I lived on a narrowboat for 17 years until recently, and worked on the marina I was moored on. I loved every minute of my life on September Song….. so did my dog. 🐕🦺🐾
The speed limit on British Waterways canals is, I think, 4 mph but most of the time you will be doing about 3 mph, so yes it takes a long to get anywhere but that's part of the pleasure.
And after the Falkirk Wheel, he should check out the Caen Hill _(pronounced ‘cane')_ lock system; it is one of the longest continuous 'flight of locks' in the country. A total of 29 locks with a rise of 237 feet over two miles with a 1-in-44 gradient. And 'JJ', canal locks are how narrow boats 'climb hills'... LOL
I regularly use The Falkirk Wheel.. although not so often as I used to.. mainly on the Union Canal now. But The Falkirk Wheel is amazing.. it never gets old no matter how many times you’ve been up/down it😁💙🏴 xx
@@olwens1368 Also the Anderton Boat Lift _(AKA the Cathedral of the Canals),_ which lifts boats and barges 50ft from the River Weaver Navigation to the Trent & Mersey Canal. Designed by Edwin Clark in 1875, it was in operation for over 100 years until it closed in 1983. It opened to the public in 2002 after a huge renovation project. Its very ingenious, using two huge water tanks, each with watertight sealable doors, that work as counterbalances to transport the boats up and down.
You've heard of Pete Waterman because he was in a very recent video you watched. And Stock, Aitkin and Waterman produced Rick Astley and we all know where that is know.
As he was turning the punt that was the famous King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It has a world-famous choir and every Christmas the BBC broadcasts carols from King's.
Yeah, canals are a hidden gem of the UK. Did you know that Birmingham actually has more canals than Venice? Back in the early Industrial Revolution, they were the arteries of industry. Remember, this was before cars and trucks and motorways had been invented, so these were the "motorways" (or highways, if you prefer) of the time. The main "speedy" way to move materials around. For example, they'd mine coal up the South Wales valleys - in places like Merthyr Tydfil - and then it'd all be ferried down the canals and rivers on long boats, down to Cardiff docks, for transport around the UK and internationally. Birmingham has so many canals as these were the "roads" upon which industry moved its materials and goods around the country. But, yeah, these days, the canals are for tourism. Seeing the countryside. Some people live in their narrowboats, following a nomadic life going around the country. It's all very chillaxed and care-free.
Yes, Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice, but then, Amsterdam has far more miles of canal than Birmingham. The truth is that Venice doesn't have a very big area, whereas Birmingham is huge and sprawling.
Nope, we used to play rounders in mixed teams at primary school, because cricket is not played in state funder UK primary schools, or at least it wasn't 50 tears ago when I was at school.
@@romulanwang • When I started school 70yrs ago, rounders was only played by girls. The boys played cricket, not football, even at home. Girls used to play cricket at home too, as there wasn't enough room in streets full of terraced houses for rounders.
The clip of the bowling was indoor bowling, lawn bowling is played in the outdoors on a mown lawn, it's one thing I want to learn, especially as I've just turned 60 lol
Before we invented railways, most bulk goods were moved in the UK by canal. Before engines, they were pulled by horses - so every canal has a towpath. Except when the canal has to go through a tunnel - when the boaters would lie on the roof of the boat and 'walk' or pole it through. Boaters and their families lived on the boats/barges, in the same way your long-distance truckers do today - but the boat was their permanent home. Narrow boats could also pull other un-powered boats (barges), to increase the goods carried.
I used to play rounders at school, I was terrible at it. If you missed the ball you still had to run, but mostly only got as far as first base, otherwise you would get caught out. You would then continue your run round when the next player had their go. To score a rounder you would get around all four bases in one go. In all my years of playing I scored the grand total of 1 rounder 😂
It's nice if it's "nice", although it's not bad unless the weather's terrible and even then it's bearable. If you've got good company it doesn't really matter. Bovril in the morning and booze starting in the afternoon depending on who's Captain.
I can confirm this. I live on my narrowboat and my friend was travelling along the Llangollen canal near Oswestry, came round a blind bend where the canal passes under the A5 road and bumped (literally) into a boat being helmed by Harrison Ford.
We went narrow-boating last February. It's a wonderful way to be far colder than you ever thought possible. Controlling one is terrifying, and once you've convinced yourself you've mastered it, it lets you know just how wrong you are. All the canals seem to be dug as far away from grocery stores as possible, and get ready to having a phone signal every other day, at best. I loved it. ;-)
Haha, I live near and walk my dog near and along the Grand Union, often utterly charming in Spring/Summer but it looks and feels like it could suck the life out of you in Winter.
After seeing your reaction to narrowboating on the canals you should have a wee look at the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies up in Scotland, and absolutely beautiful feat of engineering.
"Trainspotting" as a hobby was actually the collecting of locomotive numbers. Back before nationalisation, different train companies owned the railway systems in different regions. "Spotting" the number of a steam locomotive outside of it's normal region was a big deal. While trying to spot a complete collection of as many of a companies locomotives as possible.
Snooker and pool are both descended from billiards. Some people think billiards is played on a snooker table. In fact, snooker is played on a billiards table. Pool is played on a pool table because pool won't behave.
There is also 'crown green' boling which is not on a flat lawn but is played on a square green which is humped in the centre and gradually slopes to the edges. The art of the game is using the bias of the bowl to overcome the 'slopes' of the green. The aim is to get the greatest number of bowls close to the small 'jack'. The winner of a single game gets to roll the jack to its next position. Sometimes this will be along the edge of the square 'green', or diagonally across it. It demands much more skill than the flat lawn bowls. Punting in the UK is not as easy as it looks, most beginners (including me) manage to go round in circles at first. The place behind the 'punter' is in Cambridge and is known as the 'backs' referring to the University college buildings you see in the video.
@@danielaltmann1308 I became involved with the game when my grandad took me with him to bowl with his friends, I was about 10 years old, and I proudly carried his special bag for his bowls to the greens when I was on holiday in Morecambe where he lived. He let me have a few ends on my own and explained how the bias works. Later in my teens I used to play with a friend on our local park in the West Midlands where we lived, and you could rent a couple of sets of bowls and a jack with an hour's green use for half a crown, but that was in the days when dedicated park keepers kept the facilities in good condition and the local yobs at least respected those. Also several of our local pubs , in such an industrial area, had crown greens at the back and I used to watch the guys play while my dad enjoyed a pint, happy days. But now where I live it's impossible to find a green - sad.
Pete Waterman isnt just into model trains he owns real trains and used to own part of the rail engineering depot i work at. The crossing point on the up/down stafford loop is still called the Waterman crossing.
That description of snooker you read there was wildly inaccurate. It's 15 red balls, not pink, there's only one pink ball. Basically a snooker table 12ft by 6ft vs 8ft by 4ft for a pool table, and the aim is to score the most points. Snooker balls and pockets are smaller than US pool too. Look up the scoring rules if you like :) EDIT: Also I think most UK pool tables in pubs are a bit smaller than the US standard pool table, but the balls are also smaller, as are the pockets. Same basic rules for pool however EDIT EDIT: Also the cue tips for snooker and UK pool are smaller, for fine control of the smaller balls. I did once play on a US sized pool table in some god awful franchise pub, and immediately realised how much bigger the balls and pockets were, and then understood the thick tipped cues.
My parents had boats when I was young. Every dry weekend, bank Holiday and school holidays are crammed in a small boat with your family in a hot box, constantly working locks and always going to the same places, year after year. Younger me hated it, older me loved it for the odd day out and now miss it as my parents didn't want the hassle with age
Hi JJLA I’m English and really enjoy your channel. I love how you’ve never heard of narrowboats and your enthusiasm. Many people live on boats on the canal network. I’ve had a few holidays with friends on them, great pub crawl!! All the best to ya.
I think reacting to a full episode of americans narrowboating might be interesting. Ive watched quite a few narrowboat vids as it is relaxing and as you said a great way to see the real countryside ohf the uk
Downielive has done 8 trips on narrowboats including the Falkirk Wheel and the longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel among others, admittedly he’s Canadian though but well worth checking out.
