Category Archives: Theatre Design

I Went To Bishop Stortford And I Bought A …… 23rd July

Footbridge 28 to Bishop Stortford, the end of navigation

A little face kept watch on us approaching his boat this morning. He then popped back inside as we passed, maybe Tilly was giving him the what for out of a window.

Sheering Mill Lock was our first and it took me by surprise as I needed a key to work both the bottom gates and the bottom paddles. I signalled back to Mick and then went to close the top gates. As we worked our way up a C&RT van arrived alongside the lock with a big bag of aggregate or sand in the back, a work boat was moored on the weir cut, they would bring it round to off load the bag once we were out of the way.

Now in Sawbridgeworth we looked for a mooring for a few hours. The chap on a red boat had told us we should visit the mills here, good antique shops, well worth a nosy. We spotted the mills and the moorings alongside modern apartments where signs say not to moor. Then ambiguous signs about Private Mooring, 2 days? We were puzzled, could we stop or not? The one visitor mooring was taken, so we carried on to Sawbridgeworth Lock, a neat and tidy lock with cottages over looking it.

At the end of a line of boats there was a space that would have suited us, but we decided to save a visit to the mills for our way back down stream. Instead today we’d get to Bishop Stortford.

Clare on NB Billy had warned us of more low bridges and sure enough they were low with lovely sticky outy bits.

Tednambury Lock is overlooked at a distance by a house on a hill, the field between filled with yellow ragwort. A gate on the bridge over the bottom of the lock deters loads of more than 3 tonnes and an old garden gate has been reused on the path up through the field.

The river meanders round, several boats were moored on the meadows here and had carved themselves seating areas in the long grass. A leap of faith required to reach dry land, some leaps were bigger than others!

By Spellbrook Lock we’d picked up a prop full of weed again. So once Oleanna had settled at the top Mick lifted the weed hatch to free it up. A long straight above the lock showed an oncoming boat, a blue one, could it be NB Misty Blue and Graeme? It was, he slowly made his way towards the lock as I wound paddles down and waited for Mick to finish. This would be the last time up here that our paths would cross, Graeme covering the water quicker than us, so it was farewells for now. We’ll meet somewhere else, sometime. Enjoy the rest of the summer Graeme.

Organised Gongoozlers sat waiting at the next lock, a flask and mugs for a morning coffee break in the sunshine watching the boats. We seemed to be hot on the heals of another boat who were also on their first trip up the river. A couple with their two kids also stood and watched, their daughter in a push chair seemed uninterested until she spotted Oleanna at the bottom of the lock when she gave out a loud happy screech!

At Southmill Lock the last on the river we caught up with the boat ahead. NB Small World, we hadn’t seen them since Broxbourne and had assumed they’d headed up the Lee, but no they must have just been setting off at a similar time to us a short distance ahead.

The route into Bishop Stortford is mostly surrounded by new warehousy type flats, maybe developers are encouraged to try to replicate the past. A zigzaggy bridge from the millennium crosses the river alongside original mills and leads it’s way towards the station.

The structure of Millennium Bridge and the Mills

A boat pulled out in front of us having just finished at the services, he then winded with hindrance from the wind and headed back towards us. One spot left right at the end of the moorings facing the end of the navigation. Rings are provided, but nestled in amongst nettles, someone could really do with strimming the moorings!

Those nettles would keep a hot compost bin happy

Sadly for Tilly the Health and Safety committee deemed the moorings to be unsuitable so they then had to put up with feline protests for an hour or two.

I think it was thirty years ago I had my first professional design job for Snap Theatre Company who were based in Bishop Stortford. My interview necessitated me removing my portfolio from the final exhibition at college whist marking was happening. When I showed my folio to the Artistic Director of Snap there were certain things I couldn’t show him. A prop design of a barbers chair for my final project at college wouldn’t have been good as it was a theoretical design for the Olivier at the National Theatre, if I was actually designing for the National, why was I at an interview for a youth theatre summer school production of The Tempest!

I spent two/ three weeks in digs here, I can’t remember where abouts now. Much of the town centre has changed, I can’t even remember where the office was where I had to leave the van each night, Sainsburys has certainly moved. The Artistic Director, Andy Graham has also moved, a Google search shows him now to be working near to Chipping Norton of all places!

We had a wonder around the town, a few places sparking memories. The old mills now house a dance school and Chinese restaurant among other things. We crossed the zigzagging bridge and across the vast car park. Huge areas are set out for season ticket holders. Many of the spaces were empty as people now work from home, or maybe they were used by airline staff, not so many flights from Stanstead.

Beyond the A1250 road bridge that cuts the navigation off is Castle Gardens. We walked alongside the river, now far too shallow for any but model boats. This however looks like a new course for the river. There had been a channel that went under the road, but on the 1892-1914 OS 25 inch map it shows the river coming into town a bit further west. Sainsburys now sits on top of the Terminus Basin and the winding hole is where you turned off to it.

Getting out of puff might have been worth it for the views

Sadly the castle had closed for the day, so no views from the top of the mound for us.

We decided to eat out tonight, a proper pizza for Mick and a gluten free one for me at Pizza Express. This used to be an old favourite, it feels like we’ve not been to one in years, possibly true. The photo is deceptive due to perspective. I had an ample amount of food, Mick had a bit too much!

