Reflections on a Simple Past | 16. I'd Go Back Tomorrow

With the Rise and Fall of technology, we crave now, more than ever, those simpler things; the things which are Still Carrying on. When we find those Still Waters, even I think I’d Go Back Tomorrow.

Jul 13, 2025

Welcome to Rediscover · Reconnect · Re-Emerge. If you find the fleeting changes of modern life wearisome, maybe even overwhelming, join me on a journey, a path well-trodden, as I share heartfelt and often nostalgic reflections on living slowly, simply, and in tune with the seasons.

In this series, I look back at some of the people, places and things which have so richly influenced and inspired my love of all things simple.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever been to the theatre? I’d hazard a guess that it’s probably not in a canalside pub garden.

When I was a child, a great treat on a summer evening was to go to a pub and to sit in the garden for a drink…non-alcoholic for me, I assure you. These mainstays of the English countryside, as rooted in landscape and community as the most ancient of monuments, were a gathering place; a space to share quality time with friends and family. And of course, in those days, not an ounce of technology or a mobile phone to be seen.

We’re prone to looking back on the past through rose-tinted spectacles, but even I, circumspect as I am, look back with a certain misty-eyed fondness on these halcyon days of an English summer in the 1980s and early 1990s. They were simple times, perhaps without some of the complications of the modern world. Occasionally, there might be a side of morris dancers for entertainment, their steps and tunes deeply rooted in the folklore and rhythms of the country’s past.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I’d Go Back Tomorrow.

If you thought that theatre in a canalside pub garden was bending the truth a bit, then think again. Mikron Theatre Company was founded in 1972, and now in their 53rd year of touring, they continue to take theatre to the places where people are, aboard their 1936 Grand Union Carrying Company narrowboat, Tyseley, on whom they have lived and toured since 1975.

We have always had a link with the canals. They were a big part of my childhood, and indeed, I went on my first canal holiday whilst still in the womb…but perhaps that’s a story for another day. When we lived in Gloucester, famous for its Gloucester Docks, we became involved in the National Waterways Museum, and it was here that I saw my first Mikron show, Rise and Fall, on Wednesday 26th July 1989. Featuring their unchanged setup of four actor-musicians, the show told the story, through words and song, of the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire.

For over three decades, we have seen and supported Mikron all over the country, including in their home of Mardsen, West Yorkshire, for their 40th anniversary. We travelled far and wide to see them, often to the Boat Inn at Thrupp in Oxfordshire, or to the Great Western Arms at Aynho. We have been welcomed into the Mikron ‘family’, and in 2020, when the survival of the company hung in the balance, I contributed this video, a medley of Mikron songs from those first 40 years:

But what is it about Mikron? Why has their appeal endured so long? And why, after over 50 years, is people’s love and support for them undiminished?

If this space has brought you a moment of stillness, a new perspective, or a feeling of home, and if you’d like to help sustain it, becoming a Patron Member is simply a way to say, “I believe in this; I want it to continue”. There’s no paywall, no exclusive content, just immense gratitude and the quiet joy of knowing you’re part of something meaningful. £4 a month or £35 a year. No pressure, just possibility.

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By supporting this space, you’ll help nurture its roots, ensuring it continues to grow, bloom, and remain a place where we can all slow down, breathe deeply, and find our place in the rhythms of the changing seasons.

Tyseley at Gnosall at the end of the summer tour; October 2022.

They have a unique style: topical, funny, and poignant. They have, over the years, written and toured 72 shows, performed over 5,000 times, and clocked up some 36,686 hours on the inland waterways aboard their narrowboat, Tyseley. The setup is simple: a group of four supremely talented actor-musicians, supported by a small team of directors, composers, and admin staff; a set, costumes, and props which can be stowed away aboard Tyseley; and a loyal following of friends and supporters. It is, in many ways, theatre stripped back. It relies on the creativity of the team to bring the stories to life. Their performances have remained almost free of technology, and watching a Mikron show now could easily transport you back to those halcyon summer days of several decades ago.

Mikron in full flow at the Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne; June 2015.

But what about me, and why has Mikron continued to inspire and encourage so many other friends and supporters on their own creative journeys over the past five decades? There is, of course, the obvious: music, singing, performance and theatre, all of which have woven their way through my own life and career. Mikron are unique, and in many ways, that uniqueness is borne of simplicity, of a slower way to navigate the modern world.

For nearly 90 years, 50 years with Mikron aboard, Tyseley has chugged along, a reminder of simpler times. She, like the company itself, has shown remarkable resilience; an antidote to the ever-changing world in which we live. There is, in many respects, a beautiful reminder in this, to stay true to ourselves and to our values. They will endure and support us far more than any passing fad. The values which Mikron started with when they toured their first production, Still Waters, in 1972, still ring true.

They are, quite simply, Still Carrying on.

Reflections on a Simple Past | 16. I'd Go Back Tomorrow

With the Rise and Fall of technology, we crave now, more than ever, those simpler things; the things which are Still Carrying on. When we find those Still Waters, even I think I’d Go Back Tomorrow.

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