navvies 200

Navvies

waterway recovery group

Volunteers restoring waterwaysNo 200 August - September 2003

The Right Toolfor the RightJob Appeal:

half way there!

Contributions......are always welcome, whether hand-written,typed, on 3½" floppy disk, CR-ROM or by e-mail. Photos also welcome: slides or colour orb/w prints. Please state whether you want yourprints back; I assume that you want slidesreturned. Digital / computer scanned photosalso welcome, either on floppy / CD-ROM or ase-mail attachments, preferably JPG format.Send them to the editor Martin Ludgate, 35,Silvester Road, London SE22 9PB, or e-mailto [email protected]. Press date forNo 201: September 1st.

SubscriptionsA year's subscription (6 issues) is available for aminimum of £1.50 (please add a donation if pos-sible) to Sue Watts, 15 Eleanor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ . Cheques to"Waterway Recovery Group" please.

Visit our web site www.wrg.org.uk for all the latest news of WRG's activities

In this issue:Editorial on dumper safety 3Chairman’s page 4Appeal news The Right Tool for the Right Job 5Camp Reports from Saul Festival, the GrandWestern, Wey & Arun and Mon & Brec 6-15Diary camps and working parties 16-18Letters on the Chard Canal, the DelawareDivision Canal and probability theory 19-23Logistics some whinges; some good news 24WRGBC WRG Boat Club news 25Directory WRG and canal societies 26-27Plant Bungle moves a crane 28Navvies news the Waterway Science Group,a walk along the Andover Canal and the returnof the London WRG Tube Map T-shirt 29-30Noticeboard moving house, selling stuff,getting engaged and leaving things in vans 31Backfill alligators in the cut! 32

And next time......a colour issue with lots of photos from thissummer’s Canal Camps, all the Camp Reportsthat didn’t make it into this issue, a Dig Deepupdate, details of this autumn’s Bonfore Bash,and the return of the ‘Last Ditch’ cartoon - infull colour!

Contents

page 2

Cover photos: as you will read on p5, the Appeal is going well with funds nearing the half-way mark, butstill lots of hard work ahead to reach the target. Top left: One of the two brick-saws that we have alreadybought, being put to good use during the Grand Western Canal Camps. (Mark Baker) Top right: MikeHamlyn (second from right, back) at the top of Crib Goch, on his sponsored climb of the 15 highest Welshpeaks, which raised over £330 for the Appeal. Bottom left: Roger & Sara Davis have sponsored one ofthe items on the Appeal shopping list - a concrete mixer - which they are seen presenting to Mike Palmerat the Saul Festival. (Cath Coolican-Smith) Bottom right: the successful IWA Northampton Rally raisedover £1000, and most of it was donated to the Appeal. (Lynda Payton) This Page below left: the volun-teers on the Lancaster Canal Camp enjoy a trip on the Canal Trust’s trip-boat Waterwitch. Camp reportnext time, please! (Martin Ludgate) Below Right: possible site hazard: a skip-loading dumper - seeEditorial (Martin Ludgate). Bottom left: a rather different site hazard: the Wilts & Berks Camp unearthedan unexploded bomb! Camp Report next time - assuming somebody survived to write it. (Corinne Watson)

EditorialEditorial

As I write this column, we are right in the middleof what is turning into one of the most successfulCanal Camps seasons for years, in terms of thevolunteer numbers, the work achieved - and eventhe weather!

But I’m afraid that first I’m going to have to dealwith something a little less cheerful: site safety,and one specific hazard in particular.

Please take the time to read the following: itmay affect you even if you are not an operator ofthese machines, and even if you do not know whata skip-loading dumper is...

Skip-loading dumpers

As mentioned in the Camp Report on p13, a vol-unteer suffered broken ankle bones as a result ofan accident involving a skip-loading dumper.

These dumpers are the small - typically 750Kg load- narrow wheelbase dumpers that have beome avail-able in the last few years, which are equipped witha telescopic mechanism under the bucket enablingit to be raised and tipped into a skip. (see photo onopposite page)

Initially these seem to be very useful devices:being narrow they can get into places that themore conventional dumpers we use cannot; alsotheir ability to tip at high level can be very handy.However, the downside of both of these featuresis that they do not have the lateral and front-to-back stability of a 'normal' dumper.

EVEN WHEN THE BUCKET IS NOT IN THERAISED POSITION, THEY ARE MUCH MORELIKELY TO TIP OVER SIDEWAYS (OR FRONTTO BACK) IF THEY ARE NOT ON COMPLETELYLEVEL GROUND. This is what happened on theWey & Arun Camp, and the driver’s leg wastrapped under part of the dumper when it fell.

There are some important lessons that all of usmust learn from the accident:

Firstly, machine operators using this type ofdumper should be aware of this lack of stability,and avoid taking the dumper onto uneven orsteeply-sloping ground.

Secondly, site leaders considering using thesemachines should think carefully about whether itis the best tool for the job. Can the work be done ina way that ensures that the machine stays on level,even ground throughout? Could the work be donein a different way, so that a conventional dumper (orfor that matter a wheelbarrow) could be used?

Even if it turns out that the skip-loading dumperis the best, safest option for the job, the leaderneeds to ensure that it is not used for other, lessappropriate work - dumpers are handy things, andif we have one on site we have a habit of putting itto good use on all sorts of other jobs besides theone that we hired it for.

Thirdly, our instructors (myself included) need tomake very sure that whenever we train a newdumper operator, we make them fully aware of thedifferences between the machine we are trainingthem on and the various other types that they maycome across. It's no good us extolling the go-any-where capabilities of the conventional 4-wheel drive3-tonner we're training them on, only for them tocome unstuck when they are faced with a skip-loadersometime later while no longer under supervision.

Fourthly, all you volunteers need to do your bestto spread this information far and wide so thateveryone - whether they read ‘Navvies’ or not,whether they are from WRG, one of the othermobile groups or a local canal society - is awareof this potential danger.

Finally, the above comments should not betaken as criticism in any way of NWPG whosesafety record has been very good. In this - thefirst serious accident they have had in many yearsof successful camps - they did all the right things:deal with the incident (in this case free the trappedperson, then get them medical attention), thencontact the insurers and fill in the correct forms,then work out how the accident happened, thendecide how to prevent it happening again.

And in the unlikely event that a serious accidentof any kind happens on your work party, youshould deal with it the way that NWPG did, ratherthan taking the kind of 'these things happen' atti-tude that nobody will ever learn anything from.

Canal Camp reports

I’ll finish on a happier note by thanking everyonewho has sent camp reports and photos. Pleasekeep them coming in. The next ‘Navvies’ will be abumper-size issue with eight pages of colour (thanksto Chris Spencer for generously sponsoring thecolour printing again) - now it’s up to you to providesome good quality content for those pages.

See you at the ‘National’!Martin Ludgate

Chairman

Malcolm BatesMalcolm Bates was obstinate, irritating, opinion-

ated, snored loudly, ate up your telephone bill - but mostpeople remember him as a thoroughly good all-round“bloke”. You might not have seen eye to eye with him,but in the end you couldn’t fail to like him.

He had a wide range of interests over his life.He started in the family forestry business as soon as hecould and handled his first chain saw at 14½.

But when he was not in the woods, he found an-other interest in the waterways and water in general. Hehad an early cara-cruiser and even after he stopped usinghis he was an advocate of this type of boat for years.

He claims to have started a couple of water basedevents. After visiting the Festival of the Sea in Brest hewas involved with organising the first one in Britain.In fact he claims he suggested Bristol as the city wasthe only place whose name was close to Brest! Mal-colm also doubled up with another of his interests as hewas responsible at the Festival for organising the folksinging and morris dancing entertainments that weredotted around the event.

He helped to organise Canalway Cavalcade inthe early days - he saw it as the City of Westminster’sequivalent of the City of London’s Lord Mayor’s Show.

Amongst his other interests, there was his skiff,his trips to the Continent and his late-found love ofNorway. There was his Meccano and his knot-tying,There was his work for the Waterway Recovery Groupwhere his experience and expertise was drawn on mas-sively and he was willing to give it while he could -firstly with London WRG and later with Essex. Theseare only some of the things I knew about him and I onlyknow a fraction of his life.

There was his newspaper distribution where he wasrecognised as being probably being the fairest agent ofthem all - making sure that his distributors got a fair deal.

One of his proudest moments in recent years wasthe winning of the Brunel Prize for a paper he producedon a boat lift/lock. The prize money was only a smallamount, but the fact that he won it in the face of highly-qualified civil engineers and other highly skilled ‘ex-

perts’ made him really ‘chuffed’ and the delight on hisface when he told us about it was so apparent. It wasn’tboasting or big-headedness but he was so full of happi-ness he just had to share it. He also showed interest inthe restoration of the Steam Tug ‘Portwey’, currentlybeing restored in West India Dock.

Malcolm was always pleased to share his knowl-edge with anybody who seriously wanted to know andit was through Malcolm’s continuing support and guid-ance Essex WRG developed an expanding recognitionas the group that does hedgelaying. In fact it was al-ways easy to get Malcolm to talk about anything that hehad an enthusiasm for. The trick was not to ask thequestion too late in the evening when you wanted anearly night!

With Malcolm’s decease, there’s a big hole inthe world at the momentand it’s going to take an-other big person to fill it.I’m willing to bet that itwill still be some years inthe future when WRG his-tory is retold during remi-niscences that someonewill say, do you rememberwhen Malcolm acciden-tally dropped that tree onthat chap’s shed? Or doyou remember when he...?

True to form, thehearse arrived late at thecrematorium (but luckilynot at 2am!). During theservice, on two occasionswhen Malcolm’s namewas mentioned there wasan immediate clap of thun-der. I will leave the readerto put their own interpre-tation on this coincidence!

Dave Dobbin

Malcolm seen some yearsago receiving his certificatefor sponsoring a Trent &Mersey milepost

Chairman’s Comment

This is of course a historic ‘Navvies’ - No 200.Perhaps we should be singing and dancing; per-haps hosting a huge party; perhas there shouldbe an Official T-shirt.

Well, perhaps all of this is happening - I wouldn’tknow as I’m rather incommunicado at the moment:I’m in the middle of leading a Canal Camp atFroghall and Martin has just rung to say I have toget this finished by 7pm or ‘Navvies’ will go outwith an empty space where the Chairman’s Pieceshould be.

There are those who would say that this might bepreferable, of course...

Hence this short piece dictated over the phone in thegap between the rhubarb crumble and the pub quiz.

This is typical of WRG: we often don’t celebrateimportant milestones because we’re too busy lay-ing the foundations for the next one.

Being WRG, I’m sure there will be singing, danc-ing and partying in due course. However in themeantime I would like to take this opportunity...

Firstly to apologise to Steve Barrett for my ap-palling conduct on site today.

Secondly to simply say ‘George, don’t do that!’

Hugs & Kisses,Mike Palmer

Har

ry A

rnol

d

The Right Tool For The Right Job Appeal

Total to date = £31,390.42p

Well done everybody, we’re nearly half way there!!!

Some special mentions from the last few weeks:

Michael Hamlyn (recently assistant leader on theMon & Brec Camp) who walked up a lot of hillsand a very long way, and raised £330 for us. Hopethe blisters have healed now, Mike!!

Roger and Sara Davis, who (without much prompt-ing from their offspring) decided to buy us oneconcrete mixer, and the WRG Boat Club who havedonated the other. This adds to the brick-saw andTirfor winch already donated as items ‘in kind’,and all these bits of kit are now to be seen outand about: I’ve just been to the Mon and Brecand seen it in action, so the Appeal is areadymaking a difference to the work we are doing.

If you go on a camp this summer you will noticethe copious quantities of Personal ProtectionEquipment – in hard-wearing bags, subsidised byCanal and Riverboat.

Things to look forward to:

Appealing Food - a catering stand with a differ-ence, to be found at the ‘National’ at Beale Parkshortly after you read this. Viv West has put ahuge amount of effort into organising this stand,selling spicy snacks to the festival goers. Pleasego and support her if you are at the Festival - Ihave sampled the food she plans to cook, and itis yummy!

‘Aladdin and the genie of the Burco’ - for onenight only, Saturday at Beale Park, the usual WRGmix of jokes, silliness and a vaguely serious point,in the beer tent. Free entry, but donations requiredto leave the bar... and if you are interested in being in it,I shall be finalising the cast and avoiding rehearsalsand set building etc. in between serving meals to thesite crew, so please come and see me (in the WRGkitchen) and volunteer your services. Please, oth-erwise I shall start press ganging!

Also at the ‘National’ - come and see us in theIWA tent, we have some lovely pieces ofcanalware: one water carrier painted by GrahamPalmer, a coal scuttle and a Buckby can paintedby Alan Whiffen (commercial for NWF). Thesewill be auctioned by sealed bid during the festival.For the younger (mentally) we have a beautiful,unique teddy bear, in a red T-shirt, worth over£100, handmade by Sharon Spencer (Mrs Task-master) and this can be yours for £1 if you guesshis or her name correctly.

Appeal newsThe Right Toolfor the Right Job!

