navvies 216

N a v v i e s

waterway recovery group

Volunteers restoring waterwaysNo 216 April - May 2006Lord What�s Canal?

Contributions......are always welcome, whether hand-written,typed, on 3½" floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD or byemail. Photos also welcome: slides or colouror b/w prints. Please state whether you wantyour prints back; I assume that you want slidesreturned. Digital / computer scanned photosalso welcome, either on floppy / CD-ROM / DVDor as email attachments, preferably JPG format.Send them to the editor Martin Ludgate, 35,Silvester Road, London SE22 9PB, or emailto [email protected]. Press date forNo 217: May 1st.

SubscriptionsA year's subscription (6 issues) is available for aminimum of £1.50 (please add a donation if pos-sible) to Sue Watts, 15 Eleanor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ. Cheques to"Waterway Recovery Group" please.Visit our web site www.wrg.org.uk for all the latest news of WRG's activities

In this issue:Chairman�s comment 3-5Camps preview the first half of the summerCanal Camps programme 6-7Coming soon Saul Festival, CanalwayCavalcade and a WRGSW Grand Western dig 8-9Cleanup we found a coffin in the BCN! 10-13WRGBC News from WRG�s own boatclub 14-15Diary Canal Camp and working party dates16-18Letters and Navvies Bookshop online 19Dig Deep Update (and whinge) aboutco-ordinated canal restoration work 20-21Progress update from the Wey & Arun 22Plant rebuilding a KL15 crane 23-25BITM dig report from the Grantham Canal 26-27Green camping sustainable WRGies 28Navvies News including WRGNW news 29-30Noticeboard 31Backfill how to abuse a toaster 32

And next time.......we hope to include reports from the Easter ca-nal camps on the Lichfield and Wilts & Berks Ca-nals, plus reports and photographs from Canal-way Cavalcade and the Training Weekend, andthe start of what we hope will be regular progressupdates from canal societies around the country

Contents

Cover photo: Lord Rolle�s Canal, that�s where! WRG�s first canal camps on this obscure West Coun-try waterway will be working on restoring the entrance lock in July. See pages 6-7 for a preview of thefirst of this summer�s camps. (Photo by Adrian Fry) Below: Just some of the junk pulled out of ForestFootbridge on the Wyrley & Essington Canal during the BCN Cleanup. See report on pages 10-13

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Chairman

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Chairman�s Comment

To start with a good swank, I recently spent apleasant afternoon at the House of Commons atthe launch of the new Montgomery Canal Con-servation Management Strategy. I won�t go intothe details as you will no doubt read all about it inthe proper magazines (sorry Martin) but it doesseem that, after lots of discussion, the practicalrestoration of the Montgomery will start to stag-ger forward again.

There is a huge amount of work proposed and Isuppose we should be pleased that our naturereserve at Aston is so successful that it looks likethe Mont is going to have one great big one run-ning pretty much all the way alongside it by thetime it is finished. Despite rumours about theequivalent launch at the Welsh Assembly I ampleased to report that WRG were given due creditduring this �tea and sticky buns� affair and fromconversations held with Stephen Lees of BW itseems we may have quite a part to play in thisrestoration (again).

Additionally it seems that my banging on abouthow BW are preventing volunteers from makinga contribution may be bearing fruit as both the ChiefExecutive and Chairman of BW asked me perti-nent questions about this subject. I look forwardto writing complaints in future Navvies regardingBW stealing all the good volunteers and deprivingthe smaller societies of any progress!

On the subject of my moaning in Navvies hasanyone else noticed how long I have been doingthis job � surely time for a change soon? [You�vebeen doing it for two yearsless than I�ve been editingNavvies... hmmm. ...Ed]

The reason for the aboverhetoric is I have beenspending the last monthor so studying old Nav-vies*. This was due tomy coming home oneday to find a large box ofback issues on my door-step courtesy of DuncanSmith who had discov-ered better things to puton his shelves. And de-spite obvious dangers Islipped on my anorak andset to reading them:

Many changes are stag-gering, not least of all ishow much thinner we allwere then !

Without doubt it is a very different world � appealsin early copies for £24 to fix the van as no-one inthe working party has a car contrast starkly withsome current groups who don�t need a van asthey can fit a three inch pump in their company4x4s.

There are some common points and, to be frank,not all of them are good:

An issue from the early nineties features a reporton a WRG committee meeting that is almost wordfor word the same as the ones we have today !

The same old arguments rage on and it is verydisturbing that, despite a huge change in vocabu-lary, it is still volunteers trying to work on BW wa-terways and government policy errors that are themain issues**.

But there are a few good points about consist-ency: In those early issues (in amongst all thoselove beads and tie-dye t-shirts***) was a fre-quent comment that we are doing this not justfor the waterways themselves but as part of adesire for a better world. (Though just aboutevery contributor was rather embarrassed toadmit to this and always covered themselves bysaying �I know it sounds like pretentious b*****ksbut��).

Initial clearance for the Jubilee Project at Abingdon Junction this summer

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ChairmanI really do think this is still the case, in amongstthe cynicism, sarcasm, frivolity and countlessother distractions the work we do really does helpto make a difference.

The second thing that strikes me is that WRGhave always tried to provide good value for money,indeed �a little bit extra�. There is no point doingwhat we do if we don�t create added value, be it asection of canal no-one else would restore, a bitof heritage that survives the restoration, an extraopinion changed, an extra yard of canal for themoney, etc. We always try and lever something,somewhere out of somebody.

So you may have guessed that this is leadingto the most consistent feature of Navvies �money and the need for more of it. Perhaps itis wrong of me say �the need for more of it�while we have the support of the IWA, but it isthe case that the more money coming in themore we can do.

As I say we have always tried to ensure that werepresent good value for money and indeed some-one**** once told me that they once overheardan IWA chairman***** say �a pound spent onWRG is the best investment anyone can make�.

Now that we have sorted the gift-aid we do hopethat we can offer even better value. This meansthat money given to WRG will stay with WRG and,unless you tell us something specific, we will useit the best way that we can see.

This may be on a restoration project that just can�tget the funding elsewhere, it might be on justboosting our stock of specialist kit, or perhapstraining. It may even be on supporting thismagazine as it is just as vital now as it has everbeen. But whatever we do I can assure you thatwe will always think long and hard to ensurethat your money has a much bigger impact thanexpected.

How can I be so sure about this? Simple �whether you drop a quid into a bucket on a rallysite or leave a huge legacy to us the decision onhow it will be spent will be by volunteers. WRG isrun by volunteers, we know just how much it costto give that money and every day we see bothpossible ways in which it can be wasted but alsohow it can be multiplied.

As I (re)discover all the time - volunteers do notquietly accept things, they have no allegiance, norworries about loss of wages � if they think a mis-take has been made don�t like it they will be mostverbal. One of the ways this is apparent is thefeedback we get from the subscription forms.While we can�t exactly guarantee to reply to eve-rybody�s comments we do read them all and takenote so please do send us comments, good orbad.

Another successful WRG barn dance in February: see page 30

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There is one other lesson that reappears in Navviesthrough the years and it is this: in spite of any partner-ships, projects or current arrangements that you mayhave, be you a volunteer group, a major charity or anavigation authority, do not forget to step back everynow and then and state clearly your principles andintentions for all to hear. Yes you are right � put asstarkly as that it is pretentious b*****ks but�.

Onto more practical matters, we recently ran aleader training day which several attendees havealready told me they found very helpful. One ofthe problems of being a volunteer organization isthat people often struggle on without realizing thatthe resources are actually there to help them andthey don�t have to deal with problems from scratch.Although there were some formal type sessionsthe most useful ones were the general group dis-cussions on such subjects as difficult volunteers(and difficult leaders!) etc.

It was a chance for WRG Brass to outline the sup-port you will get as a leader and, equally importantly,the support you won�t get i.e. �this bit is up to youmate�. Amongst other things the day generated thegreat line �I mean we are cliquey but we aren�t fussy�.

My thanks to Adrian and Gav for organizing theevent. The one thing it did seem appropriate to dowas to review the results of the Canal Camps ques-tionnaire for last year. One of the things that cameup was that the safety video was often not as effec-tive as it could be. While there were a few com-ments on the video itself (which we are dealing with),and a few comments on the making sure it is put incontext (which we are dealing with) there were alsoa few comments about old hands just chattingthrough it or wandering around ignoring it. So if thisis you then please don�t. It�s only 9 minutes long forheaven sake - even I can keep quiet for that long.

A couple of late items of news: our new van shouldbe here soon, perhaps by the time you read this.The number plate will be D16 EHP in memory ofErnie Pull, one of the first members of IWA Lon-don & Home Counties Branch Work Party, whichbecame Waterway Recovery Group, who passedaway recently. Ernie was still contributing to wa-terways right up until the end but please note �the money for the number plate came from friendswho wanted a permanent way to commemoratehis life, not from WRG funds.

You may remember that I recently mentioned abequest of waterway related books and how theywere contributing directly to WRG funds. Well thegood news it that it has already raised over £1000and the even better news is that there are stillsome bargains on the IWA website so if you havean interest then check out www.iwashop.com andclick on secondhand books.

Thanks to the very fine Matt Duncan at Head Of-fice it is now possible to book and pay for CanalCamps on-line. So that makes it even easier tobook on one, doesn�t it? However while theinternet is clever it is not actually magic and it maywell take a few days for the booking info to get tothe leader. So if you are making a booking at thelast minute please try and contact the leader sothey know about it.

Some funding news � the Local Heritage Initiativeends this summer, this provided grants up to£25,000 for pretty much any project that you couldprove represented a significant contribution to pre-serving your local heritage. Lots of waterway so-cieties benefited from these grants so if you havea suitable project then get in quick before thescheme closes. See www.lhi.org.uk

And finally, because it wouldn�t be a Chairmanscomment without a safety warning:

Our good friends at Land and Water (specialistdredgers to the world, the finest dredging plantdriven by the best operators in the world, hardlyany boats dropped nor nuffin�) have reminded usthat there has been a significant increase in Lept-ospirosis cases. Although we include a warningabout Leptospirosis in our H and S induction andthe data-cards are in all our vehicles that is noreason to be complacent so do keep pushing theinformation.

