Jump to content

My dad, the Macmillan fundraiser!

Tony Wonfor

By Tony Wonfor
in General Boating

 Share

Featured Posts

Doorman Veteran

Doorman

Posted
Posted

For those on Face Book he is here https://www.facebook.com/john.wonfor.5

Cheers, I never thought of looking there.

 

It looks as though he's still venturing on towards home. His accounts of the trip are worthy of a book and it sounds as though he's met some characters along the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Peter-Bullfinch Rising Star

Peter-Bullfinch

Posted
Posted

Met John just south of Leicester on Saturday and he stopped for meal with us.We went to the Cricketers Arms with John and Jack who had done a few locks with him. Late night together! After bacon and egg butty breakfast we parted on Sunday. What a great man and a real inspiration too.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tony Wonfor Engager

Tony Wonfor

Posted
  • Author
Posted

sorry guys and gals, I've been extremely busy and have had no time to even talk to him for a while let alone post any "blogs"

 

sunday monday.sunday monday.
from the crows nest to thrapton was uneventful, except that i was flagged down by " tree" she wanted to donate, good luck with your boat problem.
and thanks to the lads that took an interest in my trip , shame i did not pay attention to what i was doing , i raised the main gate but i did not close the vee gates , as a result the gates slammed shut causing a sunami through the chamber , my poor boat took another almighty whack , i now have to pump out thee times a day .
i end up in thrapton , three pubs , one is closed , one does not do food on mondays , and one serves a dinner no bigger than a starter, its six now and i have not eaten all day , i am having peanuts for afters, nice.
now for a whinge, i have been doing this trip for nearly two months , a couple of times , stupidly putting my life on the line to complete the course.
i have funded this venture my self , and what have i received from "macmillan " a donation bucket , which i had to collect , and setting up the tribute fund , for their benefit .
who ever is out there reading this , and to all those kind people who have donated i promise you that i will sort them out when i get back , as peter cook and dudley moore once said " what a way to run a fu**in ballroom, i will sort them .
as for the nurses , they are angels , all of them .
monday .
left thrapton,drove for miles and miles in glorious country side with only a few locks here and there , a fabulous day, i end up in yarwell , i did it again nothing to eat all day , my fault .
got a map from ian the river inspector , thanks but it still does not show the most easterly point , does it exist , its like looking for " eldorado" .
due to macmillan lack of effort i feel like calling it a day at brandon , boating back to yorkshire seems to have lost its edge , maybe i am sulking, see you .
thanks to the environmental agency lad who gave all the change he could find on his dashboard .
macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor to donate or keep up.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

i was going to retract every thing i said about macmillans lack of effort tomorrow , but i could not sleep on it untill then , i was not aware until just a while ago of just how must they are promoting this trip , i missed a couple of calls that they made , and they did , i just let my big gob rip, so i whole heartedly apologise for my rant .

i dont want recognition for this on a personal level , just for macmillans efforts , think i was on a downer , again.
as my carol would say " you and your big gob " she was never wrong that one .
sorry macmillan .

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

i would first like to apologise one last time for my uncalled for comments regarding macmillan , they are and always have been in my opinion the foremost charity, because they take on the unsavoury job of helping us in our exit from this world , they also help those left behind , a noble cause.