There was a BBC Four 'Slow TV' programme, in 2020 - "a two-hour uninterrupted canal trip down the Kennet and Avon Canal from Bath" - no music, no commentary, no voiceover - just a beautiful part of the country, travelling at 3mph. Sadly, for some reason it's been taken off iPlayer and RUclips. 😞
Canals helped the industrial revolution of the 18th century be as influential as it was, helping goods get around the country at a fraction of the cost of using horses. A canal boat in Norfolk (Nor-f'k, not Nor-folk) was one of my favourite as an adult for the calm, solitude and serenity.
Hello! Just a big thank you for your channel. I only discovered it a week ago and I’m stuck in hospital, so the only way of diversion/sanity, is by finding great content, which is interesting, presented by someone with a great voice, a great face and lots to catch up on. Thank you! You’re helping me get through the days here. Keep up the brilliant work! (Although the idea of plugs falling out of walls is still diverting my attention. Lots of love and respect! Thank you!
I’ve just left hospital and been released back into the community. Good YT videos kept me sane between the incessant rounds of ‘observations’ and blood samplings. JJLA is always worth watching and I’m very glad I subscribed some time ago. 😊
The canals were used to transport goods and raw materials around the UK before the advent of the railways and were towed by horses along a tow path. Also checkout "Tunnel Walking". Canal boats are notoriously expensive to hire out and they are very cramped.
Sorry, but that's a complete myth that was spread at the time. Also Drake's ships didn't really inflict that much damage on the larger of the Spanish ships. Whilst it's true that he did destroy some of the smaller craft of the Spanish fleet with the use of fire ships, the vast majority of the Armada fleet were destroyed by the awful weather they encountered when they tried to escape by going down the English channel, up along the east cost, around Scotland, back down on the west coast of England and home to Spain. Up to 24 ships were wrecked along the way before the rest managed to get home. Among the factors contributing to the defeat and withdrawal of the Armada were bad weather conditions and the better employment of naval guns and battle tactics by the English.
Punting isn’t necessarily posh 😄 my daughter and I had a blast on the Regent’s Canal in London, being serenaded by a fellow with a guitar, while his mate punted the canal boat along, and boat dog, black lab Boatie, jumped on and off to run along the tow path. Boarding was at Camden Market. A brilliant hour
Pete Waterman has an almost supernatural talent for making highly successful but dreadful records. He called his studio _The Hit Factory_ and was just that, a factory - churning out soulless records based on a formula.
What once was unbearably cringe-worthy, I now smile at fondly. I'll be honest, I didn't expect that. 😅 I'd love to see the look on my 15-year-old self's face!
Roadblock was the greatest musical blag. They released a couple of hundred copies, kicked those records around the warehouse, spilt coffee stains on the labels to age them, then quietly distrubuted them to select record shops. A few very well known radio dj's picked those records up and claimed they found them in the grandparents record collections. 9 months later SAW released roadblock, and made those dj's look like fecking muppets.
The mindful narrowboat is a utuber who is a poet, artist and seems to know everything about nature. She’s wonderful and it’s extremely relaxing to watch!
People live on canal boats but you can also hire them for holidays. They move very slowly and it makes for a very relaxing time just floating gently along seeing wildlife and villages and stopping at canal side pubs. People are friendly and helpful.
People foraging for mushrooms are stripping our woodlands bare. In several other European countries there ar restrictions on where and when mushrooms can be picked. Unfortunately not so in the UK.
Canal/Narrowboats used to be towed along by horses. Big, chunky draught/draft horses that were led, plodding along those thin pathways, called tow paths.
We also have Curling, Shinty and Cèilidh's in Scotland, which would be unfamiliar to Americans. We do Scottish Country dancing at school😂 unsure if anywhere else in the UK does it too😊
My great-great grandfather used a punt for wildfowl hunting in the 19th century. A punt would have an enormous gun mounted on it and the hunter would lay down and propel the punt with a little paddle in each hand. Once within range of the target, the gun discharged a large amount of bird shot and the hunter gathered up the birds to sell in town whilst keeping some for his own table. It was a late autumn/winter activity and kept my great-great grandad and his family going until spring came and workers were hired back on the farms in the spring.
Heyy , ignore this comment if you don’t want the rules of rounders. I was in a few schools but these are kinda the base rules: the bowler throws the ball and there are 7 outcomes: 1. You miss the ball. Depending on local rules, you can either run as many bases as possible or just to first base 2. You hit it behind you. Most people agree that if this occurs you can only run to 1st base 3. You hit it but score no points but are not out. You’ve hit it but only far enough to run to 1st base before the fielders hit the ball on the 2nd base and return the ball to the bowler 4. You hit it and get half a point. You hit it far enough to get to 2nd base before the ball is tapped on the 3rd base and returned to the bowler. 5. You score a full rounder. You hit the ball far enough that the ball can’t be hit on a base in front of you before you clear all 4 bases 6. You’re caught out. A fielder catches the ball you hit before it touches the floor 7. You’re tapped out. A fielder taps the ball on the base in front of you as you have left the previous base but not quite reached the next one. This can also happen if you’re trying to make your way around the bases if you hit the ball previously but didn’t score a full rounder. It’s worth noting that any players at a base can run to the next base as soon as the ball leaves the bowlers hands, whether or not the batsman hits it. Both teams have a go at batting and fielding, whichever team has the most rounders, wins. The fielding formation usually has a back stop, a fielder posted at each base and then if there’s any excess, they’ll just scatter around the field for the longer shots
@@alisonrodger3360 Apparently (according to my ex-inlaws) Lawn Bowls is what to choose as a hobby once you start getting too old for "faster" pursuits..."til your knees go" and by then, you're "hooked" on the game and will do anything you can (despite horrific knee pain) to continue for as long as you possibly can... I feel that way about horseriding but sadly I gave that up years before I should've been at that stage (though, after falling off a train when on my way to work aged _16_ 🥺, I already had knee troubles!) when I married and started my family... hindsight's the best vision but the worst way to feel regretful. ☹️
As someone who was quite good at snooker,I also played pool for my local, and being a good snooker player pool was so easy.The tables are much smaller and when you break off depending on the difference in rules you might have to pot all the stripes or spots and then the black ball, depending on what goes in the pocket from the break.That is how we played in the 80s when I was younger.I don’t play anymore but if I see it on the tv there is a different way to play international rules you pot the balls in numerical order,When you’re a good snooker player pool seems like a child’s game.Mark Selby won the championship in the USA showing the pool how to play their own game.
Used to play ‘Danish Rounders’ during breaks at school. Used a tennis ball and your fists to strike didn’t need a bat. As I am left handed I could hit with either hand, made it harder for the fielders. They would ask which hand they should pitch to. I would say aim for my face I’ll decide when the ball gets here.
I live close to a place called Caen Hill Locks. A climb featuring 29 locks. Canal boating is a great holiday choice but recommend for 2+ people due to navigation of locks etc. There are set routines that you can time with planned pub lunch stops along the way. Good fun x
Narrow boats are often ornately hand decorated. People who stare at canals are called Gongoozelers. There are plenty of RUclipsr channels documenting their lives on the canals.
The American couple on the narrow boat are The Wynns. They have a very well followed channel "Gone with the Wynns". The sail on their own catamaran, Curiosity. I recommend it.
There are two distinct versions of Bowls in the uk: Lawn Bowls (or FLAT GREEN Bowls) involves using the balance bias to control the passage of bowls to finish close to a jack (target ball) on a flat green as the name suggested. Especially in the North of England however, you'll find bowling greens which are curved to be higher in the middle and lower at the edges, used to play CROWN GREEN Bowls - where players use the vertical curve of the green AND the balance bias of the bowls to play for position close to the jack. Flat green bowling almost always features players playing from one side of the green to the other, whereas crown green bowling often (but not always) requires the players to play from one corner of the green to the opposite corner. You'll often find people playing an indoor version of flat green bowls, whereas this is rare (if not non-existant) for crown green bowling, since suitable shapes indoor floors just don't naturally exist!)
