Yearly Archives: 2021

a stirling idea

Most of us have a mad cap idea at least once in our lifetime. Ours came along a few years ago, when we decided to design and build Stirling engines. Little did we realise how much effort and dedication would be required, but once the bug had bitten there was no going back!

heat used as fuel?

Stirling engines are amazing miniature engines. Three things make them special… they use only heat as fuel, they are almost silent plus they are extremely powerful. Furthermore they have no electrical components and are purely mechanical. Consequently they’re extremely reliable and with care will last a lifetime.

How do they work? Place the Stirling engine on top of a heated surface and let it warm up. Once the air inside the cylinder has heated at the base of the engine, it is forced up by the displacer to the cool top plate. As this sealed volume of air moves from the warm base to the cooler top plate, it expands and contracts. While it expands it pushes the piston up; and when it contracts it pulls the piston down. The piston is connected to a crank shaft and the oscillating cycle rotates the crank.

Because Stirling engines are very precise little devices, they need to be built with extra care and attention. However the effort is greatly rewarded when the crank rotates and the engine begins to work - this is when the engine produces mechanical power. Industrial Stirling engines produce so much mechanical power that they are used in cryogenic refrigeration, submarine propulsion, and electrical production. At Warpfive Fans... we use the power to spin a fan blade. Our stove fans are so efficient that you can reduce your fuel usage by up to 22%, and heat your narrow boat up to 40% faster.

thermodynamic mumbo jumbo…

Now you know what a Stirling engine is. But why complicate life by delving into this world of thermodynamic mumbo jumbo? The answer is simple really – at Warpfive we care about our planet. Efficient thermodynamic management systems are the future.

Stirling engines are highly compatible with alternative and renewable energy sources. They are extremely efficient, work quietly and can be used on almost any heat source. The Stirling engine is currently exciting interest as the core component of solar powered electricity generators, as well as in the space industry to power satellites.

At Warpfive we’ve gradually expanded our range of Stirling engines to include a variety of stove fans for use on top of your log stove or diesel heater, as well as aroma diffusers and table fans for use in your home. However we still spend an enormous amount of time researching emerging technology and examining the performance of low-emission alternative power sources. Why? – Because we are on a constant drive to improve our products by making them even more efficient.

Over the last 13 years, our ‘Stirling idea’ has evolved into a small family run business. We design and hand-build all of our products here in the UK, whilst always aiming to make a positive contribution to our planet.

eyes that save lives

Some ten years ago the MNA Boat Club launched a maritime safety & surveillance scheme whereby members undertook to act as "watchkeepers afloat” to "Spot, Plot, Report and Record" any incidents, potential incidents or hazards whenever they took their boats out thereby acting in a very similar manner to that undertaken by the National Coastwatch Institution's (NCI) watchkeepers working ashore from their look-outs around the coast. Known as “SeaVue” the scheme had the support of the MCA and the RNLI but it operated almost exclusively only around the coastal waters of the UK and hardly extended inland at all,

Around the same time the RNLI launched their “Respect the Water” campaign to reduce the number (circa 200+) of accidental drownings around the coast of the UK by 50% by 2024 but once again the emphasis was on “the coast” where the RNLI maintains Lifeboat Stations rather than on inland waterways where some 70% of accidental drownings actually occur!

So three years ago the MNA Boat Club (MNABC) established an “operational partnership” with the RNLI for MNABC members to promote the Respect the Water campaign and extend the coverage of that initiative to include inland waterways, and at the same time the MNABC changed the name of their scheme from SeaVue to the now more appropriate title of “WaterWatch”.

Although an integral part of the Merchant Navy Association national charity with its 2,000 plus members, The MNA Boat Club is a relatively small organisation with only some 220 members so the idea that Club members alone could provide a nationwide surveillance service was essentially unrealistic and it was therefore agreed that we would start by operating a “pilot scheme” in just one of our Boat Club regions, namely East Anglia where we already enjoyed a very good relationship as an “Affiliated Club member of the Norfolk & Suffolk Boating Association (NSBA)

So we approached the NSBA to see if they might be interested in some kind of collaboration with the MNA Boat Club to promote the WaterWatch Scheme in East Anglia, and in particular on The Broads, and to our delight they responded to that idea enthusiastically with the suggestion of a “partnership” between the MNABC and the NSBA to promote and operate WaterWatch on The Broads; this is now firmly established with a representative of the NSBA co-opted as a flag officer of the MNA Boat Club and a representative of the MNA Boat Club now as an elected member of the NSBA General Purposes committee.

