Recuperating, farewells, flooring and retreating!

It's difficult to adequately describe the sense of freedom and relief Barry and I have felt for the past three days. You'll have gathered that the truck finally arrived two and a half hours late to collect the eight loaded pallets that had been our Calendar Club shop. It took over an hour to complete … Continue reading Recuperating, farewells, flooring and retreating!

A Marvellous Merry Hill and Magnificent Eagerly Awaited News!

Last weekend Barry and many other traders settled into the embankment at Merry Hill for a Roving Canal Traders Association Floating Market. The event began on the Friday afternoon and evening, featuring an 'Illuminated Boats' spectacle. I was sad to miss the fun of the bustling days and frivolities of the evenings, though I too … Continue reading A Marvellous Merry Hill and Magnificent Eagerly Awaited News!

Making the most of Middlewich FAB Festival

There's something magical about the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival that impels us to return each year. Having not booked for 2016 as we'd planned to be on the Leeds Liverpool Canal, we were relieved to sneak in on a late cancellation. After another long journey, this time from Liverpool, we arrived late afternoon on … Continue reading Making the most of Middlewich FAB Festival

Trading Tales – The Doggie Boat

Here's the fourth in our tantalising 'Trading Tales' series. Previous posts have featured The Pirate Boat, The Art Boat, and The Glass Barge. Introducing Sandra Willis What’s the name of your boat, and what business do you run from it? I'm Sandra Willis trading as The Doggie Boat alongside my two golden retrievers Cosmo and … Continue reading Trading Tales – The Doggie Boat

Mercia Marina’s First Floating Market

Returning to Mercia Marina last week, for their first Floating Market, produced many more magical memories for us. Shortly after mooring up on the trade boats pontoon, at almost the same spot we spent November and December 2015, there was a knocking at the canalside kitchen window. We like to believe the playful swan  attracting our … Continue reading Mercia Marina’s First Floating Market

A blustery boggy Bugsworth Basin – but a brilliant first trading weekend

'The Wizard of Oz' turned out to be a very appropriate theme for the Buxworth Community Gala. There were times I wondered if Dorothy herself had returned, and the storm-like conditions were taking us to a magical '... there's no place like home' destination. Barry's newly constructed canopy (see above taken Friday evening) came a cropper … Continue reading A blustery boggy Bugsworth Basin – but a brilliant first trading weekend