My family were born, lived and worked on narrow boats (aka barges) for at least 5 generations up until the early twentieth century. They transported goods between London and Birmingham on the Grand Union and Regent Canals and families like mine were known as water gypsies. My grandmother and her sisters shared the memories their dad shared with them about his early life. I recently researched archived data, mostly census data. It was amazing how it all came together. There were even instances where I could read between the lines. My great grandmother wasn’t a water gypsy. My grandmother told me her dad’s family were surprised that he married ‘a land girl’. The census from around the time they met showed that he was moored in Paddington Basin. Maps of the area showed that my great grandmother’s home overlooked the Basin. I could picture her gazing out of her window at a young, handsome water gypsy as he loaded and unloaded goods from the barge. Maybe it was love at first sight, who knows? As newlyweds, they lived on the barge. That was until a cow put its head through the window while my great grandmother was washing dishes. She broke down and asked why they couldn’t live on land ‘like normal people’. He idolised her, so he agreed. His one request was that wherever they lived was ok, but he still really needed to be able to see the canal. The address on the next census showed them in a property that couldn’t have been closer. His occupation was listed as ‘dockhand’, so he was still directly working with narrow boats. My grandmother told me how important this was for her dad. He had 8 daughters and no sons. There were days when his stroppy teenagers were all at each other’s throats. Once he’d helped calm them down, he’d sit on the lock and gaze down the canal. One of the most interesting memories was the fact that my great grandfather and his younger brother Joe were ‘leggers’. Their barge didn’t have an engine, so relied on horse power. Their dad would walk along the tow path with the horse as it towed the barge. He must have walked hundreds of miles. But I digress. This was fine until they had to go through a tunnel. Their dad would walk the horse to the tunnel exit and wait for them there. My great grandfather and his brother had to propel the barge through the tunnel with no horse power. So they would lay on their backs on the barge with their feet on the tunnel wall and ‘walk’ the barge through. I initially pictured this taking 5 minutes or so. But my research showed that the main tunnel on their route was the Maida Vale tunnel. On average it took TWO AND A HALF HOURS. The tunnels were dank and smelly and they were in the dark. He’d left that part of the story out, presumably because he felt his daughters didn’t need to hear it. I see now why his daughters said what an amazing man, husband and father he was and why they still missed him. They were old ladies at the time too. Sorry for the long comment. Just thought you might find some of it interesting.
I've been on canal holidays for friends birthdays and things, like a floating mobile home and you can park up anywhere you want at night. I've also got a major canal passing by the end of my road and because they used to be horse drawn, every canal has a tow path, which make for great walks and cycle routes. Most of them were neglected for years after being surpassed by road and rail, but enthusiasts and governments etc... have invested loads of time and money restoring and maintaining them over the last few decades which has lead to an increase in their use for leisure. I can cycle to city centre avoiding all roads, which is pretty amazing, I could technically take a boat, but that would take ages, especially as there's about 3 locks in the way.
Rounders is like baseball for kids, Bowls is like marbles for old people, Punting is limited to just a few shallow rivers, mainly around Cambridge, Canal boat holidays are the best in the world. I have been on many, and yes some people live permantly on them.
One of my uncles, who lives in Cambridge, has had many canal boats over the years, currently, he has a really fancy one that's like a high tech apartment inside. My other uncle who also lives around ther used to be a canal boat painter and would do all the traditional designs by hand you see on them.
Hi JJLA! You can have narrowboat holidays here in the UK! There are YT vids on the subject. You can also go on day trips, where someone else is in charge. Contrary to what was said in the vid a lot of the canals are canalised rivers, or join with rivers, like the (tidal) Trent. so more exciting than you might think. Keep Reacting!
Narrowboating can be a very tranquil way to holiday. You can hire a narrowboat all over the canals. There are kitchens, bedrooms, and small lounges in all narrowboats. They are tight, though. The speed limit is 4 or 6mph, to stop any boat wash eroding the banks. There isn't much of a speedometer, you guage it by looking to the side and noting your ripples. In certain areas, there are canal police who use speed guns (mostly the Norfolk Broads area). People can wild moor, which means pulling up to the bank, throwing out stakes and ropes, and tying up in the middle of nowhere. Other mooring options are in towns, where you pay to moor at designated posts or rings, or at canal side pubs. They are always self-catering. You do your own cooking and cleaning unless you eat at one of the many pubs on the way. One of the best nights sleep I ever had was in a holiday narrowboat, listening to the rain tinkling into the canal water
I have known about narrowboats for over seven years and my first subscription on YT was CountryHouseGent who documented his experience of living exclusively on his narrowboat and still does document his life on the canals. I used to use stationary bikes or a Healthrider and watched one episode each day which perfectly fit my schedule. Those wondering about it, a Healthrider uses a rowing motion that leverages a person's own body weight to pull against, providing a low impact, total body aerobic exercise. As I lost weight, I had to use a saddle apparatus that allowed me to add free weights to offset the weight I had lost, in order to continue the benefit.
Narrow boating is great fun for a long weekend or perhaps an extended week. Speed limit is usually 4mph to prevent bank erosion, steering can be hairy until you get the hang of it as you're steering a 40/60/80 feet long boat from a tiller on the rear. Never tried Punting, rowing was hard enough. Lawn bowls is brilliant, and exhausting, you wouldn't think it but after 2 or 3 hours you're knackered and ready for a beer. Netball is primarily a girls/ladies game. Rounders is great fun as long as you treat it like that and don't try to be to competitive with people trying to trip you or impede runners, great fun for family and friends. Every boy had a train set when they were young, it was a staple Christmas present and would have all the dads and uncles helping set it up, usually with the kids watching on, boys will always be boys. 🇬🇧
There's a famous canal route in Scotland, where my dad was a rural policeman when I was growing up. One day he got a very angry phone-call from a lock-master (some locks have a toll you have to pay to finance their upkeep) saying there was some foreigner refusing to pay the toll, and he wanted him arrested. Turned out it was the King of Spain, who for obvious reasons didn't carry spare change with him.
In the uk, you have train spotters or you have Cranks. Trainspotters note down the locomotive numbers as the trains pass them. Cranks collect mileage on specific trains - such as diesel locomotives or routes - by riding on the train 👍
There are companies that hire out narrow boats and they give you tuition before you start, it's a wonderful way to see the countryside and the whole community of narrow boaters are friendly and can advise on locks and amenities. Great for a relaxing holiday or in fact to live on.
I used to play netball at school. Being tall my usual position was Goal Defence - when Goal Attack tried to score a goal my job was to jump high and try to deflect the ball. It was the only sport I was ever even slightly good at.
Narrowboats historically were drawn by horses walking along the canal bank, called the towpath. Tunnel mouths still show ridges where the ropes would abrade the brickwork. If a boat had to navigate a particularly long tunnel, the boat occupants would lie on their backs on the roof and propel the craft with their legs on the tunnel walls, known as 'legging'. I've tried my hand - or rather my feet - at this myself at certain museum tours.
The buildings behind the punter are the backs of Cambridge University, as you'll know, a lot of famous people in history and in the modern day have studied.
Canals helped to spark the industrial revolution, in the 1700s and though largely superseded by railways in the mid 1800s, they remained important well into the 20th Century. Canal boats were initially pulled by horses, so canals nearly always have "towpaths" alongside the canal. It was a big improvement over the use of pack horses and meant that bulk goods, such as coal could be transported around the country and to sea ports, relatively quickly and efficiently. It was also a perfect was to transport delicate goods, such as pottery, ceramics and glassware, industries that were booming in the late 1700s and who's growth was largely down to the canal-river network that covered the country by the early 1800s. Post WW2 most canals were in a sorry state and were largely unused. Some were closed forever but gradually more and more were saved. Nowadays they're mainly used for recreation, with people hiring a narrowboat, to travel peacefully around the country, exploring as they go. There are also plenty of people who actually live on their narrowboats. Something that the digital age has made much easier to do. :)
Girl Gone London Trainspotters are heavily connected to Scotrail , AVANTI , LNER and other railways in the UK They are key in getting Trains inspected and repaired
in the 1950's you had a rounders bat it was like a small cricket bat and a normal ball.You had 4 bases which had a person at it from the other team who were trying to get you out at a base.The object was to hit the ball as far as you could and not to the otherside fielders and while the ball travelled you had to go to each base which made up circle if the ball did not get to a base you kept running to all 4 bases had to be used which was the rounders finishing point,It's simular to the US but the bat was small like the shape of a cricket bat.
