navvies 239

navviesnavvies

waterwayrecoverygroup

waterwayrecoverygroup

Issue No 239February-March

2010

Issue No 239February-March

2010

volunteers restoring waterwaysvolunteers restoring waterways

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

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

Subscriptions: Sue Watts, 15 Eleanor Rd.,Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ

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

Navvies is published by Waterway RecoveryGroup, Island House, Moor Rd., CheshamHP5 1WA and is available to all interested inpromoting the restoration and conservationof inland waterways by voluntary effort inGreat Britain. Articles may be reproduced inallied magazines provided that the source isacknowledged. WRG may not agree withopinions expressed in this magazine, butencourages publication as a matter of inter-est. Nothing printed may be construed aspolicy or an official announcement unless sostated - otherwise WRG and IWA accept noliability for any matter in this magazine.

Waterway Recovery Group is part of TheInland Waterways Association, (registeredoffice: Island House, Moor Road, CheshamHP5 1WA). The Inland Waterways Associa-tion is a non-profit distributing companylimited by guarantee, registered in Englandno 612245, and registered as a charity no212342. VAT registration no 342 0715 89.

Directors of WRG: Rick Barnes, JohnBaylis, Mick Beattie, Malcolm Bridge, JamesButler, Spencer Collins, Christopher Davey,George Eycott, John Hawkins, Judith Palmer,Michael Palmer, Jonathan Smith, Harry Watts.

ISSN: 0953-6655

© 2010 WRG

Mart

in L

udgate

Tim

Lew

is

Mik

e Chase

all the latest news of WRG's activities

Chairman some interesting new sites 4-5Coming soon Barn Dance, Easter camp,BCN Cleanup, Cavalcade, Training 6-9Camp reports Wilts & Berks, Wilts &Berks, Wilts & Berks and Wilts & Berks 8-17WRG at 40 First two of 40 interviews18-22Survey best and worst accommodation 23Diary canal camps and weekend digs 24-26Letters slipways and cider 27-28Progress restoration roundup 29-33Dig Deep update from the south 34-35WRG NW a year in the life 36-38London WRG on the Cotswolds 39-41Directory WRG and canal societies 42-44News and the latest from WRG Boat Club45Noticeboard dredger drivers needed 46Infill including Dear Deirdre 47

Contributions...

...are always welcome, whether handwritten,typed, on CD-ROM, DVD or by email.

Photos also welcome: digital,slides, prints. Please state whether youwant your prints back. Digital pics arewelcome as email attachments, preferablyJPG format, but if you have a lot of largefiles it is best to send them on CD-ROM orDVD or to contact the editor first.

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

Press date for issue 240: March 1st.

Subscriptions

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

This is a minimum subscription, keptlow so that everyone can afford to subscribe.Please add a donation if you can.

ContentsIn this issue...

Above What’s happening at Lock 47 onthe Cheshire Locks? See Chairman’s Com-ment, p4-5. Far left Tirforing on the NewYear Camp: see p12-13. Left there’s lifenorth of Watford: see WRG NW report,p37-39. Below book now for the BCNCleanup, see p6-7. Front cover groupphoto on the London WRG / KESCRG /WRGSW Christmas dig at Calne on the Wilts& Berks: see p8-9 (pic: Martin Ludgate).Back cover Site for three camps this year,the Chelmer & Blackwater (Helen Dobbie)

Mart

in L

udgate

ChairmanMKP on logistics and Burslem

“Some believe that BW are

paid by the Government to do

this, but there is no question

of them opening this lock

without our help...”

Chairman’s Comment

We had a WRG committee meeting recently. It was a little unusual, in that it was in a tentwith snow on the ground and most of us covered in red paint, but that’s not important rightnow. The important bit is that everything seems to be going quite well. In particular theplanning for the camps is looking really good. I am aware that around this time of yearthere are some tricky decisions to be made - do you go for one of the regular “safe” sites ordo you go for one of the new “wackier” sites and risk the chance of the permissions notcoming through in time and the work changing at the last minute? Well the good news isthat for pretty much all the wackier camps we now have leaders appointed and the locals arereally getting their act together. So if you ever fancied trying somewhere new then this yearis the time to do it.

One significant change this year will be that the logistics arrangements for our campswill be different. For years now the Camps trailers, and all the toys in them, have beenlooked after by Jen Leigh. This is one of the most disheartening jobs in the organisation -the kit gets terrible abuse over the summer and the shiny kit you sent out in June returns asorry state in September.

What is amazing over all these years is that Jen never let this defeat her attention todetail and perfection - a tool painted by Jen was a work of art and her determination to helpthe camps by making sure they had the ”The Right Tool For The Right Job” resulted in ourcatering kit having the weirdest (but useful) things in it. However, everyone deserves a breakand the truth is that, with the kit getting ever more complex, it is just not possible for oneperson to look after all the Camps kit and hold down any form of job, external life, etc. Solast year Jen asked us if she could step down and if we could find someone else to do it.Which brings us back to why we were standing in a tent covered in paint but before I goonto that I do need to properly thank Jen. There are very few jobs in wrg where your effortsgenuinely touch everyone else in the organisation. We passionately believe in The Right ToolFor The Right Job and anyone who has ever picked up a shovel, mattock or garlic press on awrg camp will have benefited from Jen’s efforts. Thank you Jen from all of us.

So back to a tent covered in red paint; because the logistics operation is such a keypart of our work and it is just not fair to expect one person to undertake it we have decidedon a more “distributed” approach to it. Hence a team of about ten of us spent a weekemailing each other saying “hmm do you think the snow will clear by Saturday?” beforefinally saying “what the heck, lets go for it” and heading off to our secret tool base in theMidlands and tried to get all the kit to be the same colour (red in case you hadn’t guessed).Whilst this plan will mean a bigger, more ad-hoc team looking after the kit I am very pleasedto say that Brian Bayston has offered to keep a watching brief over the overall quality andquantity of the kit.

Our continued thanks to Tom and Rachel Jeffries who generously give us some spaceto store (and paint) all our gear out of season. The toolpainting weekend was very success-ful and my thanks to all who came and helped shape the contents of the trailers this year. Itwas a strange but enjoyable event and we seem to have a few more strange events on thehorizon and I just thought I like to run them past you.

First up is the British Leisure Show - this is a new event in Windsor that may wellhave lots of our sort of people attending, so our new mobile publicity stand will be making itsthird trip out. Jenny Black is looking after this and I think she has enough people to staff thestand but beware if you live near there and she offers you a drink in the immediate future.

We also have the usual suspects of the BCN Clean Up on 17-18 April and the Train-

ing Weekend (12-13 June). Another, nowtraditional, event is our Leaders TrainingDay (May 15th), where we hope to bring ourleaders (or potential leaders) up to speed withsome changes we are making to make lifeeasier for them. See our ‘Coming Soon’ pagesoverleaf for more about all of these events.

Finally, one double project we are alsorunning (which I foolishly said I would lead)is a joint expeditionary force to the NorthMidlands to attempt to explore bothBurslem Port and Cheshire locks.Burslem Port, an old arm of the Trent &Mersey Canal near Stoke, has been a longrunning project that finally looks like it hasenough influential people backing it to startmaking progress. As a result we have beenasked to do some excavations around the buildings by the junction to find out what valuethe remaining bits are and to try and show people that the waste ground they have lookedout at for years could actually be dug up and turned back into a canal. This may seem some-thing of a token effort - we will probably have to fill it back in again once the archeologistshave had a good poke around - but it is just this sort of token effort that started most of therestorations we all work on, so it is worth us putting some effort in.

At the same time as this job we will also be working on one of the duplicate locksadded to the Cheshire Locks flights on the Trent and Mersey Canal in the 19th Century toincrease capacity, a number of which are now derelict/closed which is causing a realpinchpoint. Lock 47 was closed years ago for (possibly spurious) reasons and is now sosilted up that it needs a good clean out before any engineering decisions can be made. Itcould be that the lock is itself is Ok and just needs a wash and brush up or it may needmajor work. To investigate this commercially, only for it to prove too expensive to repair, istoo much of a risk for a cash-strapped BW and so we are going to clear it for them. I knowthere are some who believe that BW are paid by the Government to do this anyway, butthere is no question of them opening this lock without our help and, at a time when they areinvestigating their third-sector possibilities it would be churlish not to experiment with themto find a good way of working. The plan is a joint accommodation over five days with aboutfifteen people going to whichever site needs them most - so careful excavation and investi-gation or sloppy ploppy fun depending on your mood when you wake up in the morning!More details soon but if you are interested then keep 22-26 April free.

Another change that has occurred in WRG is Malcolm Bridge has retired from both theBoard and the position of Plant Manager. Again Malcolm thought that, as he had retired fromwork 10 years ago, it was probably time he actually had some free time to enjoy life ratherthan spending his evening worrying about obselete hydraulic filters and his weekends sittingin a layby waiting for his tacho break to end! My thanks to Malcolm for all his time on theBoard and all those “bloody stupid beavertail journeys” that seem to come with the job.

I’m quite inspired by all these changes - technically we are about to be middle aged(well 40 anyway) and correspondingly we have a huge body of experience and ability but itsall too easy to feel just a bit knackered; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, etc. Whichis why we need to keep regenerating* and I’m glad that we always seem to find someone totake over and bring new enthusiasm to the role.

Finally, some people said nice things about my last Navvies comment. It is, of course,nice to hear someone is reading them. I have a few more big questions I might be challeng-ing you all with but I think they should wait until the next edition. Whilst it is a vibrant timein the waterways arena with some other bodies presenting exciting ideas it’s important toremember that it is very much business as usual for us - let’s make it a really great 2010 andI hope to see you (and Jen and Malcolm) on a site somewhere this year.

Mike Palmer* Hmmm — possibility of a Dr Who spoof don’t you think?

Clearance gets under way at Burslem Port

Ste

ve W

ood

Coming soonBarn dance, leader training...

Want to be a camp leader?

If so, please tell James.

