[This item was originally posted to the canals mailing list (canals@ukwaterways.net) in June '99, which you can join via the UK Waterways Network pages. It has been slightly edited to protect the guilty (!) and all names mentioned are, or were at that time, members of the mailing list or regulars on the Usenet newsgroup uk.rec.waterways]
As a number of you know we took Whisper along to Braunston on behalf of Warble Narrowboats as part of their exhibit, which also included 'Jazz' and their very latest boat 'Catflap'.
When I say "took along" it sounds so casual. It actually involved three and half days of cruising over two weekends up the Thames and the South Oxford, with a week-long stop-over at Fenny Compton. Whisper arrived at Braunston the week before the show and was left to the mercy of the organisers' boat movers, who, it would seem, have a thankless task. When we returned on Thursday she was elsewhere, and then was moved yet again on Friday to her final position, right by the beer tent and the entertainments tent!
Warble originally had booked the entire frontage with the intention of placing two boats alongside the "quay" and a third on the outside. Due to a cock-up in the show planning department, this was not possible and Warble had to moor all three boats abreast - not ideal for snaking over a thousand visitors across bows and sterns and through the boats. Good job we were all roughly the same length.
As it happened Whisper ended up on the inside, so we took the brunt of the visitors on the first two days. At one point the queue was the length of the boat, two abreast!
On the Friday evening, amidst a lot of tidying up and preparation we found time to visit the bar and met up with Sean Neill, Ian and Anne Street, Jeff and Benny, Dave Hearmon and Mike & Krystyna Wooding. The site was humming with activity around us, but a pleasant evening was had by all, topped off with a visit to n.b. Raven and a couple of medicinal whiskies around mid-night(ish :-).
Sean Neill introduced me to Phil Martino, and I was recruited as crew for Adamant for the parade - alas I had barely enough time over the ensuing three days to visit two stands at the show, let alone spend three or four hours on Adamant. Sorry Phil, I am really p*ssed off that I didn't have time - I was looking forward to it. Maybe (no, definitely!) next year!
Come Saturday morning we discovered to our delight that the bacon butty kiosk was open and serving breakfast to the early risers and workers. The sky was blue and it was looking like being a perfect day in paradise...
It was with some trepidation that we welcomed the first visitors on board at 10am sharp but after that it was a blur of faces and questions. Several list/ng people dropped by to give me a welcome respite, albeit briefly, and I recall at least Paul Bennett, Brian Holt, Brian Dominic, Ray Dunford (alas, this was the last time we were to see this charming old gentleman alive - he passed away about a week later, and we are all the poorer for his passing) and Regan Milnes, but I know there were more.. I didn't have time to wonder if we'd done the right thing by bringing Whisper - all things considered I'm glad we did. I met some interesting people and gleaned some useful information myself, and no doubt there'll be a few more familiar faces on the cut...
The show was opened by David Suchet, who as well as being a well know actor and film star is a keen boater. Warble were asked to entertain him and his partner to lunch so for about half-an-hour we closed up and decamped to Jazz (which was on the outside) for champagne and sarnies (M&S's best!!), after which David was shown around the other two boats.
Saturday evening we were invited out to dinner by Kevin Wadsworth of Warble and despite the fringe at the Plough crying out for our attention it seemed churlish not to attend, so we missed out on what was apparently a very entertaining evening. However, life has a way of providing little consolations when you're least expecting them; we finished dinner just in time to walk back from the Mill House along the towpath towards the marina as the firework display was starting.
You have to try and imagine the scene. The towpath was deserted but lit by the temporary string of bulbs powered by an old genny. The rain was just stopping and there was a faint mist associated with it. Add to that the smoke from dozens of back cabin stoves and drifting smoke from the fireworks up the hill and the cut was a hazy, gently lit secret world of shadowy hulls and back cabins, dimly coloured water cans and glittering brasswork. It was almost unreal; an impressionist painting to match the best Monet. We lingered for a while as the fireworks added sudden splashes of colour in the sky overhead, softened by the smoke and haze all around us. Magic.
Sunday dawned somewhat colder and greyer than Saturday but the rain kept away until the end of the day. The people kept coming, but more respite was gained from some familiar faces dropping in, not least of which was John & Gill Watson, who joined us for supper later, and then accompanied me (or rather I accompanied them!) to the Plough, where another cracking evening was in progress. A knot of familar faces beamed from the corner as we entered, including Dave Hearmon & Anne, Mike & Krystyna, Syd & Mary Arkless, Guy & Connie and Sean (sure I've missed one or two...). The singing was being led by David Blagrove and there were some stirring renditions of "last night of the proms" stuff as well as some virtuoso performances of songs and ditties I'd largely not heard before.
Something magical also happened here. We turned up just in time for one round of drinks, but being Sunday the bar stopped serving at 10.30(ish). However, when I got to the bottom of my Isle of Jura and put it down it miraculously filled up again! Whether this had anything to do with John's visits to an old wellington boot in his car outside I'm not entirely sure....
By Monday we were getting into the swing of living on-site. If you stop to look around you in the early hours the place is quite a hive of activity. Teams of people ("volunteers"?) descend on the site to clear bins, tidy up, and prepare for the new day. A lot of work goes into something like this, and BW and Braunston Marina are to be largely congratulated for their efforts.
As a regular at the bacon butty kiosk I started receiving discounts for additional items bought! I must say that a mango-filled pancake rounds off a greasy breakfast wonderfully well!
On Monday we managed half an hour in the entertainments tent at lunchtime to listen to a bit of Jeff & Benny and watch the brilliant clog dancer in action ("Riverdance without all the fuss" :-). I also managed 10 minutes on two stands, speaking with Chris Coburn for a while on one of them (we are near neighbours on the Thames). I also managed to spend 150 quid in that time too! :-( The extra time we had was largely due to being moored on the outside of the other two Warble boats for a change. We did a quick shuffle before the show opened so 'Catflap' could take some of the limelight.
Near the end of Monday we were "invaded" (in the nicest possible way!) by several list/ng'ers including a well oiled Bruce, Jeff & Benny! Thanks for the kind comments about Whisper guys, it is much appreciated.
As Monday came to a close we were more than a little sad to be packing
up and going. Whisper had to stay where she was until the bridge
was raised on Tuesday morning. We simply sat and watched the show being
dismantled around us. At 6.30pm the place was crammed full of people, vans,
cars, etc all trying to break down stands and get out. By 9pm there was
not soul to be seen - the site was almost completely deserted. After a walk
around the marina to retrieve the car from the exhibitors car park we loaded
up in silence as dusk was gathering and headed home, tired but with a very
pleasant glow of already fond memories of an unforgettable weekend.
© Andy Greener, 1999