MNABC/NSBA Partnership Arrangement

Members of the MNA Boat Club and individual members of the NSBA who participate in the scheme are known as “WaterWatch Crew Members”. They are briefed to act as the “eyes and ears” for the emergency services and the Broads Authority whenever they take to the water to:

SPOT any craft or persons in difficulty, or any actual or potential hazards
PLOT the relevant position
REPORT the facts to HM Coastguard and/or the Broads Authority
RECORD the incident by completing a WaterWatch Incident Report Form which is sent both to the Boat Club and to the NSBA in order to enable them both to monitor incidents and hazards and follow up developments and corrective actions.

The National Water Safety Forum (NWSF)

In March 2021 the MNA Boat Club’s WaterWatch Scheme became a member of the National Water Safety Forum which is a UK-focused, voluntary network, working together in order to reduce water-related deaths and associated harm.

The NWSF was established in 2004 following a Government review into water safety. It sought to bring together a number of pre-existing national groups with the ambition of creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for the prevention of drowning and water safety harm in the UK, recognising the broad range of existing stakeholder groups, their respective contributions, and their own brands and values, often towards charitable objectives. Members include the MCA, RNLI, RLSS, The Broads Authority, the Environment Agency etc. etc.,

Beyond our “pilot scheme” on The Broads

The success of our joint venture with the NSBA now begs the question “could we expand our WaterWatch initiative to more inland waterways through collaboration with other potential partners? “

So if any boating associations, owners clubs or other interested boating organisations around the UK believe that this initiative by the MNA Boat Club may deserve your organisation’s support as a potential partner I’d be delighted to hear from you!

Clive Edwards, Commodore, Merchant Navy Association Boat Club

water pollution award for rcr

River Canal Rescue has won the British Safety Industry Federation’s Water Pollution Award for its Bilgeaway filter.

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is the UK’s leading trade body for the safety sector and its annual Safety & Health Excellence Awards cover four categories; product innovation, safety solutions, customer service and water pollution prevention (the latter added in 2020).

In its entry, River Canal Rescue (RCR) explained how Bilgeaway – the world’s first environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter – was developed to address a well-known pollution problem.

Launched in January 2019, Bilgeaway traps contaminants before they’re discharged overboard by automatic bilge pumps, rendering the filter’s contents non-reactive so they can be safely disposed of, instead of going to landfill.

Over 80 entries were submitted overall, including 10 for the Water Pollution Award, which is supported by the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Natural Resources Wales. Judges were looking for businesses that make efforts to protect the environment and ensure all water pollution risks are managed in an efficient and effective way.

BSIF marketing manager, Ian Crellin, announced the winners at the end of April: “These Awards recognise the excellent work that goes on within the safety industry; we celebrate the constant innovation, expert knowledge and quality service that goes on every day - all with a goal of keeping people safe.”

RCR managing director, Stephanie Horton, comments: “It’s great to achieve this level of recognition from the BSIF - we will continue to develop solutions and lobby others to keep our waterways and coastal waters free from pollution.”

Find out more at www.bilgeaway.co.uk and www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk or follow the team on Facebook.

water pollution award for rcr and bilgeaway

boaters and road traffic

This edition of intertidal zone is the often-present interaction between the road system and the canal and river systems (and nature).

Nature’s rivers were identified very early on in our history as routes of least resistance where early travellers could build their towns and roads (later railways too).

It is also well known that canals often interacted with navigable rivers. No surprise then that road traffic and boat traffic sometimes have to work together. A good example of this is a lift bridge on the A578 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Also keep an eye out for the wildlife in the area, ducks, including ‘tufted’, swans and geese find the mixture of greenery and water and ideal location for breeding and living.

Plank Lane Lift Bridge (No.7 Leigh Branch) and its environs

The current bridge was built in 1977 by the Cleveland Bridge Company and although it is known as a 'Swing Bridge' by the locals, it is in fact a 'Bascule Bridge'. The design of the bridge originated in Holland. (Source: Leigh Life)

A really good read on the previous versions of the bridge can be found through the following link to Leigh Life.