Not sure if you want to be a

camp leader? Come to the

leader training and find out

Coming soon: 20-plus weeks of canal camps for 2010

Well, yes, we’ve put together an excellent programme of canal camps for this year, withsome new sites as well as some old favourites. James will be along to tell you in a minute,but first we’d just like to mention one other thing happening very soon...

Probably the last Barn Dance reminder�The annual Navvies’ Charity Barn Dance, run by WRG and KESCRG, will take place on Satur-day 6th March 2010 at 7.00pm. It is being held at Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson,OX10 6LZ. If you need directions just ask. Tickets are limited (due to fire regulations), sobook now. The price is £12 and now includes stew and potato supper. When orderingtickets please state how many of the following: meat – veggie. You can stay over for anextra £2. Breakfast is available for another £2. If possible please donate a raffle prize.

For all enquiries (including on the night) contact me on [email protected] or07807 456235. See you there!

Adrian Crow

OK now about those canal camps...

But first, before we tell you about the camps, James would like a few words about leaders...Happy New Year everyone. Yes, it is that time again for you to all run away and hide

from me and fill your diaries up with washing your hair or feeding the fish this summer! Butplease don’t. I have a great reason for why you should be a leader in 2010. Not only is it thestart of the “teenies” but also it is wrg’s 40th birthday year. Just think in many years to comein the next Navvies DVD, or whatever will have long since replaced the DVD by then, yourname will be down in history as a leader, assistant leader, co-leader, or even cook in thismemorable year!

We have loads of exciting camps to come along too, and although we’ve recruited a fairnumber of leaders already we’ve still got a fair number of gaps to fill. Have a look at thechart on the opposite page and all those spaces! For information about each site’s work, have aquick browse through the new brochure or go to the wrg web site. (www.wrg.org.uk) First comefirst served, so book that sunny summer sun shine now on a canal camp. Don’t book it some-where sunnier like Barbados or the Maldives, just in case your tour operator liquidises! Wrg has agood reputation for not liquidising people! If you want to be a leader please email me [email protected] or at [email protected]. But if you’re really not sure, read thenext bit by Helen Gardner for how to get some really useful information and helpful advice...

James Butler

WRG Leader Training Day

Thought about leading or assisting on a WRG camp but wanted to find out more? Beeninvolved in a local canal society and interested in the WRG point of view? Led more campsthan Ludgate has had pints of beer and have plenty of advice for everyone else? Got drunkand got volunteered to assist on a camp this summer and wondering exactly what you letyourself in for? Came to the leader’s training last year and enjoyed it so much you wantmore? Got a bee in your bonnet about an aspect of running a canal camp and need to get itoff your chest? Led a camp a while ago and want to brush up on the latest info?

Then what?Cleanup, Cavalcade and lots more

Book now for the 2010

BCN Cleanup: a chance

to play your part in the

taming of the Tame

Valley Canal

Then the WRG leaders’ training day is for you. This year it will be at the WRG containerstorage area in the midlands on Saturday 15th May 2010 (that way we can see the heart ofthe WRG machine and become a little more familiar with the kit before you open the trailerin front of 15 brand new volunteers). We’ve also made it slightly later so that the list ofleaders might be a little more definite.

To book on or find out more information please contact Jenny Black at Head Office orHelen Gardner 07989 425346 ([email protected]). Difficult questions and sug-gestions of agenda items should be directed to me.

Helen Gardner

And finally, about those camps...

Ah yes, you’ll be wanting to know what’s happening on the first couple of camps this year.Well, it’s looking like you might have missed the first one already by the time you read this,but we’ll tell you what you’ve missed so you’ll be even more keen to go on the next one -and there are two more this year on the same site. Over to Dave ‘Moose’ Hearnden:

This year’s first camp is on 13th – 20th February on the Chelmer and Blackwater. I’mLeader, assistant is our Alan Wiffen and the cook is Maria. So Alan and I will make you workand Maria will keep you well fed. As I write this there is snow all over the place, so I hopethe work will still go on as planned, that is to demolish an access/accommodation bridgeover the Canal near Maldon, Essex. The finer details are still to be put in place etc, i.e. ac-commodation (might be a boat!) site access etc, nothing too hard!

Canal Camps 2010: dates, sites, leaders, cooks appointed to date

No Start End Site Kit Leader Assistant Cook1001 Feb 13th Feb 20th Chelmer & Blackwater A Dave Hearnden Alan Wiffen Maria Alderman1002 Apr 2nd Apr 10th W&B: Steppingstones A Martin Thompson Ian Bunn Debbie Curtis1003 Jun 26th Jul 3rd Cotswold: Goughs A1004 Jun 26th Jul 3rd Montgomery B Alan Jarvis1005 Jul 3rd Jul 10th Cotswold: Goughs A Martyn Worsley Clive Knight1006 Jul 3rd Jul 10th Montgomery B1007 Jul 10th Jul 17th Cotswold: Goughs A1008 Jul 10th Jul 17th Chesterfield B Mike Chase1009 Jul 17th Jul 24th Cotswold: Goughs A1010 Jul 17th Jul 24th Grantham B Harry Watts1011 Jul 24th Jul 31st Cotswold: Eisey A KESCRG leaders1012 Jul 24th Jul 31st Grantham B Ed Walker Gordon Brown Harri Barnes1013 Jul 31st Aug 7th Cotswold: Eisey A Martin Thompson George Rogers1014 Jul 31st Aug 7th Chelmer & Blackwater B1015 Aug 7th Aug 14th Mon & Brec A1016 Aug 7th Aug 14th Basingstoke B1017 Aug 7th Aug 14th Cotswold: Eisey NWPG leaders1018 Aug 14th Aug 21st Mon & Brec A1019 Aug 14th Aug 21st Basingstoke B1020 Aug 21st Sep 4th National A+BMitch Gozna Kirsty Wallace1021 Oct 23rd Oct 30th Grand Western A Mark Richardson Kirsty Wallace Mitch Gozna1022 Oct 23rd Oct 30th Chelmer & Blackwater B

As we speak the Risk Assessments are being done, but basically we will moor a boat inthe bridge hole and demolish the bridge from above, the boat being there to catch any toolsthat might fall down through the gap, remember tools cost money! (We do plan to stoppeople falling through the gaps, because of the mess and the delays it can cause!) Thebridge is made up of RSJ’s across the canal, with a thin layer of wood, with a covering of upto six inches of concrete. Tools will be Kangos, sledge hammers, wrecking bars etc. We needto demolish it in a week, because the following week contractors should then build a newbridge.

Now the difference: remember this canal is run by a subsidiary of IWA (who took itover to save it when the old company went bust) on a limited budget, and it is an opencanal - and what we’re doing is vital to keep it open.

Due to the nature of the work the numbers will be limited to 15. Bookings to be madedirect to Head Office.

OK in case you’ve missed that one, let’s hear about the next camp at Easter, working onSteppingstones Bridge on the Wilts & Berks. Here’s leader Martin Thompson...

This is really the last, “one more camp will do it”, the last chance to say I was there atSSLB! The bridge parapet walls are built, the mass fill for the track is in, what is there todo? Well the scaffolding is to be removed, the track surface over the bridge completed,canal under the bridge cleaned out, wing walls completed, landscaping and towpath rein-statement, Phew! And... with the bridge open to the public, the diversion byway can beclosed and reinstated. Honest “one more camp will do it” and it will be the last!! Accommo-dation will be at the very desirable Watchfield Village Hall. Fancy the full 10 days from March27 to April 5, or the long Easter weekend or maybe just a week, the choice is yours!

BCN Cleanup on the Tame Valley Canal. April 17-18

We told you about it last time, so just a quick reminder that the annual ‘BCN Fishing Match’when we spend the weekend throwing in grapping hooks and hauling all sorts of stuff out ofthe lesser-used canals of the Black Country is coming soon. Fill in the form below, and formore details contact WRG organiser Aileen Butler on 07703 567764 or see www.wrg.org.uk

waterway recovery group in association with BCNS, BW and IWA

I would like to attend the 2010 National Canal Cleanup on April 17-18 on the BCN

Forename: Surname:

Address:

email:

Phone: Any special dietary requirements?

I require accommodation Friday night / Saturday night / both nights

I enclose payment of £ (pay 'WRG') for food (£11 for whole weekend)

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

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

Name: Phone:

Signed:

Please send this form to:National Cleanup bookings, WRG, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA

Canalway Cavalcade, Little Venice, May 1-3

Hi All, Moose here again. just a quick update on the IWA Canalway Cavalvade at Little Ven-ice over the May Day holiday weekend. At the time of writing this we have 105 boats bookedin, Jerry, the Commercial Manager, as normal is selling trade stands fast, no doubt he will bepulling out all the stops and see if we can have more market stalls to erect than ever before.And well-known TV stars and waterways supporters Timothy West and Prunella Scalesshould be opening the event.

For those who were there last year, we are aiming to have the same site layout, withthe caterers and the bar on ‘our’ side of the canal by the accommodation and the rest of thetraders along the tow path.

So what I am after is willing volunteers, who will help to put the event together. Thework could be fencing (nothing compared to the amount at the National Festival but stillimportant) the proverbial market stall, plus there could be a boat ride to go and collect themor at least take them back! Plus the normal but just as important work of a festival site crew.What I will give you in exchange is a very up market bed-space in a boat! You’ll probably beon NB Belfast, but I’m sure Bungle will be very happy in Opportunity! In fairness Belfast isperhaps not what you would call up market but it does have a toilet and the luxury of ashower, as long as the water tank is full!

And as for the event itself: Where else can you work on a waterways festival in themiddle of London?

Set up work starts from Wednesday 28th April, the Festival is the weekend of the MayBank Hoilday 1st - 3rd May, and then we take it all down - should all be done by Tuesdaynight, so NB Belfast can move out Wednesday Morning.

If you are interested please contact me, do not just turn up as there might not be aspare bunk!

Dave ‘Moose’ Hearnden, [email protected], 07961 922153

WRG Training Weekend 2010 June 12th/13th

Another year has just begun which for me can only mean one thing… time to get somethingin Navvies about Training. Postponing it from its traditional May slot to June seemed to workquite well last year so we have decided to go for the same time this year as well. This shouldgive people lots of time to have a think about their camps and weekend work and decidewhere the training needs are.