Oh what did I buy?

……….. a spatula! What else!

6 locks, 5.74 miles, 2 boats coming down, 2 days or maybe not, 5C less, 0 shore leave, 2 tideway boats, 30 years ago, 1 spatula, 1 castle, 1 river rerouted, 2 pizzas, 1 bored cat.

https://goo.gl/maps/xBf4Ex7zzeL9MYGv8

Standing At The Edge Of Shade. 18th July

Marshgate Bridge 15

It may have started before midnight, we can’t quite remember, but it certainly continued all the way through the night and at around 7:45am the volume was turned up! The consensus between the Oleanna and Billy crew was that a rave had been going on in the Marshes behind our mooring and that they’d only got one LP! The rhythm was monotonous only broken up by cyclists with built in stereos speeding past us. So not the most restful nights sleep ever!

By the time Clare and Pete were ready to push off the music had finally stopped. Yesterday had been our anniversary, a year since we shared our first locks together through Blackburn. We wished them well and thanked them for getting us a mooring in a handy spot. Maybe our paths will cross later in the year, they will somewhere, sometime.

Scrambled eggs on toast for breakie as we have a few too many eggs on board.

Tilly was given four hours shore leave whilst we pottered about enjoying what shade we were getting from the trees behind us. But as the hours passed the sun of course moved. Both sides of the cabin started to warm up, this wasn’t too bad until we had to start closing doors.

We made ourselves presentable, packed the big holdall on wheels with dirty laundry. Spread out the cool mat for Tilly, then closed all the doors. Back in April I’d seen cool mats for pets for sale so had bought one. So far we’ve tried it a couple of times and it has totally been ignored by our feline companion. Today however shortly before we bade her goodbye for the afternoon, she did have all four legs stretched out across it. However she soon moved off it and onto a pile of cushions, a very cool place!

The sun was far too hot for us to drag our washing almost a mile to get it clean. So just before 3pm we stood at the edge of the shade where a cycle path meets Homerton Road and waited for a lift from my brother Andrew.

A late Sunday lunch with had been planned whilst we were close by. Three loads of washing would keep us going until the circuit board arrives and hopefully the washing machine on board will then be mended.

A visit to the building site to use my brothers A3 scanner for my drawings and then we had a site visit up into the roof.

Josh checking out his new window, not much of a view yet.

All the roof timbers are in place now and chip board flooring is down. You can see where the roof lights are going to be along with a dormer window. All very exciting especially for Josh who’s room it will be. Their house was lovely and cool, Ziggy and Finn having a much easier time of the heat wave than Tilly on the boat.

Back at the temporary house Andrew had prepared a joint of lamb that had been cooking for five hours marinated in a sumac and lime rub. Served with some roasted new potatoes and salads. To follow we had a Somerset Apple Cake that Jac had made. All very nice.

By the time we were ready to head back to Oleanna our washing was almost dry. The coolness of the evening thankfully made it easier to return with our washing. Thankfully Tilly had survived the afternoon and evening without cooking too much. It took a good couple of hours before we could feel the benefit of having the doors open again.

Here’s hoping there isn’t another rave tonight!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 year anniversary, 1 busy rave, 1 stern gland picker loan, 4 hours used well, 3 doors open, 1 ignored cool mat, 1 cooking cat, 1 big bag washing, 1 light in the drum, 20 minutes added when not looking, 9 scans, 1 roofless room, 1 ladder, 1 joint lamb nicely cooked, 1 cat still raw thankfully!

Hopefully The First. 16th July

St Pancras Cruising Club

The quote for a new circuit board and fitting came in around £70 +vat. They wouldn’t get the part until next Tuesday. If it turned out that that circuit board wasn’t the problem they would then order the other one and not charge us for the first visit. This all looked quite appealing, but would they come out to us if we carried on on our cruise up the Lee and Stort? Being somewhere handy for them to visit us is one thing, but each day the mooring fees are adding to the cost of the repair. Being hooked up to electric isn’t the same without a washing machine!

Mick called them back after we’d mulled this over. Sadly they don’t have an engineer who covers up the Lee valley. We decided to pause the repair with Domestic Repairs Ltd, if we haven’t managed to sort it before hand we’ll wait until we are coming back through London and call them back out. The chap was understanding.

The reconditioned board was ordered to be sent to my brothers, Mick spent much of the rest of the morning checking that he would be able to remove the circuit board and replace it. He is confident he’ll be able to do it. However if it turns out to be the other circuit board that is the problem, that is a different case, he hasn’t worked out how to remove that one! So here’s hoping it turns out to be the first one. Fingers crossed.

I headed to Waitrose for a few bits to keep us going. There was a market in the covered Market today. Lots of very tempting looking edible items, bread, rice dishes, cheese, samosas, cakes. Oh if only!!! The majority contained gluten and we’ve had a touch too much yummy cheese lately so I was good and stuck to my shopping list in Waitrose after inhaling some lovely smells.

This afternoon I did a sketch of the Dames pram for panto. I’d asked for a Silver Cross pram, one of the lovely old fashioned ones. Well you can buy them brand new still if you happen to have £1800! We won’t be doing that as it would eat up all our props budget! I had a hunt round on ebay for a cheaper model and found one for £175. Still a lot of money and I’m sure Jo may be able to find one we can borrow and alter, or one that needs some work doing to it.