Boaters at the Controls

Among all the history and groans from locals (see later) I found something quite simply astonishing in the current atmosphere where perhaps boaters’ interests can sometimes seem to be secondary. This lift road bridge is controlled by the boater! Unmanned with accessible controls. The only restriction is during peak traffic times, which would suit me, who needs that kind of pressure!

There are visitor moorings adjacent to the bridge (1 day) and you will see from the signposts that you can walk or cycle into nearby towns and sights. A private sign on the fence advises of a pub within 5 minutes’ walk. Next to the bridge, for those who may wish to meet up with land-based folks, there are 2 car parks.

Just a thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a sign advising sailing time?

Troubled Times

In The News

There have been many times when a breakdown of the bridge has occurred, with the usual notifications coming from the Canal and River Trust as well as the regional press. One such event was reported in the Manchester Evening News, back in May 2021.

Regenerated Area

The fruits of investment and regeneration are now in evidence all around the area: extract from an article…

"The multi-million pound package through the National Coalfields Programme will help prepare the site for the planned construction of 650 new homes, a canal marina with small retail businesses, pubs, restaurants and small offices surrounding the marina at Bickershaw South, Plank Lane." Further reading available from the Lancashire Telegraph.

I hope you get the chance to use the bridge and enjoy your experience.

brigadoon

London’s live music scene had problems long before covid. Back in 2009, when my then 89-year old Tante Rosie’s health began deteriorating and my trips to London started becoming more frequent, the boom in real estate prices was already impacting the music industry. As flats had gone up, pubs and venues closed down. In 2016, Mayor Boris Johnson commissioned a live music task force to address the problem.

By 2015, street corners themselves were closing: proliferating Public Space Protection Ordinances (PSPO’s) banned buskers — practitioners of the world’s “second oldest profession” — from the city’s most popular pitches. Boris Johnson, still Mayor of London, created a Live Music Task Force to address the problem. The City’s 100-mile canal network did not figure into their proposed solutions.

Don’t ask me why. As someone who would eventually sell a house in Texas to keep his new widebeam afloat, I was used to Austin, where even petrol stations and Burger Kings host musicians. But here in London, on the watery arteries that were my new adopted home, all I heard was the chatter of Coots and two-stroke Lister engines.

When the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea banned amplified music on Portobello Road in July 2019, I offered my boat — a widebeam kitted out with full-length stage — to buskers for gigs adjacent to the patio of the Union Tavern in Ladbroke Grove. The pub didn’t pay. The customers didn’t tip. But the musicians came back anyway. All month long. For the sheer novelty of playing on Molly Anna.

How do you harness that energy? How do you put together the world’s largest collection of aspiring performers with discriminating audiences? In compliance with Canal and River Trust rules that limit you to audiences of 12 and acoustic music? And post-Covid, how do you do it on a scale that addresses the fact that venues which successfully evaded gentrification remain shuttered? And will be shuttered again, as a first precaution authorities take when a novel virus next spreads?

Brigadoon! is our answer. Not the mythical Scottish Highland Village that appears every 100 years, nor the Broadway musical with Gene Kelly who stumbles upon it during a love-struck hunting trip, but a flotilla of canal boats that manifests every two weeks, somewhere along the city’s labyrinth, weaving a magical atmosphere of music, theatre and public discourse, unlocking a new potential for London’s old canals.

It’s a big vision that started small.

Last September, when Covid concerns were peaking, and the biggest controversy in London was whether to close the pubs an hour early, we debuted the World’s Smallest Canal Boat Festival at tiny Mary Seacole Park in Harlesden. Between the time of our application — when gatherings of 30 were still allowed — and the date of the event, the limit shrank to 6. In true show biz fashion, however, the show went on. Copper Viper, Amy & the Calamities, Bozard and Scratch Theatre performed for... well mostly for themselves, really. And a dozen onlookers from the Mitre Bridge who’d gathered for a historical tour we'd organized of nearby Kensal Green Cemetery.

