this subject, but arguably she is best known for her essay 'A Cyborg Manifesto'. There are also numerous short (and long) videos on YouTube in which she presents her ideas in an accessible way.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

No Small Gift

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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“It is no small gift” wrote the poet Mary Oliver about the joy a dog brings into our lives. .

Journal entry:

“It is no small gift” wrote the poet Mary Oliver about the joy a dog brings into our lives. In the week that we had to say goodbye to Penny, we remember the many gifts this timid lttle whirlwind brought into our lives and made them so much richer. We also explore why so many of us find grieving for a pet so difficult.

5th April, Tuesday

"The trees are still here;
Broken reflections crookedly oiling
the surface of the canal.

And the blackbird still sings
his river of song from his alder tower.
The sun, when it appears,
still shines its green spring warmth.

But I stand, incomplete, without a shadow...

No, that is not how it feels.
It’s is as if I have found that I am just a shadow, thin and grey,
cast adrift on the dried mud and fallen twigs.
No longer tethered to the warmth of a living soul."

Episode Information:

Please go to noswpod.com for photographs of Penny.

In this episode I read a couple of short extracts from Mary Oliver’s short essay ‘Dog Talk’ published in her book Dog Songs (2013 and 2021) published by Hachett UK.

I also refer to Guy Winch’s article ‘Why We Need to Take Pet Loss Seriously’ from the Scientific American (May, 2018).

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

I have Heard the Roar of Spring (and it is fearful)

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0100

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Just as the wind swung north with its sting of sleet and hail, the first batch of ducklings were hatched this week. It was a far from simple event! However, as winter attempted to reassert itself with some biting winds and sharp frosts, we are reminded that winter’s growl is no match for the roar of Spring.

Journal entry:

1st April, Friday

"Penny looks up at me, hunched and quizzical,
As snow pellets and plum blossom fall.

There is nothing remotely romantic about these driven, windblown, thin needles of ice,
But I cannot escape their beauty or the assurance of life they give."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read an extract from Simon Barnes’ wonderful book A Bad Birdwatcher’s Companion.

Simon Barnes A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion: ...or a Personal introduction to Britain's 50 most obvious birds published (2005) by Short Books.

I highly recommend the Naxos unabridged audio book version of this which is read by Simon and also includes samples of each bird’s call and suitable music.

I also read a very short extract from the Norse Prose Edda written thought to have been written in the early 13th century by the Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson.

I also refer to Alexandra Harris’ Weatherland which is published (2015) by Thames and Hudson.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Steps out of Step

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0100

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A week of glorious spring weather has heightened springtime activity along the canal sides and nearby fields. It also coincides with a particularly busy period personally. My response and those of the birds and animals around could not be more different. We dip our toes into the worlds of the polar north and the work of Kosuke Koyama to explore some possible explanations for this.

Journal entry:

25th March, Friday

“The fresh sun glances off the surface of the canal with a shimmering, silver warmth, that sets the night-time chill a-dance.

A clutch of moorhens squabble, fluster, scold, and court, in plain view, transforming the dark waters into a crystal maelstrom. It is so unlike their normally timorous behaviour.

A mallard pair doze in the sunshine on the bank.

I stand on the stern deck and beat the dust of winter from our rugs.

We have stepped into spring.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I make a brief mention of the work of Knud Rasmussen. You can read his account of his work and explorations in:

Knud Rasmussen People of the Polar North: A record published in 1908 by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner.

I also mention Kathleen Jamie’s beautifully written, insightful, and extremely thought-provoking book Surfacing published in 2019 by Penguin Random House.

Kosuke Koyama’s Three Mile an Hour God has just been re-issued (2021) by SCM Press.

David Johns’ canals and boating vlog Cruising the Cut can be found here: Cruising the Cut

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Skies of Impossible Blue

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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This week’s episode is filled with sunshine, the scent of resin, and the soporific call of pigeon and dove as we explore a little further afield. A visit to Dad on the north Norfolk coast means a change in landscape. Find out why, even though I love walking, I am often very reluctant to talk about it with other walkers!

Journal entry:

14th March, Monday

"Fog.
Penny and I walk through a soft chilled landscape.

The canal is dark and glassy.
A small patch of mist boils and parts
As Cyril emerges, stately and silent.

He eyes me as he glides slowly passed
Breasting the Arthurian waters."

Episode Information:

For information about the beach and woods at Wells-next-the-Sea (audio soundscapes were recorded there: 17.03.2022) you will find this website helpful: The Wells Guide.

Please visit the noswpod website for photographs of the Corsican Pine woodland at Wells’ beach.

In this episode I read the poem ‘March: Pooley Country Park’ by Vanessa Thomas from the wonderful The Mindful Narrowboat vlog. You can listen to Vanessa recite it and watch her creating her beautiful nature journal here: #93 The 8 Things I Brought to My Tiny Home! | Simplifying My Life

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Wings of Angels (Cyril)

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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Over the last few weeks, we have watched our little swan family slowly begin the new phases in each of their lives. Whilst it can feel sad, it is also a celebration of the life of young Cyril who is now strong enough and equipped with enough skills to begin to make it in the adult world. It is also an endorsement of success for the young parents who, initially, encountered so many problems in nest building and egg laying.

Journal entry:

12th March, Saturday

“Last night I lay awake listening to the rain drum on the cabin roof.

Night-time is not a good time to think things through.
The shadows grow too dark and too large
The dressing gown hanging on the hook can too easily transform into a monster.

I could imagine the circles made by the rain on the dark waters beside me
And the hunched figures of ducks, heads tucked beneath wings one eye open.

And that, for me, made the difference.”

Episode Information:

Please go to the noswpod website for recent photographs of Cyril.

In this episode I refer to the following books:

Malcolm Schuyl’s The Swan: A natural history published (2012) by Merlin Unwin Books. This is probably the most authoritative book on the subject and is accompanied by some wonderful photography.

Simon Barns quirky but indispensable A Bad Birdwatcher’s Companion (2005) published by Short Books. The audio book is excellent, entertaining, lavishly produced and offering samples of each bird call too!

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Masters of the High Wire

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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The wind is beginning to lose its raw edge, but the water is still lively and choppy. Join us on a moonless mad March night as memories of Shambala evoke a contemplation of high-wire walking in many of its different guises. The stove is warm, the kettle is on and there is always a warm welcome for you.

Journal entry:

“6th March, Saturday.

"There’s a kerfuffle of rooks around the oak at the top of the hill.
They claw and scold the cold, sombre sky.

Two ducks fly low in tight formation
Lambs clustered under a tree
Are spooked in a shower of bleats and blossom.

There’s a patch of reeds thick the warm rough smell of fox
For a short while, Penny and I are lost in another world.”

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Darkest of Nights

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 13:00:00 +0000

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February has been a month of storms both meteorological and figurative that have left many of us feeling battered and anxious. Such storms leave their marks upon the landscape and familiar terrains can become strange, alien, and threatening. The cataclysmic events of the last few days are difficult to process and have catapulted us into what feels lik a much darker and more fearful world. How do we respond to it all and how do we navigate our way through times of intense darkness and confusion? We look to the misplaced wigeon to help us find some direction.

Journal entry:

“24th February, Thursday.

"An old crescent moon hangs in a sky
Swept clean by a week of winds.

On my car radio
News of a more brutal storm to the east.

Darkness falls
With the rising sun."

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the following poems (see episode chapters for time locations):

Tom Hennen ‘When Night Nears’ from his collection Darkness Sticks to Everything: Collected and new poems(2013) published by Copper Canyon Press.

Wendell Berry ‘To Know the Dark’ from his volume The Peace of Wild Things and Other Poems (2018), published by Penguin Books.

I also read an extract from his book The World-Ending Fire: The essential Wendell Berry (2018) also published by Penguin books.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Riding the Storm (Eunice)

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 15:00:00 +0000

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Snuggle up comfortably as you join us on the NB Erica for a wild night and day as we ride the storms Dudley and Eunice. The poems of Ted Hughes, Louis MacNeice, A.A. Milne, William Blake, and John Betjeman keep us company as they take us through a day of roaring wind and rattling rain-squalls.

Please note, the audio for this episode has been intentionally kept ‘dirty’ to capture the ambient sounds of a storm as experienced on a narrowboat and so any bangs, clicks, clunks, and other background noises are entirely deliberate!

Journal entry:

“16th February, Wednesday.

21:15

Storm Dudley batters the boat,
The world roars and shakes with a crashing frenzy of noise
Like bed linen whipping and cracking on a gale-harried washing line.
Curtains of rain laced with twigs sluice against the windows.

It is a night for wild souls who can match this night, storm for storm,
And who run as free as starlight and hawthorn blossom.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the following poems (see episode chapters for time locations):

Ted Hughes: ‘Wind’ from his first collection Hawk in the Rain (1957) published by Faber and Faber.

Louis MacNeice: ‘House on a cliff’ from his collection Blind Fireworks (1929) subsequently published in collections by Faber and Faber.

A.A. Milne: ‘The wind on the hill’ from his Now We are Six (1927) now published by Egmont (2009).

William Blake: ‘Mock on. mock on, Voltaire and Rousseau’ (1796)

John Betjeman: ‘Harrow on the Hill’ (1949) published first in A Few Late Chrysanthemums (1953) by in various later collections and anthologies like The Best of Betjeman (1978) published by Penguin Books.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Windy Days and Nights

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 13:00:00 +0000

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You join us tonight at the end of a rather windy day. There seems to be a fairly common feeling that we have been encountering a lot of blustery winds recently, both meteorologically and metaphorically. Tonight, we stoke the fire and reflect on the place of the wind in our lives, history and culture.

Journal entry:

“11th February, Friday.
There’s a wrapping chill to the air
And the scent of wet earth.
Penny unsuccessfully tries to jump a large puddle.

One some late winter days
The way the sun slants through the trees
And glances of my face and shoulders

Make the grey world fold open into a summer’s evening
Of long shadows stretching across pub garden lawns
And the air is filled with the sigh of collared doves
And time not yet spent.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read short extracts from;

John Marzluff and Tony Angell’s (2005) In the Company of Crows published by Yale University Press.

Anonymous (c.1365) The Chronicle of Anonymous of Canterbury 1346-1365. A recent scholarly edition has been published by Oxford University Press (2008/2019).

I also refer to:

Storm Dunlop’s (2021) Weather Almanac 2022 published by Harper Collins.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Solitary Stranger: The Wigeon

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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This week we have been joined by a solitary stranger from the north. Probably blown south-west on last week’s northerly storm winds a wigeon has arrived. The appearance of this diminutive figure prompts us to find out a little more about this little duck and we discover his place in the legend of the Seven Whistlers and its association with the end of the world (but, perhaps, not as we know it).

Journal entry:

“4h February, Friday.
The thermometer falls with the waking sun
and the spirit seems to shrivel with the cold.
Then the Bearley rooks take flight from their inky roost;
assured blue-black wings beat the blood-red raging dawn.
The body feels smaller;
the spirit larger.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I refer to the following books:

Edward A Armstrong's (1958) The Folklore of Birds (Collins New Naturalist Library 39) published by Collins.

BB (2008) The Naturalist’s Bedside Book published by Merlin Unwin Books.

