1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Water Rd Podcast. 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,000 And this episode comes from Market Drayton in Shropshire. 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,120 In fact, we're on the Shropshire Union Canal and we're here 4 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:15,000 because this weekend there's a floating market, so the canal is 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,960 lined by more than a dozen boats, all belonging to licenced 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,160 waterways traders and the locals are thronging to buy their 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,400 wares. I'm going to go and find out 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:37,560 more about it. So with Julie and you're on the 9 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,280 committee of the Roving Canal Traders Association. 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,240 Yes, I'm in charge of publicity. I do all the advertising for the 11 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,920 markets. So just tell me a bit about the 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:48,600 the RCTA. What does it do? 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,960 Who's a member? Well, it's for boat owners and 14 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:53,400 people who want to trade off their boats. 15 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,040 A lot of people live on their boats full time and we get 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,080 together, we do floating markets. 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,480 It's really nice because we we meet each other and then we part 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:03,200 to go different ways. Then we come back and we do 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,440 markets again and that's how people make their money and pay 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,520 for their boat licences so. Obviously sometimes you've got a 21 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,360 big market like this with loads of traders, but sometimes you 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,840 just trade on your on your own on the on the tow part. 23 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,040 Yes, sometimes a few of us get together and just do a little 24 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,200 market. We call it a pop up because it's 25 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,160 supposed to be done informally in a spur of the moment. 26 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,640 So what's the big thing about trading on from a boat, do you 27 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,360 think? It provides you with the money 28 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,280 to afford the boat. I mean, that's why I do it. 29 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,800 And also it's a nice social thing to do and it's a reason to 30 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,800 go to a certain direction because the markets are in in 31 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,080 certain places. So we all get together and we 32 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:40,800 all aim for the same destination. 33 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,200 So there's quite a few of them throughout the season, isn't 34 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:44,880 there? So do you sort of you you you're 35 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,240 doing a loop really. Yes, it's designed by the 36 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,480 committee to form a loop so people can all go off in the 37 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,000 same direction and. Just tell me about what you're 38 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,680 doing 'cause you're you're sat here painting. 39 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,440 Yes, well, I'm a canal artist. I paint. 40 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,600 I decorate boats and paint things for boats. 41 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,080 I've been doing it for 25 years. I enjoy it very much. 42 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,480 And the roses and castles, just tell me about those 'cause 43 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:05,920 they're really traditional, aren't they? 44 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,639 Yes, they are. The roses we believe came from 45 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,000 the Potteries, from Meashamwe. People in the factories realised 46 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:14,880 they could make money by offering to paint people's 47 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,720 boats. So they left the factories, went 48 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,160 on to the canal which runs through Meisham and they put 49 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,160 roses on boats. And the castles are an Eastern 50 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,800 European castle. We believe when the Eastern 51 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,280 Europeans came over they brought with them their images of 52 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,240 castles and to make their boats pretty, they put the castle 53 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,280 scenes on the castles they've seen on the way across Europe. 54 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,080 Because actually the the roses look quite complicated, but when 55 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,920 I see you people doing them, they're just a few strokes. 56 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,160 They are a few strokes, they're very simple, but you have to 57 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,360 know the formula, have to be taught. 58 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,240 It's quite difficult to grasp at first. 59 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,600 It's done with enamel paint, which is like thick nail 60 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:49,920 varnish, so it's a very special paint. 61 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,640 And you can tell people by their rose, the way they've painted 62 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:55,720 it. We've all got our own style and 63 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,600 I've taught roses and castles. I encourage people to develop 64 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,240 their own castle and their own rose, which is their special 65 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,320 rose. So we all be what we try to have 66 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:05,560 our own rose. And people sometimes bring me 67 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,120 work to identify and they've got something on their boat they 68 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,520 say, do I know who painted it? And quite often I like to think 69 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:12,800 I can't tell them who painted it. 70 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,800 And I imagine that sometimes you're going along and you see, 71 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,280 I don't know, teapot on a boat or something, and you say, oh, 72 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:19,040 that's one. Of mine. 73 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,800 I did that recently and the lady said to me, no, no, it's not 74 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:23,720 yours, it's mine. No, you don't understand. 