The Dusts of Winter (Spring Cleaning)

Nighttime on Still Waters

In tonight’s episode we meet a couple of beautiful spring flowers with some fearsome reputations and go about spring cleaning a very messy and cluttered boat with the help of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

Journal entry:

20th April, Saturday

“A ring of coltsfoot heads has been placed
In the crevice of an oak-beam used as a picnic table.
They lie bleached and desiccated
Shrouded in fine cobweb and dust.
They look just like the vestige
Of some prehistoric ritual.

Perhaps some child placed them there
On a sunny day of picnic and leisure.
It is good to know
That we have not grown so far distant
From our forebears to have forgotten
Our need to be human.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read the opening pages of Kenneth Grahame’s (1908) The Wind in the Willows republished by Penguin Classics.

I also refer to Roy Vickery’s (2019) Vickery’s Folk Flora, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson and

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

In the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org.
Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site.

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For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters

You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.

Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Journal entry (00:00:45)

3. Welcome to NB Erica (00:01:32)

4. News from the moorings (00:02:39)

5. Cabin chat (00:13:37)

6. The Dusts of Winter (Spring Cleaning) (00:16:27)

7. Reading from Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' (00:26:24)

8. Signing off (00:33:43)

9. Weather Log (00:34:05)