navvies 224

Issue No 224August-September

2007

navviesnavvies

waterwayrecoverygroup

Issue No 224August-September

2007


volunteers restoring waterwaysvolunteers restoring waterways

Happy Birthday KESCRG1977-2007Happy Birthday KESCRG1977-2007

Visit our web site www.wrg.org.uk for

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NavviesProductionEditor: Martin Ludgate, 35 Silvester Road,East Dulwich London SE22 9PB020-8693 3266

Subscriptions: Navvies subscriptions, POBox 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY

Printing and assembly: John & TessHawkins, 4 Links Way, Croxley Green, Rick-mansworth, Herts WD3 3RQ01923 448559 [email protected]

Navvies is published by Waterway RecoveryGroup, PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD31ZY and is available to all interested in pro-moting the restoration and conservation ofinland waterways by voluntary effort in GreatBritain. Articles may be reproduced in alliedmagazines provided that the source is ac-knowledged. WRG may not agree with opin-ions expressed in this magazine, but encour-ages publication as a matter of interest. Noth-ing printed may be construed as policy or anofficial announcement unless so stated - other-wise WRG and IWA accept no liability for anymatter in this magazine. Waterway RecoveryGroup is a division of Inland WaterwaysEnterprises Ltd., a subsidiary of the InlandWaterways Association (a registered charity).

Inland Waterways Enterprises Regis-tered office: 3 Norfolk Court, Norfolk Rd.Rickmansworth WD3 1LT. Tel : 01923 711114Registered no 4305322

Directors of WRG: Rick Barnes, JohnBaylis, Mick Beattie, Malcolm Bridge, SpencerCollins, Christopher Davey, Helen Davey,Roger Day, Neil Edwards, George Eycott,John Fletcher, Adrian Fry, John Hawkins,Jennifer Leigh, Judith Palmer, Michael Palmer,Jonathan Smith. Secretary: Neil Edwards

VAT reg. no: 788 9425 54ISSN: 0953-6655© 2007 WRG

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all the latest news of WRG's activities

Chairman 2008 and all that 4-5What�s next? National Festival, BonfireBash, Autumn and Christmas camps 6-9Camp Reports Lord Rolle and the Mont 10-17Festival Reports LV Grantham 18-22Directory WRG and canal societies 23-25Diary camp and working party dates 26-28Letters Chichester; the Training weekend29-30Progress and Dig Deep update 31-38Cook Report from the Wilts & Berks 39-41KESCRG 30th anniversary feature includinga dig report from the Sussex Ouse 42-47WRGBC trains and boats and (flood)plains 48Noticeboard Serbia here we come! 49Infill help eight navvies get to the pub! 50

Contributions...

...are always welcome, whether hand-writ-ten, typed, on CD-ROM, DVD or by email.

Photos also welcome: digital,slides, colour or b/w prints. Please statewhether you want your prints back; I as-sume that you want slides returned. Dig-ital pics are welcome as email attachments,preferably JPG format, but if you have a lotit is preferable to send them on CD-ROM orDVD or to contact the editor first.

Contributions by post to the editorMartin Ludgate, 35, Silvester Road,London SE22 9PB, or by email [email protected].

Press date for issue 225: September 1st.

Subscriptions

A year's subscription (6 issues) is availablefor a minimum of £1.50 to Sue Watts, 15Eleanor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy,Manchester M21 9FZ. Cheques to "Wa-terway Recovery Group" please.

This is a minimum subscription whichdoesn�t even cover postage costs but is keptlow so that everyone can afford to subscribe.Please add a donation if you can.

ContentsIn this issue...

Above: Volunteers needed for an intensiveprogramme of volunteer work that has justbegun at Stratford St Mary Lock on the RiverStour - see page 49. Below: how the profes-sionals do it - work under way on the newLiverpool Link, a brand-new canal that rein-states a lost link between the Leeds & LiverpoolCanal and the South Docks complex.Opposite: materials are unloaded (above) atthe start of the KESCRG camp at Seven Lockson the Wilts & Berks ready for work to beginon rebuilding the offside wall of lock 4 (below)- report next time. Cover photo: KESCRG atwork on Isfield Lock, Sussex Ouse - see reporton p45-47 (photo by David Miller)

Subscriptions queries

Until further notice please contact our headoffice on 01923 711114 or [email protected] if you have anyproblems or queries regarding Navviessubscriptions. Sue Watts (see right) will stilldeal with new subs and regular renewals.

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ChairmanPlanning for 2008

Chairman�s Comment

I know it seems a bit strange to talk aboutCanal Camps for 2008 (and beyond) whenwe are still in the middle of our 2007 camps,however I thought it might be useful to sayhow we go about setting the schedule for thefollowing year as several people have said tome that they would quite like to get involvedbut are not quite sure when to stick theirhead over the parapet (as it were). We startaround about now, with a letter from HeadOffice to all the usual suspects asking if theyhave suitable projects for Canal Camps.Initially these vary between establishedongoing projects and madcap schemes, butwe consider them all. Ideally we try to meetup with the promoters at the National Festi-val and talk through the ways we can help.Then through September and October weget involved in lots of site visits and emailstrying to thrash out all the important details.

This all comes to a head on the Saturdayof the Bonfire Bash in November when theWRG committee meeting gets a little expandedand we try to put all the potential projectstogether in an arrangement that is both possi-ble and desirable. (As an aside several of theWRG regional groups also use this date to setand publish their plans for the next year tomake sure that clashes don�t occur).

The (very nearly confirmed) programme

is then published that night and we start to tryand recruit leaders, assistants, cooks, etc. andanswer any questions about the projects toanyone who wants to know. We then flesh outall the details that we can and publish theconfirmed schedule in the Canal Camps flyer inthe Christmas edition of Navvies.

Obviously that is not the end of it as wethen still have lots of gaps to fill in:permissions, plans, plant, leaders, etc. Theultimate aim is to get all of these gaps filledin time for running the Leaders training day(held on the Saturday of the Barn dance,March 1). This is not exactly a formal event -just an opportunity for all the leaders to gettogether, make sure they have got all the bitsof their camp sorted and, if not, ask forsome advice.

So if you are interested in helping outwith either a particular Camp or with theplanning in general then we would be happyto see your head above the parapet anytime.A really good time to ask is at the BonfireBash or the Barn Dance. This is the timewhen any needs will be at their most obviousand we will be hoping for people to fill thetime honoured position of Muppet. (This is acorruption of Massively Useful Person andnot to be confused with the very similarinsult Muppet. The clue is to whether it hasthe word �complete� before it !) Every suc-cessful camp has at least one Muppet and it�sa rewarding part to play. It doesn�t comewith huge responsibilities but it is a hugerelief for a leader to know that they have aMuppet on their camp.

Talking of the Bonfire Bash we have theluxury this year of having someone elseorganise it for us. Our good friends KESCRGare running the event on the North Wiltsbranch of the Wilts and Berks. There is a fairpossibility that this section could receivefunding from the Big Lottery and make goodprogress so if you want to be in at the startof something big then this years BB could bea good move. Book now.

There has been just a bit of confusionregarding the Driver Authorisation renewalswe have sent out and we�re sorry if peoplegot a little confused, but it really is as simpleas it seems. There are two processes goingon here that aren�t actually really related.Your DA card has a renewal date on it andwhen this is due we write to you saying �arethese still valid?�.

Secondly, on behalf of our insurers, wenow have to check driving licences more

Digital tachographs

Just a reminder that if you need to towtrailers using the new vans you will need adigital tachograph card. As an additionalbenefit it removes the need to find a pento fill in those fiddly paper discs.

They are very easy to apply for � justring 0870 8501074 or log ontowww.dvla.gov.uk and ask for a drivercard. And our offer to reimburse the £40is still on the table, once you have gotyours just ring Head Office and we willsend you a claim form.

frequently than before. They have asked toensure that for any volunteer who is drivingon the road, we hold a copy of their licencethat has been checked within the last 12months. Because we have a lot of volunteerswho only drive for us every now and thenwe have introduced a system that means youcan get this licence check as and when re-quired. Providing your licence is clean youcan get a Clean Licence Declaration form offthe website, out of a Canal Camps flight caseor sent to you at any time. Get it signed by aLicence Authenticator, return it and you arecovered. So it is still your duty to ensure thatwe have a recently checked copy, and if youdrive for us regularly then it makes sense todo this regularly (for instance at the Nationalor BB), but if you are an occasional driverthen you can now do it as and when re-quired.

Now just to prove that we are alwaysappealing I�d like to end with two appeals:

Firstly we have encountered a bit of atechnical problem. The Canal Campsflightcase includes a digital camera. This isused for a variety of things � mainly record-ing exactly how something went togetherjust before we knock it down, but it is alsoused to supply quite a lot of the pictures weuse for publicity � you know the sort ofthing � happy smiling volunteers happy withtheir lot and enjoying the challenge of learn-ing new skills in a thrilling environment.Anyway the cameras are fine � no problemsat all with them, theproblem is thememory cards thatthey use. Once a cardis full it needs to beposted to Head Officeso we can select thegood photos and thenreturn it to whichevercamp the camera isnext due on. Whatwith the odd one thatgot lost in the post,the one that died inservice and the desirefor ever bigger pictureformats* we havefound that we arerunning a little low onthese cards. And theyseem to have disap-peared from mostsuppliers (obsolete

apparently!). So if anyone out there hasupgraded their own camera and found them-selves with a Smart Media card or two leftover then we would could find a good homefor them.

Secondly the The Waterways Trust areabout to launch a £100,000 appeal to finishoff the Droitwich Canals. Although the con-tractors are now working on a lot of it thereis still a funding gap of £100k needed for theBarge Lock. If you know the Droitwich at allyou will realise that without finishing theBarge lock half the benefits of restoring therest of it will be lost. Time is rather pressingbecause we are due to supply the volunteerlabour to use this funding next summer. Sowe are going to support this appeal over thenext 12 months or so. More in the nextNavvies but we are appealing for anyonewho can help co-ordinate our efforts orcome up with some suitably high profileideas.

If any of the above stirs your interestthen please contact me and hopefully I�llpoint you in the right direction.

Hugs and KissesMKP

[email protected]

* And if you doubt the need for everbigger formats then you should have seenthe size of the publicity shots we used at theOutdoor Show ! � never thought we wouldever blow Bungle up that big !

For your eyes only

There have been a couple of minor incidents on Camps this sum-mer both involving peoples eyes.

The first was a simple mistake: a volunteer had been wear-ing their Personal Protection Equipment correctly while workingon preparing a wall for repointing. But they then got up to go fora brew and took their goggles off. Unfortunately the person nextto them had not stopped chipping and a lump of old mortarended up in the first volunteer�s eye. Two lessons to be learnthere: (1) PPE is for protection from other peoples work as well asyour own and (2) when working remember it is not only yourselfthat your actions affect.

Secondly a volunteer spent all day working with lime mortar.He wore all the correct PPE until he left site. Two hours later hewas in the shower and whilst washing his face dislodged a splashof lime mortar from his hair into his eye resulting in a trip tocasualty! While this really does seem to be a one in a millionevent it does show that even with PPE there is a risk from work-ing with lime mortar, that splashes do need to be attended to, andthat even when we have left site risks remain.

What�s next?As I was going to St Ives...

It doesn�t all come to a halt justbecause the main summer camps

programme�s ended. Here�swhat we�re up to between

now and New Year...

First, lets hear from the leader of this summer�s final camp...

The Inland Waterways Association�s National Festival this year is being held on the fieldsnear St Ives, Huntingdonshire. I am leading the WRG Site Services Camp, my assistant isPaul Shaw and the cooks are Jude Palmer and Alice Bayston. We will be using the samesystem of working as last year, i.e. working in teams. For those who are wondering what thisNational Festival is, or would like to know more...

Imagine a very large field or two with a river or canal flowing alongside�Some nutter drives a large artic lorry onto said field. Then suddenly people appear

from the boats that have been arriving over the last few days. The artic trailer is left, as thecab unit drives off! This trailer is called the Tardis, for reasons that will become apparentlater. A couple of large lorries appear and unload various items of kit, such as what makesthe National so fun-packed... the security fencing! Also arriving will be a couple of peoplewho will set up camper vans, caravans etc. Plant will arrive - no, not roses and pansies etcbut forklift trucks, tractors with trailers etc.

Some of these people who have turned up will start erecting the fencing and others willopen the back doors of the Tardis and start unloading stuff. After a short time you suddenlysee why it�s called the Tardis, as the contents spill out onto the field.

After the first weekend the Tardis will be in astate to be used by the Quarter Master (this year it�s�Tractor John� Baylis), the security fence will be uparound the Tardis making a compound with gate etcand possibly if they have worked hard enough,then what will become the WRG accommodationcompound will be completed or nearly so.

Once the Tardis is ready for use and the QM inposition - normally sat on a chair with a cup of teain his hand - you will start to see people going offin all directions, with these single wheel bikes (wellthat is what they look like), they don�t ride them,they push them along the field and then at setspaces, they put marks on the grass. The WRGcompound will be marked out, more people will beturning up, on the river more boats will be arriving.People will be seen laying out plastic pipes forwater, then when some portacabins are delivered,they will be connected to the water pipes and thenfolks will go along digging the pipes into theground. Next will come the guys carrying cablesand blue junction boxes. These blue boxes willseem to multiply, and black cable will be laid outconnected to the cabins and dug into the ground alongside the water pipe.

By the end of the first week, the Marquees have arrived and been put up, securityfencing should all be up around the festival site. At the weekend, yours truly will turn upwith his caravan and put it in its space, Paul the assistant leader will turn up. Some WRGvolunteers will turn up over the weekend (most of the volunteers who�ve been doing thework so far being IWA Festivals bods), but in the main most WRG volunteers will turn up onthe Monday the official start day of the camp.

Fencing is fun - really!

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What�s next?... I met a Moose with 700 jobs to be done by FridayMonday is a case of showing people around the WRG compound and the festival site,

then before scoff, we have the first part of the Health & safety talk for WRG, followed afterscoff by the full Health & Safety intro for everyone on site.

Tuesday onwards we�ll be hard at work: tables & chairs need to be put into marquees,in the food court areas, fire extinguishers need to be put out, 1001 signs need to be placedaround site, any holes need filling, banners need putting on the marquees. A large craneand lots of boats will come in on lorries, these will need to be unloaded and placed wherecommercial office think they have a space for them. More skips will have arrived, severalvery large lorries will turn up and the fork lift will be unloading boat engines that are in ametal cradle, these will go on display. A very important truck or two will turn up: the beerwagons. They will set up the bar ready for Thursday night and the boaters quiz.

Sounds so easy when you write down like this but this will keep us occupied for therest of the week until Friday morning, when traders start to turn up wanting someone to pulla trolley to move their trade kit from their car, need tables and chairs, and their trailers mightneed moving by hand. Pay booths will be put into place and moved several times, they endup back where they started and everybody is happy.

Saturday will arrive. What you can see at 9:55hrs, hopefully if the weather is fine, is along stream of people anxiously waiting to get through the pay booths.

For the next three days there will be odd jobs around the site. Last year we picked up200 odd jobs.

Monday evening 5:00pm, the site closes for the last time. All hell is let loose on site, allthe traders want to come on site now so they can pack up, all the tables, chairs and fireextinguishers are to be collected from all stalls and marquees. The traders with trailers willbe ready to leave very quickly, and anxious to get off site.

Monday evening by 8:00pm WRGies might be sat down eating their scoff. Tuesday thesite is stripped of basically everything, from signs to fencing to banners etc. Tuesday eveningwill be the WRG end of camp party. The theme will be Beach party. Planning is still in theplanning stage (as planning usually is!) but there could be beer and food, plus some of theother people who are not WRGies will be there - but everyone who�s been involved in thefestival will be most welcome to the party. Wednesday we continue to clear the site. TheMarquees will probably be gone by the end of Wednesday, the boats that were craned ontothe ground should have gone. By Thursday everything should be gone including us.

