Ralph, what a joy-filled journey you’re sharing here! Woven together with stunning photography, sunny smiles, shared stories and so many other wonderful details. From that gentle rhythm of the locks to Percy’s quiet companionship and Irene’s needlework ... every moment experienced feels so deeply lived and so beautifully captured. Your last photo is my ab-soul-ute fave!
Your long-held love of the waterways shines through this newsletter of word and image, and those thoughtful, generous notes on camera kit and film choices add such texture ... I'm sure Lin will be taking notes! I most especially loved the poetic turn at Torksey, with the vanished towers and those majestic swans in courtship ... like time and nature conspiring to offer you grace.
Thank you so much for bringing us along the Cut; your words, images and reflections are a gift to behold and return to. 🙏💖🌊
Thank you so much for your kind words, Deborah. It was an enjoyable trip - there's nothing quite like it, though my favourite times are spring and autumn when there's less heat🥵. Percy makes quite a companion, though he's anything but quiet. I'm sure our hearing hasn't been the same since he came to live with us! We've had him for about six years and he around ten at the time. As far as we know he originally came from folks who owned a pub. He was rarely let out and, as a result, never learned to fly. Physiologically he's fine, just never fully opens his wings. Sometimes he forgets in a moment of excitement and launches himself from his cage only to plummet like a stone to the floor. When he first did that we were horrified, wandering how bad he might have hurt himself. Then, like the times he's done it since, he picks himself right up, looks us square in the eye as if to say "watchya lookin' at!? Come on, where's my treat?"
It's like having two year old around with his behaviour. Often quite cheeky, he can be quite affectionate one minute and decidedly bolshy the next. When he's tired he can get quite grumpy - just like , I suppose. He's also very bright. He knows when bedtime is and what the standard routine is (he sometimes plays up a little - just like a small child - but usually pretty good. He also knows when we're going out and puts himself back in his cage until we're home again, often before we've even said anything, he just picks up on what we're doing. Irene's Mum, Viv, is his absolute favourite. When she's about, the rest of the world doesn't exist lol. Each time she popped over to our boat, all hell broke loose. Even just the sound of her voice outside was enough to set him off screeching with excitement. This was his first time ever on a boat, but he coped remarkably well. My, haven't I waffled on about the little man 🥴😄
Percy sounds like a feathered firecracker! Equal parts toddler, diva and pub legend! His dramatic plummets and cheeky side-eye are pure theatre! And I love that he’s mastered bedtime and boat life like a seasoned sailor.
Viv clearly holds the key to his heart (lol, and his volume switch too!). Honestly, I think it sounds like he’s running your household ... hahaha! you’re just lucky enough to live in his house! Perhaps Percy deserves his own post! 🦜📸🖋️
Excellent work Ralph I really enjoyed that. It reminded me of a canal boat holiday I went on with friends about 40 years ago. What I loved about it was you could get right into the centre of big cities, seeing all the bits you’re not supposed to see. The family shots are great and the cooling towers picture is a real cool thing to get. But my favourite is the footbridge over the marina, I love the way you composed it. A really lovely post, thanks for sharing.
Many thanks for your kind words, Dave, much appreciated. I'm glad it brought back good memories for you. Hopefully we'll be off on a jaunt again this coming spring. We'd hoped to plan a trip to Llangollen and back, but with the recent sinkhole near Whitchurch, we may well have to put that plan on hold.
I had no idea of how grand your trip really was, until I read this wonderful post full of your photos and lively descriptions of how you and your 'extended family' were having a great time. Impressive trip, very impressive post!
It was great, but not on the Thames. Rather, it was on Regent's Canal, which was cool because it went through Regent's Park and the Zoo and behind some royal residences! I think the trip started somewhere in/near Notting Hill and then ended at Camden Lock.
I imagine a narrowboat on the Thames might be a hair-raising experience--considering the tides and all the boat traffic!
Ah, ok (I should’ve checked what went where lol, my bad☺️). The upper Thames, I believe, is ok. Not sure I’d fancy trying to navigate through the heart of London, either 😳🫨😏
Really interesting, Ralph - canals are an alien concept to me so it was fascinating to see your route and everything along it. Love the cooling towers shot.