Hugs and Kisses

Mike Palmer

* That�s the magazine not the people !

** Second only to the �I knew GKP and he wantedto call it �water restoration people� but didn�t havethe right letraset� argument!

*** I�m allowed to say this - I was there !!

**** Who shall be nameless

***** Who say also be nameless

A final PS (honestly)...

I have just got back from the BCN Cleanup andtwo thinks are uppermost in my mind.

Firstly while I still hear such classic lines as �to-day was a first, I�ve never pulled a pogo stick outbefore� then I think there is still a need for theorganization. And secondly how nice it was tobe joined by some boaters who just �wanted toput something back�. Very refreshing and reas-suring.

Camps previewGet your booking forms in forthis summer�s canal camps

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Canal Camp 2006 Preview

This year we will be starting the summer canalcamp schedule very much in the south - in factour first project is right on the south coast. Spen-cer Collins will be leading a camp on the Chich-ester Canal (24th June � 1st July). Work will in-clude the use of a number of �big bendy toys� andalso some floating toys as well. The aim of thecamp is to carry out some dredging and also somebank protection works. There may also be theopportunity for some further restoration work tothe basin in the Chichester city centre.

Meanwhile Camps Kit B will be setting out on theother canal camp circuit which starts further southand a lot further west in Devon, on a new canalfor WRG, Lord Rolle�sCanal. This will be atwo week project to re-store the offside wall ofthe Sea Lock where thecanal leaves the tidalRiver Torridge. (24th

June � 1st July, 1st � 8th

July) This canal is in astunning location nearthe very small village ofWeare Giffard. The ac-commodation is onsitein a converted barn andhas beds, power show-ers and an undercoverbarbecue. The work forboth weeks will be verysimilar and includespatching the stonewalls, replacing some ofthe missing copingstones and re-pointingpossibly with the aid ofa machine to inject themortar deep into thewalls. The locals arevery keen and have al-ready excavated manytons of silt from thechamber to enable therestoration work to hap-pen.

For those of you wondering what has happenedto this year�s Saul festival camp which normallyat the beginning of summer canal camp program:it�is still happening, it�s just not appearing in thecanal camps brochure. It will be very similar tothe last few years including all the usual festivalfun: further details and how to book can be foundon Page 8 of this Navvies.

From Chichester, the first canal camp circuit willmove onto WRGs� biggest project this year. TheIWA �Jubilee Project� is building a new junction forthe Wilts and Berks Canal onto the RiverThames. This will be a very high profile projectand will see WRG working alongside Land &Water Services to create the new junction.WRGs involvement will include towpath works andprobably lining the newly excavated channel.

Ed Walker and Liz Wilson will be leading the firstweek on this project (1st July � 8th July); anotherweek is scheduled for (8th � 15th July) with twomore to follow in a August.

If everything goes according to the plan there willbe a grand opening early in September and ofcourse the junction is only just up river from theIWA�s National Festival site at Beale Park.

Two weeks of camps on the Wilts & Berks will be spent helping to turn thisheap of rubble back into Steppingstones Bridge

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From Devon, the WRG vans andkit trailer will travel back up the M5,onto the M4 across the SevernBridge and into Wales for this yearsproject on the Monmouthshire andBrecon Canals. We have twoweeks of canal camps here andthey will be led by Rob Daffern andJames Butler (8th � 15th July) andthen James Butler and Rob Daffern(15th � 22nd July), with food for bothweeks prepared by Toby Parrott.Accommodation will as usual be inthe Methodist Church Hall in CrossKeys. Work will be varied lock re-construction tasks, probably onlocks 2 & 3 of the canal below theFourteen Locks flight, and there isthe possibility of some formal train-ing in heritage and environmentalrestoration techniques. As with all projects on theMon and Brec there will be excellent local supportfrom the canal trust.

The second half of July sees three weeks of ca-nal camps working to rebuild Brewhurst Lock onthe Wey and Arun Canal. These camps will berun by NWPG (15th � 22nd July), KESCRG (22nd �29th July) and WACT (29th � 5th August).

Looking further ahead into August the theme isthe Wilts and Berks as WRG helps to completeJubilee Junction and also spends two weeks con-tinuing work on Steppingstones Bridge atShrivenham. And� as always there is a NationalWaterways Festival camp. More details on theseprojects in the next edition.

Adrian Fry

The Lord Rolle�s Canal entrance lock awaits WRG�s attention

A junction here by August! Initial preparation work begins on the IWA Jubilee Project at Abingdon

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Coming soonThe Saul Festival Canal Camp onthe Cotswold Canals

Saul festival 2006

When you look through the camps brochure thisyear, you may notice something missing. Thisyear the setup and site services camp for SaulCanal Festival is not being run as a normal WRGcamp, but this does not mean we are not helpingat Saul - it is now a WRG South West event. Forthose who don�t know, Saul has become a majorevent in the folk music calendar but it is not justabout good music, there is lots of real beer, boatsand stalls. In fact everything you need for a goodfestival. As a bonus, every penny raised (and thereare lots of them) goes to the Cotswold CanalsTrust to help restoration.

This is like doing the IWA National Festival, butbecause it is smaller we also get to do some ofthe more specialist jobs that on bigger events getdone by contractors. Everything from building thebar and chiller room to helping with the big bargeSabrina (which becomes a theatre for the event).

Waterway Recovery Group South West in association with Cotswold Canals Trust

I would like to attend the 2006 Saul Festival Canal Camp on June 28th to July 5th

Forename: Surname:

Address:

e-mail:

Phone: Any special dietary requirements?

I will be joining the camp on and leaving on

I enclose payment of £ (pay 'WRG SW') for food (£42 for whole week; £6.00 per day)

Do you suffer from any allergy or illness, such as epilepsy or diabetes, about which we shouldknow, or are you receiving treatment or under medical supervision for any condition? YES / NO(If yes, please attach details)

In the unlikely event that you should be injured, who should we contact?

Name: Phone:

Signed:

Please send this form to Cath Coolican-Smith, Apsney Mews, Whitchurch, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 6DJ

The team is being assembled: Adrian Fry lead-ing, Lauren Spurling ably assisting, Bungle bun-gling and most importantly Cath Coolican-Smithcooking. The only person missing from this teamis you! The camp will run from Wednesday 28thJune through to Wednesday 5th July and will costthe princely sum of £42.

So stop thinking about it, write out a cheque pay-able to WRG SW, fill in the form and post it withthe cheque to: Cath Coolican-Smith, ApsneyMews, Whitchurch, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 6DJ

Bungle in action at last year�s Saul Festival

Coming soonCanalway Cavalcade at LittleVenice and a dig in Devon

Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice

Just an update on how plans are going for theIWA�s Canalway Cavalcade rally at Little Venicein London on the first Bank Holiday in May...

I am still looking for volunteers - you can neverhave too many - for the setup and site servicesteam for what is always one of the best events ofthe waterways calendar. Several people have saidthey will be coming: can you please send an emailor phone me. This will then remind me to save aberth on one of our �luxurious floating hotels�! (Tay,you have no excuse and I have saved the bestberth for you!)

Accommodation is on two or three boats that havebeen assigned to this task. These boats were builtto the highest quality, rumour has it, that LordNelson may have had cast his patched eye overthem. [Errr... Moose, the Trafalfgar theme was lastyear�s Cavalcade! ...Ed] They have solid oak floor(oh alright it�s plywood), the best hammocksmoney could buy (no actually you have to supplyyour own bedding). Seriously, berths are availableon community boats that are being lent to us forthe duration of the event, but please tell me if youwant one.

At the moment I have been told that there are 115boats already booked in to the festival, but theystill expect a rush closer to the time because peo-ple will have assumed someone else in their crewwill have done it... Speaking to the CommercialManager (Jerry) we have had a lot of interest fromthe traders. And yes, he has been given a specialradio that floats! Come to think of it when his ra-dio fell in the cut we did get more sense out of it...

For those who came last year: not much haschanged on the site. The WRG team�s area willbe on the Paddington Arm again, and no, thatbridge has not been finished yet!

(Incidentally I understand the rabble fromSawbridgeworth would like to meet up again... It�sfunny what people say when they�ve have had toomany drinks... well Karen from a place calledSawbridgeworth said as the boats were passingin the illuminated boat parade last year �IIIIIIIIccccooouulllldddd dddoooo ttthhhhhhatttttttt� (Ithink you get the idea). Everytime we pop over tosee them we remind Karen of what she said, andGary is trying to work out how he can site a gen-erator on the boat that�s big enough to run thelights... he does like a challenge.)

Please contact me on my normal email [email protected] or mobile phone number07961 922153.

Dave �Moose� Hearnden

WRG SW on the Grand Western: May 27 - 29

If you fancy a weekend in the South West with(who else?) WRG South West, put the abovedates into your diaries. That�s the Late SpringBank Holiday weekend, when we will be going tothe Grand Western Canal on the Somerset /Devon border for 3 days.

The village hall at Burlescombe (available from5pm Friday) has been booked and the local pubhas been warned - and those who arrive in theevening are planning to eat in the pub. The localsare looking forward to seeing us - and those ofyou who have been here before you know whatthe welcome will be like!

The work will be coordinated with the local CanalTrust and we be based at Lowdwells Lock. Thelock has recently had a dam installed, and thewater will be pumped out for us to work within theLock Chamber.There will be some digging out ofmuck and some chamber wall restoration. Thereis the possibility of some big toys to play with inthe form of some muck-shifting machinery!

More details will be available from me nearer thetime. This should be a great weekend in somelovely Devon Countryside. Please let me know if Ican reserve you a place.

Mitch GoznaTel: 07768 525469

London WRG at Lowdwells Lock in 2005

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BCN Cleanup...reporting from the annual BCNfestival of old trolleys and bikes...