If you have stayed on, by Friday evening if you look across this field or two all youshould see is a river that perhaps will still have some boats on it, but the fields should beclear of everything including any rubbish etc.

That is the very idyllic way the festival is done: takes two weeks to set up and one totake down. But lots of planning goes into each festival - I have been going to the meetingsfor St Ives since October 2006.

�What is the point?� you may ask. Well there are lots of points. Firstly the Nationalhopefully will make money which will go into the IWA pot that (among other things) helps topay for restoration work that WRG undertakes. Secondly, it�s a way of making the local folkwho don�t appreciate their waterways know what they have on their door step.

I can already hear some of you folks who regularly attended the National and haveread this saying �no mention of car parking�, �where is WOW?�, �What about the LavenderBoat?� You will have to come and find out. Book on through Head Office as the preferredmethod. But if you don�t, please do either call or email me.

Dave �Moose� Hearnden07961 922153, [email protected]

What�s next?Autumn and Christmas camps and weekend digsAutumn Camp on the Chard Canal: October 20-27

The what canal? The ChardCanal - surely you must haveheard of it! Well, just in caseyou haven�t, it was a not-terribly-successful waterwaythat linked the town of Chardin Somerset to the Bridgwater& Taunton Canal not far east ofTaunton. Built for small 26ft by6ft 6in tub-boats, it was nota-ble for its four inclined planeboat lifts, its three tunnels, andthe fact that it was insolvent forpretty much its entire 25-yearworking life. But the leastsuccessful canals are often theones that go through the finestscenery and the Chard is noexception. And while reopen-ing if it ever happens will be a very long way off, a start is being made on some initial resto-ration work near the north end. And we�re spending a week there in October. This is a nor-mal canal camp, so please book through Head Office or via the website as usual.

Bonfire Bash on the North Wilts Canal, November 3-4

This year our friends in KESCRG are leading the annual reunion weekend work party foreveryone from the canal camps, the regional groups and anyone else who wants to comealong and help make our biggest event of the year a success. The site is the North WiltsCanal - that�s the branch of the Wilts & Berks that runs north from Swindon to join the Cots-wold Canals at Cricklade. See page 44 for more details, then fill in the form opposite andsend it in!

London WRG / KESCRG / WRG SW Christmas dig, December 1-2

Good grief, Christmas already? �Fraid so. Time to start planning the first of the Christmascelebrations, the annual joint party weekend between London WRG, KESCRG, and WRGSouth West - but anybody is welcome to attend. I�m afraid we�re not sure exactly where thiswill be happening this year, but it will definitely be happening on December 1st and 2nd, andthere will be more details in the next Navvies and on the website as soon as we have them.

New Year Camp on the Grantham Canal, December 26 - January 1

As ever, the WRG year ends with a New Year Canal Camp, and this year for a change we�removing to the Grantham Canal, scene of some very successful summer camps in recentyears. In the next Navvies we hope to have details of the leaders, the accommodation andthe work. This is another �normal� camp, so book via Head Office or the website as usual.

The River Tone Aqueduct on the Chard Canal

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I would like to attend the 2007 WRG and KESCRG Bonfire Bash on theNorth Wilts Canal on November 3rd-4th

Forename: Surname:

Address:

email:

Phone:

Any special dietary requirements?

I require accommodation on Friday night / Saturday night / both nights

I enclose payment of £ (please make cheques payable to �WRG�) for food

(cost is £10 for the whole weekend, based on £2 for each meal.)

How will you be travelling to the Bonfire Bash?

Do you want to work with volunteers from one of this year�s Canal Camps or from oneof the regional groups? If so, which camp or group?

Do you suffer from any illness, such as epilepsy or diabetes, about which we shouldknow, or are you receiving treatment or under medical supervision for any conditionYES/NO If yes, please attach details on a covering letter.

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

Name: Phone:

Signed:

(parent�s signature also required if aged under 18):

Please send this form to:

Bonfire Bash Bookings, WRG, PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY


INASSOCIATION

WITH

Reunion Bonfire Bash 2007

Camp ReportsStarting with Lord Rolle�s Canal...

Leaders Judith and Natlay down a challengefor the title of �mostoriginal camp report

of the summer�

Camp 0702: Lord Rolle�s Canal

In the early 19th century Lord Rollebuilt a canal.

�Roll with it� was a song by pop groupOasis.

An oasis has lots of water - like thiscamp.

Water comes in many forms: Steam(�Tea Up!�) Water (�Fasten down the tarpau-lin!�) and Ice (cool beer).

Beer is a substance the lads drinkwhilst listening to music at gigs.

Local gigs involved local Adrian and hisLand Rover.

The Land Rover was also used tocarry us back from a tour along the line ofthe canal one evening.

Evenings were the times when every-one was grateful for the lush accommodationand handy showers.

Showers were frequent and some-times more like monsoons, and we all wish

the weather could have been a little hotter.A little otter called Tarka was the

subject of a famous book and film based onthe surrounding area.

One day a man came to film us atwork.

Work is something that happenedmost days on site, but not all.

Site was a tidal lock whose high tidewas a disappointment on day one, butscary by the end of the week.

A definite disappointment was theease at which the green vegetation buckledunder the pressure washer � too little time toplay!

Play was something we did on Tues-day whilst the wall was drying off undermasterfully tied down pieces of tarpaulin.

Drying off was something we did inthe Fish and Chip shop in Bideford after aleisurely long walk in the torrential rain, witha few of us being lucky enough to be in fullwaterproofs.

Yellow water-proofs were a bit of afashion accessory onsite amongst the gentle-men.

Fashion acces-sory of the week wasmodelled by Robert � abelt of red twine tomatch his rightwellington.

Twine was used tohold the safety fencing inplace as scaffolding wasreshuffled to keep upwith the fast pace ofwork.

Fast was some-thing that the cookerknew all about � twoblack loaves of garlicbread later and we wouldknow it too.

We also now knowthat a bucket with a holeThe work: repairing the walls of the tidal lock

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in the bottom will let the tide in, and out atinopportune moments�

Another inopportune moment wasseized as the van tried to leave site in ahurry, wheel spins taught Judith never topark on grass that looks dry before rain.

Dry is where our two DofEers, Hesterand Natasha, retreated each evening toprepare fabulous food.

Fabulous work also occurred on site;patching and pointing stonework done by all.

Pointing was something we did whilstlaughing as Natasha�s inability to stand onher own two feet became apparent.

Laughing was the basis of most ofAndy�s stories, �The more I laughed themore he hit me! And the more he hit me themore I laughed!� as tears rolled down hisface (No Andy�s were harmed in the restora-tion of this lock!)

Locks are found on the doors to ac-commodation, the garage and the kit trailer,and all require keys which are guaranteed tobe with someone else at the other end of site.

Quays are places where boats aremoored.

An old boat was moored upstream ofthe lock in very pretty surroundings.

Pretty surroundings included a saltmarsh, river Torridge, otters, herons, swansand sheep.

Sheep kept calling to �Naaaaaaaat� anda strange rumpus was heard in the accom-modation one night�.

Night time was spent in lovely beds �ahhh luxury.

Luxury is having home made biscuitsat tea break after days of having fruit!

Fruit floats when the tide comes in, asdo scaffolding boards.

Scaffolding boards kept us sevenfoot in the air � magic!

Magic is something that was happen-ing near the mixer as Dean produced loadafter load of mortar to varying specs.

Varying specs could be applied to thevolunteers who helped out this week as theycame from three walks of life � from theWRGies, the local canal society and theWings project, but all did a great deal torestore the canal.

Restoring the canal is well on itsway as we hand over to week two of ourwork here. Thanks to all the happy campersfor the amount of effort and fun you put intomaking this a great canal camp.

Judith & Nat

�Please can we stop work soon - the tide�s uplapping around my ankles!�

Below: enough food even for Rob

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Camp ReportsWeek Two on Lord Rolle�s Canal...Lord Rolle�s Canal Camp CC0704

...or welcome to a wet Devon.

This was the second week of camps at theSea Lock of Lord Rolle�s Canal for this year.

Leader Spencer Collins and Victoria haddriven from Trowbridge, and like others gotseriously delayed by an accident on the M5. Ittook me over six hours to travel from CroxleyGreen; Steve had similar problems by trying toavoid the jam by using the A38 -a bad deci-sion. The two others on the camp were ratherluckier: Robert, who was doing a few extradays, was already on the site, and Andycould walk to the site from his home - whichwould prove quite handy later in the week!

Spencer and Victoria had already donequite a lot of the shopping, and so time wasspent checking the kit trailer etc. After dinnerall of the formalities were dealt with, includinga site visit-just a short walk away.

Generally the work consisted of build-ing some more of the stone constructed lockchamber to a certain height in readiness forthe copers, and continuing with the pointing.Concrete would need to be mixed to fill themoulds. All plus the usual tasks of selecting/cutting stones for wall building and backfill etc.

The biggest obstacle for the week wasthe incessant driving rain. Two canopies had

been erected over the area where the stoneswere to be laid. Luckily the weather improvedslightly when we came to lay the copers.

Various evening activities were plannedthrough the week: one evening we drove toBideford and arranged for the van to bereturned to Landcross and so after a fewdrinks we walked back to base along the oldrailway line now called the �Tarka Trail�.

One afternoon Andy�s father, who ran adairy farm close by visited us on site toexplain that several of his cows had escapedfrom their field for pastures new and werenow several fields away; and so arrange-ments were made for later in the evening.After dinner, we met with Adrian and Hilary-who own the land and Sea Lock, for a walkpartly along the Tarka Trail, parts of whichwere built over the line of the canal. Severalparts of the canal, and in particular some of themajor structures are still in place. The van hadearlier been left at the Puffing Billy pub inreadiness for a short drive to Torrington forfish and chips. Next came what must be firstfor a Canal Camp. We met with Andy�sfather and several other people to help withdriving the cows along a busy main road andback to their proper field.

Another evening we went to Barnstapleto see Diehard 4 - best not viewed from thefront row on a wide screen!!

The accommodation: dead handy for the worksite, just visible on the right in the distance

John Hawkinsreports from

Tarka the Ottercountry in

deepest Devon

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�Next came what mustbe a first for a canalcamp. We helpeddrives some cowsalong a main road...�

Because of the heavy rain on Thursday,Spencer decided that we would stop work atlunchtime to give people a �free� afternoon.Some of us went to Appledore for a lookaround the very interesting Maritime Mu-seum, whilst there we started to make plansfor a river trip the next day. On return tosite the weather had improved so we continued work to prepare for Friday.

Friday dawned cloudy, but bright. Straight after breakfast it was off to Appledore tomeet with Barry Hughes for our river trip. The tide was almost fully in as we pushed awayfrom the shore. Barry pointed outall the sites to us. We moored for ashort time along the Bideford Quayso that the mast could be lowered-italso gave a good opportunity forVictoria to purchase some icecreams. Off under the old bridge,every arch is a different size andshape. Spencer was now steeringthe boat as we carried on upstreamand into the Sea Lock. The returnjourney was considerably quicker;but rather than getting wet with therain, some got soaked by the sprayfrom some choppy water. ThanksBarry for a good morning.

Back to site for lunch and somework before starting to sort some kit. And to finish the day with a superb mixed grill.

Saturday was the usual mix of kit sorting and the final clean around the accommodation.A lot of progress

was made with thestone work in SeaLock, and also remov-ing some of the largeamount silt that hasbuilt up over the years.

Thanks to Adrian,Hilary and Spencer -and to Victoria for thegreat food; so muchSunday dinner thatnobody could managepud until later in theevening�and to finish,�an in comment� �don�t forget theplates!!!!

John Hawkins

The canal: Rolle Aqueduct, now a road bridge

The work: rebuilding chamber walls on the sea lock

The evening entertainment: herding cattle!

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Camp reportsMontgomery Canal

In the Beginning...Today�s lesson is taken from The Book ofCamps, The Mont, verses June 23 to June30. The reading is by Steve �Bloody�Johnson.

And on the First Day...The Lord looked down upon the Mont withhis baleful eye. (The one in the middle!)

And he saw that it was in need of resto-ration. And so he spake unto Palmer thus,�Find thyself an accommodation and plumb itand wire it.� And Palmer went unto theMont, yea even unto Queens Head and foundan accommodation at the old mill thereof.

And the Lord said, �Provide there a pairof loos that the Children of WRG can donumber two by two.� And Palmer and Harrydid build the loos and also a kitchen and fourshowers and a sleeping loft. But lo! Every daydid start with a downward spiral (staircase).

And on the Second Day...Yea Harry did awake with a sinking feelingand so he went forth and bought unto him-self a sink and did drain it. And the Lordlooked upon the wiring and was pleased(and surprised!) and said: �Let there belights.� And lo! there were fairy lights alldown the staircase and the Lord saw that itlooked pretty.

And Palmer said, �Instruct the Childrenof WRG that they may know Health andSafety and the mixing of lime mortar andprovide unto them also a chemistry lessonthat they may know that lime mortar givethup its water and taketh unto itself carbondioxide.� And this was done and SUCS sawthat it was good.

And on the Third Day...The Lord brought forth a great deluge and it

rained and it rainedand it rained andthe rains fell likeunto tears fromheaven until verilythe country wasflooded yea evenunto Sheffield andDoncaster.

And Palmersaid, �Get theeunto site.� But theChildren of WRGsaid, �Not on thynelly,� and there wasmuch gnashing ofteeth and munchingof biscuits anddrinking of tea.And behold, Viv andBex did float forthon their air beds forit had rained evenunto the accommo-dation.

�And Palmer said �Instruct theChildren of WRG so that theymay know Health and Safety

and the mixing of Lime Mortar� .And this was done.�

�And the Children of WRG built unto themselves a wall�

Mik

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And on the Fourth Day...The Lord spake unto the Children of WRG,saying: �Get thee unto site for I have giventhee a sign and this sign shall be an archover the waters that it shall not rain with likeforce again. (Well not until next week�s campanyway.)

And the Children of WRG went forthunto the now not so dry section of the Montand found there an arch (of a bridge) betweenRedwith and Crickheath . And they did lookupon the bridge and saw that its wing wallswere not good. And they started to make arepair unto it. But lo! they were cursed forthey had forgotten half the brew kit.

And on the Fifth Day...There was a voice in the wilderness crying:�Where�s me jeans?� And the Children ofWRG did moan. And there was a wailing andgnashing of teeth but eventually the mixer didstart. And that day they made repair unto thewalls and laid concrete for footings and theLord did even provide unto them with bricks(but not of the right sort or colour!).

And thence did they go forth unto therestored section of the Mont whereupon theLord did calm the waters and provide untothem a trip on a horse boat. And they cameforth unto the city of Welshpool wherePalmer did feed the multitude with fish andchips. And again they were drawn upon thewaters of the canal almost unto Pant.

And on the Sixth Day...The children of WRG builtunto themselves a wall andit was three cubits high byone cubit wide by thirtycubits long. And Steve Leesof BW looked upon the walland said that it was good.

And also this day didBex try to rid herself of theevil weed but her tribulationswere many and her flesh wasweak and she did fall againinto temptation. (And againand again and again!)

And lo! That night thelight of the lord shone forthupon the Children of WRG asthey lay sleeping and theysaid, �Go to bed Adrian.�

And on the Seventh Day...Palmer and Harry went forth unto Redwithand they did gaze upon the pit of despair.And they came unto Llanymynech andPalmer said, �Lo! here is the fire.� And theysaid, �No, it is the other village that is onfire. Indeed, liar liar Pant�s on fire!� (Thosewho doubt the sincerity of the word of theLord should draw unto themselves a map ofthe Mont near the Welsh border.)

And fearing of another deluge theChildren of WRG did form a graven image ofthe rain god (or Alan Jervis as he is knownin those parts) and they did worship at hisshrine (or at least admired his patio) andthere upon a fiery altar did they sacrifice ofsausages and of kebabs and of vegetariancutlets also.

And on the Eighth Day...The Lord did cast out the Children of WRGfrom the accommodation and they werescattered far across the land. Lo! evenEmma the D-of-E�er and Vanessa the washingup fairy went home.