Stefan Buczacki’s (2002) Fauna Britannica published by Hamlyn

Walter Černy’s (2000) Field Guide in Colour to British Birds published by Silverdale Books.

Rob Hume (2007) RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (revised edn.) published by Dorling Kindersley.

Recording of Wigeon calls by Stanislas Wroza on 01.01.2022 at Radonvilliers, Aube, Grand Est, France and downloaded from the xeno-canto site. Full recording details and credits:
Stanislas Wroza, XC695711. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/695711.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts go to:

Nighttime on Still Waters website (noswpod.com)

Or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Dark Alchemy of Words

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 12:00:00 +0000

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Living on a boat has meant that we have had to make some difficult decisions about which books come with us onboard. Tonight, I introduce to you one of my most favourite friends on our bookshelf – the collected poems of Dylan Thomas – and explore why he holds such an important place in my life.

Journal entry:

“26h January, Wednesday.

A magpie on the top most branch rattles its greetings to the blurred dawn.
A blackbird calls.
The day begins with a bruised sky and bird song.”

Episode Information

If you are on Twitter, you can follow and watch ‘A Minutes Peace’ by clicking on https://twitter.com/minutes_peace. You can also watch them on Colin’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/colsey2003ify/videos

In this episode I read extracts from:

Matt Gaw’s informative and touchingly evocative exploration of darkness and the night in his (2020) Under the Stars: A journey into light published by Elliott and Thompson.

The following poems by Dylan Thomas:

‘The force that through green fuse drives the flower’
‘Lament’
‘Fern Hill’
‘Poem in October’

The episode concludes with a complete reading of his ‘In my craft or sullen art’.

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Winter on the Moorings

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

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As we begin to enter the depths of winter, this episode celebrates with a soundscape of winter at the moorings that tries to capture the life and energy of this season.

Journal entry:

“18h January, Tuesday.

A rich winter moon hangs between the branches of the ash.
Beneath a sky veiled in ice, sheep
The colour of worn lead face the first glow of dawn.

Penny picks up the scent of rabbits
We walk together on crystals and silence."

Episode Information

All audio used for this soundscape was recorded on site.

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Echoes of Distant Memories

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

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The remnants of two days of murk still cling to the hedgerows and trees as you join us tonight on the narrowboat Erica. A very slow thaw is polishing the dulled surface of the water making reflected lights once again dance with life. Curl up and let’s enjoy those little shards of distant memories that still colour out present and fill us with such powerful emotions.

Journal entry:

“12th January, Wednesday.

This morning the canal looks sluggish and dark.
Two rooks throw calls against the marble sky.
Beyond the horizon a pheasant startles a distant wood.
Penny stands and waits for her friends.
My fingers and toes burn."

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to Dru Marland’s ‘Canal Ice Scale’ chart. You can buy it as a postcard at her etsy ‘shop’ here: Canal Ice Scale Chart. More of her terrific work (including her wonderful 2022 calendar – which is selling very fast!) can be seen here: Dru Marland.

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Into a New Year

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

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Join us on NB Erica on a blustery January night. The cold Wolf Moon is nearing its first quarter and the stars glitter like ice. After an unexpected delayed start to the New Year, we are back on air and with some exciting(-ish) news to tell you.

Journal entry:

“2nd January, Sunday.

Hello New Year - this is me. You seem so big and dark and unknown, but I have known your brothers and sisters and I have learnt to revel in the days of their sunshine and find their special beauties under skies of steel and water. I have some very special friends - so please treat them gently. As for me, I stand here, as I always do, with my pockets full of fear, but also that flutter of hope and excitement which must be your special gift to me. It is raining now, but your sun will soon come, and larks will sweep the skies. Welcome."

Episode Information

You can go to the brand new Nighttime on Still Waters website by going to: noswpod.com. Here you will find photographs and information relating to the podcast and individual episodes. Among other things, you can read and see photographs of our early life on the canal as well as see behind the scenes of the podcasts and an explanation of the terms used in the Weather Log.

I finish with the poem ‘Invitation’ by Mary Oliver (2013) from her book A Thousand Mornings published by Penguin.

More information about Nighttime on Still Waters

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Fireside Christmas Eve

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 15:00:00 +0000

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Curl up with us for this very special Christmas Eve edition of the podcast. Whether you are feeling on your own or just in need of a bit of a breathing space, why not join me tonight for this special Jólabókaflóð inspired edition of Nighttime on Still Water’s? Although the weather may be closer to Greg Lake’s “veil of tears for the virgin birth”, there will always the possibility for “eyes filled with tinsel and fire.”

Journal entry:

“24th December, Friday. Christmas Eve

Yesterday
Four cormorants swung low out of the mist.
Unlike ducks, geese and swans
Or the parrying cries of the corvids
They were silent.
Dark shapes swimming through the dripping air.

All the haws were encased in perfect globes of water.

Days wrapped in mist hold their own special beauty.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read excerpts from:

Dylan Thomas (1954) ‘Memories of Christmas’ from Quite Early One Morning published by J.M. Dent. Everyman’s Library.

Laurie Lee (2015) ‘Village Christmas’ from his Village Christmas and Other Notes on the English Year, published by Penguin. Modern Classics.

Lucy M. Boston (2000) The Children of Green Knowe published by Faber.

Susan Cooper (2019) The Dark is Rising published by Penguin. Puffin Books

For the episode featuring Lucy M. Boston’s River at Green Knowe where you can find more information about her books and the actual house of Green Knowe (well worth a visit) – Episode 39: Summer Readings 3.

For more information about the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð – Jolabokaflod: Founding Story

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Hill

Sun, 19 Dec 2021 15:00:00 +0000

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As tonight’s full moon is shrouded by the fog that rolls down the hill and curls and drifts upon the water join us aboard the NB Erica as we fall once more in love with the commonplace and overlooked things. The hill may not be named, or even be awarded a contour of its own, but it nevertheless is the place of gentle and unremarkable miracles.

Journal entry:

“17th December, Friday

It didn’t take long
For those three years of growth
To lie cut upon the ground.

Penny sniffs the torn and broken stems.
I step over teasel heads
Trodden into the mud. “

Episode Information

In this episode I read:

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem ‘Pied Beauty’ from Poems and Prose published by Penguin Classics (1985).

Tim Hennen’s (2013) ‘What the Plants Say’ from his Darkness Sticks to Everything published by Copper Canyon Press.

I also read a quotation from Arthur Machen’s (1924) The London Adventure: Or the art of wandering. Republished by Tartrus Press.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Winter Wisdom (Wintrum frod)

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 13:00:00 +0000

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Following the epic weather of the past few weeks, we go back in time to a period that best celebrated this type of weather. In this episode we explore why the enigmatic appeal of Anglo-Saxon poetry and its fascination (or even obsession) with winter casts such an enduring influence on our culture. It is the perfect type of literature for cold winter nights, but there are also other deeper traits that remain deeply rooted in our shared cultural memories that inform our attitudes to winter.

Journal entry:

“8th December, Wednesday

Storm Barra is barrelling around the boat
Harrying and jostling us,
So that the roaring world tips and sways.

The darkness is flecked silver with rain
As Penny and I walk into a howling dawn. “

Episode Information

In this episode I mention the following books:

Michael Alexander’s (2006) The Earliest English Poems Penguin Classics series, published by Penguin Books.

Alexandra Harris’ (2015) Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skies published by Thames and Hudson.

I read excerpts from the following poems (Michael Alexander’s translations):

The Ruin (alternative translation)

The Seafarer

Exeter riddle 73 (other texts count it as 74)

For those wanting to explore the world of Anglo Saxon and Old English literature, you might find this website, created by Dr Aaron Hostetter from Rutgers University, very helpful: An Old English Poetry Project.

A digital version of the Exeter Book produced c.970 (in which the above are featured) can be viewed here: Exeter Book

I also mentioned Andy Grifee’s narrowboat-based crime series featuring Johnson and Wilde which are published by Orphans Publishing.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Rhythm of Cycles

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 13:00:00 +0000

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You join us on (another)stormy night, but this one is moonless and black as tar. It is the night of the new moon – the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon. The phases of the moon give us an opportunity to contemplate the intricate play of cycles all around us and how the mirror, challenge and provide direction for our lives.

Journal entry:

“3rd December, Friday

The tops of the trees is Shakespeare’s wood have disappeared in cloud.

A defrosted world, smothered in mist and pearled with beads of water.

The canal looks opaque.
A soup of leaf and silt.
Unfathomable and still.

A jackdaw hides in plain sight amongst the wind-left leaves of an oak
As a rabbit sits up and watches us pass.“

Episode Information

For more information about the phases of the moon and the names given to the moon each month, the Royal Museums Greenwich, have an excellent website: Why do we have special names for full moons?

In this episode I read the following poems:

RS Thomas ‘The Moon in Lleyn’ from his (1984) RS Thomas Later Poems: 1972-1982 published by Papermac.

David Whyte ‘Faith’ from his (1990) Where Many Rivers Meet published by Many Rivers Press.

Walter de la Mare (1922) ‘Silver’ multiple publishing.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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The after-effects of the booster jab are just beginning to slam into me and so tonight’s episode is going to be fairly short. However, you join us on a very cold and stormy night as Storm Arwen with its ‘screaming northerlies’ batters the boat and brings with it our first snows of the winter, but the boat is warm, the hatches are battened and, as always, there is a very warm welcome awaiting you.

Journal entry:

“27th November, Saturday

Mum, you would have loved days like this.
And to sit beside the glowing stove and feel the wind hug the boat.

But the leaf is now fallen from the tree of my life
leaving silence where there was once an anchor of love
and a stack of dog-eared books.

Somewhere on this howling wind rides your love
and it makes it feel a little less cold.

Happy birthday.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read Mum’s favourite poem ‘Nicholas Nye’ by Walter de la Mare.

You can read the poem here: Nicholas Nye.

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Traveller's Joy

Sun, 21 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

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The pace of autumn is gathering and a chill is creeping into the air tonight, but the stove is warm. In tonight’s episode we go off to encounter Traveller’s Joy, and explore the potency and importance of names.

Journal entry:

“19th November, Friday

The ash tree held its breath as the moon grazed the darkness,
Between cirrus sandbanks, in a halo of light.

A handful of stars, misplaced and constellation-less,
Breadcrumbs, no longer able to lead me home.

And now the dawn rises ochre and mauve.
The larches stand tall on the horizon.

Thank God for sunrise
And November buds. “

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to the following authors:

W. Keble Martin (1965) The Concise British Flora in Colour published by Ebury Press.

Roy Vickery (2019) Vickery’s Folk-Flora: An A-Z of the folklore and uses of British and Irish plants published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Niall Mac Coitir (2015) Ireland's Wild Plants: Myths, legends and folklore published by Collins Press.

Richard Folkard (1884) Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyric: Embracing the myths, traditions, superstitions and folk-lore of the plant kingdom published by Sampson Low (multiple re-publishers).

