On a Carousel

Picturing the Past: NarrowBoat, Winter 2014

Hugh Potter

A selection of slides discovered in the NarrowBoat office including Blue Line, Clayton's, Barry Lycett and British Waterways

In the good old days of 35mm transparencies and black & white prints, Waterways World always asked contributors to clearly write at least their name and preferably their address on all submissions. Recent searches through the dusty archives in the Burton office have revealed that many did not. Of particular interest was a carousel full of slides that appear to have been taken on one or more cruises on Royston V.F. Torrington’s pontoon conversion Relax, which he moored at Willington on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Amongst the many typical ‘holiday’ shots were these four depicting working boats, which probably place the date as in the 1960s. NarrowBoat asked a variety of experts for any more information they could offer about the photographs, which resulted in some interesting additional details. Blue Line’s Stanton and Belmont The current owner of Stanton, Peter Oates, says: I have not seen the picture before and have been trying to work out the locatio…