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My dad, the Macmillan fundraiser!

Tony Wonfor

By Tony Wonfor
in General Boating

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Not quite sure whether John will be passing through Audlem, hopefully so. If he is, then we can contact the local village web team whom will be glad to highlight his visit.

 

Tony, if you read this please let me know about John's expected route via a post on here. As my inbox is refusing to accept personal messages saying it's full when I know it's not.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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Tony Wonfor Engager

Tony Wonfor

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Is your father going to be around for the Crick Boat Show May Bank Holiday weekend.

I believe he's going through Northants but not for some weeks (maybe even months) as he's only passing through Shropshire at the moment. He'll be making his way south to Godalming then cross country to Thetford and back up to Selby.

 

Not quite sure whether John will be passing through Audlem, hopefully so. If he is, then we can contact the local village web team whom will be glad to highlight his visit.

 

Tony, if you read this please let me know about John's expected route via a post on here. As my inbox is refusing to accept personal messages saying it's full when I know it's not.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike, just spoke to dad and he says he'll be going through Audlem in the next couple of days. He baled out today as he got ever so slightly wet. Not just from the rain, but...............HE FELL IN!! I think he's gonna need all the encouragement he can get!

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I believe he's going through Northants but not for some weeks (maybe even months) as he's only passing through Shropshire at the moment. He'll be making his way south to Godalming then cross country to Thetford and back up to Selby.

 

 

Hi Mike, just spoke to dad and he says he'll be going through Audlem in the next couple of days. He baled out today as he got ever so slightly wet. Not just from the rain, but...............HE FELL IN!! I think he's gonna need all the encouragement he can get!

Tell him he is a proper boater now.

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I believe he's going through Northants but not for some weeks (maybe even months) as he's only passing through Shropshire at the moment. He'll be making his way south to Godalming then cross country to Thetford and back up to Selby.

 

Hi Mike, just spoke to dad and he says he'll be going through Audlem in the next couple of days. He baled out today as he got ever so slightly wet. Not just from the rain, but...............HE FELL IN!! I think he's gonna need all the encouragement he can get!

Cheers Tony,

 

We had hoped to be back in Audlem in time to meet your dad and entertain him to a few pints and a meal, but sadly we are away on a Sangria tasting mission until Tuesday. He is making good progress on his makeshift Jet Ski, even with the occasional dip to slow him down.

 

I will contact the guys at Audlem Online and hopefully they'll announce John's pending arrival. Also, we will contact our friends in the lock cottage at lock 13 to keep an eye out for him and have the kettle on in readiness. As we are away and reports suggest that The Shroppie Fly pub is in complete disarray, I would say that in order to quench his thirst, a visit into The Bridge Inn would more than suffice. Gary & Vicky are good hosts and always welcome a fund raiser on his or her travels.

 

Hopefully, this experience will lend your dad to becoming a permanent water baby and at some point we'll get the opportunity to meet up with him again in the future. In the meantime, keep his spirits up and maybe he will get a spot on The One Show.

 

Mike & Chrissie

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Tony Wonfor Engager

Tony Wonfor

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Cheers Tony,

 

We had hoped to be back in Audlem in time to meet your dad and entertain him to a few pints and a meal, but sadly we are away on a Sangria tasting mission until Tuesday. He is making good progress on his makeshift Jet Ski, even with the occasional dip to slow him down.

 

I will contact the guys at Audlem Online and hopefully they'll announce John's pending arrival. Also, we will contact our friends in the lock cottage at lock 13 to keep an eye out for him and have the kettle on in readiness. As we are away and reports suggest that The Shroppie Fly pub is in complete disarray, I would say that in order to quench his thirst, a visit into The Bridge Inn would more than suffice. Gary & Vicky are good hosts and always welcome a fund raiser on his or her travels.

 

Hopefully, this experience will lend your dad to becoming a permanent water baby and at some point we'll get the opportunity to meet up with him again in the future. In the meantime, keep his spirits up and maybe he will get a spot on The One Show.

 

Mike & Chrissie

Hi Mike, Just spoke to dad. Sorry but he's just reached Audlem this evening. I managed to get yr message to him just as he was exiting The Shroppie Fly. He said the oven was broke and it was full of 20 somethings (not "boating" people) so he didn't fancy it. So he has toddled off to the Bridge Inn. Dont know if you have notified Gary and Vicky of his imminent arrival but I'm sure he'll be welcomed.

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Hi Mike, Just spoke to dad. Sorry but he's just reached Audlem this evening. I managed to get yr message to him just as he was exiting The Shroppie Fly. He said the oven was broke and it was full of 20 somethings (not "boating" people) so he didn't fancy it. So he has toddled off to the Bridge Inn. Dont know if you have notified Gary and Vicky of his imminent arrival but I'm sure he'll be welcomed.

