By Appointment

We have seen a shift in shopping habits since the financial crash. The stagnation of income coupled with the increase in spare time has resulted in shoppers forsaking the weekly bonanza at the hypermarket in favour of more frequent and smaller shopping trips.  The winners in the high street have been Lidl and Aldi at the budget end of the market and Waitrose at the other end. All the major supermarkets are losing market share to these three companies who  never subscribed to the giant out-of-town craze.
We have noticed on our travels around the country that two retail businesses have survived the supermarket invasion - pharmacies and small hardware shops . An example of this is A H Hale, the pharmacy in Argyle Street  in Bath.. In addition to offering all the modern services, this shop has retained a range of products which my grandparents would remember. The hand-sawn combs of  Kent and the marvellous hair brushes of Mason Pearson are on display in their ever popular window.
Waitrose is well known for its Royal Warrant as grocer to the queen.  This system of royal patronage has been around for centuries and is awarded to companies who have provided an exceptional level of service to the queen, Prince Philip or Prince Charles for at least five years.  The Queen Mother, for whom that title was created, also awarded her Royal Warrant, notably for gin and ham. There are about 800 warrant holders at present and they cover every conceivable area of commerce.  When the Queen Mother died  a warrant holder I know was reminded that he could only use the "By appointment to..." for a further five years when the privilege would lapse. I assume this time limit applies to the other  royal warrant givers.
A H Hale displays a crest over the shop and below the window is the statement
by appointment to Queen Charlotte
Whatever the rules 300 years ago I can't help wondering how valid this claim is today.

Christmas Spirit?

I received my first Christmas card of the season last week.
It is from a hospital trust asking for money.
Christmas is regarded by many as a season of giving but does it have to be a season of begging?

Catching Up

Much has happened since my post of Sept 19, both in our life and the wider world

• The ex Idle Woman - Sonia Rolt died aged 95. I only met her once, about ten years ago but she impressed me with her knowledge and understanding of waterways matters.
• I had a birthday
• Our younger son announced that they are expecting twins in the new year which will bring our complement of grandchildren up to six
• We put our house in Bath up for sale. It has been very successful as a holiday let but we feel we need a land base we can call our own. Unfortunately Bath is too expensive for us so we will be heading north 
• We came into Aylesbury for the winter at the end of August, two months early, as we had so many commitments the logistics were becoming unwieldy. Whenever we have to leave Gecko for a week or more we  need to leave it somewhere both safe and accessible. This is not always simple
• The number of boats sink in locks seems to contiue unabated with the deep lock in Bath probably top of the list.
• At the end of August we organised a walk along the Wendover Arm with a guided talk provided by Wendover Arm Trust.  The ladies of WAT provided refreshments and C&RT opened up the Tringford pumping station for us
• We spent three weeks in Murvi shepherding some American friends around. We met them in Holyhead and progressed via Pont Cysylte to Wasdale in The Lakes. After hiking there we next visited Oxford and Bath before establishing a base in Chipping Campden from where they could hike the Cotswold Way. After depositing them at Fishguard we spent a couple of days in S.Wales before heading for Brixham
• In Brixham we had a week with the grandchildren which.was great fun
• About a week ago we managed a visit to The Travellers' Club in Pall Mall followed by our first ever lunch with friends at Simpsons in the Strand
• Whilst in London we took a trip up The Shard for the phenomenal views
• In between times we have moved Gecko three times as the winter moorers have arrived.
• And finally, my twenty-year-old hip has now given up to I shall be going into hospital sometime soon for a revision.