My brother-in-law used to live on a narrowboat. We went on trips with him occasionally, including across the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct - which is basically a metal trough perched 120 feet above the River Dee valley..
Crown green bowling = curling on grass. And as for trainspotters: you've seen plenty of them in the Jay Foreman videos on the tube map (wth starting roles for youtube's very own Trainsportter-in-Chief Geoff Marshall)
Train spotting - we have enormous stations (20 platforms or more) with trains rushing through every 30 seconds, at least in rush hours. One such station has a high observation gantry for trainspotters, so it doesn't come as a surprise that this activity has it origins in UK.
That building in the background in the punting explainer video was King's College in Cambridge. Just one of the 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University.
Very happy Kaylin and JJ both pronounce it "properly" - with the long "oo" as in "spook" not like other Americans with the short "oo", like "took"... sorry, that just grinds my gears. 😅
Canals are brilliant and restored and maintained by enthusiasts. Canal boats were pulled by horses so there are paths alongside. Walking the canal paths is great, through beautiful countryside and through Britains industrial history
Still on the water, you can see some of the university buildings in the background. A punter (or puntsman) is very often a university student who ferries tourists around in his spare time (like a part-time job). You actually can use it to get from one end of town to another - like a waterbus.
Anybody can rent a narrow boat for a week (or longer) holiday; it is a staple of the British holiday industry. When younger I holidayed on the Norfolk broads and the Thames. It was fantastic ;-)
Punting in the US is the same as the original in the UK. It's a silent way to go hunting on lakes and rivers, shooting ducks and geese. In the mid/late 1800's, punt-guns became huge black powder blunderbusses that could blow a hole in the sky, hoping a flock of geese would fly into the shot.
Additional part of the bowls, lawn bowls, indoor and crown bowls are three distinct sports in my opinion. Indoor bowls (the one that you watched the video on), is different to crown but similar to lawn where in lawn and indoor you only go up and down whilst in crown (the one I play) you can go anywhere on the "green", and "tactics" if you wanna call it that can be using the edges, across the middle, or if you are more competitive, corner to corner etc. Lawn is a mix of both indoor and crown, although the difference between lawn and crown is crown bowls is played on a golf-like surface where it has humps and bumps (the best way i can describe it) on that make the bowl react whilst it is rolled. Although obviously the bias of the bowl will "peg" or turn a certain way anyway. Additionally, the "older demographic" is sadly true, the British Crown Association has seen a big reduction in juniors playing due to a rule set that makes the Junior competitions only allow players up to 18, which realistically they should have done to 21 to add to the covid years that saw us not play. However, in many parts of the North of England and Wales, it is a decently big thing with 25-60 year olds, however sadly mostly the only way you get in is from parents or other family members do it, but I hope it could change in the future because it is dying. I kinda hope that the stereotype that it is an "older, gentlemen's sport" goes away because it really is simple and for all ages, and not "just something to do when you retire" because it might not be there when you do. Just thought id add my 2 cents onto it, because it is quite an interesting sport to play and watch, and to clarify some things.
For Snooker its basically pot a red(15 of) then pot a colour(7 of) the red stays gone, the colour gets put back. Until all the reds are gone and then pot the colours in a set order, ending on the black. Its a fun watch. I used to watch it on a black and white tv as a kid which is alot harder to follow cos all the balls are grey 😂. Its also cool to see them trying to snooker eachother (put them in a position where they havent got a move to play). Snookered is used in normal speech too, kinda polite version of saying somethings screwed.
I taught/coached netball for many years when I was a teacher. A really fun sport and a great workout! If you are tall, you are usually a goal shooter or a goalkeeper. Fast players are attackers or play in the centre position.
FYI JJLA, this "at least a week" is really good. I watch Kaitlin's video a day or so after it comes out and then I get to see it again as your reaction when it is still fresh enough to remember but also long enough for it to be not repetitive but not too soon to be stealing my view of her video.
It's funny that an American teacher developed netball in the U.K. as an offshoot of basketball, while basketball was invented by a Canadian teacher (James Naismith), who was teaching in the U.S. . See the video "Heritage Minutes : Basketball". These one minute films on Canadian history used to play during commercial breaks on Canadian TV.
Pool versus snooker; Pool is about sinking balls and managing a perpetually crowded table. Snooker is about sinking balls and managing the empty space between balls on a table that is over twice the size.
Snooker gets much more interesting when players aren’t able to clearly pot the required balls when they’re snookered. The point isn’t always to pot the balls and clear the table, often it’s to force a foul from the other player.
Trainspotting is more about collecting the Serial Numbers. There is also Planespotting civilian (Private/Light Aircraft, Business Jets and Airlines) military (Raf, Usaf, and all the European air forces). Also Bus and Coach Spotting, Haulage Company Truck Spotting. All very much the same with collecting the serial numbers and a good deal of Photography. Yes Pete Waterman is a Trainspotter as is Rod Stewart also into his model Railways, there are many more famous people into this as well.
Yeah Narrow boating is extremely relaxing and gets you away from the hustle and bustle. Although you don't get very far in a week. It is a very slow life. You can almost walk as fast as a Narrow boat travels. But it can also be tiring depending on how many locks you encounter in a day. When we were moving our Parents boat to a new location we ended up going through 27 locks in one day because of the route and staircase locks we had to navigate (that was 15 years and very fit and healthy ago though), and that was a hell of a day, not relaxing at all. So if you are going to go, plan your trip to avoid lots of locks in one day.
Punts are now a posh thing, but historically they were used by fowlers, people out hunting water birds - see punt guns. Also if you are interested in snooker check out some of the professionals- trick shots etc - they are so very skilled 👍
I lived on a narrowboat for 17 years until recently, and worked on the marina I was moored on. I loved every minute of my life on September Song….. so did my dog. 🐕🦺🐾
The speed limit on British Waterways canals is, I think, 4 mph but most of the time you will be doing about 3 mph, so yes it takes a long to get anywhere but that's part of the pleasure.
If you’re interested in canals, I suggest you check out a video about the Falkirk wheel (which I live 10 minutes from)
And after the Falkirk Wheel, he should check out the Caen Hill _(pronounced ‘cane')_ lock system; it is one of the longest continuous 'flight of locks' in the country. A total of 29 locks with a rise of 237 feet over two miles with a 1-in-44 gradient. And 'JJ', canal locks are how narrow boats 'climb hills'... LOL
I regularly use The Falkirk Wheel.. although not so often as I used to.. mainly on the Union Canal now. But The Falkirk Wheel is amazing.. it never gets old no matter how many times you’ve been up/down it😁💙🏴 xx
@@StewedFishProductions And the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at Llangollen
@@olwens1368
Absolutely... 👍
@@olwens1368
Also the Anderton Boat Lift _(AKA the Cathedral of the Canals),_ which lifts boats and barges 50ft from the River Weaver Navigation to the Trent & Mersey Canal. Designed by Edwin Clark in 1875, it was in operation for over 100 years until it closed in 1983. It opened to the public in 2002 after a huge renovation project. Its very ingenious, using two huge water tanks, each with watertight sealable doors, that work as counterbalances to transport the boats up and down.
You've heard of Pete Waterman because he was in a very recent video you watched. And Stock, Aitkin and Waterman produced Rick Astley and we all know where that is know.
As he was turning the punt that was the famous King's College Chapel in Cambridge. It has a world-famous choir and every Christmas the BBC broadcasts carols from King's.
Which is recorded ahead of time in the summer!
Yeah, canals are a hidden gem of the UK.
Did you know that Birmingham actually has more canals than Venice?
Back in the early Industrial Revolution, they were the arteries of industry.
