The Virtual Adventrues of Augmented Reality Indigo Dream (ARID)
Day 6: Saturday 9th May
Well here we are, the last day and, as befits a BCN Challenge crew nearing the finishing line, we were getting really tired. Those of us that have completed the real thing agreed that this event, held over 6 days, was way harder!
1. Outline Cruising Log
| FROM |
TO |
MILES |
LOCKS |
TIME
IN |
TIME
OUT |
| Bromford Junction (via Spon Lane Locks) |
Spon Lane Junction |
0.5 |
3 |
09:00:00 |
09:27:00 |
| Spon Lane Junction |
Oldbury Locks Junction |
0.5 |
0 |
09:27:00 |
09:39:00 |
| Oldbury Locks Junc |
Old Loop East |
0.25 |
0 |
09:39:00 |
09:45:00 |
| Houghton chem junc |
Houghton chem term |
0.5 |
0 |
09:45:00 |
09:57:00 |
| Houghton chem term |
Houghton chem junc |
0.5 |
0 |
09:57:00 |
10:09:00 |
| Oldbury Loop East |
Oldbury Loop West |
1 |
0 |
10:09:00 |
10:33:00 |
| Old Loop West |
Brades Hall Junction |
0.6 |
0 |
10:33:00 |
10:47:24 |
| Brades Hall Junction |
Tipton Junction |
1.5 |
0 |
10:47:24 |
11:23:24 |
| Tipton Junction |
Tipton Green Junction |
0.5 |
0 |
11:23:24 |
11:35:24 |
| Tipton Green Junc |
Watery Lane Junc |
0.5 |
3 |
11:35:24 |
12:02:24 |
| Watery Lane Junc |
Toll End Junc |
1.5 |
7 |
12:02:24 |
13:13:24 |
| Toll End Junction |
Tame Valley Junction |
0.5 |
0 |
13:13:24 |
13:25:24 |
| Tame Valley Junction |
Moorcroft Junction |
1 |
0 |
13:25:24 |
13:49:24 |
| Moorcroft Junct (Br btm) |
Bradley top Locks Junct |
1 |
9 |
13:49:24 |
14:58:24 |
| Bradley Top lk Junc |
Bradley Marr Jnc |
0.4 |
0 |
14:58:24 |
15:08:00 |
| Bradley Marr Jun |
Bradley Marr term |
0.5 |
3 |
15:08:00 |
15:35:00 |
| Bradley Marr term |
Bradley Marr Jun |
0.5 |
3 |
15:35:00 |
16:02:00 |
| Bradley Marr Jnc |
Bradley Workshop |
0.1 |
0 |
16:02:00 |
16:04:24 |
Part 1 of today’s route
Part 2 of today’s route
The last leg of the challenge
2. Detailed Cruising Log
This morning we started at the bottom of Spon Lane locks, nice easy flight of 3 locks if you avoid stirring up the mud! By the top our travel companions needed rest, little did they know that today we do loads of locks!
The crew showing signs of exhaustion as we enter the last day of the challenge 🙂
Historical Snippet: On Tuesday 19th November, the West Bromwich sirens sounded at 6.53pm, the 185th warning. This was the beginning of the West Bromwich Blitz. One local resident recalls his childhood memories when his Dad ran all the way home from Smethwick and the top of Spon Lane was in flames. With the candle factory and the wood factory up there, this made for an explosive combination.
Water supply to the Smethwick summit was a problem, and in 1778, a Boulton and Watt pumping engine was installed at the junction, to pump water back up the top three locks of the flight to the summit. Originally a set of 6 locks, but was reconstructed in 1790 to improve the water flow after the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal was built. The top lock has a split bridge which allowed horses to cross the canal without having to disconnect the towing rope, which passed through the gap between the two halves of the bridge. This particular example is, however, a 1986 reconstruction. The remaining three locks at Smethwick were duplicated at the same time. The pumping engine at the junction now served no purpose and was removed.