BCN Cleanup weekend March 18-19

Over 60 volunteers descended on the Wyrley &Essington Canal on a cold weekend in March fora weekend of heaving out bikes, prams, shoppingtrolleys and...

Well, that�s how the magazine reports fromBCN Cleanup usually begin, but this time it�sdifferent. The Saturday night entertainment wasa quiz with your Navvies editor as question mas-ter. Rounds 1-3 and 5-6 were conventional enough(other than that I�d inadvertently given out two dif-ferent sets of questions for the picture round onfamous people... so that�s why the person whoyou thought looked remarkably like Imran Khanactually turned out to be Edwina Currie). But inround four, each team was asked to write in nomore than 200 words, in a witty, original and in-formative way, a report on the weekend so far.And the best entry would not only get maximumpoints in the quiz, but appear in print - the ideabeing to get me out of having to write a report forNavvies. In fact they were all so good that I willuse bits of them all. So I�ll stop now, and handover to the first team...

We came, we saw and we grappled. All around asea of mud - thick, black and glutinous - and thevaliant fifty walked unhesitatingly into the canalvalley of death...

Hour after hour of unremitting toilproduced a fine crop of pipes,wheelbarrows, car tyres, and even- believe it or not - a supermarkettrolley or two. With mud to the rightof us, mud to the left, and mud un-derneath us, there was a feeling ofinevitability about getting veryslightly... MUDDY.

The next effort was in verse form,and the team responsible werevery pleased when the quizmas-ter compared their contribution tothe work of the great poet WilliamMcGonagall... until the QM then toldthem what McGonagall was fa-mous for...

We started out at Birchills JunctionBut it was so bloomin� cold our hands wouldn�t functionThe work was dead easy - we pulled out a coffinBut without a body: our hats we were not doffin�

They attempted to curry favour with the QM...

The day finished with Martin giving us a quizBy �eck his questions really were the biz

But unfortunately their rhymes were so bad thatthey were beyond redemption. I�m not sure whatthe next team had been drinking, but I�d like someof whatever inspired the following (and yes, therewas a question about When Harry met Sally inthe films round)...

I spent the day in RFB. But things were more excit-ing elsewhere... sources close to BW (in fact, reallyclose, so close in fact that they were covered in them)say that a motorbike was pulled out and taken awayby the locals for restoration... rumour has it that JerrySanders appeared, as if by magic, on site... this wasdisproved as he was in fact appearing in pantomimein Walsall as Vaughan Welch...

It was so cold that the cup-a-soup was gazpachoand the teapot contained Liptons Iced Tea...

The inclement weather also inspired the follow-ing entry:

You know it�s cold when:

. Tipton ASDA at Saturday lunchtime seemsa good idea...

. Blokes need tweezers to go to the loo...

. Finding a pogo stick in the BCN seems likea good way to keep warm...

. Even Mike Palmer�s duvet looks inviting...

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..while the following entry did rather sum up theslightly repetitive nature of the BCN cleanup

Trudge, trudge, trudge, sludge, sludge, sludgeTrudge, trudge, trudge, munch, munch, munchTrudge, trudge, trudge, sludge, sludge, sludgeTrudge, trudge, trudge, muNch, munch, munchQuiz, quiz, quiz, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(and speaking of repetitive: yes, that bridge in thepic on p2 that we pulled all the crap out of really isthe same bridge that we pulled all the crap out ofwhich appears in the pic on the front cover ofNavvies 175 in 1999)

The following contribution scored highly on origi-nality but zero on content...

THIS REPORT IS PAY PER VIEW ONLY. TO SUBSCRIBE

PLEASE CONTACT SKY ON...

And anyway the promised Sky TV crew neverturned up to film us. (boo) But never mind, neitherdid the threatened John Noakes...

Over to one of our younger subscribers for thenext contribution...

Today Mummy and Daddy took me in thecar to Snyde Warf on the Werly NesingtonCanal.

�Not another canal!� I thought.

I saw lots of poeple I met last year whilemy Mummy and Dady played in the mudwith grapling hooks. Later a big red vancame toi the hut with lunch for all thepeopl. They came back covered in blacksmelly goo.

I saw a big gurl playing on ascooter I want one too.

- Peter Smedley age 14 months

The following entry might have donewell...

Shortly after 9am on a chilly Saturday ourreporter�s attention was attracted by awhite minibus attempting to exit theschool car park through a dead end. Uponfollowing said vehicle a tour of ASDA carpark ensued...

...if the quizmaster hadn�t been drivingsaid minibus. The winning entry was thefollowing one (by team Chris Wicks FM),to be sung to the tune of My FavouriteThings from The Sound of Music...

Car tyres and trolleys and bits of old scootersCoffins and railings and half-inched computersOld rocking horses and floorboards of pineThese we recovered all covered in slime

When the wind howls; when the chavs mockWhen our hands go blueWe simply remember the Tea Hut�s not farAnd all sod off for.... a brew!

There - that�s filled up the pages nicely. It remainsonly for me to report that yes, we really did find acoffin (apparently a student drama group lost itwhile filming a horror video!)... along with a rock-ing horse, a toilet, a street lamp, three �road nar-rows� signs, handcuffs, a safe (with its back blownoff), two fish (alive), one cat (dead)... everything,in fact, including the kitchen sink. BW filled sevenskips with the rubbish, and the W&E remainsnavigable for another few years.

Thank you to everybody from WRG, BCNS, IWAand BW who supported the event, to those whoprovided the workboats, to Jude and Eli and teamfor the catering, to all the van-drivers, to team lead-ers Tim and Andy, to the folks who did boring stufflike the risk assessment (I bet it didn�t mention cof-fins once!) and fetching vehicles and kit from aroundthe country, to MK2 for fetching the beer, to KES-CRG for bringing a secret supply of beer for whenMK2�s ran out and also for the loan of their cooker,to everybody I�ve forgotten to thank... and to Ail-een for leading the whole thing.

See the next two pages for lots more pics...and we�ll see you all on the Tame Valley Canalnext year!

Martin Ludgate

PS MKP�s team Chairman�s Comment won the quiz

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�Are you feeling OK?� �I�m just a little stiff�

The iron industry was once a mainstay of the BCN

�Fish sandwich, anyone?�

You say you�ve seen a boat in the BCN? I�m afraid I�m going to have to ask you to come with us...

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�Not that I�m one to take a fence� �Boats round here are rarer than.... err, I think I just trod in something�

�It�s a sign!� Claire finds a good place to learn to cycle

�Every little helps� We�ve found the buggy, now let�s find the baby...

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WRG BC ook The

WRG Boat Club visit thefenlands...

WRG BC NEWS

Well here is freezing March, and I gaze out overfrozen waterways (They are called 'NavigableDrains' round here, which can be rather off-putting!)and look forward to making my escape up the riverand back onto the canals. No chance until the endof the month and the last of the closures...

Have you planned your cruising this year? Lookingforward to going to rallyies and festivals or reachingrestoration sites and getting 'dug in'? Please let usknow of those you consider worth a visit.

Despite ice and closures we have managed somewinter campaign cruising. The local IWA branchhad organised a trip along the waterway betweenHorseway Lock and Welches Dam. Unfortunatelywe were unable to join this expedition as it wasNovember 5th weekend and we were taking 'Lynx'to the BCNS bonfire rally at Smethwick. There wasan article in 'Waterways' which records the prob-lems that beset the intrepid travellers on that occa-sion. We had to wait until after Christmas, New Yearand the Straw Bear Festival before we were free tobook our passage. You have to book with EA as mostof the time there is little, or no, water kept in the chan-nel because it leaks. Delaying our visit was much toour advantage as EA had noted the problems en-countered on the November trip and had done areally good job clearing weed from the route. I amespecially keen to keep this route open, havingbeen involved with the reopening of Horsway Lockand the rebuilding of Welches Dam (which forsome reason EA have renamed Forty Foot Lock)

We had a most pleasant trip, it is wonderful coun-tryside and there are excellent bird watching sites

etc. The guillotine was down atWelney so we were unable toproceed to the Tidal Doors atSalters Lode, but as thesewere closed for repair (orw.h.y.) Welney was far enoughfor us, considering the icy wind.The wonderful 'Three Tuns' isnow closed (I wonder what hap-pened to all the fascinating FenSkaters' memorabilia?) so wehad to go to the 'Lamb and Flag'for sustenance.

Before we left the next day wewere able to fill the water tank,essential as we were planningto go under the very low bridgeat Ramsey Hollow on our re-turn trip.

You may need to consult a map[see opposite ...Ed] to followour route but I urge you to con-sider going there yourselves.You will need to liaise with EAregarding passage along thatend of The Forty Foot. Theycouldn't have been more help-ful, assisted at the locks andkept an eye on us to see wedidn't get stuck along the way.

During our frozen times Davidand Heather were flying the flagin the Antipodes, and sentthese details...

The IWA Campaign cruise through Horseways and Welches Dam inNovember required human (above) and 4WD (below) assistance

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...and New Zealand... andCyprus... and Basingstoke...

. Wolverhampton Boat Club 23-25 June

. Coventry Boat Club 15 July

. Saul Junction 30 June - 2 July (we hope toarrange a club social gathering there)

. Beale Park 26-28 August. NOTE the club AGMwill be held over the weekend I hope to be ableto arrange time and date in advance so thatthose not attending by boat can still arrange tobe there, I know how popular it is!

Please let me know of any other exciting activities thatneed to be brought to the notice of our members.

I'm off to pack my costume and makeup for a visitto the Emerald Isle, where they want to see us*dance during the St Patrick's Day celebrations,(which last for more than 24 hrs!).

When I return, yippee! the closures are over andoff we go. Hope to see you out and about andflying the flag.

xxx Sadie Dean

* Take a look on www.pigdyke.co.uk and see if youcan spot wich one is me!