Now for the bad news - we are still a long wayshort of being able to buy the new minibus weshall need very soon, and we may not be able toafford the training courses yet. WE NEED YOURIDEAS!!! Everyone from ‘Navvies’ has been verygenerous in terms of money and enthusiasm -over £5500 pounds has come from you, the read-ers. But the money is for you and me to be ableto carry on doing the Right Job, and doing it well,and professionally, and as efficiently a possible.

I want you all to think if you can do something –such as:

· help out at your local IWA fundraising event ,and persuade them to give something of theirproceeds to the appeal.

· Do something mad and get sponsored forit - anyone fancy organising a sponsored brickclean?

· Talk your company into buying us a mini-bus ... or some hard hats, or some training...

· Help out at a WRG publicity stand , e.g. atBeale park - we have had a lot of donationsand interest at Saul junction, Crick etc. Talk tome or Jude for details, but it is good fun, and iseasier than car parking...

· Organise an event: we can offer lots of sup-port and materials for things, see if you canbeat the Race Night’s total!

· Do any or all of the above, and then askyour company about matching funding. Wecan find ways to get you involved so you qualifywithout taxing you too much, even if you areone of our many enthusiastic armchair sup-porters (or Castors as someone suggested youshould be known as)

I look forward to hearing from you... See you atthe ‘National’.

Love ‘n’ hugs,Dr Liz Williamson xxx

[email protected] 351549

Camp 0304: July 2 nd – 9th

Saul Canal Festival, Cotswold Canals

Every year, the Cotswold Canals Trust hold aboat festival at Saul Junction , where theStroudwater Navigation (which they’re restoring)meets the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal (whichis already open). In recent years, the event hasgrown to the point where we support it with a week’sSite Services Canal Camp. George ‘Bungle’ Eycottand friends describe what happened this year...

Wednesday: Nick and Cath arrived just beforeTom who had left Dover at 4am in order to arriveby 9am because that is what the camp informa-tion told him (he wasn’t to know that everyoneelse ignores head office instructions..) Followingmuch confusion about trains, missed connectionsand two vans going to two different stations tomeet the same two girls, everyone arrived. Thetraditional festival job of fencing was begun, alongwith a bit of plumbing (which quickly turned into alot of plumbing, not just one tap but three and ashower that didn’t work).

Chaos and confusion reigned, our work was there-fore done and we returned to the accommoda-tion. Roger then drove Bungle to Newbury to pickup Sammy only to discover that it had beenblocked in by a transit in the yard. Many phonecalls later and a trip to the other side of Newburyextracted the relevant keys from the security of-fice and the offending vehicle was moved.

Thursday : We had to be clear of the hall for theafternoon, so whilst we all worked on site, Cathwent into Stroud to discover its hidden delightsand treasures. It took all of half an hour to dis-cover that either it didn’t have any or they werevery well hidden.

On site, the plumbing, wiring and lighting contin-ued. Oh and the beer arrived. Thursday eveningthere a rush visit back to site to pick up Bungle’swallet from one of the tables in the bar.

When Bungle looked at the wiring plan back at theaccommodation he realised that of the six distribu-tion boxes required, three had not yet been built. Sothe rest of the evening was spent building them.

Friday : Disaster - an emergency was declared asthe cable ties ran out! Bungle went to buy some…

Bungle: I’d like to buy some cable ties please.Fastener shop: Yes sir, which size?Bungle: 300 x 4.8Fastener shop: No problem, how many?Bungle: Oh, about 2000 should do it.Fastener shop: Bloody hell......

The f**k-up fairy took a secondment from Logis-tics to Head Office, and of the many things thatdid arrive on site during Friday, the tax disc forthe beavertail truck SWS was not one. This causedmany phone calls and Bungle proved that he wasfluent in two languages (English and profane).

Things were not helped when Bungle discoveredthat the site plan to which he had carefully laid outthe wiring bore no resemblance to where the trad-ers actually were - Nick, Roger and Bungle workeduntil about 10pm then decided that the wiringbehind the bar needed careful investigation...

Meanwhile back at the accommodation, the campsize increased and food was eaten before theytoo decide that the bar needed to be checked.

Saturday : The Festival happened; Cath cookedcurry. In the evening we decided to remain at theaccommodation as the beer tent was a tad full. At10pm we had an emergency phone call from siteasking if we had anyone available to drive a vanto the Forest of Dean to get some more beer. Ofthe few remaining sober people, none were reallyready for a three hour round trip but luckily theCCT had a driver available so the bar was fullyre-stocked by Sunday morning.

Sunday: The festival carried on happening. Lotsof people arrived to visit it. Bungle bent his bed.

Monday : We packed everything away, apart fromthe skips which weren’t there. Cath parked the carneatly in the car park, whereupon the fence steppedsmartly one foot forward under the car and brokethe diesel cooler. The AA man took the car away.

Tuesday: We packed the skips. Cath took the newrecruits to visit the Golden Valley, only to find theycouldn’t park anywhere and by the time they haddiscovered this it was time to come back. In theevening we had a boat trip and everyone had ago at steering. We then visited the pub and had afine meal.

Wednesday : We cleared the hall and wrote thecamp report.

Err, that’s it.Bungle, Cath, Nick and Holly

Camp reportsSaul Festival: fencing funand cable-tie capers...

Camp reportsGrand Western slipway part 1:Sally�s crew lay the foundations

Camp 0305: July 5th - 12thGrand Western Canal

And so it shall be that on the 5th day of the 7th monthof the Year of our Lord 2003 all those named Sallyand John (plus some others but we shall mentionthem later) shall gather at Burlescome, in Devon forto work upon the Grand Western Canal and Lo! aslipway shall appear.

And so it came to be in the form of Camp 0305...

Volunteers collected and fed, kit counted, it wastime to start the week. It began with a little trepi-dation on my behalf as it was due to be my sec-ond outing as an Assistant Leader but due to un-foreseen circumstances I had the pleasure (!?) ofbeing promoted to Camp Leader about 4 daysbeforehand.

I had a feeling it might be a little confusing on siteas Sally, Sally, Sally, John, John, Jon and the oth-ers introduced themselves! (This proved to beextremely true in the case of the Sallys many crieswere heard of the, ‘no not that one, the other one,no the other one’ all week). After the safety talk,it was, as is traditional, time to decamp to the pub– all of two minutes stagger down the road!

Sunday morning came round far tooearly (by 7:20 only two of the 25people in the accommodation werestill in bed! – one of them being me!(I think we need to amend the healthand safety talk to not only includethose with a penchant for late nightsbut those with one for early morn-ings!) 40 minutes later breakfastwas had, and it was time to headfor site. The plan for the week was- as prophesied - to build the foun-dations for a slipway to be com-pleted during the following week,move a fence to improve the accesstrack and repair several culverts.

Work began in earnest with mostof the volunteers tackling the re-moval of the fence. (As was to be abit of a theme this week lots ofthings turned out to be not quite aseasy as they first appeared!) Appar-ently one set of chicken wire is notsufficient so two sets and barbedwire had to be removed before thefence itself could be challenged.Other members of the team werescrub bashing the slipway site, be-ing trained on the brush cutter andstrimming the track, being trainedon the Stihl saw, as well as cuttingdown the trees behind the fence toallow us to move it backwards.Woody, Rob and Al decided thatthere was no need to wait for theconcrete breaker and set to remov-ing the gate posts! (Credit is dueas with those three on the job I don’tthink the post stood much of achance).

Excavating the base for the slipway with an excavator (above)and the foundation trenches for the side walls manually (below)

Lunch arrived courtesy of Viv and with it cametwo extra volunteers Sophie and Michelle, plusthe missing teapot. The afternoon continued in asimilar vein, with the fence posts themselves be-ing tackled. Tackled being the operative word as ifthey had been set in concrete getting them out prob-ably would have been an easier task! It becamesomewhat like an archaeological dig with peopleusing every imaginable tool to try and remove therock-solid and rather stony ground. A run was alsodone to Jay’s Cutting (last year’s site) to collect somesand, ballast and bricks. I also did my thing forMother Nature by trying to rescue the fish from ourdammed section of canal – unfortunately the onlything which ended up getting rescued was meafter getting both wellies stuck!

After dinner at the accommodation it was time fora shower before returning to the pub as we neededto be out of the hall for Meat Bingo night (I knowwhat you are wondering... do they have picturesof meat instead of numbers? Fear not, the ‘meat’is referring to the prizes!)

Monday dawned early (again!) and I decided itwas time to put my cunning plan into action! Thetheory being that if I wear them out sufficiently,maybe I will get a lie in (Hmm, it might just work!)Monday continued the work from Sunday but withthe addition of Ed digging out the canal with theexcavator ‘Blue’ after it had finally arrived from itsslight detour to Saul Junction. After a lunchtimebreak from the battle of the fence posts, John Htook a team of volunteers to scrub bash one ofthe culverts so we could identify what work wasrequired. On their return it turned out that appar-ently there are two culverts fitting my descriptionwithin about 100yards of each other! I am surethe locals will be pleased we managed an extraone though!

The local Angling club also came along to man-age a much better job with the fish than I had!Showers, dinner and the Pub again completedthe day.

As Tuesday dawned it turned out that my cunningplan succeeded as I manage to sleep until 7:50!In order for the slipway to be marked out, Johnand most of the volunteers set off into the wind-ing country lanes to discover the correct two cul-verts! Whilst myself, Al and Woody translated theplans on to the hole: all there is to say is that it isamazing what you can do with a tape measure,some string, a can of spray paint and a level! Im-portant stick in place and pain of death set on itsmovement, the culverters returned – with photo-graphic proof that they did find the correct ones!Just in time for Viv’s arrival with lunch. Post lunch- in very World War One style - it was time to gointo the trenches! With Viv (‘but I only tapped thefence with the bucket’ – it was horizontal by thenext morning!) in Blue and everyone else gettingdown and dirty in the hole the trenches started toappear. As mentioned before nothing proved tobe easy, digging a couple of trenches - piece ofcake! One had to be done with pick axes and mat-tocks as stones were replaced by clay and stoneswhilst the other involved raking sludge, then stand-ing at least ankle deep in it trying to dig. Sally (ormuddy Sally as she became known!) proved tobe Queen of the Trench as she never seemedhappier than when completely covered from headto toe in sludge! American Sally also seemed tobe very fond of it. However today’s challenge ofgetting the volunteers as mucky as possibleseemed to be going terribly well! The afternoonwas completed by the arrival of some photogra-phers from the local press; I am sure the hugewhite plasters on my knees from an earlier inci-dent with a large concrete block on site added to

my air of professional-ism and Viv definitelyhas a job for life hand-loading excavator buck-ets!

Due to another eveningof Meat Bingo in the hall,Fish and Chips followedby a Magical MysteryTour of the line of the oldcanal filled the evening.This gave everyone achance to see what it ishoped to restore in thefuture, and put our slip-way in context. I am surethose of us travelling inRFB have some veryentertaining memoriesof the journey.Shuttering-up ready to pour the concrete slipway wall foundations

page 8

Wednesday was much like Tuesday with moredigging either of trenches or fence posts (slightrunning theme, this digging lark!); we thought wehad reached the end and it was time to go ‘overthe top’ of the trenches (well, start concreting!)had it not been for the large concrete wall whichwas just a tad too high. To my pleasure everysingle one of the volunteers was in the trenchgetting muddy and digging for England, (well I’msure we were almost at Australia!) to dig out theextra two metres needed on both sides. As ourusual end-of-work time came, it was time to startup the mixer and begin the concrete pour into themuddy trench. A manic 1¼ hours of mixing andshovelling later we were finished. Cleaned andshiny we set off to Dennis’s house for the nowtraditional barbecue with the local canal trust andthe canal rangers.

Thursday was much like, well Tuesday andWednesday really, with more digging on site; how-ever the culvert team were working away to com-plete the repair work. John H and I had manyentertaining conversations as I thought he wasonly repairing 4 culvert ends but he was workingon 6, I don’t think the fact that two of them were insweetcorn fields helped! There was much cel-ebration as the last fence post was removed andhole filled in. The new fence line was marked outbut making the holes for the posts proved to be abit of a non-starter, the auger (Not ‘Ogre’ as I kepttrying to call it) made an attempt to create a holebut I think the score was definitely null points tothe auger and 1 point to the ground! [one mightsay that it didn’t auger well? Sorry. ...Ed] The sec-ond trench was concreted just before we left siteso it could set overnight.

A more leisurely evening was had with swimmingor floating for those with any energy left and col-lapsing in a heap for the rest of us before anothervisit to the pub.

Friday and the end of the week dawned; I am notsure I had worked all the volunteers quite hardenough as they still seemed able to get up early,however I’m sure they would disagree! The cul-vert team set off to complete as much as possi-ble whilst the rest of us returned to site. Due tohaving to wait a age for the pump to drain thewater the workboat which held all the tools andbits of fence was tidied; an attempt was madewith the concrete breaker but the post held fast(maybe I should have got Rob, Woody and Al totackle it after all). An entertaining challenge washeld to see who could bail the most water out ofthe puddles in the hole, in a minute, using a splitplastic container, I am not entirely sure how ef-fective it was but it was certainly entertaining view-ing! I think Patrick showed the greatest talent andwas even asked for a repeat performance! Wefinally managed to start on the brick laying andmanaged an impressive 6 concrete blocks not tomention some interesting consistencies of mor-tar, before it was time to clear up site. We left siteearly so vans and kit could be polished. The newhard hats have definitely been broken in in styleas the amount of mud which had to be washedoff would have rivalled Muddy Sally’s clothes!Friday night was party night with Viv doing usproud with Curry and rather lethal vodka jelly.Much laughter was had over various sets of pho-tos, the traditional presentation of silly prizes andtales from the week.