The turn at the top of Spon Lane is always interesting…
From Spon Lane Junction, half way down the then 6 lock flight, the main line of the canal was continued along the contours, taking a somewhat winding course to Wolverhampton. Water was supplied from reservoirs at Smethwick, by 1774 from Titford Pool, and soon from various mine pumping engines discharging into the canal. An important milestone in the establishment of Black Country industry came when John Wilkinson set up an iron works at Bradley near Bilston. In 1757 he started making iron there by coke-smelting rather than using charcoal. His example was followed by others and iron making spread rapidly across the Black Country. Another important development of the 18th century was the construction of canals to link the Black Country mines industries to the rest of the country. Between 1768 and 1772 a canal was constructed by James Brindley starting in Birmingham through the heart of the Black Country and eventually leading to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The Tipton Green Branch was completed around 1805 with 3 locks and a length of quarter of a mile. The Toll End Branch was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1783 (along with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, Broadwaters Canal, and several other branches) to provide access to a proposed new coal mine. Work was started from the Broadwaters Canal (now part of the Walsall Canal) but halted in 1784 for eight years, being completed as a closed branch with two locks in 1801. In 1806 it was decided to extend this branch to the Tipton Green Branch with further locks, and in January 1809 the Toll End Communication Canal was completed making the length 1 3/8 miles. In 1829 Thomas Telford’s BCN New Main Line (Island Line)cut across the Tipton Green Canal, forming Watery Lane Junction, and creating a de facto Tipton Green Locks Branch of three locks and a Toll End Locks Branch of seven locks. From the later 20th Century Caggy’s Boatyard occupied the basin at Watery Lane Junction. The Horseley Ironworks operated their first foundry from a site between the two branches where many iron bridges, including the Engine Arm Aqueduct (1825), two roving bridges at Smethwick Junction (1828) and Galton Bridge, were cast.
There is a fabulous aqueduct where you have a rea transport sandwich with the M5 over the top spanning over the West Coast Main Line. Our canal, the Old Main Line goes under the railway line and over the New Main Line!
Under the M5 in all its decaying glory:
We went past the bottom of Titford without going up!! Yesterday’s water shortages put us that bit behind.
We turned into the Chemical Arm and time travelled back to before the M5:
.To break up our trip along the Old Main Line, we paused briefly at Tividale Quays, and set the time machine to 2009. We were pleased to see eleven other boats moored there, on their way to the National Rally at Wolverhampton. The event was hosted by Andrew and Frances Phasey, who lived there at the time. Andrew is the new Commodore of St Pancras Cruising Club, and was planning to spend today overseeing (controlling is too rigid a word) the Club’s annual cruise on the Thames tideway from Limehouse down to Margaretness and then upstream to Teddington.
The time machine was not quite reset to today so we sawt this group of refuges from the tidal Thames arriving at Tivdale
And with the time machine correctly set, a quick view down to the Netherton Tunnel but no boats to wave at!
And yes this is the entrance to the Black Country Museum and Dudley Tunnel NOT the Chemcial Arm.
Tipton Green needed a bit of a re-dial on the timer:
Emily likes locks but found Bradley all too easy as they have single gates!
The Locks themselves represent a particular stage in the technological development of English Canals in general and The Birmingham Canal Navigations in particular. Both the Rotton Brunt Line and the new locks at Bradley were built on dead straight alignments, ignoring any minor changes in the contour and taking the most time-efficient route. The locks were amongst the last on the BCN to have a single gate at top and bottom, the original Birmingham Canal Locks had double bottom gates as did the last the BCN Company built at Rushall and Perry Barr. The lagoons alongside each lock were a device to maximise water capacity in the short intervening pounds, and finally, the locks themselves are all at one side of the canal, not located midstream as earlier locks were. It is thought that this feature, which is shared by the locks at Oldbury and Perry Barr, was to make subsequent duplication straightforward. Thus restoring the locks allows access to and understanding of a particular phase of canal development.