For more general information and photographs of Traveller’s Joy/Old Man’s Beard, some good sites are:

Woodlands.co.uk: Traveller’s Joy
Wildflower Finder: Traveller’s Joy

General Details

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Episode Out of Time

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 15:00:00 +0000

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Against all odds, this episode comes a little out of time! Events have conspired resulting in a slightly truncated episode recorded in the afternoon!! Nevertheless, duck chatter and babies (with a little help from John Moriarty) help us to find a path through the tangled thickets that many of us are possibly facing.

Journal entry:

“10th November, Wednesday

A light mist, like smoke, has begun to sweep down the hill turning fields and woods to smudgy greys. Scattered across the gentle curve of the hills blurred sheep graze, like clumsily erased pencilled mistakes.

Dry leaves rattle.
This morning, Penny and I walked beneath a cave of stars
and now I see the sun.”

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to the Jo and Vic’s vlog Holly – The Café Boat. The episode featuring the arrival of baby William is ‘The Next Episode.’

I also read several passages from John Moriarty’s (2007) What the Curlew Said: Nostos continued published by Lilliput Press.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Dance of Firelight (and After the Fireworks)

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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What is it about fire that holds our fascination? Last weekend the clocks went back and in the span of one night darkness began to lap at the edges of our late afternoons. The encroachment of night leading the tide of winter into our daytimes can no longer be ignored and it is understandable that at this time of year we are so drawn to the image of an open fire. In this episode, with the help of the poet Robert Service, we explore the ways that fire can touch us so deeply emotionally, reawakening old memories and feelings.

Journal entry:

“5th November, Friday

A chill greyness has seeped into the landscape
That silvered dawns
And sunsets of fiery bronze
Cannot shift.

COP26 started this week.
Twitter and newsfeeds are not good places to be.

So I stand by the big oak
Listening for the raven’s call
And the windsong of geese.

Above me contrails flower the cobalt sky
And, at my feet,
A clover leaf
Laced with ice.

Episode Information

In this episode I read extracts from a number of poems by Robert W Service (1874-1958). These are:

‘The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike’
‘The Lure of Little Voices’
‘The Logger’
‘The Song of the Campfire’

There are a number of collections of his works. The one I have been using is Dan McGrew, Sam McGee and Other Great Service Poems published by Taylor (1987).

For more information about Service’s life and work, see: Robert W. Service.

For more information on research relating to the psychological and physiological effects of sitting by an open fire:

C.D. Lynn. (2014) ‘Hearth and Campfire Influences on Arterial Blood Pressure: Defraying the

Costs of the Social Brain through Fireside Relaxation’. Evolutionary Psychology 12(5). 983-1003.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

By Swede-Lantern Light (Halloween)

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 10:00:00 +0000

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Tonight, you join me on a wild October night with the rain rattling against the cabin roof - so there is a little background noise in some places. But it’s warm and dry inside. Penny is snoring in front of the stove. Settle back as we look at life and Halloweens through the flickering light of a swede-head lantern of my childhood.

Journal entry:

“26th October, Tuesday

Gloaming.
Civil Twilight.
The ash in the south field is losing its denseness;
Filigree silhouette, like a Victorian cut paper artwork.

Westerly wind.
Buoyant and roguish.
All at once, hundreds of leaves lift and rise up
Caught on the bandit wind.
Slowly transforming into rooks and jackdaws
They take wing and beat strong across
A crowing sky.”

Episode Information

There is a lovely article about swede and turnip head lanterns on the BBC News website: Do turnip lanterns still haunt Halloween?

For those interested in the history behind them, this is an interesting blog post: Jack o’ lantern and Will o’ the wisp.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Elf of Plants

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 14:00:00 +0100

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This week Vanessa from ‘The Mindful Narrowboat’ vlog got me thinking and so this week we begin to explore how our knowledge and (perhaps) attitudes to fungi are changing and leading us back to older ways of thinking about the environment and our place within it.

Journal entry:

“21st October, Thursday

A Hunter’s Moon swinging high
Across a highwayman’s sky
Of racing clouds.

The streets of Birmingham run wet
With the glittering jewels of
Brake lights and shop front signs.

Later,
A gull soars through the
Thermal canyons and valleys
Under a sky of cut sapphire.

Later still,
The Plough silently revolves over the boat
Needle sharp shards of light
At the moment, tilting north. ”

Episode Information

In this episode I read the following poems:
Emily Dickinson’s ‘The Mushroom is the elf of plants’
Sylvia Plath’s ‘Mushrooms’ ,
You can hear Sylvia Plath’s own reading of her poem here: Sylvia Plath reads ‘Mushrooms.’

I also read excerpts from:
John Clare’s (1827) from ‘October’ in The Shepherd’s Calendar
Wendell Berry’s (2017) The World-Ending Fire: Essential Wendell Berry published by Catapult.
Robin Wall Kimmerer (2020) Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants published by Penguin. It is also published in the shorter volume: The Democracy of Species also published by Penguin as part of their ‘Green Ideas’ series.

I also refer to the works of:
Suzanne Simard (2021) Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the wisdom and intelligence of the forest. published by Penguin.

Vanessa’s ‘Mindful Narrowboat’ vlog can be viewed here: The Mindful Narrowboat. Her Twitter account can be found at: @TheMindfulNB

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can

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Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Worlds Turning Gold

Sun, 17 Oct 2021 11:00:00 +0100

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Although the trees and hedgerows here are still holding on to their greens, further afield their transformation into golds and yellows and reds is unmistakable. This time of year never fails to trigger a memory of a young couple I once saw in a park in the middle of England who were entering a world that was turning to gold.

Journal entry:

“16th October, Saturday

7 degrees and the dawn is still an hour away.
Flecks of dew on Penny’s nose. Not a breath of wind. The still air carries distant sounds closer: The jagged gash of the A46; airliners chasing each other to shiny, antiseptic, unwelcoming terminals and grim-eyed immigration clerks.

Closer by, nothing stirs. Silence.

7 degrees and the sky is washed with 50 shades of mauve. Clouds, like bruises, swim across an alien sky.

The hedges chink with blackbirds’ alarms.
A solitary raven cronks on big, ragged wings. Crows call back.
The pillowy boulders of sheep lying in the tall grass do not move as we pass.

Our shadows grow black as the sun climbs.
and it is still 7 degrees.”

Episode Information

In this episode I mention the work of the artist Pete Tuffrey. You can see his work, and his painting ‘Gales in Viking’ (and his newer painting ‘Lessening’ which came out after this recording) by going to his Facebook page or Twitter account.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

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Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Shipping Forecasts and Weather Logs

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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When I meet people who listen to this podcast, one of the most frequently mentioned features is the inclusion of the weather log with which I end each episode. This week I talk about what inspired it, one of which is my childhood love of the BBC’s Shipping Forecast. What makes these stark lists of climatic data ring so powerfully in our minds?

Journal entry:

“8th October, Friday

Laundry-water coloured skies
Heavy dews
Clumps of willow-herb hang like desolate sodden paper tissues.

The sock on my right foot keeps balling
Under the arch of my instep.
I lean against the brickwork of bridge 65 to readjust it.

Penny contentedly sniffs out the worlds
Hidden from me.

But my mind is filled with childhood snow scenes
And socks that never stayed up in gum boots.”

Episode Information

For lovers of the Shipping Forecast and, particularly for those outside the UK who might now have heard it, the 99% Visible Blog and podcast has a wonderfully informative online article by Roman Mars, ‘The Shipping Forecast’, that sketches out its history and characteristics, as well as featuring links to recordings of it.

You can listen and watch Laurie Macmillan read the Shipping Forecast accompanied with ‘Sailing By’ on: Radio 4 Shipping Forecast (Youtube).

Vangelis’ track ‘Albedo 0.39’ can be found on his album Albedo 0.39 (1976) released by RCA. To listen to it: Albedo 0.39 (Youtube).

In this episode I quote excerpts from:

Charlie Connelly (2019) Last Train to Hilversum published by Bloomsbury

Peter Jefferson (2011) And Now the Shipping Forecast: A tide of history around our shores. published by UIT Cambridge.

Nic Compton (2016) The Shipping Forecast: A miscellany. Published by Ebury

Seán Street’s poem ‘The Shipping Forecast: Donegal’ is from his Time Between Tides (2007) published by Rockingham. There is a beautifully crafted and presented reading of it on Soundcloud. To listen to it: The Shipping Forecast: Donegal.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Rook Ravaged Skies

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 14:00:00 +0100

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This has been a week of blustery winds and storms. Perfect weather for the wild choreographies of the rooks jousting on the wind. The devil has spat upon the blackberries and we (rather hurriedly) mark our first birthday – this podcast is one year old!

Journal entry:

“2nd October, Saturday

Below a thrown scatter of rooks
South-westerly gusts kick up
leaves not yet ready to drop.

Rains seeps into the cuffs of my coat

Autumn glory.”

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to:

John Mazluff and Tony Angell’s (2005) In the Company of Crows and Ravens published by Yale University Press.

Jennifer Ackerman’s (2020) The Bird Way: A new look at how birds talk, work, play, parent and eat. Penguin Press.

To hear Amada and Wayne (NB Aecern aka NB Wanabees) interview on great ‘The Silver Fox Sessions’ podcast: 5. You Know What? Anything Can Happen! Newbie Narrowboaters Wayne and Amanda

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Call of Wild Geese

Sun, 26 Sep 2021 14:00:00 +0100

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These are the mornings of mist that ring with the call of geese. What is it about catching sight of the flight of geese and hearing their wind-borne calls that evokes such feelings restless longing and yearning within us? And yearning for what? We listen to the words of Wendell Berry, BB, David Whyte and Mary Oliver to find ways to capture those powerful emotions.

Journal entry:

“24th September, Friday

A tangle of Victorian girders
Russet brown; a lacy filigree
of metal, rivets, and musty glass.

Anti-pigeon spikes
Repel the reality in which we live.
Willowherb smoke, rusty sidings,
Bramble fountains – barbed and irrepressible.

The sharp-edged wings of a gull,
Outstretched, cruciform, alive.
And my spirit rises with it,
Soaring into the sunlight above the grime-streaked glass.”

Episode Information

In this episode I discuss some of the ‘Little Grey Men’ books of the author BB (Denys Watkins-Pitchford). They are:

BB (1942) Little Grey Men reissued (2012) by Oxford University Press.

BB (1948) Down the Bright Stream (later published as The Little Grey Men go Down the Bright Stream) also reissued (2001) by Oxford University Press.

Wendell Berry’s poem ‘Listen!’ can be found in his (2018) volume, The Peace of Wild Things published by Penguin Books.

David Whyte’s poem ‘The Journey’ has a number of publications but can be read in his (2018) David Whyte: Essentials published by Many Rivers Press. You can watch him talk about it and recite it here: The Journey.

The two poems by Mary Oliver ‘Snow Geese’ and ‘Wild Geese’ are collected in her (2004) Wild Geese: Selected poems. Published by Blood Axe.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Gongoozler and the Nomad

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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This week we catch up with news of our little swan family and explore the strange word ‘gongoozler’. What does it mean? Where does it come from? In some ways it functions as a shibboleth. Its use identifying the ‘true’ canal people from those outside the community. However, it also shines a light on tensions of modern day living.

Journal entry:

“15th September, Wednesday

Dawn filled with the scent of autumn notes.
Rooks stream like smoke or falling leaves
Across the ragged sky
Haunted by geese calls
Flying east into the rising sun.”