As always, we are open to and indeed would welcome suggestions as to the sort ofskills you feel you or ideally a group of volunteers may need for projects this year. The usualsuspects should be on offer – vans, trailers, dumpers, excavators, loading and securingplant, levels, First Aid, Banksman, and perhaps the ‘Scaffolding,’ ‘Setting up site/small ma-chinery and tools’ or ‘Preparing for Bricklaying’ sessions that have been deemed very worth-while in recent years.

There are no doubt many other useful skills that we could add to this list and possiblyarrange – such as catering for a camp, using digital tachographs or chippers – so pleasemake your suggestions known early on and we will do our best to set something up.

A plea, as always, goes out to those of you who so readily give up your weekend tomake the training possible. If you are an instructor who has volunteered for training week-ends in the past or indeed if you think you could offer some expertise, please get in touch -before I track you down!

Training will probably take place somewhere in the middle of the country – when weknow anything about a site, we will let you know! All are welcome, regardless of prior expe-rience - you might want to drop in for one of the days or make a weekend of it. Accommo-dation will be available from Friday night. Hope to see you there!

Bookings, suggested courses and enquiries to me on telephone: 07719 643870 or0191 422 5469 or e-mail: [email protected]

Ali Bottomley

Next issue: preview of the first part of the summer camps programme

Dig reportWilts & Berks (1): Calne

Down on the Wilts &

Berks, there’s a lot of

tirforing going on -

and some dressing

up as rag dolls too!

Christmas at CalneLWRG / KESCRG / SW Xmas dig

A Polish Passion, as sold by the Dirty Martinicocktail bar and club in London’s CoventGarden, consists of vodka, apple juice, cran-berry juice, peach schnapps and passionfruit. It is sublime, but an overconsumptionmay cause you to miss the first 24 hours ofthe London/KESCRG Christmas party. Bewarned. For information on the first day’swork, please speak to someone who wasthere. As far as I’m concerned, the partydoesn’t start until I arrive.

Turning up at 5pm on Saturday I en-quired how the first day’s work had gone.“Kay. Spose” came the grunted reply. Themood was a little flat. It seems not everyonehad had quite enough to do on site and therehad been a bit too much standing around inthe nipping cold. But now the showers werehot and the beer was plentiful. Soon every-one began to cheer up. Hounds of all shapes,

sizes and degrees of confusion boundedaround the dining room, hotly pursued by awild pack of children, some of whom boretraces of the babe in arms they had been atlast year’s Christmas party. It’s like the circleof life, or something.

In the conservatory, Mel was stirring anabsurdly large pot of soup. Things seemedsuspiciously calm in the kitchen. In the din-ing room 50 hungry mouths were mutteringanxiously. “You wouldn’t believe how muchginger I saw him put in that”. Vegetarianswept and rent their clothes. Who let Bunglecook? Doesn’t anyone remember that lasa-gne? Seven thirty came and Mark II led thegrace (only joking). Soup was hot and thickand extremely tasty. Most importantly it wasplentiful. Homemade bread contributed byEllie was a nice touch. We all licked ourspoons clean and set them aside – we’d needthem for the pudding course. In the shortinterval before the main course, the fancydress competition was judged.

Grappling with a three-Tirfor stump

MartinLudgate and HelenDobbie won bestcostume award foran exceptionallywell-crafted Rosieand Jim, onlymissing out on aperfect score be-cause Rosie had abeard. Amy alsowins the award formost creative useof workgloves thisyear. Our clappingof the winners sentwire haired JackRussell Molly into afrenzy of excited barking.

There followed bakedmeats, a generous mountainof roasties, parsnips, carrots,stuffing and lashings of gravy.Mercifully we were sparedsprouts and even the veggieswere not neglected. Bunglereceived a round of applausewhich sent Molly off again.Adam ‘Digger’ Morris receivedthis year’s KESCRG mostuseful personaward In Absentia.Molly bounced offall four walls andthe ceiling. Moreclapping as every-one agreed Ed andMark Two had donea grand job organ-ising. By now Mollywas foaming at themouth. There fol-lowed a selection ofdesserts: apparently something strangehad happened to the chocolate orangelayer but my Christmas pudding wasdelicious. We enjoyed a quiz comperedby Mark II and then an unexpectedbonus: a cheese course. By now only ahandful were still awake. Talk was ofWRG politics, plans for next years’camps, who fancies who and t-shirtdurability.

After a breakfast heroicallycooked by Helen ‘Bushbaby’ and Suzie,we departed for a site which was wetunderfoot but otherwise clear skied

and fairly mild. It was acomplicated sort of placewith 2 waterways runningparallel within a few feet ofeach other; one a swollenand raging river, the othera stagnant and tranquilcanal branch covered invibrant green algae. Alarge number of paths methere and I have never seenso many dog walkers,joggers, cyclists and fami-lies pass through an areain one day. It was a doggymotorway.

One team lugged theTirfors down a muddy

path to where the canalpetered out and became justboggy ground. They spentthe day tirforing on a steepand muddy slope with diffi-cult access, on ground thatwas boggy. The rest of usworked on the narrow penin-sula between the watercourses, felling rotten treesand cutting them up with a

party from WRGforestry. We got agood bonfire going.

After workinguntil 2pm withoutrain, we headedback to the accom-modation for a latelunch and a mam-moth clean up.Many people madethemselves ex-

tremely usefulthis weekend butspecial mentionsgo to Ed andMark II forleading, Bunglefor cooking andMel and Ellie forsupervisingBungle. Bonuspoints also toeveryone whoturned up whilstill or nursing anewborn.

Sophie SmithFancy dress theme was ‘kids TV’- can you guess who they are?

Pewsham lock camp

There’s a trick to writing these camp reportsand that trick is to do them immediately afteryou return. Bung on a heavy soil wash andsit straight down in front of the laptop, that’smy advice. Otherwise the real world takesover and you find yourself scratching yourhead and thinking “what the hell was thatlocal in the wax jacket called?” and “whywere we demolishing that culvert?” and“what the hell’s a culvert anyway?”

So here I am six months later, MartinLudgate’s nagging still ringing in my ears,trying to think back to those golden days atPewsham locks. I know I had a damn goodtime assisting Nat Belderson to lead around20 excellent volunteers, so good in fact Isigned up without coercion to help leadanother this year. Other memories rush back:tree roots entwined round ancient brickwork,the slam of a van door, a newt nestling in thepalm of my hand. And was there somethingabout a badger sett we needed to avoid? It’sall coming back to me in snatches.

We worked on a flight of 3 locks invarying states of disrepair. Already disused,the structures were used for explosives prac-tice during the time of the Second World War.

Our excavation work revealed how damagedand rearranged the brickwork was. Concen-trating on the middle chamber we used handtools to remove soil and bring out tree roots;Pete and Martyn were particularly heroichere. Local Mario brought in an excavator tochomp up the pit and we all formed a chaingang to pull out the salvaged bricks forreuse. I have strong memories of diving intothe pit rescuing frogs before the digger gotto them. There was a permanent gang onbrick cleaning duty and lots of wading aboutin silty mud trying to improve drainage.

Our work in the pound above all 3locks revealed a surprising number of oldglass bottles and odds and ends of metal:the rims of wheels, old leather boot soles,rusty buckets. We stripped off the layers ofivy to reveal the shape of the basin andfound a bees’ nest and several newts. Mean-while a party of more experienced and skilledworkers concentrated on a culvert furtherdownstream, where Antony had a particu-larly spectacular fall over a wheelbarrow.

Accommodation at Maud Heath guidingcentre was excellent, although there wassome confusion over whether we had exclu-sive use of the hall or not. This caused somefriction which we managed to smooth over.The village of East Tytherton was charming.Although there was no pub within walkingdistance, a Jack Russell terrier ran a small

Camp reportWilts & Berks (2): Pewsham

Meanwhile on the Wilts &

Berks, Pewsham Locks are

emerging from several

decades of decay - and

some explosives practice...

Hand excavation of the middle lock

“There was a permanent gang on brick cleaning”

All p

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supplied b

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Beld

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on

poultry farm at one end of the village. Goingout every morning before breakfast youwould find a few eggs left in a basket outsidethe farm gates and the terrier would sol-emnly watch you count your money into amargarine tub left for the purpose. It was asmoothly-run enterprise and the multicol-oured eggs were delicious: there’s no reasonwhy more dogs shouldn’t be encouraged intomicro-enterprise schemes. One wonders ifthere might be less hostility to dogs on site ifthey could be persuaded to set up and runsmall businesses. I suggest Sandy might trypanel beating, and Ace and Bess might enterinto a partnership supplying quality coffeeduring tea breaks.

Being assistant leader was as tough asI’d imagined but I hadn’t realised that beinga driver would mean very little drinking allweek. That meant there was no ‘switch off’point during the day when the cork popped,and being on duty 24/7 got pretty wearing.I’m not saying I’m totallyalcohol-dependant, but byWednesday my hands wereshaking so badly I accidentallymattocked myself in the shin.

On the social front, wemanaged quite a few trips tolocal pubs, completed nu-merous jigsaw puzzles andeven heard a talk from a batexpert about the colonynesting in the eaves of theaccommodation building.One of the week’s strangerhighlights was Martynputting out a hedge fire hehappened to spot on the wayback from site one evening.

Everyone mucked in

straight from the beginning andthere were few pastoral problems.Angela was a real brick helping mewith the catering and the two D of Eboys more than earned their badges,Pauline soldiered on through terribletoothache, Antony sorted the recy-cling, Rob put in the man-hours onthe jigsaw, Paul Ireson was alwaysready to help out, Laurence turnedup in the small hours after a longday at work, the village welcomed usand the onsite locals (particularlyMario) were energetic, reliable andhelpful. Thanks to everyone Ihaven’t mentioned as well.

Sophie Smith

Culvert repair: try not to fall over the barrow

Mechanical excavation of the top lock

“In varying states of disrepair”. The lock’s not looking too good either

Hi All! Just a short report regarding theWRG Xmas camp, hopefully a full report inthe next Navvies.

