Boat trip No. 1

On Friday I set out on my first trip by boat, from Tackley to Oxford, with my guide Ed to show me the ropes. Steering the boat was much more difficult than it looked, as was opening and closing the locks, and I realised I have a lot to learn before I set out on my week's journey in September.

The pace of travel encourages the imagination to drift, as the scenery around changes, gently but constantly.
As we travelled I filmed and photographed places of interest, such as the now-derelict cement factory, which was built close to the canal to be supplied with fuel by boat.



I spoke to boat owners and experienced the huge range of styles of personality of the owners and boats.

This boat was named after the Serbian scientist, Nikola Tesla, whose pioneered electrical engineering and who once said
"I have harnessed the cosmic rays and caused them to operate a motive device."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

This week, I also received a postcard and camera back from my drop-ins:

Dropping in at Banbury

Last week, we set up a 'drop-in' session by Banbury lock, although in reality I ran up and down the towpath dropping in on passing boats and trying hard not to be a gOngoozler. I gave boaters a blank postcard and asked them to write me something about their journey, and then post it back to me further up the canal. I also gave some of them a disposable camera to photograph their journey. A couple called George and Sheila invited me onto their boat and amazed me with their tales of 22 years of life on the canals of England.
I will be 'dropping in' by Banbury lock again tomorrow, the 8th August and the 15th August, from approx. 11am-3pm.