Bugsworth Tippler

David Blagrove reconstructed 'The Ballad of Tom Beechy' from fragments according to the sleeve notes of the lp by The Boatmen 'Straight from the Tunnel's Mouth. The tune was close to one he heard being sung by an elderly man at The Greyhound, Hawkesbury Junction in 1962. He says he 'added a few words to fill in the gaps'. It would be nice to have more details about how much was collected and how much written. Then we could judge if this was indeed a traditional boater's song. Is anyone able to ask David?

Andy Robinson, a canal boat dweller possibly in the Leicester area I believe, contactable via this link, is looking for sponsorship to release Buz's CD. Unfortunately it appears you have to join the reverbnation web-site to contact him (or Facebook or similar). I don't really want to do this so if anyone knows how he can be contacted that would be very helpful.

I have the CD 'Water and Rain' but was unaware of any others by Buz Collins. Does anyone have a copy of them that they could copy/lend/sell me so that the lyrics of any of his canal songs can be preserved? Similarly does anyone have a copy of the Waterworld programme or know when it was broadcast? More information about Buz would be welcome. I know of his parental folk connection but little else. Thanks Ian

I am responsible for the Songs of the Inland Waterways website. All the recordings featuring canal songs (which I know about) can be found in the Reference section. If anyone has any additional information regarding canal songs or recordings I would be very pleased to hear from them.

As the person responsible for the 'Canal Songs' web-site previously mentioned I was delighted to find this thread and to be able to find out more about the Rosemary. I have taken some of the information that I have discovered and added it to the song page Songs of the Inland Waterways - The Rosemary as a foot-note. Hopefully I have got it right but would be pleased to be informed of any errors. Ian

There will be a Folk Weekend and Boat Gathering at High Lane on the Macclesfield Canal on the weekend of July 20-22nd 2012. High quality folk artists have already been booked and planning is well underway. The website www.highlanegathering.co.uk/index.html will be updated regularly as details are confirmed. Why not bookmark it and visit occasionally to see how we are getting on?

I wholeheartedly agree. Surely they could have reached a wider audience with a few well placed posters. This would have cost less. Sorry - forget about juvenile literacy rates.

A couple of years ago when Benny Graham and Johnny Handle performed their show "They're Coming Back to the Water" at the NCCC Benny revealed a 'secret plan' to flood the north-east coal mines and connect to the rest of the waterway system by submarine. Brilliant - they could get a government grant for that!

I was going to post a request seeking help as my Johnson pump has ceased to work properly, only coming on when the pressure gets very low. I take it from the previous posts that removing the pressure switch from the top of the pump is relatively straightforward. Does it need any specialist tools? I have an accumulator and a coarse filter.

If you are the first boat in a convoy going north you may experience a rather strange phenomenon which can be rather scary. You are well into the tunnel going along nicely and your headlight is showing you what's ahead, and fortunately you can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Then, all of a sudden there is a thick wall of mist and you can't see anything at all, except for brightly illuminated fog! Panic! But you just have to keep going into the thick pea-souper - what else can you do? After 10 seconds or so things clear and you breathe a sigh of relief. I think this happens when they switch on the fans and all the fumes from the boats previously passing through are suddenly sucked towards you. Spooky!

I have an 3-bladed Ecofan which has some entertainment value and let's me see from the other end of the boat whether the fire has remained on all night. I cannot detect any air movement created by it! A friend uses a 12v computer case fan (with switch) fixed to the wall above his stove. This definitely moved the air and cost a fraction of the Ecofan price. I've just discovered how many different threads there are on this topic - most confusing!

No, I wish is was! Research reveals the name of the boatman as Josh Pyke. Could this be a josher?

A boat which was owned by a property owning friend was called 'Rising Damp'. I always thought it was tempting fate.

I have been advised only to use 20/20 oil for my Bukh engine. I get it from TW Marine in Furness Vale - but have to take my own empty can!

There's some interesting time-lapse photography of boats going through Grindley Brook staircase at the following web-address http://vimeo.com/12924835.