�In early December we cruised 200 miles up theeastern coast of North Island, New Zealand to theBay of Islands,a beautiful collection of smallislands,many uninhabited, with wonderfulbeaches and walks.We cruised a half day furthernorth to Whangapoa harbour. This means ''placeof whales'' (we met one on the way!) and is anatural harbour with hidden headlands (The GPSis very useful in that circumstance!) which en-closes an area of water about the size of Winder-mere. There is one road on the inland end, a fewhouses (many with water access only), and beau-tiful bush-covered hills,rocky cliffs and waterfalls.We rowed the dinghy up a stream till we ran outof water and the silence was deafening - apartfrom the bird song, that is!!

�We are now back in Auckland seeing lots of thetwo families we belong to here. Next week we aregoing out again to cruise the Hauraki Ring!! Wehave named the route we often do by that name,but the Four Counties it is not!! We hop fromKawau Island to Great Barrier Island and after aweek or two of walking, sailing, swimming, get-ting to know the few locals (who are very friendlyand hospitable) we will return via the CoromandelPeninsula. The weather is well settled at 20-25Cwith light breezes. WRG members are welcome!�

....and Claire is in Cyprus!

Still we will all be back on the cut soon and chug-ging our way to various venues, such as:

. The Basingstoke or Wendover Arm 27-29 May.

. Stafford Boat Club 9-11 June, AWCC gathering(proceeds to Caldon & Uttoxeter Canal Trust)

TheMiddle LevelNavigations

Low bridge

Canal Camps cost £42 per week unless otherwise stated.Bookings for WRG Canal Camps (those identified by a campnumber e.g. 'Camp 0601') should go to WRG Canal Camps,PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY.Tel: 01923 711114. Email: [email protected]

page 16

DiaryApr 8/9 London WRG Mon & Brec Canal: Dig Deep project at Fourteen Locks

Apr 8/9 NWPG Basingstoke Canal

Apr 8/9 KESCRG Lichfield Canal: Dig Deep project at Tamworth Road

Apr 8/9 wrgBITM Wilts & Berks Canal: Dig Deep project at Seven Locks. Leader: Rachael Banya

Apr 8-17 Camp 0601 Lichfield Canal Easter Camp. Leaders: Phil Rodwell and Alice Bayston

Apr 8-17 Camp 0602 Wilts & Berks (Foxham) Easter Camp: Work at Seven Locks flight. Leaders: Jo

Apr 12-19 wrgNW Lancaster Canal IWA National Trailboat Rally: Crooklands, Northern Reaches.Extended workparty assisting Site Services, and Sales Stand.

Apr 22/23 wrgSW To be arranged

Apr 29-May 1 KESCRG Wendover Arm: Installation of two bridges, plus other work

Apr 29-May 1 wrgBITM Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice: BITM Sales Stand only

Apr 29-May 1 wrgNW Grantham Canal: Joint dig with Essex WRG.

Apr 29-May 1 Essex WRG Grantham Canal: Joint dig with wrgNW

Apr 29-May 1 IWA Canalway Cavalcade: Little Venice, London

May 1 Mon Navvies Press date for issue 217

May 6/7 NWPG Lichfield Canal: Dig Deep project at Tamworth Road locks

May 6 Sat wrgNW �Paper Chase� waste paper collection

May 6/7 WRG WRG Training Weekend: provisional date

May 13/14 London WRG Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation

May 20/21 wrgBITM Rickmansworth Waterways Festival: Site Services, plus BITM Sales Stand

May 20/21 wrgNW Dig to be arranged: Possible replacement for Jun 3/4 dig.

May 27-29 wrgBITM Wendover Arm Festival: Site Services, plus BITM Sales Stand

May 27-29 wrgSW Grand Western Canal

May 27-29 IWA National Campaign Festival: Basingstoke Canal, Brookwood

May 28/29 KESCRG Attending Wendover Festival with Bhaji Stand

Jun 3/4 London WRG Lichfield Canal: Dig Deep project at Tamworth Road

Jun 3/4 Essex WRG Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation: Clearance & maintenance work

Jun 10/11 KESCRG Mon & Brec Canal: Dig Deep project at Fourteen Locks

Jun 10 Sat wrgNW �Paper Chase� waste paper collection

Jun 17/18 NWPG Mon & Brec Canal: Dig Deep project at Fourteen Locks

Jun 17/18 wrgBITM Lichfield Canal: Dig Deep project. Leader: Graham Hotham

Jun 24/25 London WRG To be arranged: Possibly the Jubilee project?

Jun 24-Jul 1 Camp 0603 Chichester Ship Canal Camp: Leader: Spencer Collins

Jun 24-Jul 1 Camp 0604 Lord Rolle�s Canal Camp

Jun 30-Jul 2 wrgNW Saul Junction Rally: Work Party & Sales Stand (provisional)

Jun 30-Jul-2 CCT Cotswold Canals Trust Saul Festival: see www.junctionevents.org.ukVolunteers wanted for setup and site services: see article and booking form on p

Jul 1/2 KESCRG Wey & Arun Canal: Dig Deep project at Brewhurst Lock

p Please send updates to Diary compiler:

Dave Wedd, 7 Ringwood Rd, Blackwater, Camberley, Surrey GU17 0EY.

Tel 01252 874437. email: [email protected].

page 17

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]

Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]

Eddie Jones 0845-226-8589 [email protected]

ard. Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]

[email protected]

�Smudge� Smith and Dave �Taz� Tarrant [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]

Gavin Moor 07970-989245 [email protected]


Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]


Dave Dobbin 01702-544096 [email protected]

[email protected]

Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]


David McCarthy 0161-740-2179

Ali Bottomley 07719-643870 [email protected]





Gavin Moor 07970-989245 [email protected]

[email protected]



Dave Dobbin 01702-544096 [email protected]


David McCarthy 0161-740-2179




[email protected]

[email protected]


[email protected] ??


DiaryCanal Societies� regular monthly or weeklyworking partiesPlease send any amendments, additions anddeletions to Dave Wedd (address on previous page)3rd Sunday of month BCNS Jeff Barley 01543-3732842nd Sunday & following Thurs BCS Buckingham area Athina Beckett 01908-661217Anytime inc. weekdays BCT Aqueduct section Gerald Fry 01288-353273Every Sunday ChCT Various sites Mick Hodgetts 01246-620695Mon & Wed mornings CCT Cotswolds Dudley Greenslade 01453 825515Every weekend (Sat OR Sun) CCT Cotswolds Neil Ritchie 01452-8540571st Sunday of month CCT Cotswolds: summit Mark Welton 01453-872405Wednesday evenings CCT Cotswolds: East end Keith Harding 01451-860181Every Saturday DCT Droitwich Canal Jon Axe 0121-608 0296Last Sunday of month EAWA N Walsham & Dilham Kevin Baker 01362-6998554th Sunday of month ECPDA Langley Mill Michael Golds 0115-932-8042Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined PlaneMike Beech 0116-279-26572nd weekend of month GCRS Grantham Canal Colin Bryan 0115-989-22482nd Sat of month GWCT Nynehead Lift Denis Dodd 01823-661653Tuesdays H&GCT Oxenhall Brian Fox 01432 358628Weekends H&GCT Over Wharf House Maggie Jones 01452 618010Wednesdays H&GCT Over Wharf House Wilf Jones 01452 413888Weekends H&GCT Hereford Aylestone Martin Danks 01432 344488Every Sunday if required IWPS Bugsworth Basin Ian Edgar 01663-7324931st Saturday & 3rd Wed. IWA Ipswich Stowmarket Navigtn. Colin Turner 01473-7305862nd weekend of month K&ACT John Rolls 01189-6663162nd Sunday of month LCT Lancaster N. Reaches Will Warburg 01931-7133171st, 2nd, 4th Sun + 3rd Sat LHCRT Lichfield Phil Sharpe 01889-5833303rd Sunday of month LHCRT Hatherton Denis Cooper 01543-3743702nd & last Sundays PCAS Paul Waddington 01757-6380272nd Sunday of month SCARS Sankey Canal Colin Greenall 01744-7317461st Sunday of month SCCS Combe Hay Locks Bob Parnell 01225-428055Most weekends SHCS Basingstoke Peter Redway 01483-7217101st Sunday of month SNT Haverholme Lock Dave Pullen 01673-8622781st weekend of month SUCS Newhouse Lock Mike Friend 01948-8807233rd Sunday of month TMCA David Rouse 01474-362861Every Sunday & Thurs WACT varied construction Eric Walker 023-9246-3025Mondays (2 per month) WACT tidying road crossings John Empringham 01483-562657Tuesdays WACT Tickner's Heath Depot Colin Gibbs 020-8241-7736Wednesdays WACT maintenance work Peter Jackman 01483-772132Wednesdays WACT Loxwood Link Peter Wilding 01483-422519Tues, Thurs & Sats WACT Winston Harwood Grp Laurie Wraight 01903-721404Various dates WACT Hedgelaying (Oct-Mar)Keith Nichols 01403-7538821st w/e of month (Fri-Mon) WAT Drayton Beauchamp Roger Leishman 01442-874536Every weekend WBCT Wilts & Berks Canal Peter Smith 01793-852883Every Sunday W&BCC Dauntsey / Foxham Rachael Banyard 01249-892289

Abbreviations used in DiaryBCNS Birmingham Canal Navigations Soc.BCS Buckingham Canal SocietyBCT Bude Canal TrustChCT Chesterfield Canal TrustCCT Cotswolds Canals TrustDCT Droitwich Canals TrustEAWA East Anglian Waterways AssociationECPDA Erewash Canal Pres. & Devt. Assoc.FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane TrustGCRS Grantham Canal Restoration SocietyGWCT Grand Western Canal TrustH&GCT Hereford & Gloucester Canal TrustIWPS Inland Waterways Protection SocietyK&ACT Kennet & Avon Canal Trust

KESCRG Kent & E Sussex Canal Rest. GroupLCT Lancaster Canal TrustLHCRT Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Rest'n TrustNWPG Newbury Working Party GroupPCAS Pocklington Canal Amenity SocietySCARS Sankey Canal Restoration SocietySCCS Somersetshire Coal Canal SocietySHCS Surrey & Hants Canal SocietySNT Sleaford Navigation TrustSUCS Shropshire Union Canal SocietyTMCA Thames & Medway Canal AssociationWACT Wey & Arun Canal TrustWAT Wendover Arm TrustWBCT Wilts & Berks Canal TrustW&BCC Wilts & Berks Canal Company

Mobile groups' social evenings(please phone to confirm before turning up)London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11 days beforeeach dig. Usually at 'Star Tavern', BelgraveMews West, London. Tim Lewis 07802-518094 oremail: [email protected]: 9:00pm on 3rd Tue of month at the'Hope Tap', West end of Friar St. Reading.Graham Hawkes 0118 941 0586

Letters...plus the latest from theonline WRG Bookshop...

