My name is Sam Keay, I am originally from Cumbria.  In my past I took my children to Africa where I worked as a volunteer teacher. We lived there with no running water or electric.  When I returned home,  I worked for Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Myerscough College and The Open University.

I now live and work on a travelling narrowboat business. I began as ‘Cake on the Cut’ making homemade cakes, hence my Salted Caramel Gin. But I have slowly evolved into ‘Gangplank Spirits & Preserves' and I make foraged fruit gin, whisky, rum, vodka, chutney, jam & cordial. I also open as a café selling soft drinks and crepes, and I have a fully licenced bar.

I was brought up growing a lot of our own produce; we had a big allotment, and bottled and froze the spoils.  We had a Big Damson tree at the bottom of the garden, and it was my job to climb it. My Damson Gin recipe has been handed down through the generations and is still my favourite. I spent much of my childhood blackberrying and scrumping apples, so my business has really grown from my beginnings.

early boating

Growing up we had quite a few narrowboat holidays. I was only a few weeks old when we crossed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct where I was apparently cosily tucked in my Moses basket in the bow.

We always hired boats out of season, when they were cheap, and I remember running ahead to do the locks, my hands sticking to the frost on the lock gates.  Something must have appealed to me and stayed with me, because it seemed a very natural step to move onboard, although I did wait until my children had fled the nest, as I wisely decided I couldn’t live with two teenagers on a narrowboat!

living aboard

I’ve been boating 15 years now and I’m still very in love with the lifestyle. The towpath is a friendly place where people like to talk to each other and help each other out.  Most boaters are unmaterialistic and happy with the simple things in life, a fire, good company, a stew in the pot, and a pint.

I’ve had a lot adventures in the past 15 years that I wouldn’t trade for anything, I think I’ve seen all the 7 wonders of the canal system and so much more. Some of the highlights are:

Crossing the Ribble Link several times, never without a last minute crisis. The first time, I’d only had the boat 2 months and had to be towed by the coastguard as my alternator belt snapped halfway across.

The beautiful Kennet & Avon Canal, surrounded by stone circles, white horses and a history of crop circles.  We enjoyed digging out the inflatable canoe and taking picnics paddling down the Avon and mooring right in the centre of bustling Bristol.

Toiling over the stunning Pennines, with empty pounds, badly maintained heavy double locks, dog tired and muddy, but exhilarated and very alive.

Last year I fulfilled another small dream and cruised her up the Tidal Thames from Limehouse to Oxford where my little hippie boat sailed alongside the gin palaces and big working barges.   I cruised past the Houses of Parliament and the London eye feeling ridiculously small and excited.

every day is different

The everyday small adventures are just as fun, all the windy rainy days, being blown across the cut, fallen trees blocking the canal, single handing swing bridges that open on the wrong side, going down the weed hatch for the third time in a day...

I enjoy seeing the country through the perspective of the waterways, a city looks very different by water, and I love that one day I can be moored in a city centre and the next moored in an isolated country haven.  I feel very privileged to watch a heron hunt from my window and a kingfisher flit by.

There are a few downsides, I hate trying to organise deliveries for my business, dealing with black and white thinking bureaucrats who can’t understand that you don’t have an address, and the never ending fixing things can be a challenge but more than worth it.

good and bad days

This year has been one of the most difficult I’ve ever had on the cut.  I had to have a complete re-plate of my boat during lockdown and borrow the money in one of the most financially challenging years for my business.

I managed to break my ankle just as the job was completed and an exceptionally good friend, a fellow trader, lost her battle with cancer and we had to give her a ‘virtual’ send off.

I’ve also had a few previously unheard-of negative conflicts with trading on the towpath, mostly from other very anxious struggling businesses that have seen me as a threat to their livelihood.

keeping going

Fortunately this has been more than compensated for by the number of super generous people who have gone out of their way to support me and my small business, and realising more than ever what fantastic friends and family I’m lucky enough to have.

All of my festivals, events and floating markets were cancelled this year which is my normal bread and butter to see me through the winter,  so I have had to trade on the towpath wherever and whenever it’s been possible.

The public have been incredible, people have really been trying to support the small business owner for which I am immensely thankful. They have literally kept me afloat.

new website

My son made me a website at the end of last year and it was an unforeseen huge help to my business this year.  It has really taken off for obvious reasons and I also have some interest in supplying my produce to gin bars and artisan shops.

If you fancy some truly homespun  ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Christmas Spirit please look at my products on www.gangplank.shop

Throughout the past year there have been plenty of discussions about deliveries being made to households during the current Covid 19 pandemic crisis, ranging from booking a delivery slot from a supermarket to getting your favourite take away food.

Over the past 10 months, we at Bearingtech have reported on the emergence of drone and autonomous deliveries and the importance that drones and robots now play in everyone`s lives, ranging from park rangers, farmers, parcel services and medical suppliers.