Episode Information

The website to which I refer in this episode is ‘Word Histories’ and the entry for ‘gongoozler’ is here: ‘Meaning and origin of ‘Gongoozler’’.

I also refer to the following:

HR De Salis (1904/2012) Bradshaw's Canals and Navigable Rivers of England and Wales republished by Old House Books (among others)

L.T.C. Rolt (1944) Narrow Boat first published by Eire and Spottiswoode

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Shrewley Tunnel: Sailing dark waters

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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Join me tonight on a journey on the dark waters of Shrewley Tunnel. In this episode we travel not just through the tunnel but also through history and try to capture the life of those who worked the canals by physically 'legging' boats through.

Journal entry:

“12th September, Friday

Having Brunch at the Gongoozler’s Rest Café.
The smell of wet earth and fallen apples
A frisson of rain among rowan leaves
Scarlet berries decorating the ground.

A sleepy wasp crawls over my hand.
I can feel its tiny life vibrating within it.

Later we watch a duck asleep in the rain.
Days together like this – make the difference.”

Episode Information

Audio recorded at Shrewley Tunnel on 27th August 2021.
Photographs taken during this trip can be viewed on the Nighttime on Still Waters’ Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

In this episode I read extracts from the following books:

J.M. Pearson (2017) Pearson’s Canal Companions: South Midlands. 10th edn. Published by Wayzgoose.

L.T.C. Rolt (1944) Narrow Boat first published by Eire and Spottiswoode

Sue Wilkes (2011) Tracing Your Canal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians. Published by Casemate.

John Hollingshead (1860) Odd Journeys In and out of London. Published by Goombridge and Sons.

I also refer to Allan Scott-Davies (2010) Shadows on the Water: The haunted canals and waterways of Britain. Published by The History Press.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

(Un)Naming of Parts

Sun, 05 Sep 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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How did the willow threaten a powerful king? What has bloody fingers to do with St Withburga? How much does our knowledge of the world dictate the way you see it? The names we give things are useful (vital even), but they are not passive. Names frame the way we view the world. In this week’s episode (with apologies to Henry Reed) we ‘unname the parts’ to find how rediscovering local names and stories can connect us in new (or older) ways with our environment.

Journal entry:

“3rd September, Friday

The night’s tide is flowing back into the mornings
Darkness drifts on the down of thistle and ragwort.

Penny and I will soon be needing bat’s eyes.
And each morning
We walk out of the friendly darkness
Into the cold light
And the one tree that has become my pole star.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read a short extract from E Temple Thurston’s (1911) The Flower of Gloster. For more details see Episode 38: Temple Thurston’s ‘Flower of Gloster’ (Summer readings 2).

The lock keeper’s cottage at Lowsonford, mentioned in the extract, is now owned by the Landmark Trust and can be hired out for holidays. Details and booking can be found here: ‘Lengthman’s Cottage’ at Lowsonford.

You can read the story of King Labhraidh Loingseach and his horses ears in (among many other places) Niall Mac Coitir’s (2016) Ireland’s Trees: Myths, legends and folklore published by The Collins Press.

I also refer to Roy Vickery’s (2019) magnificent Vickery’s Folk Flora: An A-Z of the folklore and uses of British and Irish plants published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

You can find more information on the plant cuckoo-pint or lords and ladies at: wildfooduk:lordsandladies

I conclude this episode by reading RS Thomas’ poem ‘The Bright Field’ from his () Later Poems 1972-1982 published by Papermac. You can read it here: The Bright Field. You can also hear RS Thomas reading it here: RS Thomas reads ‘The Bright Field’.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' (Summer readings #4)

Sun, 29 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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This week we explore and listen to extracts of Kenneth Grahame's (1908) children's classic The Wind in the Willows.
The story follows of the lives of various (anthropomorphised) animals that live by a river, principally, through Mole (Moley) and the Water Rat (Ratty). Their friend, the wilful, spontaneous, and exuberant Toad (of Toad Hall), acts as (almost literally) the driver of the plot. Toad's escapades and recklessness result in the need for Moley and Ratty and their friend, the wise but curmudgeonly Badger, to come to his rescue.
Grahame's writing is lyrical and evocative and in this episode we enjoy his descriptions of the river. However, his work also has great depth to it. This story can read as an exploration of how we should live within our natural environment, challenging the growing disconnection between people and nature felt within the Victorian age.
Grahame, like many other writers of his time, was also fascinated with spirituality and religious experiences outside mainstream (Christian) religion. The Wind in the Willows contains a fascinating and powerful chapter ('The Piper at the Gates of Dawn') in which Ratty and Moley have a mystical experience with a transcendent figure. Grahame's description, pre-dates, but beautifully expresses, the ideas of theologian Rudolf Otto and encountering the numinous, which Otto describes as a a non-sensory experience of a mystery that is at once terrifying whilst also being fascinating.

Bibliographic information
Kenneth Grahame (2005) The Wind in the Willows. London: Penguin Classics (although multiple publishers.
The chapter 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' can be read here: 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'

Rudolf Otto (1924) The Idea of the Holy: An inquiry into the non-rational factor in the area of the divine and its relation to the rational. Eng. Trans. London: Humphrey Milfold. (free open-access)

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Summer Heavy with Fruit

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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Is August high summer, late summer, or early autumn? Does the Queen own our little cygnet that went missing? Who looks after the canal banks? This week’s episode addresses all these pressing questions, as well as dealing with my existential angst at the threat of being robbed of ‘summer’.

Journal entry:

“19th August, Thursday

This week, each day fills and swells with the stresses and anxieties of work. Familiar pulses of panic surge up as the seconds tick by.
They overwhelm my skies. It feels as it’s all my world can contain, and even then, it’s not enough.

But then, I have also seen damson fruit ripen, and turn all the colours of a tropical sunset, and hang midnight blue and misty on the tree.
And, for that, I am glad.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read ‘Night Crawls On’ by Tom Hennen which can be found in his (2013) Darkness Sticks to Everything. Washington: Copper Canyon Press.

I also read an extract from the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

This episode concludes with an extract from Wendell Berries’ ‘Sabbath Poems’ part XII, ‘I walk in openings’, from his (2018) The Peace of Wild Things and Other Poems published by Penguin.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

At Milepost 16

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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Under the poplars beside milepost 16 is a place of enchantment and quiet sanctuary, particularly in times of broiling heat. Join me in tonight’s episode as revel in its soundscape and its dappled beauty as we explore its very particular genius loci. You can also hear about the saga concerning our little swan family and what happened this week to their young cygnet (happy ending).

Journal entry:

“11th August, Wednesday

Geese calls across the dawn skies
Haunting echelons
Black against grey.

Rooks rise and fall
Sharp and jagged silhouettes
Riding a wilder wind than the one that
brushes my skin.

Wilder souls in a world that will not be tamed.”

Episode Information

For photographs of this location (and reunited swans), please go to the NoSW facebook page, Instagram or Twitter accounts (links below).

In this episode I mention to new YouTube channels that will be of interest to NoSW listeners.

Steve May’s (from NB Blue Pheonix) new channel is called “Ramblings of a Mad Man!”

Mark Dexter’s videos on life as a captain of a cruise ship is “Excuse Me Captain Mark” and is also on YouTube.

All audio soundscapes for this episode were recorded on location at ‘Milepost 16’ on 19 July 2021.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Night Walking

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 15:00:00 +0100

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After a 3 week break, Nighttime on Still Waters is back with episode 40! In this episode we catch up with what has been happening on the moorings and reflect on the place of night walking in history and culture.

Journal entry:

“5th August, Thursday

High in a tree a blackbird
Sings into the night.

A river of notes
Pours into the cabin.

There are no stars
Just music.”

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to:

Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by JM Dent and Sons.

Matthew Beaumont’s (2015) Night Walking published by Verso.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Lucy M. Boston's 'The River at Green Knowe' (Summer readings #3)

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 11:00:00 +0100

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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 Knowe for which she was runner up for the 1954 Carnegie Medal for best children’s literature. She would later win it with her fourth book in the series, Stranger at Green Knowe (1961). The River at Green Knowe is the third of her six books set in the ancient house of Green Knowe, which also served as Boston’s home.

Although published in 1958, the book has a distinctively Edwardian feel about it despite it dealing with contemporary issues of alienation and homelessness experienced by refugees. The book is a series of stories about three children who are staying at Green Knowe for the summer and their adventures in a canoe on the river and canals around the house. Like all her books, The River at Green Knowe is a story filled with light and shadow, enchanting magic, and the threat of danger.

More information and bibliographic details

Boston, Lucy M. (1958) The River at Green Knowe. London: Faber and Faber.

Green Knowe is located at Hemingford Grey, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, UK. The house and its enchanting garden are open to the public – although check first before you travel. There is a delightful website where you can find lots of photographs of the house and grounds, as well as information about Lucy M. Boston and her books. The website is here: Green Knowe.

For a real treat, Brian Sibley's remarkable and haunting BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Lucy M Boston's first book, The Children of Green Knowe, is available, free to stream, on SoundCloud. It is spellbinding: SoundCloud - The Children of Green Knowe.

Green Knowe also have social media pages which regularly posts updates, information and images relating to the house and books.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Green-Knowe-At-The-Manor-157877494323565/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenKnoweManor

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Temple Thurston's 'The Flower of Gloster' (Summer readings #2)

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 11:00:00 +0100

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In this second Summer Reading Special we discover the delights of Ernest Temple Thurston’s The Flower of Gloster. Published in 1911, Temple Thurston is writing about a very different world to the one in which last week’s authors (Hassell and Hollingshead) were writing. It is a nostalgic nod to a world that Temple Thurston recognises is dying. Described by LTC Rolt as unashamedly romantic, it is a lyrical description of his journey aboard the horse boat (pulled by a horse) ‘Flower of Gloster’ from Oxford to Inglesham in the west country. Temple Thurston paints an often idyllic picture of lifeaboard. He is accompanied by the working boatman Eynsham Harry, a quiet contemplative man whose rustic wisdom and ‘hedgerow philosophy’ is the perfect antidote to Temple Thurston’s world weary encounters with academics and business barons of the brave new world of the early 20th century.

The book is also notable for inspiring LTC (Tom) Rolt to renovate an old working boat (‘Chressie’) and live for many months aboard with his newly wed wife cruising up and down the canals of pre-war England. His record of this time in the book Narrow Boat has since become a classic in waterways literature and has often been cited as instrumental in saving the canals and waterways of Britain. Rolt went on to become one of the founders of the Inland Waterways Association and a key player in canal conservation and restoration.

More information and bibliographic details

Temple Thurston, Ernest. (1911) The Flower of Gloster. London: William Norgate.

The book has subsequently been republished a number of times and more recently in the form:

Temple Thurston, Ernest (1968) The Flower of Gloster: with introduction by LTC Rolt. London: David and Charles.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Hassell and Hollingshead - Early canal writings (Summer readings #1)

Sun, 18 Jul 2021 11:00:00 +0100

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This is the first of our Summer Reading Specials devoted to one or two books that are in some way related to waterways or life on them. They replace the normal format while Penny, Donna and I are away, off-line, and having adventures of our own.

