Episode 10: Nick Wolfe
I arrived in Braunston, and passed a traditional old narrowboat - roses painted, flowers growing, a small cabin and enormous open storage space covered by a black tarp. As I puttered by, a head poked out - it was a man with a slender face, a tattered flat cap and a substantial grey handlebar moustache - he said “slow down! It’s a Sunday fa’ christ sake”.
I was going two miles an hour.
I said something like “Oh, sorry”, and went to moor up.
I steered to the towpath, jumped out, pulled the rope, stopped the boat, unfurled my mooring lines and took out two metal stakes which I would hammer into the ground to tie up to. As I began hammering, that very same voice shouted “No, not right, not like that.” What? I thought. This is how I have been mooring up for months.
The moustachioed man emerged from his boat and walked over to me, shaking his head. “No, no no.” He took the mooring line from me and the metal stake and slotted it through the metal coping at the edge of towpath. “This is how you do it.” And he walked off.
A few minutes later he came back and handed me two metal hooks, “Here ya are, you should use these in the future to tie your boat up - they are much stronger. You can keep them.”
That was the first time I met Nick Wolfe.
I spent a week moored up next to Nick, and we spoke a lot. He developed from this mysterious and slightly bizarre figure, to one of the most interesting, generous and kind people I have just about ever met.
For one, Nick is known and admired by seemingly everyone in town… such as Heather, who runs the local art studio - I met her and we talked about Nick, how he comes and brings her plants and flowers, and helps with odd jobs; and about how he spotted a hidden duck nest, and encouraged her to watch out for the eggs which would soon hatch. Heather said “As an artist, I am pulled toward colourful people, to people with spirit; real individuals who brighten up life. Nick is all of those things.”
But not only is Nick friends with the humans… He is also friends with all the animals. He knows the swans by name, and – like many canal boaters – chit-chats with them and shares food. They seem to know that he is a friend, and so they loiter around his boat most of the time, waiting for his head to pop out. He also knows all the ducks, moor hens, and dogs.
A spaniel sprints around the corner - no owner in sight – comes to a halt in front of Nick’s boat and barks. Nick looks down and says “Hello there, how have you been? You haven’t come to see me in a while…” before pulling a little pouch full of dog treats from his pocket. Nick shares, the dog munches out, and they exchange pleasantries. Eventually, the dog runs back in the direction from which it came. Nick looks back at me and we continue our conversation.
All along the towpath beautiful flowers grow, they add colour and life, and contribute to Braunston’s undeniable charm. And Nick, I have learned, planted and now cares for them all - nobody pays him for it, it’s not his job, or responsibility, he just does it, because - well - he is Nick Wolfe.
Nick has lived in his narrowboat since 2007 - while the boat is over seventy foot, the vast majority of the space is used for his job (canal carrying - more below). His living quarters are smaller than mine – which I didn’t know that was possible – and he has no fridge, no cooker, just an old wood stove and a collection of ornate and beautiful historic canal relics.
Nick told me about Boat Stew – the meal he mostly eats – and how to make it; put whatever you have - ideally vegetables, some kind of meat and some herbs - into a pot and cook it on the wood stove for hours. Eat it every meal for up to a week… and just keep topping it up with more vegetables. By the end of the week it will have a gravy like consistency and great flavour. It costs around a pound a day to eat, and its quite good for you.
It was a famous meal back in the day, when boaters spent all day on the tiller, and had little time to tend to cooking - you could just leave it cooking.
Nick’s boat, which was originally launched in 1936, is still used for canal carrying. He is one of the few traditional working boats still operating in the UK. His boat is capable of carrying 25 tonnes, and Nick delivers all over England. Though, he mainly specialises in cutting and delivering high quality hardwood for fireplaces.
On one of the last days before I left Braunston, I spent the afternoon chopping wood with Nick - he cuts all the wood by hand with a large splitting axe.
He placed large and small logs in front of me, and guided me as I swung the axe. Some of the larger logs took 10-15 strikes to split. Sometimes he placed smaller logs in front of me for ‘accuracy tests’.
After about thirty minutes of chopping I was pouring with sweat, and the next day I could barely walk or move. Meanwhile, Nick had chopped nearly a ton of hardwood, which has preparing to deliver to a nearby pub… all by hand and boat.
It felt good to give back some time and effort to Nick, who does lots and asks for little.
I left Braunston, and didn’t say goodbye to Nick. You don’t really say goodbye to people when you move on. I think its because the canals make up this small village spread across the country, and everyone knows each other and just meets again; and time works differently.
Spending time away from social media and meeting all these interesting people living in alternative ways has really changed my ambitions and priorities in life; I’m experiencing this slow transition, in which I really don’t feel at all tempted by great wealth or online fame, you know… I just want to live a calm life, with good friends… I want to be liked by my community and know how to build and fix things…
Perhaps it’s because I no longer spend hours a day scrolling and comparing myself to other people. Maybe it’s because one of the most central false premises of capitalism - that fame and the gross accumulation of wealth results in fulfilment - is primarily perpetuated by social media platforms trying to sell us shit. Maybe I’m just getting older.
Whatever it is, my current goal is to try and get an apprenticeship either working on engines, or with wood. And then go from there.
Sending love,
Sebastian
…Do respond to this email - just hit reply and I’ll get it - I’d love to know how you are.
Also, if you have any spare currency and feel like buying me a coffee, or pint… here’s the link! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hervasjones
And finally - check out this page on Nick’s website.. learn about the cat called Kat. http://www.nickwolfe-canalcarrying.co.uk/kat.html