Looking out

Who are these students I’ve agreed to teach? What level? What interests? What will they want to learn? I’ve stuffed one bag with clothes for all weathers on a boat and another bag with more teaching materials than I can possibly use and I walk to the bus station wondering what I’ve let myself in for.


A bus and a train later I left Atherstone station, headed for the Coventry Canal then turned along the towpath. Five locks up was Triumvirate, my friend John’s narrow boat, which I was last on many years ago for a leisurely weekend. Not to teach five strangers English for a fortnight.

I met the student from Germany who had already arrived, caught up with John, stowed my stuff in a locker below my bunk (in the non-snoring section of the boat – I do hope that's a justified claim), shuffled teaching materials and reminded myself where things were on the boat.

Triumvirate was built to fit into most locks on the British canal system, so is 70 feet long and just under 7 feet wide. It has been fitted out to sleep 12 people in narrow bunks – four at the back of the boat and eight at the front – and the front sleeping space converts to both dining room and classroom. There will be only eight of us on board most of the time so we have more elbow room than some groups, but tidiness and consideration for others are essential. Here's to my boat-mates for the next fortnight being tidy and considerate!

An hour later, as I walked back to the station to meet the other students, the sun suddenly turned to drizzle. Good start! I led one Italian and three French students damply back to the boat and as soon as we’d all dug out our waterproofs, we were off down-canal taking turns learning boat-driving and lock-handling in a downpour.

It was a new ritual for all of them. Two ran ahead of the boat to wind up the paddles in the top gates of the next lock so that water could flow in and reach the same level as the stretch of canal the boat was on. Then they opened the gates, wound down the paddles, let the boat in and closed the gates behind it. With as many people on board as we have, there were two ready at the bottom gates to open their paddles, release the water and lower the boat to the level of the next stretch of canal. The top gate people then ran to the next lock to repeat the process while the bottom gate people closed their paddles, closed the lower gates and ran on for their process.

Eleven locks and some role-shifting later, everyone knew how to work locks, all had had an opportunity to drive the boat and try not to crash into the side of a lock on the way in, the sun had re-emerged and waterproofs had been shed. The orange sunset threw crepuscular rays over the railway gantreys next to us and as a bright moon rose into the dusky sky we stopped, ate and found out about each other.

But I still have no idea what they want to learn tomorrow.

(Atherstone via Coventry Canal to somewhere not very far away. Map position is approximate.)