The Bona Boaters - A brief history of Tokens

The History of The Token.

The Token is used as a method of ensuring that all members of the crew [.. and especially BTS1..] pay for their due rounds of beer. For fuller details of how it is used, see What is The Token

It is believed that the first such token was constructed in 1993 at The Moorings in Sowerby Bridge. It was made from a beermat threaded on to a bit of string. Sadly, none of these tokens survived the rigours of The Bona Boaters trip. It soon became apparent that this style of token lacked the necessary robustness to be able to withstand a week of incessant use. This was especially true when for some obscure reason [.. probably not unrelated to the intake of alcohol..] that an empty toothpaste tube box was also added to the string. With these shortcomings in mind, John had the idea of building a more robust token, and as the token had already become known as 'The Black Spot', 'Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte' was born.

Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte.

Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte - front.

Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte - rear.

Note the "Jack Duckworth's glasses" style repair.

It remains unclear as to precisely when 'Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte' was first used however it could not have been before about 1995, as there were more than one year of beermat tokens. Equally, it could not have been after 2003 as Colin's name is on it and he did not attend in 2003. It was however brought out of retirement in 2008 when Pete forgot to bring the then current token. Fortunately, he managed to contact John whilst en route to the boatyard, and John managed to dig it out and brought it along. It was brought out of retirement again in 2013.

In 2012, the then Current Token was absent, believed to be residing with Stan. This called for an 'Emergency Token' to be hastily constructed out of a beermat and some string as the original tokens were. It was believed that this token did not survive. Pete then brought 'Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte' out of retirement again in 2013. It was refurbished with some new string, and had the 2013 crew's names added. On return from the 2013 trip, Stan finally admitted that he had been in possession of The Current Token since leaving The Weighbridge in Alvechurch at the end of the 2011 trip, and that it had been hanging on the end of his bookcase all along.

The Stratford Token

It is beleived that 'The Stratford Token' was purchased by Pete W from the boatyard shop at Wootton Wawen in 2004, again when person or persons unknown (though probably Pete W) forgot to bring Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte. It was not ideal as a token - it did not hang properly and has a rather excessive weight, but despite these imperfections, it nonetheless gave sterling service for several years. It was definitely used in 2004 as Geoff's name is on it, and it was used again in 2006 as Geoff's name has been overwritten by Iain's. This makes it highly likely that it was also used in 2005.

The Stratford Token - front.

The Stratford Token - rear.

The 2007 Token.

The 'new' Token, which as yet does not have a name other than 'The Token' is believed to have been built in 2006 and to have been first used in 2007. As built, it had the names of the 2006 crew painted on, including both Colin and Jennifer, even though Jennifer hasn't attended since 2003. However, it has been established that The Stratford Token was used in 2006. There was also a crew change in 2007. Alan R and Pete M joined the crew to bring us back to eight, having been only seven since 2003 when Jennifer left. Both Jennifer's and Colin's names have now been replaced. Jennifer was replaced by 'Nott Pete' which stands for 'Nottingham Pete' to mean Pete M, and Colin was replaced by 'Stan B' [..meaning Stan's Brother - which he isn't..] to stand for Alan R. This 2007 Token gave sterling service until 2017 when Alan built the first adjustable token.

The 2007 Token - front.

The 2007 Token - rear.

The adjustable token.

This was designed and built by Alan R, and first used in 2017. It consists of a frame, carried on the old red & green ribbon taken from the now defunct 2017 Token. Several different patterns of token can be inserted into this frame. It was conjectured that it could be easily adapted to be illuminated - but we thought that might be taking it a bit too far !

The adjustable token had a relatively short lifetime, being used only four times between 2017 and 2023. It was not used in 2020 or in 2021 as restrictions brought in to combat the covid pandemic prevented us from doing any trips in those two years.

Alan was in possession of this token when he sadly passed away suddenly in 2024, and it is believed that this token is now lost. Consequently, Ye Olde Blakke Fpotte had to be quickly pressed back into service for the 2024 trip. It is believed that no photos of The adjustable Token exist.

It should be noted that it does require special permission from OFTOC to adjust the token whilst it is in use.

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