Nighttime on Still Waters

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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...

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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 jew...

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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 ...

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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 re...

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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 na...

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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 colo...

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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 spring...

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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 si...

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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 ...

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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.

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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
 I...

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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...

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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 field...

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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
...

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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...

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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,...

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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 episo...

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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 th...

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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 high...