The first episode explores two very different authors who are writing when the canals were in their heyday. The first is John Hassell’s account of the Tour of the Grand Junction, published in 1819. We then embark on the almost exact journey some 40 years later in the company of John Hollingshead (and his companion Cuddy) under the skilful watch of ‘Captain’ Randle, the master of a flyboat called the Stourport. Hollingshead’s account is much more personable and is interested not just in the sights and sounds he encounters but also the people he meets.

More information and bibliographic details

Copies of both Hassell and Hollingshead’s accounts can be found in reprinted forms (of varying quality) on book selling sites like Amazon.

Hassel, John. (1819) Tour of the Grand Junction, Illustrated in a Series of Engravings; With an Historical and Topographical Description of those Parts of the Counties of Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Northamptonshire, through which the Canal passes. London: Printed for J. Hassell.

A free, open-access, scanned and digitized copy of this book can be found on the archive.org site and is downloadable in multiple formats: Tour of the Grand Junction.

Hollingshead, John. (1860) Odd Journeys In and out of London. London: Goombridge and Sons.

A free, open-access, scanned and digitised copy of this book is available to download in multiple formats on the archive.org website: Odd Journeys in and out of London.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Heron's Gaze

Sun, 11 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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This week we explore and reflect upon a wonderful poem by narrowboater Steve May (NB Blue Phoenix), ‘The Magnificent Heron’. There is a growing appreciation of genuine encounters with animals and birds and, with the help of Martin Buber and Jacques Derrida, we reflect upon changing attitudes and understanding about how we relate to the non-human world.

Journal entry:

“9th July, Friday

The air is oppressive and sticky. At this hour only jackdaws have the energy to yap.

Chance meeting with a stranger. The water is cool while we talk. He speaks with not just his voice but his face and body. I try to follow the coiled labyrinth of his thoughts.

What strange creatures we are. We people our cosmos with such gods and monsters that we can scarce tell them apart.”

Episode Information

This episode features the poem, ‘The Magnificent Heron’, by Steve May (from the NB Blue Phoenix). You can follow Steve and read his poem and see the accompanying video on Twitter: @bwannabes.

For those interested in reading more about Martin Buber’s writing on ‘I-It and I-Thou’ you might like to read his book I and Thou (1923/1937). There is a free open-access English translation (by Walter Kaufmann) of it on archive.org: I and Thou.

Jacques Derrida’s essays featuring his cat can be found in his The Animal That Therefore I Am (2008) published by Fordham University Press.

All the soundscapes featured in this episode are all recorded on site apart from the sample of the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) night call. This was recorded at Berkel en Rodenrijs, Lansingerland, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands by Susanne Kuijpers on the night of 10th May 2021. It is available under Creative Copyright licence at Xeno-Canto: Sharing bird sounds from around the world.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Twilight Blue

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 14:00:00 +0100

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Did you know that each evening we experience THREE twilights? Each one with distinctive features and that during this period we respond in physiological ways. Similarly, our ancestors appeared to have taken advantage of these liminal periods of transition in ways that we might do well to remember. We finish the episode with a lovely passage from Tom Rolt’s Narrow Boat and there is also some sad news from the moorings.

Journal entry:

“1st July, Thursday

The day dawns with a silver light that presages a beautiful July day. The hay in the meadow above us has been cut and baled.

A heron breaks cover from the little cove umbrellaed with bushes. Around the corner glide the swans. The cob effortlessly swims, one cygnet tucked close to his side. There is a gentle dignity about him. His reflection casts a ghostly figure ‘5’ in the barely stirred water.

It is a message I had no heart to read."

Episode Information

In this episode I finish with a reading from LTC (Tom) Rolt’s (1944) Narrow Boat first published by Eire and Spottiswoode. It is a book that has been viewed by many as saving the British waterways.

I also read RL Stevenson’s poem ‘Bed in Summer’ published in his volume of children’s verse, Child’s Garden of Verse (1885). You can read the poem here: ‘Bed in Summer’.

Extracts are also read from:

A Roger Ekirch (2005) At Day’s Close: A history of night time. Norton.

Paul Bogard (ed.) (2008) Let There be Night: Testimony on behalf of the dark. Reno, Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press.

Jack Byer’s (or perhaps Bayer) informative and beautifully researched vlog series on canals and narrowboats in the United States, American Narrowboater, can be viewed on his YouTube channel: American Narrowboater.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Summer Sounds - canalside

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +0100

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The hot weather has broken with rain and slab-like grey/white skies. While we wait for the sun’s return, it’s probably a good time to remember those lazy sunny days of long ago (and not so long ago). In this week’s episode we explore the sounds of canals in summer from bees to lock sluices and enjoy the words of John Betjeman and E Temple Thurston.
We also discover the meaning of the word 'haysel'.

Journal entry:

“16th June, Wednesday

The summer heat has come, dustily settling across the fields and with it, the weighty, drowsiness that hums and buzzes in the head. The noontime hedges are as still as the night-time ones and the trees click and stretch beneath the sun. But the lethargy is short lived; the summer is still young, it hasn't yet shaken off the new-yeast of spring. The elder that the park-keeper laboured to cut back last month, explodes with green, lacy life, rearing in delight; defiantly laughing at the clean straight edges loved by sheers and humankind.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read an extract from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by JM Dent and Sons. I also refer to a reference about haysel in Ruth Binney’s (2010) Weather Lore for the Wise Words and Country Ways series published by David and Charles.

In this Summer Sounds section I read part of John Betjeman’s (Poet Laureate) ‘Inland Waterways’ which he wrote for the re-opening of Stratford upon Avon canal by the Queen Mother in 1964. It is published in The Best of John Betjeman (1978) published by Penguin. However, you can read the complete poem as well as a write up (with pictures) of the opening celebrations and its background on the Canal and River Trust’s Waterfront website: From the archives: A royal visit.

I conclude by reading a short extract from E Temple Thurston’s (1911) evocative The Flower of Gloster published by David and Charles.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Fractured Beauties of the Night

Sun, 13 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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The hold of early summer along the canal-side grows firmer each day. However, sometimes the changes and shifts in the season can affect us in surprising and sometimes disconcerting ways. This episode reflects on the birth of the idea that would eventually become the Nighttime on Still Waters podcast, and a reflection on radio and encounters in the night-time.

Please note that this episode discusses mental health.

Journal entry:

“13th June, Saturday

The lowering sun is now caught in the feathery tops of the ash trees on the bank.
Lone islands of cloud cast adrift on a sea of blue.

The light catches the deep drifts of ox eye daisies making their white petals shine.

I sit in the dappled sunlight drinking in the cooling breeze and watch the gnats dance on wings made of silver fire.”

Episode Information

During the podcast a read a passage from Charlie Connelly's (2019) The Last Train to Hilversum: A journey in the search of the magic of radio. Bloomsbury Publishing.

I also read extracts from Seán Street’s (2013) The Poetry of Radio: The colour of sound published by Routledge

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Fledglings

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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The world is filled with new life, fledglings of all kinds. It is noisy, messing, sometimes cruel, and so full of vitality and life. It’s an boisterous energy that cannot be contained or ignored. From vetch, to rabbits and birds and even humans, fledglings fill this world with a fragile, exuberant colour.

In this episode we also discover some of your ‘first poems.’

Journal entry:

“2nd June, Wednesday

Great God, I love this weather.
When mounting, rock-grey slabs of clouds climb into the sky
and that playful wind, that precedes rain,
kicks and blusters the flaccid air
that is heavy with
sticky heat and insects and pollen dust
and the floral, vegetable scent of life.

I could stay in a place like this forever,
balanced on the razor-edge of a coming storm.”

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

I also refer to W. Keble Martin’s (1965) The Concise British Flora in Colour published by Ebury Press. It was a book that was much loved (and consulted) by my mother.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Rhyme & (sometimes) Reason

Sun, 30 May 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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What was the first poem that you ever learnt? This week marks the fourth anniversary of my mother’s death and, for some reason, it has brought to mind poems that she loved and that I shared with her as a child. There is something strangely powerful, evocative, perhaps even reassuring, about rhythm and rhymes. Sometimes, it might be, that the rhymes become the reason.

Journal entry:

“28th May, Friday

We’re together again,
Hands deep in soil.
Planting seedlings
Nurturing the earth,
Coaxing life.

A fine rain spangles the air.
This feels good.

And, when it comes down to it,
This is really all there is -
Tending the grounding
and helping it grow.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read a number of poems.

A.A. Milne:

· ‘Happiness’ (from When We Were Very Young. 1924 )

· ‘Come Out with Me’ (from Now We Are Six, 1927)

Kenneth Graham:

· Duck’s Ditty (from The Wind in the Willows, 1908)

Walter de la Mare

· Nod (from The Listeners and other Poems, 1912)

For a taste of cruising (at times) a very different type of waterway on East Anglian washes and levels, you might be interested in the recent episodes of Venessa’s vlog: The Mindful Narrowboat

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Into the Night

Sun, 23 May 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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What is ‘dead sleep’ and ‘morning sleep’? Why are 'duck hatches' invaluable? What should we do with the feral ducks?
In this far ranging episode. we explore the night-time of history and discover that, perhaps, the importance of the night for our well-being might not be purely as a time for sleep. We also talk about what scenarios we employed for choosing the right boat for us, and the problem of the feral ducks,

So far month has been colder and wetter than the average. However, the world around us continues with its seasonal and geological cycles.

Journal entry:

“21st May, Friday

Someone tore the clouds today
And the sky
Wept water and
Hawthorn blossom
Onto the shining street.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read an extract from Kathleen Dean Moore’s essay ‘The gifts of darkness’ in Paul Bogard (ed) (2008). Let there be Night: Testimony on behalf of darkness. Reno, Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press.

I also refer to Matthew Beaumont (2015) Night Walking: A nocturnal history of London from Chaucer to Dickens. London, New York: Verso.

Podcasts mentioned:

Patricia Carswell – Girl on the River: The diary of a pint-sized rower

Fran and Richard’s Floating our Boat podcast

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Clerical Heron

Sun, 16 May 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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What is it about the heron that makes it such a frequent subject for social media posts featuring canal and riverside birds? There is something about it that is strange, singular almost. Spotting one is often felt to be a significant event that should be recorded and remembered. This week we look at the heron in the company of Dylan Thomas, John Moriarty, and Wendell Berry, and explore why it has such an impact on us.

Journal entry:

“15th May, Saturday

There are times, sitting here, that stillness seems to fill the boat
Like morning light
Pooling and seeping into every corner and crack.
It’s not silence
Nor even a quietness
- Though it is both of those.

And all I can hear is Penny softly breathing,
My pen scratching on paper,
A wood pigeon’s lazy call.

Even the second-hand on the clock seems to move slower.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read a passage from John Moriarty’s (2007) What the Curlew Said: Nostos continued. University of Michigan: Lilliput Press.

I also read ‘The Heron’ by Wendell Berry that can be found in his (2018) anthology The Peace of Wild Things: And other poems. London: Penguin Books

The book I refer to by Richard Jeffries (1879) is his Wildlife in a Southern County of which many versions exist. It has recently been republished, with an introduction by Richard Mabey by Little Toller – Wildlife in a Southern County.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

May Rains

Sun, 09 May 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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This week the rains swept in pushed by great fronts of ocean air – moisture from places with magical names that I hear on the shipping forecast and can only imagine. Life around progressed without a murmur and the ground drank heavily.