ps to above , sorry to robyn of macmillan who has helped loads .
back to the trip , my boat is sinking , faster every day , so i pump it out faster, simples.
i leave yarwell mill holiday park , a very nice set up if your into caravanning , a few locks and i see the" stibbington diner" , me and carol used to stop there often when on the A1 ,so i went on a sentimental journey for breakfast , not before being stopped by peter, dianne, dave, and anne , they made me tea and we chatted for a while plus a donation , how i miss these type of folk , on the river you dont meet too many people at all , thanks you lot, plus i get a lift to the diner .
i arrive at peterborough town centre , i need petrol but find none , but i did buy a pork pie instead .
the people moored next to me " ian and carron " invite me in for dinner , and very nice too , thanks , plus they invite me to share the lock at staniland in the morning , another nag and bed .
wed.
got up earlyish , as i did a lovely lady named anne had been told that i was thereabouts in peterborough by steve her husband , she tracked me down somehow , dragged me to asdas for breakfast, i was not allowed to pay , plus a nice donation , and another nag , it seems to get me through the day all this chatting .
back to the sinking ship , more pumping and of to stanground lock , where my tiller falls off in midstream , but i dont panic any more , luckily it never parted company with the boat so i fix it back on .
once out of the lock we enter the " middle level more like the middle earth , it was nothing more than a large dyke with reeds either side , nothing to see at all , but ians dog "jumble" brightened up proceedings by jumping overboard, poor thing could have drowned but sometimes you cant help but laugh , i did , sorry jumble, anyway he just swum to the back of the boat to await rescue .
march, upwell,and lastly outwell , with nothing but clogged up water and more reeds and rushes , and a nice hotel with wi-fi , beer as well , i must go on the wagon when this trip is done .
brandon creek looms , but i cant leave the next lock until five oclock tomorrow afternoon, so i have a day to kill , i will twiddle ones thumbs, good night , over all a nice day , weeds and all .
i have just found out how to see who has donated etc , i cant name you all but thanks tree poet , those two beautiful ladies i met under a tree , this trip is not all hell , and the peeps on their bikes , thanks .

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

thursday, outwell.

moored outside the crown hotel , very posh , updated in style.
before i leave outwell i go on a little pilgrimage to find the outwell equestrian centre , me , carol and the kids used to go there for the bmx racing in the early eighties , alas all that is left is the old mill , the rest is new houses,was a great venue that was .
quite a few miles of weedy mucky river between outwell and salters lode , but clearing all the crap is no problem , i am in no rush.
i have all day to kill because my booking for the tidal lock at salters lode is for five oclock,
i do yet another fibre glass repair , i was watched by three ducks about six feet away , they seemed almost interested,
plus the lockkeepers dog pissed on my ropes ,right in front of me , thanks for that .
five oclock comes, lifejacket on , i am sharing the lock with " john and margeret ", good moral support , as the water levels even out it seems like the start of an F1 race , but for no real reason we are going with the tide , i had a job to slow down.
when we come out of denver sluice lock , it is like leaving middle earth and coming into a breath of fresh air , a pub, boats , and most of all " people " .
i have a meal with john and margeret , a good nag sets me up for bed , plus a couple of pints .
how can this be tiring , but it is, night all.
friday morning was glorious , a mist on the water and the sun , birds , plus acall from my brother chris , at six thirty to say he had a missed call , twerp.
i set off for my last port of call " brandon creek " but it aint , because of my rampant gob i have decided to complete the circuit and boat back to yorkshire ,another month wont hurt .
i hope to double the macmillan fund some how, i have a plan.
two hours on the river and i am starving , i am directed by a nice young lady to the biggest cheese burger i have ever seen , that should last all day.
next up is about twenty miles of nice but boring river , for the most part you cant see any of the country side , but i saw a grebe with two chicks on its back , hitching a ride , i am into wild life now , you cant but help it .
into brandon , i am greeted by a brass band , ticka tape, and the mayor , i lied, i was waved to by three old ladies in the old folks home , that was good enough for me .
i stock up with provisions , four bottles of water , two tins of mackeral , and a jar of gherkins , its the sun again.
about turn and backtrack to gayton on the grand union canal about a week away before i can then head north , and home .
i arrive back at dever at eight by this time its freezing cold and bloody windy , thank god for pubs, done some miles today
got to be up early for the eight oclock tide , wish me luck .
will be good to be back on the canals soon , i miss them and the people .
macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