75 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,440 I painted it. Could I? 76 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:32,720 Please have some beetroot, beetroot, some rhubarb and fig 77 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,480 and dams and chutney. Please, lovely. 78 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:43,160 It was a difficult choice. Thank you very much. 79 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,840 Right, so one of the traders here is my good friend Helen 80 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,480 from Wild Side. Just tell me about your 81 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,880 business. We started in 2012 with the 82 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,280 business launched, which was following on from an accident I 83 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,960 had in 2010, which meant my current career was no longer 84 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,720 going to work so I needed to look at something else and I 85 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,400 started foraging and making jams as a result of extended 86 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,320 convalescence. Following on from that, we 87 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,600 started the business because suddenly people kept buying 88 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:13,720 them. And how does the boat come into 89 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,160 that story then? Well, we have permission from 90 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,600 the Canal and Rivers Trust to forage on their land, which if 91 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,720 you're selling forage goods is really important. 92 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,200 And they're I think the large third largest landowner in the 93 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,520 country. It's true that most of their 94 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,320 land is underwater, but of the bits that aren't underwater, 95 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,120 there's a lot of fruit trees because a lot of lot keepers 96 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,600 used to have their own cottage gardens and they're now 97 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,040 abandoned. And there's a lot of wild 98 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:40,880 seedlings that have grown on the towpath. 99 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,240 And it's particularly useful when you're when you're on a 100 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,960 boat because you can reach bits of overhanging trees that you 101 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:48,720 wouldn't be able to from the ground. 102 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,200 So we're talking jams and chutneys and all that sort. 103 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,000 Of and marmalades. Now, we haven't actually found 104 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,160 the fruit trees for growing oranges and lemons yet on the 105 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,640 towpath, but what we do to try and make those have a foraged 106 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,040 element to them is that we add alcohols that we've infused with 107 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,280 foraged things. So we do, for instance, slow 108 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,480 whiskey, Seville marmalade, and other such things. 109 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,920 And how does a floating market like this work for you? 110 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:20,320 Well, we're part of the RCTA, they get together and organ do 111 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,120 all the organisations. So sort out all the insurance or 112 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,400 the safety certificates, all that kind of thing. 113 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,160 They organise for you and for a nominal fee we get together and 114 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,360 it's like an extended pop up of traders. 115 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,880 I think there are, we're in Market Drayton this weekend and 116 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,120 I think there are 18 other trade boats here. 117 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,480 And it always works well when you're trading in company 118 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:45,120 because it makes more of a spectacle and and in passersby 119 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,760 are more interested. So for us it's useful trading 120 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,960 with other people. So I just noticed that you seem 121 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,920 to have quite a few paper bags and you've obviously been buying 122 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:57,960 stuff. Yeah. 123 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,040 What have you been buying? I've got myself some jam and 124 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,080 some cheese and an embroidery kit as well for my daughter for 125 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:06,720 Christmas. So what brought you down to the 126 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,360 floating market? So I live on a boat and we're 127 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,040 currently moored up on the Llangothlin and I went to the no 128 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,800 saw one last weekend and I really enjoyed it and my in laws 129 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,680 are down and they want to go to one too. 130 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,680 So you're quite a a floating market addict then? 131 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,240 Yeah, yeah, I really like supporting the boaters because 132 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,520 obviously I live on a boat as well, so it it's just nice to be 133 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,920 able to support other boaters with making money so they can 134 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:32,560 carry on living on boats and things. 