Now we need to do some catching up

Sonia Rolt born 15 Apr 1919, died 22 Oct 2014

Sonia Rolt is known for being the widow of Tom, or LTC Rolt, the writer and engineer whose book 'Narrow Boat' is widely credited for saving the inland waterway network. She was also, however, a remarkable woman in her own right: a former Vice-President of the IWA, an author, campaigner and recipient of the OBE in 2010 for services to industrial archaeology and heritage.
Sonia Rolt was born Sonia South in New York. When World War 2 was declared, she abandoned her acting career and went to work in the Hoover factory installing electrical wiring in Lancaster bombers,  Whilst there she answered a Ministry of Transport advert in The Times seeking women volunteers of robust constitution and good health  to work on the waterways  replacing men  who had gone to war.  With her two flat-mates she was accepted . In 1944 they were given new badges to wear with the initials IW  (for Inland Waterways) This was soon changed to Idle Women by the men they came into contact with on the canals.The Idle Women took on the back-breaking labour of transporting essential cargoes by canal, when the boatmen who usually did this work were conscripted. When Sonia joined the Idle Women she had no knowledge of the canals, but her new venture led to a life-long love affair with our inland waterways.
Sonia married a working boatman, George Smith, and stayed on the canals after the war. She became increasingly politically active – campaigning for better conditions for the boat people – and eventually met Tom at a screening of Painted Boats in 1945.
Sonia and Tom spent much of their time campaigning for the future of the British canal system, and their efforts directly contributed to the formation of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) in 1946. They were actively involved with the IWA for many years, with Sonia going on to become Vice President. Her marriage to George Smith broke down in 1950 due to this relationship with Tom Rolt and the couple married.  When Sir John Smith founded the Landmark Trust in 1965 to preserve small buildings of historical or architectural importance Sonia worked for 20 years sourcing books and furniture . Later, she fulfilled a similar role for the National Trust, She was an active member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) for many years.
Through the publication of Narrow Boat, Sonia’s second husband Tom deservedly became the oft-quoted saviour of the inland waterways. However, it is clear that our treasured canals and rivers are better places thanks to the tireless efforts and dedication of Sonia Rolt herself.

Endeavour

Since returning to Gecko after our travels around UK we have been watching the first two series of Endeavour which we borrowed from friends here in Circus Field. These stories recount the early life of PC Morse, the fictional character created by Colin Dexter. They are set in Oxford in the mid-1960s. Whilst the tales build a back story for the eminent Chief Inspector they tend to wrap up all the loose ends, in the last three minutes of the show somewhat in the style of Miss Marple or Midsummer Murders. I have also noticed a few inconsistencies . For instance one character purchased a ten shilling postal order for ten shillings. He did not pay the poundage on it which I recall as either three or six pence. In another episode a neighbour asks him for a tanner for the gas.  My gas meter in the 1960s took only shilling pieces and I don't remember any working on tanners. When I was in hospital around that time nurses all had to change out of their uniforms before leaving the hospital to avoid spreading infection. Perhaps that was only in London.. Notwithstanding the above I found the series entertaining.

Boating with Grandchildren

I recently had a birthday and received this card from fellow boaters 

Aldi Maths

Aldi announced yesterday that they will be opening 500 stores in the next few years, creating 35,000 jobs. This represents an average of 70 jobs per store.  I have shopped at many Aldi stores around the country but never found one with a staff of 70: most appear to have more like seven staff. Presumably some additional staff will be required in the distribution channel but if Aldi need 35,000 additional staff to open 500 stores there is something seriously wrong with their business model. Furthermore, unless the store openings are accompanied by an upsurge in demand for groceries, the new customers must transfer their patronage from a competitor who will need to downsize to accommodate the reduction in sales. So how does Aldi arrive at this figure of 35,00 additional jobs?

Thank you Scotland

Throughout the campaigning for the referendum we were repaeatedly reminded of how much the Scots have contributed to Education, Science, Business and Medicine.  we can now thank them for raising the possibility of more devolved powers from the UK government to the constituent countires. Nothing we in England could have done would have been taken seriously.
Thank you from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Tall Ships Leave London

There has been a festival at Greenwich over the last few days with over 50 Tall Ships attending from all over the world.  This afternoon they left london and went out to sea. It is 40+ years since London has seen such a fleet that we dicided it should not be missed. We took the buses from Marylebone Station to North Greenwich so we could cross the Thames by cablecar.This gave us a seagull's eye view of a few ships sailing up the river to the assemby pint at Greenwich.

