Book description
Keeping Afloat is a light-hearted tale of John Liley's exploits on
the canals of France. John was working for a boating magazine when he
was overcome with a dream of owning and operating a hotel-barge in
France. Now, thirty years on, he tells of his often hilarious
misadventures in the early days of setting up a business that would
keep afloat. Characters such as The Whizzer, Mighty Min and Monsieur
Bertrand would be unbelievable if they were not true. Barge
enthusiasts and landlubbers alike will laugh with and at John's exploits.
As a small boy in south Lancashire John Liley played beside, and in,
the derelict Ashton Canal. When, in 1952, his father organised the first
of many trips on the English waterways, he discovered 'an alternative
world, a throwback that seemed likely to end at any moment.' Years of
sailing followed. He has crossed the Atlantic on a schooner and helped
to deliver yachts between points as far apart as the Shetland Isles, the
Canaries and the eastern shores of Greece. On joining Motor Boat &
Yachting magazine in 1963 he was amazed to find the canals of England
still surviving - 'if only just, and they were constantly under threat.
The waterways of England had to be campaigned for, against all the
forces of a blinkered regime.' John took the magazine into that fight
and, on becoming Editor, found himself arguing the case for, amongst
others, the Ashton Canal. It is now open to navigation again. Leaving
the magazine in 1972, he explored the waterways of France, then Germany,
the Netherlands and Belgium in 'a beat-up old English coal barge'. A
spell with Practical Boat Owner followed, before he pursued a career
with the hotel-barge Secunda, described in these pages. Marriage and the
birth of three sons have limited these activities, but, from a home base
in Cheshire, he still visits France often. Amongst other books he has
written are Journeys of the Swan, covering adventures on the English
canals, France - the Quiet Way - a guide, and Barge Country, an
exploration of the Netherlands.