.saturday .
over a week on this river nene , and ouse , no donations at all , no people , or very few.
this trip has fizzled out i think,but i have to get home yet .
i arrive back at stanland lock, no more tides to wait for , nine thirty and the tide is ready .
this morning i met a guy who bought a huge twin engine motor launch , shortly afer his wife fell dead on their kitchen floor , right in front of him , i wonder if this trip was a diversion from the loss of my other half , i asked him if that was the reason for the boat , he said it was , at least i got to say goodbye.
sublect change,a swan took a dislike to me today,as i went by in my boat he had to avoid me , as i passed by i called him a pussy , i really did , next thing i hear is it flapping its wings , i took no notice but the thing crashed all over me , neither of us were hurt , but i apologised .
the weather took a turn for the worse ,sunny yesterday and i was singing my head off , today is one of my black days , a dire day indeed.
saturday night , this pub is like a morgue, if any one is still looking at this post , i am off to bed
sod it , three days updating in one , so i can catch up, no pubs in this neck of the woods.
sunday morning.
the lockie , tina makes a nice donation , and also gives me a cd of her rock group, thanks.
first lock i am held up by a kyak competition at the weir , a nice delay, good to see people enjoying themselves.
next lock i am held up by a couple trying out their new broad beam monster , it just cleared the lock guillitine gate.
next lock i met a really nice couple with a shetland 532, these delays to me are great , meeting people is the reason.
at stibbington i see a very large ammount of parachutists coming down , as they do , i would love to have found the air show they were at .
i make camp outside a stately home , again i over done it with the dark thing .
a few bats turned up to say good night , plus a bloody big fish.
good night, if you have not nodded off .
forgot , re thetford , if i had climbed the highest tree in brandon creek , armed with binoculars i could have seen thetford .

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

cows at billing.

my first lock and i am watched by a herd of young cows , they were standing on the lockside , the adults had more sense.
next up billing ,i blagged a shower at the marina , thanks.
yet again i catch up with mickey and philip , we do the rest of the locks on the nene, until we get to the northampton arm , i was side tracked by a morrisons for dinner.
i do seventeen locks in one go , this takes me to gayton, turn right , and " homeward bound ", at last .
at bugworth is a real posh pub , they let me hog a corner all night.
wed morning , woken by high speed trains , but i knew they were there this time.
half a mile up the road i am waved down by ross , he makes a really generous donation, thanks ross, good luck with the beard.
i was wtiting as i went along behind a very slow narrow boat , i am not bothered one bit ,high speed trains one side , the M1 the other and us in the middle, priceless.
i pull up at wilton locks , police all over the place , a guy was drinking heavily the night before and decided to go shopping , he was not back at noon , hence the police , as i moored up he appeared, shopping in hand , he asked the police what was the fuss , the copper said they were looking for him, he slept in a hedge to sleep off his hangover , he was a bit embarrassed, but alive.
a few locks and then crick tunnel, half way through and honda is very sick , i ease off the throttle , come on not now , please keep going , please , she did , a few yards out and that was it ,she died , right outside a restaraunt , and down came the rain , kin hell, i just want to go home .
i think honda has a broken heart , after a year in the garage , she was unleashed onto the waterways , as soon as she knew i was on my way home that was it , R.I.P. ..........
so i put my spare engine on , donated kindly by barry , but it has a problem of its own , fuel related , maximum speed one mile per hour , shit .
i am soaked by now , fu**ing pissed off as well , restaurant ,the moorings, crick, run by sarah and kieron , they know what i am doing and refuse any payment , sods , but thanks you two.
was today a disaster , no not at all really , i met a bunch of nice people , yet again, worth the pain, plus where i broke down was right next to mickey and philips caravan , and there they were , how odd is that.
no matter what this trip throws at me i will never forget all the hundreds of folk that that i have met on the way, i am at peace with the world now , i was not when i left . thanks to you all .
night all .
macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

leaving crick .