But yea! it is written that the Childrenof WRG shall labour mightily upon theMont from generation unto generation untilPalmer shall come again amongst themsaying, �Y�know, I think one more campshould do it.�

Here endeth the lesson.Steve Johnson

�And they were drawn upon the waters�

Mik

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Camp Reports...and the Mont againMont camp 0705: 30 June - 7 July

...or, as the chairman sleeps, Umbrella (ellaella eh eh in my pants pink sausages). SeeNo 1. single in the popular disc spinningcharts by Rihanna. [I�m not terribly familiarwith this ditty (they don�t often play it on Clas-sic FM) but I have my doubts as to whether itreally mentions pants or sausages. ...Ed]

Day 1 - Saturday

The Former Rain God Alan Jervis and Marlaspent 5 hours preparing the most wonderfulselection of curries for us to feast on. Manymany thanks for a truly delicious supper.

Later during the normal �get to know�everyone drinks in the local pub, Floodgatesproposed to Helen �Bush Baby�, and we�re stillwaiting for the answer. We didn�t need to doany work that day.

Day 2 - Sunday

Still waiting for the answer.The day started with the normal first

day shenanigans which involved returning tothe accommodation to collect the trailer tocollect a mixer (Mandy) to take to the site sowe could get a bit of stone wall training fromShropshire Union Canal Society.

Finally in the afternoon, we made it toour site � a stone canal bank wall by RedwithBridge that needed completely rebuildingafter removal of tree stumps - having hadsome education master classes on lime mor-tar and the laying of it. The first job in-volved lots of stone sorting - 6 categories:good face (small, medium and large); crappybackfill (small, medium and large).

Cliff hanger: will we finish rebuildingthe wall before the shed wall above it comesand joins us in the canal bed?

The evening enter-tainments included inflat-able canoeing, featuringMartin�s wet bum. Fol-lowed by an impromptupub quiz hosted by LongTall Helen, a veryclosely fought match:The Knights of theRound Table beat theSilly Buggers into 2nd

place by a mere 1 pointafter 50 questions (score:38 to 37).

Harry was enteredinto the marriage-to-Bush proposal race byMajor Rachel Parr whowasn�t even on the camp.A points system wasbrought into operation todecide between suitors.

Day 3 - Monday.

Before we could startwork we had the chal-Campers learn the art of stone walling from SUCS at Crickheath...

In which we build a stonewall, pretend we�re in Wales,

and Helen the assistant leaderwins a date in Droitwich

with Helen the cook

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lenge of unlocking the site tool container:how many people to open 1 padlock? An-swer: six. �Digger� is our hero.

Long Tall Helen almost scalded Sir Alan(of the Lines variety)�s leg.

And Wales ITV were on site interview-ing all the Welsh volunteers on the restora-tion of the canal. So we had to lie and pre-tend the worksite was in Wales.

Stephen Lees of BW fame went beyondthe call of duty � our toilets were full so heemptied them by hand (and bucket).

We went swimming in the evening andwere told off 6 times � sorry to the Flashcentre and their whistles. 2 x no diving (�dimdefisio�); 1 x out of control of descent of waterslide; 1 x blocking of rapid; 1 x no running.[Errr�. I make that five, Harry! �Ed]

Oh and we did some work: Wall re-building started (build a dry stone wallthen rebuild it with lime NL5 two-to-one-to-a-half mix)

And we had to load the van withcrushed limestone direct from the quarry

Alan Lines proposed to Bush and thenLong Tall did too. Bush confused.

Day 4 Tuesday

Wall continued apace.Steve�s Birthday (ella ella eh

eh etc). We produced outfits ofpopular culture fashioned from binbags and bling [see inside backcover for photo �Ed] and wedecorated accordingly.

We had a Blind date competi-tion to settle the question of Bush�shand in marriage - which Long Tallwon, and they will be going on adate on the Droitwich Canal.

The food was prepared ac-cordingly and the onion tartletsworked.

Day 5 - Wednesday

Wall almost finished: big stonesmoved from the coping stoneminefield - give me a lever and I�llmove the world.

Boat Trip at Llanymynech(with an interesting musical sound-track) and a trip around the historiclime kilns followed by a fish andchip supper then a wander over thePontythingy aqueduct.

Day 6 Thursday

Wall finished, and a small team spent the dayat Pryce�s Bridge fitting coping stones to thewall built by last week�s camp. Unfortunatelywe were unable to finish it in the time left sothe step down to the wall was made safe.

It turned out to be a very wet day, sowe went bowling and tried to get drunk.Unfortuately the staff at the bowling wereunable to assist in the serving of more than 0drinks. And Steve won.

Day 7 - Friday

We tidied Mike�s mess and our mess too.Our wall is completely finished and lookingvery groovy. Washed the kit and the vans(inside and out) in the rain. Went round toAJs for a barbie. Wrote this camp report at 2o�clock in the morning whilst rather drunk.Hope you can�t tell!

THE END

This camp was brought to you by the wordstiara and umbrella, the letter F and uncount-able numbers.

Harry Watts

...and put it into practice at Redwith

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CavalcadeReport from Little VeniceLittle Venice Canalway Cavalcade

Wow its over! This year was my thirdyear as the volunteer leader, and at the startof the planning stage that was what I was.But this changed during the year, when I wasasked to be the chairman of the Cavalcadecommittee.

Well now with the boat back on its homemooring, and with time to relax, I can daydream about when the move to LV started...

On Saturday we turned up atSawbridgeworth, to help crew a boat:WRGies who�ve been involved for a few yearsmight know Gary Sheerin: well we had cometo crew for him as he was very careless andlost a leg in a bike accident (didn�t lose all ofit just below the knee) back in October andwe were making sure he still went to Caval-cade. The other reason was his girlfriendKaren, who was the licencee for what wasgoing to be Karen�s Watering Hole. This wasa bar that had 10 real ales and four realciders. More of this later...

On Sunday we started the slow cruiseto Waltham Abbey: Gary�s boat Fox wascarrying over 1000 cans of gnats pee (sorry,lager) plus the soft drinks and crisps for thebar. Our boat Daisybob was carrying thetoot from the shed for Cavalcade, more tootfor Wow (�Wild over Waterways� for kids) plusthe flat pack bar, loads of room�. not! Poorlittle dogs almost lost their bed space.

On Monday we left Waltham Abbey andheaded for Tottenham Hale. Maria had to goback to work, so it was Karen, �Pegleg� andme. This was a very laid back cruise, but weknew we would have to move faster onTuesday to get into LV by the evening.

On Tuesday we left early: I would gofirst on Daisybob, arrive at a lock and startgetting it ready, whilst gung ho Gary wouldcharge at the lock, at the last minute slaminto reverse and it would look like Karenbeing flung off the front of Fox onto the locksteps. Between Karen and I we would get thelock ready, Gary again would charge in, bywhich time I had untied Daisybob and was

entering the lock. Quick climb up the lockladder and help Karen do the lock. Thisworked so well, by midday we were throughIslington Tunnel just as my phone beeped. Itwas Mike Harlock the dreaded �Site 1�: �Canyou go and pick up lights for the bar andEnts marquee?� Luckily, we had enough timeto pull over upsetting several fisherman onthe mooring bollards.

We arrived at Pirate Club whose boatPirate Viscount we were using as a sleepingboat. But first we had to remove the seatingand then add the mattresses. I took Vis-count down to Camden and turned it aroundwithout hitting anything, we breasted it upalongside Fox and then with Gary followingme set off to LV, arriving about 17.00.

I had to go to a meeting, during whichMartin phoned to say he was going to dropoff the London WRG kit I had asked for i.e.pots and pans, burco, first aid kit etc. Luckilythe meeting finished quickly (very goodwhen you are the chairman), and all this kitwas dropped into the Pirate boat.

On Wednesday morning, Gareth turnedup and introduced himself: he had emailedme to say he wanted to help, and the firstthing I could get him to do in good festivalfashion� was fencing. This had just turnedup and needed unloading and moving towhere the compound would be, only 17panels, one person gate and hinge.

Another person volunteered just bywalking up to me and saying the magicwords �can I help?� - John was press-gangedinto erecting the fence around the com-pound. John�s boat (Maggie May? he was stillwaiting for BW to say if the name was ok touse) was just behind us. The only other workdone on a slow day was boaters packs, only150. The nice job of going out to the pon-toon and giving it a good sweep and give thewillow tree on the island the obligatory hair-cut, so if someone was standing on thepontoon (say, playing in a Jazz band) youhad a chance of seeing them!

Thursday: was this going to start to bethe hectic day? The Marquees arrived and

Moose gives us an insightinto the huge amount of

work involved in runningthe excellent Canalway

Cavalcade rally in London

put up by contractors, Bungle arrived withthe PEST trailer (replacement for the PLT -Poxy Little Trailer), which carries fire extin-guishers, banners, market stalls etc. Bunglewent off again, to collect the generator.

In the mean time John, Barbara andMalcolm, on John�s boat went off to Camdento meet the boat Opportunity from theLaburnum Boat club, they had volunteered todeliver said boat. But nothing is that easy:we needed six market stalls to be collectedfrom Camden Market. Hence the reason thegallant three went off boating to meet themat Camden, collect the boat and then bringboat back with market stalls and with John�sboat. So simple.

While they went off on a jolly the restof us were trying to put banners up, andmaking the flat pack bar into a proper bar.Bungle reappeared with generator. Anotherlittle job we completed was to blank out thewindows in the bar, and to insert fence panelsto add some security to the bar area, plus wehad to set up the racks for the beer. Gary hadcleaned all the cooler pipes and coils etc theday before. The most important arrival todaywas that of two vans carrying the beer andcider. The first six ales were racked up to settle.

The trio arrived back safe and soundwith 2 boats and the market stalls.

Friday arrived a bit quick disturbing mysleep: basically we had to get as much doneas possible before the traders started toarrive and get in the way. The main jobswere signs, banners, fire extinguishers,tables and chairs put up ready for the boat-ers Fish and Chips and Quiz (another infa-mous quiz by the legendary Navvies Editor,Martin Ludgate). Also the �tardis� type toiletsturned up and were placed and made ready.Electrics continued with Bungle, Malcolm andwith help from Bob.

On Friday afternoon people startedasking questions and also Jerry - he from theCommercial Office - and I had to make acouple of quick decisions regarding the placingof a trader. Our main concern was not to blockthe Fire Brigade access if they needed to gounder the A40 flyover. The main problemwas the London Fire Brigade wanted to have astand and we had squeezed that in but meantwe had to move someone else...

Boaters were being shown to theirmoorings, the traders were being shown totheir spaces. It was going so well, but then acall came for someone to use Lenny, a smalltug type work boat we had use of, to try and

swing the boats in the pool back into posi-tion as it was blowing a strong wind andthey had trouble bringing in more boats intothe pool. I looked around for someone todrive Lenny, but everyone was doing otherthings so I had to go and grab Lenny andgive them a hand.

Gary tapped the ales, ready for the firstcustomer, inserting the cooler coils andputting the cooler blankets on the barrels,and moved the lager, soft drinks, crisps etcfrom the boat putting them ready in the bar.Sorting the bar area out did take a lot oftime, but I think it was worth the effort.

Boaters� Fish and Chips followed by thequiz started almost on time and the baropened on time. (Phew!) The bar was staffedby volunteers all weekend: Karen, as thelicencee, and then Karen�s son and friend,Sam and Toby (two very old WRGies) plus�Geezer Chris� Rowell and Tay.

The end of the evening arrived, weclosed the bar and did a quick tidy up oftables and chairs.

Saturday Morning started early on sitebefore 07:00hrs. We the had PEST Trailertaken to the ramp on the south towpath somarket stalls could be taken out and erectedbefore the rest of the traders turned up.When they did turn up we had to start issu-ing tables, chairs etc. People started litterpicking and cleaning the site.

Come 10:00 the site was opened to thepublic... well actually it�s a public site so youhave the public walking around all the time.

The day continued with odd calls about

Moose at the tiller of �Lenny�M

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bits and pieces. I spoke to the Chief FireOfficer who was helping to man the Fire Bri-gade info Marquee. Had a quick look aroundsite with him and found out that the Fire Bri-gade would not take their fire engines underthe A40 flyover. So all the worry trying to sitetraders was a bit needless? Doh!

During the day a merry band wentaround the site continuously litter pickingand cleaning tables etc.

Come the end of the evening weclosed the bar and did another quick tidy upof tables and chairs.

Sunday Morning again started early: weneeded to get on site and clean up, traderswould be coming in to stock up, then thevehicles would be leaving again, and the icecream van would need guiding to its pitch.

Oh and something I didn�t mention: forevery day a vehicle movement sheet had tobe sent to Paddington Central control room.The spreadsheet listed the trader�s vehicle,what time it was due, what time it wouldleave, where it was going on site etc. Thisspreadsheet which had been put togetherbefore the event had to be updated everynight before we went to bed! All vehicles hadto be escorted around the site to their pitchand then back off when they had finished.Then we had to man the traders� car parkcertain hours of the day. So joyful!

Site opened, bar opened and the trad-ers started trading. Customers coming in buta little slower. Litter pickers went out.

And once again, at the end of theevening we closed the bar and did a quicktidy up of tables and chairs.

Monday morning: getting a bitknackered now, too many early morningsand late finishes. Weather was not good: itwas raining as site opened, bar opened andthe traders started trading very slowly.

Today being the last day the site closedat 18:00hrs, then came the rush of traderswanting to get their vehicles on site and topack away their stand and to leave as quicklyas possible. All of the market stalls had to betaken apart and taken down to PEST, all thefire extinguishers, tables and chairs had to betaken off the traders so they can�t disappear!

Tuesday morning: again an early startas the marquee people arrived to take thetents down and take the tables and chairsaway. So the bar had to be hastily removedand put back into flat pack, and the barrelsemptied (most already empty anyway). Thefencing used in the bar had to go back to our

compound. Barrel racking was cleaned andpacked, and the coolers emptied andwashed. PEST was packed and was ready togo. Bungle and Malcolm agreed to take LadyMildmay and Opportunity back with the stallsto be dumped at Camden Market and thenthe two boats taken to Laburnum Boat cluband then return by tube back to site. Johntook his boat and followed them to CamdenMarket, helped to unload market stalls andthen came back through the pool and re-sumed his cruise going the other direction.

Crew people came and collected Belfastwhich had been one of the accommodationboats and the cook�s boat. PEST was col-lected in the afternoon, and the radios werepacked and taken to Paddington Centralwhere they would be collected from. Withsite all cleared away and tidy, it was the timeto empty everything out of the compoundinto Fox or Daisybob.

Again on Daisybob we had just enoughspace for the dogs to sleep; Fox was evenworse, as the beer stands not been collectedwith the coolers so that all had to go insidesomewhere.

The fencing was stacked against thewall ready for the company to collect in themorning something like 05:30hrs!!

Wednesday morning it had already beencollrected and we headed off on Fox, Daisyboband Pirate Viscount. First stop was to dropViscount off. Wednesday evening we decided tokeep pushing on and got to Waltham Abbey.Maria got her dad to come and collect her soshe could get the car, took Mike H to the trainstation and brought back fish and chips, whichwas eaten with a beer or two.

Thursday was a very slow day: wewaited for Karen to arrive, left WalthamAbbey and headed up River to our moorings.We three went for a meal out, much neededas it had rained all day. Gary and extra crewset off Friday for home, arriving at theirmoorings in the evening, after a leisurelycruise stopping at a pub I believe.

I must thank all those who helped,Adam, Tay, John, Gareth, Chris Rowell, Chris(Karen�s son) and mate, Bob, David Miller,Nigel and Chris Lee, Paul, Gary, Karen, Rick,Sam, Toby, Bungle, Malcolm, Barbara whohad the task of being cook and who cleanedBelfast up so well it was actually mentionedso she could be thanked. And of courseMike H and Maria. Finally, thanks to LondonWRG for the use of their kit.

