Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #381770 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

Synopsis
In 1950, the author was 17 years old and eager to experience life as a working boatman, one of hundreds whose craft whose craft still plied inland waterways from London to Liverpool, from Hull to the Bristol Channel. In this book, he describes his experiences and what it was like. The colour, variety and economic contribution of the canals in the 1950s can be judged from the list of the cargoes Foxon carried or saw- from the traditional coal, gravel and timber, to bentonite and borax, tomato puree and canned tomatoes, nuts and bolts, flint and flour, dustbins, matches and wheelbarrows, and even dates for making HP sauce.

Customer Reviews

Life in a bygone age
Being a pensioner now, I can remember when the waterways were important trade routes, and living close to the Anderton Lift and the Trent & Mersey canal, the pages in this book bring back a long forgotten life style. This book is a must for anyone interested in social history, as it points out the hard but enjoyable (at times) life that these families endured. For modern waterway users this book gives historic knowledge to what is now mostly a pleasure activity. A book to be read and reread.

Canal Nostalgia
If you are interested in one of our nations most wonderful assets, or would like to gain an insight as to how they played such an important part in our history, then this book is well worth reading. It is part of a collection of books, all of which are brilliant.