Bradley Lock 7
Bradley Top Lock:
Bradley Loop
Obviously wonderful that is being pushed for restoration:
Later on, we retraced our steps between Toll End Junction and Moorcroft Junction, before turning up the Bradley Arm. It wasn’t entirely clear if the scrutineers would notice if we claimed points for these two sections, but we decided honesty was best. To travel up the Bradley Locks, we bravely set our time machine to 2035, confident that by then the restoration would have been completed. We approached the final lock on the flight with some trepidation, as one of the options for the restoration would see it moved to the other side of the site of Bradley lane bridge. Another option involves a new aqueduct being built over the road, or a boat lift, but these seem less practicable than a new swing bridge.
For our last section of canal, we ventured down the Bradley Marr canal, which enabled us to complete our only staircase locks all week. Documentation is poor for this stretch, so there was some argument amongst the crew as to whether we should expect to find side ponds (red before white and all that), or something similar to the pair of locks on the Stourbridge Canal (not a staircase, strictly), or whether the design was similar to that on the Brades Hall branch (where it is possible to flood the lower lock if you are not careful). This debate delayed us for a few minutes, meaning we arrived at the Bradley depot a few minutes after 4pm.
Quick proof that we are moored up at Bradley Workshops…
3. Daily Challenge and 4. From the Galley
This morning I was informed that my crew had complained to the organisers that they were starved and such food as was offered to them was little more than swill. I admit I was a little hurt to find out that the crew had been complaining of starvation on board. Indigo Dream prides herself on the quality of her catering, even to the extent of having James Martin, celebrity chef cooking on board while we mooched around Brindley Place and the Soho Loop in July 2018.
This particular episode of Great British Adventures was broadcast on 25th February 2019.
James Martin cooking on the Soho Loop of the BCN
The famousArchie Beanz and some geezer off the TV.
Sadly, James Martin was not available at short notice to help with today’s challenge, so I used a few of his recipes instead.
To stop the crew revolting while I was preparing a gourmet lunch, Emily prepared us a trendy breakfast of crushed avocado and poached egg on toast:
In the meanwhile, I got on with these vegetarian recipes from James Martin:
· Salt-baked Celeriac
· Twice-Baked Cheese Souffles
I also baked a batch of Cheesy Chomps (click here for the recipe) for the greyhounds – though they are made with wholesome ingredients and are often eaten by greyhound mums who report that they are like cheesy hobnobs!
Finally, for something sweet, I knocked up a batch of scones and served them up with whipped double cream and home-made jam – the last pot of the jam that I made to commemorate last year’s BCN Challenge. I don’t know whether the judges are party to the debate on whether the cream or the jam goes first, so I served them in separate pots to suit both Cornish and Devonian sides of the argument.
This was our gourmet lunch and guess what? We did NOT gain any bonus points for the challenge!
The thing with revolting crews is that they’re never satisfied – “Where’s the bacon?” cried the meat eaters. Emily quickly knocked up a batch of pancakes which she served with maple syrup and crispy bacon. But we know our crew, in order to save complaints from our vegetarians, there were also fresh blueberries to go with the pancakes!
In case there were any doubt that the gourmet lunch had been prepared today by my own fair hands, I recorded some insructional videos – I only wish I could have included the aroma!
5. Tales from the Geistersammler (Ghost Collector)
I had a busy morning cooking, so I didn’t deploy the Geistersammler until later afternoon. Two very familiar figures came into the cabin – they seemed to be having a wrangling argument which I suspected had been going on in the afterlife for quite some time…
“I tell you; it was less expensive and equally beneficial to carry the canal over Smethwick than to tunnel under it…” James Brindley’s voice had a weary whining quality.
“Nonsense, man!” Telford replied, with his trademark brusqueness. Your old mainline was little better than a crooked ditch. This great and flourishing town deserved better!”
“How dare you impugn my reputation!” Brindley blustered.
“It’s not about you. It’s about trade, and industry and making the best of the resources we have. Efficiency, that’s the thing!”
“And the cost of your efficiency? I was commissioned to bring the canals to Birmingham, my designs suited the lay of the land and the pockets of the shareholders.”