It sounds like you had a fun filled holiday on the Cut Ralph - it looks quite lovely and peaceful and I love the fact that the whole family including Percy were involved! He looks a bit of a character – I wonder if he learned any nautical language while you were sailing! I've never been on a canal holiday, I think I'd like the quiet but the hard work at the locks and the shallow water areas would probably result with me grounding the boat a few times so probably best I stick to dry land!
Your photos really do tell the story of your journey, from the balance between family shots (love that final one of the four of you on the return trip on the barge) and the landscape of the canal and countryside (that third image of you moored at Shardlow is beautiful) to the spooky moments when the Towers disappeared. Your black and white work is fabulous with a lovely range of tones – all that time in the darkroom was certainly worth it. Thank you for letting us join you on your journey – what a wonderful trip!
Many thanks, Lin, much appreciated. Percy did very well on this, his first ever time on a boat. Once he settled and we sussed out a routine that reduced as much stress for him as we could, he was fine. He was even settled enough to through his standard bedtime routine without any particular issues - not easy in that relatively confined space. No new nautical words yet. He already has one occasional one that he brought with him when we got him that, so far, he's only aimed at me and that's a**hole! 😅
There's nothing quite like chugging along on a narrowboat. I had my first holiday on the canals about 40 years ago and I still love it, as does Irene. She first went on one as a kid back in the 70s with her Mum.
I'm pleased with how the Kentmere 200 renders. There's very little needing to be done with the scans from it beyond any slight dodging or burning here and there to suit my taste. Ikm glad you like those pics 🙂. Thanks again.
I appreciate your comment regarding my time in the darkroom but, interestingly, my days in there 'back in the day' were actually fairly limited, my skills fairly basic. I only indulged now and again (although I did manage to get some good prints). Maybe if I'd been able to set up a more permanent arrangement at the time I might have done more. I tended to prefer slides anyway. My appreciation for b+w has only really come to the fore in the last few years since coming back to film (so, I guess I'm making up for lost time! 😊)
Haha - sounds like Percy has his favourite and it might not be you!! 😉🤣 Parrots do pick up words fast - a friend of mine had an African Grey and he had a very colourful vocabulary which he used at really inappropriate moments, usually with visitors which was hilarious!
That Kentmere looks like a great film all round and your results are excellent Ralph. I used to have a darkroom set up back in the late 80's - 90's and it was addictive so I can understand you making up for lost time. I worked fulltime in finance then, out the house at 6.30am, commuting 80 miles a day up and down the M4 to work, but I'd still be up until 1 or 2am in the darkroom, messing about with prints - I loved it. Not sure if commandeering the bathroom to that hour in the morning would be looked upon favourably nowadays though!!😂
If ever there was a sign of dedication to the cause, a full time high pressure job with an 80 mile commute and still in the 'room until the wee hours, has got to be it! Once you're in, set up and in the thick of it, time just flies⏰😀
It's been the year for messing about on the water for both of us, Ralph. I'm glad to see a fully accessible boat on the Canal network and dont worry about the list, there are probably ways to trim the boat nice and level.
Indeed it has been, Fred... erm, Jim😏☺️. Regarding the list, it doesn't bother me from a steering point of view as the boat handles very nicely despite it, though my missus is somewhat keener as it would improve her view if the windows were a little lower in the starboard side. We'll likely look into it at some point.
Ralph, what a joy-filled journey you’re sharing here! Woven together with stunning photography, sunny smiles, shared stories and so many other wonderful details. From that gentle rhythm of the locks to Percy’s quiet companionship and Irene’s needlework ... every moment experienced feels so deeply lived and so beautifully captured. Your last photo is my ab-soul-ute fave!
Your long-held love of the waterways shines through this newsletter of word and image, and those thoughtful, generous notes on camera kit and film choices add such texture ... I'm sure Lin will be taking notes! I most especially loved the poetic turn at Torksey, with the vanished towers and those majestic swans in courtship ... like time and nature conspiring to offer you grace.
