Thursday 25 March 2010

An old ad, an old phone number, and horse-drawn trip boats



An advertisement in the very first issue of Waterways World reads as follows:

SHROPSHIRE UNION CRUISES
TAKE NOTICE THAT A CHEAP, COMMODIOUS AND COMFORTABLE FORM OF GROUP CONVEYANCING, NAMELY
'I O N A'
A HORSE DRAWN BOAT
is plying for hire to groups of gentle folk, at very reasonable rates, as a form of relaxation, and as a subject of absorbing interest to all
Please Apply
SHROPSHIRE UNION CRUISES, NORBURY, STAFFORD   Woodseaves 292


Ridiculously archaic copy, even in 1972. Perhaps they wanted to keep the riff-raff away - they might have frightened the "gentle folk".

Do you see what the telephone number is? Weren't phone numbers simple in the old days? All you had to remember was "Woodseaves" and "292". Easy.

Now, if you wanted to contact Norbury Wharf Limited, and you hadn't written it down, you'd have to memorise 01785284292. Or you'd e-mail them, I suppose.

Norbury Wharf doesn't list horse-drawn boat trips on its website. A quick trawl for horse-drawn boats produced the following:

Llangollen Wharf
Tiverton Canal
Godalming Packetboat Company for trips on the Wey
Kennet Horse Boat Company, Kintbury on the K&A



Iona was launched in 1935 as Bellerephon, a "star class" Small Woolwich steel composite butty, originally paired with Bootes.

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