“Aye, the shareholders bought it cheap and paid later. What about all the delays at your accursed Smethwick locks? I won’t even mention the basest behaviours they fostered – quarrelling boatmen, fights over who was to enter the locks first and the incessant complaints of the factory owners.”
“That’s as may be, but my canals reached the very heart and soul of this city, passing by industries left marooned by your bypassing monstrosity.”
“Ahem, gentlemen.” I interrupted them before Telford could get his oar in again. “That fact is, that now, in 2020, we boaters enjoy both of your canals. Mr Brindley, the twists and turns of your old main line are interesting and tranquil, they allow us to take time to explore the city’s hidden past.”
Telford humphed dismissively while Brindley preened.
“But Mr Telford, your Main Line is obviously a marvel of engineering, so straight, so deep, so fast…”
“See, your canal is but a bypass, allowing boats to pass through with little regard for the city.” Said Brindley triumphantly. “Hah! So, you would associate yourself with these idlers who come to the canals to holiday rather than work, such company suits you well…”
I shook my head and cut the connection to the Geistersammler and wondered how many more centuries the two great engineers would spend in debate…
As I turned away, I felt greyhound leaning against me. I stretched out my hand, but it passed right through Archie’s ghost.
“I wondered whether you’d come to visit.” I said.
“Oh yes, all the BCN Challenge crews are here.” Answered Archie, who had always been very eloquent for a greyhound.
I looked out of the window, Blue and Lou, our crew in 2009, were rolling in the long green grass at Bradley Workshops – they’d been very bored on the Wednesbury Oak Loop as we cruised slowly up the weed-strewn canal, stopping to clear the propeller every five minutes.
Blue – the original Indigo Dreamer crewing on the BCN Challenge in 2009
Lou, another original in every sense of the word 🙂
I looked around. Ranger T Dawg, crew of 2011, was lying on deck with Lynx. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Herbie Beanz stealing the ghost of a hot chicken from the kitchen counter.
“How did he get that chicken?” I asked.
“Well, you bought one for Saffy and Alex didn’t you!” said Archie smugly.
“But they ate it!” I said.
Archie sighed, “Yes, and now it’s a ghost chicken so Herbs can eat it again.” There was a clatter as Henry B Beanz managed to open the lid of the bin and rummage noisily in the contents – some things really didn’t change, in this life or the next. I heard a dainty huff, Freya, curled up on a nest of dog beds, clearly didn’t approve of Henry’s uncouth behaviour.
I found a perch on the sofa and Archie cuddled up to me.
“I miss you Archie, I so wanted you to crew for us one more time, but I had a feeling that 2018 would be the last one for you and Henry.”
“I’m here at the finish line, that’s what’s important.” He said, “and we did train Harmony to be the crew of the future.”
“That you did, and you trained Alex too, though Saffy’s had to learn all by herself – it’s quite possible that she might be better at digging canals than cruising on them…
“But Archie, how is it you’re all here? I turned the Geistersammler off ages ago.”
Archie nudged my chest with his nose. “We’re all here, in the heart and soul of Indigo Dream. We don’t need a machine to visit, we never really went away.”
Harmony, Alex and Saffy greyhounds stepped on deck after being out for a walk at the finish line. Our ghostly visitors vanished, but I could still feel them nearby, forever and always…
Indigo Dreaming 
Another historic day on every level – some canals on which we have our history, historic canals that no longer exist and a historic landmark – the end of World War 2 in Europe (an important distinction!).
In the present day, it was gloriously warm and sunny, though this report from the Birmingham Mail reports that 75 years ago “the skies over the city were filled with rain” :
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/ve-day-birmingham-what-happened-9199482
In doing some research on the day, I found this useful reminder in the archives of the Imperial War Museum:
“Not everyone celebrated VE Day. For those who had lost loved ones in the conflict, it was a time to reflect. Amidst the street parties and rejoicing, many people mourned the death of a friend or relative, or worried about those who were still serving overseas. For many of the widows the war had produced, the noise and jubilation as people celebrated VE Day was too much to bear and not something they could take part in.
