Fiodra is no longer owned and managed by Bob Chase.
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On August 7th 2024 she was craned out of the River Lea and transported to her new home near Stratford-on-Avon. .bsky.social
07/08/2024
Today we said goodbye to Fiodra, the big red canalboat that has been our exhibition space, party venue, mindfulness retreat, jam stall, café, cinema, concert hall, art gallery, classroom, adventure holiday companion and sometime home for just over seven years.
She’s been craned out of the water at Ponders End Lock (see video!) and transported by lorry to a marina in Stratford-upon-Avon, where a new life awaits.
As Jo Bell says in her poem "How to live on a boat". We are...
"mindful of
one need
which can be met
by moving on;
and always
buoyant"
16/03/2024
Join us on Saturday the 30th March 2024 (10am-6pm) for an intimate experience of Marissa Stoffer's sculptural sensory work on board Barge FIODRA on the River Lea at Tottenham Hale Lock. (see map image).
Suspended in time with the surrounding cityscape filtered out you will be connected to nature through your senses. The artist has magnified an encounter with a rare Black Poplar Tree and observation of the canal's ability to mute the intensity of noise pollution of the enveloping built environment just metres away that bombard us daily.
The artist created the work during a micro artist residency in 2023 on the River Lea for the Canal & River Trust as part of the Trust’s Hinterlands Enfield project. During the residency the artist hiked along the River Lea/Lee Navigation for two days, starting from where the upper river surfaces next to Waulud’s Bank (an earthwork possibly neolithic and dating back to 3000 BC) in Luton. During this walk, the artist experienced the transforming ecologies that the river runs through, collecting sounds and observing the plant and animal species living along its banks.
Marissa Stoffers practice fosters an intimate connection with the non-human world, embodying a way of life and artistic expression. The artist who is interested in ecology and plant lore stayed on board Barge FIODRA during her residency to explore the practice of foraging for colour, where the artist creates dyes and pigments from plants and minerals collected during walks. This ancient, slow craft process- innate and learned through time spent in the Amazon RainForest enables the artist to study plant species, particularly trees with a deep understanding of how their stories intertwine with our cosmologies, evolution, and connection to place.
15/03/2024
Some great projects coming up. Delighted to support the Hinterlands Enfield 2023 initiative.
FIODRA is for SALE: After 5 years of fun and adventure we are ready to hand over this amazing boat and business to a new owner. The lucky new owner will be able to take on a successful business that has allowed us to live on the canals at virtually no cost. If you are interested visit https://sale.fiodra.co.uk/ I'll not be leaving the cut after 35 years, however, just downsizing!
After 5 years of amazing adventures and projects it’s time to find a new owner for our unique Barge AND Business. If your dream is to combine living comfortably on the waterways while operating a fun and profitable business then this is the boat for you. Fiodra is a purpose built home AND flexible...
03/03/2024
FIODRA is for SALE: After 5 years of fun and adventure we are ready to hand over this amazing business to a new owner. The lucky new owner will be able to take on a successful business that has allowed us to live on the canals at virtually no cost. Contact us for more information.
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Videos
Fiodra Crane Out
Today we said goodbye to Fiodra, the big red canalboat that has been our exhibition space, party venue, mindfulness retreat, jam stall, café, cinema, concert hall, art gallery, classroom, adventure holiday companion and sometime home for just over seven years.
She’s been craned out of the water at Ponders End Lock (see video!) and transported by lorry to a marina in Stratford-upon-Avon, where a new life awaits.
As Jo Bell says in her poem "How to live on a boat". We are...
"mindful of
one need
which can be met
by moving on;
and always
buoyant"
Fiodra travels the southern British Canals hosting: Cinema, Theatre, Storytelling, Poetry Reading, Mindfulness Classes and much, much more.
Fiodra is a new wide-beam barge built by Viking Canal Boats in Poland. At 60ft x 12ft she is wide, but this gives plenty of room for a living and and activity space. She is licensed by the Canal and River Trust (CRT) to operate as a Roving Trader on their waterways. This means she can be used for business and events as well as being a live-aboard vessel for her crew.
The activity space (The Saloon*) is 10ft x 20ft and will accommodate around 10 people for workshops and 24 for talks, cinema and theatre.
Since her launch, Fiodra has been playing host to a wide variety of workshops, art and cinema events. Join our mailing list and be the first to know what’s coming up.
Activities
Mindfulness
Classes
Practice sessions
Talks and events
Cinema and live events
24-seat micro cinema showing feature films and documentaries
Historic/archive films about the canals
Canal, barge and boating related feature films ... there are few!
Live entertainment, such as story-telling and poetry reading
Exhibitions
Art markets and exhibitions
Floating markets with artists’ stalls
Exhibitions of canal and waterway related artworks
I've been around boats since a young age. My (late) father was a Ships’ Pilot (in the Wash) and from a local fishing family. My brother Bill was skipper of a tugboat. We built boats for ourselves large and small over the years and owned a few canal boats. I've lived on two narrow boats on the southern English canals. Fiodra is the newest and biggest vessel.
After a career in arts management, marketing and technology I am now a freelance mindfulness teacher, web-consultant and mentor to adults on the autistic spectrum.
If you are curious... Fiodra is the Gaelic name for the island of Fidra in the Firth of Forth. The Norse name Fiðrey translates as "feather island". Some say Robert Louis Stevenson based the map in his book Treasure Island on Fidra (Wikipedia entry).
* Saloon: The Oxford Concise Dictionary describes a saloon as a “public room for first-class or for all passengers on ship.” !