Thank you so much for bringing us along the Cut; your words, images and reflections are a gift to behold and return to. 🙏💖🌊
Thank you so much for your kind words, Deborah. It was an enjoyable trip - there's nothing quite like it, though my favourite times are spring and autumn when there's less heat🥵. Percy makes quite a companion, though he's anything but quiet. I'm sure our hearing hasn't been the same since he came to live with us! We've had him for about six years and he around ten at the time. As far as we know he originally came from folks who owned a pub. He was rarely let out and, as a result, never learned to fly. Physiologically he's fine, just never fully opens his wings. Sometimes he forgets in a moment of excitement and launches himself from his cage only to plummet like a stone to the floor. When he first did that we were horrified, wandering how bad he might have hurt himself. Then, like the times he's done it since, he picks himself right up, looks us square in the eye as if to say "watchya lookin' at!? Come on, where's my treat?"
It's like having two year old around with his behaviour. Often quite cheeky, he can be quite affectionate one minute and decidedly bolshy the next. When he's tired he can get quite grumpy - just like , I suppose. He's also very bright. He knows when bedtime is and what the standard routine is (he sometimes plays up a little - just like a small child - but usually pretty good. He also knows when we're going out and puts himself back in his cage until we're home again, often before we've even said anything, he just picks up on what we're doing. Irene's Mum, Viv, is his absolute favourite. When she's about, the rest of the world doesn't exist lol. Each time she popped over to our boat, all hell broke loose. Even just the sound of her voice outside was enough to set him off screeching with excitement. This was his first time ever on a boat, but he coped remarkably well. My, haven't I waffled on about the little man 🥴😄
Percy sounds like a feathered firecracker! Equal parts toddler, diva and pub legend! His dramatic plummets and cheeky side-eye are pure theatre! And I love that he’s mastered bedtime and boat life like a seasoned sailor.
Viv clearly holds the key to his heart (lol, and his volume switch too!). Honestly, I think it sounds like he’s running your household ... hahaha! you’re just lucky enough to live in his house! Perhaps Percy deserves his own post! 🦜📸🖋️
Haha! Yes, we live by his iron rule!🫡 He doesn’t pick up words from us, he just gets us to copy is ‘lingo’ instead!😎😂
That's too much fun for free! 😂😂😂
Excellent work Ralph I really enjoyed that. It reminded me of a canal boat holiday I went on with friends about 40 years ago. What I loved about it was you could get right into the centre of big cities, seeing all the bits you’re not supposed to see. The family shots are great and the cooling towers picture is a real cool thing to get. But my favourite is the footbridge over the marina, I love the way you composed it. A really lovely post, thanks for sharing.
Many thanks for your kind words, Dave, much appreciated. I'm glad it brought back good memories for you. Hopefully we'll be off on a jaunt again this coming spring. We'd hoped to plan a trip to Llangollen and back, but with the recent sinkhole near Whitchurch, we may well have to put that plan on hold.
Wasn’t that the craziest thing? So glad nobody was hurt.
Absolutely..
A great insight into life on a boat, accompanied by some great documenting photos. Well done for getting the cooling towers before they went.
Cheers! Much sppreciated. Getting the towers was pure chance.
I had no idea of how grand your trip really was, until I read this wonderful post full of your photos and lively descriptions of how you and your 'extended family' were having a great time. Impressive trip, very impressive post!
Many thanks, Vincent, much appreciated🙂
You certainly put in a lot of work, and it shows! It’s full of facts and names, yet so readable, and the photos make the story a lot better even.
Very kind of you to say, Sir! Thank you.
Thank you for taking us along for the ride with your photos!
Thank you for joining us!🙂
I love narrowboats and had the good fortune to take one through London. I forget where it started, but it ended at Camden Locks.
Thank you for sharing your own narrowboat experience. Lovely photos!
Many thanks, Jeremy. I’ve never taken a boat down the Thames. I imagime that was quite an experience 🙂
Thanks for the reply.
It was great, but not on the Thames. Rather, it was on Regent's Canal, which was cool because it went through Regent's Park and the Zoo and behind some royal residences! I think the trip started somewhere in/near Notting Hill and then ended at Camden Lock.