There was also an air of anti-climax. The hardships of the war years had taken their toll on many people and left them with little energy for rejoicing. In Britain, the strain of air raids, the strictures of wartime life and the impact of rationing all left their mark on a weary population who knew there were more difficulties yet to endure. ”
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-ve-day
But many thousands (or millions) celebrated, letting go of their fears and worries for a day:
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/gallery/stunning-pictures-ve-day-celebrations-18165692
As did many of today’s boaters, displaying bunting and medals…
Our first historic canal was Danks – seen here on an old OS map:
It’s surrounded by iron works, though the name “Golds Hill” is a misnomer as the only gold here was black in the form of a rich coal seam.
Golds Hill ironworks has a fascinating history – it was a family-run business, you could almost call it dynastic, and in the sprit of yesterday’s philanthropists, the crew found a few extracts from the obituary of James Bagnall, sixth son of John Bagnall, whom I believe owned Golds Ironworks along with many others. James Bagnall apparently “took great interest in the moral and spiritual welfare of his work people. Schools were built by the firm at Gold‘s Hill for the benefit of their children, which were licenced for Divine worship, and a chaplain was appointed in June, 1853. These institutions he continued to support until his death; and while others similarly situated, when they had acquired a fortune, left the smoky district and retired into the country, he continued to reside among his own people to the last.”
I particularly liked this quote from a eulogy delivered at his funeral – “…And I recollect, also, on two or three occasions, being present at what was at the time an annual Christmas sight, viz., the giving away in great profusion blankets, sheets, shirts, flannels, and other things to persons represented to him as being deserving of his benevolence; and at that time his eye would sparkle with pleasure, his whole Countenance would be beaming with benignity; and, as the recipients of his bounty, one and all, thanked him, I have heard him say, ‘Don’t thank me, my friends, but thank God for what I give you – He gave it to me. My father was at one time a man of the people, and see how greatly the Lord has blessed him and his children!’”
It seems that Cadbury’s great reform in Bourneville was more representative of the spirit of industrial Birmingham than I’d ever imagined.
I’ll share a few photographs before we move on from this fascinating branch:
And how it looked in real life…
This an etching of the Leabrook Works – for all the good deeds, ironworking was still a hard, polluting industry.
After the excitement of the ironworks, we settled into a gentler rhythm, enjoying a few canals that we’ve cruised before…
Ryders Green Locks…
And the view down…
Wednesbury Old Canal (Ridgeacre Stub – taken by crew on bikes as cruising it in the present day is strictly forbidden!)
We moored overnight at the bottom of Spon Lane Locks, having traversed the oldest section of the BCN. Once we arrived there, we quickly dialled back to April 1769, to attempt the rescue of the first person who drowned in the canal, and was found floating near there. No luck, sadly, though maybe it’s just as well, as the laws of causality have a lot to say about not attempting to change the past.
We did take note that the canal company were advertising at that time for a “sober diligent man of unexceptional Character, who understands Accounts”. We concluded that nobody on board Indigo Dream fitted this description.
We also observed a lot of poor behaviour amongst the boatmen queuing for the locks. This was only finally solved in 1838 when the new main line was built. A contemporary reported “In consequence of this improvement Mr Telford ought to have had a public reward for introducing good manners among boatmen, who formerly seldom passed without quarrels and imprecations, arising from the difficulty and delay of passing the towing line below the inner boar; whereas now the meet and pass in good humour and with mutual salutations”
Ah yes, that s the spirit of the BCN Marathon Challenge 🙂
Bromfrod Junction – our overnight mooring.
3. Daily Challenge
Today’s challenge was, well, challenging, because, as this limerick describes, Indigo Dream has a pretty uncluttered roof – mainly because I’m only 5′ 2″ and struggle to helm if I can’t see – even Richard’s bike has folding pedals and handlebars.
Why Indigo Dream’s Roof is Clear…
A wise woman from Wales once said
“Don’t put stuff on your roof you don’t want on your head”
For low bridges and branches
Will sweep and dislodge them
And wearing your chimney will wreck your street cred!