My thanks go to GrandWestern Canal Trust, theCanal Rangers Mark andCraig (for their magiclamps, any wish was theircommand!), variousother locals for kit andlaundry, Viv for the fabu-lous food, John H for be-ing my stand-in assistant,James for being MUP ofthe week, Ed for takingthat extra days holiday,anyone who got a phonecall from me during theweek and finally all thevolunteers for being a fabteam and making myrather unusual start as acamp leader an unforget-table experience!

Sal Nutt(Sally 1 or was it 2!)Woek begins on building the slipway walls. All photos by Al Parsons

page 9

Camp 0306Grand Western Canal, Devon

WantedHead Slave Driver (salary: bed, board and accessto showers)

Your task, should you wish to accept it, is to enterthe far away region of Devon and infiltrate thecanal system. Where upon you shall build a struc-ture to allow boats access to the water, improveaccess to said water feature, and also complete arestoration project on a less than perfect conditionwater underpass.

Due to unforeseen circumstances a week-longwork camp is now to encompass one and a halfweeks worth of work.

Slaves have been ordered, of various abilities,sexes, and ages, numbering 24 in total.

A Mess Master has been allocated to deal withtheir meals, and a willing accomplice Slave Driverwho is willing to do as many trips to various sup-pliers in a day as is required has already been found.

All that is needed now is a person who can:

· work the slaves for longer than they want to,without them realising· give out tasks to individuals that are backbreak-ing and tedious without batting an eyelid· send off a small group of slaves with minimalsupplies, to complete work on a second site withno supervision· cover up errors, by any party, by blatantly rip-ping out the slaves’ work in front of their very eyes· organise “social events” to make the slaves feelas if they ‘want’ to be there, and may even returnfor future hard labour· integrate the slaves and local Canal Trust whoseproject it is that we are to continue work on· send off relevant females to enlist help at thelocal builders’ merchants· work around the locals’ bingo evenings in the accom-modation, and late nights in the local public house.

Reward: The satisfaction of a job well done and areport to file detailing work accomplished.

On Saturday, most of the volunteers arrived (how Krisand Sam thought they could leave Aberdeen at 10and be with us by tea, I’ll never know! Poor little car),though we couldn’t get rid of some from the previouscamp, but mustn’t grumble - we don’t dictate the termsof Edd’s community service. A leisurely visit to themain site and the previous year’s site at Jay’s cuttinggave us a healthy appetite for the first of many amaz-ing ‘Mitch-meals’. Hugh from the local Trust helpfullyfilled in the background history for us (New term forthe WRG Dictionary – ‘Linear Park’. So, a canal witha footpath then?). The safety talk was also given af-ter we managed to get the tape player not to chew upthe second of our videos! Most retired to the localpub while others started scribbling on paper with felttips, which looked suspiciously like planning...

Main project: The Slipway

When we arrived on the main site (Boehill Bridge)on Saturday evening, Leader Lady pointed to twofoundations that were underwater and said, ‘...andthis is where we are going to build a slipway’.

Sunday dawned, we had a little pump trouble (notalcohol related), solved by Chris, and eventually thework site became clearer (as I’m sure all the earlymorning crews found as the sat and watched thechamber gradually empty of water, for two hours).Morris the Mixer was wheeled out in what was tobecome the daily ritual of ‘mixing the muck’, withthe help of his lovely assistant Phil. Volunteersplayed ‘pass the brick’ and other material shiftinggames. The games continued that first evening atthe bowling alley.

On site it was hotter than 20 navvies in a Wendyhouse. Everyone slowly melted over the first half ofthe week as the mercury edged up to the moist 30-degree mark. Opportunists took siestas while ice-lollies were dispensed.

‘BW Heritage style’ concrete blocks were laid (Ri-chard, Chris, Penny, Sam, Nina, Baz, Polly andBryan with his Stihl saw) on both side walls of theslipway, with bricks to follow on the inner wall abovethe water line. The walls were laid at a fair rate ofknots as no concrete could be poured until the gra-dient height had been reached. Before Nina leftus, in defiance of her ‘arty’ background she did someMaths and soon there was a definite ‘inclined plane’look to the growing walls. Another budding math-ematician pointed out that we might need a few moreblocks to complete the job, which led to a few ‘in-formative’ phone calls to ensure that more materi-als could reach us in time.

Then Mole shovelled while ‘Bryan the Barrow’shifted a phenomenal amount of 40-to-dust aggre-gate to form the core of the slipway, which Chriscompacted into a slope, leaving enough room forthe concrete on top.

With the walls looking good enough to lay concretebetween, the slope being perfect, and the shutter-ing in place, we made the deadline for the ReadyMix.Six tons plus weight of lorry led to a slight move-ment on the outside wall, which was quickly proppedwith the help of local farmer, Ken. Some artistictamping down finished off our lovely slipway.

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Camp reportsGrand Western Slipway part 2:Judith�s team finish the job

Mole, Bryan and Chris decided to make use of thethe left over concrete by making a level area lead-ing up to the slipway for better access. Gluttens forpunishment!

Meanwhile the amazing brickie team were layingthe blocks and bricks on the retaining wall, near thetowpath, to above water level, so that the Trust didn’thave to complete our handiwork in wetsuits andbreathing apparatus. The bricklaying continued wellinto Saturday (Baz, Sam, Robert, Richard), yes I’m abad person making my volunteers go down to site onthe final morning. We ended up leaving site at 11:30,well, all but Robert, ‘I really like bricklaying. I’ll juststay here until it gets dark, then I’ll go home’. We lefthim with 5 litres of squash, and a very big packet ofcustard creams. I hope he isn’t still there...

Fencing Part One

A fence had been removed to widen the access tothe soon-to-be slipway, which needed putting backup, but about one metre back. (Not-so-old Devon-shire saying: ‘A restoration of 11 miles begins with1 metre’).

The previous camp had tried to dig postholes withlittle success. The ground was solid. Solid as arock. Well, compacted road stone. So we swappedelbow grease for excavator ‘Blue’.

In two days Mole and Ernie dug out all the postholes,adding a much needed ‘texture’ to the road surfacein the process. Meanwhile a small but highly ‘moti-vated’ group (Mole, Bryan, Paul, and Gareth) be-gan to move fragments of the clay mound that hadburied the second fence and distribute along theembankment. Round one went to the mound, but arematch was scheduled for the next day. Towardsthe end of the first day of posts going into the groundit was brought to my attention that the posts werenot being laid exactly as per instruction. It took a littlewhile for it to dawn that if you put fence posts in fromthe top of a downward slope, buttry to keep all the tops level youwill eventually have a fence postfloating in mid air... The person re-sponsible for this will remainnameless. Fortunately the con-crete hadn’t gone off and couldbe reused as extra hard core soit all worked out well in the end.Unfortunately it meant that at theend of the day the fencing crewhad felt they had achieved little.But the practice was a great con-fidence booster for the next day,when all of the vertical posts wentin (Katie, Stuart, Kris, Paul,Helen). After that it was very im-pressively quick work to attach thefour runs of horizontals, and alength of sheep wire (team plusJohn). Local Canal Ranger Markcame along with a chainsaw andremoved the tops of the post totheir marked heights, and Krisgave a finishing touch of woodpreservative.

Removal of Clay Mountain

Then there was the small matter of a 50-ton moundof earth, removed from where the slipway was tobe built. Unfortunately it had decided to lean on afarmer’s fence a little. Well, quite a lot really. So thisearth had to be cleared and the brambles strimmedto allow access to the broken fence, which had thento be removed, and a new section erected to keepthe farmer’s crop safe from the wandering public.

We felt sorry for the previous camp having to shiftthe clay from the canal to the towpath. We tried tohide some of its vast quantity behind the new sec-tion of fencing, working with barrows and shovels.It is a tribute to subliminal effects of WRG’s Appealmarketing that every time one of the mound dig-gers looked up to see Blue sitting quietly in onecorner the phrase ‘The Right Tool for the Right Job’sprang to mind...

But in the end we had to admit there was no waywe could lose that much earth there without bury-ing the trees. Mark with the help of Blue was ableto take a couple of loads off our hands. Then alongcame Farmer Ken with his big tractor and trailer.Blue had his work cut out, dwarfed alongside thetrailer, his relative lack of reach called for some niftyearth moving. Eventually, after many loads, we wereleft with a much smaller pile of clay.

Fencing Part Two

Just when the fencing crew thought it was all over,the removal of Clay Mountain revealed the extentof the damage the underlying fence had sustained.A strimmer emerged and several keen volunteersstepped forwards. The bank never stood a chance;Gareth, Baz and Sam did well. Stuart sorted outthe post positioning, whilst the leader’s maths con-tinually failed her leading to Mark running about try-ing to find random numbers of verticals andhorizontals at very short notice!

page 11

With the walls complete and the hardcore base laid, the readymixconcrete surface of the slipway is cast.

The postholes were mattocked out, and all postswere put in in a short space of time on the Friday.So on Saturday morning I had a fencing crew downon site putting on the horizontals (Katie, Ernie,John). Slave driver I know, but it all got done.

Gatepost and signposts

Within the turning circle near the slipway there weretwo posts that needed removing. By borrowing abreaker from Steve, a member of the canal Trust, theassault began. When Jenni was put onto the breakershe single-handedly managed to stop Devonshire’sMotorway Maintenance Unit from continuing theirwork of repainting the overhead bridge. Hence, Jenniwas our chosen lass to go along with Gav to the build-er’s merchants to enlist help loading materials intothe back of RFB. Phil, though efficient on the breakerjust didn’t have the same effect.

‘The Culvert’

A culvert at a second site needed major rebuildingand pointing. This ‘two-day job’ rapidly became thework of a week and doubts arose within the rest ofthe camp as to whether the culvert actually existed.Were Robert and his helpers (Katie, John, Rich-ard, Penny) so keen to head off everyday to sun-bathe in the middle of a field, with stories of horsedrawn canal boats? Was ‘the Culvert’ actually thename of a local hostelry? (Fortunately for Robertwe now have photographic evidence of their handy-work, and very nice it is too!)

Maintenance

NJF maintenance - Something of a coup for Phil,as he single-handedly managed what the entiretyof London WRG had been unable to do: namelydiagnose and promptly cure a poorly mini bus thathad needed 4 pints of water everyday to keep itsradiator topped up.

Phil maintenance - Regrettably Phil’s own tubingwas in a seemingly incurable state. We were seri-ously considering hiring the UN’s weapons inspec-tors to check him out after one incident on the wayto the showers that practically peeled the paint fromthe inside of the minibus.

Volunteer maintenance - At one point I turnedaround to see Jenni sitting under the bridge not look-ing too happy. ‘Oh no, am I working them all toohard?! I didn’t think I was asking too much of them!!’But it turned out that Jenni and a lump hammer hadhad a disagreement. Gav whisked her off to A&E,where they were asked, ‘Is this a work related inci-dent?’ They looked down at their high vis jackets,dusty site clothes and hard hats...

The locals

One evening, Dennis from the local Trust kindly in-vited us to home which must rival a certain dwellingnear Leek as it has not only a section of canal in thegarden but the remains of one the world’s first suc-cessful boat lifts! Dennis gave us a ‘Mystery Tour’ ofthe site which though ruined is still very impressive,with a boat lift, ornamental aqueduct and a walledcarriage-way built, in part, by Brunel as an induce-ment for the local landowner’s co-operation.

Once again Dennis played host to us (mad?) andhad the charcoal smouldering ready for ‘Baz &Mitch’s Barbecue delights’, while the Park Rangershad kindly donated some beers. (Note: The Rang-ers have the coolest toy: a boat mounted weed cut-ter straight out of ‘Doctor No.’. If we could just getJen to fit some blowtorches...)

One couple that drifted up to our dam in a form of acaravan-afloat also donated a slab of beer, whilsteveryone passing had nothing but kind words to say.The Press seem to think we did a good job too.Two articles in one week!

Big ‘thank yous’ to everybody who came on thecamp, no matter how long you stayed, none of thiscould have been achieved without you. Take a goodlook at all the photos, and smile with pride. Thankyou especially to Sally, for staying on a couple ofdays after the end of her camp to help with thechange over of leadership. And for those of youwho helped out with catering, I’m sure you realisedhow much it was appreciated as it was the only quietpoint in the day(or night!) Thanks to all those noton the camp who supported us so much, especiallyMark for running round getting supplies and hireequipment at short notice, the local Trust for theircontinued support throughout, and to Ken theFarmer who didn’t like to stand around whilst histrailer was being loaded.

