Photo-a-Day  (Tuesday, 7th July, 2020)

Grand is this one Dennis, can't knock it !. Top pic straight from the top drawer Top Lock.

I do love these pics photos of canals & narrow boats. It makes me dream of living on the water on a canal....

Another for Walt from Yorkshire.
They look like old converted barges.

It was here just gone seven at eve , when Big Perch's palisade fin broke surface cutting the water like a razor through silk. I raised my hand to my mouth in astonishment as her olive green flank , barred like the ribs of The Mary Rose rolled in widening circles on the lock , her belly a slice of moon and eye a sponnie marble staring 'til she sank a galleon again in empty rings. And all was still again , just me and that moment.

The canal that goes to nowhere.

Arthur and Helen, we live quite close to a canal over in North Yorkshire and see lots of narrow boats but very few wide bodied barges like these. One of our favourite walks is along the canal bank, so much wildlife to see especially this time of year. The L&L canal through the Wigan district is particularly beautiful. Well done Dennis !

Blimey! Poet, I can see that fish in my minds eye.

Another nicely composed photo Dennis, been round that corner a few times ,walking and riding the bike, used to bike it to Ince when started work at Jack Almonds Joiners shop in 1974 , easy going down , but hard work coming back, so I past my test on the moped. lol.

Walt Im glad you have put DISTRICT after saying the canal through the Wigan district is particularly beautiful.
Because all the canal boaters I talk to say Wigan is the a dump and is the worse place in Britain to go on a canal boat , followed by Burnley.

Arthur - they're new builds, probably built in Liverpool, and they actually look like what they are - widened narrow boats. The original L&L barges were much more bluff-bowed - but replicating them is much more complicated than simply adapting the geometry used in narrow boat design.

I'll go with whatever you say Mick !

Walt where abouts are you in North Yorkshire

Thanks Rev.
Mick, it goes through Ince.

Mick, in answer to your question, I live in a village not that far from York in fact my cycle ride tomorrow will be along the River Ouse into the city. Aspull born
hence my love of the PADs.

Good read Poet, and that perch of yours seems to have been quite a showboater. Your mention of 'sponnie' had me Googling in all directions in the search for what I imagine to be the relative slang word 'spon', both of which surely referring to something 'made anew', i.e., a spon new bike, a spon new marble. Thanks.

Can anybody tell me why I cannot read some of the comments ie Poet's and yet some people can? All I get is one letter per line. Does anyone else have this problem?

Philip , Sponnie refers to a type of marble in the game of ' merps ' that we all must have played as kids. The Sponnie resembled ( at least to me) a glassy eye , expressionless but real like that of a fish.

Thanks Poet. I thought you'd meant the fish's eye that looked like a brand new murp. No problem. And I remember those 'everyman' type of murps; they had a wavy curl inside, and came in packs of about 25. I never knew where the prized white ones had come from, though. Take care.

Walt Ive just had a look at the river Ouse, and it looks like a lovely place, and seeing that Yorkshire as the best chippies in the world youv got it made. living over there.

I must add my praise to the fish fryers from o ' er t' other side , and in particular the mobile chippy on the outers of Reeth in Swaledale. A delicious indelible memory of my last coast to coast walk . And Yorkshire ale is tasty too as are the lasses.

Mick, you are not wrong but even after almost forty years and as the saying goes : you can take the boy out Lancashire but you can't take Lancashire out of the boy. Incidentally, the best chippie ever and no doubt was Mrs Eckersley's on Scot Lane Aspull, as a boy in the 1950s Friday night chippie tea was something to look forward to. TA! Mick, take care uh'thissen eh!.

Veronica I can not read poet's comments too , sometime it's like reading a 5 year old sentence. All confused and mumbling.

That picture isn't of Top Lock.

James, the black and white sign on the right says “Welcome to Top Lock”

Dennis, that's because the 'Top Lock' is round that corner where the sign is, off the photo. The photo is not of it.

The photograph is of the Lancaster Canal junction with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Aspull. Top Lock, as the sign states, is just off photograph, to the right

Top Lock is not just the actual Lock. To local people Top Lock is an area to itself, separate from New Springs and Aspull. Ask locals where they come from and they will most likely describe themselves as “Top Lockers”. Meaning the area around the Lock.

Hey Seddy, that's cos they're all thickoes.
(I was going to say thick Wigginers, but them Aspullers aren't proper Wiganers)