135 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,320 So yeah, and there's the Curry boats down there, and I'm quite 136 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,120 obsessed with the Curry boats. Ever thought about making stuff 137 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,160 on your boat and becoming a trader yourself? 138 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,400 I think there's too many hoops to jump through to trade from 139 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,840 your boat, to be perfectly honest, and I don't have 140 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,960 anywhere near the skill that a lot of these people do. 141 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:52,880 I do paint, I enjoy it, but I could never sell it. 142 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,520 I'm with Emma and I'm on your boat and you're a fine artist. 143 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:08,640 Yes, I've been painting all my adult life, but it wasn't until 144 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,560 I I bought the boat four years ago, I was still painting and 145 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,480 creating piles of artwork and I was thinking, what do I do with 146 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:23,640 all this art stacking up? So I found out about the Roving 147 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,200 Traders Association, joined up and now I can sell my art. 148 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:29,560 For the very first time in my life. 149 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,520 I'm selling what I'm producing, which is fantastic. 150 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,000 And does the canal give you plenty of things to paint? 151 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:41,440 So it's sometimes I'm overloaded with the amount of choice I have 152 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,560 to paint. Obviously very nature inspired 153 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:53,560 canal boats, canal scenes, but abstract art as well on on top 154 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,680 of that. But mostly canal work, 155 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,680 definitely. And I see you've got some 156 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,640 originals and you have prints made of some of your stuff as 157 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,120 well. Yes, I paint my original and my 158 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,640 husband, he prints what I paint and I sell as greeting cards, 159 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,560 prints, small framed prints. In fact, when he first bought 160 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,320 the printer onto the boat, when we bought the boat, I was really 161 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,240 quite cross because I thought, what on earth do we need that 162 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:19,840 for? Because I at the time I didn't 163 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,560 know that I was going to be selling my art. 164 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:23,960 Where on earth are we going to put this printer? 165 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,320 He was adamant he he was going to keep it. 166 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:27,960 He said, well, we might need it one day. 167 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,840 And thank goodness he did, because half of my art is 168 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,520 original and the rest is print, so we've got a little business 169 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,520 on the boat here. So is that an important part of 170 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,600 your life, actually having something to do? 171 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,880 Well, it was actually just a couple of days ago. 172 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,720 I said to my husband, what would we be doing if we weren't doing 173 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,800 this? Would I feel like I was just 174 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,200 floating aimlessly around with no purpose? 175 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,480 So this has given me a purpose. I'm obviously still being 176 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,440 creative, more creative than I've ever been. 177 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,720 But also, we've made so many friends on these voting markets. 178 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:12,200 We dip in, in and out of these markets and choose which ones we 179 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,480 want to go on. So sometimes I won't see someone 180 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,080 for weeks and weeks. It's like seeing an old friend 181 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,320 again. So yes, definitely it's a new 182 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,280 dimension to our boating life. And how much of your boat does 183 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,000 your workshop take up? Well, this is a bone of 184 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:34,480 contention because when I'm actually painting, I'm taking 185 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:39,280 over the whole dining area. I've got pots of paint and paint 186 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,800 brushes all over the boat and then of course we have to store 187 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:46,280 the frames so they are stacked in all areas. 188 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,120 In the summer, when we're very busy selling, we're quite often 189 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,400 tripping over them. Everything has its place, so we 190 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:58,480 can't really bring too much on board because we've got art that 191 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,800 takes precedence really. I'm Kate, I'm a stained glass 192 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,520 and I live aboard Bears the Flow narrow boat. 193 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,440 So just tell me about the, the sort of things that you make to 194 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,480 to sell on the on the boat. All sorts of things. 195 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:14,440 Favourites are 3D Dragons, but they're very hard to store on a 196 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:18,520 small space. So I make bears, letters, 197 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,840 angels, mushrooms, cows. And why is it a good thing to do 198 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:25,720 on a boat? Does it not take up much room? 199 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,080 Oh, it takes up room. At the back of the boat there's 200 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:34,200 a six foot workshop which we had specifically designed, laid out 201 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,080 and the Bale thruster locker is full of finished items. 