It took months to organize an event that few beyond the performers attended, but it proved the concept: The first time you debut performance at a 220-year old canal side location is a pain in the ass. It’s much easier the second time, when all of the entities: the Canal and River Trust, whichever borough you’re in and the Met Police have seen it before.

So — although the government hasn’t announced whether they’ll lift the last restrictions on public gatherings on June 21 — we are planning the First Annual Mary Seacole Picnic at Mary Seacole Memorial Park in Harlesden, June 25-27. Capacity will be limited to 30 people at any time, but fringe activities, including walking and paddling tours of the canal to the adjoining cemeteries, including the graves of the brave and enterprising nurse, will occupy more.

It’s the first manifestation of Brigadoon!, with a handful of boats, that we expect to grow in number as we roll onto the next event a week later, and one a week after that. Each one reflecting the character of the neighbourhood. Each one requiring agreements between local Borough officials, CRT and Met Police. Each one leaving a template of risk assessments and Covid-precautions for other canal boat owners, roving traders and performers to jump start discussion with with local officials. Who this time, will already know what you’re trying to do.

We kick off in West London, where the moorings are plentiful, and where we hope it will be easier to rendezvous with roving traders who we hope to entice down to the city later in the summer. If we can band together as many as 20 of them, and give CRT a good 4-6 weeks heads up, they’ll put out mooring suspensions in central London to bring the flotilla to the people.

That’s the second major outcome we see from all of this, making London attractive to roving traders again. If you’re someone who sells goods or services, and think you’d like to join us, you can follow our progress on our website, and we’ll see you on the canal!

what did you do in the lockdown daddy?

So that’s it then...

Boris has given us his road map.

To be honest it looks like an A to Z of the North Circular that a toddler has scribbled over, but at least it’s a map. Things will gradually begin to open up.

Of course all the things we really want to do, like go to the pub, pictures, football, theatre, etc., are pushed toward the back of the list, but hey - it’s a map.

Which all begs the question, ‘What did you do in the lockdown, Daddy?’

So sit here upon my knee my child, whilst I puff wistfully on my clay pipe and reminisce about the good old days.

the good old days...

And what days they were, eh?

We shall never see the like again.

We wore masks, sanitised our hands with alcohol rub until they were drunker than a hen night in Why Aye land and learnt the metric system at last - or at least that two metres was just about, appropriately, something like six feet and a bit. Give or take.

Meanwhile our lords and masters went into overdrive. Dominic pretending that he wasn’t really on his holibobs faked a trip to Specsavers. A cabinet minister's wife lined her pockets with our taxes supplying PPE which, rather like the government itself, was not fit for purpose. And poor old Boris, sick of being blamed for everything and anything became just that - sick - stricken by the very disease that he was trying to protect us all from by attempting to shake the hand of everyone in the country. Perhaps he’d caught a chill attempting to hide in a freezer.

Track and trace did nothing of the sort.

We sat at home and did nothing, saw no one and were careful to not touch our own face with our hands whilst simultaneously keeping a minimum of two metres from the cat, proud of ourselves for being so adept at multitasking.

We drank ourselves into oblivion whilst binge watching box set after box set and then so drunk on canned lager and cheap wine we forgot what we’d watched and went through them all again - backwards.

And we learned what it was like to be truly deprived as Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale slowly ground to a halt and we were forced to watch re-runs of Dirty Den and Ange struggling with the complexities of marriage, causing many of us to reflect on the merits of knife crime, poisoning and hiring a hitman.

Nervously, like frightened rabbits caught in the headlights we shuffled on to our doorsteps at regular intervals to give the NHS the clap.

We rushed out and bought a shiny new bike, because Boris bunged us a few bob to do so and rode it with vigour, determination and without due regard for the safety of others, until it started to rain and we chucked it, our helmets, fluorescent jackets, knee pads, elbow pads, emergency break down kit, into the shed with the intention of flogging it on eBay the next morning.

We blamed the Chinese, completely forgetting that Ozzie Osborn had been stuffing raw bat down his neck with no ill effects for years, watched in awe as Donald Trump eclipsed even the efforts of Boris, our own resident buffoon and completely forgot that we were supposed to be blaming him for Brexit.

And then, like a fog clearing, it came to an end and we all rushed out to ‘eat out to help out,’ while the pubs operated with reduced hours to compress us more densely into restricted spaces.