I was leading the camp with Ian Bunnas my assistant and Maria cooking; we werestaying in the village hall at Watchfield, whichis a nice hall with two showers and plenty ofroom. We had up to 25 people over theweek.

The work site was at the Pocket Park inShrivenham. We had to do a simple cut,slash and a bit of burning, the area to beattacked was in a rectangle shape and threeside bordered ditches. Easy!

The plan was to have one large firebeing fed by all that was cut, but it didn’treally work out that way and on the secondday on site we started two extra fires, just tokeep up with how much was being cut down.

I always thought I was fairly successfulat starting fires and getting them to burn,but what with the trees we were cuttingbeing blackthorn, hawthorn, and only acouple other trees, the quality was not thereand it was wet and on several occasions alsofrozen. The fires in the morning took so longto get going that it would be lunch time

before they could take anything of a decentsize other than twigs. The scary thing wasTim, he who has put out more fires than hehas lit, actually got his fire going fairly well,fairly quickly (just after morning tea break!)but only once.

We had a couple of brush cutters and acouple tirfors also working around the site(until one broke its shear pin and there wasno spare?), also a couple of Land Rovermounted winches - boys and their toys...

By the last day on site, the whole areahad changed dramatically. Another day or sowould have seen it all done. But the localswere already commenting on how muchspace there was now.

During the week, we met up with theother Wilts and Berks camp and had a skittlesevening but obviously they had not beenworking hard enough on site as they were

Camp reportWilts & Berks (3): Shrivenham

And on the Wilts & Berks,

Moose, Ian and the team are

clearing scrub from the Pocket

Park - and struggling to

get their fires going...

All p

hoto

s by T

im L

ew

is

too fresh and I have to admit they beat us 2games to 1. But I must look into the rules ofgeriatrics (as most of their camp was oldenough) using Zimmer frames as a stabiliser!(Come to think about it Luke must have beenthe youngest and he is looking old thesedays) Anyway it was a very enjoyableevening.

The local hostelry looked after us andthe beer was not bad! And we entered threeteams in the pub quiz, and came away hav-ing come 1st and 2nd. Other entertainmentwas to a cinema etc, but I think Ian and Imade them work too hard. Then after themeals cooked by Maria (with help fromAdrian) they were too fat and full to goanywhere!

On the final evening Maria, again as-sisted by Adrian, who had rushed back off

site, washed, changed and got into thekitchen to help, between them produced alovely three course meal followed by cheeseand biscuits, so we were all set up to see theNew Year in up at the pub.

As ever, the Christmas camp was agreat laugh, with many regular faces and afew new ones, and with an assistant leaderwho is thinking about leading a camp in thefuture.

Dave ‘Moose’ Hearnden

Camp reportWilts & Berks (4): Seven Locks

Reporting from the

Wilts & Berks Canal

Trust’s own New

Year Camp on the...

err... Wilts & Berks

Tirforing: the game you can play alone or (right) with your friends

The Alternative Wilts & BerksChristmas Camp

26th December - 3rd January

It was good to see most of our ChristmasCamp friends back again, puts two and aquarter new ones! We discovered that thereare now three WRGies called Taz: Pilot Taz(male), Welsh Taz (female) and Small BlackTaz (canine). The last named is quite partialto the odd sausage for breakfast, but thenagain the others probably are as well.

Apart from not having showers, theFoxham Reading Rooms are ideal for asmallish winter camp, snug andcomfortable. The weather overthe period was at times bitterlycold, and with two wet days, butwith big bonfires every day onsite, and good food and warmaccommodation, we coped prettywell.

We started Boxing Daymorning with four of us, twomore at teatime, and with othersadding to the party ever the next2-3 days, we had 11 for most ofthe camp. We started by burningup the big piles of brash which Dihad built up when hedgelaying atDauntsey.

From Sunday onwards mostof the work was at Seven Locks,beginning with erecting a 3-strand barbed wire fence on theoffside between locks 2 and 1,and then on Monday with anaugmented team we got down tosome serious stump-pulling andburning below Lock I. Therewere also a number of fallentrees across the cut which wereextracted, the top brash burnt,and the loggable bits piled sepa-rately, as we sell cordwood andlogs to raise money for the canal.

We carried on with this onTuesday, but the day became

increasingly rainy and sleety, and we had topack up and get back to the accommodationto dry out by 2pm. We also had heavy over-night rain that night, so by Wednesday thepound below Lock 1 was up to full height,and apart from putting out yesterday’s bon-fire, there was no way we could reach thetrees on the offside. We cleared the saplingsalong the towpath edge, built a new bonfire,and finished work at 3 pm.

Thursday was our ‘away day’, workingat Foxham. Helped by our local plant expert,John Harrod, we had to bolt down the bas-cule bridge above the lock to prevent it

flexing when animals and vehicles go over it,The rest of the team pulled stumps, removedsome dead elms and trinmed the hedge, andeveryone worked so hard that we were ableto finish early and go off for showers andswimming.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were closeto freezing point all day, but dry and sunny,and with hard work and big bonfires we gotthrough an amazing amount of clearanceback at Seven Locks. We used both 1.6 and 3tonne Tirfors, stumps flew out of theground, trunks were cut into cordwood andstacked, and fallen tiees were pulled acrossthe canal and similarly dealt with, and bySunday afternoon 75 yards were cleared, andLock 1 is in sight! It was a long camp - 9days - but most of the tearn managed to findenough motivation, strength and energy towork right up to Sunday.

We met up with Moose’s camp (fromSteppingstone Lane) at the PeterboroughArms on the Tuesday evening for a highlycompetitive skittles match. Even though ourrival camp had more people, and we had toplay more individual goes to keep up, wemanaged to win two out of three rounds,and one of our two new friends, Mike Helas.won the “killer” round, and kindly donatedhis winnings to Foxham Branch funds. Mooseworked his usual magic to make it a funevening.

For the rest of the camp, even though acinema run had been suggested, our camppreferred to chill out in the accommodationor try a few different pubs. Our jigsaw ad-dicts managed to complete two 1,000 piece,one 1500 piece and two 500 piece puzzles.

Di went down with a heavy cold thesecond day of the camp, but managed tosoldier on with shopping, hedgelaying andfeeding us so well that a couple of peoplesaid they might have to go on a diet afterthey got back home! Mina and her new friendTaz enjoyed themselves running round siteeach day and them crashing out or their bedsin the evening.

Despite the short days, we managed toachieve a great deal. We told the team aboutour plans for Lock 2, for which we hope tosubmit a planning application in January, andhope that they will be involved with thosecarrying out this interesting project. Duringthe discussions, Alan Birchall from the Mon &Brec let slip that he was a model maker, andwith a little gentle persuasion he agreed tomake a model of the project from RoySutton’s drawings which will aid the plan-ners. We shall also be able to use it as afund-raising tool.

I thought that it was a really goodcamp, and hope that everyone enjoyedthemselves as much as I did.

Rachael Banyard

40 Views for 40 Years

Waterway Recovery Group is 40 years old this year. To mark this anniversary, Helen Gardneris conducting a series of interviews with 40 people who have been involved in WRG in vari-ous capacities over that period, to create a permanent record of the first four decades of theprganisation and a series of articles in Navvies. Over to Helen for the first instalment...

Well if you’re going to bully people into talking into a blessed microphone for half an hourthen who better to start with than the main beneficiary: Navvies Editor Martin Ludgate.He’s been editor (the longest running) since 1993 and he’s often seen armed with a trowelon camps and London WRG digs - that is, when he puts the camera down.

Q: How and when did you first get involved?A: When I got involved? That was 1982 –Easter - I went on a London WRG dig, I’d beenon a couple of digs before that, that was when Ifirst got regularly involved.

How? That goes back to when I was about11 - my dad had a couple of books from thelibrary about canals and they sounded reallyexciting, saving canals from dereliction. I naggedmy parents to take us on a boat holiday which theyeventually did – I read about boats and boat ralliesand read about restoration and found out some-thing called the Waterway Recovery Group. Thensometime about 10 years later I finally trackedthem down and persuaded them to let me go on a weekend dig on the Basingstoke.

Q: Why did you keep coming back?A: Because it was fun – because they’re a good bunch of people to go out with at the weekend, for thesocial stuff, basically going to the pub and the like. Three or four years later a bunch of us from London WRGdecided that we wanted to buy a leaky old narrow boat and restore it and been involved in that ever since.

Q: What was the nature of your involvement?A: Pretty much the same I do now: go out on a London WRG dig every third week or so. In those days itmeant - well we used to joke when it said TBA in the dates list which stands for To Be Arranged it actuallystood for The Basingstoke Again because that was where we spent a good 50% of our weekends. Webasically demolished lock chambers from what I remember. We used to spend the whole weekend standingon a ledge about a foot wide cutting the face off a lock wall with a Kango hammer and go home at the end ofthe weekend shaking like a leaf. We did do a lot of that: they didn’t trust us with any brick laying; they hadtheir own team of skilled bricklayers for that – we did coping stones and we did demolition and we didbackfilling with concrete. Mike Fellows was the work party organiser for the Surrey and Hants Canal Soci-ety and an excellent guy – taught me to drive dumpers among other things. We never ran short of work,always had materials and always had kit that worked, partly it was the counties funding it, partly it was havinga good canal society and partly from having an excellent local work party organiser. When that all came to anend in 1989 or so, because we’d finished all the locks on the Basingstoke we started working on otherprojects more.

Q: You started off with London WRG - when was London WRG formed?A: That’s a bit of a difficult one – I think sometime in the early 1960s the London and Home Counties

WRG at 40Forty views for forty years

The first in a series of articles

to celebrate WRG’s 40th

birthday by capturing the

views of various people

who have been involved

Georg

e E

yco

tt

Branch of the Inland Waterways Assocation formed a working party group and sometime in the 1970s afterWRG had been set up as a national organisation that group chose to become the London regional group ofWaterway Recovery Group – so either sometime in the early 60s or sometime in mid 70s, take your pick.

Q: So what are you most proud of about your involvement with WRG?A: I guess it’s got to be to do with Navvies – I think actually managing for 16 years to keep the readersinformed and entertained is something that I’m pretty proud of.