Judith Gordon

Above: the fencing team at work. Below: the com-pleted slipway sees its first boat. All photos: Mark Baker

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Camp 0307: Julyt12th-19thNWPG at Sidney Wood, Wey & Arun Canal

From the start this looked being a camp of mixedfortunes. ‘Aren’t they all?’ you may ask. It startedon the previous Tuesday when the local organ-iser advised that our familiar, comfortable (all rela-tive of course) and pub-convenient hall at Kird-ford had been double booked and wasn’t avail-able on the first Saturday night of the camp. ‘OK,’I thought, ‘we’ll go somewhere else that night andreturn to Kirdford on Sunday for the rest of theweek. A pain, but not unheard of on other campsand we’ll manage somehow’. Two days later i.e.Thursday before the camp, we were told that thedouble bookings had spread to Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday... need I say more? And that we hadno accommodation. This despite the dates of thecamp being known since September 2002!

So, some harsh words and fortuitously a solution.Thanks to the sterling efforts of WACT stalwartKen Bacon, we managed to find ourselves some-where interestingly described as a ‘conferencecentre’ but on a farm at the end of a lane andallegedly within walking distance of ‘The Sun’ atPlaistow. Here we eventually settled after one nighteach at Kirdford and Plaistow Village Hall. Canalvolunteers are by their nature adaptable. It wasn’tlong before we had turned the ‘conference cen-tre’ ( a timber framed 15th Century barn) into ourhome for the rest of the week. The ubiquitous (andvery cumbersome) WACT shower caravan wastowed 5 miles across Sussex countryside andplumbed in, ensuring that we had full washing fa-cilities. The farmer’s large covered car parkingarea was rapidly converted into our own Greektaverna – and a kitchen set up with a huge numberof fridges and freezers whose main purposeseemed to be to keep the beer cold.

Two long paragraphs and not a mention of anywork? Must be a camp report! Our main task wasto complete the Dig Deep project in Sidney Woodand additionally to do a number of other jobs re-quested by WACT. To do this we had the help of 26volunteers: six new to canal restoration courtesyof WRG, three returnees from previous camps,and the hardcore of NWPG members. Oh and Ishouldn’t forget the contingent of two WRG For-estry members without whom our camps wouldnever be complete. Female volunteers were inshort supply, not that this affected our morale orproductivitiy in any way. Quality not quantity etc…

The work was dispersed and involved small teamsscattered along a ¾-mile length of the gloriouslywooded summit section of the canal. That we were‘in the woods’ was fortunate as the first half of theweek just got hotter and hotter; the temperaturein the shade was bearable.

The main two jobs were to continue surfacing the tow-path with planings (120 tons of them!) and to completethe construction of the run-off weir started in May. Otherwork involved removing a causeway, piping a cause-way, building up the dam at the end of the TicknersHeath pound and tidying up the previous Dig Deepsites at Bignor Bridge and Malham and Rowner Locks.Much travelling and shifting of materials and plant.

As I said earlier it was a camp of mixed fortunes.After 13 years of running camps we had, on theThursday, our first serious accident. This involved askip dumper (very useful on towpaths, but with ahigher centre of gravity and therefore less stable onuneven ground [see editorial, page 3 ...Ed]) turningover onto its side whilst the driver Sean was in theprocess of tipping clay onto a stockpile. Wearing aseat belt, Sean remained on the vehicle but caughthis ankle under the machine’s fuel tank as it fell onits side. Help was summoned immediately and hewas taken to the Royal County Hospital in Guildfordwhere he was diagnosed as having multiple frac-tures to his ankle. He is recovering as I write but willbe off work for some time. Being a self-employed pup-peteer and from Australia (though fortunately withfamily living in Surrey) adds to the complications.

As a team, looking back on the incident, I believewe acted effectively to ensure that Sean got tohospital without delay. We advised IWA Insurancestraight away and have since completed an acci-dent report form. We are now looking at why theaccident happened and what should be done toprevent a similar occurrence in the future. NWPGmembers have been in regular contact with Seanin his involuntary confinement.

Despite the accident the camp was a success. Thetowpath, dams, weir structure and outfall were fin-ished as far as we planned, leaving the stop-plankarrangement and fence to be intsalled in October.Hopefully the rest of the towpath to Lock 16 can becompleted then as well. None of it would have hap-pened without the excellent volunteers who workedsolidly throughout the week on sometimes not veryinspiring tasks, our cook Su Webster – unflappableas usual - the tolerence of the owners of RumboldsFarm and the two organisers Graham and Graham.

Bill Nicholson

Camp reportsNWPG on the Wey & Arun:completing the Dig Deep project

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Camp reportsMon & Brec: bridge repairs andmudfights in South Wales

Camp 0308: 19th - 26th JulyMonmouthshure & Brecon Canal

For some reason I was elected Camp Reportwriter, so I have done my best to make this anenjoyable read!

It’s all my Dad’s fault I came on this Camp (thanksDad!) This was my first ever camp, so I had noidea what to expect: I imagined a group of oldmen with shovels moaning about the state of Brit-ain’s canals. I was so wrong! Most of the peoplethat came on this particular camp were 18-25years old, so I was happy that there were peopleof my own age there.

Our leader was Robert Daffern (Referred to asRob D to avoid confusion with the other Rob),and he was very good at it too!

Day 1 – Saturday

‘What have I done?’ I asked myself as I got on thecoach bound for Cardiff. I was rather nervous,wondering if I would met any fellow WRG’ers. Iarrived at Birmingham where I successfully tippedcoffee down my shiny new red WRG t-shirt! I gotto Newport, and got accosted by a bunch of pi-geons using guerilla tactics to try and stealmy sandwich. It wasn’t until I met Balazs(from Hungary, no less) that they focusedtheir attention away from me, and went andpestered someone else. Balazs turned outto be a friendly chap, though somewhatvague on his English. Any question youasked, e.g. ‘How did you come here?’ hewould answer ‘Of course, of course, yes isgood’. He turned out to have come from theWey & Arun camp the previous week, andwas enjoying it so much he came to our camp.He also brought a 10-inch Hungarian sausagewith him, which we ate later in the week.

After about 10 mins I spotted the van (later Ifound out it was customary to refer to WRGvehicles by their last 3 letters on the numberplate), and we were whisked off to the accom-modation by Mike (the assistant leader). Wearrived at the accommodation and got to knowpeople as they arrived.

Day 2 – Sunday

The day began with an early breakfast, then onto the 14 Locks Visitor Center for our Health andSafety video, and then on to the site (about an-other 4 miles away in the middle of nowhere) tosee what we were to do.

At the site we were met by a chap called SpencerCollins (apparently he has been doing this a longtime) who showed us around the site and showedus what work we would be doing. The main jobswere to dig out the culvert pipes from under thebridge, as they had been vandalised by kids push-ing the bridge coping stones onto them, to repairthe damaged bridge, and put a concrete cap onit, and to dig out and repair the overflow weir about100 yards away.

By the end of the day the culvert pipes were gone,the site had been fenced off (By me, James, andMike) and we had exposed an odd-looking mudtrench which was claimed to be the weir.

Day 3 – Monday

WHO WAS SNORING ALL LAST NIGHT!?!?!?

Most of us woke up feeling the effects of the daybefore (not sure whether it was the work, or thenight at the pub next door to the accom.) all, that is,apart from our fearless Leader - Rob (D) - whoseems to be indestructible. Today we were to getsome ‘plant’ in (I was told that this wasn’t chrysan-themums but a digger and a dumper truck).

The sand, cement and hardcore were all deliv-ered today, and I had to clear the area for thestuff by using a strimmer (what a machine!!).

Repairing the bridge parapets. (Mike Rennolds)

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After lunch I volunteered to rebuild the cofferdams, and to puddle the clay on the top of them.Unfortunately I got rather stuck and ended up onmy back in about a foot of freezing cold water.Everyone thought this was very funny, until Istarted to sink in the mud, when trying to lift my-self out, then Robert (Bailey) came to my rescueand pulled me out! (Nice one!)

A cup of tea, a good clean up and a night of ten-pin bowling soon brought me round.

Day 4 – Tuesday

We got a lot of the pointing done on the bridge,and started to put some cement coping on thetop instead of the heavy stones. We got the weircleared pretty much, and made a start on gettingrid of the silt at the bottom of the culvert. The weirshares a culvert with a small (but powerful anddeep) stream. We also dug a trench to put in theconcrete footings for the outside wall of the weir.

Day 5 - Wednesday

We began to put some concrete on the bridge,and started to try and uncover the canal-side partof the weir. Mike got stung by a bee (there is anest in a tree next to the front of the weir) but heis OK, the bee was worse. We got the concretefootings in, and were ready to rebuild.

Also we made an effort to pump out the culvert touncover the bottom, but we couldn’t get the pumpto work, so Rob (D) suggested that we re-prime thepump with it still running. Thinking ‘This guy is theleader: he knows what he’s doing’ I agreed to help.However I didn’t hear Steve (The man from BW)shout ‘STOP!’ so I carried on pouring and then ahuge fountain of water shot up and soaked meright through. They all laughed heartily. Spencer‘I’m a WRG Trainer’ Collins got the excavator stuckin the mud!! Nice example of how NOT to do it.

A visit to Newport leisure centre for a soak and aswim (with slide ‘wooooo’ and waves) made eve-ryone feel human again.

Day 6 – Thursday

We tried to continue shoveling the muck out of thebottom of the culvert, but gave up as there was justtoo much, and the excavator has no solid ground tosit on so can’t help us. We concentrated our effortson the bridge, and began to build the wall in theweir, while ‘Ched’ and Robert (Bailey) had a mudfight.

‘We are supposed to be having a BBQ tonightcourtesy of the Mon & Brec Canal Trust - that willbe interesting as it has been raining for the lasthour. Aha, they have a gazebo, they must havebeen to Wales before!’

Day 7 – Friday

It was raining. A lot. Rob D thought that just a fewof us should go to site and clear away our tools,and check that all was OK. A few of us volun-teered, but when we got there we found that some-one has stuffed twigs into the lock of the cabinsso we couldn’t get in. Toby (The Chef) came tothe rescue with his multi-tool and the day wassaved…or so we thought. We took a stroll to thebridge and found that ‘Max’ and ‘Tony’ had writtentheir names in the cement, as well as handprintsand paw prints, and that they had had a go at thewall in the overflow.

‘You’d better start running guys, because you gota whole load of cheesed off WRG’ers after youwith some feet-sized buckets of wet cement. Iwonder what they are planning?’

It seems the week usually finishes with a WRGOscars event. Noteable awards included ‘caughtby the oldest trick in the book’ given to me andthe water pump, ‘best camper’ to Allan, and the‘Jeremy Paxman’ (for political debate) to Sam.

Overall it was a brilliant first time experience forme, and I will definitely go again. My thanks tothe two fantastic cooks Toby and Sam, our fear-less leader Rob and his ever-willing assistant Mikefor their understanding and open-mindedness, tothe other Rob (Bailey) for pulling me out of thecanal, and to Kay the landlady of the pub nextdoor for putting up with us all night, every night!

In closing I want to say to all of you folks whohave thought about going on a camp but nevergot round to it, GO FOR IT! You may be surprisedhow much you enjoy yourself!

Jonathan Price

Adding a cement coping to the bridge. (Mike Rennolds)

Canal Camps cost £35 per week unless otherwiseBookings for WRG Canal Camps (those identifiedcamp number e.g. 'Camp 0313') should go to WRGCamps, PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY.Tel: 01923 711114. Email: [email protected].

page 16

DiaryAug 18-28 Camp 0315 IWA Nationhal Waterways Festival at Beale Park, River Thames: Site Services f

Aug 22-25 wrgNW The ‘National’ (Beale Park, Pangbourne): Sales Stand

Aug 24 Sun IWPS Bugsworth Basin

Aug 30 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection

Aug 31 Sun EAWA North Walsham & Dilham Canal

Sep 1 Mon Navvies Press date for issue 201

Sep 6/7 KESCRG Basingstoke Canal: Dig Deep: Backpumping scheme at St Johns.

Sep 6/7 Essex WRG To be arranged

Sep 6/7 London WRG Uttoxeter Canal: Stonework & repointing on Lock 1, at Froghall.

Sep 6-13 Camp 0316 Wilts & Berks Canal: Melksham. Leaders: Richard Hignett & Roger Burchett.

Sep 7 Sun IWPS Bugsworth Basin

Sep 13/14 NWPG Mon & Brec Canal: near Newport, South Wales.

Sep 14 Sun WRG Committee & Board Meetings

Sep 20/21 wrgBITM Grantham Canal

Sep 21 Sun IWPS Bugsworth Basin

Sep 27/28 London WRG Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal (to be confirmed)

Sep 28 Sun EAWA North Walsham & Dilham Canal

Oct 4/5 KESCRG To be arranged

Oct 4/5 Essex WRG To be arranged

Oct 4/5 wrgNW To be arranged (or may move to Oct 18/19)

Oct 11/12 NWPG To Be Arranged

Oct 11 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection

Oct 18/19 wrgBITM Lapal Canal: Jungle bashing in Selly Oak. Leader: Alec Gunner.

Oct 18/19 wrgNW Cromford Canal: Cleanup (provisional) at Sawmills, near Ambergate.