Just what would the chaps who worked here in Victorian days make of it now!

Late afternoon we heard the return of Graeme next door. A plan has been arranged to share some locks with him tomorrow, both boats heading eastwards. I think we’ll all be slapping on the sun cream if today was anything to go by.

0 locks, 0 miles, £70 plus, 1 of 2 boards, 1 board ordered for a DIY job, 0 oysters, 0 focaccia, 0 cake, 0 cheese, 1 heraldic green pram, 1 strawberry, 1 plan planned.

Can He Fix It? 15th July

St Pancras Cruising Club

From Saturday Hammersmith Bridge will be reopening to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic. Engineers have deemed the bridge safe to reopen “safety risk is kept acceptably low” due to a temperature control system on the anchor chains and the use of acoustic sensors which have been installed to issue alerts on further crack movements. These are only temporary measures and a more permanent repair is needed. The Department of Transport is willing to foot a third of the repair bill of £161million, but TFL and the local Council are struggling to foot the remainder.

Whilst we waited for an engineer to visit I had a long chat regarding panto props with Jo the props maker. Last year Jo, as so many others, had to find work elsewhere to help ends meet. From being a receptionist at a holiday park to delivering prescriptions she has survived. Still working part time she is now starting to take on bits of theatre work, which I am relieved about as I really enjoy working with Jo. We talked hobby horses, tea cosies, silver cross prams along with stretchable rhubarb and inflatable radishes.

I had planned to be out whilst the engineer was here, but I was busy talking giant strawberries when he arrived. Mick had pulled the washing machine out of it’s cupboard, moved all our bedding and mattresses out of the way to make more space. The front door was open and he removed the glass from our bedroom window, so there was plenty of fresh air.

Tilly and I sat on the other side of the bathroom door listening to the beeps from the engineers tester. All the cables and connections were checked, he was testing everything for over an hour. In the end he suspects it’s a circuit board that has gone, nothing he could mend today unfortunately. Someone will call us tomorrow with a quote for a new board and fitting it.

Hmm, what to do? It’s handy being here where it’s easy to arrange an engineer to visit, but we really would like to move on. Some more than others!

Mick spent some of the afternoon trying to source the circuit board himself, fairly sure he’d be able to install it, which would save a call out fee. He only found one which was a reconditioned board, we’ll wait to see what the quote is tomorrow.

Time for a walk. I’d spotted Camden Garden Centre on a map, hopefully they’d be able to sell me another trough so that I could plant on the other half of the strawberry plants I bought weeks ago at Barton Turns. The others I’d replanted are now double the size, sending out babies and new shoots are coming up too.

My route took me across St Pancras Gardens. Here large buildings back onto the grassy area, these were the dormitory blocks for St Pancras Workhouse, they were built around 1890 and added an extension to the already existing workhouse. The original workhouse in 1777 housed 120 inmates, over the next ten years this increased, they were sleeping five to six in a bed! Buildings came and went. Oliver Twist may have been based on the story of Robert Blincoe, a child inmate from here.

Today it is now St Pancras Hospital which occupies many of the Victorian buildings.

Over the canal I soon came across the Garden Centre filled with plants, cactus, pots and troughs, the later perfect for my strawberry plants.

I then had a wander around the area. A hand car wash place had a rather lovely Jaguar outside. Several pubs looked quite inviting. Oh and NB Small World had found another mooring.

I then spied the blue houses that sit behind the modern apartments, so I walked round the back of them onto Lyme St. Sadly the access to the houses is gated off so not much to see. But between the buildings on Lyme St I could see the back of the houses, here there appears to be a modern building at their rear.

It’s really quite large the building behind the cottages

A look at Google maps later shows it as a big building and checking on Street view it looks like it is The Workshop at 183 Royal College Street. Things were now starting to look familiar. It turns out that The Workshop was featured on Grand Designs, formerly a furniture workshop, it was rebuilt as a family home and architectural studio designed by architect Henning Stummel. Nothing what so ever to do with the blue cottages that face the canal. If you are interested here is a link for more information.

0 locks, 0 miles, 90 minutes talking props, 70 minutes diagnostic engineer, 1 circuit board, or could it be the other 1? 6 to a bed, 2 churches, 1 trough, 3 plants replanted, 1 bag of compost now required, 2 blue houses, 1 grand design hidden away, 1956 Jaguar XK140 Coupe, £35 to 40k back in 2008.

We Don’t Do Boats. 14th July

St Pancras Cruising Club

Mick rang back a company he’d tried yesterday to see when an engineer might be able to come out to look at our dead washer/dryer. We’d been given several options yesterday regarding payment and we’d decided that £125 to fix it wasn’t too bad, a new one being at least £300, if they couldn’t fix it then £55 would be the call out charge. However when he tried calling the department to see when they would be able to visit the phone just rang and rang and rang. He gave up.

Google suggested several other firms. ‘Sorry we don’t cover that area’ was quite a common response. Others suggested they’d be able to get someone out to us this afternoon. ‘What’s your postcode?’ This was given, handy to be at the Cruising Club and have an address. Then Mick would say we were on a boat. ‘Oh, we don’t do boats. Houses yes, boats no!’