Dave �Moose� Hearnden

Trailboat rallyGrantham-under-water

Grantham on Wateror �I AM the Festival Controller!�

It started for me, when Maria (of Moose &Maria) asked what I was doing over the lateMay bank holiday weekend. �Off toWendover� was my reply, being the idea atthe time. �...because help is needed on theCrew front for the Grantham� was the plea.

I bore this in mind as the days went by.Then, having still not booked Wendovercamp site and it being perilously close, Ireceived an email outlining the dire circum-stance of the Grantham on Water IWA Na-tional Trailboat Festival site crew. I took aprint to IWA Middlesex Branch Committeemeeting on the week of the event and passedit round. That�s when it started for Robin, ashe was the only person free that weekendand able to consider joining.

Robin: �I was shown a copy of an e-mail after our IWA Middlesex Branch Com-mittee meeting on the Tuesday evening,appealing for helpers. �Grantham on Water�was in crisis and there were only 3 people onthe site crew team at that point in time. MKP,Moose and Rachel Banyard. Extra hands wereurgently needed to retrieve the situation. Theshow must go on! So on the Wednesdaynight, Mike Harlock and myself set off to-gether to travel North from London up toGrantham, arriving at Woolsthorpe villagehall at twenty past midnight.�

On arrival, we were welcomed withTea, Coffee or Beer by the other seven or sopeople, Moose said �get your beds sorted�

then we heard about the usual Festival sitesetting-up jobs. The generator needed to bepositioned, cables laid, fencing put uparound it plus banners and signs to go uparound the site. Who is to do it all? Well,over the weekend, other WRGies came andwent making a maximum of 10 and mini-mum of 5 people available. There was alogistical problem of three separate loca-tions: the Festival site, the Slipway and theCar Park. We had two vans, three trailers,some private cars and just a few drivers!

Thursday dawned and we started offwell enough in warm and sunny weather upto about Saturday afternoon, when it turnedvery wet and quite cold for the rest of theweekend, raining all Saturday night andonwards through Sunday and Monday.

Two miles from the Festival site, wewere responsible for supervising the slipwayat Denton Wharf for the trailed boats to beslipped in before the event and out againafterwards. We were in possession of the BWkeys to the padlock and post lock; clearlynothing was to move without our authorityand presence! We were working in accord-ance with BW rules, which included no more

Despite the wet weather the public turned out in force to see boats on the Grantham Canal

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than 2 vehicles and trailers either on the lanedown to the slipway or at the slipway itself.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturdayboats were arriving to be slipped in. Theyhad come from as far away as Tiverton inDevon, Taunton in Somerset, Medway (Kent)and Henley-on-Thames (Oxon). One, a tripboat, had come all the way down from Edin-burgh. The boat with the shortest journeyhad only come from Grantham.

Boaters would ring the WRG Kit A mobilewhen they were approx 30 minutes out: tocheck that the slipway was available and giveus time to get there to let them in. We�d waitthere a while in case another call came butgenerally after a couple of boats, it was back toAccommodation for a bite to eat, the FestivalSite for other tasks or the Park & Ride Car Parkto relieve someone else!

As the event drew near boat arrivalswere almost continuous, such that a laybywe had �created� to the side of the publicroad with signposts was in use with one ofus located at the top end of the lane to su-pervise it and prevent more than two unitsbeing down the slipway approach or on theturning area at one time.

Altogether, there were 19 Wildernessboats, 6 cruisers, 2 electric powered, 3 steampowered and 1 inflatable plus 4 other as-sorted craft. There was also a modernnarrowboat from Blisworth Tunnel boats thathad been craned in at Denton slipway sepa-rately from our operation. This was alsoused as a trip boat.

At the Park and Ride Car Park, twoRoutemaster buses were being used for thetrips to the festival which was something over1 mile away. These had only recently comefrom public service and were still displayingRoute 36, Paddington and Victoria on theirblinds! By the time the weather had turned, thecar park was an inhospitable place, exposed onthe hillside near Belvoir Castle with no shelter.This gave one of the new WRG vans a veryhigh profile as a facilities unit, being warm anddry; both WRG and Grantham Canal Trustvolunteers were extremely grateful for some-where to take a break between ten-minuteshifts. Without the van, all the car parkingtickets and boxes of programmes would havebeen sodden in seconds. Despite the condi-tions, virtually all the public arrived in goodspirits, parked their cars and happily sploshedtheir way to the bus stop. This included theWRG team; since now the van couldn�t bemoved, team changes were effected by bus!

Sunday morning, as tasks were beingallocated in the rain, MKP suggested weshould be the ones to �interview� the boatersabout a return schedule for the slipway. MikeH tried to get an IWA publicity golf sizeumbrella to protect �our customers� - well,alright, our notepad, from the rain. Not oneto be found! We were loaned a private oneso thank you very much.

There were also some bales of straw tocheck on (for the �trader� providing a dogracing track) since the other WRGies prob-ably had a bus to catch. Whilst down on theFestival site, something was brewing (apartfrom our tea by the kit trailer) along the linesof, say, traders looking for someone to oper-ate the mini pick-up truck to carry their stockto their pitches. I (Mike H) was asked by a�radio-bearing� festival person: were WRGdoing the task? Unfortunately, all ournumber were out on tasks. I suggestedperhaps one of the Trust�s people could dothat, and it might be best to ask the FestivalController? �I AM the Festival Controller�!�There might be a problem, then!�

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday boatswere leaving so for the Slipway Crew, as MKPseems to have labelled those �who know theboaters�, it was back to the slipway to super-vise the operation in reverse. This went quitesmoothly apart from the odd incident or twowith sticky equipment on trailers, the rain-loosened surface by the slipway, all over-come by boater�s co-operation with 4WDvehicles. There were almost seventy slipwaymovements, in and out, starting sometimesbefore 9am and the latest 9.30 in the evening.Some slipped in 20 minutes, some tookaround an hour. All were taken in our stride!

The final boats came out on the Tues-day as the weather brightened up a bit andby about 4pm we were back at the Accom-modation � to find it all ready to hand backbut our Leader, MKP, had the last trailer trip(of three) to make so the �Slipway Crew�were given the honour of shutting up shop!Rather tired but satisfied with a job com-pleted, we set off for home late afternoon.

Despite the bad weather, there were allgood comments from the general public, theboaters and the traders we spoke to.

Its to be hoped with such goodwillfrom all involved and the public attendingthe IWA 2007 National Trailboat Festival, thepublicity gained will assist in getting the total33 miles of the Grantham Canal re-opened.

Robin Bishop and Mike Harlock

ASHBY CANAL ASSOCRod Smith4 Ashby Road, SinopeCoalville LE67 3AYTel: 01530 833307

BARNSLEY, DEARNE &DOVE CANAL TRUSTJune Backhouse, 39 Hill St,Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8EN01226 743383www.bddct.org.uk

BCN SOCIETYJeff Barley, 17 SunnysideWalsall Wood, W Midlands01543 373284www.bcn-society.org.uk

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCAthina Beckett2 Staters PoundPennylandMilton Keynes MK1 5AX01908 661217email: [email protected]

BUGSWORTH BASIN (IWPS)Ian EdgarBrowside Fm, Mudhurst LaLyme Handley, Whaley BrHigh Peak SK23 7BT01663 732493email: [email protected]/iwps/index.htm

CALDON & UTTOXETERCANALS TRUSTJohn Rider1 Dainty Close, LeekST13 5PX01538 [email protected]

CHESTERFIELD CANALTRUSTMick Hodgetts31 Pottery LaChesterfield S41 9BH01246 620695chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk

CHICHESTER SHIP CTLinda Wilkinson, 1 Chidham LaChichester PO18 8TL01243 576701www.chichestercanal.co.uk

COTSWOLD CT4 Black Jack StCirencester GL7 2AA01285 [email protected]

DERBY & SANDIACRE CSDoug Flack23 Thoresby Crescent,Draycott, Derby DE72 3PH01332 874239www.derbycanal.org.uk

DIG DEEP INITIATIVEAlan Cavender10 Vicarage RdMaidenhead SL6 7DS01628 [email protected]

DORSET & SOMERSETCANAL SOCIETYDerrick Hunt43 Greenland MillsBradford on Avon BA15 1BL01225 [email protected]

DROITWICH CANALSTRUSTVaughan Welch29 Dice Pleck, NorthfieldBirmingham B31 3XW0121 477 [email protected]/dct/home.htm

EAST ANGLIANWATERWAYS ASSOCDavid Revill43 Kings RoadColtishall, NorfolkNR12 7DX01603 [email protected]

EREWASH CANAL P&DAMick Golds73 Sudbury AvenueLarklands, IlkestonDerbys DE7 5EANotts (0115) 9328042

FOXTON INCLINED PLANETRUSTc/o Mike BeechFoxton Canal MuseumMiddle LockGumley RoadFoxton, Market HarboroughLeicestershire LE16 7RA0116 279 [email protected]

GRAND WESTERNCANAL TRUSTDenis DoddWharf CottageNynehead, WellingtonSomerset TA21 0BU01823 661653

GRANTHAM CANALRESTORATION SOCIETYColin Bryan113 Hoe View RoadCropwell BishopNottingham NG12 3DJ01159 [email protected]

HEREFS & GLOUCS CTc/o The Wharf House, OverGloucester GL2 8DB01452 332900www.h-g-canal.org.uk

KESCRGEddie Jones�Altamount�, Coventry RoadFillongley, Coventry CV7 8EQ0845 226 [email protected]

LANCASTER CTPaul Shaw12 Malham CloseLancasterLA1 2SJ01524 [email protected]

LAPAL CANAL TRUST26 Loynells Road, RednalBirmingham B45 9NP01785 713862www.lapal.org

LICHFIELD & HATHERTONCANALS REST'N TRUSTSue WilliamsNorfolk House29 Hall Lane, HammerwichBurntwood WS7 0JP01543 671427 [email protected]

NEATH & TENNANTCANAL SOCIETYIan Milne16 Gower Road, Sketty,Swansea SA2 9BY01792 547902

Navvies DirectoryCanal society and WRG contacts

NWPGGraham Hawkes27 Lawrence Rd, TilehurstReading RG30 6BH0118 941 [email protected]

POCKLINGTON C.A.SPaul WaddingtonChurch House, Main St.Hemingborough, SelbyN. Yorks YO8 7QE01757 638027 (eves)01405 763985 (days)www.pocklington.gov.uk/PCAS

SALTISFORD CANALTRUSTBudbrooke RoadWarwick CV34 5RJ01926 490 [email protected],www.saltisfordcanal.co.uk

SCARS (SANKEY CANAL)Colin Greenall16 Bleak Hill Rd, EcclestonSt. Helens WA10 4RW01744 [email protected]

SHREWSBURY & NEWP�TCANALS TRUSTTam [email protected]

SHROPSHIRE UNION CSRichard Hall, 35 Tyrley CottsMarket Drayton TF9 2AH01630 [email protected]

SLEAFORD NAV TRUSTSteve Hayes10 Chelmer CloseN HykehamLincs LN8 8TH01522-689460email: [email protected]

SOMERSET COALCANAL SOCIETYBob Parnell, 34Wedgewood RoadTwerton, Bath BA2 1NX01225-428055rtjhomepages.users.btopenworld.com/CC2.html

RIVER STOUR TRUSTJohn Morris2 Stockton Close HadleighIpswich IP7 [email protected]

STRATFORD ON AVONCANAL SOCIETYRoger Hancock, 1 TylerStreet Stratford upon AvonCV37 6TY01789 [email protected]

SURREY & HANTSCANAL SOCPeter Redway, 1 RedwayCottagesSt. John's Lye, WokingGU21 1SL01483 [email protected]/society

SUSSEX OUSERESTORATION TRUSTPaul Morris, FarmcoteNettlesworth Lane, OldHeathfield, HeathfieldTN21 9AP01453 [email protected]

SWANSEA CANAL SOCClive Reed17 Smithfield Road,Pontardawe, Swansea,West Glam. SA8 4LA01792 830782

THAMES & MEDWAYCANAL ASSOCIATIONJohn Epton, 45 Vinson CLoOrpington BR6 0EQhomepage.ntlworld.com/john.epton/tmca

WENDOVER ARM TRUSTRoger Leishman, 7 Hall Pk,Berkhamsted HP4 2NU01442 874536www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk

WEY & ARUN CTThe Granary, Flitchfold FarmLoxwood, BillingshurstWest Sussex RH14 ORH01403 [email protected]

WILTS & BERKS CTGeorge Eycott36 Grange Court, Boundary RdNewbury RG14 7PH01635 [email protected]

WOODEN CANAL BOATSOCIETY3 Beauchamp StAshton under Lyne OL6 [email protected]

IWA IPSWICHColin TurnerCornerwaysElm LaneCopdockIpswichIP8 3ET01473-730586restoration@ipswich-iwa.co.ukwww.purbrook.demon.co.uk/iwa

WRG:GENERAL ENQUIRIES,CANAL CAMP BOOKINGSAND DRIVERAUTHORISATIONPO Box 114,RickmansworthWD3 1ZY01923 [email protected]

WRG NORTH WESTMalcolm Bridge3 Heather BankLittleboroughLancashire OL15 0JQ01706 [email protected]

WRG NW - ENQUIRIES/PAPERCHASESDavid McCarthyWoodstock,14 Crumpsall LaneManchesterM8 5FB0161-740 2179www.wrgnw.org.uk

Navvies DirectoryPlease send any updates to the editor

WRG BITM & 'NAVVIES'DIARYDavid Wedd7 Ringwood RoadBlackwaterCamberleySurrey GU17 0EY01252 [email protected]

LONDON WRGTim Lewis5 Herongate Road,WansteadLondon E12 5EJ07802 518094 [email protected]

LONDON WRG:ENQUIRIESLesley McFadyen(as per Martin Ludgatebelow)

WRG EAST MIDLANDSJohn Baylis (see below)

ESSEX WRGDave Dobbin130 Ashingdon RoadRochford, EssexSS4 1RR01702-544096email: [email protected]

WRG SOUTH WESTGavin Moor54 Kiln CloseCalvert, BuckinghamMK18 2FD07970 [email protected]

IWA/WRG STAMP BANKSteve & Mandy Morley33 Hambleton GroveEmerson valleyMilton Keynes MK4 2JS01908 [email protected]

CANAL CAMPS MOBILES(A) 07850 422156(B) 07850 422157

'NAVVIES' EDITORMartin Ludgate35 Silvester RdLondonSE22 9PB020 8693 32660777 947 8629 (mobile)[email protected]

'WRGWEAR' CLOTHINGHelen Gardner33 Victoria RoadNorthwichCW9 5RE07989 [email protected]

WRG FORESTRY TEAMGraham RobinsonSpringwellSpark BridgeUlverstonCumbria LA12 7ST01229 861317

WRG BOAT CLUBSadie Dean236 Station RdWhittleseyPeterboroughPE7 2HA01733 20450507748 186867 (mobile)[email protected]

WRG DIRECTORSCHAIRMANMike Palmer3 Finwood RoadRowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH01564 [email protected]

TREASURERRoger Day,5 Merton Road, SloughBerks SL1 1QW

WRG SECRETARYNeil Edwards,c/o IWA, PO Box 114Rickmansworth WD3 [email protected]

WRG PLANTMalcolm Bridge3 Heather BankLittleboroughLancashire OL15 [email protected] 378582

SITES GROUP &PUBLICITYJudith Palmer3 Finwood RoadRowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH01564 [email protected]

WRGPRINTJohn & Tess Hawkins4 Links Way, Croxley GrnRickmansworth WD3 3RQ01923 [email protected]

IWA CHAIRMANJohn Fletcherc/o IWA, PO Box 114Rickmansworth WD3 [email protected]

TRANSPORT MANAGERPlease contact Mike Palmer(see above) until furthernotice

WRG LOGISTICSJen Leigh45 Glebe RoadSheffield S10 [email protected]

OTHER DIRECTORSGeorge Eycott36 Grange Court, Boundary RdNewbury RG14 7PH01635 [email protected]

Mick Beattie22 Bridgewater AveAnchorsholmeBlackpoolFY5 3NA01253 864034

Adrian Fry89 The CausewayQuedgeleyGloucesterGL2 4LD07976 [email protected]

Spencer CollinsThe Boatyard,5 Hammond WayTrowbridge BA14 8RS07976 [email protected]

Chris Davey / Helen Davey6 Partridge CtRound Close RdAdderburyBanburyOX17 3EP01295 [email protected]

Jonathan Smith23 HardingsChalgroveOxfordOX44 7TJ01865 891 [email protected]

John Baylis,215 Clipstone Rd WestForest TownMansfieldNotts NG19 0HJ01623 633895

Rick Barnes103 Boakes DriveStonehouseGloucestershireGL10 3QW07976 [email protected]

Please send updates to Diary compiler: Dave Wedd, 7 Ringwood Rd, Blackwater,

Navvies diaryYour guide to all the forthcoming work partiesAug 11-18 Camp 0716 Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation - Canal Camp: Baylham Lock. Leaders:

Aug 11-18 Camp 0717 Wilts & Berks Canal Camp: Moved to Steppingstones Lane Bridge on

Aug 18 Sat wrgNW �Paper Chase� waste paper collection

Aug 21-30 Camp 0718 IWA National Festival Camp: St Ives in Cambridgeshire on the River Great

Aug 25-27 KESCRG National Festival Bhaji stall

Sep 1/2 Essex WRG Lichfield & Hatherton Canals

Sep 1 Sat Navvies Press date for issue 225

Sep 8/9 London WRG Mon & Brec Canal: Dig Deep project

Sep 8/9 NWPG Wilts & Berks Canal: Dig Deep project

Sep 15/16 wrgBITM Grantham Canal

Sep 15/16 KESCRG Lichfield Canal: Dig Deep project

Sep 16 Sun WRG Committee & Board Meetings

Sep 22/23 wrgNW Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal: Nob End

Sep 29/30 London WRG Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation

Sep 29/30 wrgSW Hereford & Gloucester Canal: Aylestone (NOTE NEW DATE moved from S

Sep 29 Sat wrgNW �Paper Chase� waste paper collection

Oct 6/7 KESCRG Wendover Arm

Oct 6/7 Essex WRG Cotswold Canals

Oct 6/7 wrgNW To be arranged, possibly Montgomery Canal?

