One Street - John

I headed westbound along One Street (Bridgewater canal) this morning. There was a lot of activity around.

I met up with Derek, who I blipped on Sunday, He had moved a couple of miles further on from where he was on Sunday. That is the pace of life he likes, a mile a day! He was really pleased when I told him about all the comments and stars that had been left on his blip.

Further along I helped open the lock gates to let a boat through. The couple on board, like Peter from yesterday's blip, are Australian and were proudly flying the Aussie flag from the boat which was named Melbourne.

I learned a new word last night, gongoozler. What's more I think that I am probably one! Here is the definition from Wikipedia, so it must be true:

A gongoozler is a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals in the United Kingdom. The term is also often used in a more general way to describe those who have an interest in canals and the canal life, but do not actively participate.

"Gongoozler" may have been canal workers' slang for an observer standing apparently idle on the towpath. Though it was used derisively in the past, today the term is regularly used, perhaps with a little irony, by gongoozlers to describe themselves and their hobby.[1]

Today's blip features John who was taking a rest by the canal while out walking his dog,

And a poem to accompany this image. John is a railway enthusiast so here is From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson:

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever!

More images from today's bike ride along one street.