202 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,560 And being glass, do you have to fire them somewhere then? 203 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,720 No, no, this, this is the Tiffany technique. 204 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,960 So you cut the glass, you surround it with copper, and 205 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:53,040 then you solder it together. I have previously done kiln 206 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:59,440 work, but kilns and boats? No, it's too big and I would be 207 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,920 afraid that when everything's molten, a boat would go past too 208 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:07,400 fast and rock the boat. I have trouble with soldiers. 209 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,760 I like to solder on the back deck because I can hear when the 210 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,480 other boats are coming in and I need to to stop for the moment 211 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,080 until they've gone past. And that's, of course, an 212 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:20,560 electric boat. Well, across the other side of 213 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,880 the canal there's a small grassy area with lots of people sitting 214 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:28,040 and eating and drinking because this is what you might call the 215 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,040 food court area. So on this side of the canal 216 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:33,600 we've got the Curry cruiser boat. 217 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,000 There's a boat that's a coffee shop and is also doing quite a 218 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,760 trade in ice creams. There's the crepe. 219 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,640 Boat. And right at the front is the 220 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,480 baked on board pizza boat where they've actually got a wood 221 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:54,120 fired pizza oven in the weldeck. I'm David. 222 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,680 I'm Lynn. And I noticed that you'd just 223 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,520 had your lunch from the Curry Cruiser. 224 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,840 What was it like? It was very, very good indeed. 225 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,240 A surprise that he can get that done on a boat up to restaurant 226 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,600 standard. Great value, cheery company. 227 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:12,920 Very, very good indeed. What did you actually have? 228 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:17,880 I had the samosa chat smashed smosa chat which never heard the 229 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:19,400 like of it before. That was good. 230 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,880 And yours? I had chicken tikka rat which 231 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,520 was delicious. The rat was homemade, which was 232 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,640 amazing. And it was, yeah, truly 233 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:28,320 stunning. And what brings you down to the 234 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,280 market today? Well, we live in Drayton so we 235 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,840 like to support whatever's going on and we're here to support 236 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:36,760 this, which is great. It's much bigger than it was 237 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,360 last year I think more, more people and more boats, which is 238 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,400 lovely to see. And are you regular canal users? 239 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,600 We don't have a boat, but we do walk along the canal a lot. 240 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,680 I'm with Paul from the Baked on Board Pizza Boat and thanks 241 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:57,040 first of all for taking the time because I know you've been 242 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,600 really busy today. You're very welcome. 243 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,080 Yes, we've had a very good day so far. 244 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,200 A bit more of the day to do, but yeah, so far so good. 245 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,240 So just tell me about the setup on your boat, because you seem 246 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,480 to have an enormous pizza oven on your, well, deck. 247 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:10,520 The oven and the deck that it was that was built for it to 248 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,840 stand on is about 3/4 of a tonne. 249 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,880 And it was manufactured by a company who make pizza ovens 250 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,200 specifically for mobile units. They put them into horse boxes 251 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,920 and trailers and things. And we said we're going to buy 252 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:24,040 an Arrow boat, can you put it on it? 253 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,200 And they, well, they didn't put it on, but they supplied it, 254 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,800 Yeah. So just tell me about your setup 255 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,440 then, because you've got a hatch where you're serving people and 256 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,680 you've got the the pizza oven right at the front. 257 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,640 Well, it's it's obviously like everybody's boat. 258 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,360 It's tight for space. As you can imagine. 259 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,280 It's it is it is my kitchen. So it's my home kitchen, but it 260 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:43,760 also serves as the pizza kitchen. 