Oct 20/21 wrgBITM Wey & Arun Canal

Oct 20/21 London WRG Cotswold Canals: Joint dig with WRG South West

Oct 20/21 wrgSW Cotswold Canals: Joint dig with London WRG

Nov 1 Thu Navvies Press date for issue 226: including Canal Camps brochure

Nov 3/4 WRG Bonfire Bash - North Wilts Canal: led by KESCRG to mark their 30th anniv

Nov 3/4 KESCRG WRG Reunion Bonfire Bash and KESCRG 30th Birthday party

Nov 3/4 NWPG Wendover Arm

Nov 3/4 wrgSW Bonfire Bash

Nov 3/4 Essex WRG Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation

Nov 3/4 London WRG Bonfire Bash

Nov 3 Sat WRG Committee & Board Meetings: on Saturday at the Bonfire Bash

Nov 10 Sat wrgNW �Paper Chase� waste paper collection

Nov 17/18 wrgBITM To be arranged

Canal Camps cost £42 per week unless otherwise stated. Bookingsfor WRG Canal Camps (those identified by a camp number e.g.

'Camp 0716') should go to WRG Canal Camps, PO Box 114,Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY. Tel: 01923 711114.

Email: [email protected]

Camberley, Surrey GU17 0EY. Tel 01252 874437. email: [email protected].

Liz Wilson and Chris Wicks [email protected]

n the Wilts & Berks from Sleaford [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179

t Ouse. Leaders: Dave �Moose� Hearnden and Paul Shaw. Cost: £54 [email protected]

Eddie Jones 0845-226-8589 [email protected]

John Gale 01376-334896 [email protected]

Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]

Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]

Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]


Mike Palmer 01564-785293 [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]


Sep 15/16) Martin Danks 01432-344488




David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]



Rick Barnes 07976-748345 [email protected]

Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]

versary. See p44 for details and p9 for booking form [email protected]


Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]



Mike Palmer 01564-785293 [email protected]



Canal Societies� regular monthly orweekly working parties

Please send amendments to DaveWedd (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 01246-620695Every Saturday DCT Droitwich Canal Jon Axe 0121-608 0296Last Sunday of month EAWA N Walsham & Dilham David Revill 01603-7386484th Sunday of month ECPDA Langley Mill Michael Golds 0115-932-8042Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane Mike 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 Paul Shaw 01524-356851st, 2nd, 4th Sun + 3rd Sat LHCRT Lichfield Sue Williams 01543-6714273rd 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 01948-880723Every Tuesday morning TMCA Brian Macnish 01732-823725Every 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 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' socials(please phone to confirm before

turning up)London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11 days beforeeach dig. Usually at 'Star Tavern', Belgrave MewsWest, London. Tim Lewis 07802-518094NWPG: 9:00pm on 3rd Tue of month at the'Hope Tap', West end of Friar St. Reading.Graham Hawkes 0118 941 0586

Navvies diary

Lettersto the editor

Dear MartinCould I just take this opportunity to say an enormous THANK YOU to all the people

who made the training weekend work this year. As always, the instructors were fabulous,spending hours giving high quality training to numerous volunteers, often while standingout in the pouring rain with which we were blessed. The team included: Fast Eddie, Harry,Bungle, Mick, Daddy Cool, Martin, Rachael, Just Jen, Adrian, Spence, Ian, Ed, Mike, Jude aswell as Phil Penn and Dave Green who very kindly gave us their professional skills free ofcharge and in their own time. I am also very grateful to the Saltisford Trust who generouslyloaned us their site and offices and were incredibly patient with the large number of us thatkept popping up all over the place. Thank you all so much.

Big thanks to Mitch and her assistants such as Harri T for providing us with a gor-geous feast on Saturday night and keeping us well fed throughout the weekend. Mitchhad the added challenge of having no kitchen to speak of in the hall and did an out-standing job with what we hadbrought from the kits.

Finally a huge thanks toBrian, Mike and Jude, Harry, Bun-gle, Peter Magee, Jen and Rachel,who spent lots of time organisingthings locally, fetching kits, plantand other useful bits and ensuringeverything we needed was in theright place. Many of them drovelong distances (especially Bungle) tomake this happen and their dedica-tion to the organisation is invalu-able.

I hope I haven�t missed any-one � but just in case, thank you all!

Keep smiling!Ali �Womble� Bottomley

Dear MartinThe problem of disappearing moorings mentioned by Sue Burchett on page 17 of issue

223, is neatly solved by Roger Leisham on page25, when he explains how to get 50m ofmoorings between metre mark 4250 and metre mark 4275! Twice as much boat in thesame place should mean no reduction in linear moorings. Or is there a misprint?

David GibsonGot me bang to rights there, I�m afraid. Yes, there was a misprint. ...Ed

Dear MartinI enjoyed Navvies (as usual) particularly �Backfill� and the item on Prescott lock. I have

a proposal to save the cost of a �giant statue of DEFRA minister Barry Gardiner.....� The firstparagraph of the item tells us the Scots have used horses� heads at the locks on the Forthand Clyde. It would seem logical to infer that the other end of the horse is still available toMinister Gardiner at Prescott Lock

RegardsAndrew Harris

On the Training Weekend, fittinga quart into a pint pot on theWendover, and the link betweenthe Waterways Minister and ahorse�s rear end...

�And next year we�ll teach you how to wash your socks�Womble in action at the Training Weekend

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Lettersto the editorDear Mr Ludgate

I�m dismayed that the Chichester Ship Canal Trust has a Special Resolution proposed atits August 2007 AGM to remove mention of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal (which in-cludes the derelict 9.5 mile stretch between Hunston on the Chichester Canal and Ford on theRiver Arun) from the Trust�s Objects Clause in its Memorandum of Association.

This controversial Resolution has been put forward for adoption at a time when manyTrust members will be away on holiday. I�m a member of the Trust because I support theaspiration (no matter how remote) of restoration of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal (es-pecially from Hunston to Ford) in addition to full re-opening of the part-restored 4 milenavigation between Chichester and Chichester Harbour. In view of the current successesbeing made by the Wey and Arun Canal Trust in restoring the Wey and Arun Canal [theeditor says that when he first became involved with the Wey and Arun in 1982, restorationwas viewed as a joke!] it seems particularly untimely for the Chichester Ship Canal Trust toabandon all ambition torestore London�s lostroute to the sea! Ibelieve that the relevantcouncil(s) have agreednot to build any furtheron the line of the canalfrom Ford to Hunston inthe past few years; andthe Sussex IndustrialArchaeological Societyhas been organisingguided walks alongsome of the route (asmall length of the canalis still in water).

I�m perplexed as tothe motives behind thisSpecial Resolution.Does a stated aim torestore the Portsmouthand Arundel Canal harmanyone? I�ve noticedthat the former line ofthe cut tends not to be pointed out to passengers by the commentator on the Trust�s tripboat, when the boat passes the old junction at Hunston. Do the Trust�s top brass see noattraction in aspiring to link up with the rest of the canal network, via the Wey and ArunCanal?

The Trust is focused on restoring through navigation from Chichester Basin (in the City)to Chichester Harbour, which is fine; but in doing so those at the helm of the Trust seem tobe steering it on an unnecessarily myopic course, thereby putting the Trust in danger ofobliterating its longer-term dreams.

Yours sincerelySimon Couzens

Would anyone from CSCT care to comnment? ..Ed

Portsmouth &Arundel Canaland connections

�In view of the current success inrestoring the Wey & Arun it

seems untimely for theChichester Ship Canal Trust to

abandon all ambition to restoreLondon�s lost route to the Sea�

ProgressBasingstoke Canal

Basingstoke Canal:

�New gates for old�

Under Ian Brown�s policy of concentratingthe BCA�s resources onto canal maintenance,the programme of lock gate replacement hascontinued, although not quite as plannedbecause of the discovery that the bottomgates of Lock 21 were in a seriously danger-ous condition. Gates originally destined forLock 3 were fortunately close enough in sizeto be able to be fitted to 21 instead.

The BCA is nowbuying gates from acompany at Liss inHampshire, whosemain business istimber framed build-ings. The oak usedcomes from Franceand looks to be ofbetter quality, withfewer shakes andsplits in it, than thelocal timber that wasused for the original�restoration� gates.The Liss gates arealso said to be a lotcheaper than thosethat were beingobtained from theRochdale Canal.

Actual installa-tion of the gates was done with the assist-ance of Rob Locatelli and Pinewood Services.Surrey & Hants Canal Society volunteers alsohelped at Lock 14, where the new gates hadfirst to be retrieved from their storage in theflash above Lock 15 in particularly nastyweather.

After they had been fitted, the dredgerwent up the flight in convoy with the Soci-ety�s new workboat and a tug pushing abarge, and dropped the old gates off at Lock28. It then went on up and cleared the bankslip that has been blocking the navigation

since last August. Further bits of spot dredg-ing in the cutting were done before BelfastGirl headed back to Woking for an appear-ance at the Bridge Barn rally. A couple ofother jobs were done and it is planned to useit to dredge the Hermitage flash.

Rob had to be called back with hiscrane barge for the emergency replacementof the lower gates of Lock 21. These werefound to be in such bad condition that thecrews of the few boats that were allowed topass through were required to stay on thebank whilst the boats were in the lock. The

flight is now openagain.

STOP PRESS:unfortunately since theabove was written,things have gone a littlebit awry on the lockgates front. First, thegates at Lock 3 devel-oped a crack so seriousthat it was deemedunsafe to operate, andas the gates destinedfor 3 had already beencut down for 21, a newset had to be rapidlyordered. And no soonerhad the workshopstarted making themthan a hireboat liftedoff the gates at Lock18, and a set of gates

heading for Lock 2 were diverted. Let�s hopethe gates at Lock 2 don�t fall apart just yet!

Elsewhere on the canal, the St. Johnsbackpump is now fully operational and thenext phase of the project to provide a reliablewater supply, the Brookwood pump. is inhand. Pipework will begin in 2008 when weplan to start at Brookwood, and WRG concret-ing and pipelaying skills would be appreciatedonce we start work on the project. Limitedvehicle access may involve tug and barge workfor movement of materials to site.

Pete Redway

New gates for Lock 21

Our regular roundup of progresson waterway projects across thecountry begins with a tale oftrials and tribulations of lockgate replacement in Surrey...

SH

CS

ProgressStowmarket and Lapal Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation

After almost 2 years of negotiations withboth the EnvironmentalAgency and the DistrictCouncil, a wildlife and anArchaeological survey, theIpswich Branch of IWA havefinally obtained DrainageConsent, Listed BuildingConsent and Planning Per-mission for Baylham Lock.

As a result of this theplanned WRG Canal Campfor 11-18 August has nowbeen confirmed and workhas already commencedconstructing a dam acrossthe navigation to make thework site water-free. Thiswill allow the upstreamretaining wing wall to becompletely rebuilt and thelock drained. Following thisthe lock will be cleaned andstructurally surveyed beforeany restoration work commences.

Brian Holt

Lapal Canal

�Going Over The Top�

The restoration of a small but significantlength of derelict canal in the West Midlandsand the prospects for a new marina to en-hance boating tourism in Birmingham haveboth moved closer to reality, according to aFeasibility Study launched on May 19.

The leading canal and engineeringconsultancy, Atkins, had been commissionedby the Lapal Canal Trust to take a fresh lookat the southern half of the Dudley No 2 Canalcurrently lying dormant between Selly Oakand Halesowen. In particular, they have consid-ered a range of issues for the Lapal Tunnelwhich lies derelict, partly collapsed, and partlyinfilled beneath the Woodgate Valley, requir-

ing total rebuilding or replacement. Weighing all the evidence and pros-

pects in the balance, the consultants arerecommending that the Tunnel should not berestored but an alternative route should beused to take the canal up and over the hill-side and into the valley instead. By thismeans the restoration will not only benefitthe boating community but will also includeall other types of canal users; walker, jogger,cyclist and fisherman.

A further benefit of rising up to thevalley floor is that itwould enable a ma-rina to be constructedin California (That�sright - it�s a suburb onthe edge of Birming-ham!) In part thiswould solve some ofthe problems gener-ated by the wastematerial that is buriedthere, while alsoproviding Birminghamwith additional moor-ings so desperatelyneeded to increase theattraction for theboating holidaymaker.Such a facility wouldalso provide additionalemployment in thelocality.

The Studyconcludes that this departure from theformer bypass route for which the canal wasfirst constructed, over 200 years ago, willgreatly enhance its attraction to the modernboating tourist and will also offer a range ofregeneration projects for the adjoiningcommunities. Therefore the Study concludesthat restoration of the 5.5 miles-long LapalCanal is entirely feasible and would offer awide range of social, environmental andeconomic benefits were it to proceed.

Speaking on behalf of the Trust, itsChairman Dr Peter Best said �The more youdelve into some of the detail of this proposalthe more excited you become for a projectwhich can now be undertaken in sensiblestages. No longer need we worry about theall-or-nothing costs of the tunnel but instead,we can schedule a series of length-by-lengthrestorations to be undertaken as and whenfunds allow. There are indeed exciting timesahead as we prepare to �go over the top�.�

Baylham Lock: work starts on camp 0716

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ProgressSussex Ouse and Mont

Sussex Ouse

Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust commencedwork again in May on Isfield Lock, after ourannual 6 month compulsary break due tolandowner restrictions. Our priority this yearis to remove intact the 50% remains of theoriginal bottom lock gates in order to use asauthentic patterns for construction ofreplacements,possibly through our annualwinter work interval. This done, we can thenproceed to excavate the chamber to enable afurther survey of the structure and determineremedial work required.