Letter to John Baylis, Vice Chairman of theFriends of the Cromford Canal:

Dear John

Re: Cromford volunteer works, New Year 2006

Thank you once again for organising the volun-teer working party on the Cromford Canal at theend of December and I apologise for the delay inresponding.

I know the weather conditions were dreadful withthe heavy snow turning to ice by the end of theweek. You and your volunteers are to be applaudedfor continuing with the vegetation control mainte-nance under such difficult conditions.

My team and I are looking forward to working withyou and your volunteer teams this year.

Kind regardsCaroline Killeavy

General Manager, East Midlands WaterwaysBritish Waterways

Dear Martin

I wouId like to thank your team for all for the won-derful work you did in very difficult conditions overthe Christmas holiday. Some of the photos thathave come from that work party will become clas-sics; as the waterways magazines have alreadyshown. Our AGM is due to be held on March 27thand I will give special mention to your efforts thenas well.

We can now see that there is actually a canal,which was buried under all that jungle you so val-iantly cleared. On behalf of the Cromford team,many, many thanks and we look forward to hav-ing you return in the not too distant future.

Kind regardsMike Kelley

ChairmanFriends of the

Cromford Canal

NavviesBookshop OnlineAs mentioned in the last issue, all the secondhand canal books donated to The Inland Waterways Associa-

tion that used to be sold through auc-tions in Navvies are now being soldon the Internet via the IWA�s onlineshop.

Above and left are another small selection of thevery large number of quality second-hand waterways titles available atreasonable prices - with all proceeds going to fund WRG�s canal restora-tion work.

All the books are grouped by subject - history, guide books, fiction etc. Andthere�s a new section just been added for First Editions

Just go to www.iwashop.com and follow the links to �waterway books� andthen to �second hand books�.

Dig DeepCo-ordinated canal restoration:is it working as well as it could?

Dig Deep. March 2006

January is traditionally the start of the new DigDeep year although October normally sees theend of the programme. This allows for the tradi-tional WRG Bonfire Bash and the main Christ-mas work parties to be out of the way before workcan re-start in earnest on the Dig Deep projects.

But first, for those readers new to Navvies, someexplanation as to what Dig Deep is about.

The Dig Deep Initiative involves five mobile work-ing party groups (London WRG, KESCRG, NWPG,WRG BITM and Essex WRG) committing them-selves to carrying out a certain amount of volun-teer work (whether in the form of Canal Campsor weekend working parties) on certain restora-tion projects in southern England (and sometimesWales) that have been adopted as �Dig DeepProjects�. In return we hope that the local canalsocieties that we are supporting on these projectsare able to commit funds and materials to themin the knowledge that there will be the labour tocomplete them.

Rather than my usual look at what the Groupshave been up to, I thought that I would inflict onyou some personal thoughts on where we cur-rently stand with Dig Deep after almost frifteenyears of running the scheme:

Project definition: The original aim of Dig Deepwas for the visiting groups to take on projectswhich would add momentum to a canal society�svoluntary restoration effort by getting work goingon sites that the canal society would not have hadthe resources to begin on its own. In the past wehave had clearly identified work where the visitinggroups have been the main source of labour andhave taken a lead role in the planning of the work.Historic examples are Boxwell Springs Lock onthe Thames & Severn Canal and Bignor Bridgeon the Wey & Arun.

In more recent times we have moved away fromthis type of project to ones where visiting groupshave been providing a supporting role to localgroups. Such projects remain valid and true tothe Dig Deep concept, as without our commit-ment many would not have started in the firstplace. However, it has become noticeable that onsome recent digs our contributions are beingdowngraded to a purely support role � doing thosejobs that the locals (and everyone else for thatmatter) don�t enjoy very much.

Now I�m not saying that we are not being valued.Nor am I in the business of selecting one projectagainst another or �pointing the finger� And neitheram I saying that the Dig Deep groups should havethe right to �cherry-pick� all the interesting jobs while

the local volunteers spend theweekend cleaning bricks orbarrowing mortar for us. But whatneeds to happen with these jointprojects is that local organisersneed to discuss and plan workcarefully with the Dig Deep Grouporganiser to ensure a balance ofwork is available that meets theneeds of all volunteers. Remem-ber that we have digger and dumperdrivers who may well be able to dothe job just as well as your local ex-pert! Being over possessive aboutyour Land Rover, digger or what-ever will only mean that you couldlose the whole group next timedates are being planned - or thatthere will be a poor turnout for thenext working party on your project,as individual volunteers will chooseto do something more interestingelsewhere. The same applies toother skills � we enjoy laying bricksas well as blocks.Dig Deep on the Wilts & Berks: London WRG at Seven Locks

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As I said earlier, we do not want to hog all theinteresting jobs. But one of the main reasons whythe Dig Deep scheme was set up in the first placewas that some of the groups were losing skilled,experienced volunteers and struggling to keep go-ing through lack of numbers - partly because of alack of interesting and varied work.

So my message is this: Firstly, type 2 Dig Deepprojects can work, but they do need a great dealof effort to ensure that no particular volunteer orgroup of volunteers feels cut out of the task. Sec-ondly, my experience is that local work party or-ganisers need to be planning more work for aweekend than can realistically be expected to beundertaken, and that such planning should takeaccount of potentially different weather conditionsover a weekend. Thirdly, in future rounds of DigDeep planning we should be encouraging localsocieties (where possible) to put forward projectsthat are to be primarily carried out by visitinggroups with occasional support from local volun-teers. We can then get back to the true principlesof Dig Deep that I set out earlier. Haybarn Bridgeon the Wey & Arun is a recent example of goodpractice of a Type 1 project.

Enough whingeing! There are some areas wherethings are looking good. Accommodation at allfour of our current projects is excellent � memo-ries of the Needham Market scout hut are fadingfast � though it is such experiences that becomepart of visiting group folklore as are some of thevolunteers we have encountered in our travels.Hostelries have also been well up to scratch �though LWRG were unfortunate to find The Sunat Plaistow closed on a Saturday night.

These matters may seem trivial to some, but theydo make the difference between having a goodweekend and a bad one. Lastweekend (Mar 11/12th) NWPGwere on the Lichfield. Theweather was cold, curtailing theavailable tasks through no faultof the canal trust; the prospectof spending the whole weekendpointing brickwork in Lock 26was personally not an attractiveone. However, the comfort of thewell-appointed Martin Heath Halland the quality of the ale andambience at The Queens Headmeant that no one went homecomplaining, despite the limitedwork on site and the cold wind �and the pointing was completed!I look forward to returning to theMon & Brec for similar reasons(as well as the hope of some in-teresting work).

I have little doubt that Dig Deep remains a validconcept for the voluntary restoration movementand that we should continue with it until someonecomes up with a better idea more relevant toneeds of current canal restoration projects. Tomaximise its effectiveness we do, however, needto keep a watchful eye out to see that the principlesare being maintained, and that all volunteers arebeing valued and allowed to fulfil their potential.

I promise that next time I will concentrate on thefacts and project progress. In the meantime here�sa reminder of the current Dig Deep sites:

. Lichfield Canal. Restoration of locks 24 to 26and intermediate canal lengths at TamworthRoad, Lichfield.

. Wilts & Berks Canal. Completion of Lock 3and restoration of Lock 4 at Seven Locks, nearLyneham.

. Mon & Brec Canal. Restoration of two locksand side ponds at Fourteen Locks, Crumlin Armnear Newport.

. Wey & Arun Canal. Lowering of BrewhurstLock to allow canal to pass under B2133 roadat Loxwood. Work to start at WRG summercamps and then run through to Christmas.

We�ll soon be discussing our programme for 2007.If you think that you have a potential project thenAlan Cavender, Dig Deep Co-ordinator would liketo hear from you. His phone number is 01628629033 � other details in the directory. To volun-teer to help on any of the current projects pleasecheck the Navvies Diary and contact the Dig DeepGroup organiser.

Bill Nicholson

Dig Deep on the Lichfield: NWPG rebuild Lock 26�s upper wing walls

Bill

Nic

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ProgressLemonade bottles and sunkenweedboats on the Wey & Arun

Wey & Arun update

Work progresses thanks to our working partieswho meet almost every day of the week. TheWednesday (Mid Week Working Party) group ledby Peter Jackman is jungle bashing slowly alongthe Utworth Manor/Holdenhurst Farm length nearCranleigh in Surrey. Unchartered waters indeed. Thephoto shows another side of towpath clearance...

But it hasn�t all been just trees, bushes and oldfences, Val Westall, a member of the MWWP anda keen amateur historian has found a �Codd�s Bot-tle�. The embossed writing says �Bruford & Co.Limited, Cranleigh� together with a picture of threehorseshoes. The aqua-coloured glass bottle mayhave been a lemonade bottle, as Bruford producedboth beer & soft drinks (although in those daysthey called themselves mineral water manufac-turers) and probably dates from the early 1890s.

Down at Orfold, our little reed cutter Capricewasn�t having a good time. As you can see, shegot a bit wet with the flooding down there. On 26th

February, Eric Walker�s Sunday working partyteam were despatched on an SOS mission toretrieve her with the assistance of the local land-owner�s tractor. All is now well and after a bit of adrying out she will soon be back in service. Thereed cutting is in preparation for the WinstonHarwood Memorial small boat rally on Sunday,14th May. Everyone is invited to come along. Boatentry forms can be obtained [email protected] and further detailswill be on our website www.weyandarun.co.uk.