Remember, this was before cars and trucks and motorways had been invented, so these were the "motorways" (or highways, if you prefer) of the time. The main "speedy" way to move materials around.
For example, they'd mine coal up the South Wales valleys - in places like Merthyr Tydfil - and then it'd all be ferried down the canals and rivers on long boats, down to Cardiff docks, for transport around the UK and internationally.
Birmingham has so many canals as these were the "roads" upon which industry moved its materials and goods around the country.
But, yeah, these days, the canals are for tourism. Seeing the countryside. Some people live in their narrowboats, following a nomadic life going around the country. It's all very chillaxed and care-free.
Yes, Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice, but then, Amsterdam has far more miles of canal than Birmingham. The truth is that Venice doesn't have a very big area, whereas Birmingham is huge and sprawling.
I used to love playing Rounders at school. It was a lot of fun.
Whoever wrote that snooker description has clearly never seen the game. He couldn't be more wrong if he tried.
Though break scores would be much higher with FIFTEEN Pink balls!! 😂
Back in "pre-history" at my school, the girls played rounders and netball, and the boys played cricket and football.
Nope, we used to play rounders in mixed teams at primary school, because cricket is not played in state funder UK primary schools, or at least it wasn't 50 tears ago when I was at school.
@@romulanwang • When I started school 70yrs ago, rounders was only played by girls. The boys played cricket, not football, even at home. Girls used to play cricket at home too, as there wasn't enough room in streets full of terraced houses for rounders.
@@romulanwang We played mixed rounders in Junior & middle school - We also played cricket. Boys also had a go at hockey... it didn't end well....
The clip of the bowling was indoor bowling, lawn bowling is played in the outdoors on a mown lawn, it's one thing I want to learn, especially as I've just turned 60 lol
Before we invented railways, most bulk goods were moved in the UK by canal. Before engines, they were pulled by horses - so every canal has a towpath. Except when the canal has to go through a tunnel - when the boaters would lie on the roof of the boat and 'walk' or pole it through.
Boaters and their families lived on the boats/barges, in the same way your long-distance truckers do today - but the boat was their permanent home. Narrow boats could also pull other un-powered boats (barges), to increase the goods carried.
I used to play rounders at school, I was terrible at it. If you missed the ball you still had to run, but mostly only got as far as first base, otherwise you would get caught out. You would then continue your run round when the next player had their go. To score a rounder you would get around all four bases in one go. In all my years of playing I scored the grand total of 1 rounder 😂
Bowls was played by sir Walter Raleigh before the battle with the Spanish Armada .
I love narrowboats.. have always been fascinated by them, and love the way some are painted ...like floating travellers' caravans. ❤
It's nice if it's "nice", although it's not bad unless the weather's terrible and even then it's bearable. If you've got good company it doesn't really matter. Bovril in the morning and booze starting in the afternoon depending on who's Captain.
Harrison Ford comes to Wales with his Family for narrow boat holidays
I can confirm this. I live on my narrowboat and my friend was travelling along the Llangollen canal near Oswestry, came round a blind bend where the canal passes under the A5 road and bumped (literally) into a boat being helmed by Harrison Ford.
@@tgcrowson Bet he was annoyed.
Not the Mon and Brec then?
We went narrow-boating last February. It's a wonderful way to be far colder than you ever thought possible. Controlling one is terrifying, and once you've convinced yourself you've mastered it, it lets you know just how wrong you are. All the canals seem to be dug as far away from grocery stores as possible, and get ready to having a phone signal every other day, at best. I loved it. ;-)
Haha, I live near and walk my dog near and along the Grand Union, often utterly charming in Spring/Summer but it looks and feels like it could suck the life out of you in Winter.
After seeing your reaction to narrowboating on the canals you should have a wee look at the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies up in Scotland, and absolutely beautiful feat of engineering.
"Trainspotting" as a hobby was actually the collecting of locomotive numbers. Back before nationalisation, different train companies owned the railway systems in different regions. "Spotting" the number of a steam locomotive outside of it's normal region was a big deal. While trying to spot a complete collection of as many of a companies locomotives as possible.
Snooker and pool are both descended from billiards.
Some people think billiards is played on a snooker table. In fact, snooker is played on a billiards table. Pool is played on a pool table because pool won't behave.
The canal system was a great way to transport goods that needed delicate handling. Porcelain for example.
And very heavy goods like coal and ore
@@ruthmeb 👍👍
Narrowboat holiday... slow motion pub crawl through beautiful countryside.
That's a perfect description! 😄
There is also 'crown green' boling which is not on a flat lawn but is played on a square green which is humped in the centre and gradually slopes to the edges. The art of the game is using the bias of the bowl to overcome the 'slopes' of the green. The aim is to get the greatest number of bowls close to the small 'jack'. The winner of a single game gets to roll the jack to its next position. Sometimes this will be along the edge of the square 'green', or diagonally across it. It demands much more skill than the flat lawn bowls. Punting in the UK is not as easy as it looks, most beginners (including me) manage to go round in circles at first. The place behind the 'punter' is in Cambridge and is known as the 'backs' referring to the University college buildings you see in the video.
Yeah crown is easy to learn, hard to master, going to a new green is always exciting i find because you have no idea what it will be like
@@danielaltmann1308 I became involved with the game when my grandad took me with him to bowl with his friends, I was about 10 years old, and I proudly carried his special bag for his bowls to the greens when I was on holiday in Morecambe where he lived. He let me have a few ends on my own and explained how the bias works. Later in my teens I used to play with a friend on our local park in the West Midlands where we lived, and you could rent a couple of sets of bowls and a jack with an hour's green use for half a crown, but that was in the days when dedicated park keepers kept the facilities in good condition and the local yobs at least respected those. Also several of our local pubs , in such an industrial area, had crown greens at the back and I used to watch the guys play while my dad enjoyed a pint, happy days. But now where I live it's impossible to find a green - sad.
Pete Waterman isnt just into model trains he owns real trains and used to own part of the rail engineering depot i work at. The crossing point on the up/down stafford loop is still called the Waterman crossing.
His first job was with British Railways, IIRC..
That description of snooker you read there was wildly inaccurate. It's 15 red balls, not pink, there's only one pink ball. Basically a snooker table 12ft by 6ft vs 8ft by 4ft for a pool table, and the aim is to score the most points. Snooker balls and pockets are smaller than US pool too. Look up the scoring rules if you like :)
EDIT: Also I think most UK pool tables in pubs are a bit smaller than the US standard pool table, but the balls are also smaller, as are the pockets. Same basic rules for pool however
EDIT EDIT: Also the cue tips for snooker and UK pool are smaller, for fine control of the smaller balls. I did once play on a US sized pool table in some god awful franchise pub, and immediately realised how much bigger the balls and pockets were, and then understood the thick tipped cues.
People live in canal boats
My parents had boats when I was young. Every dry weekend, bank Holiday and school holidays are crammed in a small boat with your family in a hot box, constantly working locks and always going to the same places, year after year. Younger me hated it, older me loved it for the odd day out and now miss it as my parents didn't want the hassle with age
I think you can only enjoy it as an adult, especially with the number of pubs with mooring along the way!
Hi JJLA I’m English and really enjoy your channel. I love how you’ve never heard of narrowboats and your enthusiasm. Many people live on boats on the canal network. I’ve had a few holidays with friends on them, great pub crawl!! All the best to ya.
I think reacting to a full episode of americans narrowboating might be interesting. Ive watched quite a few narrowboat vids as it is relaxing and as you said a great way to see the real countryside ohf the uk
Downielive has done 8 trips on narrowboats including the Falkirk Wheel and the longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel among others, admittedly he’s Canadian though but well worth checking out.
There was a BBC Four 'Slow TV' programme, in 2020 - "a two-hour uninterrupted canal trip down the Kennet and Avon Canal from Bath" - no music, no commentary, no voiceover - just a beautiful part of the country, travelling at 3mph.
Sadly, for some reason it's been taken off iPlayer and RUclips. 😞
Ive had 6 canal holidays amazing life chilling at 5mph ive gone over that viaduct in Wales amazing m8
Canals helped the industrial revolution of the 18th century be as influential as it was, helping goods get around the country at a fraction of the cost of using horses.