In this episode we listen to the rain and to Thomas Merton. We also thinking about casting clouts and what that might mean.

Journal entry:

“7th May, Friday

It was -1⁰ when I got up this morning.
The sky was lightening in the east
and the trees and hedgerows,
beside the night-edged cut, sang.

Buttery waves of golden light
wash over the retreating frost.
The sky is blue as Penny and I
Walk on starfields of ice.

They glitter and sparkle,
But not as brightly as the notes
Of the blackbird’s song, that pour
From that tree, over there,
In the corner.”

Episode Information

The Mindful Narrowboat vlog
You can enjoy Vanessa’s (and Zephyr, her dog) mindful narrowboat adventures cruising on NB Alice Grace by following The Mindful Narrowboat vlog.

Readings

In this episode I read a passage from Thomas Merton’s (2003) When the Trees say Nothing. Notre Dame: Sorin Books.

I also read ‘Sheep in the Rain’ by Tom Hennen which can be found in his (2013) Darkness Sticks to Everything. Washington: Copper Canyon Press.

I also refer to:

Ruth Binney (2010) Weather Lore. Country Words and Country Ways series. Cincinnati: David and Charles.

Charles Dack (1911) Weather and Folklore of Peterborough and District. Peterborough: Peterborough Natural history, Scientific, and Archaeological Society.

Miles Hadfield (1950) An English Almanac. London: JM Dent and Sons.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Lifetime Ago

Sun, 02 May 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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A lifetime ago, almost to the day, it turned cooler after an uncustomary warm and dry couple of weeks. Synoptic charts show high pressure moving up the country dragging with it frontal systems. No doubt, on that day, some looked at the clouds and grumbled. And life carried on as it had the days before. Engines shunted in sidings. People waited at bus stops. Shop tills rang out. Dogs barked. And, in the cabin of a small boat moored on the bank of the Grand Union, I took my first breath of air; sweet with cow pasture, and nettles, and paraffin.

Journal entry:

“27th April, Tuesday.

This morning dawned with frost and golden washes of light.
I discovered a new patch of cowslips and hawthorns budding, and the first mallow and bugle clusters shouldering their way into the sunshine.
It should have been perfect.
The birds sang with a brilliant clarity managing to subsume the aural gash of traffic.
But it wasn’t.

Everything felt a little off kilter.
My shoulders and legs ached.
- Not so much in pain – just an awareness of them being there,
So that walking was not an automatic act,
But a conscious and deliberative one.
Consequently, it felt awkward, clumsy – not natural.

The morning chill lost that exhilarating feel and sank into my bones.
A racing mind that gravitates to the dark edges
Where formless unease lurks.

It was not that I was untouched by the world in which I walked,
Those spots of beauty – touches of joy,
But sometimes perfection and beauty lie in the small details
Not the whole.

Even Eden had its serpent.
Et in Arcadia ego
‘Even in Arcadia , there I am.’”

Episode Information

In this episode I talk about my mother’s memoirs that she wrote about her time living on the canal. You can hear more about her in Episode 2 The Erica behind the Erica and hear me reading an excerpt from her writing in which she described the harsh winter of 1963 in Episode 9 The Winter of 1962/63.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Back Home!

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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Back where we belong. Under an old ash tree and a full April moon.
After nearly five months of restricted movements, we’re back home, out on the canal! Join us as we stop over at one of our most favourite places to tie up for the night. The sun is warm, the air is soft, and the moon is big.

Journal entry:

“23rd April, Thursday.

Sitting up here on the roof of Erica
I am surrounded by warmth and the sounds of life.
The water beneath my feet shifts in tessellating patterns of light;
It is the taupey brown of old Morris Minors.

There’s a slow easterly breeze that has the edge of freshness,
But the afternoon sun is warm on my shoulders.
I can feel the boat gently move beneath me – like something alive.

Erica is back in her natural environment.”

Episode Information

For some photographs and short videos – see the posts on Nighttime on Still Waters’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

On the Grave of Winter

Sun, 18 Apr 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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At the beginning of the week we were waking up to snow and each nights the temperatures have been slipping below zero. However, the days are filled with sunshine and warmth, and a vibrancy fills the word. Spring has arrived. A few years ago, I discovered something wonderful that the isophenes of Spring tell us about the the progress of the season.
We also join the poet, writer, and naturalist, Edward Thomas, at the end of his 1913 bicycle ride in Pursuit of Spring and finds, high on the Quantocks Hills, the grave of Winter.

Journal entry:

“15th April, Thursday.

Today was one of those perfect Spring days.
The air still had that edge of ice to it,
But the day was filled with a thick, syrupy, warmth
that was heavy with blossom and insects.
And there was that light that you seem to get only in April;
the flooded, chalky, palettes you find
in the paintings of Krøyer and the other Scandinavian artists.

The day, and the season, is as fresh and as sweet as Spearmint Chewing Gum.

Episode Information

In this episode refer to and read a short passage from Edward Thomas’ (1914) In Pursuit of Spring. A free (open access) copy can be found on the Project Guttenberg site which incidentally features a rather lovely picture of two narrowboats on the Paddington canal as a frontispiece - Edward Thomas: In Pursuit of Spring.

For those interested in Edward Thomas’ wife, Helen, you can read her two lyrical and poignant autobiographies, As it Was and World without End in the collected edition, Under Storm’s Wing (2012) published by Carcanet.

I also read a very short extract from Miles Hadfield (1950) An English Almanac published by JM Dent and Sons.

For progress on the ducks and swans – see the Nighttime on Still Waters Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Boat Blacking

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 12:00:00 +0100

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Boat blacking is when the hull of a boat is painted or sprayed with a protective – usually bitumen-based – paint to help minimise corrosion of the steel hull. For painted blacking, it is a process that occurs every 2 to 3 years. This week it was NB Erica’s turn for blacking, a time of convergence between ‘canal time’ and ‘land time.’

Journal entry:

“10th April, Saturday.

I’ll show you something wonderful.
- Go through the little swing gate in front of you.
Keep straight on. Go through the next gate into the field over which the ravens call.
Keep walking with the canal on your right.
Mind your footing, the ground is a bit lumpy and can be boggy when wet.
The sun should be rising in front of you, a little to your left.
There you will see a tangled old blackthorn tree,
Fallen in last year’s storms,
Crushing the barbed wire fence beneath it.
Today it is wreathed in the aura of delicate white petals, that smell of honey jars.

Even fallen trees can blossom.”

Episode Details

You can see pictures of the Erica being craned in and out of the canal and the blacking on the Nighttime on Still Waters Facebook page, and on Instagram and Twitter (links below).

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Canalscapes of Childhood

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0100

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A listener has asked, "After we left the boat and went to live in a house, did canals continue to play much of a part in my life?"
After the boat, we moved to Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. It was there I grew up and found my place within the world. At the time it was still a fairly small village. The main industry was the Ovaltine factory that bordered the Grand Union Canal which bisected the village. Working boats were still a relatively common sight. As well as through traffic from London to Birmingham and other cities to the north, they serviced the local industries; Ovaltine, Toovey's Mill, the John Dickinson mills at Nash Mills and Apsley, and Rose’s Lime Juice at Boxmoor Warf, Hemel Hempstead.

As time went on, the number of working decreased, but the canal remained as a key part of the village and social topography and geography.

“The canal wasn’t part of my life in a deliberate way. But that was because it was unconsciously so much part of our environment; the geographies of growing up.
The playground and classroom that we all just took for granted.”

Journal entry:

“25th March, Thursday.

Tonight, the air is warm and still.
The cabin doors are open.
The sounds and scents of a spring-time night
fill the boat.

It is difficult to tell where the boat ends and the night begins”

Episode Details

In this episode I read a few lines from John Clare’s (1820) The Shepherd’s Calendar. The text to ‘March’ can be read here - Poem Hunter: The Shepherd’s Calendar - March.

I also refer to Ruth Binney’s (2010) Wise Words and Country Ways: Weather Lore published by David & Charles.

If you are interested in seeing Captain Mark Dexter’s picture of the Suez Canal, his Instagram account is: The Woodend Wanderer.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Man on the Bicycle

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000

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The journey from winter into spring is often messy and ill-defined. Sometimes it feels as if we are making progress and at others the cold and damp of winter days returns. As we are also contemplating moving from lockdown it is not surprising that we can feel a bit of kilter. Reflecting on an encounter in WH Hudson’s book A Shepherd’s Life, there are times when we feel like a small boy lost among the ocean waves of the South Downs and at others the man on the bicycle.

Journal entry:

“18th March, Thursday.

Today has been filled with the kind of skies in which rooks exalt. Throwing ragged silhouettes upon the beating wind. Ecstatic heraldry.

Breathe deep, if you can.

Things are not right
Nor will they ever be.
But there are signals of joy,
Like a bush burning in the wilderness.”

Episode Details

In this episode I read Wendell Berry’s poem ‘Another Descent’ from his collection (2018) The Peace of Wild Things published by Penguin Books.

The encounter between the cyclist and the bird-scarer comes from WH Hudson’s (1910) A Shepherd’s Life: Impressions of the South Wiltshire Downs. You can read a digitised copy of this book, as part of the Project Guttenberg site, here: A Shepherd’s Life.

I also refer to Lisa Schneidau’s (2018) Botanical Folktales of Britain and Ireland published by The History Press.

If you are interested in Patricia Carswell’s Girl on the River podcast, you can listen to it here.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Moving On

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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These are the days of swan nests and duck eggs, but the call of a lone swan circling overhead, perhaps captures more precisely the tensions we feel moving through the seasons.
The seasonal shifts in the activity of the swans and ducks are becoming increasingly visible reflecting the wider patterns of movement. Boats leaving and others moving in. Everything is in a state of transition; we are all in a state of transition.

Journal entry:

“13th March, Saturday.

Sitting here in the well deck, at the messy edge of late winter in the silence before dawn, the world feels as blank as the year, but everywhere is full of life to come that will occur in summer.
The life still unborn,
the bees, dragon flies,
the gnats that will dance above the waters.

And then there will be the ducks that I will meet
who will perplex me with their behaviour.

And the loosestrife flare
and dandelion globe,
the shimmer of light through silver birch leaves that are yet unformed.

The smell of rain on hot pavements
the nettle flower I will see
and the millions I will miss.

Do swallows darting across African skies, as I sit here,
dream of English summers as I do?”

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

'Boots as thick as a moderate slice of bread and butter'

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000

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The fascination of boots and canals. Boots have always been one of the most essential pieces of equipment for canals and canal-life.
In this episode we re-join impresario, journalist and social reformer, James Hollingshead on his journey up what would later be known as the Grand Union in the late 1850s. We will discover his fascination with the footwear of those working on the canals and find out that the importance of the boot for canal-life is every bit as true today as it was in Victorian times.

Journal entry:

“5th March, Friday.

This week, after an absence of some weeks, the cormorant is regularly back.
Always circling the tree two or three times,
Always alighting on the same branch.

