Nighttime on Still Waters

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected] 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

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 [email protected] 
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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. 

Send us Fan Mail

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 [email protected]
 
 
 

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

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] 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.