Oct 18/19 London WRG Wilts & Berks Canal: Dig Deep project

Oct 19 Sun IWPS Bugsworth Basin

Oct 25-Nov 1 Camp 0317 Chichester Canal: Clearing trees & vegetation. Leaders: Joanne Smith & Steve

Oct 26 Sun EAWA North Walsham & Dilham Canal

Nov 1/2 Essex WRG To be arranged - or possibly a week later at the Bonfire Bash instead

Nov 1 Sat Navvies Press date for issue 202: Also for Canal Camps brochure

Nov 2 Sun IWPS Bugsworth Basin

Nov 8/9 WRG WRG Reunion ‘Bonfire Bash’ - venue to be announced. Insert will be included in

Nov 8/9 KESCRG WRG Bonfire Bash

Nov 8/9 wrgNW WRG Bonfire Bash

Nov 8/9 London WRG WRG Bonfire Bash

Nov 8/9 NWPG To Be Arranged

Nov 15/16 wrgBITM Wendover Arm

e stated.d by aG Canal

uk

Please send updates to Diary compiler:Dave Wedd, 7 Ringwood Rd, Blackwater, Camberley, Surrey GU17 0EY.

Tel 01252 874437. e-mail: [email protected].

page 17

for the Festival. Leaders: Alison Bottomley & Mitch Parsons [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]

Ian Edgar 01663-732493

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179

Kevin Baker 01362-699855

Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]

Answerphone 01622-858329 [email protected]

John Gale 01277-654683 [email protected]

Tim Lewis 020-8367-6227 [email protected]

[email protected]

Ian Edgar 01663-732493

Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]

Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]

Ian Edgar 01663-732493







David McCarthy 0161-740-2179




Ian Edgar 01663-732493

Davis [email protected]



Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]

Ian Edgar 01663-732493

n this issue if details are available in time; otherwise see next ‘Navvies’ and WRG website.






DiaryCanal society regularworking parties

Regular monthly or weekly working parties:3rd Sunday of month BCNS Jeff Barley 01543-3732842nd Sunday & following Wed. BCS Cosgrove Athina Beckett 01908-661217Anytime inc. weekdays BCT Aqueduct section Gerald Fry 01288-353273Every Sunday ChCT Various sites Mick Hodgetts 01246-620695Mon & Wed mornings CCT Cotswolds Dudley Greenslade 01453 825515Every weekend (Sat OR Sun) CCT Cotswolds Neil Ritchie 01452-8540571st Sunday of month CCT Cotswolds: summit Mark Welton 01453-872405Wednesday evenings CCT Cotswolds: East end Keith Harding 01451-860181Every Saturday DCT Droitwich Canal Jon Axe 0121-608 0296Last Sunday of month EAWA N Walsham & Dilham Kevin Baker 01362-6998554th Sunday of month ECPDA Langley Mill Michael Golds 0115-932-8042Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined PlaneMike Beech 0116-279-26571st & 3rd Sundays GCRS Grantham Canal Colin Bryan 0115-989-22482nd Sat of month GWCT Nynehead Lift Denis Dodd 01823-661653Tuesdays H&GCT Oxenhall Brian Fox 01432-358628Wednesdays H&GCT Over Ted Beagles 01452-522648Saturdays H&GCT Over Maggie Jones 01452-618010Occasional Sundays H&GCT Over wharf house fitout Nigel Bailey 01452-533835Every Sunday if required IWPS Bugsworth Basin Ian Edgar 01663-7324931st Saturday & 3rd Wed. IWA Ipswich Stowmarket Navigtn. Colin Turner 01473-7305862nd weekend of month IWA SBC Maesbury, Mont. Barry Tuffin 01691-670826/492nd weekend of month K&ACT John Rolls 01189-6663161st Sunday of month LHCRT Lichfield Peter Matthews 01543-3189333rd 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 01483-721710Last Sunday of month SNT Haverholme Lock Dave Pullen 01673-8622783rd Sunday of month TMCA David Rouse 01474-362861Approx 15th of month WACT Mid-Week group Colin Gibbs 020-82417736Every Sunday & Thursday WACT Devils Hole Lock Eric Walker 023-9246-3025Thursdays fortnightly WACT Maintenance Unit Peter Wilding 01483-422519or for general information on Wey & Arun contact their office on 01403-7524031st weekend of month WAT Little Tring Roger Leishman 01442-874536Every weekend WBCT Wilts & Berks Canal Peter Smith 01793-852883Every Sunday W&BCC Dauntsey / Foxham Rachael Banyard 01249-892289Please send any amendments, additions and deletions to Dave Wedd (address on previous page)

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 TrustD&SCS Derby & Sandiacre Canal SocietyGCRS Grantham Canal Restoration SocietyGWCT Grand Western Canal TrustH&GCT Hereford & Gloucester Canal TrustIWA SBC IWA Shrewsbury & Border Counties

IWPS Inland Waterways Protection SocietyK&ACT Kennet & Avon Canal TrustKESCRG Kent & E Sussex Canal Rest. GroupLHCRT 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 TrustTMCA Thames & Medway Canal AssociationWBCT Wilts & Berks Canal TrustW&BCC Wilts & Berks Canal CompanyWACT Wey & Arun Canal TrustWAT Wendover Arm Trust

Mobile groups' social evenings(please phone to confirm before turning up)

London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11 days beforeeach dig. Usually at 'Jugged Hare', VauxhallBridge Rd, London. Tim Lewis 020-8367 6227 ore-mail [email protected].

NWPG: 9:00pm on 3rd Tue of month at the'Hope Tap', West end of Friar St. Reading.Graham Hawkes 0118 941 0586

LettersRestoration plans for theChard Canal?

Dear Martin

The article on Hollinwood brings to mind the fa-mous quote from David Hutchings at the reopen-ing of the southern Stratford Canal in 1964:

‘If we’d been experts we’d have known it was im-possible - fortunately none of us were experts!’

It would be a great pity if such delights as CrimeLake and Daisy Nook were denied to future wa-terway users and I wonder, from reading the arti-cle, as the Rochdale Canal is so close, if it could bepromoted as a useful branch / extension to the Ro-chdale initially, leaving the problems of negotiatingthe M60 crossings and reconnecting to the AshtonCanal to a later date when financial support mightbe more available. Ideally, of course, the whole routeshould be made available now, but Droylsdon Coun-cil, for one, has been singularly unsupportive ofwaterway-related schemes in the past and I regret-tably do not see them going out of their way tosupport us now if the past is any indication.

On a different matter, when are the answers tothe appeal quizzes going to appear? We knowthe winners of the first quiz but, so far, no an-swers have been given.

Incidentally, when I was going to Cornwall on holi-day this year, I crossed the remains of the ChardCanal; are there any plans afoot to preserve oreven restore any of this major undertaking whichconnected to the Bridgwater & Taunton at CreechSt Michael, albeit including a number of inclinedplanes and a tunnel in its route, and what becameof the plans for a Somerset waterway network thatwas very much in vogue a few years back? I lookforward to your reply with interest.

RegardsBrian Andrews

Brian’s suggestion of a new cut from the Rochdaleto the Hollinwood branch initially as a dead-endwaterway is an interesting one. Might Daisy Nookbecome a popular overnight stopping point for boatsheading into / out of Manchester on the Rochdale?

I will make sure that the answers to the first quiz are onthe web site by the time this issue appears, and thatthe answers to subsequent quizzes appear promptly.

I understand that a former canal building in Chardhas become available and may end up as a mu-seum / interpretation centre; also I believe therema be a new restoration group being formed. Withincreased activity on the Grand Western, nowmight be a good time to push the ‘Somerset Net-work’ idea. Anyone know any more aboat resto-ration plans for the Chard? ...Ed

Dear Martin

Some of your readers might be interested in thefollowing web site - http://www.itnarchive.com/ andin particular the British Pathe section. Your olderreaders will, I’m sure, remember the cockerelannouncing the 10 minutes of Pathe News as theywaited for the main feature at the local cinema.

Given some lottery funding, the whole of the PatheNews film archive from 1910 to 1970 has nowbeen made available on the Web without charge.Because they are free to view the clips are pro-tected by a visible watermark ‘BRITISH PATHEPREVIEW ONLY’ and are shown at a bit rate of128 Kb/sec which is a bit clunky but gives a rea-sonable picture.

I used the search engine to look for ‘canals’ ex-cluding the words ‘suez’ and ‘zone’ and got back376 hits. I would guess about 50 to 100 of thoserelate to our own Inland Waterways. I’m sure thatwith a bit more work I could narrow the searchbut it’s quite interesting looking at some of thecanal shots from other countries.

I looked at a short film in colour about the Ander-ton Boat Lift from 1964 which showed the old gearwheels working at the top and another in B&W ofthe lift shot in 1931 and titled ‘A Queer Lift’! Therewas another clip about Sister Mary Ward at StokeBruerne in 1949 and one about the drab repaintingof boats in BW colours in 1949. On a sadder notethere was a clip about the search for a lost 5 yearold child - Jimmy Poole - showing the Grand Uniondrained and policeman searching the canal bed.

How many people know about the electric boatsat Kidderminster on the Staffs & Worcs? Theyappear to be fed current from an overhead line,just like a tram. The earliest waterways clip I foundwas from the 19th June 1919 showing BoultersLock on the Thames. The Health & Safety peoplewould be horrified!

Obviously Broadband is quicker but because ofthe low bit rate even a dial-up connection won’tbe too slow. Give it a try.

Spencer Greystrong

Dear Martin

In the United States, almost nothing is happen-ing in the way of canal restoration or in the use ofhistoric towpath canals for public navigation inanything larger than canoes. However, that doesnot mean that there are not possibilities.

A canal that would have to be at the top of any listof possibilities is the Delaware Division Canal.This canal was built by the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania as part of its system of internal im-provements in the early nineteenth century. Itextended from tidewater on the Delaware Riverat Bristol, PA (just north of Philadelphia), up thewest side of the river 60 miles to the mouth of theLehigh River at South Easton, PA. A dam acrossthe Lehigh at its junction with the Delaware Riversupplied the canal with water. Further water wassupplied by a wing dam and waterwheel pump atNew Hope, PA., near the midpoint.

At South Easton, the canal connected with theLehigh Navigation which ran up its namesake riverto the coal mines and with the mountain climbingMorris Canal which crossed New Jersey to theHudson River opposite New York City. An outletlock at New Hope allowed boats to cross the Dela-ware River to the navigable feeder of the Dela-ware and Raritan Canal.

As originally built, locks were 11 feet wide by 95feet long. This compares with the connectingLehigh Canal where most locks were 22 feet wideby 100 feet long. The narrower locks were appar-ently influenced by those on English canals. Theresult was that the narrow boats that traveled theDelaware Canal could be locked through two wideon the Lehigh. Later, when the Delaware Canalbecame controlled by the Lehigh Coal and Navi-gation Company, some of the locks were rebuiltto the larger dimensions. The size of the locksprobably also determined the era of the canal’sdemise.

The canal opened for business in 1832. In 1858,the commonwealth sold the canal to a privatecorporation, which in 1866 leased it to the LehighCoal and Navigation Company. It was then oper-ated as an extension of the Lehigh Canal until itclosed in 1931.

Upon closing, the canal was deeded back to Penn-sylvania as a sixty-mile long state park.

But 1931 was a different era from today. It wasearly in the depression, railroads were the stand-ard of transportation, the automobile was thegrowing trend, and leisure and recreational boat-ing were unknown. Canals were considered ob-solete.

Despite the park status, the large Bristol Basin atthe lower end was filled in with river dredging spoilto provide parking for the adjacent business dis-trict. Various road crossings were culverted.

In the early 1950’s, a portion of the canal at Bris-tol was filled in to provide a site for a school. Afew miles north, the canal was culverted to pro-vide parking for a new shopping center. Just southof Morrisville, a railroad spur line and a highwaywere built across the canal to access a new steelmill. Both the highway and the railroad were builthigh enough and have bridges to cross othernearby highways and railroads that parallel thecanal, but no bridges were provided for the canalitself. But north of the abused southern ten miles,the canal park came to be viewed differently as itis along the river and in a more upscaleneighborhood. There, groups of canal defenderscame into existence.

Despite the defenders, the canal park was underfunded. But despite the abuse, much of the southend of the canal survives, in water and park-like,between obstructions. The northern fifty milessurvived much better. But none of the locks re-mained operable. For many years, much of thecanal was dry.

page 20

TheDelawareDivision

Canal

South Easton

Bristol

New Hope

Morrisville

Point Pleasant

Locks 1-3

56

7

8

4

Tide Lock

9-11

12

13-14

15-1617

1819

20

21

22/23

Lock 24LehighCanaltoLehigh

Morris Canal to New York

Delaware River to Philadelphia

Delaware &RaritanCanalto New York

Feeder

PENNSYLVANIA

NEW JERSEY

Recently things are looking up. For many years,a mule drawn boat ride has operated at New Hope(which is an arts and craft center). The park hasbeen recognized as the third most visited in Penn-sylvania. A five-year improvement program isunderway. Last year Lock 22/23 was rebuilt, butwithout lower gates. The deteriorated Point Pleas-ant Aqueduct was replaced with an award win-ning wooden one of navigable dimensions. Thisyear Lock 11 at New Hope is to be rebuilt to oper-ating condition. Other improvements are alsoplanned. This spring, I observed water in the ca-nal for its entire unculverted, unfilled-in length forthe first time in my experience.

Interestingly, of the major obstructions at thesouthern end, the steel mill is now out of busi-ness, the shopping center has been torn down,and the school is obsolete. There is much enthu-siasm for further improvement. However, the ideaof restoring public navigation is still very radical.Many are working to change that perception.

