The Black Cat

Canal carriers have never really gone away, but they are a rarity. Now, however, they may be making a come-back.
We are not talking here about strings of wide beamed canal barges carrying coal or grain. We are talking about traders, or friendly individuals, who are using their boats to carry items for friends. There is a growing network, usually based on the internet, specifically Facebook, of canal dwellers who are willing to help each other, with advice, with the occasional loan of tools or an hour or so of expert assistance – and now with an informal delivery service.
“Is anybody going to the Middlewich Market in April from this area?” which is followed by the request for help. “Need to deliver a lace plate, a tea set, a camera.” Often, somebody is going directly, sometimes part of the way, but in those cases the package can be handed on to another boat.
I’ve received a coffee percolator by canal which journeyed on three different boats in order to reach me, and an inverter (that was a bit of a cheat, as the last stretch was by car) which travelled on two. Now a couple of bags of compost are making their way to Stone, because I couldn’t have afforded the carriage to send them, and by the time I will next meet the recipient it will be half way through the summer, long past the time that potting compost will be of use.
If you need to send something you are not prepared to entrust to the Royal Mail or the courier companies, it’s worth putting in a request. Fragile items, or those needing care en route, for example, plants, would be in safer hands on a boat than in a van or a truck. It needs to be kept informal, and between friends, because the dreaded ‘regulations’ might otherwise come into play, and strangle the venture in its infancy.
Apart from anything else, it’s a good way to keep in touch with old friends, and to make new ones. And it’s a lot cheaper than the postal services! A cup of coffee and a biscuit is what I pay, and what I would expect to receive. So, digestive or chocolate Bourbon? How do you take your coffee? And can you bring me back a basil plant from Macclesfield, and water it on the way?