Q: How did you end up becoming editor of Navvies?A: The then editor Alan Jervis collared me on a dig on the Montgomery Canal in about 1993 I think it wasand said “I need to ask you a question, um, how much have you had to drink?”, I said “oh, just a couple ofpints” he said “oh, I’ll ask you a bit later shall I?”. And I thought “hmm, I wonder what he’s going to ask me,I think I know...” and sure enough it was “do you want to take over as editor of Navvies?”

Q: What’s the best bit about being editor of Navvies?A: The feeling of satisfaction when you finally get rid of an issue – I think.

Q: And what’s the most frustrating thing?A: Waiting for the chairman to write his piece. No, seriously, the most frustrating thing is if people saythey’ll send stuff and they don’t. By the way, if you see any issue with a lot of photos in it then that’s becauseI found I had one page extra and needed to add another three.

Q: What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever been sent - is there anything that’smade you laugh out loud?A: There’s lots of things that have made me laugh out loud. The sheer inventiveness of some of the peoplesending in canal camp reports. The ‘Dear Deidre’ column at the moment. There is something else that I didn’tprint that was very amusing because it was a letter written in a very odd way on a piece of paper and I finallyrealised that the reason that it had been written in that very odd way was because when you read down thepage, down the letters, it spelled a very rude phrase often used by Mick Beattie a few years ago.

Q: Where do you see the future of Navvies?A: People have been predicting the end of magazines ever since... ooh for decades now, and that appliesto the day job at Canal Boat magazine as well but people still seem to like reading things on real paper. I seethe future of Navvies pretty much like the present of Navvies, carry on entertaining people, informing them,amusing them, occasionally stimulating them to a bit of thought - and putting the message over about water-way restoration.

Q: What would you say WRG’s greatest achievement was?A: Since I’ve been involved I think the OverBasin project – managing to pick that one up,working with the Hereford and Gloucester CanalTrust (we can’t take all the credit for it – that wouldn’tbe fair) and actually taking something that was neverever going to happen on time and turning it around andpulling out all the stops – that is what I think WRG isgood at, when we’re really up against it – throwingeverything into it and getting the thing done on timeand in fact with a week or two to spare I think.

Q: Who has inspired you within WRG?A: I have to mention the late great DavidHutchings - although he wasn’t actually in WRG. Asa work party organiser he was once quoted assaying ‘volunteers should be sent home on theirknees’; he did work us hard. We didn’t do any sillyhours, mind: we knocked off at 4 in the afternoonincapable of doing any more work. In fact he gaveus, and this was a long time ago, he gave us fivepounds and said go and spend that in the pub, we couldn’t spend it all because we were so knackered. Agreat man, he masterminded the Stratford restoration, the Upper Avon restoration and if he’d been given thechance he’d have done the Higher Avon all the way through from Stratford to Warwick as well.

Over Basin

Mart

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Q: What is your classic ‘do you remember the time when...’ story?A: In the days when we used to go to the pub at lunch time, we were working on the Chesterfield and all piledin the van, probably more of us than seats in those days as well, headed off to a pub, had our pie and chips orwhatever and a couple of pints. Piled in the van, went back to site, failing to notice that we’d actually left onevolunteer in the pub, this was Allan, we’d not only failed to notice that he was in the Gents at the time, we also failedto notice when we got back to site we didn’t have him, and we also failed to notice him walking all the way backand walking back into site and starting work again with us. It wasn’t until later that he told us what happened.

Q: What’s the most useful skill you’ve learnt and who did you learn it from?A: Probably brick laying actually and I learned it from John Park – it was a real busman’s holiday for him– if I remember rightly he learned bricklaying as a trainee on the Basingstoke restoration, then became a full-time professional bricklayer and spent his weekends training volunteers to lay bricks. He taught me atWillmoorway Lock, in fact he taught rather a lot of people, someone once described Willmoorway Lockchamber walls as “a series of learning curves”.

Q: What would you say has changed for canal restoration – for better and worse?A: The sheer scale of it – we’re now working on projects that people wouldn’t have taken seriously then,in fact they didn’t. I remember working on the Wey and Arun on our first dig there in ’83 or so and it wasknown as the Waste and Arid - it had no water in it and no hope as far as most people were concerned. Infact a few years earlier there were letters to the magazines including Navvies criticising the Wey and ArunCanal Trust for starting a restoration that was a complete waste of time. That has gone from being the ulti-mate no-hoper to being a canal that will reopen – it’s only a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.

The other side of that is despite the fact that we’ve moved on from clearing lock chambers by handusing wheel barrows to possibly constructing road bridges, at the same time that the volunteers have movedon to much more advanced projects, the difficulty of the task has moved on at an even greater rate. Most ofthe canals we were working on in the 70s and early 80s had never actually officially been closed; they’d beenallowed to fall derelict. It meant they hadn’t ever actually been blocked: there weren’t road bridges blockingthem; there weren’t railway lines across them. Bridges were still there. You needed to make the thing water-proof, restore the locks, put the gates in – it was all stuff that could ultimately be done by volunteers even if itwould take a long time. Now when you look at something like the Wilts and Berks there are things likeSwindon – the route through Swindon has been completely lost. We will be contributing to projects wherethe main work will be done by contractors paid for by local authorities and the like.

Q: Where do you see WRG’s future?A: I don’t know - I think it might well be tied up with whatever happens with British Waterways’ future. Iknow a lot’s been talked about British Waterways getting involved with volunteers, and they talk the talk –but they don’t always walk the walk. But they’ve been saying so much about it recently and how they’rechanging to a different type of organisation that involves more working with volunteers, and we may or maynot be tied up with that. Other than that we carry on doing what we’re doing and we keep on doing it better– because I think we do, compared with what we did 25 years ago. The chance of taking on jobs that wewould never have thought of back then, like I believe down on the Wilts and Berks there’s a suggestion thatwe might end up with volunteers building a road bridge.

Now to an interview with John Foley: he rarely ven-tures from the folds of North-West but I managed tograb him after a paper chase (yes - I waited until thechips were eaten). John’s one of those people whodoesn’t really talk about himself so I very much appre-ciate him agreeing to be interviewed – I suspect it wasone of the slightly more painful points in his life! Johnis one of the main cogs behind the North-West bookstand and is usually on each paper chase and NW dig.

Q: So when did you first get involved withcanal restoration?A: Well I think it was going to the Stratford Canal on theoriginal restoration sometime in the early 60s. That was goingdown for a week – they had a barrack hut at the Lapworth Yardwith very primitive facilities.

Q: Who was around then?A: Well it was David Hutchings who was the National Trust Manager there and any odd bods that hecould get hold of including prisoners, army, workers, all sorts of people; people like me who would go andspend a week’s holiday there.

Q: What made you do it in the first place?A: An interest in canals; going back to the beginning, at the age of ten I had a copy of Arthur Ransom’sCoot Club thrust into my hand at school and I got the bug for waterways and sailing and talked my parentsinto Broads holidays. I read all the books I could on the Broads and then I couldn’t find any more so I hadto read something about canals. Then somebody told me about the IWA and I must have joined somehow.

At about the time the Stratford was reopened the campaign started for the restoration of the PeakForest Canal based on the problems with Marple Locks and Marple Aqueduct, so I joined the Peak Forest.The Peak Forest Canal Society was set up as a result of frost damage a year or two earlier to Marple Aque-duct. The Marple Aqueduct was saved by local authority intervention and by the time that was fixed thelocks were impassable and British Waterways were quite keen on closing the canal to navigation.

Q: You were involved with the restoration of the locks?A: Yes, in the fairly early stages, some lock clearance, vegetation cut back, helping Dr Boucher – somepeople may remember. He lived alongside the locks and was a highly skilled engineer and woodworker whowas able to fashion replacement balance beams and paddle gear using – it felt like he could do anything usinga saw and an adze – and there’s not many people who can do anything with an adze. We’d assist him withthat and some other fairly non-skilled things as part of the restoration campaign.

Q: And obviously the Peak Forest is restored nowA: Yes. The Ashton of course was worse. Some people became more involved with the Ashton runningthe boats on the Ashton, the boat yard down there near Guide Bridge is still a going concern and run bypeople who were involved back in the 60s.

Q: So this is back in the 60s and before WRG as an organisation formally existed?A: Yes, our connection with it started when I saw a mention (in an IWA bulletin) of Navvies Notebookbeing available from Graham Palmer. I wrote and subscribed and eventually we got into correspondence andphone calls about possible work up here. The London group eventually came up for a weekend and theconnection grew up from that.

Q: Did you know Graham Palmer?A: Yes – quite a lot of connection with WRG while I was still working party organiser. He was going todo the official photographs at my wedding and he took a lot of photographs, we sent back the ones wewanted copies of but he lost them! All we ended up with was the odd ones and outtakes – I didn’t hold itagainst him. I always got on very well with him, I know some people would have found him very difficult todeal with. The work we organised together - it all went as smoothly as possible.

Q: So moving on - What happened with your involvement with WRG after that?A: I rather dropped out with marriage and young children – I’d always carried on reading Navvies andused to go to occasional local events. I decided I’d got a lot of waste paper in my garage and I had a wordwith Mac at one of these events and arranged to drop some of the stuff off and it just grew again from there.

Q: What year was it that you came back?A: I think it was 83 or 84.

Q: The connection with thebooks - how did that start?A: It [WRG NW] started books andfound that it was a good seller on the stall.First time I’d looked at the stall in itsnewer form with books on I thought someof these are perhaps too tatty to besaleable and some of them might fetch abit more money than the 20 or 30p beingcharged at the time so I started tidying up.Then I found that a second hand bookshop had opened in my local village, went Fine selection of books on the NW stall a few years ago

Mart

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and saw the feller and said “would you be interested in seeing some books that we have from time to time?”;and he said “yes” and it just built up from there.

Q: What would you say WRG was really good at and really bad at?A: Stepping in and doing things to back up the start of canal restorations. Helping new societies, helpingsocieties that never really got underway very well and also in the more technical side; getting involved in quitesubstantial projects which involve a lot of engineering, bricklaying, woodwork – you know fairly technicalstuff. It’s flexible enough to fit in right from the most basic site clearance through to small scale rebuilding ofbridges and locks.