The biggest concern for the majority of people is the contact element that is carried out when a delivery person turns up at your home, especially when we are being told by the government to avoid contact wherever possible to help remove the possibility of spreading the virus even further.

future sight on UK roads...

Well, how about if the deliveries could be made by an autonomous source, a robotic vehicle that could bring goods without the use of human contact?

Sounds a bit like science fiction, but in fact it is now available and up and running and hitting the roads. Kar –Go is a state of the art self-driving delivery robot that has been built by the Academy of Robotics who are a technology institute with an extraordinary team of engineers, researchers and scientists.

They specialize in creating technology to perform or simplify complex tasks by combining the best techniques from machine learning and mechatronics to building powerful self-adapting machines and task specific artificially intelligent software.

The car uses artificial intelligence and a specially developed management system to provide a contact free service.

The success of the invention shows how driverless vehicles could eventually become a common site on our roads and streets delivering parcels across the length and breadth of the country. The whole system is very similar to the autonomous bus and tram service currently being used in Germany and Holland, with parcels being substituted instead of passengers.

This however is not the first type of autonomous delivery service that has been put into practice, some drones have been carrying out automatic drop services for a number of years especially in hard to reach places such as the African plains and the outback`s of Australia where normal road deliveries can take days, sometimes weeks instead of hours.

Another delivery giant, Amazon also tried and tested a similar robotic road delivery service in America alongside their drone prime air service.

autonomous vehicle with safety driver backup

The Kar-Go vehicle will be able to drive itself to and from the senders delivery hub to the customers address and hand over the parcel automatically by using its on board robotics, without the need for human contact.

Thanks to its unique system, the electric vehicle is capable of delivering to city centres as well as rural and suburban locations.

It focuses on the small shoe-box size shaped parcels, where delivery costs can account for the third of the cost value, part-increasing pressure on margins for both retailers and logistic companies.

“Artificial Intelligence can be magical if used the right way”

With a capability of covering 60 miles, which is more than the average daily delivery round, when fully loaded on a single charge this autonomous robot could dramatically reduce the environmental impact that normal delivery vehicles have.

William Sachiti the founder of Academy of Robotics said,  "Kar-Go`s first deliveries represent a key milestone for the wider automotive industry. Alongside our partners at Eurovia UK we have been working closely with DFT`s  Centre for Concerned and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and key London stakeholders.

"What makes it magical for me is that we applied AI and robotics in a useful and good way, the technology is there when it is needed and out of the way when it isn’t.

"The design has been developed as a green alternative to fossil fuel delivery vans, which will enable logistic companies and retailers to help keep delivery costs down, while providing a more convenient delivery experience”.

drone delivery in flight

After talking to a wide range of courier companies they all agreed that during the first lockdown, they were busier than ever, with some drivers expected to deliver up to 180 parcels a day, which is virtually impossible to maintain and causes considerable stress to the drivers concerned.

In a landmark first journey, the Kar-Go successfully transported medical supplies from a pharmacy to a care home in Hounslow Greater London without a hitch.

Although the delivery was autonomous, in accordance to current legislation there was a safety driver on board who could take control and take over at any time if the need arises, with an extra layer of safety provided by its nearby command hub centre, which ensures that safety is at the heart of everything we do.

Beginning with semi- autonomous deliveries, the level of autonomy will be gradually increased from the command hub, Academy of Robotics have instant secure access to remote monitoring and controlled supervision of the vehicle if it is in an autonomous mode.

future high-rise buildings with drone drop off chutes

On a final note, even Architects are now looking at different designs for autonomous deliveries in new buildings, with drone drop off rooftop chutes being introduced into building plans which take parcels directly to the customer.

Drones seem to be here to stay, and by the looks of things getting better everyday and enhancing the way we live, watch this space for future developments.

Once upon a time only Father Christmas came down the chimney, but not anymore. Looks like Rudolph and friends are surplus to requirements.

Now we get down to the rules that have to be followed so the wiring is done to meet the RCD requirements and recommendations.

cable insulation colours

Black cable may only be used for negative cables and the cable must be the same colour throughout its entire length – so if it is a negative it must be black all the way, not a red with a bit of black at each end

If the boat has a three-phase AC system (unusual with our boats but possible) the black is used for an AC live so yellow should be used for all the negatives not black.

Positive cable – a positive cable (battery volts) may be any colour except

• Black,
• Brown,
• Blue,
• Green,
• Green/yellow,
• If a 3 phase boat yellow because that will be negative.

recommendation or good practice

Red is used for all positives except switch positives i.e. the wires between two 2-way switches; the cable from the switch to an item (light, pump etc) should be a different colour to red. The means when testing if it is red it should be at battery volts, any other colour that is allowed to be a positive that will need a switch switched to be at battery volts.

back to the rules:

securing cables and what can run with what or not run with what

All cables should be secured every 300mm, unless they are supported in a conduit or ducting. Where there are only DC cable in the duct they do not need to be secured, if other cables are also in the duct, AC for example, secure every 300mm to keep the two cable types at least 100mm apart.

