It’s strange how much can happen in one week.  I’ve just got off the phone with mum, looks like our canal bloodline has diminished once more with the passing of my Auntie Mary over in Hull, although I wasn’t that close I do have memories of her as a child when we would visit Hull, and also when we used to have holidays down in Weston-Super-Mare…

sigh - well, it turns out that of the survivng family over in Hull, my 3rd cousin is writing a book about our family’s links to the canal boat industry; just to give you some idea of the extent of that, my great-great-grandfather would have been the owner of the Gifford currently on display the the Ellesmere-Port Boat Museum!

It’s a sad time, but at the same time, it’s a comfort to know that there are those in the family who are working to preserve the memories of our family in a bygone age…