And bad at? Perhaps presentation - I had a look at the WRG website – perhaps it’s only presented atthe sort of people who are first timers on canal camps – it’s fine to have that sort of thing but I don’t thinkthere’s a lot else that we’re offering as information.

Q: What skill have you learnt?A: Something that surprised me was taking on dealing with books – not deliberately but it just developedthat way. I’d never seen myself as a salesman but I’ve probably been in contact with 30 or 40 book dealersover the time. Starting off going into a bookshop or ringing somebody up and saying “hello can I sell yousome second hand books?” I suppose it’s a skill in a way – if I’d been better at it I might have sold a lotmore!

Q: Who’s inspired you?A: I suppose I’d have to go back to David Hutchings, really, you don’t get many personalities like thatover the years. The impossibility of putting him off something that he’d set his mind on. Whether it wascoping with the problems of getting rid of the dredgings on the Stratford Canal; or the exploits involved inrebuilding the locks down into Stratford when he found that they were about 6 inches narrower than anybodythought; rebuilding bridges on the Avon; just being able to plan and do things right and do them right away.We can’t always do it quite like that now.

Present day: Mr Mac, for longevity I suppose – keeping at it and always trying to find another way outof a difficulty - perseverance.

Q: Do you have any stories?A: Stories just arise out of conversation, I suppose one example of that is this last weekend somebodywas around on our Cromford weekend, Nick Bullimore, and I think there was a bit of mud on the Sunday.Thoughts went back to him being pulled out of his wellies in the mud at Over and the fact that his wellies weredown there somewhere in the foundations of the walls at Over for future archaeologists to discover.

Q: Where do you see the future of WRG?A: I don’t know – with the financial problems that are looming for BW and the Environment Agency –there may be things that we’ve got to do, either in campaigning over the next few years or actually funding. Ihate the thought of spending our money on things that should be secure by now but there might have to besome hard thinking about what we do with our resources both for existing waterways and restorations. Theidea of spending money on existing waterways is something I really hate to think of but maybe we have to domore in campaigning. I really don’t want to be collecting waste paper to fund routine canal maintenancewhich is what it would come down to – I know we couldn’t.

Q: Why do you keep coming back?A: Well what else would I do with me time? People sometimes ask me “have you got a boat?” – no -“have you never wanted to have a boat?” – not really, I’ve got a house and a garden to neglect. Well if Iwasn’t going away on weekends I wouldn’t be able to neglect the house and garden – I’d be doing thingsthere and I’d rather be doing this.

Over the forthcoming issues I shall probably experiment with the style of the write up so ifyou’d prefer to see it done differently then just let me know (and if anyone fancies writingup an interview then all you need is some form of media player (Windows will do it) and Ican send you the electronic file). Whilst the write ups are a transcription of the interview,limitations on space mean I have only included what I judged to be most interesting orrelevant – I may also change the order of questions and answers if it flows better. I’m look-ing at making the complete interviews available electronically - more on that next time.

Helen Gardner

PS my version of Word autochanges wellies to willies – glad I spotted that

The SurveyBest and worst accommodation

“You could hear the rats

running around in the

roof all night then

screaming as they

got caught in a trap”

What’s your most and least favourite accommodation?

Dante describes Hell as an enormous conical pit leading down to the centre of the Earth.Within the pit are nine circles of decreasing size, where those condemned to Hell are pun-ished. Beyond the seventh circle, past the woods where spendthrifts are pursued through thetrees by harpies, and across the desert of unbearable heat where fire rains from the sky, liesTring Scout Hut.

WRG’s latest survey spared no details of the horror that awaits you there: ‘disgustinglydirty and always cold’; ‘Cold lino floor and the kitchen smells like mice’; ‘the loos leak’ weresome complaints. There were grumbles that it ‘requires a supernatural feat of trailer revers-ing’ in a car park described as ‘too small to be useful’. One person concludes bitterly: ‘Any-one who has not listed this as the worst accomm has clearly never been here’.

Although Tring received by far the most votes, some other places nominated as least-popular accommodation were Droitwich Boxing club, St Grot’s Stratford and WoodlandsSocial Club & Village Hall, Hungerford. Their crimes included: ‘ice on the inside’, an entirecamp being poisoned by anillegal water supply, and theusual complaints about no hotwater or heating. One personput in an open nomination for‘any accommodation where thetoilet bowl and the cooker are inthe same room...’ and anotherperson recounted how at oneplace ‘you would hear the ratsrunning around all night in theroof space then screaming asthey got caught in a rat trap’.

The word-cloud (right)illustrates nicely the proportionof different words people usedwhen they commented on theirleast favourite accommodation.

And the favourite? Placeswith showers or bunk bedsproved popular in nominations for best accommodation. The divine Haybay Barge on theChelmer and Blackwater received the most votes (‘great views, showers, own bunk, barbecueand you can swim around it!’). Runners up included Selsey Scout Hut (‘Fantastic views!’), BlistsHill for the bunk beds, and Robert Monk hall at Foxton for the excellent kitchen. Proximity to asource of alcohol was a major motivating factor for many of those voting, and Wath Rugby Clubreceived a mention because the locals opened the bar and left an honesty box for volunteers.

Next survey: What’s the worst thing you’ve left behind when you’ve gone digging?Vote online at http://tiny.cc/WRGdisaster

Editor’s note: Since compiling this survey we’ve heard that Tring Scout Hut has received agrant for improvements including showers. Sadly we’ve also heard that planning permission isconditional on no more than two visiting groups using it per year. You win some, you lose some...

Navvies diaryYour guide to all the forthcoming work partiesFeb 27/28 London WRG Basingstoke Canal

Feb 27 Sat D&SCSG Dorset & Somerset Canal: Guided tour of Fussells Boat Lift excavated rePrivate land, so bookings only. No casual visitors at any time. (This is s

Mar 1 Mon Navvies Press date for issue 240

Mar 6/7 Essex WRG Wilts & Berks Canal

Mar 6 Sat WRG/KESCRG Barn Dance: Benson Village Hall. Possibly publicity workshop and KESCRG

Mar 13/14 KESCRG Basingstoke Canal

Mar 14 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal: Briggate

Mar 20/21 wrgNW Hollinwood Canal

Mar 20/21 wrgBITM Hereford & Gloucester Canal: Llanthony Lock

Mar 21 Sun WRG Committee & Board Meetings

Mar 27/28 London WRG Thames & Severn Canal: Eisey Lock. Dig Deep project

Mar 27/28 NWPG Basingstoke Canal

Mar 27 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection

Mar 27-Apr 5 Camp 201002: Easter Camp: Wilts & Berks Canal: Steppingstones Lane Bridge.Note date changed from Apr 2-10. Cost £72

Mar 28 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal: Briggate

Apr 10/11 KESCRG Thames & Severn Canal: Eisey Lock. Dig Deep project

Apr 10/11 Essex WRG Lichfield & Hatherton Canals

Apr 11 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal: Honing Lock

Apr 17/18 London WRG B.C.N. Cleanup: NOTE date changed from Mar 21/22. Centrally booked

Apr 17/18 wrgNW Lichfield Canal (provisional)

Apr 17/18 wrgBITM Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation: To be confirmed.

Apr 25 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal: Honing / Staithe Cut

Apr 29-May 4 IWA/WRG Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice: Site Services Camp

May 1/2/3 wrgNW Mon & Brec Canal: Joint dig with Essex & wrgSW. Preparing for Whit T

May 1/2/3 Essex WRG Mon & Brec Canal: 3-day weekend with WRG NW.

May 1/2/3 wrgBITM Canalway Cavalcade, Little Venice: BITM Sales Stall

May 8 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection

May 14/15/16 wrgBITM Rickmansworth Festival: Site Services & sales stand. Open to public on

May 15/16 London WRG To be arranged

May 15/16 NWPG Thames & Severn Canal: Eisey Lock. Dig Deep project

May 22 Sat WRG Leaders Training Day: for canal camp and work party leaders

May 23 Sun WRG Committee and board meetings

Canal Camps cost £56 per week unless otherwise stated. Bookings

for WRG Canal Camps (those identified by a camp number e.g.

'Camp 201002') should go to WRG Canal Camps, Island House,

Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA. Tel: 01494 783453.

Email: [email protected]

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]

emains.shooting country.) Derrick Hunt 01225-863066 [email protected]

Martin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 [email protected]

John Gale 01376-334896 [email protected]

G AGM beforehand. [email protected]

Eddie Jones 0845-226-8589 [email protected]

David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]

Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]

Mike Palmer 01564-785293 [email protected]


Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179

01494-783453 [email protected]


Eddie Jones 0845-226-8589 [email protected]



d Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]



Dave ‘Moose’ Hearndern 07961-922153 [email protected]

Trailboat Rally David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 [email protected]



David McCarthy 0161-740-2179

Sat & Sun Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]


Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 [email protected]



