We often hear fire engines before we see them and the crew are often difficult to see because of the sizes of their helmets.
Well for once, without their fire engine and enlarged helmets, we met a fire crew in the lock at Shepperton and asked them what they were doing. The Leader or more precisely the leading fireman , Pete , told us “ We’re are on a day’s on a day’s special training concerning water rescue, searching for lost bodies and how to deal with burning boats.
The First Mate asked Pete “What’s are involved in your normal duties then?” .Pete replied “ Our five main activities are fire fighting , attending road traffic accidents, pipeline emergencies and dealing with hazardous and radioactive materials and of course rescuing cats from trees for grannies and prising the heads of little boys with big ears from school railings.” .He then added “ Our main activity these days is education and helping to make the general public aware of dangers, how these dangers can be avoided and the steps which you can take to make you safe from such dangers.” .” It’s the same everywhere mate” said the First Mate”. ”Health and Safety, it’s gone mad and taking over this country, but in your job, I can see the real need for it”. “Yes “said Pete, “Fire is catholic and it doesn’t care, who you are, or what you are, it will bring you down!”
As we passed through the lock The Cabin Boy said “I can’t see what fire has got to do with religion”.” It hasn’t Billy, it just means that fire is universal and can affect everything”. The First Mate sniggered, “He probably thought that a catholic was a person addicted to cats!!”
Once we had passed through the lock, we decided to pull over and moor up for a cup of tea. As soon as we stopped, the lock keeper was on out back straight away and said” I hope you boys are going to stay there long just in case some boats from upstream have to wait for my pound to fill up”.”Excuse me Sir, “replied the Cabin Boy” ,”We are just weary boaters stopping for a cup of tea and enjoying your beautiful lock, can you tell us anything about it ?”.Mick the lock-keeper said , I don’t know a lot really, I’m not a proper lock-keeper, I’m just a lock-keeper for the Summer but I thick that the lock was built in about 1820 ish because boats kept getting stuck in the shallows in the summer and of course , all the rich knobs in those big houses over there ,were concerned that their houses would get flooded in the winter time. As in the case with many of these earlier locks on the river, it was built out of wood but has now been replaced by stone and the original oak beams have been replaced by a metal hydraulic system.”The Cabin said “I thought you didn’t know much about it?”.”Well gentlemen , I still don’t know much about it, but Johnny the resident lock-keeper ,told me all about it, just in case , boaters engaged me in conversation for just for conversations sake !!”.The First Mate chuckled and asked Mick, is there anything else interesting he could tell us about Shepperton lock.I suppose you know about the island?” The Cabin Boy said “O, you mean D’Oyly Carte Island and Gilbert and Sullivan etc.”.”Mick said “No, if you look upstream you see that island surrounded by willows, where those posh houses are, well that Pharaoh’s Island.”.Mick continued “Apparently, so Johnny told me , it was given to Admiral Nelson after the English fleet hammered the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile “.But the Cabin interrupted “Well if we were fighting the Froggies ,why was it called the Battle of the Nile then?”.Mick answered” because it was fought in the Nile estuary just off the Egyptian coast”. The Cabin determined to test Mick’s knowledge to the hilt asked Mick another question.”Well what did Nelson use the island for?’ Mick laughed and said “Apart from getting away from inquisitive big school boys like you young man, he used it as a fishing retreat. And you see those willows surrounding it, it was on that very island that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote the song Willow,Tit Willow for the Mikado opera. Just to complete the picture Mick added” I think that all the houses on the island have Egyptian names and the biggest house on the island is called The Sphinx”.
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