A notice was put on the London Boaters group, but the only suggestion was to buy a new one as they are so cheap now. We’d rather see if it can be mended, but we might just be giving someone some money to look at a totally dead machine.

Eventually a company was found who didn’t have a problem coming out to us on a boat. An appointment made for tomorrow afternoon. Mick called the Harbour Master, Tony to see if we could stay a bit longer in the basin. This was fine and a key holder for the gate into the car park would be found to let the engineer in.

Mick headed off to find a new connecting hose for the washing machine, a longer one would help when pulling it out from it’s cupboard. 2.5m would do and be handy even if we end up having to buy a new machine.

Back onboard I, at last, had a chat with Gemma (Production Manager for Panto). We talked painting the set, a quote for more than my design fee had come in from a scenic artist. I know you can earn more money painting than designing, but when I’d already said I’d paint the show for a top up on my fee! Logistics in our pandemic world make things a little more complicated than before, but hopefully with a bit of thought things will work out.

I decided that as we wouldn’t be moving today that I’d do some work. The drawing board came out and my assistant sat by and watched as I drew up some basic plans for the set of #unit 21. This didn’t take too long, I just need to get them scanned now and sent off for a friend in Leeds to give me a quote.

Mick had another trip to make to Christine’s. A new propmate had arrived for us to replace the one now sat on the bottom of Limehouse Basin. The design has changed a bit since we bought our original one. Now made from pipe with a bent handle and it comes with a wrist strap already attached! Hopefully this one will be with us for longer than the old one.

Being cooped up in the boat all day I had a walk around the Kings Cross development. A meander of a walk took me through the new buildings, many empty. Landscaping and seating is everywhere making for a green environment.

I walked past York Road Station, one of the original stations on the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. Opened in 1906 it was designed by Leslie Green and connected to the platforms by two lifts. It closed in 1932, discussions have been made about reopening it, but as it’s quite close to Kings Cross the £21million (2005 estimate) needed to bring it up to modern day standards it is unlikely to happen.

A cinema screen plays to an audience on the steps across the canal. A couple of films are shown a day along with the Tour De France at lunchtimes. All the restaurants and bars were packed, as much as they can be and the whole area had a hubhub about it.

Art covers walls and expensive shops fill an area which used to be full of railway lines delivering coal.

It being Wednesday night it was club night at the Waterpoint the old water tower that overlooks the basin. A glass of wine and being sociable was on the cards, hopefully with a visit to the roof of the tower.

Our luck was in and we got shown up onto the roof. From here views down to St Pancras Station, BT tower, a bit of the London Eye and the numerous cranes which are on the site of the new Google building.

Northwards is mostly railways and tower blocks, but all the same with the sun gradually going down it was still quite a sight.

The roof is what used to be the water tank which used to hold 17,000 gallons of water which was used to fill the tanks of the steam locomotives. In one corner is the ballcock, pretty much like a toilet ballcock only far bigger!

The tower used to be situated along the lines at St Pancras, however it was in the way of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link HS1 so it had to be moved. The tower was split into three, the top two layers moved to behind the lock cottage. A new bottom third was built and the top two thirds were craned in on top. The Cruising Club are custodians of the water tower, it is currently their club house. You’ll find it open to the public several times a year.

The whole area around Kings Cross was a huge coal depot. Where the basin is now used to have railtracks running over the top of it. The gas holders have been moved from their original site and new buildings built within them to suggest the old tanks. Using this link you can see how much the area has changed since 1892 by sliding the button on the bottom left.

Today a new C&RT notice came in

Aire & Calder Navigation Main Line
Location: Lock 11, Ferrybridge Flood Lock, Aire & Calder Navigation

Navigation Closure

Monday 19 July 2021 08:00 until Friday 13 August 2021 16:00

A stoppage is required to replace the downstream gates and cills. Check and repair downstream sluices.

Here’s hoping the end of this stoppage coincides with the breach site reopening.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 washing machine, 1 engineer booked, 2 new quotes, 1 conversation, 1 set drawn up, 16 more panto photos, 1 dormant station, 2 glasses up on the roof.

Coming Back Round. 13th July

Ballot Box Bridge 13 to St Pancras Cruising Club

Before we got invited to join the tideway cruise we had other plans, this was to venture out to the eastern side of London and onto the Lee and Stort to finish what we started in January 2015. Our cruise then had to be curtailed due to rising water and an imminent lock closure.

So today we carried on back round to where we started last Friday. This should have been quite an uneventful day, some work for me organising the return of overalls to Amazon whilst Mick stood at the helm and brought us in to London.

No visitors in the middle of the night at Horsenden Hill this time

The final pair of overalls were tried on in Huddersfield and didn’t fit so a larger size was ordered and then I went through the website to arrange the return of five pairs. The paperwork took next to no time but a copy of the QR code did not arrive by email for at least an hour. But in the end everything was returned and by the end of the day a refund had been triggered to arrive back to my credit card in the next few days.

Small World still with the tide behind them

Up on deck we were soon caught up by NB Small World, their cruising speed greater than ours. When an opportune moment came Mick pulled over to let them pass.

The pipes that had snaked their way along the edge of the canal close to the temporary HS2 bridge have now vanished, wonder what they had been for? Duck weed is starting to take over though.