Once per month: pls check BCNS BCN waterways Mike Rolfe 07763-1717352nd Sunday & alternate Thurs BCS Buckingham area Athina Beckett 01908-661217Anytime inc. weekdays BCT Aqueduct section Gerald Fry 01288-353273Every Sunday ChCT Various sites Mick Hodgetts 01246-620695Every Tue & Wed C&BN Chelmer & Blackwater John Gale 01376-334896Every Saturday DCT Droitwich Canal Jon Axe 0121-608 02962nd & last Sunday of month EAWA N Walsham & Dilham David Revill 01603-7386484th Sunday of month ECPDA Langley Mill Michael Golds 0115-932-8042Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane Mike Beech 0116-279-26572nd weekend of month GCRS Grantham Canal Colin Bryan 0115-989-22482nd Sat of month GWCT Nynehead Lift Denis Dodd 01823-661653Tuesdays H&GCT Oxenhall Brian Fox 01432 358628Weekends H&GCT Over Wharf House Maggie Jones 01452 618010Wednesdays H&GCT Over Wharf House Wilf Jones 01452 413888Weekends H&GCT Hereford Aylestone Martin Danks 01432 344488Every Sunday if required IWPS Bugsworth Basin Ian Edgar 01663-7324932nd Sunday of month LCT Lancaster N. Reaches Paul Shaw 01524-356851st, 2nd, 4th Sun + 3rd Sat LHCRT Lichfield Sue Williams 01543-6714273rd Sunday of month LHCRT Hatherton Denis Cooper 01543-3743702nd & 4th Sundays NWDCT N Walsham Canal David Revill 01603-7386482nd & last Sundays PCAS Pocklington Canal Paul Waddington 01757-638027Every Wed and 1st Sat RGT Stowmarket Navigtn. Colin Turner 01473-7305862nd 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 weekend of month SCS Stover Canal George Whitehead 01626-7754982nd Sunday of month SNT Sleaford Navigation Mel Sowerby 01522-8568101st weekend of month SUCS Newhouse Lock Mike Friend 01948-880723Every Tuesday morning TMCA Thames & Medway C Brian Macnish 01732-823725Every Sunday & Thurs WACT varied construction Eric Walker 023-9246-3025Mondays (2 per month) WACT tidying road crossings John Empringham 01483-562657Wednesdays WACT Tickner's Heath Depot John Smith 01903-235790Wednesdays WACT maintenance work Peter Jackman 01483-772132Wednesdays WACT Loxwood Link Peter Wilding 01483-422519Thursdays WACT Winston Harwood Grp Tony Clear 01903-774301Various dates WACT Hedgelaying (Oct-Mar) Keith Nichols 01403-7538821st w/e (Fri-Tue or Fri-Wed) WAT Drayton Beauchamp Roger Leishman 01442-8745362nd Thursday of month WAT Drayton Beauchamp Pete Bowers 01255-504540Every weekend WBCT Wilts & Berks Canal Rachael Banyard 01249-892289

Abbreviations used in diaryBCNS Birmingham Canal Navigations Soc.BCS Buckingham Canal SocietyBCT Bude Canal TrustChCT Chesterfield Canal TrustCBN Chelmer & Blackwater NavigationCCT Cotswolds Canals TrustDCT Droitwich Canals TrustEAWA East Anglian Waterways AssociationECPDA Erewash Canal Pres. & Devt. Assoc.FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane TrustGCRS Grantham Canal Restoration SocietyGWCT Grand Western Canal TrustH&GCT Hereford & Gloucester Canal TrustIWPS Inland Waterways Protection SocietyK&ACT Kennet & Avon Canal TrustKESCRG Kent & E Sussex Canal Rest. Group

LCT Lancaster Canal TrustLHCRT Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Rest'n TrustNWPG Newbury Working Party GroupNWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal TrustPCAS Pocklington Canal Amenity SocietyRGT River Gipping TrustSCARS Sankey Canal Restoration SocietySCCS Somersetshire Coal Canal SocietySHCS Surrey & Hants Canal SocietySCS Stover Canal SocietySNT Sleaford Navigation TrustSUCS Shropshire Union Canal SocietyTMCA Thames & Medway Canal AssociationWACT Wey & Arun Canal TrustWAT Wendover Arm TrustWBCT Wilts & Berks Canal TrustW&BCC Wilts & Berks Canal Company

Mobile groups' socials(please phone to confirm)

London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11 days before dig. 'StarTavern', Belgrave Mews West, London. Tim Lewis 07802-518094NWPG: 9:00pm on 3rd Tue of month at the 'Hope Tap', Westend of Friar St. Reading. Graham Hawkes 0118 941 0586

Navvies diaryCanal societies’ regular working partiesAmendments to Dave Wedd (see previous page)

Lettersto the editor

A new idea for canoe-

friendly slipways, and as

response on whether BW

should be stripped and

flogged...

Dear MartinSlipways for allSeveral canal restoration schemes have

included slipways for trailboats, partly in anattempt to get usage by as many boats aspossible as early as possible. These aretypically wide enough for a vehicle or boattrailer, a wall on each side running into thewater with a slope between.

Somebody wanting to launch a canoeor kayak wants to place the boat parallel tothe waterline and be able to step in from dryland. Unfortunately, the parallel walls areoften too close together to allow this tohappen and too high for easy exit. Building aslot in one wall with its toe up to 6m fromthe opposite wall at the waterline wouldmake life easier for canoeists wishing to usethe canal.

Alternatively, a ledge along one wallabove water level as a walkway would alsoallow the luxury of dry feet.

Stuart FisherPaddlers International

Dear MartinI would like to

object (in jest) to theheading of your Editorialin Navvies i.e. “ShouldBW be stripped andflogged?” As my initialsare BW, this captioncaused great amusementto my family. On amore serious note, I amimpressed that WRG hasnot only survived 40years but has growndramatically and is obvi-ously well organised.

I must have joinedWRG in 1974 and Ienjoyed working at threeWork Camps in the ‘70’s before becoming a passive member. In my defence I am veryactive, on behalf of the IWA, campaigning for slipways on my local rivers in Sussex.

Keep up the good work.Brendan Whelan ( the other BW )

Secretary, Inland Waterways Association Solent and Arun Branch

Top of slipway

Canal channelT

his

wa

y d

ow

n

Proposed ‘Slot’

in slipway wall

to accommodate

canoes

Slip

way w

all

Slip

way w

all

Stuart Fisher’s propsoed slipway modificationand (below) new slipway at Aylestone, H&G

Mart

in D

anks

Lettersto the editor

The Academy

Awards acceptance

speeches on behalf

of Baylham Lock...

and Westons’ cider!

Dear MartinWhat can I say? I think the tried and tested acceptance speech routine as used at the

Oscar ceremonies would be the way forward. Now which Hollywood star to emulate - GreerGarson with the longest at 7 minutes;Laurence Olivier who was clearly ‘tiredand emotional’; James Cameron for /Titanic/ ‘I am the king of the world’?What about all those nonentities whothanked their agent, cousin, make-upman, the Maharishi or ‘everybody Iever met in my entire life’?

Probably the best thing is tothank all the people who voted for oursite at Baylham as their favouritevolunteer site. Having been on otherWRG camps I think your assessmentis right - it’s the locals that make thedifference. I hasten to add, thatdoesn’t include me - I’m the originalgrumpy old man - but to name just afew it’s Colin, Chard, Don, the Johns,Peter and all the others who comealong every week, not just for thecamp.

But you also need good camp leaders and a group of WRG’ies who give of their bestand we always get them. We haven’t got a camp next year but I know when the call goesout we’ll get a full house.

Once again, thank you.Spencer Greystrong

Treasurer, River Gipping Trust

Have you voted in our latest survey yet - best accommodation? http://tinyurl.com/WRGaccomm

Dear Martin,In Navvies 236 you had the survey “Who’s your WRG hero”, and at the bottom you say

that Westons cider is always seen at every camp. This interested me because my father’ssister married one of the Weston brothers a long time ago - she died in 1983 aged 94. Inthe 1950s I used to spend several weeks of my summer holidays staying with them, workingon the farm or in the cider works.

In those days they only employed 30-40 people, but when I was there in the spring of2004 they had expanded so much they then employed 100 people. I was there again inOctober to find that they must have spent £millions as there were so many new buildings,and 45 new storage tanks each holding 30,000 gallons, and now employ 150 people, in asmall village in the middle on nowhere. They say business is booming, so part of this willbe down to WRG. The M.D. is the great daughter of the founder Henry Weston, I haveposted a copy of the survey to her.

Regards,John Holloway, Chinnor

Most popular site: Baylham Lock

Gord

on B

row

n

Sleaford Navigation

Bottom Lock: The final work party to com-plete the Bottom Lock project took place inNovember when the quadrants for the bot-tom gates were finished off.

Head of Navigation Project: The finalphase of the new lift bridge in Sleaford willbe completed in early January when thehydraulic operating gear is fitted.

Tenders for the work on the new slip-way and winding hole have been sent outand should be returned to the Trust beforethe end of the year. It is anticipated that thework will be completed in time for a grandopening of the new Head of Navigation overthe Easter weekend.

Steve Hayes

Herefordshire & Gloucestershire

More Marks on the Park: As camps 13and 16 finished there were offers of week-ends’ work to complete the Aylestone Parkslipway. So far we have had three with wrgvolunteers from the camps staying at chateauDanks and locals made lots of progress:

September: blinded the ramp, re-laidthe kerb stones. In attendance: Martin T,John Hawkins, George Rogers, and locals

Our regular roundup of

progress on restoration

projects around the

country begins in

Lincolnshire...

ProgressSleaford and H&G

Alastair, Geoff and myself. Indian birthdaymeal at the Glass Tandoor with Jude thesilver fox. Weather poor.

October: laid the blue single-bull-nosed coping bricks. Martin, John andCharlie. Fish ’n’ chips from “Plaice 61” inHunderton. Weather worse.

November: poured the concrete rampand filled sand bags Martin, John, George,Charlie Forbes, Fred and Lorraine and evenwith help from the mixer lorry driver, Tim.Return visit to “Plaice 61”. Could the weatherbe even worse?

It poured during the pour but we per-severed and produced a very nicely finishedslipway ramp – rough for traction, and at theedges, a very fetching dimple pattern fromhigh spec rain drops…

It does look loverly and thank you somuch for the volunteers who came. Thereare more tasks for the cacals to complete aswell as the landscaping and bank removalscheduled for a WRG w/end in early Feb andin the Spring when the water levels andweather should be better.

Martin Danks

New gate quadrants, Lower Lock, Sleaford

The new Aylestone slipway takes shape

ProgressRestoring wooden boats

Wooden Canal Boat Society

A Bolinder engine for narrow boatForget me not has arrived from Ireland.After a couple of moves this has now beenput in a workshop in Stalybridge to await theattention of Bolinder experts. Though it wasin running order when it came out of itsGrand Canal barge, it does seem to need alot of fettling. In particular it will need a newreversing mechanism as the original one wasdismantled long ago.

Meanwhile Forget me not is unpoweredand Sunday recycling trips involve an im-pressive train of boats with Southam towingboth Forget me not and Lilith.

