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Living on the Water

ISSN 2631-326X

APRIL 2021

SPRING PRINT SPRING 2021

ISSN 2631-3251

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Un-tethered Living

Our Spring 32-page issue is available across the UK, mainland Europe and North America at:

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APRIL 2021

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On the cover:

Narrowboat interior, England UK photographed by Rob Cousins.

Contents 03 07 13

Life on the Water - Then &Now … Page Scenes from the Waterways … Page Swooning Over Swans … Page

Published by: Tiny Living Productions Ltd Editor: Pamela Palongue Design by: Gilmour Graphics Email: info@tinylivingmagazine.co.uk

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Life on the Water Then

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Now

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A playbill from Kate and Heather's show Alarum Theatre is a traveling theatre company created by extraordinary women to tell the stories of extraordinary women. Through their magic of storytelling, poetry and song, the unique tales of the ‘Idle Women’ of World War II come to life.

Right about now, you might be asking yourself, who were these Idle Women, and why are they important? -They were actually the Inland Waterway Women, but the badges they wore only denoted two initials, IW, and so it became a nickname for the ladies.

However, their lives were anything but idle!

When many of the men were called away to war in 1939, these brave women were recruited to operate the canal boats which were carrying essential goods throughout the UK. They ensured that coal for heat, flour for cooking and a ton of other vital necessities

reached the people who needed them. Without their willingness to step up and fill this need, there might have been dire food shortages and other hardships during the war.

Living and working on the canal boats was a hard life, with an extremely cramped space for crew members since most of the space had to be reserved for the goods. And the work itself was physically demanding.

Even with these formidable challenges, the women who signed up for the work were from unique backgrounds, with several former nurses, and one woman who had worked as a pastry chef and a dance teacher!

Despite several books having been written about their experiences, they are often a little known part of our history. Kate Saffin felt that their stories deserved to told.

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Kate had a rewarding job in nurse training until she was made redundant by the NHS in 2011. As is often the case, this initial setback may have actually been a blessing in disguise.

She had been involved in performing since 1999 with a non-professional, but prestigious theatre company, The Oxford Guild. In a decade of performing, she had taken the stage at impressive venues. She even did

a turn at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2002 with her self-styled adaptation of the character of ‘Ramlin Rose’ from Sheila Stewart’s book of the same name about Idle Women. She had performed this one-woman show at pub gardens and at venues along the waterways for years. In short she had been polishing her acting and writing craft, so that when the redundancy happened, she realised she wanted to spend more time performing.

The 'real' Idle Women who were anything but idle! idle!

Heather performing with her accordion She signed up for The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London with some encouragement from the head of the course.

After completion of it, she was browsing the internet and the Ellesmere Port Museum website. She happened to spot a performer named Heather Wastie, who was presenting a programme entitled, “Idle Women and Judies.”

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“I quite liked it!” says Kate, “and I decided maybe we could do a double bill with my storytelling and Heather’s performing.”

(Heather is a poet, singer, songwriter and plays the accordion) Kate contacted Heather who said, “Maybe we could do a double bill.”

Within about a week they were combining forces and performing along the waterways as a team.

Their production manager, Zoe Hunn, also lives on the water full time and has worked as a technician, photographer, lighting designer, set builder and even a pyrotechnic! She also enjoys riding motorcycles.

All the plays are original works, although they use a lot of found material, such as the ‘Ramblin Rose’ adaptation. ‘A Boat of Ill Repute’ is almost complete fiction in which Kate relates the tale of two women who actually ran a boat bordello in the 1950s.

Not surprisingly, they weren’t too popular with the local law enforcement, and one of the policemen drilled a whole in their boat, putting an end to their thriving business. Heather is currently working on “Walking Through Waterways History.”

Their shows are fun, entertaining, informative and well-received by audiences.

The stories of the courageous Idle Women of World War II, and the lives of the fearless women of Alarum Theatre of today, show that you can do anything that you really want to do. You can live the life you want, even when times may seem hard, and the changing world around you may seem daunting. Never give up – and do what you love!

Alarum Theatre should hopefully return to live performances this September. They’ve held several virtual events, and will continue these in the future, since they make the performances available to people of all ages in remote areas who would otherwise not be able to attend. For more information on their upcoming events, please visit their site at www.alarumtheatre.co.uk

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Photograph by Andypep

Scenes from the Waterways

If you're lucky enough to live on the canals in the UK, the view from your window can change every day. Here are some sights you might see.

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Photograph by Ceridwen

Photograph by Tim Green

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Photograph by The Herb Boat

Photograph by The Herb Boat

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Photograph by Uwe Aranas

Photograph by Anzis Wood

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A Tiny Living Promotion

A Tiny Holiday Home – The Home That Can Earn You Money

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A tiny holiday home is a great way to get away for a weekend break or longer, without the high cost of a hotel stay. It provides a chance to experience nature, and spend time with those people who are most important in your life.

A tiny house is also far less expensive than a conventional holiday home, and leaves a much smaller imprint on the environment. And, it’s completely portable! If you’d like to have a vacation spot near the beach, you can do that!

Then, in a few years, if you find a forest setting more to your liking, you can take your holiday cottage with you.

But here’s another important aspect of a tiny holiday home that you may not have considered. Not only is it less expensive to purchase and maintain, but it can actually earn money for you. A well-placed home

in an inviting setting can be let when you are not using it. This could potentially pay for your holidays and perhaps even more. Self-catering cottages are becoming and more popular as they provide meaningful holidays for families on a budget.

And many popular websites make it possible to list your tiny house where it will be seen by thousands of people looking for places - like your tiny house.

The tiny house featured pictured here was built by Master Tiny House Builder, Chris March of Tiny Eco Homes UK. Chris is a bespoke builder who designs holiday homes based on the owner’s needs and the specific climate and location.

For more information on the holiday homes that Chris designs, or to schedule a visit to his gallery of tiny house models, click here: www.tinyecohomesuk.com

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Swooning Over Swans One of life’s greatest joys is watching a floating ballet of swans, as they peacefully glide along the marshes.

Besides their natural beauty, they’re also one of the most romantic creatures of the animal kingdom – they mate for life. Perhaps they can give us some advice.

Did you ever wonder where the expression ‘swan song’ comes from? The ancient Greeks believed that as death approached, the swans’ singing became sweeter and more beautiful. This led to the expression of a swan song as being a final performance. -And by the way, Mute Swan is a bit of a misnomer. Mute Swans make plenty of noise!

In Great Britain, swans have a long association with royalty. The Crown holds the right to claim ownership of unmarked, Mute Swans in the UK and has since the 12th century! At one time, swans were actually a delicacy and graced the table of royalty and

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Image by Ina Hensel

aristocrats. Today this right of title exists primarily for the purpose of conservation, as they are a protected species.

Swans are large birds with few predators, but sometimes they have to worry about the occasional fox while nesting. As with most waterfowl, pollution of freshwater areas can be a problem for them. And collisions with overhead power lines is another major challenge for the birds. If you see a bird suffering or a problem in your local area that might be a threat to their safety, the best thing to do is contact the RSPCA or The Swan Sanctuary of Shepperton. If you find a lone cygnet, with no adult swan nearby, it may be abandoned. They can give you expert advice on how to care for the tiny bird.

To learn more about these fascinating birds, please visit The Swan Sanctuary website at www.theswansanctuary.org.uk

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