A visiting work group from KESCRG isjoining us over the weekend of 23/24 Juneto assist. [See p45-47 for a report of theKESCRG weekend ...Ed]

Paul MorrisMontgomery Canal:

Shropshire Union Canal Society

The May 2007 working party at Crickheathwas another three-day event over the bankholiday. Despite slightly lower numbers andweather worries good progress was made.On the Saturday a 23 tonne digger arrivedfrom the Gronwen/Redwith project andmade short work of the job of piling a 35metre section to take the foundations for thenew stone wall which visiting boats will moorup to sometime in 2009 (we hope). We hopeour own 3 tonne digger, which was workingalongside getting the canal bank ready forthe piles, has not acquired an inferioritycomplex! The team working on the wharfwall were pleased to hear that the trial sec-tion rebuilt last time had been given theofficial seal of approval and set to work onthis important part of the project.

The absence through illness of the ChiefLime Mortar Mixer could have posed a problembut understudies were soon found and by theend of the weekend were knocking up mixesso well that there could be some competition inthe starting line-up for the next event. Some oftheir success was down to the recommission-ing of an old diesel-powered mixer which

had been salvaged from the garage of a localsupporter and which, after a few hours oftinkering, sprang back to life and chuggedaway for the rest of the weekend producinggood-quality mixes with relative ease.

All in all it was another very successfuland enjoyable weekend, with impressiveresults to show for all the hard work. It wasgood to hear the favourable comments ofpassers-by on the towpath, including localswho had doubted whether they would ever seethis part of the Monty back in action. Let�s hopethat we can soon prove them wrong!

Conditions for the June work partywere hot and humid, and attendance wasvery respectable. The two tasks were thecontinuing rebuilding of the wharf wall andthe preparation of the foundations for thevisitor moorings. At close of play on Sundaythe north end of the wharf was up to fullheight and backfilled. Demolition of loosematerial in the centre section of the wall isnow finished enabling new construction to bebuilt on a foundation of original solid mate-rial. The mammoth task of cleaning thestone for re-use also continued.

The work on the visitor moorings in-volved placing and compacting hardcorebehind the line of piles as a base for con-crete. The major job was driving the anchorpiles and installing the tie bars to connectthem to the walings on the outside of thesheet piles. There were no expensive hi-techpile driving machines this time � just sledgehammers and a lot of effort. The task wascomplicated by the remaining roots of substan-tial trees and the hedge that had previouslyoccupied the site. These caused no end oftrouble, even for our 3 tonne digger. How-ever, we eventually prevailed and also man-aged to finish the shuttering for the concrete.

We often get into conversation withtowpath walkers during our work and areasked questions that range from the eruditeto the plain silly. However, this month�soffering � �What are you doing here apartfrom building a wall?� � must qualify forsome sort of a prize.

If you�re involved in a localcanal society and your canaldoesn�t already appear inthe Progress section, whynot send us an update?

ProgressWendover Arm

Wendover Arm

KESCRG joined us for the early May weekendwork party and were given the task of layingnew diverted footpaths and putting up safetyfencing at the two new footbridges under theguidance of our resident towpath expert,Brian Ing. They did an excellent job as canbe seen in the photograph. Many thanksKESCRG and Brian.

Chiltern Bridge was opened to thepublic on Sunday 27th May after final sandingof the timberwork and replacing two stepsthat had been smashed by vandals earlier inthe year, We had made arrangements toinstall temporary steps for the Festival week-end but the replacement oak steps from theContinent conveniently arrived on the Fridayso Ron Pittaway was able to install them intime. Many thanks to all who helped to com-plete these footbridges.

Although both footbridges are open tothe public, the paths over the dry bed cannotbe closed until Herts County Council pub-lishes the diversion orders, hopefully in thenear future so we can use the dry bed formechanical plant without having to protectthe public.

Over 150 metres of pipe capping (bury-ing the pipe in the canal bed that carried thewater supply through the dry length of canal)has now been completed and the slab forsealing the first manhole was installed andincorporated in the pipe capping at the Maywork party.

During the WRG/BITM July/Augustwork party the aim is to complete the newlining as far as possible although this islimited in length by the consolidation of thetipping on the offside; where it has not yetfully consolidated the final profiling prior tolaying the Bentomat cannot be completed.

On the Saturday (when it was still dryand sunny!) we were able to make a start oncutting Bentomat into the 20 and 4 metrelengths required for lining work but couldnot complete cutting as hoped because oftorrential rain.

We also completed 11 out of the 12sets of formwork required for casting thewedge shaped base to the hollow concreteblock lining. Weather permitting, the last setwill be completed at the July work party.

Now we have defined the specificationfor the lining, I can detail the method ofworking as follows:

Bulk excavation This is excavatingthe bed and sides of the existing bed toapproximately 300mm above final excavationlevel, i.e. finished bed level (117.72m abovesea level). Depending on the line of the 18�SGW pipe below it may be necessary to cutinto the towpath bank in order to leave thewidth of a road for plant between the pipecapping and the towpath bank. Plant used isan excavator and dumpers carting spoil to tipelsewhere.

Excavation for pipe capping This isexcavating a 2.1 metre wide trench to adepth of approximately 450mm below thebulk excavation level (117.25) central to theline of the pipe below. If the pipe is close tothe offside, this can mean cutting into theoffside bank in which case spoil is tipped toreplace the bank as soon as possible after thepipe capping is completed as time is requiredfor settlement prior to final profiling. Plantused is an excavator and dumpers cartingspoil to tip elsewhere.

Pipe capping Two lines of 150 x50mm timbers, one on each side of theexcavation with the inner faces 2m apart,with the tops at 117.40 level are set verticallyusing spare pieces of reinforcing rod to holdthe timbers in place. A 2m wide DPM (DampProof Membrane) is laid on the excavatedground between these timbers. 2.4 x 1.6msheets of reinforcing mesh (10mm rod in200mm squares) is laid on concrete spacerblocks to keep it 50mm above the DPM.150mm of C35 ready-mix concrete is thenpoured over the 2 metre width and screededoff to the 117.40 level set by the boards. TheDPM is laid to prevent the chalky groundbelow extracting moisture from the wetconcrete as this would weaken the strength

Roger Leishman describes what�sinvolved in rebuilding a canal built

through porous soil which neverheld water properly - and has an18� water pipe buried in its base

of the finished concrete. The ready-mixconcrete is transported from Little Tring bydumper. Placing the concrete with an excava-tor bucket directly from the dumpers makesthe spreading of the concrete much lesslabour intensive. The timbers are recoveredfor re-use once the concrete is set.

NB: Up to this point the operations canprogress as far as possible but must be at least20 metres ahead of the following operationswith the offside bank fully consolidated

Profiling Both banks are profiled tothe correct slope using the purpose madeprofile gauge and a spirit level. This requiresa 5t excavator (anything larger cannot oper-ate between the banks) and dumpers to cartthe spoil to tip elsewhere.

Bank Lining Strips of Bentomat 5mwide by 4m long are laid vertically down thebanks on both sides. The tops are foldedover a horizontal steel bar not less than350mm above summit water level (119.10 +0.35 = 119.450) and retained in positionwith steel anchor pins bent at right angles atthe top to hold the strips in position. Thesheets overlap 200mm and are sealed withBentonite granules.

Hollow block lining Specially madetimber formwork is laid on the bottom of theBentomat strips on the banks and securedwith steel pins for 20m along both sides ofthe level bed to retain the weight of thesloping concrete blocks. Ready-mix concretetransported from Little Tring by dumper or4:1 concrete mixed on site with 10 or 20mmall-in ballast is poured into the formwork andthe first row of hollow concrete blocks is laidon top with the hollows half filled with con-crete while the concrete in the formwork isstill wet. The hollow concrete blocks aretransported from Little Tring on a flat bedtracked dumper and discharged to wherethey are required using a timber chute toavoid unnecessary handling. A further 5rows of hollow concrete blocks are laid withstaggered joints and backfilled with welltamped or vibrated concrete but leaving thetop half of the hollows in the top row ofblocks empty for soil to fill in due course.

Bed lining The formwork is removedfrom the base of the hollow block lining anda 5m wide by 20m long strip of Bentomat islaid longitudinally along the bed of the canaloverlapping the previous length and thestrips down both banks by 200mm and alloverlaps sealed with Bentonite granules. The

joints across the bed are finally sealed with a500mm wide by 150mm thick strip of con-crete mainly to act as a strut between thebank linings and also to protect the jointagainst damage from future dredging. Finally300mm of spoil is placed over the 20mlength of bed using a tracked dumper mov-ing straight in and out of the bed to avoiddamage by swivelling the machine.

Bank spoil filling Further spoil isthen tipped on the bed and placed above thehollow concrete blocks using an 8t excavator,firstly to fill the cavities in the top row ofblocks and bed coir rolls on top of them andthen to cover the bank above the blocks tofinished bank level. Finally the bed of thecanal is levelled off to bed level (117.72).

Rewatering in lengths When asuitable section has been completed a tem-porary bund will be formed (details to followin due course) and a 300mm plastic pipe outletwith a timber sluice board installed in theprevious bund. Aquatic plants will then besourced from BW and planted immediatelyabove the coir rolls on both banks at onemetre intervals immediately before the wateris allowed into the new length to be wateredthat will be at Wendover water level initially.

Mooring bays The site of the first50m mooring bay is nearly with us and KenGraves has spent many days designing andmaking formwork for the bridge narrows andnow has adapted his design for the mooringbays. The full width excavation will be kept asshort as possible commensurate with castingthe base pours one ahead of the wall pours.

Roger Leishman

The new approach to Bridge 4aW

AT

Progress...Wey & Arun Canal...

Wey & Arun Canal

The most frequently asked question atLoxwood right now is �when will construc-tion of the bridge under the B2133 start?�The question is difficult to answer mainlybecause we are waiting for completion of alegal agreement with West Sussex CountyCouncil. This agreement will mean that thebridge will become the County Council�sresponsibility when it is completed. Con-struction can�t start until the agreement is inplace. There is no fundamental problem (thewhole B2133 crossing scheme receivedplanning permission in 2005), but the wheelsare turning more slowly than we expected.We still hope to build the bridge this year.

Another challenge is that the costs ofbuilding the bridge have increased, for anumber of reasons. The increase is notdisastrous, but it does mean that our Treas-urer has launched a second round of theBridge Appeal.

The annual sponsored walk, the

Poddle, took place on 10 June and the provi-sional results show that it should put about£11,000 into the funds. Around 200 walkerstackled a 13-mile circular route, starting fromCranleigh and taking in several sections ofthe canal in the Cranleigh and Dunsfoldareas. Our Mid Week Working Party hasrecently returned to the Utworth bridge area.The photo shows what has been achievedalready in this area just outside Cranleigh bykind permission of the present owners,Dunsfold Park.

The small boat rally at Lordings on 9June was an opportunity to see progress atthis fascinating remote site. The waterwheeldesigned by the late Winston Harwood washappily pumping water from the River Aruninto the lock and aqueduct, giving enoughdepth of water for several keen members(including our Chairman, Peter Foulger) tocross by canoe. Quite possibly this was thefirst boat traffic here since the abandonmentof the Arun Navigation in 1896.

Sally Schupke

Newly cleared length of he Wey & Arun near Utworth Bridge

�Quite possibly this wasthe first boat traffic here

since the abandonmentof the Arun Navigation

in 1896�

WA

CT

ProgressThe Dig Deep Initiative

Dig Deep Report. July 2007

To those new to navvying and as a reminderto the fully initiated, the Dig Deep Initia-tive involves four mobile working partygroups (London WRG, KESCRG, NWPG andWRG BITM) committing themselves to carry-ing out a certain amount of volunteer work(whether in the form of Canal Camps orweekend working parties) on certain restora-tion projects in southern England (andWales!) that have been adopted as �Dig DeepProjects�. And thereby hopefully enabling thelocal canal societies that we are supportingon these projects to be able to commit fundsand materials to them in the knowledge thatthere will be the labour to complete them.

Dig Deep is currently going throughone of its quieter periods. We have commit-ted to two sites in 2007, one on the Wilts &Berks and the other the Mon & Brec. I intendto report onprogress on ourtwo sites after thecamp season in theautumn. We couldhowever be doinga lot more if thecanal societies/trusts came for-ward with suitableprojects. The big-gest issue wouldappear to be thelack of availablefinance. Canalswhich have beenpart of Dig Deepsince its inceptionin 1992, the Wey& Arun and theCotswolds arecurrently heavilycommitted to rais-ing substantialsums of money tofund major con-struction projects

and have therefore been unable to bringforward new projects for 2007 and possiblyeven 2008. Experience of Dig Deep projectsis that they will cost about £25K per year torun in terms of materials, equipment andaccommodation costs borne by the canalsociety. I understand that the construction ofthe swing bridge at Haybarn (Wey & Arun)cost about £25,000 whilst the lowering ofBrewhurst Lock last year on the same canalcame to around £35K. Two year lock re-builds in new bricks will come to more.

But hang on a minute�. £25 K willonly buy you a mid range 4 x 4 and £35Kwill hardly cover the costs of a small kitchenextension to your house. What price the freelabour, enthusiasm and expertise of our DigDeep volunteers? Think what the true con-tract price would be of these jobs.

There�s another down side other thanthe wasted opportunities of our DD teams

For the price of a smallkitchen extension on yourhouse, the Dig Deep teamscould restore a canal lock.Which would you rather have?

Dig Deep on the Wilts & Berks: NWPG rebuild Steppingstones Bridge

Bill

Nic

hols

on

not being fully engaged. This is the effect oncontinuity and the ability to retain volunteersand key personnel. Over a period of time thevolunteer groups and the local canal trustsbuild up good working teams supported bykey people such as project managers, siteleaders and engineers. Good sites attract newmembers (as well as returnee navvies) someof whom commit themselves to a particularproject because they have an interest in thatproject alone. Others may specialise in aparticular skill, e.g. bricklaying and thus tendto only dig on those projects where that skillis required.

When a project is completed we cannotautomatically assume that the whole teamwill switch automatically to another canal orskill. More likely, the volunteers describedwill find something else to do and probablynot on a canal. We then lose a valuableworker. Being ableto run from oneproject to the nextis the best way if itcan be achieved.

So where�sthis all leading to?Well my first pointis to encouragecanal trusts tothink hard aboutwhy they aremissing out on apotentially benefi-cial pool of skilledand hard workingvolunteers andhaving thoughtabout it, to sendus their ideas ofpossible projectsthat we might getinvolved in. Mysecond point, (andyour editor is nodoubt tired ofhearing me saythis!) is that it is

time for the wider waterways movement toconsider pump priming or sponsoring newDig Deep Schemes where we can add to thesuccesses being achieved by canal trusts.These could be schemes which either extendthe length of navigable waterway available orpilot projects which show the benefits of arestored canal to a local community. Doesanyone else think that this is a good idea oram I a lone voice�.?

If your society or trust thinks that youmay have a project which could benefit fromDig Deep support, please give AlanCavender, Dig Deep Co-ordinator a call. Hisphone number is 01628 629033 � otherdetails in the directory. To volunteer to helpon any of the current projects please checkthe Navvies Diary and contact the Dig Deepgroup organiser.

Bill Nicholson

ProgressThe Dig Deep initiative

�Good sites attract newmembers, some of

whom committhemselves to a

particular project�

Dig Deep on the Mon & Brec: NWPG rebuid a bywash on the Crumlin Arm

Bill

Nic

hols

on

Cook reportEssex WRG and NorthWest

The Cook�s Eye View

Joint dig with North West and Essex WRG:May Bank Holiday Weekend 2007. FoxhamReading Rooms and Seven Locks.

For once Steve and Mandy were able to getan early start. Stopping en-route at StrattonSt Margarets for Sainsbury�s and the first lotof shopping, we crammed it into the car andtrailer and continued west along the M4.

Meanwhile, Bill picked Kay up in centralLondon and headed out on the A40. Bymistake they got tangled up in traffic on theNorth Circular, eventually extricating them-selves on to the M4 after a couple of hours.