The fight with the negative attitude continues.Currently, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissionis seeking to void the historical designation for partof the canal. They point out that in the 1950’s, whenthe commission built its bridge over the DelawareRiver, they filled in a hundred yards or so of thecanal. But the bridge actually spans the canal withadequate clearance and with the west abutmentlying west of the line of the channel and towpath.

The commission wants to replace thepresent bridge with two new ones withouthaving to think about the historic canal. Asusual everywhere, the road builders can’tsee how to accommodate any view but theirown.

My view is that the best way to protect theresource is to restore locks, remove obstruc-tions, and restore public navigation. Navi-gation forces the protection of the other usessuch as the towpath and wildlife habitat.Once we get boaters on the canal, there willbe even more political clout for preservation.

Sincerely,

David G. BarberPresident, American Canal Society

Dear Martin

The "passing-place" lock on the Monmouth-shire Canal that you refer to (Navvies 199page 13) is similar to, though smaller than,one on the Stover canal. The picture (be-low) shows BITM working on this lock in Au-gust 2001.

page 21

Local knowledge has it that this side shelf designwas a kind of dry dock which was used to carryout essential repairs to the timber carrying barges,after a more conventional maintenance facilty fur-ther upstream became unavailable. Clearly thisarangement could only be practical on low usagecanals since the dock area would need to be floodedevery time another boat passed through the lock.

In the floor of the dock area, at the point where Diand Katie can be seen working, was the remains ofa stone "stock" used to stabilise the stem of theboat. From memory, I believe there was a similarstone cill at the other end to support the stern.

John Cheesbrough

The dry dock idea seems possible but (a) the Mon-mouthshire Canal was rather busier than the Stover,(b) the ‘shelves’ are rather less generous than onthe Stover, and would barely fit a boat - with noroom to work around it - and (c) apparently therewas a perfectly good drydock just below the bottomof the flight. The ‘passing place’ theory would seemmore likely, but it would have been a time-consum-ing business shuffling the boats into and out of theside shelves (which they would only just fit in) -would it really have saved much time comparedto waiting till the oncoming boat is through thelocks? And I can’t see how it would result in anysaving of water - in fact, builing the ‘shelves’ wouldhave meant the lock needed more water to fill it.Any other theories? ...Ed

Graving Dock Lock on the Stover Canal - the side shelf actsas a dry-dock. Were the similar side shelves on the Mon &Brec lock built for the same reason? (John Cheesbrough)

Dear Martin

Camp 10 Mon and Brec part II - just a few thankyous....

Firstly a big thank you to all the other 32 peoplewho made it to Cross Keys: you where a fantasticgroup and I thoroughly enjoyed the week and lookforward to seeing you all soon.

Specific thank yous go out to Jenny Wilson ourchef of the week, Garry ‘2 Rs’ Alderman as mypartner in crime and Liz Wilson our resident En-tertainments Manager. Also a big thank you toRob and Mike - leaders of the previous camp -and their team who through hard work, and de-spite challenging weather, gave us the opportu-nity to finish the project.

Lastly thanks to Steve ‘BW’ Price, stonemasonextraordinaire, Chris Morgan and Phil’s team forencouragement and the BBQ, boat trip, hall etc.A full report will appear in the next issue courtesyof the Ents Manager!

CheersIan ‘mud wrestling’ Williamson

Camp Leader

Letter from Mark Baker, Grand Western CanalManager to Mike Palmer, WRG Chairman:

Dear Mr Palmer,

WRG work camps on the Grand Western Ca-nal, Devon, July 2003

I am writing to thank IWA/ WRG for running twovery successful work camps here at the GrandWestern Canal Country Park.

All of the main work objectives were achieved andas you can see from the photo (see p12), we nowhave a working slipway. The boat and trailer pic-tured are just about as big as they come, so wewere very pleased that they had no problems inrecovering. I was also very pleased with the res-toration work carried out on two of our culvert en-trances.

As a leader of international conservation holidaysfor BTCV, I was very impressed with the standardof leadership of the two groups. Sally did extremelywell despite having quite an inexperienced groupand most of the ‘unglamorous’ preparatory workto do. Judith was a very natural, well-organisedand confident leader who achieved a tremendousamount in the second week.

We plan to have an official opening of the slipwaysometime later this year.

I believe that the volunteers had an enjoyableholiday and that the leaders felt well catered for -both by the Ranger Service and the Grand West-ern Canal Trust. I would be very keen to welcomethe WRG back again next year as we have noshortage of tasks and I was impressed by thestandard of work achieved by these groups.

Yours sincerelyMark Baker

Canal Manager

Brian Bayston’s puzzle which appeared in thelast issue produced an impressive number of re-sponses - two. (I was impressed that anyone both-ered to work it out, let alone two people!)

For those who don’t have issue 199 to hand, I willrepeat the puzzle:

Brian ran the highly successful Race Nightat Aston - highly successful in terms of fund-raising for the Appeal, but also highly suc-cessful if you happened to be Liz Dewey. Shebacked two horses in each of the eight eight-horse races and won every time. She also hadtwo goes at the ‘Tricast’, where you predict thewinning three horses in the correct order inthe final race - and won. And she bought ahorse in the final race - and it won! Briansays ‘What are the odds against that?’

Dear Martin

I assume that Liz backed horses to win rather than geta place, that at least three horses finished the last raceand that no races were drawn. It makes things easier.

Liz chose two horses in each eight horse race, soher chances of winning on each race were 8/2 =1 in 4. There were eight races so her chances ofwinning on all eight races were 4 to the power 8 =1 in 65536. For the Tricast the number of waysthe race can finish are 8 times 7 times 6 = 336.Liz had two goes at this so her chances of win-ning were 336/2 = 1 in 168. The chances of buy-ing the winning horse in the final race are 1 in 8.

The overall odds against Liz's achievement are65536 times 168 times 8 = 1 in 88,080,384. Over88 Million to 1!

No doubt as soon as I send this I will realise thereis a flaw in my working.

Perhaps Liz should start betting on real races andwin us enough money to restore all the disusedwaterways and build some new ones.

RegardsGraham Fitt

page 22

Dear Martin

If you back 2 horses in an 8 horse race (assum-ing the odds of each winning are even) there is a1/4 chance of a picking a winner. As each race isan independent event, the multiplication law ofprobability applies, hence the chance of picking awinner in all 8 races is 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4x 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 (or 1/4 to the power of 8). Thisgives a probability of 1/65536.

The tricast is slightly more tricky: to pick the win-ner is a chance of 1/8, to pick the horse in secondplace is a chance of 1/7 (as there are only 7 horsesleft to chose from), and to pick third place is a chanceof 1/6. Thus the chance of getting all three correct is1/8 x 1/7 x 1/6 which gives a probability of 1/336.

Lastly the chances of buying the winning horse inthe race is easy: 1/8.

Multiplying this all together give a probability ofall events occurring of 1/65536 x 1/336 x 1/8 or 1/176160768.

But Martin did not give enough information, yousee a winner for the purposes of this race nightwas a horse coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd. If you have 2horses in an 8 horse race, the chance of one ofthem coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd is 3/8 + 3/8 or 6/8 or3/4. The chances of getting this in 8 races is 3/4to the power of 8 or 6561/65536.

So the overall probability of achieving Liz Dewey’sfeat is 6561/65536 x 1/336 x 1/8 or 6561/176160768. Roughly 1 in 26850!

So Liz, can you pick me 6 numbers for this Satur-day?

Bungle

The editor replies (you knew he wouldn’t be ableto resist it!):

Graham’s three assumptions are all correct - Lizdid back the winning horse each time, at leastthree horses finished the last race (in fact I thinkall eight horses finished every race) and therewere no dead-heats.

I don’t know where Bungle got the idea about anyhorse in the first three paying out - if we’d beenrunning that system I don’t think we’d have madeany profit for the Appeal at all!

But even if that were the case, there is a flaw inBungle’s logic. The probability of backing one of thefirst three horses with a single bet is indeed 3/8, butbacking two different horses doesn’t double the prob-ability. It can’t do, otherwise if you bet on three horsesyou’d end up a more-than-100% chance of winning!

The flaw is that you haven’t allowed for the chancethat more than one of the horses you back comesin the first three. To calculate it correctly, you workout the probability of not winning with the first bet(5/8), and the probability of not winning with thesecond bet (4/7), multiply these together to givethe chances of losing both bets (20/56 = 5/14) andsubtract this from one to give the chances of win-ning with either one or both bets (9/14). The chancesof this happening in all eight races is 9/14 to thepower 8, which is 43046721/1475789056, and theoverall probability is this figure multiplied by 1/8then by 1/336 or about 1 in 92153.

Or it would be - except that Bungle’s other errorwas that he forgot that Liz had bought two ticketsfor the Tri-Cast, so the chances would actually beone in 46077.

So I’m afraid that Bungle’s first answer of 1 in176160768 is also out by a factor of two for thesame reason, and Graham’s answer of 1 in88080384 is correct.

Or is it?

It assumes that when Liz chose which horse tobuy for the final race, and which to support in theTri-cast, the fact that she came up with one of thetwo that she’d also put a bet on was a coincidence.

Would it be more reasonable to assume that ifyou’ve bought a horse and put a bet on the samehorse, you’ve done this deliberately? And if you’vealso made it your No 1 in the Tri-cast, that’s hardlylikely to be by chance?

So it would be reasonable to exclude both theodds on buying the winning horse in the last raceand the odds on betting on the winning horse inthe last race from the calculations. Which reducesthe odds by a factor of 32, to 1 in 2752512.

But hang about - now I think about it, I’m not surethe Tri-cast was actually on the final race... So if itwas actually on one of the other races, one shouldreduce the chances by a factor of 16, to excludethe chance of betting on the winning horse in ei-ther the Tri-cast race or the final race. Which gives1 in 5505024 - which is the figure that Brian cameup with.

But given the question as stated in the last ‘Nav-vies’ and the fact that I didn’t mention whetherbetting on the horse you had also bought etc wasto be regarded as deliberate....

I hereby award Graham the First Prize of a weekin the Beavertail truck with Bungle. And I awardBungle the Second Prize of a week in the Bea-vertail truck with Graham. ...Ed

page 23

Holme(s) is where the kit is

When in conversation with Our Editor a little whileback I said that I suspected this next article wouldbe full of whinges and moans to which he replied,‘It’ll be in a Logistics style (Logisticesque?!) then!’Hmmm... maybe, but it is not without cause that Ido so! To be fair though, I have a pretty equalamount of both whinges and good news so itshouldn’t be all that bad!

For a time when I’m supposed to have a wee bitof time to myself, I’m not doing very well - here atLogistics things are still really quite busy. Therewas a mad rush (and I mean mental!) to get thingsready for the start of the main camp season (I’mafraid the holder of the magic wand kept a firmhold of it!) but since then it carried on amidst work!Sorting griddles, fryers (yes, Fred really!!), replac-ing bits of missing/broken kit etc... the list goeson. Not really part of my game plan, I have to say.I definitely thought I’d lost it when I said ‘Goodnighttools. See you in the morning!’ when I packed upfor what little of the night was left after painting kitall day! And as for sanding dustbin lids in my bed-room... well, best not go there!

Kit A trailer is now red, and I mean RED if you’venot seen it (!!) – no signage as yet mind. Brandnew shiny brick kits are out and about... I can’tvouch for how shiny and new they look nowthough, and heaven knows what state the mainkits are in. The prospect of sticky concrete fillsme with dread - ‘tis the bane of my life! Best getthe angle grinder warmed up and some new grind-ing discs in stock.

One thing I’d like to clear up right now , althoughI fear this ‘Navvies’ will come out too late for it tobe of any use, is that WRG camps do actuallystart on Saturdays and not Fridays as an amaz-ingly increasing number of leaders would have youbelieve! It is therefore not your God-given rightto pick vans and kit up on the Friday , even in theevening! Get the idea? Meanwhile, I shall see whatI can do about arranging a special twilight zone foryou (do-do-do-doo x 2)! Obviously if your kit andvans are free in the week running up to your campyou are welcome to arrange whatever you like(within reason) but please consult me first.

As I’ve said before, you can’t please all of thepeople all of the time and some people you can’tplease any of the time it seems. In fact, the moreI try to accommodate the wishes of the few, theworse they get at expecting more... that’ll teachme! Perhaps I just shouldn’t bother, eh?!

Talking of vans, which I was, huge thanks mustgo yet again to WRG North-West for letting meborrow SKN to deposit the new brick kits and otherbits and pieces to the relevant people/kits. I reallydidn’t fancy taking that lot on the train. And thanksto the very kind Mr Foley for dropping it off to mydoor when I was in Hull (very apt!).

Changing the subject somewhat, I’ve bought afew new things for the catering kits: the expand-ing sink strainers have gone down a storm itseems, the draining racks have got to be makinglife on the draining board easier and the sand-wich spreaders are just a bit of fun (just don’t getme and Wingy to do the sandwiches... ask MrTaylor!!!!). I’m always looking to improve the kitswhere I can - I hope these few additions are ofuse. Before purchasing the three small water con-tainers (Kit A) last year I was worried that beingmuch smaller they were far more likely to get lostor left behind. My fears were realised when kitlists arrived reporting of only two left and thenone (not that I can rely on the lists for correct in-formation... I’ve made that mistake before!!!!). Butthese were quashed when on finally getting myhands on Kit A trailer I found all three! Hurrah!We have the most magical, the most marvellousreappearing water containers... well, we still havethem at least!

