A CHILDHOOD love of Rosie & Jim sowed an early seed of life on the water in the heart of Deaine Duffy, who now lives aboard her narrowboat, Norton, with Frances the cat and boat bunny Henry. However, it took a life-changing accident to finally see that childhood dream come true. Alice Elgie reports…
Deaine shares with me: “Living on a narrowboat has saved me completely! I truly didn’t realise how beautiful and healing the canals would be. It’s like being in a different world from others, a place where I belong and finally feel the connection again that I yearned for before my travels.”
The desire to travel has always been at Deaine’s core so when, eight years ago, she felt the need for a change, it was her spirit for adventure she tuned into: “Life was very different to now. I was in a full-time job as an early years teacher, and while I loved it, I wanted to get out in the world.” After unsuccessfully trying to improve her life in the UK, in 2019 Deaine decided to buy a one-way ticket to meet a friend in Australia, leaving with nothing but a bag on her back and no idea of when she might return home.
That trip turned into a two-month adventure that saw her travel from Australia to Bali: “Travelling funds were low but I longed for culture so I started to research how rural I could go on the budget I had left.” On her explorations, Deaine discovered Hardy, a tour guide in a small province who invited her to stay in his family home. “He said that as long as I helped with various projects in the village and taught English to the locals, I wouldn’t have to pay for accommodation. I felt as if I had struck gold!” Deaine excitedly tells me.
The weeks ahead were some of the most memorable of her travels as Deaine got to meet incredible people, learnt a little of the local language, and visited many beautiful places, but sadly it was on one of these excursions that an accident happened that would change her life forever. Riding on the back of a motorbike, which hit a rock in the road, she woke up knowing something was seriously wrong: “I opened my eyes to realise I was lying in the road in a pretty bad state. I lay there listening to locals going crazy, but I didn’t care – I felt at peace. I wasn’t in pain and knew I’d just had the best months of my life travelling, so it would be okay for it all to end.”
Thankfully, life didn’t end, and with the help of her mum – who made the journey to rural Bali – Deaine was able to fly home to the UK. “Once back, I realised things were pretty bad, with a long recovery ahead, so I knew I needed a plan.” That plan took her back to childhood and the dream she had always had about narrowboat life. “Thinking of a life without stairs and being out in nature felt perfect, so I spent all my time researching until, after three years of recovery – including learning to walk again – in June 2022, I bought my floating home.”
Life has not all been plain sailing since then, but Deaine’s undeniably positive attitude has enabled her to find ways to strive towards happiness, particularly when finding a way to work from her narrowboat home. Troubled by what she learned in Indonesia about how rubbish is sent there for disposal from countries including the UK, as well as being awed by a fair trade batik printing factory she visited, Deaine knew she had an opportunity to create positive change: “Stood looking over a rice field covered in waste, I noticed a pile of fabric so I walked over and was shocked to see lots of well-known clothing brands all in different stages of decomposition, simply dumped.”
That acute memory inspired Deaine to launch Canal Couture, “a small online fashion boutique where I stock fair trade and handmade clothing from around the world.” She hopes this venture will help communities all over the world by ensuring more demand for items made ethically. “The thought of fast fashion being sent to others to be disposed of angers me, so my passion is making fair trade and slow fashion accessible to everyone.”
Deaine’s healing journey has been long and is certainly not over, but the realisation of her childhood dream has ignited much happiness. “Life afloat has allowed me to finally feel that connection again – to the world, nature, and most importantly, myself.”
Facebook: @canalcouture
Instagram: @canalcouture @veggieonthecut
TikTok: @veggieonthecut
Ebay: Canal Couture
Alice Elgie is a wandering writer who shares words about her lifestyle through real hold-in-the-hand letters: aliceelgiewrites.etsy.com