I was also immediately reminded of Nb Herbie’s famous blog post about how to define boaters by the appearance of their roofs…
http://nbherbie.blogspot.com/2010/07/judging-boat-and-its-owner-by-roof.html
However, photographs of actual boat roofs were banned from this challenge so we had to be more creative.
Here is our video entry accompanied by a poem.
Note: We found the robin’s nest abandoned in a shed last year – no birds were harmed in the making of this video.
I’ve been tinkering with the “script” below…
Indigo’s Dream Roof
Were all bridges as tall as titans
And trees were all well-trimmed
Our roof would soon be brightened
And with wondrous items brimmed.
***
For all important navigation
A sundial points us to the light,
Signs (port and sherry) lead us to libation,
The telescope guides
us home on a starry, starry night
***
To help us breathe and stay alive
We have mushrooms that will satisfy.
Defibrillators do save lives
But may work better if kept inside.
***
The oils are there to keep us loose,
The mooring rope will keep us tight.
The scrap will pay for some fine foods
For the barbecue tonight.
***
We should flick the feather duster,
The mop and bucket should be cleaning.
But is dirt such a disaster?
To be honest, we’d rather be boating!
**
We have chainsaw, logs and chimney,
Complete with robin’s nest on the top,
So until they’re hatched and flying free
The fiery stove will be on stop.
***
We’re equipped as per regulations
With lights, anchor and fender,
The flag of our proud nations
Enhances our roof’s splendour.
***
We have a bicycle made for two.
The barometer’s set for fair.
We have some dodgy homebrew,
You’re welcome to come and share.
Today’s challenge was
4. From the Galley
As it is VE Day, I decided to look into what food might have been available for the actual celebrations, given that many basic foodstuffs had been rationed for so long.
I was heartened to find that celebrants were given extra sugar rations to enable them to bake a cake for the day. The Board of Trade also announced that people could purchase red, white and blue bunting without using ration coupons. Alcohol was an important part of the celebrations – many people had squirrelled away bottles for this “much-dreamed-of occasion” and it was interesting that first thing on the morning of VE Day, Churchill had “gained assurances from the Ministry of Food that there were enough beer supplies in the capital”.
Speaking of Churchill and alcohol, today’s Gin is Boodles Mulberry gin. This was originally named after the Pall Mall Gentleman’s Club called Boodles. Boodles Gin used to be enjoyed by Sir Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming. It dates back to 1845 but over time it became increasingly difficult to find. It hadn’t been available at all in the UK for a long time, until it was relaunched in 2013.
Apparently onions were a big thing and if someone got hold of an onion they’d “sit around and look at it. It was just like a beautiful, beautiful thing”.
This photograph is for them…
Given the shortage of sugar, I was surprised to read that the wartime government really promoted the cause of preserving and made extra sugar rations available for that purpose. I guess it’s getting the balance right – the profligacy of using sugar against the waste if fruit and vegetables were not preserved. As a particularly keen marmalade makes I was fascinated by this quote:
“If you got an orange, you’d use the zest in one dish and the juice in another, and you might use one slice in your saved gin and reuse it for three nights running. Then you would keep the husk that you zested and juiced and use that to stew up perhaps with some water and sugar to make some form of syrup to flavour things. Or you might pulp it and mix it up with butter and make it into orange curd, which you’d use sparingly. ”
A wealth of citrus fruit
As you’ll see when I post “Tales from the Geistersammler” the “Idle Women” who worked canal boats (usually between Birmingham and London” during the war, were not given extra rations, despite the heavy work expected of them. One report says that they mainly survived on cocoa made with condensed milk, the truly horrible sounding “national loaf” and peanut butter, together with vegetables and fruit that they, ahem, foraged from the towpaths and surrounding fields.
At the same time, crumble became the sweet dish of choice – crumble topping could be made with less fat to flour than pastry and needed relatively little sugar, and no eggs (ok, only rich pastries need eggs!).
