#369

NOW SOLD

NB Dane Cross Cut Elm and Chrome Ballpoint Twist Pen

(25% of the profits from the sale of this pen will be gifted to the Narrowboat Herritage Foundation, the custodians of NB Dane)

EUROPEAN ELM - Ulmus procera

European Elm has is a light to medium brown, sometimes with a hint of red. With an oil finish, it can turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Unless, of course, it's been kept at the bottom of a canal for an awfully long time.

Narrowboat Dane was built by the Mersey Weaver and Ship Canal Carrying Company and used as part of their fleet. She was built in November 1946 and first registered on January the first 1947. Ade from A P Boatbuilding is currently restoring her on behalf of The Narrowboat Heritage Foundation, the work being done is rebottomed with new chine planks, kelson, stem post and soon to receive two new bow planks, gunwales, decks, new back cabin and engine room. The pens that I will be making from Dane are all from a heavy lump of Elm bottom plate.

We had arranged to travel from Blisworth to Fenny Stratford for the first ever Fenny Stratford Canal Festival. Luckily we just about had enough stock to trade with after the busy weekend in Blisworth. We weren't expecting too many towpath visitors as these events do take a few years to build up a reputation. 

The chief organiser had cleverly decided to host the event on the same day as a local Fenny Poppers day a few streets away. Early on Sunday morning we walked Dudley Boar Dawg in a now familiar loop around the local highstreet and back down the canal. The stall holders were bust setting up as were the music stage and fair ground. The stalls looked fairly run of the mill and an uninspiring mix of the usual food outlets charity and tombola type stalls. It transpired that the fairground owners organised the stalls and only granted low value participants access so that visitors had plenty of money for their fairground rides, sneaky. It was a blessing for the five of us canal traders that made it there for the day as we did a roaring trade.

It was a scorching hot day on the Sunday with plenty of power going into the batteries via the solar panels so I set the lathe up and turned a few of the pen blanks that I had drilled and glued over the last few days. We even had a visit from the dignitary in the way of the Mayor and Mayoress of Milton Keynes who treated themselves to a pair of pens. We were made to feel very welcome by the local villagers of Fenny Stratford and even invited to the organisers BBQ after we had closed up the shop for the evening. Definitely a location to bookmark for the future.

Having said our farewells we made our way briskly back up the Grand Union Canal stopping overnight on the edge of Milton Keynes and Weedon Bec before arriving once again at Whilton Locks

Pen #369 was turned at Whilton at the bottom of the Buckby Lock flight.