Meanwhile, on site there are brand new hard hats(so new I was spotted clipping the harnesses intothe lids in a lay-by just off the M5 very close toEastington where the kit was en route to the GrandWestern!) and hand wipes and lots of fresh FirstAid equipment including lots of extra (useful) bitsthat don’t appear on the official (pretty useless!)list of contents. You could say ‘we’re getting there’but I’m afraid it feels more like in the British Railsense at times! There’s always something... Kit Bwas meant to have brand new shovels this yearbut due to an error in the nous department at thetool place they didn’t arrive with the rest of thestuff. In fact, some weeks, nay months later they’vestill not arrived! Well, at least that’ll keep them inbetter condition!! You see, I can find silver linings![It’s just that they’re usually packed at the front ofthe truck!]

Regarding kit, you’re getting much better at keep-ing me informed on the present state of the kits –what’s broken/missing etc. - which is very helpful.I can’t always do much about it but it means I cankeep on top of what equipment I need to get.

LogisticsWhat day of the week doesa Canal Camp begin on?

The First Aid stuff in particular is something I needto be informed about regularly so it can be re-plenished (I have a lot of spares here at home)and stuff can be posted to wherever it’s needed.Please don’t hesitate to use the items in the Greenboxes – that’s what they’re there for, OK? Just tellme what you’ve used.

Kit lists are still coming back (if at all!) with somevery bizarre markings. Not as visually stimulatingas hieroglyphics but equally as strange! Can lead-ers please give a moment’s word of explanationto whomever you give the lists to? It’s a challengeat times to understand what is meant as I don’tspeak/read the ancient tongue that some camp-ers apparently do!

And where are my postcards and photos? I’venot received anything yet. My letterbox awaits...

Talking of postcards, I would like to wish Corinneand Viv lots of good luck and fortune on their travelsin New Zealand. Hope it’s a fantastic experience!

For the remainder of the Season please remem-ber that tools tell tales:

The Case of the Missing Grey Matter

My Dear Watson,

I have deduced from the tools that were receivedat Logistics Head Quarters that they have beeninvolved in many suspicious activities. It wouldappear that a manure fork was dancing in a fire, afew mattocks were playing in concrete (?!) andthe sack truck had been cavorting around site toname but a few curiosities!

Watson couldn’t ascertain how Holmes could havepossibly drawn these conclusions...

Just [email protected]

WRG Boat Club newsAs I write this I am on the river Weaver, havingcome down the Anderton Lift the easy way. Not abit adventurous, unlike those brave souls whoabseiled down in order to raise funds for the Lift.The river is very pleasant and the facilities haverecently been improved. Try to make a visit as theincrease in boat movement should help to aeratethe water and aid the dispersal of the large bedsof algae that have formed!

Well the next exciting thing on the boating agendaby now must be the ‘National’ at Beale Park. Fromwhat I have been told there should be quite anumber of club boats going.

We won’t bother to try for the Offley & Slack tro-phy as we have won that before, and jolly heavy itis too!

I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone andinvite all boat club members to a 90th birthdayparty (no not mine!) for narrow boat Lynx, built in1913. This will be combined with our AGM. Theminutes from the last AGM were in ‘Navvies’, solook to your old copies as I don’t have facilities forprinting them out for the meeting.

For those who have never managed to get to theAGM before I should point out that this is also asocial occasion. There were those last year thatwere upset that they weren’t prepared for this. Soplease be ready to join us for a glass of bubbly,and feel welcome to bring suitable refreshmentto add to the festivities. Of course there will besome cake! As you know we are planning a grandcake. A great wall of cake. The details of themixing, making, cooking, decorating and assem-bling are probably the worst kept secret ever! AllI can say is that we intend to have the Right Toolfor the Right Job!

The date and time for the AGM can not be de-cided until we have details of the programme andcommitments at the festival. I will post time andplace in the Water Space office and WRG accom-modation. I will also attempt to ensure that thosewith boats booked in have the details.

What else is going on? Please let me know, es-pecially of any digs we can get boats to. I needfeedback from members. I enjoy my boating andWRG related activities but I think that ‘Navvies’readers may wish to hear what other WRG BCmembers are up to!

XXX Sadie

From a quick look at the Diary, it would appear thatforthcoming digs that are on or near navigable ca-nals are: BITM on the Wendover and the Lapal,London WRG at Froghall (junction of the Caldonand Uttoxeter Canals), KESCRG on the Basingstoke(currently closed above St Johns due to watershortage, but navigable as far as the worksite)and the regular IWPS digs at Bugsworth. ...Ed

Logistics...plus the WRG Boat ClubNews

BARNSLEY, DEARNE & DOVECANAL TRUSTJune Backhouse, 39 HIll St,Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8EN01226 743383www.barnsleydearnedovecanals.org.uk

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

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCTony Collins18 Skeats Wharf, PennylandMilton Keynes MK15 8AY01908 [email protected]

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

CALDON CANAL SOCIETYAlison SmedleyHazelhurst CottageDenford, LeekStaffs ST13 7JTemail:[email protected]

CHESTERFIELD CANAL TRUSTMick Hodgetts31 Pottery LaneChesterfield S41 9BH01246 620695www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk

CHICHESTER SHIP CANAL TRUSTJohn Herniman8 Graffham CloseChichester PO19 4AWTel: 01243 527374e-mail:[email protected]

COTSWOLD CANALS TRUSTNeil Ritchie, The Chapel HouseSandford Rd, ChurchdownGloucestershire GL3 2HD01452 854057email: [email protected]/

DERBY & SANDIACRE CANALSOCIETYDoug Flack23 Thoresby Crescent, DraycottDerby DE72 3PH01332 874239www.derbycanal.org.uk

DIG DEEP INITIATIVEAlan Cavender10 Vicarage RoadMaidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DS01628 629033email: [email protected]

DORSET & SOMERSET CANALSTUDY GROUPDerrick Hunt, 43 Greenland MillsBradford on Avon, Wilts BA15 1BL01225 863066email: [email protected]

DROITWICH CANALS TRUSTVaughan Welch29 Dice PleckNorthfield, Birmingham B31 3XW0121 477 9782email: [email protected]/dct/home.htm

EAST ANGLIAN WATERWAYSASSOCIATIONKevin Baker, 26 Geneva WalkToftwood, DerehamNorfolk NR19 1XT email:[email protected]

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

FOXTON INCLINED PLANE TRUSTc/o Mike BeechFoxton Canal MuseumMiddle Lock, Gumley RoadFoxton, Market HarboroughLeicestershire LE16 7RA0116 279 [email protected]

GRAND WESTERN CANALTRUSTDenis Dodd, Wharf CottageNynehead, WellingtonSomerset TA21 0BU01823 661653

GRANTHAM CANALRESTORATION SOCIETYColin Bryan113 Hoe View RoadCropwell BishopNottingham NG12 3DJ01159 892248www.granthamcanal.com

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

KENT & EAST SUSSEX CANALRESTORATION GROUPKen ParishEastwood FarmhouseUlcombe RoadUlcombe, MaidstoneKent. ME17 1ET01622 858329email: [email protected]

LAPAL CANAL TRUST26 Loynells Road,RednalBirmingham B45 9NP01785 713862 / 020 8293 9744www.lapal.org

LICHFIELD & HATHERTONCANALS REST'N TRUSTJohn Horton,32 London Road,LichfieldStaffs WS14 9EJ.01543 262466email:[email protected] Denis CooperGorsey Lane FarmGorsey LaneLittle Wyrley, PelsallWalsall WS3 5AJ01543 374370www.lhcrt.org.uk

NEATH & TENNANT CANALSOCIETYIan Milne16 Gower Road,Sketty,Swansea SA2 9BY01792 547902

NWPGGraham Hawkes27 Lawrence Rd,Tilehurst, ReadingBerks RG30 6BH0118 941 0586email:[email protected]/nwpg2001/nwpg.html

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

SCARS (SANKEY CANAL)Colin Greenall16 Bleak Hill RoadEcclestonSt. HelensMerseyside WA10 4RW01744 731746www.scars.org.uk

SHREWSBURY & NEWPORTCANALS TRUSTSteve Bean4 Arscott, PontesburyShrewsbury SY5 0XP01743 860488email: [email protected]

SHROPSHIRE UNION CSGeoff Munro198, Oldbury RoadRowley Regis, WarleyWest Midlands B65 0NW0121-561 5747www.shropshireunion.co.uk

SLEAFORD NAVIGATION TRUSTSteve Hayes10 Chelmer Clo,N Hykeham Lincs LN8 8TH01522-689460email: [email protected]

SOMERSET COAL CANAL SOCBob Parnell34 Wedgewood RoadTwerton, Bath BA2 1NX01225-428055rtjhomepages.users.btopenworld.com/SCC2.html

RIVER STOUR TRUSTDave Rayner26 Underhill Rd, South BenfleetEssex SS7 1EP01268 753245

SURREY & HANTS CANAL SOCPeter Redway1 Redway CottagesSt. John's Lye, Woking GU21 1SL01483 721710www.basingstokecanal1.freeserve.co.uk/

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

THAMES & MEDWAY CANALASSOCIATIONJohn Epton45 Vinson Close, OrpingtonKent, BR6 0EQhomepage.ntlworld.com/john.epton/tmca

WENDOVER ARM TRUSTRoger Leishman7 Hall Park, BerkhamstedHerts HP4 2NU01442 874536www.wendoverarmtrust.org.uk

page 26

DirectoryPlease help us keep the Direc-tory up to date - see below right

WEY & ARUN CTThe GranaryFlitchfold FarmLoxwood, BillingshurstWest Sussex RH14 ORH.01403 752403email:[email protected]

WILTS & BERKS CANAL TRUSTGeorge Eycott36 Grange CourtBoundary RoadNewbury RG14 7PH01635 569449email: [email protected]/

WOODEN CANAL BOATSOCIETY5 Oaken Clough TerraceLimehurstAshton under Lyne OL7 9NY0161-330-2315

IWA IPSWICHColin TurnerCornerwaysElm Lane, CopdockIpswich IP8 3ET01473-730586email:[email protected]/iwa/

WRG: GENERAL ENQUIRIES,CANAL CAMP BOOKINGS ANDDRIVER AUTHORISATIONPO Box 114,RickmansworthHerts WD3 1ZY01923 711114email: [email protected]

WRG NORTH WESTMalcolm Bridge3 Heather BankLittleborough,LancashireOL15 0JQ01706 378582email: [email protected]

WRG NW - ENQUIRIES/PAPERCHASESDavid McCarthyWoodstock14 Crumpsall LaneManchester. M8 5FB0161-740 2179www.wrgnw.org.uk

WRG NA (1)Spencer Collins (see below)

WRG NA (2)Ian Nelson,6 Lahn DriveDroitwich SpaWorcs WR9 8TQ.01905 798 6760973 640611 (mobile)email: [email protected]

WRG BITM & 'NAVVIES' DIARYDavid Wedd7 Ringwood Road, BlackwaterCamberley, Surrey GU17 0EY01252 874437email: [email protected]

LONDON WRGTim Lewis6 Downs Road, EnfieldMiddlesex EN1 IPA020 8367 6227email: [email protected]

LONDON WRG: ENQUIRIESLesley McFadyen(as per Martin Ludgate below)

WRG EAST MIDLANDSJohn Baylis (see below)

ESSEX WRGJohn Gale12 Wakefield Ave, Billericay,Essex CM12 9DN01277 654683email [email protected]

IWA/WRG STAMP BANKSteve & Mandy Morley33 Hambleton GroveEmerson valleyMilton Keynes MK4 2JS01908 520090email: [email protected]

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

'NAVVIES' EDITORMartin Ludgate35 Silvester RdEast DulwichLondon SE22 9PB020 8693 32660777 947 8629 (mobile)email: [email protected]

'WRGWEAR' CLOTHINGHelen GardnerNB 'Sussex'The Boatyard, Rowdell RdNortholt UB5 6AG020 8845 7820email: [email protected]

WRG FORESTRY TEAMGraham RobinsonSpringwell, Spark BridgeUlverston Cumbria LA12 7ST01229 861317

or Dave Johnson0161 2787663

WRG BOAT CLUBSadie Dean236 Station RdWhittleseyPeterborough PE7 2HA01733 20450507748 186867 (mobile)email [email protected]

WRG DIRECTORS

CHAIRMANMike Palmer3 Finwood Road, RowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH01564 785293email: [email protected]

TREASURERRoger Day,5 Merton Road, SloughBerks SL1 1QW

SECRETARYNeil Edwards,c/o IWA, PO Box 114Rickmansworth WD3 1ZYemail: [email protected]

WRG LOGISTICSJen Leigh45 Glebe RoadSheffield S10 1FBe-mail: [email protected]

WRG PLANTMalcolm Bridge3 Heather Bank, LittleboroughLancashire OL15 0JQemail: [email protected] 378582

SITES GROUP & PUBLICITYJudith Moore3 Finwood Road, RowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH01564 785293email: [email protected]

WRGPRINTJohn & Tess Hawkins4 Links Way, Croxley Grn,Rickmansworth WD3 3RQ01923 448559email [email protected]

page 27

TRANSPORT MANAGERRoger Burchett(See Sue Burchett above)

IWA CHAIRMANJohn Fletcherc/o IWA, PO Box 114Rickmansworth WD3 1ZYemail:[email protected]

OTHER DIRECTORS

Mick Beattie22 Bridgewater Ave Anchorsholme,Blackpool Lancs FY5 3NA01253 864034

Adrian Fry31 Griffon CloseElmore Lock, QuedgeleyGloucester GL2 4NQ07976 640962

Spencer CollinsN.B. 'Sunset', c/o Saltford PO,493 Bath Rd SaltfordBristol BR31 3HQ07976 084055e-mail: [email protected]

Chris Davey / Helen Davey6 Partridge Ct, Round Close RdAdderbury, Banbury OX17 3EP01295 812002email [email protected]

Jonathan Smith, 23 HardingsChalgrove, Oxford OX44 7TJ01865 891 370email [email protected]

John Baylis, 215 Clipstone Rd West,Forest Town, Mansfield, NottsNG19 0HJ01623 633895

Updating this Directory:please help!