turn left at norton junction, and head for home , i am doing one mile per hour still and i must find a solution to this , i pull into a marina , and phone jim , i was given his number , we dont say " jim will fix it "any more but i hope he can , he turns up within two hours , prior to this "slope gives me a lift to the petrol station i am running low , thanks slope , his real name is "hill ".
suzuki needs a good looking at so no good there , so i ask jim him to have a look at "honda " , quarter of an hour later and " honda five is alive " , bless her socks , clogged up water intake , i almost cried , we are back on the water and heading for home , minus the suzuki.
next up is the foxton flight , thirteen locks all linked together, the lockies refuse to let me help , they are sympathetic to macmillan , i get an arm chair ride , thanks lads , at the bottom of these locks is a pub called bridge 61 , run by dave and owned by a gentle giant called sam , plus scotty , sue and humphrey entertain me all night , i am not allowed to buy a drink, not only generous to a man but bloody good company , truely i did not want to leave that place , the icing on the cake , i am invited to use the shower in the morning , wow !.
back to humphrey , his claim to fame is that he had a barbecue on a canoe , ruined his new jacket , plus his dog did not want to get on board , i use this episode so you can imagine what kind of evening i had , it was mental .
another tunnel , it began with an "s" , 808 metres long , easy , half way through and honda stalls ,this engine hates the dark i think , i have picked up a great lump of weedy mass , no power , pitch black , i have to leave the light at the front , i just dont fancy twenty tons of narrow boat ploughing through me , out we come , nothing seems to bother me any more , except rain.
then its mile afer mile of locks , and field after field of sheep , its getting dark , at the point of giving up and up pops the " navigation " at kilby bridge , thank the lord.
i update and get a meal , i did it again , nothing all day .
sat .
revenge is sweet , as i woke up this morning i sneezed ,and it frightened a coot that had boarded during the night , bloody good job.
i meet a nice chap called jack , we buddy up for a few locks , its easier , then it pissed down , i mean it really rained a lot , we seek refuge, and that was the end of our progress that day , not because of the rain but because we met peter and linda corbett , nice people ,between us we managed to talk from twelve untill eleven at night , dinner and pub in between , thanks linda for cooking for us all , and thanks to the cricketers arms in leicester some where .
what a great way to while away a day , must have done four miles .
sunday .
we have the gaul to nag until ten , again , but then me and jack get motoring , i am meeting sam and co some where but when you are on the river you dont always have a clue where you are , so i said to sam i am north of leicester , the bugger found us at the white horse in bistall , before i told him my location, he fluked it , jammy sod.
a meal with sam and co , they get a ride on the boat and they sod off , a smashing family i am blessed with.
a guy waved me down and asked how honda was , my engine has celebrity status, i am upstaged.
enough is enough , you must be weary of this by now , i am , guess where , in a firkin pub.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

updating is getting a bit scrappy, due to me trying to write as i steer the boat , if any thing comes the other way i have to dump m y note pad ,pronto .

after sam and co leave i catch up with jack , as is the way on these waterways , mount sorrel is our mooring for tonight , update in a public house full of stentorian characters , noisy bastards to you and me .
when i moor of a night i always wind up my accomadation tent thing , cover up my seat ,petrol container, and macmillan bucket so that when i get back from the pub i just have to get into bed , rather than fall overboard trying to do all the above in the dark, self preservation.
me and jack leave mount sorrel when it stops raining , we just nag while it stops , no sweat .
mickey and philip phone to ask if i want to use their boat club house shower , two showers in three days , i will never get to stink rotten at this rate.
philip, mickey me and jack , a potent nagging combination , no one hogs the podium so we could talk forever , but me and jack leave at about five , another day almost gone .
once back on the river , i speed off to set the locks and await the arrival of jack and "cleveland " his boat, at one point he clocked 5.1 miles per hour , the fastest he has managed before , but he wont do it again i dont think.
this river soar is a peach of a place , at its end is another peach , the junction at the erewash and the trent , you could park here for a fortnight and not tire of the view, lovely gaff.
into the steam boat to up date , two drinks and i cant be arsed , i will make up for it later .
prior to going into the pub i met up with tom and his lovely crew member , she is gorgious, tom runs the narrowboat world forum, eighty plus and still young at heart , a pleasure to have met him.
in the morning i am going down the trent , tidal for the most part of my trip back , i have been warned that it is not nice , others have had no problems , i will let you know , any one seen my lifejacket .
up early but me jack and another lad conspire to nag until eleven o/clock , i dont know how we do it .
anyway i set off at twelve , one lock on and four fire men want to know all about what i am up to , yet more chin wagging , but great lads , as are all firemen , nurses,air sea rescue ,some old bill , and ambulance men.
i really am concerned about this trip ending , meeting all these waterways people is very magnetic , there are no class levels here , just people .
for those who are concerned about hondas well being than mine , " honda " is fine ,a guy flagged me down to ask if honda is ok , am i to be upstaged by an outboard engine,on that vein i think honda sobotaged the suzuki, jim the outboard man phoned to say its fixed now , strange.
as i write i am in a cafe in beeston, the riverside cafe , run by a great guy called tony, a great setting and a good old style cafe , long may they reign.
as i write i am in a pub in nottingham , a stones throw from beeston , but its hot , and two o/clock .
asi write i am in a public house no less , in gunthorpe , on the trent , this is hard graft .
in between pubs i go through the biggest locks i have seen to date , plus a lot of miles of scenery to die for , i am a lucky guy, a perfect day.
a footnote , at the riverside cafe my little boat was parked next to a second world war landing craft , it was in private ryan , and more recently , two weeks ago , it features in a george clooney film , my little craft has made it more famous , i have taken a picture , that will follow when i find my camera.
up to date, not many more postings to go , by now i have met a few thousand people , english foreign , black , white , thick and sensible , i have waved to so many folk to draw attention to what i am doing that my arm may fall off , but what has kept me going , nothing more complex than smiles , if someone finds what i am doing is amusing , they smile, this has great power , thanks to all those folk that smiled , to those that did not , go home and practice.
what a fuc**ing wind bag i am , good night.
to donate. macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tony Wonfor Engager