We hurtled around the shops (one way of course) blue in the face as we all tried desperately not to breathe lest we get infected and put a strain on the NHS which quite frankly needed the customers because no one seemed to be getting any illness that wasn’t directly linked in some way to Covid.

‘Been knocked over by a bus sir? Have you had a minor sniffle in the last twenty five years? You have? Sounds like Covid to me nurse. Book him in and phone Matt Hancock immediately.’

But, fools that we were, things weren’t getting better they were getting worse. The health experts tut-tutted, telling us that it was our own stupid fault, we’d brought it all on our own heads and totally deserved everything that we got. And those were just the experts on Facebook Tube. The experts in the media were almost wetting themselves in excitement. Nicky Campbell debated the subject endlessly on the radio, Robert Peston’s vowels got even more strangled by the day and dear old Laura Kuenssberg considered starting her own tv channel.

So they locked us down again so that we could stay at home an enjoy the frenzy.

‘It’ll be o.k.,’ Boris assured us, ‘It’ll all be over by Chrissymus, so we can look forward to that so long as we’re not too merry about it.’

I think they said something similar about the war.

And verily it came to pass that the great feasting and celebration for the birth of our Lord and saviour wast cancelled by Pontificating Boris forthwith and the plans and aspirations of the many were cast down into the eternal pit of despair ne’er to see the light of redemption again.

Bugger!

But at least Captain Sir Tom was still lapping his garden faster than Lewis Hamilton on a child’s tricycle. Irony of ironies that the new big C got him as he was busy doing what the government should have been doing all these years as he paid for the NHS.

And so it came to pass that lockdown v2.0 became lockdown v3.0 virtually overnight and the little children who had suffered to go to school one day were summarily incarcerated again overnight. Oh, and only stay local, commanded Boris as he circumnavigated the capital city on the Boris bike (a bit like the Batmobile but distinctly wobbly and with no dress sense).

a possible future...

But salvation was at hand.

In a dazzling move, which stunned the world and certainly the EU who we’d recently left although no one had noticed, we developed a vaccine.

In a move which left everyone totally gobsmacked, the government had ordered some. Bloody gazillions of gallons of it. More doses than you could imagine. Not only that, but it had hedged its bets and also ordered gazillions of gallons of vaccines from other sources.

The EU caught short, chucked it’s teddy out of the pram and had a Paddy. Or not. Depending on which side of the Irish border you are.

Some of us, depressingly reminded exactly how old we are, have already got a little prick. Now, now missus, titter ye not!

We have to have another jab in 3 weeks, sorry, what’s that Boris? You meant months? Never mind we can see our holidays galloping over the horizon so we don’t care.

revolutionary outdoor cooking

how it all began...

In December 2001, Time Magazine featured the Cobb as one of the best inventions of that year. This was a major turning point for what had started out as an obvious idea to an environmentalist in Africa several years earlier.

The developer’s idea was to encourage native Africans to use corncobs as fuel for cooking, rather than wood or coal. He devised a simple clay pot stove with a steel mesh grill that Africans could easily make and fuel with their abundant supply of corncobs.

The idea took hold and resulted in the development of the Eco Cobb, an inexpensive, all metal stove that could be distributed in aid programmes in third world countries globally.

Cobb’s commitment to a continual improvement program has resulted in the worldly acclaimed product we see today which is available with several accessories.

total versatility...

The award winning Cobb™ system can roast, bake, smoke, fry and grill. Cobb cooking is fuss-free. Perfect for home and away, the Cobb is easy to clean, light-weight, simple to use and maintain. You can even move the Cobb while cooking to wherever the social gathering may be – outdoors, on the beach or even on a boat.

Endorsed by the South African Heart Foundation, the Cobb's unique patented design allows excess fat and oil to drain away into the moat / inner sleeve for healthier cooking.

The Cobb is virtually smokeless, since the fat and oil drain away and not onto the fire. The base always remains cool-to-touch on the outside whilst cooking hot on the inside.

The Cobb is made of only the highest quality durable materials and because the Cobb has no moving parts, nothing can go wrong.