A canal boat in Norfolk (Nor-f'k, not Nor-folk) was one of my favourite as an adult for the calm, solitude and serenity.
I live on a narrowboat in Leicestershire.... the quiet life 😊 🇬🇧
You can seriously know that Kaylin is taking from experience, 'yelling at you, what are you doing?" I can imagine that.
Yea I feel I've been that person before
Hello! Just a big thank you for your channel. I only discovered it a week ago and I’m stuck in hospital, so the only way of diversion/sanity, is by finding great content, which is interesting, presented by someone with a great voice, a great face and lots to catch up on. Thank you! You’re helping me get through the days here. Keep up the brilliant work! (Although the idea of plugs falling out of walls is still diverting my attention. Lots of love and respect! Thank you!
I’ve just left hospital and been released back into the community. Good YT videos kept me sane between the incessant rounds of ‘observations’ and blood samplings. JJLA is always worth watching and I’m very glad I subscribed some time ago. 😊
The canals were used to transport goods and raw materials around the UK before the advent of the railways and were towed by horses along a tow path. Also checkout "Tunnel Walking". Canal boats are notoriously expensive to hire out and they are very cramped.
Sir Frances Drake famously completed his bowls game before boarding his ship , The Golden Hind, to take on the Spanish Armada!
Sorry, but that's a complete myth that was spread at the time. Also Drake's ships didn't really inflict that much damage on the larger of the Spanish ships. Whilst it's true that he did destroy some of the smaller craft of the Spanish fleet with the use of fire ships, the vast majority of the Armada fleet were destroyed by the awful weather they encountered when they tried to escape by going down the English channel, up along the east cost, around Scotland, back down on the west coast of England and home to Spain.
Up to 24 ships were wrecked along the way before the rest managed to get home. Among the factors contributing to the defeat and withdrawal of the Armada were bad weather conditions and the better employment of naval guns and battle tactics by the English.
Punting isn’t necessarily posh 😄 my daughter and I had a blast on the Regent’s Canal in London, being serenaded by a fellow with a guitar, while his mate punted the canal boat along, and boat dog, black lab Boatie, jumped on and off to run along the tow path. Boarding was at Camden Market. A brilliant hour
Pete Waterman has an almost supernatural talent for making highly successful but dreadful records. He called his studio _The Hit Factory_ and was just that, a factory - churning out soulless records based on a formula.
Roadblock is SAW production and is a banger.
@@fayesouthall6604 as is National Treasure Rick Astley 😊
What once was unbearably cringe-worthy, I now smile at fondly. I'll be honest, I didn't expect that. 😅 I'd love to see the look on my 15-year-old self's face!
Hit with a silent S.
Roadblock was the greatest musical blag. They released a couple of hundred copies, kicked those records around the warehouse, spilt coffee stains on the labels to age them, then quietly distrubuted them to select record shops. A few very well known radio dj's picked those records up and claimed they found them in the grandparents record collections. 9 months later SAW released roadblock, and made those dj's look like fecking muppets.
The 15 balls are reds not pinks. There is a pink, so to call the red snooker balls pinks would be very confusing.
The mindful narrowboat is a utuber who is a poet, artist and seems to know everything about nature. She’s wonderful and it’s extremely relaxing to watch!
People live on canal boats but you can also hire them for holidays. They move very slowly and it makes for a very relaxing time just floating gently along seeing wildlife and villages and stopping at canal side pubs. People are friendly and helpful.
People foraging for mushrooms are stripping our woodlands bare.
In several other European countries there ar restrictions on where and when mushrooms can be picked. Unfortunately not so in the UK.
Canal/Narrowboats used to be towed along by horses. Big, chunky draught/draft horses that were led, plodding along those thin pathways, called tow paths.
We also have Curling, Shinty and Cèilidh's in Scotland, which would be unfamiliar to Americans. We do Scottish Country dancing at school😂 unsure if anywhere else in the UK does it too😊
Strip the Willow, Dashing White Sergeant and Gay Gordon's remind me of primary school.
My great-great grandfather used a punt for wildfowl hunting in the 19th century. A punt would have an enormous gun mounted on it and the hunter would lay down and propel the punt with a little paddle in each hand. Once within range of the target, the gun discharged a large amount of bird shot and the hunter gathered up the birds to sell in town whilst keeping some for his own table. It was a late autumn/winter activity and kept my great-great grandad and his family going until spring came and workers were hired back on the farms in the spring.
Heyy , ignore this comment if you don’t want the rules of rounders. I was in a few schools but these are kinda the base rules: the bowler throws the ball and there are 7 outcomes:
1. You miss the ball. Depending on local rules, you can either run as many bases as possible or just to first base
2. You hit it behind you. Most people agree that if this occurs you can only run to 1st base
3. You hit it but score no points but are not out. You’ve hit it but only far enough to run to 1st base before the fielders hit the ball on the 2nd base and return the ball to the bowler
4. You hit it and get half a point. You hit it far enough to get to 2nd base before the ball is tapped on the 3rd base and returned to the bowler.
5. You score a full rounder. You hit the ball far enough that the ball can’t be hit on a base in front of you before you clear all 4 bases
6. You’re caught out. A fielder catches the ball you hit before it touches the floor
7. You’re tapped out. A fielder taps the ball on the base in front of you as you have left the previous base but not quite reached the next one. This can also happen if you’re trying to make your way around the bases if you hit the ball previously but didn’t score a full rounder.
It’s worth noting that any players at a base can run to the next base as soon as the ball leaves the bowlers hands, whether or not the batsman hits it. Both teams have a go at batting and fielding, whichever team has the most rounders, wins.
The fielding formation usually has a back stop, a fielder posted at each base and then if there’s any excess, they’ll just scatter around the field for the longer shots
Lawn Bowls = summer curling 😁
Slow but tense. Going from 'what am I watching?!' to shouting at the telly like you're an expert 😄
@@alisonrodger3360
Apparently (according to my ex-inlaws) Lawn Bowls is what to choose as a hobby once you start getting too old for "faster" pursuits..."til your knees go" and by then, you're "hooked" on the game and will do anything you can (despite horrific knee pain) to continue for as long as you possibly can...
I feel that way about horseriding but sadly I gave that up years before I should've been at that stage (though, after falling off a train when on my way to work aged _16_ 🥺,
I already had knee troubles!) when I married and started my family... hindsight's the best vision but the worst way to feel regretful. ☹️
Pete Waterman also produced records for Kylie Minogue, born on the same day as me. 😂😂
as a child most of our holidays were on a narrow boat. the locks were fun.
As someone who was quite good at snooker,I also played pool for my local, and being a good snooker player pool was so easy.The tables are much smaller and when you break off depending on the difference in rules you might have to pot all the stripes or spots and then the black ball, depending on what goes in the pocket from the break.That is how we played in the 80s when I was younger.I don’t play anymore but if I see it on the tv there is a different way to play international rules you pot the balls in numerical order,When you’re a good snooker player pool seems like a child’s game.Mark Selby won the championship in the USA showing the pool how to play their own game.
Used to play ‘Danish Rounders’ during breaks at school. Used a tennis ball and your fists to strike didn’t need a bat. As I am left handed I could hit with either hand, made it harder for the fielders. They would ask which hand they should pitch to. I would say aim for my face I’ll decide when the ball gets here.
I live close to a place called Caen Hill Locks. A climb featuring 29 locks. Canal boating is a great holiday choice but recommend for 2+ people due to navigation of locks etc. There are set routines that you can time with planned pub lunch stops along the way. Good fun x
I’ve seen you in a few reaction videos. I love your soft, gentle voice and amiable personality. More please X
One of my best ever holidays was 3 weeks on a barge on the river Shannon (Ireland) with hubby and two dogs. Lots of relaxation and funny moments loll
Narrow boats are often ornately hand decorated. People who stare at canals are called Gongoozelers. There are plenty of RUclipsr channels documenting their lives on the canals.
