After a shaky start the flotilla delighted all those who purposely came and the Saturday lunch time passers by at Brindleyplace.
First of all I apologise if you were misled by the start time I gave for the event in my previous post on this subject.
Well, the Canal & River Trust almost got things right on their website – “begin at 12 noon at the Roundhouse before heading along the canal to Brindley Place and onto the Oozells Street Loop”.
Well I turned up at 11:45am so as not to miss anything and at one o’clock the boats set off some distance west of the Roundhouse. They didn’t go round the Oozells Street Loop at all but cruised at sub-walking pace past Brindleyplace and onto the Mailbox.
I wouldn’t have minded but the temperature was pretty low and it rained on and off and I hadn’t brought a packed lunch, so I had an uncomfortable 2 hours experience.
Three other slight discrepancies in the billing – there were significantly less than 50 boats and there weren’t any bell boats and just a couple of heritage boats.
Anyway, I forgave the CRT once things started, as the boats were colourful as also were some of the characters on them.
The parade was followed by a band of drummers playing and a blob-like character dancing with the crowd (don’t know what it’s called) at the Waters Edge at Brindleyplace.
Below is a Gallery of photos I took which you should hopefully find interesting if you like colourful boats and crowd atmosphere.
Article and Photos by Geoff Caine
GALLERY
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www.BrumCityCentre.com 
Thanks Joan
Actually I did see a trip boat interspersing itself between the flotilla to cruise past the Roundhouse in the early stages. Obviously the trip boat skipper would have to make the best of things for his paying customers. Having said that I can’t see why he would have a problem with the parade.
Geoff
Can I just add that the reason many of the boats (and I understand there were around 45 of us) didn’t go round the Oozells Loop was that, although the trip boats were asked to cease activities between the hours of the procession, we met a stuffing trip boat sat centrally in the entrance to the loop when we arrived which forced us to continue down the main line
Thanks Brenda for your clarity on this. The BCNS obviously did a great job because the public looking on were in high spirits at the event.
I was of course jokingly critical of the CRT website and not BCNS.
Geoff of CanalScene.com
It would seem from this that CRT organised the spectacle of boats when in actual fact it was the BCN Society. It was never planned to start at 12. That was the meeting time for the boats at Vincent Street Bridge. The expected time of the start was indeed 1 o’clock so BCNS got it right. Can’t help the weather though! Love your photos!!!