This highly portable Cobb Premier and Pro weigh only 4kg (8.5 lbs.), zipped into the carry bag it’s 325mm wide and 270mm high.

the elements that make up Cobb...

Dome: made with stainless steel and it has a heat-resistant handle. The holes in the Dome ensure even ventilation throughout the cooking process creating an oven effect.
Grill Grid: with an easy to clean Teflon® non-stick coating. Excess fat drains away through the holes and into the moat.
Fire Basket: A secured area for the Cobble Stone or loose briquettes.
Stainless steel moat: catches all excess fat. The moat can also be used for cooking vegetables.
Base: with anti-slip rubber feet, the base remains stable and cool to touch during use.

The Cobb is packaged complete with instruction manual. All the components with the exception of the base are dishwasher safe.

awards...

Time International voted Cobb one of the best inventions worldwide in 2001
Double Vesta Design Award Winner
Spoga + Gafa Innovation Design Award Winner
disa - Design Innovation South Africa
Heath, Patio & Barbeque Association
The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa
Heart Foundation South Africa

Ian Douglas

about me

"What I love about storytelling is its simplicity. Stories meet us half way and we, the audience, have to be complicit for them to be successful. The stories I like to tell are fun, inviting and light hearted – even the serious ones! I believe that storytelling has a unique ability to connect people, not only to each other but to the past, the future and to the world around us." - Ian Douglas.

So I’ve been a storyteller for about 24 years. I work all over the British isles at festivals and events and in schools, colleges and universities. Originally, I was a street theatre performer, fire breather and stilt walker.

I was inspired to start storytelling after attending the ‘bit craic’ storytelling nights in Newcastle upon Tyne with my friend and illustrator of my book, Gary Cordingley.

During my career I have founded two story-telling based theatre companies, been storyteller in residence for organisations across the North including Northern Stage and Live Theatre in Newcastle and most recently, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. I have also been apprentice to the first laureate for storytelling Taffy Thomas MBE.

I currently live aboard Narrowboat Hawker (that features in the book) with my Wife Jo who is a puppeteer. We often have people on board for stories and shadow shows.

As a storyteller you are always looking for stories that resonate and after 8 years on the cut, the desire to to create a collection of tales inspired by our way of life took root and so here they are.

The book is a starting point for a next phase in my career; I’m going to continue the search for more tales from the canal side but also begin work, with Jo, to turn them into a show. We aim to tour around the network and encourage our audiences to make a deeper connection to life on the waterways.

about the book

'Folk Tales from the Canal side' is one of those beautiful little books that grab you from the moment you see it. It is a nice size, easy to hold and easy to flick through. The front cover is enticing. The colours are those of a traditional canal boat, and the inset painting shows many things associated with boating, or with tales of boating: but a man with a donkey? and a whale?

In the book, Ian talks directly to us, his readers. He then meets someone who gives him a tale, tells the tale, and then carries on chatting about his own similar experience. So we flow in and out of each story - meeting ghosts, devils, murderers, faithless wives and miserable jobsworths. At the same time, Ian manages to educate us by effortlessly weaving in plenty of history about the canals.

Ian's first book was altogether a very enjoyable read, and one which caused me to frequently laugh out loud. I must say I read the entire book in one sitting. I highly recommend it!
(Linda Hollington, editor)

Ian Douglas Storyteller and Author

CanalsOnline MagazineThe online magazine for the inland waterways

All Posts by

Yearly Archives: 2021

a stirling idea

a stirling idea

from Warpfive Fans

heat used as fuel?

thermodynamic mumbo jumbo…

eyes that save lives

the MNA Boat Club’s waterwatch initiative

Eyes That Save Lives

water pollution award for rcr

water pollution award for river canal rescue's bilgeaway filter

water pollution award for rcr and bilgeaway

boaters and road traffic

intertidal zone

boaters and road traffic

brigadoon

brigadoon

what did you do in the lockdown daddy?

old no 38

what did you do in the lockdown, daddy?

the good old days...

a possible future...

revolutionary outdoor cooking

revolutionary outdoor cooking

cook anything, anywhere, anytime!

how it all began...

total versatility...

the elements that make up Cobb...

awards...

Ian Douglas

featured author - summer 2021

ian douglas

about me

about the book

Ian Douglas Storyteller and Author