Millfield

Hi, thank you for the replies to my post. I originally posted to let everyone know that Tucana had found a new home at Millfield where she will be cherished and enjoyed both by children and the staff. Just by reading some of the conversations relating to Tucana on the CanalWorld Forums I understand how highly regarded Tucana is and so just wanted to let you know that she will be well cared for. Please do not think that we are going into the Helmsman’s training lightly, we realise we have an awful lot to learn - both about how Tucana handles and about the stretch of canal that we will travel on. On our first journey we found a rug, a roll of carpet and a length of netting all wrapped around the prop so I understand how lucky we are to have the weedhatch that you had fitted. We would welcome any advice and would be honoured if you felt that you could visit the school and pass on any of your years of experience in how to handle her on the canal. The children of Millfield (and other local schools) have already had loads of fun on Tucana as over Christmas they visited “Santa on the Boat”. This was a huge success and we hope to do it again this year. It is also planned for the children to carry out a history project based around our canal system and if they can research Tucana’s history that will be an added bonus. Again, if anyone wants to get involved with this - or has any photos that we could use – that would be great. Thanks for sending the photo of Tucana as you went passed – I had read about the Historic Narrowboat Club’s meet whilst looking on BrownhillsBob’s site – perhaps we could get involved somehow with that next year?

Hi. This is my first post on this forum but felt compelled to write as I have been looking back through archived posts relating to Tucana's restoration and journey. I'm lucky enough to work at Millfield (Tucana's new home) and last week myself and two other colleagues took her along the W&E canal to Chasewater for our Helmsman's Course. It was a thrilling experience albeit punctuated with regular stops to clear her prop of rubbish and waste. When we are awarded our Helmsman's certificates, we are fully intending to use Tucana as a moving outdoor classroom.