A Mid-life Journey

A few weekends ago I paddled down the Grand Union canal in a Canadian canoe garbed in a Native American headdress and war paint. This wasn’t on my agenda, it wasn’t something I expected to be doing in my middle-age but, then again, I hadn’t anticipated investing in a microbrewery.

The trip down the canal was to launch our new Totem AmericaPale Ale. We named the beer after Berkhamsted’s very own totem pole. This genuine totem pole, made by the Kwakiutl tribe from red cedar, can be found adjacent to the Grand Union Canal. We paddled to the totem pole and pulled up alongside to take a few photos; we didn’t have the courage to land or dance around the totem pole and we suspect it would have upset the elderly residents of Alsford Wharf (who now own the totem pole).