Just as we were coming up to a bend to the left near Old Oak a cyclist warned us of a boat adrift ahead. Sure enough there it was just off centre, a big widebeam. There was space to get past. Was it on the bottom? Could we help?

We slowed as we passed it, the front mooring line along with spike were sat on the bow, almost as if someone had pulled the pin out and coiled the rope up ready to push off! It did mean there was some rope we could get hold of. Mick looped the rope over a dolly and started to pull forwards, it wasn’t grounded it just needed some umph to get moving.

Along the towpath there was a big gap where we could pull in past a moored boat that we didn’t want to bump into. Gingerly we pulled the widebeam across slowing and letting it’s bow nudge into the bank rather than our stern. Now what? Would we be able to bang the spikes into the towpath or was this stretch empty for a reason.

C&RT chaps ringing base and left incharge

Fortunately this problem became someone else’s as two C&RT chaps just happened to be walking the towpath. They didn’t mention that they were coming to find an adrift boat, but they ended up with one. We helped nudge the stern in and left one chap holding a rope whilst the other went to their van for a mallet and a bigger spike. Who knows how the boat got in the middle of the cut. A speeding boater? Or someone had assisted it by pulling out the pins, coiling up the rope and giving the boat a push? Anyhow it was back on the bank now.

Onwards. I was waiting for a phone call from the panto Production Manager, to try to sort logistics of painting the show this year. A phone call at lunchtime had been arranged and all the time we were getting closer to Little Venice and Maida Hill Tunnel. We passed NB Small World who’d managed to find a towpath mooring. The water point at Little Venice was occupied so we couldn’t hang around there. Both of Rembrandt Garden moorings were full, although the community space was empty. We carried on and joined a line of trip boats going through the tunnel.

Popping out the other side I was busy trying to get hold of Gemma, only to get her answer phone, as we passed where the work boats and tugs had been two weeks ago. Here containers which had been sat on boats were now half submerged, apparently lots of high vis clothing was hanging up to dry draped around the bank.

We paused for canoeists to come round the bend at Cumberland Basin then we turned the left hand bend towards Camden. Around half of the boats on the moorings were the same as they’d been twelve days before, they were just in a slightly different order and some had turned round. No chance of us fitting in there today.

No Christine today, we’d refrained from telling her we’d be in Camden today for her own safety

The gates to the top lock were wide open waiting for us. As we pulled in the volunteer we’d seen last time appeared like Mr Ben. Today he was the only volunteer on duty.

Now please don’t get me wrong, I like volunteers. I also like doing locks, that’s why I love boating. I can manage lock gates and do not jump down onto boats as they are descending in locks, especially when I can just step aboard below. I also check that the helm is happy for me to start emptying or filling a lock and I would never lift a paddle when Mick was not at the helm of our boat and home! We really must remember to have a whistle at the ready, both on the boat and with the windlass. There is being efficient and there is being an accident waiting to happen!

We then had a short distance to travel back to St Pancras Cruising Club where we had a nights mooring booked. Mick reversed Oleanna into the basin. Boat movements in the last week had made it easier to get the stern in. The bow however was a different matter.

Mick tied the stern off, then pulled us over using the centre line until the bow was close enough for me to pass over the bow rope to him on the gunnel of the boat we’d be facing. A lot of pulling and eventually we were in, nestled against NB Misty Blue again.

We hooked up and got a load of washing ready. Mick closed the door of the machine, pressed the buttons. Nothing! No beep, no light, no click, no nothing! He checked the socket, that worked. He checked the fuse in the washing machine plug, that was fine. Time to pull the machine out.

Everything was built quite tightly, but the washing machine pulls out relatively easily, once you’ve removed the handle of the laundry drawer and the door to the cupboard the machine sits in. As Mick pulled the machine out we both heard the water pump start up. Was this a good or bad thing?

BAD!!!

‘Turn the water pump off!!!’ The switch was switched in the electrics cupboard, towels flung on the floor to soak up the river of water appearing from below the machine. Bu**er! The pipe supplying the machine had broken. This wasn’t the original problem, just one that came along to keep the original one company!

We’ve now got dirty towels and nothing to wash them in!

Mick had look at the machine, but couldn’t find anything obvious. Maybe our Tideway Cruise had caused this. Had the machine been buffeted about on the waves? Well it ‘s in quite a tight fitting cupboard so most probably not.

Water over the skin fitting of the outflow pipe! We’ll put tape over that next time.

Had the ballast inside it caused a problem? Maybe. Or had water come in through the outflow pipe and done something? This is very possible looking back at Adam’s photos of us in the swell on Saturday.

Whilst all this was happening Tilly did her best to investigate things too. I had to pull her out from the electrics cupboard that she’d got half into and round the internal door. Then with the shelving unit pulled out from below the gunnel behind the shower she was trying to get through the gap into the washing machine cupboard too! Doors needed closing, with her on the outside. I was just trying to help get to the bottom of things and lend a paw!

Everything was put back in place, water mopped up, stop cock closed. Time to call an engineer. If it’s a dead machine we’ll need to plan it’s extraction from the boat and where and how to dispose of it. But for now we’ll be wearing slightly more holey clothes.