Finally, we have started clearance work in Bramley onour northernmost section. It is very early days yet, butwe have at last made a start with the co-operation andsupport of Mr & Mrs Cook of Beevers Farm. We alsohope that further clearance work will start shortly at theTannery Lane Bridge end.

Sally Schupke Re-floaring a weedboat in four easy stages

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The story so far...

Now where were we? Was it really a year agosince we wrote an article on the KL15? Yes, Is-sue 210... Apparently we were waiting for thetyres, the main panels had been sent off forshotblasting and the wheels were obstinately re-fusing to come in half.

The kl15 is ready for take off

So, first the tyres. These should have arrived bythe end of February 2005. Following many phonecalls they finally arrived, in February 2006, nearlya year late! Unfortunately we soon realised thatthey were the wrong size. More phone calls fromour supplier to his suppliers did not help, they wereadamant they had sent the correct equivalent tyre(despite the fact that the rim was a good threeinches too small). Eventually contact was madewith a supplier in Devon; when given the tyre sizehis response was �you�re putting tyres on an oldJones crane, aren�t you?� Apparently the closesttyre size available now is an aircraft tyre. Thesearrived a week later (which was a little bizarreconsidering it took a year to get the wrong ones)and with a little modification they appear to fit.There is one drawback: they are only rated for amaximum of 230 miles per hour. Best fit a speedlimiter to the crane I reckon...

An appointment at a strip joint

We were using a vast amount of shot cleaning-up the superstructure and the base of the cranebecause we couldn�t recycle it: commercial shot-blasting contractors collect, filter and recycle shotbut we just don�t have the facilities. The thoughtof shot blasting all the large body panels was nota pleasant one, so we decided to send them offto a contractor called �The Malmesbury Strippers�.The firm decided to strip off the huge thickness ofthe years of paint using a chemical bath, then shot-blast the rust off before putting on a coat of primer- and the end result is very good indeed.

Another decision we made was to fit a fly jib whichWRG had spare instead of the standard one. Thiswill enable the crane to be used for jobs that needgreater reach. The original standard jib needs anumber of repairs which we will carry out whenthe main work on the crane is complete, so in thefuture we can select the jib depending on thejob.[The right jib for the right job? ...Ed] Therewere photos in an earlier copy of Navvies show-ing the fly jib being shipped down from the far north:this too needed stripping-back, so we used an-other firm who have a dedicated chamber for shotblasting long items (otherwise known as a 20ftsteel shipping container). The jib was then movedback to Claverton, where Pete Dunn overhauledthe pulleys with new shafts.

PlantSurely Bungle�s not stillrebuilding that crane!

Good for up to 230mph: the new tyres

The stripped-back jib with new overhauled pulleys and new shafts

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Plant�Luckily I have access to atwenty ton press in Reading...�

It�s a game of two halves

So that just leaves the wheels. The application ofbrute force had failed to separate the wheels, sowe contacted our tyre supplier for advice. Headvised soaking the wheels in diesel for a few days,so we left a wheel soaking in diesel... however otherjobs got in the way, and the wheel ended up beingsoaked for several months! The day came and weattempted to separate the two halves, with abso-lutely no success. Normally the stud is threadedor welded into one half and pokes through the otherhalf. A nut is then put on which holds the twohalves together. An important safety note: if youhave a wheel made in this way, it is vitally impor-tant to let the air out before undoing the wheel nuts.

The ring of nuts around the wheel are only to holdthe assembly together, they are not designed totake the pressure of a fully inflated tyre. Havingsaid that, ours were appearing to do a remarkablygood job, even without the nuts! In frustration, wedecided to try removing the stud completely withthe aid of a large sledge hammer. A couple of wellaimed blows from Pete and the stud popped out: itseems that the stud was threaded in both halvesof the wheel, which from conversations I have hadwith people since is almost unheard of. Once wediscovered this the solution was simple, howeverafter knocking out the eight studs from the firstwheel it was obvious that a better procedure wasneeded. Luckily I have access to a 20-ton pressin Reading: once it was set up it made quick workof pushing all the studs out and the wheels justcame in half with no effort at all (although it isamazing just how big a bang it makes when thestud shoots out from the wheel under about 18tons of pressure!).

A broken brake

Careful examination of the jib winch showed thatthe brake was seized. It had obviously been like itfor some time, previous use relying on the ratchet

alone - which makes low-ering the jib a dodgy expe-rience, as if you lose yourgrip on the handle the jibwill just drop uncontrolled.We looked at some otherKL15s and discovered ei-ther the same problem, orin one case the entirebrake assembly wasmissing!

Craftsman at work:

Pete Dunn demonstratesthe gentle art of removingthe studs holding the twohalves of the wheel to-gether.

NB if you don�t have a largesledgehamer a 20-tonnepress will suffice.

Plant�There was some quite badlanguage when we realised this...�

When the winch was disassembled, we discov-ered that both brake discs were unserviceable andthe helix gear had fractured. The brake discs werein stock but the helix gear was no longer availableand none of the suppliers could make one. How-ever, one of the Claverton Pumping Station team(John Chuter) took on the task and after manyhours work he created a perfect copy (well, nearlya copy - it was exactly the same but not broken).The winch was then re-assembled and tested andseems to be in good shape.

The sprag has sprung

Whilst we were working on the transmission, therewas some confusion as to what stopped the cranerolling away when it was not in drive. Once thecrane is slewed from the travel position there isno brake pedal available, and we even got as faras planning a pair of chocks! Close examinationof the manual showed that a sprag should lockthe back axle once the crane is taken out of travelmode, but it wasn�t just broken, it is not even there.A visit to our neighbours at the Cotswold CanalsTrust is planned, to have a look at their workingexample to see what we need to make to replacethis sprag system.

Two steps forward, one step backwards

Things were looking up. We seemed to be on there-assembly stage: linkages were being straight-ened and refitted, clutches adjusted, parts stackedready to be bolted on. Then a setback: while set-ting up and adjusting the slew we discoveredsome play, and upon further inspection we foundthat the bottom bearing was very badly worn.

No-one is quite sure how we missed it before, butthe side cover needed to come back off and theslew gear plate needed to be removed. As youcan imagine, there was some quite bad languageused when we realised this...

George �Bungle� Eycott

Above: Old and new brake helix gears for the jibwinch. Below: examining the slew gear plate

WRG BITM...on the Grantham Canal atHarlaxton cutting, Woolsthorpe

WRG BITM and GCRS: Feb 18 - 19Tree clearance at Harlaxton Cutting

The WRG Bit in the Middle group plus theGrantham Canal work crew had done a grand jobin organising the weekend. The paperwork hadbeen completed weeks before including site vis-its. But it was still touch and go, with everyonetravelling many miles � one coming from Devon� on the Friday, to only get the go ahead at gone4pm. I was on my way from work and called intoMachine Mart to pick up a small four-wheeled trol-ley to use for carrying heavy winches along thetowpath.

I made my way to the Dirty Duck pub alongsidethe canal at Woolsthorpe. Colin had been tryingto ring them for days to confirm our coming but tono avail so when we arrived we had to hangaround in the cold until we could gain access. Theplace was freezing cold and full of equipment soa lot of time was spent clearing and cleaning. Ihelped unload bags and bags of food, purchasedat a London supermarket which the catering crewalways use. I think the supermarket people eitherthink they have a large family or are greedy bug-gers... anyway it weighed a ton. All who had gotthere earlier retired to the pub for a meal to awaitthe arrival of the others. After a pleasant eveningwe all went off to bed - in a lot warmer accommo-dation after we had had the gas heaters running.

After a really good breakfast, � if you like goodporridge, WRG work camps are the place - weset off through the mist and rain to Harlaxton andset to work. We took our new aluminium workboatto allow us access to the far side and to ferry theheavy winching equipment across, and launchedit down the steep bank. We all spread out cut-ting, sawing and dragging all the old wood in thecanal. BW have a weed cutting boat which theyhave used at the entrance to the cutting but whenit was bought the spec called for a light construc-tion to allow for moving from site to site. Unfortu-nately it is too frail for the years of weed growthand it breaks down at the slightest jam, so wehad been asked to remove all submerged obstruc-tions in it�s path. We used grappling hooks, whichare fine before your first throw in but as you startto pull inwards the slime and icy cold water cov-ers you even though you are wearing waterproofs.Then as you begin to perspire it is like heavy raininside your waterproofs as well so a rather un-comfortable feeling begins... which is instantly re-moved by the shout of �Tea�, which (along withcakes and buns) makes up for everything.

The guys on the far bank had placed strops aroundthe selected trees and after cutting away branchesand boughs the trunks were sectioned and allwinched clear. Tirfor winches are brilliant at beingwinches, but there is a lot of handle working to doand they are very tiring things.

We carried on gradually working our way alongthe towpath cleaning up all the branches, twigs,sludge, rubbish and stacking the cut branches upthe cutting sides to try and make �habitats� for thewildlife. We weren�t allowed fires, which was apity because trying to not only build habitats on a60-degree slope, but to even stand on the soak-ing wet incline was near impossible. (These thingslook so easy in the books)

We carried on until the next codeword � �Grub up� � was shoutedwhere we returned to the vansand started work doing a fulldemolition job on boxes of sand-wiches, soup and more cakes(I don�t think this would appearon a Weight Watchers list).

As darkness fell we returned tobase for a good warm, wash,and lovely evening meal of stewand dumplings (I suppose Ishould call it casserole with ac-coutrements but that�s posh andwe aren�t so it �s stew anddumplings) with potatoes andcabbage followed by fruitsponge, custard and cream.Dragging vegetation out of the canal

Mar

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We went across the car park to the pub and that�swhere it all went downhill for me. None of ourgroup smoked - it was the people who sat behindme. They looked like the couple on Early Doorssitting there puffing away. I sat and laughed witheveryone but when my breathing stopped and myeyes started uncontrollably streaming I called it aday and went to bed. I think several others hadhad the same thoughts as they were firmly in bedwhen I got there.

