Witty and thought-provoking tales from a canal and river journey

Kildalkey farmer Gerald Potterton began writing a column in the Farmers Journal some years ago. 'It was a sort of diary piece but I took a few liberties,' he said at the recent launch of his debut book in Trim. 'For what was to be my final piece, I overstepped the mark, talking about the difficulties of opening Panadol packs on a Monday morning, which wasn"t hugely relevant to that week"s agricultural crisis. But I got great support from readers and I absolutely loved the experience.' Gerald Potterton said he had wanted to write a book for many years. 'But you need a topic, and it helps if you know a little about the topic.' Canals have always been close to his heart, and the purchase of a narrow boat in 2006 brought new possibilities. 'I would do a book on the Grand Canal, and merge some of my other interests into it, with other ideas as well.' The result was 'In the Wake of Giants", launched recently by MEP Mairead McGuinness. It is a story of travelling on a long boat along the Grand Canal and River Barrow. 'Each and every one of the words was tapped out one letter at a time. After a couple of months, I was able to find all of the keys most of the time, and without too much cursing.' 'In the Wake of Giants" is packed full of anecdotes about the characters he met along his canal journeys, and tales of the villages and towns visited along the way, and Gerald"s own particular philosophical musings on life. Defending his lack of enthusiasm for the canal town of Edenderry at the launch, he recounted a story a reader told him of an uncle on the look out for a wife in the midlands, at a social gathering organised by the British Legion. The location was a function for the Poppy Appeal, where funds were being raised for ex-serviceman and women. This Uncle Tommy was horrified by the number of old soldiers present, bearing the awful wounds of war, Gerald explained. 'What happened to that elderly gentleman over there?' he asked his host, pointing to a man with a wooden leg. 'Machine gun, the Somme, 1916,' he was solemnly informed. 'And that poor chap over there, beside the piano, with one arm?' uncle enquired. 'Gallipoli landings, goddamned Turks, 1915.' Uncle Tommy was becoming more and more intrigued by the assembled gathering. 'And what about that dignified old lady with one eye in the wheelchair?' 'Queen Alexandra nurse, shrapnel, Normandy beaches, 1944.' Uncle Tommy was clearly shocked by what all these old warriors had endured. But then he spied a most tragic case with the most awful old would to his head. Literally half of his head seemed to have been blown away. 'I am sorry to persist,' Tommy said. 'But whatever happened to that old boy at the mantelpiece.' 'Oh, he said, dismissively. 'Don"t mind him. That fellow only got a belt of a lock key down at the harbour in Edenderry!' Launching the book, Mairead McGuinness said it told the story of one man"s love of canals and boats and countryside. 'The book is a bit like a canal, it flows gently onwards yet sometimes has most unusual twists,' she said. 'It gives us a glimpse of the Irish countryside from a completely different perspective, charting the flow of the waterways, the beauty and the ugly side too of neglected places and wanton dumping of rubbish. He has harsh words for some places and his views will undoubtedly annoy some and amuse others,' said the MEP. She said Gerald Potterton"s book is also about history, politics and economics. 'The stories of great industries that grew up along the banks of the canal, relying on the waterways to transport goods to and fro are all contained within its pages. Above all, Gerald Potterton has a great way with words. He is a witty writer, reflective, thoughtful and irreverent,' McGuinness concluded. 'In the Wake of Giants" is published by Ballyhay Books.