3 locks, 10.4 miles, 1 left, 1 tunnel, 1 reverse, 1 small minded boat, 1 adrift boat, 1 rescue operation, 0 phone call, 1 over keen volunteer, 1 sideways manoeuvre, 1 dead machine, 1 curious cat.

https://goo.gl/maps/r261ZH111x4vhGqa9

A New Angle 12th July

Ontario Bridge 205A to Ballot Box Bridge, Paddington Arm

The forecast wasn’t too good today. Last night we’d considered staying put for another day as heavy rainfall was due. But then siting on the River Brent might not be too clever if the river came up. However this morning things seemed a lot drier so we decided to push off at about 10:30, the sun was out so it would be silly to waste it.

I walked up and set the bottom lock of the flight, we must have been spotted by Derek and Margaret on NB Small World as they arrived just as Oleanna came into the lock. This meant we had partners for the flight.

There was plenty of water coming down, in fact one lock had water cascading over it’s bottom gates, was there someone coming down?

Once both boats were in a lock and it was filling I’d head up to the next one to empty it and open gates, leaving Margaret to close up. The third lock up was the one that was over flowing, a single hander was on his way down having just emptied the lock above. I opened a gate for him and walked up to stop him from closing the gate.

The boats swapped over in the pound below and we carried on up the flight.

With Mick leading the way he could scoot across once in a lock making way for NB Small World to come in alongside meaning only one gate needed to be opened and closed in each lock, making lighter work all round.

The lock cottages on this flight are lovely, especially at the fifth one up Lock 93. The roses and ivy make it very pretty indeed.

Once the boats were rising in the final lock of the flight I walked on ahead to reach Three Bridges 205. The Hanwell flight is where Mick was brought as a young lad for walks and is where his interest in canals started. Three Bridges has become one of those places that has to be photographed with Mick at the helm every time we pass.

Today having the advantage of being able to leave Margaret to close up meant I could find a whole new angle to take my pictures, from the narrow pavement on the road bridge above. From here I could see the railway line, the structure that looks like a bridge (but is most probably just structural), the canal and the road bridge. Three Bridges.

I ended up taking rather a lot of photos and of course Mick just had to look at the railway below when it would have been good if he looked up towards the camera. Maybe next time.

The last two locks up to the Paddington level were soon under our belts. Time to dispose of the yellow water, rubbish, give Tilly’s pooh box a clean out and fill the water tank. NB Small World emptied their cassette and headed onwards to Bulls Bridge.

Two boats were breasted up and what looked like an old work boat was passing them, we slowed so we wouldn’t meet at the same point. That old work boat looked familiar. It certainly was, NB Tyseley the Mikron boat being crewed by volunteers whilst the actors were elsewhere or having a day off. We waved and said hello as they passed.

At Bulls Bridge NB Small World was breasted up to another boat so they could fill with water and go shopping. There was a space which looked like we should fit. Derek said a boat had just left, that would be Tyseley which is 71ft 10″ so we’d fit no problem.

NB Jubilee Bridge came past just as we were having lunch. Pat and Roy were on the Huddersfield Narrow with us back in 2015 and every year since we see them at some point. No longer being on a bright yellow boat they don’t notice us anymore, so we have to remind them. Seeing them means that our summer is complete, if only we’d been another half hour at the top of the locks.

Oh, I forgot to tell you I don’t like poultry anymore!

Mick headed off with a shopping list whilst I carried on blogging. Blimey it takes ages on a post like that! Maybe we should stick to shorter days from now on, two big days of Tidal waters in one year is maybe enough. Even the laptop is trying to hide letters from me now, the E and S have turned on their cloaking device and the A is spluttering out of view as I type more and more words.

With shopping back on board from Tescos, (you can get a trolley to your boat) we pushed off hoping to reach Horsenden Hill to moor up for the night. The forecast rain looked like it would be on it’s way fairly soon, so Mick was left up top with his waterproofs as we turned back onto the Paddington Arm.

The rain held off until around 5:30, big claps of thunder echoing around. Then with just ten minutes to go before pulling up the heavens opened right up, ensuring everything outside including Mick ended up being drenched. He moored us up on the stretch that had been empty a couple of weeks ago (a few boats moored there now) and then stripped off his waterproofs under the pram cover and left them to drip dry outside for the night.

8 locks all shared, 8.79 miles, 1 right, 1 down hill boat, 1 Tyseley, 4 leeks, 3 peppers, 0 boxes of wine, 3 cloths not 2! £3250! I wish! 1 drenched boater, 0 shore leave, 2 days on 1 post.

https://goo.gl/maps/v25e3Vy9cqiqihMS9

If you read the Thames tideway post early on Tuesday then you may not have seen the links to other blogs.

Scholar Gypsy

Briar Rose

Shooting Buns. 6th 7th July

Huddersfield and St Pancras Cruising Club

Mick has been doing a few boat jobs. He decided to check the fuel filters over, finding a bit of crud in the first and second ones. He replaced the second one and gave the first one a good clean out. A hunt through the lockers for a pipe we bought ages ago was successful. With this pipe you can dip your tank and it gives you a view of what lies down in the dark. The fuel looked just how it should, so no worries there.

Back in Huddersfield Tuesday had me running all the overalls I’d tacked on Monday through the Directors sewing machine. Tacking was removed, excess fabric removed and edges finished off.