Hello Tony,

 

Are you sure that your dad's raft isn't a Jet Ski in disguise? He's making tremendous progress given the nature of his craft.

 

The news about the Shroppie Fly is sad when you think that for decades it has built up a reputation as a boater's pub and now, with the help of Punch Taverns, it's nothing more than a youth club. Hopefully, Gary & Vicky will have made John welcome and he enjoyed his time in The Bridge.

 

Keep us informed with his Captan's log and maybe we'll see him on national TV very soon.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike & Chrissie

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Mike Todd Veteran

Mike ToddDonate to Canal World

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Passed him just north of Market Drayton early afternoon. Unfortunately it was not in a place where we could stop and chat! (Some parts of today were very wet - occasional thunder in the distance and at least one nasty hail storm!)

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Tony Wonfor

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Passed him just north of Market Drayton early afternoon. Unfortunately it was not in a place where we could stop and chat! (Some parts of today were very wet - occasional thunder in the distance and at least one nasty hail storm!)

Did he have his brolly up? biggrin.png

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Dads last few posts

 

"sunday.
i set off from wrenbury early ,i want to make grindley brook in order to meet up with sam and co , as i turn into the shropshire union canal i meet a problem, if you leave your fenders down you will get stuck , i got stuck, but i dont panic anymore.
i need more petrol , i have a spare 12litres but i pretend its not there , that way i cant run out , does that make sense!!!.
as you approach grindley you are greeted by five locks , no problem .
at the top i meet sam tracey and " them " , fin and bella , they are growing up now and are not the hard work they used to be , bless em.
we then meet the nicest couple you could wish to meet , tom and sue , they own the caravan site and the moorings .
when tom realised that sam was with the doughnut with the boat , he duly let him stay when his site was really full , plus i was invited to stay at his mooring , all for nowt , the money for this went into the bucket.
one reason for sams visit was to help me repair the the damage to "listen " , i have given it some abuse .
tom and sam turn up with an engine hoist , to lift the front up , it worked nicely.
the kids get a quick ride , just to keep them happy.
off to the pub , a couple of drinks , and the kids play with the landlords dog , the cleverest dog i ever saw, a perfect day it was."

 

 

"bank hol monday.

breakfast at the lockside cafe , bella adopts a dog , poor mut, a few games in toms feild , a nag with just about every one we meet and then sam and co make for home , i make tracks for ellesmere , just before i got there i asked a couple who had a narrow boat , how long it was to the next pub or civilisation , he came back with four cans of beer , just in case i did not make it and his wife supplied a cup of tea and a cake , plus a donation , such is the nature of these smashing people , i want to savour as much of this trip as i can , i am so privileged to meet such a bunch of nice people .
ellesmere, a place where the locals grind out a living and look very happy doing it , a quaint place .
as for wales its the nicest place on earth , a well kept secret , scenery that is impossible for someone like me to describe, so i wont .
i now love what i am doing , nothing seems to be a problem anymore , i feel like skipping through a field of daffodils , too much sun i think, i will wear the hat tomorrow ."

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Tony Wonfor

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next post

 

"wed

it rained in the night , it rained in the morning ,and and rained for most of the day , peter and margaret , donated and were also interested in " listen " i dont know how it has got this far , possibly my skills at the helm , or sheer luck, people have taken to this weird little craft for some reason.
as i get to Chirk marina i am greeted by boat horns , daft buggers , so i go in for a cup of coffee , thanks dave , and also more donations , more photos.
off again , i am so chuffed with things , how this trip is making people smile , that was my intention , also macmillan are being mentioned , important.
then i meet mr x , he called me a w**ker , fu**ing , this and fu**ing that , i was a about to rise to the occasion when i realised he had tourrettes, poor sod , anyway he asked if i could take him to the other bank because his chickens were loose , (i am not making this up) , i obliged , and off he went "effing and blinding" .
this day had a sting in its tail, i was sharing a lock with a nice couple, at peace with the world ,as we exited the lock we passed a couple of old ladies , they were stuck on a mud bank , as i passed the driver gave it all she had , this turned me round the wrong way in the blink of an eye , my dark side came into force again , but before i could let her have it she did the same thing again , and guess what , she turned me back around , the bloke i shared the lock with was in tears, dont blame him , by turning me facing the correct direction it calmed me down,this boating is supposed to be a leisurely amble .not.
ellesmere , the safety of ellesmere , no one can get me here. i am back at tescos , noise and all"

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Tony Wonfor

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More posts,

 

friday .
is it really friday already , grief.
up early , so i sneak off to the front of the queing place for the three rise lock , like a german putting his towel on a sunbed in spain.
it began to rain as i left the last of six locks in a row, so i had a word with the weather, as you do when you have been on a boat on your own for a month , i told i that it did not matter if it soaked me again , you will do what you want , twenty minutes on, the sun comes out .
i am writing this in " a pub " in audlem , my next port of call will be birmingham , a long way off yet .
tip number three, dont stand over the vent hole at the sluice , it squirts water up your trousers , if your stupid enough to stand over it , i know.
do i have another beer .
ps, nothing really went wrong today , strange.
pps, thank you to the nice young girl that put twenty pence in the bucket , probably all she had , priceless .