Just after 7pm Steve and Mandy arrivedat the almost deserted Foxham Arms andphoned John. John and Bernard would bewith us soon, so we went into the almostempty bar and asked about food.

�Have you booked?� barked the land-lady. �No, sorry�. �What do you mean, youhaven�t booked? We�re full! You should�vebooked�. �So, there�s no possibility of squeez-ing four of us in?� �NO.� End of conversation!

Steve and Mandy retired outside,phoned Rachael, who suggested The RisingSun or The Mermaid, both at ChristianMalford, and waited for John and Bernard toarrive. We flagged them down and hatchedplan B: drop trailers at hall and head off tothe Rising Sun. Mandy picked the keys upfrom Rob and Kathy next door to the hall �being able to congratulate them on the birthof a daughter, Bethany Lynne, that morning!

From the outside the Rising Sun isunassuming. But inside: tiled floor, scrubbedwooden tables, cosy bar and what a friendlywelcome! We ordered drinks, were givenmenus and ushered through to a tranquilbistro type restaurant. Rachael and Martinarrived to have a drink. We told Bill and Kay,who joined us for a drink, just as we werefinishing our scrummy deserts� I know whereI�m going to suggest we met next time.

We headed back and unloaded kit andshopping, set up the tables, filled the Burco

and waited for the others to arrive. JohnHawkins and Frank arrived back from theFoxham Arms next. Sometime after 11pmthe main North West contingent arrived inthe van, followed by Mr Mac in his camper.Tea was drunk, people drifted off to bed andat some point after midnight Paul from Lan-caster, having collected Barry en-route.

One quirk of Foxham Reading Rooms isthat it is not wide enough for beds downboth sides and tables in the middle, so withtables to feed 22 and room to sleep 19 it wascosy, even with John Foley and Franksqueezing into the post office/library with thespare tables and chairs. Mandy and Stevesuffered the usual comments about theirdeluxe air-up bed (dubbed �the hovercraft�by Essex WRG), but quote of the weekendhas to go to John Foley who asked �do theydo inflatable bunk-beds in the same series?�

6am came round too early. Kay got upto do breakfast, with the other half of theteam surfacing in time to be last in the queueto eat it. After the usual frenetic activity ofwashing up, filling flasks and getting readyfor site, peace descended and Kay and Mandymade a coffee and plotted the weekend.

By 9.30am Mandy sat down to planmenus, calculate quantities, see what foodwas in the kit and write the shopping list,while Kay made a start on the sandwiches.Kay did the salad, while Mandy sorted outcake, fruit and crisps. A phone call request-ing more milk came just as the cooks wereloading stuff for the journey to site.

We headed off to drop off the lunch andwere encouraged to be on our way quickly asthe next concrete wagon was due and itmight be early! Mandy and Kay continued onto Morrison�s in Chippneham for �The bigShop�, 1½ hours shopping resulting in avery full trolley. We had decided to do �Beerin Beef with golf balls� (Beef stew and dump-lings to you!) but they only had very littlepacks of stewing beef. However the nice manstacking the fridges suggested we �go andtalk to the butcher�s counter�. This we did.Mandy asked �How lean is it?� �As lean as I

Mandy and Kay explainwhat�s involved in cateringfor an WRG NorthWest andEssex joint three-day dig onthe Wilts & Berks

am� came the response, in a suitable pose�but he did cut all 3½ kg of it into chunks.

By 3.15pm, we were back and unload-ing the shopping with the help of the catfrom next door. Oven on, unpack the shop-ping and find space for it in the fridge. Kayprepared the veg while Mandy threw thestew together. Once it was in the oven, whileKay finished the odds and ends, Mandysorted out people�s personal shopping re-quests and did the finances for the weekend.

Half an hour�s break with a cold drink,and it was back to it, filling the Burco readyfor people�s return. The mad rush-around inthe kitchen that precedes dinner began �organising someone to wash up, sort out thesite box, checking the stew, putting thedumplings in, bringing the veg and rice tothe boil, cooking the veggie main course�

Learning the idiosyncrasies of a newcooker takes time � the ovens (top and bot-tom) are very good, but the ceramic hob isslow. However it is a big improvement on theprevious cooker (well, the oven works for astart) as it is much wider and takes our big�school-dinner� tins. We had planned dinnerfor about 7.45pm, but the veg took a longtime to boil so we served up just after 8pm!

Menu: Beef in Beer with Dumplings orMushroom and Yellow Pepper Stroganoff.Rice, Peas and Sweetcorn. Apple Strudel andIce-cream.

After dinner the conversation and bev-erage continued, a few went to the pub, thewashing up got done and eventually peopledrifted off to bed�I didn�t hear the pubcontingent return or see the lights go off�

Sunday morning dawned (too early forsome). Kay got up just after 6am and strug-gled through breakfast with a really badheadache (cooks get so busy they forget to

drink, resulting in dehydration!), butdosed herself up and then managedto snatch an extra hour of sleep.Mandy didn�t make it for breakfastbut when she surfaced her hayfeverwas so bad she had to dose herselfup to the eyeballs as well� a pair ofcrock cooks!

On a three day dig Sunday isthe easy day � no major shoppingand no kit to sort and pack! After acup of coffee it was into sandwichproduction. We loaded lunch anddelivered it, pausing to look at theWilts and Berks Publicity Gazebothat had been set up. The return trip

to the hall involved a detour to the Co-op atLyneham for papers, milk, wine and one ortwo other odds and ends.

Back at the Hall the cooks worked outtheir schedule for the afternoon. Having gota better understanding of the vagaries of thenew cooker our timings were a little better.While Kay did the veg prep, Mandy made themarinade for the chicken. Then we both hadfun making Mandy�s �Cheat�s Tiramisu� (akaTriamis-ish). Bearing in mind it involvescoffee and brandy and lots of creamy mixturewe had great fun � ending up by sharing thetask of licking out the bowl� cook�s perks!

With pudding resting in the fridge, wesat down for a cuppa and began writing ourreport. It was then time to put the oven on,rack-up the spuds and put them in and sobegan the whirl of cooking the evening meal.Liz and Mr Mac arrived back and did thewashing up as a prelude to the main contin-gent returning. The Burco was filled and putback on to boil. Mandy was trying a newveggie recipe � but despite following theinstructions managed to burn it onto thebottom of the little frying pan��never mind,we�ll chuck it in a baking tray and finish it inthe oven��it then proceeded to stick itself onto the baking tray! Cheese and LeekCouscous Cake tastes great, but it seems toweld itself onto any cookware or utensils!

We roasted the spuds using both ovensthen decanted them into one big tin to keepwarm in the top oven, whilst we put thechicken in the bottom oven. The veg boiledquicker as we�d worked out which were thefaster rings, the sauces were made and foronce it all came together for bang on 7.30.

Menu: Orange, Honey and GingerChicken or Cheesy Leek Couscous Cake andrich tomato sauce. Roast Potatoes, carrots

Meanwhile, the volunteers backfilled Lock 4�s towpath wall

Mik

e Ch

ase

and Cabbage. Tiramis-ishA stampede for seconds and Luke

ended up licking the serving spoon whileMartin used his fingers to scrape round thetin-foil lining the tin. Wine was, as usual,consumed during the meal, tea was drunkafter and then out came John�s whisky!

[Ah! I�d better explain�as is traditionalon our joint weekends we had a slight sur-plus of Johns � four in total! John Gale fromEssex; John Hawkins of WRG print who digswith Essex and NW in virtually equal meas-ures; plus of course John �the bookstall�Foley and a newer recruit to NW, JohnChase�Talk about confusing!]

Anyway � back to the originaldigression�John Chase had bought a bottleof whisky�as had John Gale (a present froma grateful client who doesn�t know JG onlydrinks tea). John Gale�s bottle has been toseveral digs where two or three measureshave been drunk but most of the bottle wasstill full. Half a dozen wandered down to thepub, Rachael, Di and Luke headed for homewhile most of the rest of us enjoyed eachothers company, sorting through the variousbooks, videos, jigsaws and CDs for sale,chatting over old times, and watching thewhisky levels in the bottles gradually reduce.When all the Special Reserve had been drunkand the remaining blended whisky consumedwe decided it was time for bed.

Monday dawned� wet as forecast. Ohwell, we�d had two lovely sunny, but windydays, so we shouldn�t complain! Kay hadslept well�so well in fact that John Galeprodded her awake at 6.30 and asked her ifshe was intending to cook breakfast thismorning! Even Mandy managed to appear intime to make herself a sausage butty beforeeveryone drifted off to site. A small contin-gent had stayed behind to finish the washingup � always appreciated. Kay and Mandy dida quick trip to the Co-op at Lyneham andback via site to deliver extra milk. Burco re-filled and on, Kay pottered in the kitchen andcleaned the oven while Mandy added somemore to this report. Kay then began makingthe rolls up for lunch while Mandy did astock-take and began to pack the kit.

By 1pm lunch was ready, all the foodhad been sorted, listed and packed and therest of the kit was ready to pack. The Burcowas just off the boil and the soup simmeringon the stove. Mandy and Kay had a fewminutes to start packing their personal kit.Everything was ready so Mandy began pack-

ing the catering kit (it�s like a large 3D jigsawwith irregular shaped pieces and no picture!)while Kay offered to start typing up thereport on Mandy�s School Lap-top. John Galeappeared saying �We thought we�d catch youout�we�re early!�

Lunch was eaten; the few remainingsandwiches and fruit were shared to eat onthe way home. The washing up was done. Itwas only when turning the fridge off that Kayfound the extra switch on the side of thefreezer that turns it on. Oh well. Kit wasloaded, the hall swept and furniture returnedto its original places, toilets cleaned and wewere all ready to return the keys and set off.

Steve and Mandy always particularlyenjoy the joint dig with North-West as weboth did some of our early digging with themand it is nice to catch up with friends of long-standing (I daren�t say �old friends�), but Iknow others in both groups look forward tothis almost annual event. Thanks as alwaysto Rachael and Di, supported by Luke andMartin for good accommodation and a good,well organised set of jobs on site (as re-ported by John). We would also like to thankthose who willingly helped with washing up,serving meals and cleaning the hall � it issuper when these jobs just get done withoutanyone having to be asked. You know whoyou are � ta very muchly.

Mandy and Kay

...and completed the offside wall demolition

Mik

e Ch

ase

KESCRGThe past...

KESCRG � a potty history

Kent and East Sussex Canal RestorationGroup was instigated in 1977 by members ofthe Kent and East Sussex Branch of the IWA,who wanted to get more actively involved inthe restoration of the Basingstoke Canal. (wecan neither confirm nor deny that this deci-sion was taken in a pub) Those workingparties were organised by the one and onlyKen Parrish. Information in the KES IWAnewsletter of the time encouraged volunteersto come by saying �there is such a widevariety of work to be done, members of allages and dispositions will find it an interest-ing and fulfilling day. Wellies & waterproofs amust.� No change there then! A workingparty in April attracted 20 navvies aged from6 � 60, on Lock 17 (Deepcut flight). Ourfirst entry in Navvies appears in issue 67, aspart of the run up to Deepcut Dig 77, inOctober that year. Accommodation was inthe National Rifle Association HQ.

So work continued on the Basingstoke

through the end of the 70�s, and into the80�s. KESCRG volunteers grew in strength,skill and number, learning plant and con-struction skills in part due to the backing ofthe local authorities who supported the canalrestoration. In 1983 the first summer workcamp was held. Many of the stalwarts of thegroup started in this period, names nowfamiliar throughout the canal restorationmovement: Mike Palmer, Sue & RogerBurchett, Graham Hotham, Dave Wedd, Julia &Erle, Chris Willis � and some familiar nick-names too - Gremlin, Spikey Dave, Big Baz.

With the completion of the Basingstokein 1991, work began further afield on othercanals. These including the Wey & Arun,Chichester, Kennet & Avon, Wilts and Berks,Thames & Severn, Wendover, Droitwich,Montgomery, Huddersfield and Sleafordcanals. This was a big change for the grouphaving been used to going back to the samesite month in month out which helped keepnumbers around 50 each time. Summer campscontinued annually, although recently we have

Our friends in KESCRG arecelebrating the 30th anniversary

of the group this year and havesponsored this special Navvies.

Dr Liz explains how it all began...

Early days for KESCRG on the Basingstoke...

KE

SC

RG

KESCRG...present and future

found it more convenient to take over acentrally organised WRG canal camp with allthe logistical support that comes with this.

Our group currently consists of about30 regular members. We organise one week-end working party a month, including theinfamous Christmas Party which is a joint digwith London WRG. We are independent ofWRG although we are very good friends withthem, and we are a corporate member ofIWA which enables us to take advantage oftheir insurance, whilst remaining independ-ent. We still have good relationships withKent & East Sussex Branch � they very gen-erously donated the money for our newtrailer, in 2001. This trailer, much like aWRG kit trailer, contains everything to keep aNavvy happy, from shovels and mattocksthrough saucepans and griddles, up to a 3�pump and a generator! Our other big kit is theopen trailer, a brand new Ifor Williams twinaxle one replacing the heavy old wooden oneearlier this year. This is used for transport-ing the big catering cooker (to the Nationaland other events) and is also useful on sitefor loads of bricks/scaffolding etc.

We raise our funds to cover running costs(fuel, insurance) and new kit through thehighly successful Bhaji Stand � twice a year wewill clean our hands and put on a clean t-shirt(yes, even Eddie) and serve hot food to thepublic at Tring canal festival and the Nationalfestival. We�ve discovered that not only is this afantastic way to fund the group, but it seemsto be a great social event too. Apparently itis just as much fun to becovered in the smell of on-ions and Bhaji batter as it isto be covered in mud andsmell of diesel!

Like WRG, we don�thave a membership and wedon�t really care who comesout to play with us, so longas you�re enthusiastic andbring a sense of humourwith your wellies. We like towork on sites where thework is interesting andsometimes highly technical,we have a high proportion ofmembers who have a WRGticket on various plant, andwe�re keen to share our skillswith new volunteers. Wereally need to change ourname to �Kind-of-East and

Southish Canal Restoration Group� as wehave spread geographically to cover most ofthe south east corner of the UK, from Coven-try through Reading, and down to the SouthCoast. With a branch in Cheshire!

As to the future, we�re going to carryon doing what we do best�Restoring Canals!Several of us regulars seem also to be breed-ing the next generation of KESCRGies - thechairman and I would be very interested inanyone able to supply green baby-growsfrom about January onwards�

For more information or to join one ofour working parties please see our websitewww.kescrg.org.uk, send an email to [email protected] or [email protected],phone 0845 226 8589 or join our spam freemailing list by emailing [email protected]

See you soon!Dr Liz Williamson

PS if you know any more history, or correc-tions to this one, we�d love to hear from you� we are planning a �memory board� ofstories, photos and other history for theBonfire Bash in November. Contact as above!

...and a rather more recent photo on July�s Wilts & Berks camp

Dr Li

z

KESCRGcelebrates its birthday

Celebrate 30 years of KESCRGby coming to the Bonfire Bash,

or by buying yourself acommemorative tea mug and

getting FREE TEA at St Ives

KESCRG�s 30th birthday:

What�s happening and where�

KESCRG decided last year to spend allof this year celebrating its birthday. One ofthe things we�ve done is sponsor the colourcover of this Navvies � hope you like it! Wealso sponsored the delegates� welcomedrinks at the World Canals conference lastmonth, held in Liverpool and organized byJude Palmer. This was a great opportunityto showcase our work to an internationalbunch of canal enthusiasts.

Our main birthday party will be at theBonfire Bash, on the first weekend of No-vember. This is the annual reunion of allWRGies & other regional groups. IanWilliamson and I will be leading it, and itwill be the usual format of LOTS of Scrubbashing and bonfires, mixed with somemore technical stuff too. It will be held onthe Wilts & Berks Canal, and accommodationwill be a school in North West Swindon.There will be real beer, supplied by our veryown Nic Bennett, and lots of partying on theSaturday night. We�d love to haveall navvies there, old, new, or notquite sure. Even if you�ve neverbeen on a KESCRG dig or been toKent or East Sussex, we hope tosee you there. Book on soon [usethe form on page 9 ...Ed], so wecan order enough beer!