I imagine a narrowboat on the Thames might be a hair-raising experience--considering the tides and all the boat traffic!
Ah, ok (I should’ve checked what went where lol, my bad☺️). The upper Thames, I believe, is ok. Not sure I’d fancy trying to navigate through the heart of London, either 😳🫨😏
Really interesting, Ralph - canals are an alien concept to me so it was fascinating to see your route and everything along it. Love the cooling towers shot.
I appreciate your words, Lynn, thank you☺️
Those old cooling towers coming down was a big surprise!
It sounds like you had a fun filled holiday on the Cut Ralph - it looks quite lovely and peaceful and I love the fact that the whole family including Percy were involved! He looks a bit of a character – I wonder if he learned any nautical language while you were sailing! I've never been on a canal holiday, I think I'd like the quiet but the hard work at the locks and the shallow water areas would probably result with me grounding the boat a few times so probably best I stick to dry land!
Your photos really do tell the story of your journey, from the balance between family shots (love that final one of the four of you on the return trip on the barge) and the landscape of the canal and countryside (that third image of you moored at Shardlow is beautiful) to the spooky moments when the Towers disappeared. Your black and white work is fabulous with a lovely range of tones – all that time in the darkroom was certainly worth it. Thank you for letting us join you on your journey – what a wonderful trip!
Many thanks, Lin, much appreciated. Percy did very well on this, his first ever time on a boat. Once he settled and we sussed out a routine that reduced as much stress for him as we could, he was fine. He was even settled enough to through his standard bedtime routine without any particular issues - not easy in that relatively confined space. No new nautical words yet. He already has one occasional one that he brought with him when we got him that, so far, he's only aimed at me and that's a**hole! 😅
There's nothing quite like chugging along on a narrowboat. I had my first holiday on the canals about 40 years ago and I still love it, as does Irene. She first went on one as a kid back in the 70s with her Mum.
I'm pleased with how the Kentmere 200 renders. There's very little needing to be done with the scans from it beyond any slight dodging or burning here and there to suit my taste. Ikm glad you like those pics 🙂. Thanks again.
I appreciate your comment regarding my time in the darkroom but, interestingly, my days in there 'back in the day' were actually fairly limited, my skills fairly basic. I only indulged now and again (although I did manage to get some good prints). Maybe if I'd been able to set up a more permanent arrangement at the time I might have done more. I tended to prefer slides anyway. My appreciation for b+w has only really come to the fore in the last few years since coming back to film (so, I guess I'm making up for lost time! 😊)
Haha - sounds like Percy has his favourite and it might not be you!! 😉🤣 Parrots do pick up words fast - a friend of mine had an African Grey and he had a very colourful vocabulary which he used at really inappropriate moments, usually with visitors which was hilarious!
That Kentmere looks like a great film all round and your results are excellent Ralph. I used to have a darkroom set up back in the late 80's - 90's and it was addictive so I can understand you making up for lost time. I worked fulltime in finance then, out the house at 6.30am, commuting 80 miles a day up and down the M4 to work, but I'd still be up until 1 or 2am in the darkroom, messing about with prints - I loved it. Not sure if commandeering the bathroom to that hour in the morning would be looked upon favourably nowadays though!!😂
Thank you!😊
If ever there was a sign of dedication to the cause, a full time high pressure job with an 80 mile commute and still in the 'room until the wee hours, has got to be it! Once you're in, set up and in the thick of it, time just flies⏰😀
Wonderful photograph of what looks like an amazing trip!
Many thanks, Todd, much appreciated.
It's been the year for messing about on the water for both of us, Ralph. I'm glad to see a fully accessible boat on the Canal network and dont worry about the list, there are probably ways to trim the boat nice and level.
Indeed it has been, Fred... erm, Jim😏☺️. Regarding the list, it doesn't bother me from a steering point of view as the boat handles very nicely despite it, though my missus is somewhat keener as it would improve her view if the windows were a little lower in the starboard side. We'll likely look into it at some point.
I have no idea why I called you Dave... 😂