I cannot offer any commentary on the following pictures except to say that we took the  photographs from the north bank near Pontoon Dock DLR station. This is a favourite spot for us to watch the river and the traffice through the Thames Barrier.

WADIHS on the Wendover Arm

Last Saturday, Aug 30, about twenty members and friends ofWatford & District Industrial History Society (WADIHS) were treated to a guided walk & talk along the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal. This was organised by Wendover Canal Trust (WAT)and started from St. Mary's Church in Drayton Beauchamp. Before the guided visit to the restoration work, home-made cakes and coffee were provided by the ladies of WAT. In preparation for the walk  Ray Orth of WAT gave a short talk on the restoration work putting it into the historical context of the Grand Junction Canal.

Built originally to channel water from  the springs around Wendover to meet the main line of the Grand Junction Canal at Bulbourne, it follows the 391ft contour which is about 20ft higher than the top of  St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Soon after work started it was realised that for another £13000 it could be made navigable for which authority was granted in 1794. This water feed is critical for the GU Canal asTring Summit, which it supplies, is the main source of water  for all boat movements between Milton Keynes and the Thames. Every boat which crosses Tring Summit takes 100,000 gallons of water with it.
Soon after completion of the Wendover Canal it was found to leak and for over 100 years various measures were taken to remedy the situation. One method adopted was to lay asphalt. The coal tar, a by-product of the gas industy,  was brought in by boat and  mixed with ash on site. It was  layed across the bed of the canal but provided a very short-lived improvement before it failed. In some places remains of the asphalt are still visible amongst the weed growth on the banks.
A full history of the canal can be found on the WAT website

The restoration process involves laying a waterproof membrane of Bentomat. This comprises two sheets of a porous fabric with small granules of clay sandwiched between. When water comes into contact with the clay granules they expand  to form an impervious layer. Below the intended waterline concrete blocks are laid to stabilise the bank: above the waterline coir rolls are used to encourage vegetation. This provides a habitat for small animals and plants whilst softening the line of the canal bank.
In 1973 Little Tring bridge was demolished as the local council had decided it was too weak to carry modern traffic. Despite considerable local protest the wrecking ball was brought it. The first swing at the bridge bounced off so decisively that it could not be used safely and the bridge was dismantled brick by brick. Then, as now, it is not possible for  anyone in authority to admit they were wrong and an embankment was constructed cutting the canal off completely about a mile from the main line.

One of the major achievements of WAT has been this lovely replacement of this bridge.  (at a cost of £260,000)




A picture of the original bridge is available on the WAT site from which you can see how faithfully they have recreated it in solid concrete with brick facing and parapet.

Where did these columns come from?

From here it is but a short walk to Tringford Pumping Station where we were given a guided tour by John Kearsy, the southern region water resources manager for C&RT, who came off his holiday for us.
Once the canal was closed completely in 1904 the reservoirs, which had been built as boat traffic increased the demand for water in the summit pound, were able to do their job without water draining away down the Wendover Arm.  By this time the management of water had become quite complicated and other pumping stations, notably one at Whitehouses, were built to augment Tringford.

The smallest capacity pump has been operating since 1927.

Originally powered by a Boulton & Watt steam engines, all pumping is now electric. The annual electricity bill for this operation is £30,000.  When the Wendover Arm is restored completely this will all be saved. There seems to me to be an incentive for C&RT to assist in the restoration work.
Untill C&RT sees the sense in this, WAT  has to rely on cash donations and an ever ageing band of volunteers.

The remains of Whitehouses Pumping Station which C&RT will restore to working order.







As we walked round the end of the restored section a launch came up to wind.