The aim of this Directory is to give up-to-date con-tact details for all parts of WRG, plus all othergroups that are involved in volunteer work on wa-terways. However it can only be as accurate and up-to-date as the information that is supplied to us.

If you spot anything incorrect, please tell us. Also ifyou are involved in a canal society not listed herethat carries out volunteer work, please give us yourwork party organiser�s details. And if your canal so-ciety is currently listed but no longer carries out work-parties please tell us, and we will remove your entryso that you are not troubled by queries from would-be volunteers. A fuller list of canal society con-tacts is available in the IWA's Waterway Socie-ties Guide, available from IWA Head Office and onwww.waterways.org.uk. Thank You.

The next instalment of George ‘Bungle’Eycotts account of restoring a KL15 crane...

The story:

When the crane arrived we put it into the staffcar-park at Claverton pumping station on the Ken-net & Avon; now the open season at Clavertonhas started we are a bit short of space so it wasdecided that the crane had to move. The onlyplace to put it was on the level section of the banknext to the millpond: this required taking the craneacross the unmanned level crossing then winch-ing it up onto the bank (using the newly donatedTirfor winch from Myark Ground Care - see last‘Navvies’) before finally pushing it back into posi-tion. Preparation began the previous Thursdaywhen I picked up the large bar used for pushinglorries about from my Dad’s workshop andstrapped it to the roof of Helgar the Landie... Thepictures tell the rest of the story really...

Reversing the crane out of the car park

Preparing to pull the crane over the level crossing

PlantMoving a KL15 crane from oneside of a railway track to the other

Winching the crane back up the slope onto the grassbank (yes it is all at that angle, hard work with a Tirfor!)

Pushing the crane uphill into its corner on the bar(or how to knacker your clutch - it is more uphillthan the picture shows, and we were trying to steerit sideways at the time!)

Crane parked up in its new home (shows most ofthe route including the crossing) Photos by Bungle

Navvies newsThe KESCRG Xmas dig, taxdiscs and waterways scientists

Coming soon (1)...the Bonfire Bash reunion dig on November 8-9.Unfortunately when we went to press we stillhadn’t confirmed the venue for this year’s Bash.All being well, there should be an insert with de-tails; if not, see the next ‘Navvies’ and check theWRG website www.wrg.org.uk.

Coming soon (2)...the London WRG and KESCRG joint ChristmasParty dig. Provisional venue is Pewsham, near Chippenham on the Wilts & Berks, with over a mile of scrub tobash between two current work-sites at Pewsham Locks and Double Bridge. Note down the date - 6-7 Decem-ber - and see the next ‘Navvies’ for more details.

Vehicle licencesWRG vehicle manager Roger Burchett wouldlike anyone who drives WRG vehicles or isinvolved in looking after any of the vehiclesin the WRG fleet to be aware that if the taxdisc has run out then you shouldn’t use thevehicle - or keep it on a public road - untilyou have a new disc.

Roger says that anyone who believes in themythical ‘fortnight’s leeway’ probably believes theycan see fairies at the bottom of their garden.

Roger, of course, believes that he can seeWRG Transits at the bottom of his garden.But that’s another story.

London WRG announce...The famous London WRG ‘Tube Map’ T-shirt isback - this time with the Croydon Canal too! Con-tact the editor or see www.london.wrg.org.uk.

Wildmoorway Bridge progress

The culverted road crossing where the CotswoldWater Park Spine Road crosses the Thames & Sev-ern Canal below Wildmoorway Lower Lock is currentlybeing rebuilt with full headroom. Not directly relevantto WRG as it’s not a volunteer project, it is howeverimportant as (a) it removes the only obstruction be-tween two restored locks and (b) it’s the first road block-age to be removed on the east half of the canal.

Waterway Science Group?Dr Chris Deuchar, former navvy and nowUniversity scientist, hopes to set up an in-dependent ‘Waterway Science Group’. Thishas been prompted by the feeling that at themoment it is the nature conservation inter-ests (often seen as anti-navigation) who callall the shots when it comes to scientific argu-ments for and against restoration of canals.

By recruiting scientists from among the wa-terways movement, Chris hopes that a morebalanced body of scientific knowledge can bebuilt up, which can counter some of the moreextreme claims of some of the ‘green’ lobby.

Chris stresses that this is not a boaters’ pres-sure group (we have those already!) - hewants to hear from botanists, ecologists,marine biologists, archaeologists etc as wellas those with relevant professional engineeringqualifications. If you are interested, contact Chrisat: Electronics & IT Workshop, NottinghamUniversity, Sutton Bonington Campus,Loughborough, LE12 5RD. Tel: 0115 9516264 or email [email protected].

Dav

id J

owet

t

Sankey Canal: new link planned

Narrow Boat Earnest seen visiting Fidlers Ferry onthe Sankey Canal in July during a tour of several ofthe less-visited waterways of the north west. Few vis-iting craft reach the navigable part of the Sankey dueto having to navigate the Mersey estuary to get there.A new pre-feasibility study is looking at options formaking the Sankey more accessible by creating a newlink from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Dav

e C

roft

Navvies newsIWA Restoration grantsThe IWA Restoration Grants fund can provide auseful financial contribution towards smaller scalerestoration projects, and IWA are keen for the ben-efits of the fund to be spread widely, and there-fore would like to see more applications from ca-

nal societies that have not previously received grants: especially from projects in their early stageswho would be interested in the smaller grants of up to£2,000 for which the criteria are simpler.

Does your canal society need to pay towards a pre-feasibility study before the local authority will allow workto start? Do you have an item of equipment that needsmoney spending on it to keep it going? Do you need topublicise your project with some professional publicitymaterials? If so, IWA may be able to help.

The Guidelines for Applicants are on the IWA websitewww.waterways.org.uk, or available from Head Office,and applications for grants should be made to the Chair-man of Restoration Committee c/o IWA Head Office,PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY.

A walk along the Andover Canal?The Thames, Berks & Andover Canal might be regarded in some circles at something of a joke (Ican’t think why!), but the Andover Canal is real enough - or it was, until it was closed down and a railwaybuilt on most of the route. But on the weekend of October 4-5, IWPS (that’s the Bugsworth Basin lot) areorganising one of their regular ‘away weekends’, this time exploring the remains of the Andover Canal,and covering two stretches: Stockbridge to An-dover and Romsey to Redbridge.

If you’re interested, contact Kathy & PaulNiblett on Tel: 01782 641967 or e-mail:[email protected].

Bugsworth CD-ROMStill on the subject of IWPS - they have justproduced an excellent historical archive CD-ROM of Bugsworth Basin and surroundingcanals, covering the restoration as well as thecanals in their working days. Copies are avail-able for £12 from the Peak Forest Canal CoLtd, Browside Farm, Mudhurst Lane, LymeHandley, Whaley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7BT.

More training from TWTThe Waterways Trust - in partnership withWRG - are offering the following weekendcourses this autumn, usually at £15 each.

Masonry Repairs: 27th & 28th September, Hatton

Brickwork - Repair & Re-Pointing: 27th & 28th September; 18th & 19th October, Hatton

Historic Carpentry: Sat 18th October, Hatton

Historic Metalwork: 27th & 28th September, Hatton

Reinforced Concrete Work: 4th & 5th October, Little Tring, Hertfordshire

These are just the ‘practical skills’ courses: TWT also offer training in fundraising, recruirtment andother subjects that canal societies need to know about; they are also offering ‘VOLE Grants’ (it standsfor VOlunteers Learning and Experience) towards training costs for canal volunteers going on externalcourses. For more details contact Mike Woodhead, The Waterways Trust, The White House, CanalLane, Hatton, Warwick CV35 7JL. Tel: 01926 626124, email [email protected].

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust tractor: newtyres paid for by an IWA Restoration Grant.

Geo

rge

Eyc

ott

Another Chesterfield reopening

Another section of the Chesterfield Canal openedin June: boats can now reach Norwood Tunnel fromthe Trent. Unfortunately, finding the money to re-store the tunnel (or replace it with a cutting), andthen carry on towards the restored Staveley-Ches-terfield length, is likely to take some time yet.

John

Sul

ly

Directors of WRG:

John Baylis, MickBeattie, Malcolm Bridge,Roger Burchett,Spencer Collins,Christopher Davey,Helen Davey,Roger Day, NeilEdwards, John Fletcher,Adrian Fry, JohnHawkins, Jennifer Leigh,Judith Moore, MichaelPalmer, Jonathan Smith.

Secretary: Neil Edwards

VAT reg. no : 788 9425 54

© 2003 WRGISSN 0953-6655

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

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

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

Tel : 01923 711114Registered no 4305322

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

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

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

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

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

Tel: 01564 785293

e-mail: [email protected]

Moving house...Ed Walker has moved to:

4 Westhorpe Road, Putney, London SW15 1QHTel: 020-87859976

If you move house, remember to tell ‘Navvies’.

Stampswanted

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

The WRG CanalCamps mobile

phones:07850 422156 (A)

and07850 422157 (B)

For saleCowley Surveyor’s Level : one owner fromnew. Any reasonable offer considered.Contact Ian Williamson (01844 351549)

1 pair size 4½ Arco steel toecap work-shoesavailable for a small donation to the Appeal -Contact Dr Liz Williamson. (same number)

Congratulations......to Steve Davis and Ruth on their engagement

Found...Found...Found...Found...Found......in minibus GCW at the end of theSaul camp (although they couldhave been in there before)...

1 pair of steel toe capped boots. Size10. In Threshers wine bag.

1 pair light blue overalls - well used!"Danger Drop" stencilled on theback. Size 46.

TTTTTo ro ro ro ro r eclaim them, contact Bungle:eclaim them, contact Bungle:eclaim them, contact Bungle:eclaim them, contact Bungle:eclaim them, contact Bungle:07771 775745 or [email protected] 775745 or [email protected] 775745 or [email protected] 775745 or [email protected] 775745 or [email protected]

Congratulations to Robin HIggs OBE and Michael Limbrey MBE on their awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Backfill

Thank you to Ab Jones for the above photo taken at the Race Night. Any caption suggestions?

page 32

Thank you......to Bob Kearney for sending the following pho-tograph showing an 18-foot long alligator.

Apparently someworkmen found it in-side a culvert thatthey were using to in-stall power cables atOrlando InternationalAirport, Florida, USA.They also found 87rattesnakes in theculvert.

So what relevenceexactly does thishave to WRG? Well, Bob suggests that perhapsvolunteers working on installing the BasingstokeBackpumping Scheme should watch out for simi-lar hazards and take adequate precautions.

Just as I was thinking that Bob had finally takenleave of his senses, a couple of weeks later he sentme a copy of a news item from the BBC web site:

‘A bridgekeeper has seen an alligator living in thewaters of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Ru-mours of a large creature living in the waters of thecanal had been circulating for about 18 months butRichard Lacey, a bridgekeeper at Hardwicke,Gloucestershire has confirmed what locals feared.Mr Lacey was amazed to see a scaly creatureleaping out the water to try to catch a duck... ‘

As far as ‘taking adequate precautions’ is con-cerned: if you look carefully in the above photoyou’ll see that the creature has been subdued bywrapping duct-tape around its mouth to keep itsjaws shut. So now you know what the roll of ducttape in the glovebox of London WRG’s minibusNJF is for. And you thought it was for emergencyrepairs to the minibus when it blows anotherheater hose. Be afraid, be very afraid...

Another hazard on the waterways...Just in case bombs (see p2) and alligators (seeright) were’t enough to frighten you off the ca-nals, the free newspaper ‘Metro’ reports anotherrather scary encounter: a towpath walker met anude hiker - that’s right: he had nothing on ex-cept his walking-boots and his rucksack. It ap-pears that this happened on the Leeds & Liver-pool, but I can just imagine something similar onthe Wey & Arun...

‘I say, I think I can see Baldwin’s Knob coming up’

...or even the Lower Lee in London...

‘Are those Bow Locks in the distance?’

Seen on the training weekend...

I know we’re supposed to be more careful aboutnot overloading skips these days, but isn’t thattaking it a bit far?

navvies 200

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