The second bubble of actors was in so I did three more fittings. Everyone on Monday had been a small or even smaller! Two of todays actors were the same, so they were fitted with ease. Then there was Toby, I knew he’d be at least an XL, but this only got so far. An XXL got further and Toby did manage to get the zip done up but it was all really quite tight fitting! Unless he lost some weight the seems would only hold for a certain amount of time. It would do for the photo shoot so I pinned the legs up.

By the end of the actors working day I only had one bit of hand sewing left to do which I could do back at the hotel. The studio was set up for a busy day on Wednesday.

Back at the Dark Horse office I sat down with Amy (Director), Lynda (Producer) and Penny (Stage Manager, Technical and Digital person) for a meeting. This was my first face to face design meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. Not a computer screen in view, just a big table, open windows and Bento boxes from the restaurant down stairs. So lovely to be able to interact with people in one room again.

We talked lights on costumes, lights on the set, flooring, projection, colours. My prep work for the set had been worthwhile and a vague idea of what things were likely to cost meant we could be creative yet realistic at the same time. Penny and I were left with a list of things to pursue, I’ll do some technical drawings and get the set priced up in the next couple of weeks.

Wednesday, an early start to get everyone’s outfits ironed and ready for the photo shoot. Two hair dressing stations were set up and we were all ready for the ensemble when they arrived. This is the first time the two bubbles have met up since March last year. Everyone was pleased to see each other even if it was at a distance. It was actually a good job that we were a couple of actors down as it gave us all a little bit more space.

At 11am the photographer arrived, set his big light up and I started to put people into costume. The ladies had their hair done, coloured extensions and braids added to their big space buns. Then the music was turned up and the photo shoot was started. Toby was shoe horned into his overall just before his photos, they were checked over, a few more taken then he could be released from the tight zip.

The amount of energy in that room! Between helping people get changed, sanitising hands I managed to get a few photos myself. Have to say my eyes welled up on a couple of occasions. Here we all were in one room, the thoughts that have cumulated over the last year of lockdowns, all the actors giving their best, the energy, dancing and smiles from everyone was electric. We were back doing what we do, only one thing missing, the audience to share it with.

Today photos were being taken for leading images for the show which will have a showing early next year. The costumes will change a bit between now and then and an XXXL overall will arrive in August for Toby.

The whole day had been scheduled for the photo shoot, but everything went so smoothly that we had finished by lunchtime. This gave me plenty of time to tidy up, make notes and sit around as my train back south wasn’t until 5:15pm. A very good three days work with a great theatre company.

My train back south took me through torrential rain, outside was darker than dark. Then within a ten minute window the clouds cleared and the sun came out. At the cruising club it was club night, the bar was open and a TV set was showing the match, benches were pulled up around the set overlooking the basin.

Mick was having a beer with several people and I joined for a glass of wine and a sociable chat as the sun was starting to dip.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 7 actors, 7 overalls, 1 tight squeeze, 672 lots of hand sanitiser, 90 minute photo shoot, 1 electric morning, 1 show just about designed, 4 bento boxes, 3 productive days, 2 filters cleaned, 2 pints 1 glass of wine at the water tower, 1 cat watching the football!

Two Sizes Smaller Than Small. 5th July

To Huddersfield and London

Mental note, the back bedroom needs the curtains lining or a blackout blind! However today it didn’t matter too much as I was awake extra early and Mick got up soon after me.

Today we were heading in different directions. I was off to work in Huddersfield and Mick was returning to London, Oleanna and Tilly. Her magic food bowl would have opened its second compartment last night and all the yellow biscuits will have been picked out leaving only the boring ones!

I dropped a key through the front door of the theatre for our next lodger Vicky who was arriving later in the day and hopped onto the 07:34 to Leeds. Mick had a few things to finish off in the house before he would be on a train two hours later.

Only one narrowboat at the Museum Gardens today

I’d booked my train so that I would arrive at the rehearsal space in Huddersfield before the actors so I could get myself set up and ready to do costume fittings. But this simply wasn’t to be. Due to multiple track circuit failures along with a points failure my train pulled into Leeds half an hour late, my connecting train cancelled! The next service I tried was also cancelled, so by the time I reached Huddersfield I was an hour late and everyone had arrived.

All the way through the pandemic Dark Horse has continued to work with their ensemble and students. For much of the last year their work has happened online, The Garden being one project they produced. Since the restrictions eased they have been back in the studio, the ensemble of nine actors, now split into two bubbles working on different days to help maintain social distancing.

Today I had five actors to fit into their overalls. Everyone would need sleeves and legs shortening. Several would need darts putting in the front and back. Two would require a couple of inches taking out from the body and arms. Then there was Rebekah, her overalls would need major work, they actually needed to be two sizes smaller than the small I had purchased for her. I’d been expecting to wear a visor and mask whilst working, but early on it was discovered that quite a few of the actors lip read, nobody had realised this until instructions were being ignored. So my day was spent behind a plastic visor with a big bottle of hand sanitiser.

I ran out of safety pins quite quickly trying to shrink everyone’s costumes. Then I set to tacking Rebekah’s so that I could try it on her again before she left for the day. All seemed good thank goodness.

