Latest Waterways Podcast Episodes
On Surveys and Winter Warmth (Listeners' questions - 6)
Nighttime on Still Waters - March 10, 2024 14:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsAs the slow march of Spring travels along the canal and towpaths, tonight I answer two more questions: How do we keep the boat from freezing when we have to leave it unattended, and how long does it normally take to buy a narrowboat? Journal entry: 7th March, Thursday. “A grey wind blows Fro...
Walking Home (In fading light)
Nighttime on Still Waters - March 03, 2024 11:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsAs a family, we gained a reputation for the way our 'short walks' often turned into marathon hikes which invariably meant staggering home long after dark (usually without a torch). In this week’s episode I reminisce on the lessons learnt, their prescient significance, and living in a culture th...
Rough Crossings
Nighttime on Still Waters - February 18, 2024 11:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsWelcome aboard the NB Erica on a wet winter’s night. It is a perfect night to snuggle down and listen to JM Synge’s turn of the 20th century accounts of his travels to the Aran Islands in a small currach on stormy seas. Journal entry: 14th February, Wednesday (St. Valentine’s Day) “Outside, ...
I Felt the Anchor Shift (An Update)
Nighttime on Still Waters - January 17, 2024 20:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsIt has been a rather tempestuous year so far! Currently, I am many miles from the boat and have not been able to record any podcasts. I have rather rushed this episode out to update you on the reasons why I have been so quiet of late and to bring you up to date with what has been happening. A...
The Christmas Eves of Childhood
Nighttime on Still Waters - December 23, 2023 14:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsYou are invited to join us for a very special episode as we celebrate Christmas Eve onboard the Erica and remember the Christmas Eves of our childhood. Journal entry: 21st December, Thursday, Winter Solstice “The year’s turning And the longest night. There’s a rough wind And angry skies...
Afloat with Maggie (Listeners' questions - 5)
Nighttime on Still Waters - December 17, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsYou have seen the Instagram photographs/videos of happy boat-dogs gambolling along summer towpaths, dense with colour and sunshine, or happily curled up in front of cosy fires, but what is the reality of sharing a boat with a dog really like, especially in the winter? Journal entry: 15th De...
When Mum married Dad (95th birthday edition)
Nighttime on Still Waters - December 10, 2023 14:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsJoin us on a stormy December night to listen to the next part of ‘How Mum met Dad’ in celebration of Dad’s 95th birthday. This week, we hear about their crack of dawn wedding and their honeymoon on the Norfolk Broads in the Whippet. Journal entry: 7th December, Thursday “Untidy smoke trail ...
S5.E10 Dr Robert Walsh, Micro invertebrates in waterways
Reef And Rivers Podcast - December 05, 2023 01:00 - 21 minutesMicro invertebrates are tiny creatures that are invisible to the naked eye but form the basis of the food web in our waterways. Dr. Robert Walsh talks about the importance and diversity of microfauna for sustaining aquatic systems and reveals that their eggs can remain viable for up to 400-500 y...
When Mum met Dad (95th Birthday edition)
Nighttime on Still Waters - December 03, 2023 13:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsThis week is a very special episode as we celebrate Dad’s 95th birthday and we go back in time to hear about how a 1938 Hilman Minx was instrumental in how Mum met Dad. Journal entry: 1st December, Friday “Short sections of the canal Are covered in a frosted skim of ice. Wafer thin But fir...
S5.E9 Kim Hooper, Prawn Farming Near the Great Barrier Reef
Reef And Rivers Podcast - November 21, 2023 01:00 - 18 minutesAustralia loves its prawns so much that Queensland's aquaculture industry produces more than $200M of produce of each year, but is it sustainable? Kim Hooper, Executive Officer of the Australian Prawn Farmers Association, talks about the industry, how it works and how it minimises its impact on ...
The Battered Landscapes of our Edens
Nighttime on Still Waters - November 19, 2023 13:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsAutumn is a good time for contemplation and a place by the fireside encourages reflection. Recently I have been revisiting the journals of Thomas Merton and, with the help of John Moriarty, I have found myself relearning some valuable lessons. The Edens of our flourishing are sometimes not quite...
When Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown
Nighttime on Still Waters - November 12, 2023 14:00 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsI've always felt that there is something rather singular about the month of November. Tonight I try to find out what it is and end up recounting the time when Guy Fawkes wore my old dressing gown (which might or might not have anything to do with it!). Journal entry: 8th November, Wednesday. ...
S5.E8 Gareth Phillips, Tourism and Conservation on the Great Barrier Reef
Reef And Rivers Podcast - November 07, 2023 01:00 - 26 minutesMillions of tourists come to north Queensland each year to experience the natural wonder of the Great Barrier Reef. This influx of people from around the world represents an opportunity to educate and inform people about the complexity of the reef system and the threats that it faces. In...
November Fireside Nights
Nighttime on Still Waters - November 05, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsIt’s a foul November night, so why not come and join me aboard the Erica by the warm glow of fire light. I have with me a lovely book that I found last year in a second-hand bookshop and think that it's perfect for a night like this. Journal entry: 1st November, Wednesday. “November is bo...
Autumn Forest
Nighttime on Still Waters - October 29, 2023 14:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsI am not sure if it is just me, but so far autumn doesn’t feel quite so ‘autumny’ as it usually does. Therefore, I think that it is a perfect time to savour a reading from one of my most favourite childhood books, Brendon Chase by BB. Journal entry: 26th October, Thursday. “Darkness. Mizz...