The names we give to it sing like a litany or a darkly gothic ballad.

Brongie, coal goose, cowe’en elder, lairblade, parson, morvran, carn-hoverer, sea crow, scart.

It’s as if we recognise that we can never capture a life like this in a single name;
Its strange elusive beauty,
Its sleekness, its elegance and poise.

Balanced there on that gnarled branch
Caught somewhere between darkness and light.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read some extracts from John Hollingshead’s ‘On the Canal’ published in Odd Journeys in and out of London (1860).

I also read excerpts from John Clare’s (1820) The Shepherd’s Calendar. The text to ‘March’ can be read here - Poem Hunter: The Shepherd’s Calendar - March.

I also read the last verse of John Masefield’s (1903) ‘Cargoes’. The full poem can be read here: John Masefield – Cargoes.

You can view Coalboat Alton’s photographs here
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coalboat_alton/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Coalboat.Alton

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

A Whispered Spring

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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Everywhere the world is filled with the whispered spring. The first of this year’s lambs scamper and nuzzle in the field above us and skylarks sing high from under a bowl of Wedgewood blue. A softer, warmer wind blows, and the sun is strong. Humans and non-humans alike emerge to drink in the sunlight and warmth. It’s a spring that the poet John Clare knew well and understood its significance and it’s a spring from which Edward Thomas drew strength. Tonight, the stars of frost garland NB 506812, but we have felt once more the reassuring cycle of seasons and an assurance that spring is on the way.

Journal entry:

“24th February, Wednesday.
The wind was warm and playful today, boisterously rolling down the hill.

Earlier the cormorant hung piratical to the thrashing, Jolly Rogered branches of the oak.

Later, the Pillerton rooks wheeled and played upon the air; carelessly flung, like heraldic emblems, across the perilous sky.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read excerpts from John Clare’s (1820) The Shepherd’s Calendar. The text to ‘February’ can be read here - Poem Hunter: The Shepherd’s Calendar - February - A Thaw.

If you want to find out more about this important, but often overlooked, figure, you can read more about his life and works as the John Clare Society.

I also refer to and read a short passage from Edward Thomas’ (1914) In Pursuit of Spring. A free (open access) copy can be found on the Project Guttenberg site which incidentally features a rather lovely picture of two narrowboats on the Paddington canal as a frontispiece - Edward Thomas: In Pursuit of Spring.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Haunted Canals

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

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Stormy nights like this, when then wind howls among the reeds under a hunted moon, are perfect for curling up with a ghost story or two. In this episode we hear about two ghost stories set in locations close to where NB 506812 is currently moored and explore what do these stories tell us about the worlds that produced them and us today.

Journal entry:

“18th February, Thursday.

Each dawn and dusk skeins of geese fill the winter-bruised skies; soundscapes of the enclosing nights of autumn.
And I am haunted by the one lone goose who, yesterday as the day broke, flew across the charcoal smudged sky in the opposite direction. With each stroke of its majestic wings it cried out into dusky world.
It flew over me. Then its call crumbled into mumbles and squawks.
It flew strong into the southeast and the sun, etched on the dawn.
I stood, until I could hear something of its soul no more.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read excerpts from Alan Scott-Davies’ (2010) Shadows on the Water: The Haunted Canals and Waterways of Britain published by History Press Ltd.

I also make a reference to John Miller’s (2020) thoughtful introduction to his edited collection Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted Forests of Britain published by the British Library.

You can view Jean Mann’s lovely vlog featuring the gorgeous waters and villages of the Norfolk Broads (East Anglia) here: Jean Mann’s YouTube Channel.

You can see Pete Tuffrey’s evocative paintings of canals and night-time scenes at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeteTuffrey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petetuffreyartist/

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

When Ice Sings

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 13:00:00 +0000

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Tonight, the NB Erica is locked in ice. There’s a wolfish southeaster blowing and the night is filled with rasping creaks and groans. There are times when the ice sings. Acoustic lightning flashes that dart across the frozen water surface.

Journal entry:

“9th February, Tuesday.

Last night’s snow low uneasily on the ground, like a miser’s blanket, threadbare and uneven.
But it’s enough to see the lacework of indistinct and broken-formed tracks of night-time life.
For once, I can see what Penny sees with her nose -
A terrain full of movement and life.
For a time my temporal world merges with hers, filled with foil and imagined forms.”

Episode Information

You can see Pete Tuffrey’s evocative paintings of canals and night-time scenes at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeteTuffrey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petetuffreyartist/

During this episode I read extracts from:

Miles Hadfield (1950) An English Almanac. London: JM Dent and Sons.

Richard Jeffries (1898) Wildlife in a Southern County. London: Smith, Elder and co.

Francis Kilvert (1977) Kilvert’s Diary (1870-1879): A selection edited and introduced by William Plommer. London: Penguin.

Laurie Lee (2016) ‘A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country’ in Village Christmas: And other notes on the English Year. London: Penguin Random House. pp 13-16.

Mary Oliver ‘Starlings in Winter’ published in Oliver, M. (2004) Wild Geese: Selected Poems. Tarset: Bloodaxe Books.
You can read her poem here: Starlings in Winter.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Canal Time

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

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One of the first things you will experience when you cast off onto the waterways is, what is sometimes referred to as, ‘canal time.’ What is canal time and how is it different to land time?
Canal time functions not so much as a marker for time passing as a recognition of the many streams of timelines of things and lives that fall outside the sphere of human control. However, there is also a deep irony about it too...

Journal entry:

“3rd February, Wednesday.

This morning the tangled thicket by the pool bristled with starlings. The air flustered and vibrated with wings and energy as a flight of geese cut low, blading across the field.
The maintain a tight formation. Wing tips almost touching.
The air is filled with a constant movement of sound -
honks and soft grunts and whistles.
Gentle rhythms of sounds among the wing-song.
Vocalisations of the lives being lived on the wing.

But what are they saying?
What is it they feel in their impulse to communicate
to reach out across the span of space to another,
to fill the air with communication?
And what feelings and needs are they vocalising?

What do the others hear?
Warning?
Reassurance?
Information?
Companionship?
“Stay close.” “You are needed.”
What do they feel hearing those soft purrs and snorts
Carried to them on the wind, lifted by the songs of their wings?

I recede over their fast-turning horizon.
Deaf to their language and so blind to their world.

And it seems as if all of my achievements
And the great, heavy weight of my worries
Dissolved between my fingers.

Undone by the closed orbit of their hidden conversation."

Episode Information

I refer to Matt and Ali's vlog Boating Beyond and, in particular, their episode 'Why you DON'T want LIVE on a NARROWBOAT!' It is a great video and well worth a look for those considering a canal-based life.
In this episode I make passing reference to John Hassell's (1819) Tour of the Grand Junction and John Hollingshead's (1860) Odd Journeys in and out of London.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Snow on Water

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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This week the first proper snow of the winter fell. For a while, our world was transformed. If you love snow, a boat is the perfect place to enjoy it. If you hate snow, a boat is the perfect place to escape it!

Journal entry:

“29th January Friday.

The last couple of mornings have smelt fresh.
The trees bordering the canal sharp with bird song,
not just the aural darts of warning calls
but flowing rivers of melody
entwined on the wind.

Below our feet, last summer’s oak leaves swim the flooded field.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read an extract from the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

I also read an extract from Josh Billing’s Farmer’s Allminax [sic] (1870-1879) by the American humourist Henry Wheeler Shaw. You can read a digitised copy on the Project Gutenberg website: Josh Billings' Old Farmer's Allminax.

To view Andrew Plummer's photographs go to @andrewphotos on Instagram or @AndrewPPhotos on Twitter.

To follow NB On A Whim on Twitter, go to @OnAWhim_NB.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Deep and Wide

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

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Another January storm has passed over us. But, tonight we have a stock of gingernut biscuits and the knowledge that each day the daylight gets longer and the spring is coming. In this episode, with its usual sprinkling weather lore, we answer some more questions about the canals – principally – how deep are they? It is a subject that I have first-hand knowledge about!

Journal entry:

“21st January Thursday.

Waxing moon in a Russian sky.
A flight of gulls high, in clear air.
Turned into golden foil by the fire of a setting sun.”

Episode Information

If you have any sayings or weather-related proverbs in your family, I would love to hear them. You can contact me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (details at the bottom of the page).

In this episode I read Edward Thomas’ (1878-1917) poem ‘Thaw’. You can read it here: Thaw.

I also refer to Sue Wilkes. Her beautifully researched book, Tracing your canal ancestors: A guide for family historians is full of interesting comments and observations about the history of the canals and the people who worked them. It is well worth a read. Don’t be put off by the title, it is not solely for genealogists or those with past family connections with the waterways.

For more information about canal depth and the categorisation of inland waterways: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inland-waterways-and-categorisation-of-waters

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Morning Sun: Living the dark days of January

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000

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January 18th (2021) is 'Blue Monday'. The third Monday in January is considered by many to be the most depressing day in the calendar. As we enter the dark days of January, this episode considers the importance of the hope of spring and how the calendar and weatherlore enabled our ancestors to deal with the uncertainties they faced.

Journal entry:

“16th January Saturday.

This morning the cormorant came on slow deliberate wings, swimming the thick grey porridgy skies. It circled twice before alighting on its usual branch.

Does it too long for the summer to come?
Is it aware that this season will also pass?
Does it too revel in the syrupy, warmth of the summer afternoon’s sun as it treacles through the body?”

Episode Information

In this episode I refer to Melody Gardot’s song ‘Morning Sun.’
It is part of her 2015 album Currency of Man distributed by Decca.
You can hear Morning Sun on YouTube by clicking here: Morning Sun.

You can read a little more about St Hilary's Day, 13th or 14th January (depending upon liturgical calendars here: Weather Watch - St Hilary's Day.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Keeping Warm

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000

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What is it like to be on a narrowboat in the grip of a winter’s cold spell? How do you keep warm on a boat?

Living and working on the canal systems in winter has been notoriously difficult and hard. In this episode we reflect on what it entails to live on the canals in winter today. We also hear a piece of Victorian reportage by a journalist travelling on the Grand Union Junction flyboat, Stourport, in the late 1850s. We also find out why liveaboard boaters could be viewed as ‘floating hobbits.’

Journal entry:

“3rd January Sunday.

I went out into the soundless sphere of night as the New Year was dawning and said “This is me and I am here. You seem so big and dark and unknown.”

But I have known your brothers and sisters and have learnt to revel in the days of their sunshine and find their special beauties under skies of steel and water.

Today is filled with clinging fog that chills the marrow and makes the bones ache, but your suns will soon come, and larks will sweep the skies again.

Welcome.”

Episode Information

In the welcome section I mention the work of Andrew Plummer and his magnificent photographs. His Instagram page is: https://www.instagram.com/andrewpphotos/

I also refer to the work of Dru Marland and read out a section from one of her posts from her Facebook page. You can view her exquisite artwork, featuring wildlife and canals, on her Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DruMarland

In this episode I read an extract from journalist and impresario John Hollingshead’s (1858) illuminating account of his journey from London to Birmingham in a Grand Union Junction flyboat, Stourport. You can read a digital copy of this in his Odd Journeys In and Out of London. The article is titled ‘On the Canal’.