Meanwhile Mick managed to get his train to York, there was congestion due to the problems in Leeds, but he was only delayed by 15 minutes. Tilly was pleased to see him. Well there were no yellow biscuits left!

With all the fittings done I decided to retire to my hotel room to neaten and tack all the alterations as I’d have more room there.

The same boats on the permanent moorings

When booking my hotel I’d looked at both the Travelodge and Premier Inn. Travelodge came in £2 cheaper, it sits by the Huddersfield Broad Canal and is a bit of a walk away from town. So I’d booked into the Premier Inn at Apsley Basin where the Narrow Canal meets the Broad, its closer to where I was working with a handy Sainsburys in between and filled with boats rather than rubbish!

The first overall was tacked during an episode of Midsummer Murders, then I headed to Sainsburys for supplies, one of which was a bottle of House Pinot Grigio which I cooled in the bathroom sink.

All the alterations took time in fact I didn’t finish until gone midnight. I was very glad of that wine.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains both late, 5 actors fitted, 1 overall to be rebuilt, 10 legs, 10 arms, 1 hit and run, 1 wine cooler sink.

Space Buns

St Pancras Cruising Club

Knowing when the first train is likely to go past kind of helps when you wake up at just gone 5am and luckily we managed to get back to sleep.

I spent the first part of the morning making lists, next week I’ll be in Huddersfield for a few days doing costume fittings before a photo shoot for #unit 21. All the overalls have arrived along with a few bits and pieces to do neon hair dos. But I was still missing a few bits so a trip into town was called for.

Mick and Tilly were left busy working their way through the washing and awaiting another visiting boat that would be pulling up alongside us today. They also caught up on the cycling.

I could of course get on the tube or climb on a bus, but when I roughly know the way and it’s not too far I much prefer to walk around London. Heading out of the gate from the cruising club I walked up Camley Street which parts St Pancras and Kings Cross stations. On the paved area in front of Kings Cross, where the old station used to have lines of waiting passengers queueing for their trains, there was a food market today. Everything looked tasty, most of it full of gluten. It was still too early in the day to purchase food and the tasty cheese would have spent far too long on a hot day fermenting in my bag.

I wove my way down towards Oxford Street. A modern block of flats had a very good bit of painting on what most probably is the bin store. Such a wonderfully atmospheric painting.

But this side was even better, what an atmosphere

My first port of call was Primark, for my sins! With a small budget and not a very long run, Primark is usually a good starting point. Anything I bought that doesn’t get used can be returned to the Huddersfield store quite easily next week. However, Primark seem to have gone for grown up colours this season! If I wanted shorts today I would have come up trumps with neon colours, but there was only one t-shirt in a good size for one actor in the whole store! It’s a good job we don’t actually need the t-shirts for the photo shoot, so I can gradually collect them when I see them.

They did however have a lot of buns. Not edible ones, but ones to help make big hair buns. These were cheaper than the ones I got online, so I may require more to create big space buns!

Next I headed to Sally’s, here they sell hair products mostly to hairdressers. I’d hoped they might have some colourful hair extensions, but fortunately they didn’t as the cheapest ones there were around £30! I did however get a very large can of hairspray to help with the space buns.

Not such an Aladdin’s cave of fabricness that it once was

Down to Berwick Street, hoping shops I now of old have survived. Borovicks is still there, but I’m sure there used to be three times as many rooms full of fabric.

MacCulloch and Wallis on Poland Street pulled me inside. Here the basement is full of haberdashery. Want a zip? Any type, length, teeth, they have it! Sewing cottons, you’ve a whole wall of colours to choose from. The yarn on the ground floor was all so tempting, but I was good and only bought things for the show.

A window display that I couldn’t walk past

Returning on a more westerly route to Oleanna I walked along roads surrounded by hoardings hiding the ongoing works for HS2. Pile drivers driving and four story high portacabins, most probably accommodation for the builders.

Back at the Cruising Club our whirligig was very full, towels were drying on locker lids, Mick had run out of clothes pegs. We have a new neighbour who is staying for one night. He had more difficulty getting in due to the weed.

Lists were ticked off for work, train tickets printed out, just need to pack things now.

At around 7pm we could hear loud music, just where was it coming from. A peek out the front of the boat suggested that this might be a regular thing. Heather yesterday said there is a chap who turns up with a big sound system at the gas holders. Here he shares his music with others.

It was an eclectic mix, 80’s, reggae, bhangra, modern pop, allsorts. Across the way people were dancing, laughing and having a great time. At 9 pm the music stopped, two hours of jollyness shared amongst strangers.

0 locks, 0 miles, 7 miles walked, 2 stages for Cav, 4 space buns, 1 t-shirt, 1 triangle of chalk, 250m thread, 1 M&S sandwich, 2 clean boating caps, 4 loads washing, 1 bag half packed, 1 new neighbour, 1 bored cat.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Theatre Design

I Went To Bishop Stortford And I Bought A …… 23rd July

Standing At The Edge Of Shade. 18th July

Hopefully The First. 16th July

Can He Fix It? 15th July

We Don’t Do Boats. 14th July

Coming Back Round. 13th July

A New Angle 12th July

Shooting Buns. 6th 7th July

Two Sizes Smaller Than Small. 5th July

Space Buns