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Oxfordshire Heritage Boat Journeys
Event Info
19th - 20th June 2004
21st - 23rd June 2004
24th - 26th June 2004
Finale performances and Boat Procession
Photo Library from the boat journeys week
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21st - 23rd June 2004
Location: Oxfordshire
Monday 21st June
 The Heritage Boat Journeys ploughed on through wind, rain and bright sunshine. On the Canal the evening event at Lower Heyford was a beautiful, relaxing and entertaining event with music brought to us by the honey-voiced, talented guitar and harmonica maestro Johnny Fletcher. Jane Griffiths and Colin Fletcher gave us stunning performances with the Celtic Guitar and Fiddle … what a treat that was! Fily Cissokho gave us some stunning songs from Senegal, accompanying himself on the beautiful Kora, a 21 stringed African harp … some people were moved to tears by his delicate and moving tunes. Comedy and storytelling were brought to us by Giles and Benji … the History of the Canal Rap is something to behold. The Lower Heyford Young Theatre Company also performed beautifully a story called “The Attack of the deadly Jellyfish”. The evening, by the lift bridge at the bottom of Mill Lane, with the sun setting between the trees, was a perfect end to a perfect day. We even had members of the public who came along to be enchanted and enthralled … over sixty Lower Heyfordians and boating types joined us … despite the footy. A fabulous night was had by all!
 On the River the journey halted for a pleasant evening by the Thames at the Shillingford Bridge Hotel … again a perfect setting for a relaxed evening by the river. The team struggled to put up Gazebos and Bunting in the driving rain, wondering if it was all worthwhile, it was! The sun shone, Shillingfordians turned up and a beautiful evening of entertainment ensued. Stunning harmonies were enjoyed by the audience from the honeyed tongues of Abbie and Claude playing their own brand of contemporary folk music. The mercurial songwriter and performer Justin Gibson and the beautiful songs of Kate Garret with cello and percussion rounded up the musical side of the evening. The audience enjoyed the African stories of Jack Kinobe until the sun started to set behind the trees … glinting off the water creating a magical end to another successful evening.
Tuesday 22rd June
Well, Mountbatten and Jellicoe, our working boat and butty on the canal, are still battling their way towards Oxford. Ivor and Mel Bachelor, the owner/operators, are cheerfully battening down the hatches in the teeth of gales, rain and thick heavy cloud.  The journey, the performances and the day to day business of selling diesel, coal and all your chemical lavatory requirements (not to mention the selling of beautiful traditional canal ware, hand painted by Mel) must go on! Last night the intrepid adventurers reached Thrupp and the Boat Inn. Mel was seen wandering along the canal giving leaflets to all the boaters who had moored up for a quiet night in front of the portable telly. After a moist start in the garden of the Boat Inn, the festivities moved inside to the warmth and the comfort of the bar, where as one would expect a few beverages were consumed. Now wet on the inside as well as the outside the revellers had a brilliant musical and story driven night that was enjoyed by all.
 On the river Thames, Plover B arrived, rocking and rolling in the eye of the storm, at Culham Lock. The boat, almost a hundred years old had made the voyage from Shillingford safely with Mark Davies, Historian and Author, at the helm. Both were wet. The evening was not looking good … the rain was coming down at every angle it could possibly manage …. The landlubbers and the boat crew got stoutly to work attempting to erect two Gazebos … which were fighting to leap into the river with every gust. At last the Gazebos were up … why? Nobody would arrive on a night like this … the performers would turn up, take a look and then go straight home … the audience would only get as far as looking out of their windows before they decided that Tuesday night telly didn’t look so bad after all. But as the rain swirled under the Gazebos and rain dripped down the neck, out of the mist and murk came … yep … audience. About ten damp people arrived, armed with waterproofs and brollies, and proceeded to station themselves under the cover of the trees and the gazebos. The show must go on … and it did, for about an hour or so musicians played and people danced in the rain. But then it all got too silly and everyone decided that the Lion Inn was the only place to be. The end of another perfect day.
Wednesday 23th June
 Well, the saga of the canal and river journey continues … our two boats are still nosing their way through more weather than we could reasonably expect for this time of the year. Plover B has made it to Abingdon and Mountbatten and Jellicoe have arrived safely at Kidlington. The Wise Alderman in Kidlington was the scene of much merriment and rejoicing as local performers decided against performing in the Force 6 to 7 Gale that was blowing through the pub’s garden, almost uprooting small trees in its wake and performed in the bar instead. Some of the locals were bemused by the influx of performers and poets who took over their normally quiet bar but soon joined in with the storytelling, theatre and music which ensued. On the river, Mark Davies took a small but select audience on a murder walk along the towpath, whilst the intrepid crew erected gazebos and marquees which at times performed like kites threatening to whisk the hapless team off to who knows where. Would an audience turn up at the Abbey Meadows? Would the bands, singers, drum troupes and storytellers be performing to themselves? No! The people of Abingdon didn’t let us down … they arrived, huddled and enjoyed the entertainment. The Abingdon Drama Club Juniors performed “The Big Race” … a tale of two bargees who raced from London to Abingdon in wind, rain and … it felt so real to us all!
Although the weather is against us the journeys continue !
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