In tribute to the Idle Women, I acquired a rhubarb crumble and served it with evaporated milk (I didn’t have a tin of condensed in the cupboard). I also made a cup of cocoa using cocoa powder and condensed milk – I actually like evaporated milk but the cocoa was pretty thick and ‘orrible, though it was sweet enough without any extra sugar. However, the cocoa was hot and rich and filling – after a cold day on the canals it might have been just the thing.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205021981
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2015/05/08/ve-day-2015-back-in-1945-this-is-what-you-ate-to-celebrate-5185160/?ito=cbshare
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/world_war_two_foods
5. Tales from the Geistersammler (Ghost Collector)
We thought we’d spend part of the day in 1945 so that we could witness some of Birmingham’s VE Day celebrations. We didn’t stay long – it was their event to celebrate, having lived through the fear and privation of war.
We were enjoying a cup of tea when an old woman popped out of the Geistersammler.
“I’d love a cuppa.” She said. “Ooh, is that real milk? Sorry, where are my manners, I’m Sarah Fanshawe, Idle Woman. It’s good to be back on a boat again.”
I poured her a cup, it was a bit strong after stewing in the pot, but I doubt if she’d notice after she loaded three spoonfuls of sugar and what looked like half a pint of milk into her mug.
“Sugar and fresh milk…” she smacked her lips with relish, “Nectar of the gods! You learn to appreciate these things when you’ve lived on condensed milk. Cheers!”
She lifted her mug and slurped a big mouthful.
“If must have been hard to be an old lady in the war. How on earth did you manage on the working boats?”
She looked at me askance.
“I was old when I died, that’s me out there…”
I looked out of the window – the road adjacent to the canal was thronged with people, laughing and singing. One was a tall woman in her early twenties, wearing thick trousers, a linen short and a red kerchief. She looked strong and fit. Sarah caught me staring.
“They wanted women with a ‘robust constitution’ – no more plain Jane for me, I was useful, had a place in world, no need for my mother to worry that no-one would court a gangling girl like me.”
I looked again at young Sarah dancing in the street. Her face was alight with joy.“So you never married?” I asked.
“Huh, you sound like my mother, of course I married, see that ring on my finger?” She held out a spectral hand, a tiny solitaire diamond glittered alongside a plain gold band.
“My Ted proposed in 1939, but her was whisked off to war before we could get wed. I got a few letters but then he was captured.”
“You look so happy there though.”
“That’s because they’d liberated his camp a few days before, I’d just heard he was coming home.”
Sarah’s ghost was rather conventional, twinset and pearls, narrow court shoes, beautifully styled hair. I looked again at her younger self, wild and free.
“I was proud to be an Idle Women, though I hate that they called us that. Millie, Janet and me worked a motor and butty between here and London. It was hard, hard work but we were fit, like trees on windswept moors are fit. I was always cold and hungry – they never gave us extra rations, not like the Land Girls, and some shops along the way wouldn’t take coupons from Birmingham.”
“What did you eat then?”
“We made thick hot cocoa from condensed milk; there was always the national loaf though it always crumbled into mush when we tried to spread anything on it. Sometimes we had peanut butter. We took the odd potato or swede from the fields around the canal. We never felt guilty about that, after all, we were part of the war effort. The autumn was the best, we picked blackberries until our hands were stained purple, and saved our sugar ration to make crumble from windfall apples”
“Did you carry on working after VE day?” I asked. “You look so independent there.
“I wanted to be married, to be a wife and a mother. I saved all my coupons so that I’d have enough fabric for a wedding dress. I knew of some empty houses on our road that we could squat in and start our lives together, me and Ted.”
“Did you have a good life?””I had a life, which many didn’t. I won’t say it wasn’t hard, Ted and me had seen things that no-one should really, and I was used to wearing the trousers, literally. But when the children came I found a new place in the world and yes, I had a good life.”
She looked indulgently at her younger self. I thought she might regret the passing of her youth and freedom, but she seemed contented enough.“It’s been nice to visit you dear, but I think you’d better send me back now. Ted is waiting for his tea…”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvmtnrd
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/caring-for-our-heritage/heritage-team-blog/heritage-team/idle-women-the-land-girls-of-the-waterways
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Loaf