General Details

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Greet the New Year

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 10:00:00 +0000

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For most people, 2020 has been a stressful year of frustration, disappointment, fear and anxiety. It is not surprising that we look forward to welcoming in 2021. Join me on Narrowboat 506812 as we reflect on the significance of new beginnings (no matter how arbitrary), and the importance of having opportunities to re-evaluate and reset our lives.

Journal entry:

“New Year’s Eve, 31st December Thursday.

Another frosty and icy start. This morning, in the dark as I got off the boat, I heard the ice sing.

The dawn is softened and blurred by fog. Smudged and half-formed, it feels as if I am walking through a drawing that someone has tried to rub out with an eraser.

The cronking call of two distant ravens snuggle into the muffled sky.”

Episode Information

May your coming year be filled with summer light and puddles to jump. The warm hum of bees and the sting of frost. Of courage and companionship. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact Information
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Christmas Eve

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 15:00:00 +0000

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A chance to say to you Merry Christmas.

This episode celebrates a Christmas Eve that is different and yet, in a number of important ways very similar to those our ancestors experienced.

Journal entry:

“Christmas Eve 24th December, Thursday.

Last night’s storms have swept the sky clear. The on-coming tide of sunlight washes the eastern horizon the colour of blood oranges.
This morning was the first morning this winter I have really needed gloves. The boat is a haven of warmth when we return.
A mug of tea waits, steaming, on the side as I watch a cormorant spread its wings in the sun.”

Episode Information

In this episode I read an extract from the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

I also read a short extract from John Clare’s (1793-1864) poem December. It is part of his epic poem The Shepherd's Calendar.

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.

With special thanks to Father Christmas for the sleigh bells!

Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Winter of 1962/3

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 11:00:00 +0000

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A first-hand account remembering life aboard a small boat with a small family during the harsh winter of 1962/3.
The time we lived on the Kathy were always very precious to Mum and she later wrote about them. Her writings evocatively describe life-aboard at a time when the canals were beginning to transition from working to increasingly residential and leisure use.
In this week's episode, I read an extract from her writings in which she describes the winter of 1962/63.

Journal entry:

“16th December, Wednesday.

Venus hangs above Bearley Lock.
A hard diamante stud puncturing the smooth bowl of lacquered blue and satsuma orange fire at the rim
We stand above the pool eroded by the summer-pastured cows. The water looks like spilt Indian ink that would go on forever and ever

Penny sniffs at the torn soil and a lone duck slips into the air.

Later today, the lacquered bowl will become roughened and dull, and rain will whip and pit the mirrored surface of the water.

But that is later. This is now… and we are both absorbed in our own worlds.”

Episode Information

Photographs of the Kathy and our family on the boat can be found on the podcast’s Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

In this episode I mention the delightful Weather Folk-Lore of the Sea and Superstitions of the Scottish Fishermen.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Cygnus

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 11:00:00 +0000

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Why is the swan an oxymoron and if it is so unlucky to kill a swan why are there so many recipes for them? In this episode we reflect on the place of the swan within its natural and cultural environments.
Lockdown and being located within ‘Tier 3’ has meant that we have been more static this autumn and winter than we had previously intended. However, the positive side of this is that it has enabled us to get to know the local communities that live around our boat. These include my beloved rooks, but has also given me a fresh perspective on a species I have not really thought much about; the swan.

Journal entry:

“12th December, Saturday.

Icy Phaethon tracks the fearless dark and touches the Earth with a scatter of mercurial light. As silent as owls’ wings, as swift as falling angels, the stars fall.

Frosted crystal beneath our feet and clouded breath. We walk on in wonder...”

Episode Information

Photographs of our pair of swan and of the ducklings can be found on the Nighttime on Still Waters Facebook page; Instagram and Twitter feeds.

For more information on haunting presence of Phaethon, the assumed 'parent' of the Geminid meteor shower, go to: Astronomy.com: Explore Phaethon

‘The Swan’ by Mary Oliver was published in The Paris Review 124, (Fall) 1992.

I also refer to WB Yeats’ poem ‘The Wild Swans of Coole’. You can read and hear it by following this link: Poetry Foundation.

In this episode I read a short extract from page 82 of Richard Jeffries’ (1881) Wood Magic: A Fable published by Cassell and Co.

I also read from An English Almanac written and illustrated by Miles Hadfield (1950) published by JM Dent and Sons.

Lots of folklore (and recipes) for the swan can be found in Stefan Buczacki’s (2002) Fauna Britanica published by Hamlyn. [I rather mangled his name in the episode – apologies Stefan!]

There is a great website featuring the audio clips of the different sounds swans make: Rattling Crow: Mute swan acoustic communication.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Nightwalk

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000

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The temperature is just above freezing and the ground is slick with mud. Join me tonight for a night-walk to Bearley (Odd) lock to see what sounds we can hear and feel the quiet stillness of the canal in the depths of winter’s night.

Journal entry:

“2nd December, Wednesday.

The swan is back. Its serpentine reflection ghosts the water. I indulge myself that it is the same juvenile cob that disappeared a month or so ago.

It now has a mate and the water carries them effortlessly like two pampered puppies carried on cushions.

They take food from me; soft sibilant vocalisations, as I drink my mid-morning tea. One snortles and blows through its nose. I hope it’s normal. Avian flu is attacking swans.

I feel rather foolishly protective and invested in their alien lives.”

Episode Information

Photographs of Bearley or Odd Lock can be viewed on the podcast’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages – details below.

For pictures and information of Bearley Lock on the Geograph website click here: Bearley Lock

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Waterways

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 11:00:00 +0000

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As the weather gets increasingly wintery and frosts burn the air, we look at the waterways and the practicalities of boating. How do you turn a 58ft boat in a narrow canal? Can you boat through the night? What happens to the canals during the winter?

Journal entry:

“27th November, Friday.

It would have been Mum’s birthday today.

And there’s a November moon sailing in November skies.
My breath is silver fire.
My fingers burn deep in the my pockets.

The rooks are no longer visible among the branches.
So I follow the stars homeward
Always tracking slightly westward.

Thank God for the sunrise.
And November buds.”

Episode Information

This episode featured the lovely poem ‘Boatlife in Autumn’ by Julia Pearson onboard NB Omega. You can read her poem on her Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/boaty7/

I also mentioned the wonderful photographs of night-time boating taken by the working coal boat NB Alton. You can see their photographs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coalboat_alton/

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Down the Cut

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 11:00:00 +0000

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‘The cut’ is one of the old vernacular names given to the canal. It was the one most of us used during my childhood. The name reminds us of its history and construction. This episode explores the strange and sometimes ambivalent place that canals inhabit within our natural and cultural environments.

Journal entry:

“14th November, Saturday.

Charcoal sketched tree against a rain faded sky.
Clawed branches tangle in the dawn light.
The cormorant is back,
Pterodactyl winged, oily slick.
A universe that barely touches mine.
It raises its head and looks up into the sky
As the rain falls.
At least we hold that much in common.”

Episode Information

Floating our Boat

Fran and Rich’s (Floating our Boat) podcast can be heard here: Floating our Boat podcast.
Their vlogs are a great way to experience life when living permanently aboard a narrowboat. You can watch them on their Youtube channel here: Floating our Boat Vlogs.

In this episode I refer to E Temple Thurston’s book The Flower of Gloster, published in 1911. Sadly, it is currently out of print, but second-hand copies are still available. There is also a free-access electronic copy (containing some wonderful illustrations by W.R. Dakin) is available at the Hathi Trust Digital Library . The link to the book is: The Flower Gloster. The reference to John Aiken and Anna Laetitia can be found on pages 40-48.

In the intro and 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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Narrowboat Lockdown

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 11:00:00 +0000

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The UK enters its second lockdown. Movement on the waterways is once again restricted to 'essential needs only.' It's the same, but different. This episode reflects on this and what it can teach us about ourselves. There is also more on the language and terms used by the original working boatmen and why to call a boatman ‘a sailor’ was the highest insult.

Journal entry:

“7th November, Saturday.

A quick silver moon ghosting through a glistening night, caught in the branches of the old elm tree where the jackdaws call.”

In this episode I read an extract from the early 17th century English printed volume by Nicholas Breton of the 15th century The Kalendar of Shepherds. You can read a digitised reproduction of this book, with its wonderful woodcut engravings, in the Welcome Library: The Kalendar of Shepherds: Being devices for the twelve months.

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Episode Information
Extract read from ‘November’ in The Kalendar of Shepherds.

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Tumblehome

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 16:00:00 +0000

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In this episode we walk through NB Erica and answer some of your questions about life aboard a narrowboat. We touch on the vexed question of whether it is 'port and starboard' or 'left and right', and we learn about tumblehome.

Journal entry
“28th October, Wednesday.
Yesterday. More rain. Damp clings to the air. The sky is filled with greys and Prussian blue. The oaks on the skyline still hold on to their full summer shapes even though the ground is a patchwork of sodden leaves.

Three Shetland ponies, stoic and comic in their friendly solidity, graze. Rain drips off the manes and coats. Their breath rises in clouds of sweet-smelling steam. We stand in a small group, each of us gazing in a different direction.

Suddenly, the sun, stratus-cataracted, metallic, still wet from the waters of night, breaks through. Everything is transformed; an epiphanal transfiguration.

The field shivers silver in the steaming air. The three ponies stand haloed in a fiery-white light, platinum bright, mute and solid.

The air is filled with drifts of pearls that run down our faces. Is this Matthew’s field in which was buried a great treasure? How fitting he chose the Greek word θησαυρός [thesaurus] to describe it.

Who knew that the treasure of great price was sun… and rain… and dawn’s imagination.”

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Episode Information

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 interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other sound recorded on site.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

The Erica behind the Erica

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0100

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In this episode we explore the history of NB 506812 before she became our home and meet the Erica behind the Erica.
Journal entry:
“16th October, Friday. The canal continues to thread its silent way through autumn. There’s a hint now of mist on colder dawns. Today, it lies still and steely. Penny trots ahead, tail up, relaxed, contentedly sniffing the trail and foil of the unseen world. The hedges are garlanded with crimson, rosehip lanterns and bryony’s poisonous fire. The air is filled with the smell of damp earth, leaf mould, wood smoke. Together, we walk through the mystery of autumn.”

Contact details
For pictures of Erica and the Kathy can be seen by following me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I have really appreciated the comments and questions and would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Episode Information
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 interludes written and performed by Helen Ingram

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Duck calls in the Night

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 15:00:00 +0100

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Join me on the first Nighttime on Still Waters podcast. It is really a getting to know you podcast where I introduce you to the Erica 58ft narrowboat and this is the beginning of our audio journal about our life aboard and the changes and shifts we encounter following our move from land to water. These nighttime reflections draw upon our experiences and on life in general.
On thing I have noticed is how our nearby ducks call out to each other in the night and in this episode I explore that common need for, what Charlie Connolly describes as, 'voices flung out under the stars.'

Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts follow me on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPod

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com

Episode Information
During the podcast a read a passage from Charlie Connolly's (2019) The Last Train to Hilversum: A journey in the search of the magic of radio. Bloomsbury Publishing (loc 258)
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.

Support the show

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.