 

 

saturday.

chicken crows , church bell strikes seven, the sun is out , perfect.
at the first locks i decide to wreck my boat , the bywash is heavy so decide to crank it up to compensate, i drove straight into the lock wall , but its still afloat .
by this time it is raining ,piggin rain , each rain drop is designed to p**s of the human race , or me at least , nasty little things.
i get to market drayton , at two oclock, time for breakfast , as i walk to morrisons , i get soaked , and i mean soaked , i fell in the canal two days ago , today i feel like jumping in.
locks , locks , and more locks .
as i reach norbury junction , the weather comes up with a new kid on the block, effin great hailstones, like i was bothered , snow tomorrow.
this venture seems to be plagued by some dodgy force , but as my late wife used to say ," youre the most stubborn ba***rd i know ", perhaps it might do me some good for once.
tip for the day.
dont try to catch the windlass when you dont put the cath on, it bloody hurts.

 

 

sunday. 12.5.13.

norbury junction, its claim to fame to me is that it has the best shower and toilets i have seen so far , you would not mind your own house finished in such a nice way , well done the canal trust .
bacon and egg butty, and off , i faffed about a bit to make sure all was right with the boat , i am now into a sort of ritual , otherwise i forget things ,as a result i am now right up the a**e of a pleasure boat , one or two mph , for bloody miles .
the pleasure boat let me pass eventually , i smiled as i passed him and tried not to let him see my body language .
it rained , me and rain have fallen out , i hope it never rains ever again , the world can turn into a bleedin desert , but the canals would dry up , oops.
i pull up for dinner , at the bridge inn , what a find that was , best dinner yet on the canals , i dont think the yorkshire pudding was microwaved.
i ignore the rain and make it to authersley junction , this place was a bit foreboding , so i move on a bit, mistake , its five oclock , a sign says, bimingham , thats where i am off to , twenty one locks , f**k!, all in a row , you cant pull up between locks for the night , so sleeves rolled up .
half way up i meet sue and john on there way down , sue offers me some stew for my tea, i decline because i want to get on, i was starving again by then , a donation from them , thanks ,
sue is a nurse so she knows the score of macmillan.
tip for the locks , dont count em.
after five hours i have conquered the twenty one locks , on my own , i reach the last one just as the light is going , i am now slap in the middle of wolverhampton.
i find a pub , for dinner a packet of crisps, and a pint .
i dont remember going to sleep.
i am now just approaching bimingham ,its ten am , i am now back up to date , with this journal, its hard plugging in to peoples electric , mostly in pubs , but no one has refused yet.
i am heading for the " the basin " , i will find it somehow.
what of this trip , forgive me for thinking this but its a lonely place at times , however as soon as i get a bit low some one cheers me up , complete strangers , but so what , i also try to cheer them up too.
a nice guy stopped me just near norbury so that he could donate a tenner , i have been rude enough to forget his name , but he will know , he lost some one near to him, thanks

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Thorfast Community Regular

Thorfast

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I too have been following this 'story' and totally agree that your Dad writes as he sees it.......making a really good read.

So I've just done something I should have done a couple of weeks ago.......

 

My daughter works at Macmillan in their head office in London in the national fundraising team - she co-ordinates their national walks programme. Today I told her about Mr Wonfor, the challenge he has set for himself, the comments on here and his wonderful commentary as he travels the canal system that we all love and use. I also told her to talk to ( ie grab by the throat ) the co-ordinator of the Macmillan Challenge programme and get this story some national coverage. Mr Wonfor's giving page shows a total raised so far of about £1,300....a great amount, but I think there should be some noughts on the end of that by the time he finishes...so come on Macmillan, jump on this story....and Mr Wonfor...I wish I could be more like youclapping.gif

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Catweasel's suggestion about a chronicle of John's watery adventure makes so much sense.

 

Perhaps either Tony or John would consider the idea. If nothing else, there would be plenty of existing and potential boaters out there willing to buy a copy, especially if some or all of the proceeds were directed towards the MacMillan charity. This man's progress along the system, in all weathers, has to be of interest to anyone who holds an interest either the canals or the charity.

 

Can't say how much we admire him and his efforts!

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