The American couple on the narrow boat are The Wynns. They have a very well followed channel "Gone with the Wynns". The sail on their own catamaran, Curiosity. I recommend it.
There are two distinct versions of Bowls in the uk: Lawn Bowls (or FLAT GREEN Bowls) involves using the balance bias to control the passage of bowls to finish close to a jack (target ball) on a flat green as the name suggested. Especially in the North of England however, you'll find bowling greens which are curved to be higher in the middle and lower at the edges, used to play CROWN GREEN Bowls - where players use the vertical curve of the green AND the balance bias of the bowls to play for position close to the jack.
Flat green bowling almost always features players playing from one side of the green to the other, whereas crown green bowling often (but not always) requires the players to play from one corner of the green to the opposite corner.
You'll often find people playing an indoor version of flat green bowls, whereas this is rare (if not non-existant) for crown green bowling, since suitable shapes indoor floors just don't naturally exist!)
My family were born, lived and worked on narrow boats (aka barges) for at least 5 generations up until the early twentieth century. They transported goods between London and Birmingham on the Grand Union and Regent Canals and families like mine were known as water gypsies. My grandmother and her sisters shared the memories their dad shared with them about his early life.
I recently researched archived data, mostly census data. It was amazing how it all came together. There were even instances where I could read between the lines. My great grandmother wasn’t a water gypsy. My grandmother told me her dad’s family were surprised that he married ‘a land girl’. The census from around the time they met showed that he was moored in Paddington Basin. Maps of the area showed that my great grandmother’s home overlooked the Basin. I could picture her gazing out of her window at a young, handsome water gypsy as he loaded and unloaded goods from the barge. Maybe it was love at first sight, who knows?
As newlyweds, they lived on the barge. That was until a cow put its head through the window while my great grandmother was washing dishes. She broke down and asked why they couldn’t live on land ‘like normal people’. He idolised her, so he agreed. His one request was that wherever they lived was ok, but he still really needed to be able to see the canal. The address on the next census showed them in a property that couldn’t have been closer. His occupation was listed as ‘dockhand’, so he was still directly working with narrow boats. My grandmother told me how important this was for her dad. He had 8 daughters and no sons. There were days when his stroppy teenagers were all at each other’s throats. Once he’d helped calm them down, he’d sit on the lock and gaze down the canal.
One of the most interesting memories was the fact that my great grandfather and his younger brother Joe were ‘leggers’. Their barge didn’t have an engine, so relied on horse power. Their dad would walk along the tow path with the horse as it towed the barge. He must have walked hundreds of miles. But I digress. This was fine until they had to go through a tunnel. Their dad would walk the horse to the tunnel exit and wait for them there. My great grandfather and his brother had to propel the barge through the tunnel with no horse power. So they would lay on their backs on the barge with their feet on the tunnel wall and ‘walk’ the barge through. I initially pictured this taking 5 minutes or so. But my research showed that the main tunnel on their route was the Maida Vale tunnel. On average it took TWO AND A HALF HOURS. The tunnels were dank and smelly and they were in the dark. He’d left that part of the story out, presumably because he felt his daughters didn’t need to hear it. I see now why his daughters said what an amazing man, husband and father he was and why they still missed him. They were old ladies at the time too.
Sorry for the long comment. Just thought you might find some of it interesting.
can highly recommend narrow boating. Its the most relaxing pub crawl I've ever experienced
I've been on canal holidays for friends birthdays and things, like a floating mobile home and you can park up anywhere you want at night.
I've also got a major canal passing by the end of my road and because they used to be horse drawn, every canal has a tow path, which make for great walks and cycle routes.
Most of them were neglected for years after being surpassed by road and rail, but enthusiasts and governments etc... have invested loads of time and money restoring and maintaining them over the last few decades which has lead to an increase in their use for leisure.
I can cycle to city centre avoiding all roads, which is pretty amazing, I could technically take a boat, but that would take ages, especially as there's about 3 locks in the way.
its also quite nice watching other people embrace weird English hobbies. lawn bowls is relaxing to watch as is punting.
Rounders is like baseball for kids, Bowls is like marbles for old people, Punting is limited to just a few shallow rivers, mainly around Cambridge, Canal boat holidays are the best in the world. I have been on many, and yes some people live permantly on them.
One of my uncles, who lives in Cambridge, has had many canal boats over the years, currently, he has a really fancy one that's like a high tech apartment inside. My other uncle who also lives around ther used to be a canal boat painter and would do all the traditional designs by hand you see on them.
Hi JJLA! You can have narrowboat holidays here in the UK! There are YT vids on the subject. You can also go on day trips, where someone else is in charge. Contrary to what was said in the vid a lot of the canals are canalised rivers, or join with rivers, like the (tidal) Trent. so more exciting than you might think. Keep Reacting!
Narrowboating can be a very tranquil way to holiday. You can hire a narrowboat all over the canals. There are kitchens, bedrooms, and small lounges in all narrowboats. They are tight, though. The speed limit is 4 or 6mph, to stop any boat wash eroding the banks. There isn't much of a speedometer, you guage it by looking to the side and noting your ripples. In certain areas, there are canal police who use speed guns (mostly the Norfolk Broads area).
People can wild moor, which means pulling up to the bank, throwing out stakes and ropes, and tying up in the middle of nowhere. Other mooring options are in towns, where you pay to moor at designated posts or rings, or at canal side pubs. They are always self-catering. You do your own cooking and cleaning unless you eat at one of the many pubs on the way. One of the best nights sleep I ever had was in a holiday narrowboat, listening to the rain tinkling into the canal water
I have known about narrowboats for over seven years and my first subscription on YT was CountryHouseGent who documented his experience of living exclusively on his narrowboat and still does document his life on the canals. I used to use stationary bikes or a Healthrider and watched one episode each day which perfectly fit my schedule.
Those wondering about it, a Healthrider uses a rowing motion that leverages a person's own body weight to pull against, providing a low impact, total body aerobic exercise.
As I lost weight, I had to use a saddle apparatus that allowed me to add free weights to offset the weight I had lost, in order to continue the benefit.
Narrow boating is great fun for a long weekend or perhaps an extended week. Speed limit is usually 4mph to prevent bank erosion, steering can be hairy until you get the hang of it as you're steering a 40/60/80 feet long boat from a tiller on the rear.
Never tried Punting, rowing was hard enough.
Lawn bowls is brilliant, and exhausting, you wouldn't think it but after 2 or 3 hours you're knackered and ready for a beer.
Netball is primarily a girls/ladies game.
Rounders is great fun as long as you treat it like that and don't try to be to competitive with people trying to trip you or impede runners, great fun for family and friends.
Every boy had a train set when they were young, it was a staple Christmas present and would have all the dads and uncles helping set it up, usually with the kids watching on, boys will always be boys. 🇬🇧
Cheese Rolling. There are tons of other hobbies and 'sports' in local areas, great fun
Also the Shin Kicking Championships.
@@stuartfaulds1580 Sounds awesome! I know there's a wet beer towel slapping comp as well somewhere!!
There's a famous canal route in Scotland, where my dad was a rural policeman when I was growing up. One day he got a very angry phone-call from a lock-master (some locks have a toll you have to pay to finance their upkeep) saying there was some foreigner refusing to pay the toll, and he wanted him arrested. Turned out it was the King of Spain, who for obvious reasons didn't carry spare change with him.
In the uk, you have train spotters or you have Cranks. Trainspotters note down the locomotive numbers as the trains pass them. Cranks collect mileage on specific trains - such as diesel locomotives or routes - by riding on the train 👍
There are companies that hire out narrow boats and they give you tuition before you start, it's a wonderful way to see the countryside and the whole community of narrow boaters are friendly and can advise on locks and amenities. Great for a relaxing holiday or in fact to live on.
originally narrow boats were pulled by horses on the towpath next to the canals. now they mainly have engines.
I used to play netball at school. Being tall my usual position was Goal Defence - when Goal Attack tried to score a goal my job was to jump high and try to deflect the ball. It was the only sport I was ever even slightly good at.