Tony Wonfor

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We too were wondering what has happened to this hero!

 

Great to find that boaters are keeping him well at Crick. It's a pity his journey didn't encompass the Crick Show where no doubt he would have received much support for such a worthy cause.

 

Keep going John.

He's actually gutted he didn't plan it a bit better as Crick wasn't the only boat show he missed apparently

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Doorman Veteran

Doorman

Posted
Posted (edited)

He's actually gutted he didn't plan it a bit better as Crick wasn't the only boat show he missed apparently

Well Tony,

 

There's always next year!

 

If your dad doesn't go out and buy a boat after this I'll be very surprised. Although by the time he's finished he'll have already seen all of the system. His accounts of where he's been just make me want to clear the reeds from around our boat and remind the prop that it's supposed to turn. If we ever get to see half of what John's encountered I'll be a happy man.

 

It took me a while before realising that his term 'nag' was another word for a good chat. In these parts, nag means to harangue or scold someone, as in 'nagging wives'.

 

Not mine of course...........................yes darling! (Ducks to avoid the oncoming frying pan)

Edited by Doorman
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ange Veteran

Ange

Posted
Posted

He needs a welcoming party upon his return.

Where is his final destination? Apologies, I'm sure it's here somewhere on this thread but I'm also sure someone can save me the trouble of wading back. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Barry Veteran

Barry

Posted
Posted (edited)

Where is his final destination? Apologies, I'm sure it's here somewhere on this thread but I'm also sure someone can save me the trouble of wading back. smile.png

 

And when?

 

Though he is not travelling to any schedule so predicting a finish date might not be easy. But a rough estimate that can be refined as he gets closer might be possible

Edited by Bazza2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
haggis Veteran

haggisDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

He'll be there tomorrow!

 

i just typed this lot and did not save it , heavens what a silly chap.
i leave torksey at seven , but woke up at four thirty , i was occupied by getting home .
off to keadby lock, its a long pound , boating term for a bloody boring trip , three of us in a little convoy, nothing happened much except that two lads decided to donate whilst on the move , one of the three quid ended up in the trent , but thanks any way lads .
got to keadby lock, it was like the gates of heaven opening , almost home, but these locks have a sting , i followed the guy in front , straight in , just like pros , the third guy did not see what line we took , he paid the price , head on into the pilng of the lock, in his newly aquired boat , oops.
as i got to yorkshire proper the sun came out , thank you lord , he must be a northerner.
not being one to buck a trend i am in a pub , but not any old pub , its the " new inn " at stainforth, one of the last pubsthat me and carol visited, i could not pass it.
i am invited to staythe night at the marina across the road , stainforth marina, thanks mike.
early night for me , tomorrow at about one or two i will be back in selby boat yard , wow.
macmillan.tributefunds.com/carolwonfor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.