Sunday morning: a big dish of porridge and goldensyrup and I was feeling a bit better; I couldn�t con-centrate much as my head felt it wasn�t affixedproperly but egg, sausage, bacon, beans, tomato,brown sauce and bread with lashings of tea andFULL MILK certainly helped to fix it. I towed thebig trailer with boat and kit on board and helpedunload it. We carried on along the cutting withthe chain saws leading, trimming away any growthespecially between the towpath and the water.Colin asked if I was alright because I didn�t seemto be my normal stupid self. I said �No� but I wouldbe OK.

After lunch some of us attacked the ivy eating it�sway under the copingstones of the bridge andpulling out the mortar in the brickwork. Rachaelchainsawed all the large saplings growing out ofthe bridge abutment and we removed it. We allwent down to where the �cutting crew� were andabout ten of us pulled all the cut trunks right upthe bank to stop them ending up in the water again.

Just as the light was beginning to fade we badefarewell to most members as they started on theirlong journeys home; we had to go back to ourcontainer to clean the boat and the tools and packeverything away.

I finally got home with a burning face - which Ican assure you was not sunburn but most prob-ably icy windburn - but it was worth it to see a bitmore canal clear. What we really need is an exBW work tug (given to us) putting in the cutting ina safe place which would allow us, instead of alot a backbreaking grappling, to be able to lift thetimber on board and also cut the overhangingbranches with ease - or is that too simple?

Anyway what was, weather wise, an awful week-end turned into a great one with all the labour-intensive work that was done and a wonderful setof people to be with. Rachael had been doingcanals for the last five weekends and still man-aged to travel up from Devon to be with us. Manythanks to you all and I look forward to seeing youall soon - if not on the Grantham, then on anothercanal weekend.

One good thing arising from the web sites wasthat two new people arrived for work: Laurencefrom South Yorkshire, and local guy Tim fromKinoulton who is a ticketed chainsaw operator withall the gear, and may bring his friends next time -I would like to welcome them both. I spoke toColin to say that as well as information boardsabout the canal we should pin up printouts of cur-rent and future works and our web address forthe benefit of the dozens of walkers and cyclistswho use the canal and who are very keen to knowwhat is happening - like the couple who haveagreed to be wardens and report on anything ontheir section of the canal. This will have to be setup, any volunteers?

My thanks, to Dave Wedd, Rachael Banyard, ColinBryan and Leigh Hood for the back scene workand also their front scene as well. A great week-end.

Martin Day.

Mar

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Clearing the offside bank

Dave Wedd tests the waterM

artin

Day

SustainabilityDr Liz�s thoughts on runningan eco-friendly canal camp

Sustainable, eco-friendly life... WRG style!

Last October I cooked for the camp on the Wilts& Berks Canal, led by Jo �Smudge� Smith and Dave�Taz� Tarrant. All of us have an interest in living as�sustainably� as possible, so we thought we�d tryto see if this was possible on a canal camp...

Most of you will have done something eco-friendlyon a camp - even if it�s just recycling the bottlesafter the last night party. We wanted to extend thisa bit further. I�m not talking about the work itself;just about the housekeeping aspect of the camp.

This isn�t a definitive guide to how to do it, but acollection of our thoughts at the end of the week.Hopefully all of you leading, cooking or going on acamp might think a little bit more about the im-pact you have on the environment during yourweek. And live well and enjoy yourselves too!

Local Food: Ok, so you�re unlikely to avoid doing alot of your shopping in one of the �big four�, but whynot try to get some fresh food directly from the com-munity (usually rural) that you�re working in? Buy-ing local also reduces the distance food has to travel,saving fuel and energy. And as I discovered, whenyou talk direct to the suppliers, a discount often ap-pears - which you�re never going to get in Tescbury�s.

It does require a little more forethought. I found theinternet extremely useful: a google search on �farmshops wootton bassett� revealed a lovely long listand links to some of their own websites. I also foundthere was a farmers� market on the Saturday thecamp started � so I started there. The local organ-iser was a useful source of information. I also roughlyplanned the menu so that I knew quantities etc.

Buying for large numbers: One thing I did learnis that whilst supermarkets cope very easily withshopping for 30, small market stalls don�t carrythat much stock! I did get enough for the first 2days� meat and veg, plus eggs, and some usefulcontacts for a second shop on Monday. The mostsuccessful was the smallholding which turned outto have the line of the canal running through it �they were very pro the restoration, and extremelyhappy to supply most of the meat for the week �delicious, well hung beef, organic pork, scrummytender lamb, home made sausages and bacon.And here I learnt another lesson � order bacontwo weeks in advance � it takes 10 days to make!

But oh boy was it nice � and none of that busi-ness of disappearing into small scraps as the wa-ter runs out, either. The local butcher was alsovery helpful for the extra bacon and chicken (andanother �bulk� discount for volunteers). Free rangeeggs are harder to find in large quantities � youeither have to go to several farms and buy themall out, or get them from the butcher. Vegetablescame from another farm shop, all seasonal � po-tatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, cu-cumber, runner beans etc (advantage of an au-tumn camp) - and good quality.

The cost: As for the financial side, although themeat is a little more expensive than �cheap� su-permarkets, the quality is so much better, and itgoes further. For example, mince doesn�t end upswimming in grey water when you brown it. I cer-tainly didn�t go over budget on food, and everyonewas very well fed! (including Rob Brotherston)

Recycling: Most camps seem to have a box forbottles and cans, but we decided to go the wholehog and recycle everything that we could. Again,research beforehand helped: finding what the lo-cal tip would take, when it was open, and whatthe height restriction was! We recycled glass,cans, plastic (only milk cartons), card and paper(with 3 newspapers a day being read, there wasa lot of this!). It did help having a large hallway atthe hall; it was also worth a mid-week tip run (thetip was on the way to the supermarket) so weweren�t overwhelmed on the last day.

It was worth making the point about recycling in theintroductory talk, and it helped that everyone on thecamp really �bought�in� to the idea. Other placesdon�t have such a handy tip, but a lot of villages havea kerbside recycling scheme � in Kirdford on theWey & Arun Canal the next door neighbours offeredto take newspapers and cans for their boxes, andanother chap wanted our kitchen waste for his com-post bin! There are several useful websites withinformation about local recycling facilities.

Other thoughts: simple things like turning lightsoff and heating down will help. Being a little bit or-ganised about traveling around, e.g phoning the cookto ask her/him to bring the milk you forgot down withlunch rather than driving back to the hall. Gettingeverything you need at the builders merchants atonce rather than making 6 trips� (OK, now I�mmoving into fantasy land so I�ll stop there!)

But seriously, a little bit of thought and planning canmake the camp have just that little bit less impacton the environment, and improve relations with thelocal landowners! If you want the details of the sup-pliers I used, email me ([email protected]). AndI�d love to hear from you if you have any better ideas� or have your own lessons to pass on!

See you soon,Dr Liz Williamson

Navvies newsWRG North West, a WRGies�Chatroom and the Sussex Ouse

Northern Geriatics burst forth - or fifth!

From time to time, readers of Navvies will haveseen passing references to WRG �North West�but they could be forgiven for thinking that the �DearOld Geriatrics up t�North� were quietly slumber-ing in between bursts of mild activity. Nothingcould be further from the truth. Even the de-crepit Octogenarian has sprung (?) into life...

During 2005 WRG North West�s Sales & Exhibi-tion Stand was taken out to five big events plus aone day local bringing in a worthwhile £2,900. In-terspersed around these have been ten workingparty weekends, one of which was a long attend-ance at the �National� at Preston Brook helping withthe initial setting-up of the site, and later disman-tling it. In addition, Malcolm Bridge has assisted�Bungle� in various electrical activities especiallyat Little Venice . Pete Richards has also done hiselectrical wizardry , especially at Saul where theNorth West team assisted in the setting up anddismantling operations.

We have had to work round some SignificantBirthdays this year to say nothing of the nuptialsin Anglesey of David & Colette Lamen.

Three years ago, we attended the previous Bon-fire Bash at Newport on the Mon & Brec wherethe super Mini bus SKN - disgraced itself on thewet Saturday when the windscreen wiper motorfailed.

Perhaps the memory of that and the long journeyput everyone off the 2005 event, so it looked like aweekend by the TV in November. But no: justweeks before in October, ten of us had enjoyeddismantling & immediately rebuilding the towpathwall at Llanymynech Wharf on the Mont (despitea rainy Saturday). So Jim and Mr. Mac beganto talk of having our very own bonfire bashdown there and a slightly bigger turnout of bod-ies brought about a real amount of progress.We even had a few new faces one of whom -Dorothy - was persuaded (?) to do the cook-ing. She�d never done anything like it before, andshe turned up trumps! We�d like her again nextMarch at the same venue but (alas) she andGeorge are getting married that weekend (don�tknow why they can�t have the �Do� down there andsave us scratching round)

December saw us have a good �first� on theHollinwood Canal near Oldham. Being a coun-try park there could be no bonfires, and we weretold that shredders would be brought in later bythe Wardens. Pity we weren�t there to see theirfaces when they came to see the branches etc.which were piled as high as a pair of semi de-tached houses I

Except for the untimely death of Tenko, we had agood year in WRG North West and the rest of2006 promises further activity.. We�d be delightedto see some fresh faces especially on the localwork

David �Mr Mac� McCarthy

WRGie Words...

...is an Internet forum that�s been set up speciallyfor WRG folks to chat online about all things to dowith WRG - and there�s even a separate facilityfor WRG folks who want to chat online aboutthings that are NOTHING to do with WRG!

If you want to take part, just go to http://p2.forumforfree.com/wrg.html and follow thesimple instructions for joining.