We�ve already had one partynight, at the Barn Dance inMarch. If you were there, youmay already have a special sou-venir Tankard in your cupboard �they were so popular we�veordered some more, and they arenow on sale for £4. They have aPaul Cattermole design on them,are oversized half-pint withcrown stamp, and hold a varietyof refreshing beverages verysuccessfully! Also for sale areKESCRG green mugs, with the

same design on them, these are £3, and ifyou buy them at the National from the Bhajistand, they come with free refills of tea &coffee!

Speaking of the Bhaji stand, in commonwith many other canal festivals this summer,Tring festival was curtailed due to the appall-ing weather, but at least we still have ourmarquee, unlike some of the traders there.So we hope to have a brilliant stand at theNational in St Ives. Do come and see us.Look out for our new flags which shouldmake us easier to find!

Our good friends Chris & Sharon Spen-cer have donated a handmade collectibleteddy bear, dressed in a KESCRG t-shirt, andhe needs a good home� all you need to dois guess his name! He will be at the nationaland the Bonfire Bash, where we will revealhis identity.

We look forward to seeing you all soon.Any questions or suggestions, or if you�d liketo join our mailing list, please [email protected] or [email protected] look at our website: www.kescrg.org.uk.

Dr Liz Williamson

Mug shot: Ian and Liz show off their KESCRG tea mugs

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KESCRG...on the Sussex Ouse

KESCRG GOES back to its roots�

It was the first time KESCRG had been dig-ging in either Kent or E Sussex for more than25 years (apparently we had a disastrousweekend on Thames and Medway in the lateseventies). It was our first time visiting theSussex Ouse project and Paul was to be ourlocal society site manger.

I set off for work early on Friday morn-ing not by train as usual but in the LandRover, so having dropped into work for 9hours I then headed off to fetch the trailerfrom Tom�s. Just Jen was quite glad as sheneeded help to get �Sue�s� cooker into the vancarefully, it (the van!!) all being shiny andnew. Malcolm also turned up for cables Ibelieve for the Saul Festival which then didn�thappen [see why on pages 50 and 51 ...Ed].

Anyway after a chat and tea with Racheland picking a few cherries to take onthe journey I headed south. After anhour or so I got bored and droppedin at home. Picked up kit and wifeand continued on a southern trajec-tory again expecting huge amountsof rain as forecast but it never mate-rialised, at least not that eveninganyway. Arrived safe, sound andactually in good time to unpack thetrailer and miss last orders. I wasinformed though that we nearly hadto sleep in the car park on account ofthe village hall committee havingstopped people staying over afterRoy had made the booking, it was avery close run thing too. It was agreat hall and in fact good enoughfor a full camp so we�ll need to per-suade them to reverse the decisionor put in the fire detection equip-ment needed! And it is not so far asyou might think: similar journey timeto Kirdford for us up near Oxford,although it does require using M25and M23 - we had a good run but itcould be very, very bad as we know.

Anyway beer was good appar-

ently and we all slept very well. Saturdaybought us good weather, we loaded up thecollection of Landies and headed for site -down the lanes across a field and then over acauseway and hidden in the trees was a brickbuilt lock and the local team ready and wait-ing for us. Note for Bungle: must visit asPaul has 130 Landie with 6.2 litre V8 dieseland a very capable winch, well proven on thesite.

So the key work was to clear aroundthe old lower gates, get them to one sideand progress clearing the chamber. �So whatdo I do with the other 8 people?� I askedPaul. After a bit of thought we got them tojoin Clive and Martyn and to find the top endof the lock and clear the view.

So we all set to and stopped for tea andthen set to again and got the first gate out,completely out of the lock with the excellent

To mark its birthday,the Kent & East SussexCanal RestorationGroup actually holds adig in East Sussex!

Chamber clearance with the home-made hoist

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KESCRG...on the Sussex Ousemachine skills of Garry �2 Rs� Alderman.Time for a short lunch and then back to havethe other one out.

In the mean time the top crew hadfound most of the top of the lock includingwing walls and cleared sufficient for a photo.

By this time Paul was looking a bitthoughtful: we�d succeeded in finishing thework and more by 2pm on Saturday!

So we set off with machine and dumperto clear the chamber and the home builtbarrow hoist was pressed into urgent actionby the local team to recover whole bricks fromthe fallen chamber wall before Garry reachedthem in the machine - the race was on!

Then a fall in revs, a big plume ofsmoke and Paul had stalled the dumper�then he broke the starting handle and wehad to test his winch and tow the dumper upthe access ramp to level ground. After a fewchoice comments it was unloaded by handand tow-started and we kept going.

We then got invaded by IWA Restora-

tion Committee and had to stop work - toomany uncontrollable people without safetyhelmets etc etc Tea solved the problem, weset to again once they had finishedgongoozling and left.

Packed up and home via a slightlylonger route as I wasn�t paying attention,with very narrow lanes and a trailer behindwe opted to use local knowledge and keepgoing. Liz fed us with fantastic tea and wemoved slowly to the pub. Good beer but thelocal cricket/rugby club had a stag nightwhich was a little unpredictable, then the raincame and sitting outside wasn�t pleasant.

Sunday dawned wet with a bit morewet thrown in and it hadn�t really stoppedmuch overnight either. We�re not wimps, youunderstand, but getting soaked walkingacross the car park wasn�t inspiring for anyof us� so we had a late start.

Once on site it was obvious chamberclearance was off the list as the access rampwas far too dangerous. We reverted to stumpremoval work with both machines, Garry onthe top of the of side chamber wall with asuperbly adapted bucket with one single 18inch tooth and MK2 with the smaller, butquite powerful machine ripping out at thetop end. Clive and Martyn gave several bigtrees quite a shock along with a couple ofbits of heras fencing � I did take out the 4panels he asked for, but a side branch caught

Now you see it... ...and now you don�t

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KESCRG...on the Sussex Ouse

those we didn�t move.We then proceeded to completely take

the whole compound apart to enable com-plete stump removal, the day ending up withboth machines attacking �just one laststump�, in the end with complete success,after this it was time to head home via thehall. Liz went to see some old family friendsin Haywards Heath so they got introduced tocanal logistics including red vans and 2 menwith beards.

Thanks to everyone who came out andto the local team for the organisation, pleasecan we have an extra dumper next time!

Ian WilliamsonSome traditional summer work at the lock head

The Sussex OuseThe Sussex Ouse rises in the Weald westof Balcombe and flows into the EnglishChannel at Newhaven. Navigable on the tideto just above Lewes, it was planned in thelate 18th century to extend navigation by buildinglocks all the way up to near its source at Slaugham.In the event, it didn�t get that far before the money ran out.But eventually in 1812, 22 miles of navigation and 19 locksenabled small barges about 48ft long by 12ft wide to to get fromthe sea to Upper Rylands Bridge, near Balcombe.

Not having much in the way of large towns or heavy industryto serve, it never really prospered, but a respectable trade in coal,building materials, timber and agricultural produce kept itreasonably well-used for three decades. Unfortunately aswith so many less-prosperous waterways, its busiest timewas when it was transporting the cargo that would even-tually be its undoing: building materials for the hugeOuse Valley Viaduct which still carries the London toBrighton main line railway across the river near Balcombe.

Once the railway was open, the river began to lose out,and despite cutting tolls to retain trade, the writing was soon onthe wall for the Ouse. Further railway lines took away moretrade, the navigation authority could no longer afford to maintainthe locks properly, they fell into disrepair and by the 1860s thenavigation was disused.

The last railway line wasn�t built until the 1880s. Abandoned75 years later, it has now been partly reopened as the BluebellRailway, and it popularity as a tourist attraction may yet helpthe revival of the river navigation.

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WRG BCWRG Boat Club News

If it isn�t rains its trains!

Many club members were making their way,by various routes, towards the Gloucesterand Sharpness Canal for the festival at Saul.

Then it started to rain.We were having some work done on

Lynx at Caggy�s Yard in Tipton. Luckily thisincluded repairs on the ancient range as theday after we left the yard the weatherchanged for the colder and wetter and weneeded to light it!

We travelled from there to a �bit of a do�at Tardebigge top, The Allen Register�s an-nual gathering, which was most enjoyable.On the Sunday afternoon we set off downthe locks and moored near The Queen�sHead just to discover that they don�t do foodon Sundays! Our trip down Stoke Locks wasvery wet indeed so we continued only as faras Hanbury Wharf. By this time we had heardrumours that the Severn was closed.

I phoned BW at Diglis Lock and the callwas forwarded to Fazeley. When I askedabout the condition of the Severn I was told�The river is fine, all the locks are closed butthe river is OK.� I was asking about navigat-ing the river not the state of its health!

We managed to �phone a friend�, whoused to be lock keeper at Diglis canal lock,he told us of the state of the river (15ft overweir etc) and promised to inform us of anyimprovement. So it was out with the bikes,on with the waterproofs, and off along theDroitwich canal(s) to see how things werelooking. So far so good but lots more to do:let�s hope the money is forthcoming for theBarge Lock restoration appeal.

We continued down towards Worcesterbut, thinking that the city would be full of boatswaiting to get onto the river, we moored beforewe got there. Then we heard the bad newsthat Saul Festival had had to be cancelled! Wehung around in the hope that the river wouldat least become navigable upstream toStourport, but the rain continued. Reluctantlywe set off for a very damp return trip. Hur-rah for a warm shower at Tardebigge Wharf.

The weather and floods beat us all inthe end.

It was most unfortunate and disap-pointing that the festival had to be cancelled.So many people had put in a lot of hardwork and we were all looking forward toenjoying the event. I hope it doesn�t prove tobe too much of a financial loss to the Cots-wold Canal Trust. When we have our AGM Ishall be proposing that we give them a dona-tion. I hope members will support this.

Well, now we are getting ready to goon the short sea voyage across from SaltersLode to Denver Sluice. This will give usaccess to the Great Ouse and thus to St Ivesand The National.

BUT there is a derailed freight train hang-ing off a bridge just past Ely and the GreatOuse is closed until they have shifted it. This isgoing to take some time as they have to builda road to the site to get lifting tackle there.

Are we down hearted? Yes! If they don�tshift it soon we will (all?) have to go on a longboring trip up the tidal New Bedford River andmiss lots of interesting places to visit.

I�m sure our stalwart members willmake St Ives whatever the obstacles andhere is notice that the AGM will be heldduring the weekend, probably on the Sundaybut I will firm up time and place when I seethe programme and the available locations.

(Remember the club motto!)Looking ahead even further, future

Association of Waterways Cruising Clubmeetings are: 20th October at TamworthCruising Club; 12th January at Stafford; 8th

March at Soar Boating Club. Please let meknow if you can help out by attending any ofthese on our behalf.

Minutes of past AWCC meetings can befound on www.awcc.org.uk

I look forward to meeting lots of y�all inAugust, let�s hope the weather is kind to us.

Given the choice I prefer rain to a trainfalling on me. But if it did would you have toshout on your mobile phone, �No I�m not onthe train, quite the reverse.�?

Sadie Dean

Sadie reports on the trialsand tribulations affecting

boaters trying to attendsome boating eventsduring this �summer�

Contacting the chairman:Mike Palmer

3 Finwood Rd,Rowington, Warwickshire

CV35 7DH

Tel: 01564 785293

email: [email protected]

Congratulations...to

Pete Redwayof Surrey & Hants Canal Society

on being awarded the MBE

Online Navvies subscriptionsDon�t forget: You can now take out or

renew Navvies subs online atwww.waterways.org.uk/Restora-

tion/index.htm or atwww.iwashop.com/ecommerce/

products.asp?cat=126

Just published...

Britain�s Restored Canals by Roger Squires.Detailed history of half a century of waterwayrestoration, bringing Roger�s original 1979book right up to date - the most recent photowas taken in April this year on the W&B andshows the Navvies editor wearing shorts -but apart from that it�s a recommended read!

Available from www.iwashop.com.

Stampswanted

Send used stamps,petrol coupons, phonecards, empty computerprinter ink cartridges toIWA/WRG Stamp Bank,33 Ham-bleton Grove,Milton Keynes MK42JS. All proceeds tocanal restoration.

Dial-a-camp

To contactany WRG

Canal Camp:07850 422156(Kit �A� camps)07850 422157(Kit �B� camps)

NOTICEBOARD

New arrivalsCongratulations to

Tunji and Nerina on the arrival ofNiamh on June 4th

and toBernd and Daphne on the arrival of

Emma on May 8th

Stour volunteers wanted

That�s the East Anglian Stour, which runsalong the Essex / Suffolk border. Permis-sion has just been given for work to starton Stratford St Mary Lock cut, and theRiver Stour Trust needs all the volunteersit can get for two months intensive work.

They also need a procurement manager,quartermaster and assistance with fund-ing the work.Contact John Morris on 01473 822612

And nowfor something completely different

We�ve been approached with a view to helpingrestore a lock on the Danube-Tisa-Danube

waterway - in SERBIAI�m not joking!

PhotographsDon�t forget to send pics from your canalcamp to the editor for Navvies. And onthe subject of photos: the back coverpic was taken by the Editor on the Mont,and the inside back cover pics are byAlan Lines, Mike Chase, Bungle, JudithPope, Bill Nicholson and the Ed.

Infill...which is like �backfill� only inside the mag...

Thank you...

...to whoever sent in the following newspa-per cutting leading us to wonder exactlywhat our parent organisation is up to:

Unfortunately it turns out that it�s actu-ally the Ipswich Women�s Aid rather than theInland Waterways Association.

Caption photo

...in the previous issue showing Bungle andthe �pasty wagon� (box-body Land Rover)driving through a river produced a couplemore suggestions from Derek Andrews:

�Just testing the cruise control��Are you sure the Tomtom said go this way?�

...as well as an assertion from Bungle that hewas just practising for the Saul Festival (seeopposite page). Speaking of which, here�sanother photo of Bungle at Saul that youmight have some captions for...

Please send your suggestions to the editor.

The WRGies and the pub: a puzzle

Apologies if you�ve already met this one in aslightly different guise...

A bunch of eight navvies need to get tothe Railway Inn from the King Edward SportsPavilion at Droitwich. Unfortunately due tothe latest stupid insurance conditions, it turnsout the only van they�ve got is only coveredfor a maximum of driver plus one passenger.

So you ferry them there one at a time?Well it�s not that simpe. You see Jude, verywisely, won�t let Mike out of her sight (in thevan, the pub or the accommodation) withKate or Alice. And in turn, Mike doesn�t trustJude with either Mole or James unless he�sthere too.

Oh, one more thing: Bungle can�t betrusted to be left with anyone else unlessMalcolm�s there to keep an eye on him.

Ah yes, and one last problem: owing toanother cockup on the Driver Authorisationscheme, only Malcolm, Jude and Mike havegot WRG tickets to drive the van.

So how do Mike, Jude, Alice, Kate,Bungle, Malcolm, Mole and James get to thepub before closing time?

No shit, Sherlock!

Received from British Waterways, just as thesummer�s second bout of major floodinggripped the country, the Avon, Severn andNene burst their banks, the Grand Union,Oxford, Worcs & Brum and Staffs & Worcscanals all closed due to excess water, andDroitwich town centre disappeared so farunder water that the above puzzle becamerather academic:

�BW remains optimistic that watersupplies will last out for the rest of the sum-mer and there will not be any widespreadboating restrictions�

But seriously, the best of luck to all ourboating readers and to all the BW and EA staffstruggling to deal with the disastrous floods.

Left and above left: bywash clearance and damremoval on the Mon & Brec camps Above: �poshdinner� outfits on the Mont Below right: LordRolle�s entrance lock Below left and a bit furtherbelow right: WRG NW at Daisy Nook on the Hol-linwood Far left below: NWPG at Steppingstoneson the Wilts & Berks Bottom: Bungle puts his off-road skills to use on the washed-out Saul Festival

navvies 224

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