S5.E7 Associate Professor Mike Rasheed and Paul Doyle, Seagrass
Reef And Rivers Podcast - October 24, 2023 01:00 - 25 minutesSeagrass meadows play a critically important role in the reef ecosystem. They are nursery habitat for fish and prawns, they stabilise sediment and protect coastlines from erosion, they suck up and filter nutrients coming down from rivers into the reef lagoon, they absorb carbon and also help buf...
The Rebellious Light of Beauty (The last dandelion of summer)
Nighttime on Still Waters - October 22, 2023 14:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsIt is easy to feel overwhelmed by the global events of the last couple of weeks. Following the battering of Storm Babet, this week’s episode offers a space for us to reflect on a world that can be often violent and far from perfect. Journal entry: 13th October, Friday “Battered by the winds ...
Words & Music (Listeners' questions - 4)
Nighttime on Still Waters - October 15, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsThe temperature outside is dipping down towards zero, so join us for a cosy night by the glow of a hot stove, as we chat about two subjects close to my heart and the surprising way that living on a boat has altered my attitude to them. Journal entry: 13th October, Friday “Battered by the win...
S5.E6 Fiona Barron, Tracking Progress on Great Barrier Reef Water Quality
Reef And Rivers Podcast - October 10, 2023 01:00 - 12 minutesThe Great Barrier Reef is about the size of Japan or Italy and there are millions of dollars being invested in improving the runoff of water flowing off the land. How do we know if these reef projects are actually working? Fiona Barron is the coordinator of the Paddock to Reef Program in the ...
Swings and Roundabouts (Listeners' Questions - 3)
Nighttime on Still Waters - October 08, 2023 14:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsThere's an old and trustworthy adage on the canals: when two or more boaters meet up it is only a matter of time before the conversation will turn to the subject of toilets. So guess what the topic of this week's episode is?! Journal entry: 3rd October, Tuesday “Light fades. Dew Falls. Ma...
Under the ghost of a Harvest Moon
Nighttime on Still Waters - October 01, 2023 12:00 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsA week of serious problems with our internet has meant that I have been unable to record the episode answering listeners’ questions. However, join us tonight to enjoy a special meeting under the ‘ghost’ of a harvest moon. Journal entry: 29th September, Friday “Early this morning, We met th...
S5.E5 Mark Kennard, Bloomfield River Cod
Reef And Rivers Podcast - September 26, 2023 02:00 - 24 minutesProfessor Mark Kennard discovered the Bloomfield River Cod in the early 90's whilst undertaking fish surveys as a research assistant. It is the only tropical cod in the world that has avoided predators by living in an 11 kms stretch of the Bloomfield River between two waterfalls.
Uncertain Futures (Listeners' questions - 2)
Nighttime on Still Waters - September 23, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsThere’s a chill in the air tonight and there will be mist on the water in the morning. Join me tonight as I answer some hard questions about how viability is a long term in the Erica on the canals? Journal entry: 21st September, Thursday “For a short while this evening The crescent moon and...
'No Regrets' (Listeners' questions - 1)
Nighttime on Still Waters - September 17, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsOn a dark night that is damp with an autumnal chill, join us as tonight I answer some of the questions posed by the listeners of this podcast which range from the decisions and motivations behind our choice to live afloat to canal etiquette. Journal entry: 14th September, Thursday “Thin dri...
S5.E4 Dr Samantha Tol, Dugongs, Turtles and Seagrass
Reef And Rivers Podcast - September 12, 2023 19:00 - 20 minutesDid you know that seagrass is the only plant in the world that is capable of fruiting and flowering underwater? This is just one of many fascinating facts shared by Dr. Samantha Tol in this week’s Reef & Rivers podcast. Samantha is a researcher at JCU and well known in the marine science world f...
Home thoughts of a Pilgrim (Chasing the wind)
Nighttime on Still Waters - September 10, 2023 14:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsIt's a hot sultry night in the late eve of summer. Join us tonight as we spend time with the gentle words and wisdom of a friend of mine. Journal entry: 6th September, Wednesday “This evening The wool of traveller’s joy has caught afire With the westward Apricot sun. And look at how ...
Roots do not hold you down (Hedge wisdom)
Nighttime on Still Waters - September 03, 2023 13:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsThe hedges are ablaze with colour and they call to us of lessons that we have long forgotten. Journal entry: 2nd September, Saturday “At the edgings of the day. A delinquent V of geese Transect a sinking sun. As they reappear Another flight has joined them. They continue in a loose strag...
S5.E3 - Joe Marano, Cane Farming by the Great Barrier Reef
Reef And Rivers Podcast - August 29, 2023 23:00 - 26 minutesThe sugarcane industry is a highly visible part of the Wet Tropics landscape – if you drive between Ingham and the Daintree, you can’t miss it. Employing more than 4000 direct jobs and supporting another 1800, it contributes over $630 million to our local rural economies. However, since the heal...
As long as the rain talks (I will listen)
Nighttime on Still Waters - August 27, 2023 11:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsRain has a quality to touch us both physically and emotionally. Thomas Merton and Tristan Gooley are two very different people, but both offer insights into the language of rain and what we can learn through listening to it. Journal entry: 24th August, Thursday "We drop down the hill To fi...
An August-coloured Evening
Nighttime on Still Waters - August 20, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsTonight, we celebrate and enjoy a special August evening at the moorings, filled with golden light, gentle chatter, a rolling wind, duck call and church bells. A rare ‘August-coloured’ evening. Journal entry: 15th August, Tuesday “Chasing clouds and sunshine. The ground still wet from yeste...
Related Waterways Topics