261 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,640 So the the oven sits right in the bow And then we've got 262 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,320 serving hatches on both sides. So depending on which way we're 263 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,760 facing, one side is this this way around is slightly better, 264 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,280 but either side we can serve from usually when on the market 265 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:57,880 to have one of my girls who comes and helps me. 266 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,400 So Tracy's with me today and we just, I make them and cook them 267 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,920 and she boxes them and sells them and takes the money and it 268 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,480 just works. I've been doing it for seven 269 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,000 years. It must take out quite a lot of 270 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,200 space in the boat. I mean, pizza boxes take up a 271 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,880 lot of space. In the summer, when it's at its 272 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,640 peak, which it is now, I live with tinned tomatoes under my 273 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,400 bed and pizza boxes all the way along the wall in my bedroom. 274 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:19,840 Because that's just the nature of the thing. 275 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,800 And we have adapted it this winter slightly so that my bed 276 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,840 now, instead of all the stuff that's in the kitchen, which 277 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,240 needs to come out the kitchen when we're serving, used to go 278 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,000 on the bed. And then you used to make pizza 279 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,640 boxes with the girls sat on the bed or whatever. 280 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:33,240 Now the the bed has been changed. 281 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,360 So the bed goes up against the wall, created some storage down 282 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,480 below. So you just you just we find our 283 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:39,720 way. But yeah, it's it's pretty 284 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,720 tight. And obviously you attend markets 285 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,560 like this. Do you sometimes just, you know, 286 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:46,400 go onto the towpath and and open up? 287 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,560 For very much so. So at the beginning of the 288 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,320 season in February, we look when the when the festivals are, when 289 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,600 the floated markets are, get the calendar out and plot things. 290 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,680 And then when I'm not doing these sorts of things, I've got 291 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:02,840 my own regular route where I go. I do Barbridge and Beeston and 292 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,760 Waverton and Tatton Hall, and I do Renbury and Whitchurch and 293 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,760 Northwich and Middlewich and Nantwich and Audlem. 294 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,720 So I try and get to all of those places 3 or 4 times during the 295 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:14,560 course of the season. So. 296 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,840 You get regular customers. Oh yeah, very much so. 297 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:18,240 Yeah. We have a loyalty card scheme 298 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,160 and we've got lots and lots of regular customers. 299 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,800 Lots of customers who are here today are regular customers of 300 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:24,920 mine who come to us pretty much wherever we go. 301 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,800 So as long as we're in the area. So yeah, it's, it's a, it's a 302 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,520 mix of the two. What you doing before? 303 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,680 I mean, how did you end up doing pizzas on a boat for? 304 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,800 I lived in Cornwall for Best Buy well over 30 years and worked in 305 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,160 pubs and then subsequently ran pubs and then myself, my ex. 306 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,720 We needed to get out of it. Pubs were about to get the 307 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:44,560 better of me all together because it the ones I was 308 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,520 running was it was a particularly big busy pub with 309 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,720 letting rooms and it was just it was too much and I was getting 310 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:51,360 older. So we started having narrow boat 311 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,600 holidays, fell in love with it completely, and then thought how 312 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:59,000 can we earn a business? So lots of different ideas came 313 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,880 and went, but eventually we settled on the Pizza Robin. 314 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,640 We'd researched it, other people were doing it, but not in this 315 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,840 part of the world. So Pizza Robin came and suddenly 316 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,160 the rest is history. And seven years later, here we 317 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:17,440 are. And that's all from this busy 318 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,640 floating market in Market Drayton. 319 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,920 And I have to say, the mushroom pizza from the Pizza Boat was 320 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:25,640 really good. The Water Rd is produced and 321 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,520 presented by Lee Adam Porter. In the next episode we'll be on 322 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,040 the Staffs and Worcester Canal hearing about the Bratch Locks 323 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,480 angling and what it's like to have a log by wash flowing 324 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,480 underneath your house. It's not as loud as you might 325 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,480 think, but it's actually quite comforting to hear the rustle of 326 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,080 the water. If you've enjoyed the podcast, 327 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,400 please follow or subscribe so you'll be alerted when new 328 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,120 episodes are published. And please leave us a nice 329 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,920 review because it really does help other people to find us. 330 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,400 And don't forget, all previous episodes are always available to 331 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,240 listen to. Thank you for listening to The 332 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:04,000 Water Ropes.