DC cables should not be run within 100mm of AC cables or gas pipes unless protected in a conduit. (Recommendation I tend to use split-corrugated conduit secured every 300mm to 1000mm) within the duct.

To make this clearer there are two situations

• A Gas Pipe in the picture

All cables closer than 100mm to a gas pipe have to be in conduits be they AC or DC.

• No Gas pipe in the picture

If AC and DC cables are closer than 100mm one of them has to be in conduit to separate them away from the others.

All cables should be protected anywhere they can be abraded by the vibration of the boat etc, This particularly means where the cable crosses an edge of metal or wood, even plastic, goes through a hole in a bulkhead (wall) be it wood or metal etc or where they cannot be secured at 300mm intervals, conduit must be used.

I think that is about it but anyone shout if I have missed anything

finally

You should now have all the information to purchase the cables you need with the terminations, the correct size of fuse/switch board and do the DC installation of the boat from the Batteries via fuse board to the electrical items.

in the appendix are

• How two 2-way switches can control things from two different positions.
• A copy of the full one page drawing of the Lighting circuits
• A copy of the full one page drawing of the Sockets etc.

Copies of the originals are available from me via the 12 Volt Boating Group 

The Rose of Hungerford is a traditional canal boat offering public trips and private charters, owned by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and run and maintained by fully-trained volunteer members of the Hungerford branch.

It was built by Peter Nicholls at Napton, Warwickshire, was launched at Great Bedwyn in 1982 and commissioned at Hungerford Wharf in 1983, now its home mooring.

It is 55’ (16.7m) long and 10’ 6” (3.2m) wide. Its original engine came from an ex-London taxi, then a Shire 40 engine was fitted in 1997 and lasted 20 years.

It is now powered by a Barrus Shire 50 Diesel engine (50bhp at 3000rpm), fitted in 2017.

The boat was named for John O’Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, third of the five sons of King Edward III who reached adulthood, who gave the Commoners of Hungerford fishing rights on the River Kennet (now strictly controlled). These rights were granted in addition to the grazing and hunting rights already received.

The red rose is the symbol of the House of Lancaster (the white rose is the symbol of the House of York), and since then has been a symbol of Hungerford. A red rose is presented to a reigning monarch whenever he or she visits the town.

The current Duke of Lancaster is Her Majesty the Queen. She travelled on The Rose when officially opening the restored Kennet and Avon Canal at Caen Hill, Devizes, on 8th August, 1990, 30 years ago. In 2013, The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust was honoured by Her Majesty, who awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for voluntary groups. In 2014, The Princess Royal visited the Trust’s Headquarters in Devizes to present the Award.

During lockdown, the Rose has been treated to six new door panels, for the side and engine doors, beautifully painted with traditional roses by Bradford-on-Avon based signwriter, Ginny Barlow.

Further details of the crew and trips provided will be given in my next article for CanalsOnline magazine.

Iris Lloyd, Waterways chaplain (with thanks to Sarah Warburton, who provided the details given above and also took the photographs, except for the one of the Queen)

Fern Floating Fine Art is a nomadic arts illustration business, currently making its way around the inland waterways of Britain.

I live on, work in and sell from my little boat ‘Fern’. I am a painter of fauna and flora and resident artist at Fern Floating Fine Art. My work is influenced by folklore, superstition, fireside tales, canal and traveller traditions, the macabre, Victoriana, and I take constant inspiration from the seasons and the countryside around me.

I am fascinated by animals and their connection to the natural world. Their interdependence with the world around them, that as human beings I feel, we have now largely lost. I use my exploration of animals and the subsequent paintings as an attempt to reconnect with nature and the forgotten elements of our own culture. One way that I attempt to do this is by always painting the creature whilst we are making eye contact. In this moment I feel a special knowledge is passed between us. I use flowers as symbolic signposts to direct the meaning of the painting. Each flower is carefully chosen to represent and to compliment the birds status and the meaning of the work.

I like to separate my subjects from their everyday existence and instead venerate them to icon status by infusing them with vast amounts of symbolic flora. I pay no regard to accurate or relative proportion, instead preferring to use this to further separate the subject by using the flowers to create busy almost abstracted backgrounds. This technique and my use of colour is very much influenced by my traveller culture where almost everything is highly decorative. My paintings reflect rather than illustrate the stories that I come across through my travels.

As an artist my mission is to create a feeling of connection and guardianship towards our planet and the life it contains.

John creates our beautiful handmade wooden frames, using wood that we have found and reclaimed along our travels.

All of the work is professionally printed and comes either mounted ready for framing or framed in our handmade reclaimed wood frames.