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Traditional Boats and Boaters Gather in Dudley
The weekend of the 29 & 30 September saw another very successful ‘Boaters Gathering’ at the Black Country Museum in Dudley, a bi-annual canal festival of working boats set in the superb setting of the atmospheric historic streets and dockyard of the museum.
Over 30 cabin boats were present with half a dozen canal tugs, as well as a scattering of joey boats, so the available canal space was very full and very interesting. The saddest sight was the shabby condition of the two museum boats, the Clayton’s motor ‘Stour’ and the unique wooden joey boat ‘Birchills’ which have suffered a lack of investment of both money and staff time in the last few months. The good news is, however, that a new canal group of volunteers and staff has come together to try and tackle the problem. We wish them good luck, but it seems doubtful that even their commitment and enthusiasm will be able to take on the much bigger problem of the museum dockyard which is steadily rusting and rotting into the ground. Unfortunately, romantic decay is not a static state of being but a process of degradation. Some radical rethinking has to happen here, surely?
The weekend had loads of positive elements however and even the weather was much better than the gloomy forecast had threatened, which brought out a satisfying number of visitors on the Saturday. There were an encouraging number of boats loaded with coal present and a first time visit to this event by ‘Ethel’, a renamed station boat in full Cowburn & Cowpar livery buttying the motor boat ‘Starling’. There was a clutch of Clayton boats, an absolute battery of Bolinders and the stirring sight of the icebreaker ‘Ross’ being horse-hauled a short distance down the museum arm being rocked enthusiastically almost gunnel-under by a bunch of stalwarts. There were films in the cinema and talks in the new museum entrance building [a long walk from the boats!] and much consumption of fish and chips and Holden’s beer. For the temporary boating residents there was the pleasure of an almost perfect pub filled to overflowing with like-minded people all talking boats and boating, many of whom ended up talking good-natured scribble.
Sunday was more damply autumnal which must have put off a number of potential visitors. A pity, for it was another good day to admire this staggering display of beautifully painted boats. How is it that this extravaganza of historic transport is not more widely appreciated by the paying public? What are we doing wrong? I think I can confidently say that most of the boat crews present were ready to be willing partners with the museum, ready to talk and enthuse to the public as part of the deal but few of us were overstretched in that department. Why weren’t they there in overwhelming numbers, being amazed and delighted as we, the posing participants, were? Must try harder.
With the aid of his new speedy technology Laurence Hogg made a video film of the event over the weekend that will be finished and available for sale at the museum shop on Wednesday October 3rd…yes, just three days later! Phew, how’s that?
Tony Lewery The Brow, Ellesmere October 2001
