Rolt "Narrow Boat"

[MartinC]

I have just re-read the book.

 

In describing his trip from Fradley, Rolt writes about the smell coming from a milk processing plant which he notices at Shade House and Wood End locks and discovers the plant after passing through "Bromley Common Lock". Anybody got any ideas?

[XAlan W]

I have just re-read the book.

 

In describing his trip from Fradley, Rolt writes about the smell coming from a milk processing plant which he notices at Shade House and Wood End locks and discovers the plant after passing through "Bromley Common Lock". Anybody got any ideas?

Sorry computer ``Glich`` Edited August 1, 2012 by AlanW

[XAlan W]

I have just re-read the book.

 

In describing his trip from Fradley, Rolt writes about the smell coming from a milk processing plant which he notices at Shade House and Wood End locks and discovers the plant after passing through "Bromley Common Lock". Anybody got any ideas?

 

Yes up to mid sixtys there was a milk processing plant on the left, right on the cut[boating towards Gt Haywood] by the road bridge, a lot of pipes spewing steam, water, & effluent into the cut.The cut for approx 200metres up stream & almost right down stream to the lock,the water was black & if you had a loaded boat & stirred up the bottom which happened all the way up from the lock to the plant,the SMELL was unbelievable Like stagnant rotten drains/sour milk.Towards the end of my boating,in 1972. IIRC the plant was still there but I think it was only used as a collection/ storage point as there seemed to be a number of small tankers + the occasional large tankers going in & out. Not sure if it was the same building that Blossom used to moor Minnow by[may have got this wrong]

[twbm]

That would tie in with the Environment Agency's current response to milk spillages affecting water courses, which they treat much more seriously than fuel spillages. I'm told the bacteria in milk eat up all the oxygen in the water as they rapidly multiply and can quickly kill any fish or plant life.

[gaggle]

Bit off topic but my sister insists that milk can /does go back to processing plant to be re pastuerised up to five times when not sold off the shop shelves , is this the case , she told me to look on the milk container so see the number that denotes what stage /number of cycles it had gone through, she lives in spain but when she is in uk she has shops up the wall checking such things before she will allow into her bag.

[Chertsey]

Yes up to mid sixtys there was a milk processing plant on the left, right on the cut[boating towards Gt Haywood] by the road bridge, a lot of pipes spewing steam, water, & effluent into the cut.The cut for approx 200metres up stream & almost right down stream to the lock,the water was black & if you had a loaded boat & stirred up the bottom which happened all the way up from the lock to the plant,the SMELL was unbelievable Like stagnant rotten drains/sour milk.Towards the end of my boating,in 1972. IIRC the plant was still there but I think it was only used as a collection/ storage point as there seemed to be a number of small tankers + the occasional large tankers going in & out. Not sure if it was the same building that Blossom used to moor Minnow by[may have got this wrong]

Aha, I moored there too for a while. I think Blossom called it the cheese wharf, and it did used to be a dairy processing plant. That is at Kings Bromley, right next to where the marina now is. Would that be the same place?

It was a grim mooring by the way.

[MartinC]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I thought it could be Kings Bromley but I was a bit thrown by the reference to Bromley Common lock.

[Derek R.]

Which reminds me of a Goon Show classic, the title of which eveades me, but Minnie's partner Henry Crun was heard to say in a faltering quavering voice:

 

"Don't go near - The C-a-n-aaaaal!"

[XAlan W]

Aha, I moored there too for a while. I think Blossom called it the cheese wharf, and it did used to be a dairy processing plant. That is at Kings Bromley, right next to where the marina now is. Would that be the same place?

It was a grim mooring by the way.

 

Yes looking on the map I guess it was by the Kings Bromley road bridge, although in my day there was no marina, it was after Wood End lock heading towards Gt Haywood, back in those days apart from the smell, you didn`t usually have any bother until a bit further along by the housing estate, were the Mattress, chestnut pailing fencing slalom began,It was on the same side as the milk plant. Back then IIRC it was a dreary bit of cut from Wood End through to the Haywood side of Armitage. As on that stretch you had to run the gauntlet of all the Loo`s glaring at you though the factory windows + jets of watery mixtures shooting out into the cut, the non pollution of the waterways didn`t seem very high on the agenda back then. company's seemed to extract water & replace with all manner of junk & nobody took any notice, & people say [ ah the good old days, when you used to have to carry a sheet of plywood to help stop leaky gates to be able to make a level, & a goodly supply of stove ash to rack the gates, folk used to tip their ash pans lock side for those that didn`t have any

[IanM]

Bit off topic but my sister insists that milk can /does go back to processing plant to be re pastuerised up to five times when not sold off the shop shelves , is this the case , she told me to look on the milk container so see the number that denotes what stage /number of cycles it had gone through, she lives in spain but when she is in uk she has shops up the wall checking such things before she will allow into her bag.

 

 

Not true...

 

"Tetra Pak Romania answered a rumour launched by e-mail according to which the pasteurized milk not sold during the availability period is retreated from the shelf, re-pasteurized, packed and reintroduced in sale points. The message says also that re-pasteurization can be repeated, the printed figure on the back of the box (2,3,4 or 5) indicating the re-pasteurization number. The electronic message is accompanied by an UHT Tetra Pak milk box photograph on which 1 is circled.

 

In a press release Tetra Pak says that “The rumour according to which the pasteurized milk would be reprocessed up to 5 times is false and it has started from a wrong interpretation of numbers found on Tetra Pak packaging”.

 

The packaging producer explains the meaning of the printed figure on the back of the packages, which is obvious in the photograph accompanying the message:” The packaging in the photo is an aseptic packaging (Tetra Pak Aseptic) for UHT milk (Ultra High Temperature) and not for pasteurized milk as shown in the Internet message. That number (circled in the photograph) refers to the roll number on which the packaging material is printed; the printing equipment used in Tetra Pak plants usually has 5 rolls."

 

http://www.packagingeurope.com/NewsDetails.aspx?nNewsId=28159