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Tonight, we walk through deep time. Ours is a generation who are the witnesses to the Great Unravelling, but we are also part of the Great Remembering. With handfuls of seeds and ancient soil, we walk out of our books, our learning, and our language, to pick up something once lost.

Journal entry:

16th October, Friday

“Robin song and yellowing leaves
Float down upon the silent canal.
A moorhen swims into the mist.
Jackdaws play around the One Oak,
Their voices stabbing the morning light.

A handful of rooks join them.
They settle and watch the pasture below,
And me and Maggie, standing beside still waters
Under a rainbow of robin song.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a short extract from John Moriarty’s What the Curlew Said published by Lilliput Press.

I also mention the vlog: Life Aboard Petra.

This episode’s ‘Night View: Through your window’ is provided by good friend of the podcast and lock-wheeler ‘Mind Shambles’.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

While work pressures have made tonight’s episode a little shorter than usual, the pause feels serendipitous. This evening, we embrace the quiet, celebrating the small, sacred pockets of stillness that naturally invite us in and away from an increasingly tumultuous and noisy world. It is a gentle reminder that even a brief moment of reflection can anchor us, offering the support and connection we all need to navigate the chaos.

As we slow our pace, we are also invited to look through the window of lock-wheeler and fellow boater Ana McKellar, sharing in her unique perspective and finding comfort in the shared rhythms of a day on the water.

Step inside, leave the noise behind, and share this gentle space with us.

Journal entry:

1st October, Thursday

“The thick darkness
Of a mole-blind morning.
Feet slip on gravel and tiredness.
Racing clouds lower themselves
To the earth in rain.
No moon or stars,
Just waterlogged sky
And the wind among the alders.

But that is alright,
For I have Stars enough
And that wind-song among the alders.”

Episode Information:

This episode’s ‘Night View: Through your window’ is provided by fellow boater and lock-wheeler of this podcast Ana McKellar.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

The slow drift from summer into autumn is underway and with it comes gentle shifts (both seen and unseen) that are the pulse and rhythm of the earth and life along the canal. Join us tonight on the Erica as we celebrate this slow dance of the seasons. We also join Jeff Van Booven for a special night-view from his window in the sultry darkness of a summer midnight in Missouri.

Journal entry:

18th September, Friday

“Standing beside the convocation of oaks
First geese fly over and then the raven pair.
On days like this, even these friendly fields
Remember that they cannot be tamed.”

Episode Information:

In this episode, I read haiku from Chora and Taigu. I also read ‘I Wasted the Day’ and ‘Autumn Harvest’ by Felix Dennis and ‘Apples’ by Laurie Lee. I also conclude with a very short reading from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

‘Night Views: Through your window’ is provided by Jeff Van Booven.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

It’s a beautiful night, but there is an autumnal damp chill in the air. So, snuggle up with us aboard the Erica as we enter the mysterious, but perhaps not so different, world of geese, and we find out what happened when nine of them flew in on one late summer’s afternoon.

In celebration of the life of Wendell Berry, we read his poem 'Wild Geese.'

Journal entry:

3rd September, Thursday

“Awake to a jewelled morning
Fresh washed in last night’s rain.
There are puddles along the towpath
And glass-like rosehips glisten
In smoky hedges of old man’s beard.

Last night I listened to rain
Drumming on the cabin roof
And its hiss upon the stirred water
Of the canal.”

Episode Information:

In this I read Wendell Berry’s poem ‘Wild Geese’ in commemoration of his life and work. Night Views: Through your window will resume in the next episode.

You can find more information about Canada geese, including their calls, on the British Ornithological Trust’s site, here: BTO – Canada Geese.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the Erica on a still summer’s night. The canal may seem quiet, but below the surface the fish are busy and it is far from silent. Join us tonight as we listen in to their world and find out what it sounds when ducks swim above your head. We also get to step aboard the NB Precious Jet and take a look at the view from her duck hatch.

Journal entry:

20th August, Thursday

“An oak leaf.
Parched and crisp by summer drought
Floats on the surface of the canal.

The water cups it gently,
Cushioning it within
The meniscus of her palm,
As if the canal knows that it is carrying
Something valuable and sacred.”

Episode Information:

The underwater sounds used in this episode was recorded on the warm, still evening of 3rd August 2026 from the stern of the Erica.

Our view from the window was provided by Steve Tyrell aboard the narrowboat Precious Jet recoded while he was opposite The Nickelodeon pub in Wolverhampton. You can follow Steve and Precious Jet on his YouTube channel: Steve Tyrell.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

It is a glorious summer’s night, but the canal is officially closed. Join us tonight, as we ponder over what this shutdown means for permanent liveaboards and the fragile ecosystem left behind. Plus, we playfully ask: does the canal miss us when we are gone?

Journal entry:

6th August, Thursday

“From here, the alders look black
The sky behind them afire
With the sun’s setting.

Ducks swim through
Clouds of baby pink
The fish are rising.

The water is warm around my toes
And the tea has been drunk
Long ago.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read a very short extract from Tom Rolt’s Narrow Boat, and my ‘Sometimes the canal is silent.’

Listener, Lee Thomas from Colorado (USA), shares with us the view she has from her cabin high in the foothills of the Colorado Mountains.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Summer is finally here, and nothing quite beats finding a cool and last spot (preferably in the dappled shade of a willow tree or two) and idling away a few hours while losing yourself in a captivating book.

Why not wrap up your evening with us tonight for this year’s review and recommendation for your Summer Reading? Join us as we explore a wonderful book that gently carries you along England’s peaceful (and not so peaceful) waterways while drifting through centuries of history: the poet and archaeologist, Jo Bell’s Boater.

Episode Information:

This episode of Summer Readings features Boater: A life on England's waterways by Jo Bell and published in 2025 by HarperCollins.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Send us Fan Mail

A welcome breeze plays among the reeds and carves ripples on the canal. Tonight, the Erica is moored on a perfect summer’s night. We welcome you to join us as enjoy the quiet and go searching for older attitudes to summer, the shifting dates of Midsummer's Eve, and just why Midsummer Night’s Dream was so unsummery.

Journal entry:

10th July, Friday

“Sitting chatting over a mug of tea
On the stern of the boat
The sound of music and children playing
A swirl of energy at the end of day.

Voices float across the water
That dances with light.
A mother with six newly hatched ducklings
The sun sinks behind Horse Hill.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read short extracts from Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by Dent, and Alexandra Harris’ (2015) Weatherland: Writers and artists under English skies published by Thames and Hudson.

I also refer to Hana Videen’s (2022) The Word Hord: Daily life in old English published by Princeton University Press, Eleanor Parker’s (2022) Winters in the World: A journey through the Anglo-Saxon year published by Reaktion Books, and Lia Leendertz’s (2024) A Year in Story and Song: A celebration of the seasons published by Hatchette UK.

You can find Karen and Jason's YouTube channel here: Just Two People.

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.
Ana McKellar
Susan Baker
Mind Shambles
Clare Hollingsworth
Kevin B.
Fleur and David Mcloughlin
Lois Raphael
Tania Yorgey
Andrea Hansen
Chris Hinds
Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

The intro and the outro music is ‘Crying Cello’ by Oleksii_Kalyna (2024) licensed for free-use by Pixabay (189988).

Narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

Support the show

Become a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.

Contact

• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.

For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.