A walk on the Ouse

No, not the Great Ouse, nor the Yorkshire Ouse,nor even the Little Ouse. We�re talking about theSussex Ouse here - a river navigation that usedto run through the town of Lewes and a lot of pleas-ant Sussex countryside - and 19 locks - beforereaching the sea at Newhaven. Unfortunately itfell into disuse in the late 19th Century but there isplenty still to see including remains of many ofthe locks.

There has been talk of restoring the navigation forsome time. The Sussex Ouse Restoration Trusthas been in existence for several years, has ap-pointed a project manager for the first restorationproject at Isfield Lock and is looking to get someserious work going.

Those who want to take a look at a potential work-site for the next few years are welcome to join awalk on May 7th along the Ouse from BarcombeMills to Isfield Lock.

Lifts will be available to take you back to Barcombeat the end of the walk.

Meet at Barcombe Mills public car park 12.30pm.For further details contact Hazel Lintott on 01444414413, or email [email protected].

Navvies news...including the WRG TrainingWeekend 2006... and 2007!

The Barndance

A huge big thanks to everyone who supported thesuccessful WRG Barndance. As per usual thetickets were sold, the set up happened efficiently,no one went thirsty and the hall was clean afterwe left. And as per usual much dancing and laugh-ing (or spectating and lots of laughing) was ob-served and the bar was almost dry. Cheers toeveryone who helped on all of these importantaspects of running a successful barndance. Weraised over £450 for London WRG and KESCRG.The raffle and whiskey game (who let a studentwin?) were run by South-West and raised over£100 for their funds.

(Marketing hint: a small cute child selling raffle tick-ets works.)

Of course we do intend to run this again next year- it�s a nice social event to have in the winter andit will be on Saturday 3rd of March preceded bythe WRG Leaders Day and followed by WRG com-mittee meeting at the same venue - so don�t bookany digs over it - you have 3 excuses not to!! Unfor-tunately I will be sunning myself on the other side ofthe world so I will have to leave it in the capableLWRG and KESCRG hands of Dr Liz and Ian -but I couldn�t leave them unassisted and fortu-nately Ed didn�t take much persuading (and it onlycost us a pint.) So thanks to Liz and Ian for theirwork this year - I hope next year�s is even better.

Finally thanks to MKP for a most impressive afterraffle speech - had us all fooled for a couple ofminutes there - and I�m really really sorry I gaveMike such a hard time about wanting to say a fewwords - but he couldn�t tell me what it was about...

Helen Gardner

PS Don�t let MK2 near anything when he�s armedwith a big bucket of dirty water

Thank you

...to the two people who volunteered to help roundup canal societies� progress reports in responseto my appeal in the last issue. Look out for theproduct of their efforts in Navvies 217.

Next year�s news

In an attempt to be a bit more organised, the WRGCommittee recently decided to try and nail downfour dates in the year as a series of regular events.These are:

(1) The Barn Dance / Leaders Training week-end / WRG committee meeting (March 3-42007). Yes, a fun filled weekend based around theBarn Dance. Also an attempt to give our Campleaders a chance to raise problems and the WRGBrass to deal with them immediately.

(2) Training Weekend (May 13-14 2007). See-ing as this has always been the weekend afterthe first May bank holiday it seems sensible to setthis date in stone for a while.

(3) �Sort Out� Weekend after National (Sep-tember 8-9 2007). Now that we have a decentbase to work in, it has been suggested that theweekend after the weekend after the National Fes-tival (if you see what we mean) should be set asideto sort out the inevitable mess that is the result ofa summer camps season.

(4) Bonfire Bash and WRG Committee Meet-ing (November 3-4 2007). We actually came upwith this some months ago but it makes sense torepeat it here. The plan is to have the meeting onthe Saturday of the Bonfire Bash thus giving usmore time to let everyone know about the plansfor the coming year.

So there you have it, we are not insisting that eve-ryone keeps these dates free, just letting every-one know what we have planned so you can de-cide whether you want to be involved or just doyour thing.

Mike Palmer

And speaking of the Training Weekend...

...yes, we really will be having one this year too -on May 6-7.

Apologies for not getting all the information togetherin time for a full article in this issue. However ifyou are interested in acquiring (or, for that matter,teaching) any manual, machinery-related, tech-nical, or other types of skills relevent to waterwayrestoration, keep this date in your diary, check theWRG website, and look out for a broadcast emailmessage on the subject soon (and if you don�talready receive these mailout messages, checkthe website for how to sign up).

Alternatively contact head office on 01923 711114or emal [email protected] for information.

Directors of WRG:

John Baylis, MickBeattie, Malcolm Bridge,Spencer Collins,Christopher Davey,Helen Davey,Roger Day, NeilEdwards, George Eycott,John Fletcher, AdrianFry, John Hawkins,Jennifer Leigh, JudithMoore, Michael Palmer,Jonathan Smith.

Secretary: Neil Edwards

VAT reg. no : 788 9425 54

© 2006 WRGISSN 0953-6655

Nothing printed may be con-strued as policy or an officialannouncement unless sostated - otherwise WRG andIWA accept no liability for anymatter in this magazine.

Waterway Recovery Groupis a division of Inland Water-ways Enterprises Ltd., a sub-sidiary of the Inland Water-ways Association (a regis-tered charity).

Inland Waterways Enter-prises Registered office:3 Norfolk Court, Norfolk Rd.Rickmansworth WD3 1LT

Tel : 01923 711114Registered no 4305322

Navvies ProductionNavvies is published by Wa-terway Recovery Group, POBox 114, RickmansworthWD3 1ZY and is availableto all interested in promot-ing the restoration and con-servation of inland water-ways by voluntary effort inGreat Britain. Articles maybe reproduced in alliedmagazines provided thatthe source is acknowl-edged. WRG may notagree with opinions ex-pressed in this magazine,but encourages publicationas a matter of interest.

Editor : Martin Ludgate35 Silvester RoadEast DulwichLondon SE22 9PB020-8693 3266

Subscriptions / circulationSue Watts15 Eleanor RoadChorlton-cum-HardyManchester M21 9FZ

Printing and assembly:John & Tess Hawkins4 Links Way, Croxley GrnRickmansworth, HertsWD3 3RQ 01923 [email protected]

NoticeboardContacting the chairman:Mike Palmer, 3 Finwood Rd,Rowington, Warwickshire CV35 7DH

Tel: 01564 785293

email: [email protected]

page 31

Congratulations...to Mike Palmer and Jude Moore

on their engagement

Stampswanted

Send used postagestamps, petrol coupons,old phone cards, emptycomputer printer ink car-tridges to IWA/WRGStamp Bank, 33 Ham-bleton Grove, MiltonKeynes MK4 2JS. All pro-ceeds to canal restoration.

Online Navvies subscriptionsDon�t forget:

You can now take out or renew Navvies subsonline at www.waterways.org.uk/restora-tion/index.htm or at www.iwashop.com/

ecommerce/products.asp?cat=126

Directory updatesA few changes to the website addresses thatappeared in the last Navvies Directory in is-sue 215...

Newbury Working Party Group:www.nwpg.org.uk

Foxton Inclined Plane Trust:www.fipt.org.uk

Surrey & Hants Canal Society:

www.basingstoke-canal.org.uk/front.htm

Also the email address for WRG Boat Clubcontact Sadie Dean should be:[email protected]

The next full directory will appear in issue 218.Please send any updates to the editor.

Moving house

Mitch Gozna of WRG SW has a new address:4 Queenscote, Portishead, North Somer-set BS20 7LR.

If you move house don�t forget to tell Navvies

Dial-a-camp

To contact anyWRG Canal

Camp:

07850 422156(Kit �A� camps)07850 422157(Kit �B� camps)

Hereford & Gloucester Canal Camps

We regret that the H&G Canal Trust have advisedus that they will be unable to host any camps thisyear. Camps 0612 (22-29 Jul) and 0614 (29 Jul-5Aug) have therefore had to be canceled.

Backfill

page 32

Care and maintenance of Dualit toasters

1 When loading the toasters into the kit trailer,do not place them gently into position, insteadthrow them in from a distance. The delicatemica elements will benefit greatly from this ro-bust treatment.

2 Do not bother to secure the toaster in the kit trailer,they are equipped with a special device that au-tomatically moves them gently to the lowest avail-able place in the trailer when you pull away.

3 If the slice of bread will not easily drop down theslot, ram it in. The toaster will magically reshapethe bread to ensure it will pop back out easily.

4 The clearly written instructions on the side say-ing �Bread Only� do not apply to you.

5 If the bread will not pop out of the toaster eas-ily, jab it with a knife. Again, the delicate micaelements will benefit greatly from this robusttreatment.

6 If there appears to be a problem, pull the toasterto pieces. Nothing pleases me more than be-ing given a box of toaster bits (preferably withone vital part missing) with no information asto what the fault was.

7 Even better, have a go at reassembling it, againpreferably with an important (but well hidden)part missing or put in backwards. It gives megreat delight spending hours trying to fix a fault,buying what seems to be the broken part, dis-covering the toaster is actually assembled in-correctly and then finding there was nothingwrong with it when it is put together properly.

8 Toast some sandwiches in the toaster, it ismost entertaining to try and disassemble theinternal mechanism when it has a liberal coat-ing of six month old burnt on cheese.

9 If you do manage to break it, don�t tell anyone,but just send it on to the next camp. This isespecially helpful if it has a fault that blows theaccommodation electricity supply. After all, theyshould KNOW where the reset trips are lo-cated.

10 Always plug the toaster into the same socketas the Burco and the griddle. The heat gener-ated by the four way adapter will help to heatthe room up in the morning.

Bungle

And finally...

Thank you to Nigel Lee whoasks if I can explain the curi-ous sign in a photograph thathe sent in. My suspicionsare that it relates to a certainaffinity (not to mention a fewvolunteers) shared by WRGin GKP�s day and the Fes-tiniog Railway�s �Deviationist�volunteers in the 1970s. Cananyone confirm this?

navvies 216

Documents

canal societies

grantham canal

new montgomery canal

lord rolles canal

canalway cavalcade

lord whats canal

diary canal camp

wyrley essington canal