Canal locks are elevators for narrow boats. We did a lot on canals at school, trips to Marple and old northern textile mills
Punting is similar to what they do in Venice, except I think their boats are called Gondolas, and the punters are gondoliers.
I knew 'trainspotting' was a thing in the 1960s and I'm in the UK.
Narrowboats historically were drawn by horses walking along the canal bank, called the towpath. Tunnel mouths still show ridges where the ropes would abrade the brickwork. If a boat had to navigate a particularly long tunnel, the boat occupants would lie on their backs on the roof and propel the craft with their legs on the tunnel walls, known as 'legging'. I've tried my hand - or rather my feet - at this myself at certain museum tours.
The buildings behind the punter are the backs of Cambridge University, as you'll know, a lot of famous people in history and in the modern day have studied.
Canals helped to spark the industrial revolution, in the 1700s and though largely superseded by railways in the mid 1800s, they remained important well into the 20th Century. Canal boats were initially pulled by horses, so canals nearly always have "towpaths" alongside the canal. It was a big improvement over the use of pack horses and meant that bulk goods, such as coal could be transported around the country and to sea ports, relatively quickly and efficiently. It was also a perfect was to transport delicate goods, such as pottery, ceramics and glassware, industries that were booming in the late 1700s and who's growth was largely down to the canal-river network that covered the country by the early 1800s.
Post WW2 most canals were in a sorry state and were largely unused. Some were closed forever but gradually more and more were saved. Nowadays they're mainly used for recreation, with people hiring a narrowboat, to travel peacefully around the country, exploring as they go. There are also plenty of people who actually live on their narrowboats. Something that the digital age has made much easier to do. :)
I was on the netball, rounders and lacrosse teams for my school, every year for 6 years. Great fun 😃
Girl Gone London Trainspotters are heavily connected to Scotrail , AVANTI , LNER and other railways in the UK
They are key in getting Trains inspected and repaired
in the 1950's you had a rounders bat it was like a small cricket bat and a normal ball.You had 4 bases which had a person at it from the other team who were trying to get you out at a base.The object was to hit the ball as far as you could and not to the otherside fielders and while the ball travelled you had to go to each base which made up circle if the ball did not get to a base you kept running to all 4 bases had to be used which was the rounders finishing point,It's simular to the US but the bat was small like the shape of a cricket bat.
My brother-in-law used to live on a narrowboat. We went on trips with him occasionally, including across the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct - which is basically a metal trough perched 120 feet above the River Dee valley..
Crown green bowling = curling on grass. And as for trainspotters: you've seen plenty of them in the Jay Foreman videos on the tube map (wth starting roles for youtube's very own Trainsportter-in-Chief Geoff Marshall)
Train spotting -
we have enormous stations (20 platforms or more) with trains rushing through every 30 seconds, at least in rush hours.
One such station has a high observation gantry for trainspotters, so it doesn't come as a surprise that this activity has it origins in UK.
That building in the background in the punting explainer video was King's College in Cambridge.
Just one of the 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University.
You should absolutely check out snooker. Some amazing stuff in snooker
Very happy Kaylin and JJ both pronounce it "properly" - with the long "oo" as in "spook" not like other Americans with the short "oo", like "took"... sorry, that just grinds my gears. 😅
This list of past times is Very England focussed. Have a look at some Curling!!
Canals are brilliant and restored and maintained by enthusiasts. Canal boats were pulled by horses so there are paths alongside. Walking the canal paths is great, through beautiful countryside and through Britains industrial history
Still on the water, you can see some of the university buildings in the background.
A punter (or puntsman) is very often a university student who ferries tourists around in his spare time (like a part-time job).
You actually can use it to get from one end of town to another - like a waterbus.
Anybody can rent a narrow boat for a week (or longer) holiday; it is a staple of the British holiday industry. When younger I holidayed on the Norfolk broads and the Thames. It was fantastic ;-)
And the best bit of the canals is that they have lots of pubs along the canal to enjoy you are welcome on my boat 🚢
Punting in the US is the same as the original in the UK. It's a silent way to go hunting on lakes and rivers, shooting ducks and geese. In the mid/late 1800's, punt-guns became huge black powder blunderbusses that could blow a hole in the sky, hoping a flock of geese would fly into the shot.
Additional part of the bowls, lawn bowls, indoor and crown bowls are three distinct sports in my opinion. Indoor bowls (the one that you watched the video on), is different to crown but similar to lawn where in lawn and indoor you only go up and down whilst in crown (the one I play) you can go anywhere on the "green", and "tactics" if you wanna call it that can be using the edges, across the middle, or if you are more competitive, corner to corner etc.
Lawn is a mix of both indoor and crown, although the difference between lawn and crown is crown bowls is played on a golf-like surface where it has humps and bumps (the best way i can describe it) on that make the bowl react whilst it is rolled. Although obviously the bias of the bowl will "peg" or turn a certain way anyway.
Additionally, the "older demographic" is sadly true, the British Crown Association has seen a big reduction in juniors playing due to a rule set that makes the Junior competitions only allow players up to 18, which realistically they should have done to 21 to add to the covid years that saw us not play. However, in many parts of the North of England and Wales, it is a decently big thing with 25-60 year olds, however sadly mostly the only way you get in is from parents or other family members do it, but I hope it could change in the future because it is dying. I kinda hope that the stereotype that it is an "older, gentlemen's sport" goes away because it really is simple and for all ages, and not "just something to do when you retire" because it might not be there when you do.
Just thought id add my 2 cents onto it, because it is quite an interesting sport to play and watch, and to clarify some things.
For Snooker its basically pot a red(15 of) then pot a colour(7 of) the red stays gone, the colour gets put back. Until all the reds are gone and then pot the colours in a set order, ending on the black. Its a fun watch. I used to watch it on a black and white tv as a kid which is alot harder to follow cos all the balls are grey 😂.
Its also cool to see them trying to snooker eachother (put them in a position where they havent got a move to play). Snookered is used in normal speech too, kinda polite version of saying somethings screwed.
I taught/coached netball for many years when I was a teacher. A really fun sport and a great workout! If you are tall, you are usually a goal shooter or a goalkeeper. Fast players are attackers or play in the centre position.
FYI JJLA, this "at least a week" is really good. I watch Kaitlin's video a day or so after it comes out and then I get to see it again as your reaction when it is still fresh enough to remember but also long enough for it to be not repetitive but not too soon to be stealing my view of her video.
It's funny that an American teacher developed netball in the U.K. as an offshoot of basketball, while basketball was invented by a Canadian teacher (James Naismith), who was teaching in the U.S. . See the video "Heritage Minutes : Basketball". These one minute films on Canadian history used to play during commercial breaks on Canadian TV.
Pool versus snooker; Pool is about sinking balls and managing a perpetually crowded table. Snooker is about sinking balls and managing the empty space between balls on a table that is over twice the size.
Snooker gets much more interesting when players aren’t able to clearly pot the required balls when they’re snookered. The point isn’t always to pot the balls and clear the table, often it’s to force a foul from the other player.
Trainspotting is more about collecting the Serial Numbers.
There is also Planespotting civilian (Private/Light Aircraft, Business Jets and Airlines) military (Raf, Usaf, and all the European air forces).
Also Bus and Coach Spotting, Haulage Company Truck Spotting. All very much the same with collecting the serial numbers and a good deal of Photography.
Yes Pete Waterman is a Trainspotter as is Rod Stewart also into his model Railways, there are many more famous people into this as well.
Yeah Narrow boating is extremely relaxing and gets you away from the hustle and bustle. Although you don't get very far in a week. It is a very slow life. You can almost walk as fast as a Narrow boat travels. But it can also be tiring depending on how many locks you encounter in a day. When we were moving our Parents boat to a new location we ended up going through 27 locks in one day because of the route and staircase locks we had to navigate (that was 15 years and very fit and healthy ago though), and that was a hell of a day, not relaxing at all. So if you are going to go, plan your trip to avoid lots of locks in one day.
Punts are now a posh thing, but historically they were used by fowlers, people out hunting water birds - see punt guns. Also if you are interested in snooker check out some of the professionals- trick shots etc - they are so very skilled 👍