Slipway beams have now arrived at ourHeritage Boatyard by Huddersfield Canal witha view to slipping the first boat about Easter.Work recently has concentrated on buildinga timber shelterto get all thewood out of theweather andproperlystacked.

Our char-ity shop hasbeen develop-ing nicely andsome fundingfor retail train-ing has allowedus to employ apart time shopco-ordinatorand a part timetraining co-ordinator. Get-ting enoughreliable shopvolunteers isalways a strug-gle though.Due to a 600%increase incharges wehave decided to

discontinue the Tuesday flea market stall.Recycling trips for the first half of 2010

will be:

. Sundays, Meet at Portland Basin, PortlandSt South, Ashton under Lyne Ol6 7SX at9.30 AM on January 3rd, February 7th,March 7th , 11th April, 9th May, 6th June.

. Monday Evenings, meet at Portland Basinat 6Pm on 4th January, 1st February, 1st

March, 12th April, 10th May , 7th June.

To contact the Wooden Canal Boat Societyring 0161 330 8422 or 07931 952 037,email us at [email protected] or write to 173,Stamford St, Ashton under Lyne OL6 7PS.

You can look at the website atwcbs.org.uk or the Boatman blogashtonboatman.blog.uk

The Bolinder engine arrives from Ireland

WC

BS

Meanwhile up in the

north west, the

Wooden Canal Boat

Society are recycling

a Bolinder engine...

ProgresLichfield & Hatherton

LHCRT are at work on

Tamworth Road Locks and

elsewhere: “There will be

plenty of work for visiting

groups...”

Lichfield and Hatherton canals

The main practical focus is at TamworthRoad on the Lichfield Canal where our team,led by Brian Davis, is making excellentprogress with the bywash at Lock 25. Itshould be complete by the early spring.

We are discussing how we can intro-duce water either cosmetically or as part of alarger rewatering scheme through Pound 26and possibly through the lock as well. Thiswill involve discussion with all the statutorybodies and, as this includes the EnvironmentAgency, the process could be long and con-voluted. However, relationships with LichfieldDistrict and City Councils continue tostrengthen and improve. Although the AtkinsReport envisages restoration in five stagesfrom Huddlesford Junction (where our canalmeets the Coventry Canal) we have commit-ted so much time, effort and money toTamworth Road we must press ahead.Progress elsewhere is also subject to consul-tation and fund-raising. There will be plentyof work for visiting groups.

At Huddlesford we are continuing withfruitful discussions with Lichfield CruisingClub where a joint survey party is looking at

possible lay-outs for a mooring basin tomove boats off the section of the main lineof the Lichfield Canal to Cappers Bridgewhere they currently moor. There are floodplain issues to be explored fully. Patiencewith these issues is at a premium. InLichfield itself we are monitoring carefullyany plans to extend the bypass which will beassociated with the reactivation of develop-ment plans from Persimmon and others.

We are also hoping to progress Phase 1of the revised Hatherton Route which couldtake us cross-country to Churchbridge whichis currently a more likely way for us to reachCannock than from the west. The HighwaysAgency is now installing the electronics forhard-shoulder running through the con-gested area rather than widening the motor-way (which might have presented an oppor-tunity for reistating the canal crossing).Behind the Roman Way BW has been fellingtrees and is about to dredge its feeder sec-tion through much of the part which ourwork parties maintain. We are assured thatspoil will not be placed on the footpath ashappened on the previous occasion. It isessential that the Trust maintains its “twocanals” strategy.

Lichfield Canal: Lock 25 bywash takes shape

LH

CR

T

Thames & Medway Canal

On 13 October a lorryload of shingle wastipped across the Mark Lane end of the canalto make a safe crossing place so that thedepth of the puddle clay could be inspectedon the opposite side of the canal – it passedthe inspection. A couple of days later T&MCanal Association members watched as twosmall holes were dug in the ground beyondthe road which runs across the Gravesendcanal basin. With extreme care the diggeroperator uncovered the coping stones at thefar end of the lock which had been under anoffice building for many years. The onlook-

ProgressThames & Medway...

Down in Kent, things

are happening on a

little-known waterway

that used to run from

Gravesend to Strood

ers cheered this result of much work plan-ning and poring over maps. One of thestones had been quite badly damaged bysome earlier pipe-laying operation.

All this activity would prepare theThames and Medway Canal for a majordredging operation and the installation of apump to maintain the water level in the canalfor the Great Expectations Project (RiversideLeisure Area and Thames and Medway CanalProject). In March Gravesham BoroughCouncil received funding to take forward amajor regeneration initiative to create asequence of waterfront spaces leading fromthe town centre to the Thames marshes,

reconnecting Gravesend with its ruralhinterland and heritage, forming agateway landscape to the new RSPBreserve at Cliffe Pools and a highquality setting for regeneration of thecanal basin and East Gravesend.

Angela Acott

Checking levels at the swingbridge near Eastcourt Marshes and (inset) a coping stone is disinterred

Photo

s by TM

CA

Progres...and Wendover Arm

Finally, WAT are fighting

the weather as they try to

complete relining of the

Stage 1 section and prepare

for Stage 2...

Wendover Arm

December Working Party: The Novemberrains dashed hopes of continuing with thelining of Stage 1 of the canal – the wettestNovember ever according to records. At leastit demonstrated that the lining already com-pleted holds water! Thankfully the mini-bundat the end of the completed lining kept mostof the water at bay from the unfinishedlength of Stage 1; on the Thursday beforethe working party, we pumped out the 2"that had accumulated.

Although the weather hindered ourobjective of finishing Stage 1 as soon aspossible we completed valuable work. Bankprofiling of Stage 1 is now 100% completeand, as soon as weather permits, Bentomatlining and blocking of both banks will becompleted. Great progress in removing scruband large and small stumps from the offsidebank of Stage 2 was made as well as tippingspoil on the offside bank.

Looking Ahead: Once the weather issuitable it is in-tended to line andblock the rest ofStage 1 by havinga small team atLittle Tring feed-ing the rest of thevolunteers atDraytonBeauchamp withmaterials anddoing nothingelse. Hopefully ahydraulic grab willmake the loadingof concrete blocksa less laboriousjob. Given a fairwind, hopefully byMarch, it shouldbe possible tocomplete thislining in oneworking party.

The next step will be to continue withStage 2 pipe capping (covering the pipe thatwas laid in the canal bed to carry the watersupply feed after the canal had run dry) anduse the spoil to fill the banks above the coirrolls in Stage 1.

When the bank filling is completed,spoil from Stage 2 will be used to fill the bedof the canal over the Bentomat and form thebund at the end of Stage 1. The ‘sleepingpolicemen’ every 20 metres will be formedfrom surplus ready-mix concrete used forpipe capping.

Once the weather has improved in theSpring it is the intention to excavate readyfor constructing the Stage 2 mooring wall onthe towpath side and make every effort tocomplete the wall before next winter to avoidpossible deterioration of the bank behind thewall before backfilling. Hopefully the week-day working parties will expedite this work.

For more information see the Trust’swebsite http://wendovercanal.org.uk/

Roger Leishman

This old photo unearthed by Wendover Arm Trust seems to show thejunction with the main line at Bulbourne being lined with bitumen felt

sealed with hot irons - an earlier equivalent of Bentomat lining?

Dig Deep Report

The Dig Deep initiative is a scheme to co-ordinate work by several mobile workingparty groups based mainly in the south ofEngland. The way it works is that particularrestoration jobs are adopted as Dig Deepprojects, committing the groups to giving acertain amount of support to these projectsover a period of time, and thereby making iteasier for the local canal societies which areleading these projects to commit to thenecessary funding, materials and equipmentto finish the job within a reasonable timescale.The groups currently involved in Dig Deepare London WRG, WRG BITM, KESCRG andNWPG.

Our current Dig Deep programme iscentred on one major project – the re-buildof Eisey Lock on the Thames & SevernCanal. Why is this so? Well two reasons.First, it is a project that meets the key criteriaof a good Dig Deep Project in that it is fully

funded and is a site that is dedi-cated to work by visiting groups.Second, no other canal society hascome up with a project of a simi-lar magnitude. That’s not to saywe aren’t working anywhere else -of which more later.

So this year we have planneda major commitment to Eisey.There will be no fewer than threeweeks of summer camp and 11weekend digs. The camps will aimto start andfinish re-bricking thetowpath sidewall (all 90feet of it)whilst theweekendwork leadingup to themwill concen-trate ondismantling

loose brickwork andcleaning off the mortarso that the new wall canbe toothed in. There’sno large slabs of con-crete involved here as atLock 4 at Seven Locks(Wilts & Berks) orLoxwood on the Wey &Arun. We also hope tocomplete the rebuild ofthe top cill as this pro-vides the access for materials onto the scaf-folding for the bricklayers.

Dig Deep has been working at Eiseysince February 2008. During that time wehave re-built the off–side chamber wall towithin coping stone level (although 1½ morebrick courses are required). We have also re-built all four wing walls, installed lower endstop planks and started the upper gate re-cesses. The bow wall at the top end of thelock is well advanced and will be completed

ProgressThe Dig Deep Initiative

Bill Nicholson brings us

up to date on Dig Deep,

a scheme to co-ordinate

work on projects in the

south of England

Eisey Lock: London WRG finish bricklaying the first wall...

...then NWPG add

Mart

in L

udgate

Bill

Nic

hols

on

ProgressThe Dig Deep Initiative

as part of the cill re-build. This work has allbeen done by the Dig Deep teams with as-sistance at the planning and site manage-ment level from the ever patient and re-sourceful Jon Pontefract. Jon is excellent ashe allows us to use our experience and ex-pertise whilst ensuring that the standardsrequired by Cotswolds Canals Trust aremaintained.

When will it be finished? The method ofre-using the old bricks as backing bricks andthe 90 foot length of the locks on this part of

the canal (compared tothe more common sizeof just over 70ft) hasprobably added aboutsix months to the usual2½ years for a volun-teer lock re-build usingweekends and campsonly.

So if we finish thetowpath chamber walland the cill this year,which willleave thelower flankand gaterecess wallsand work onthe by-washfor 2011 andthe job willbe finished.After that –well therehas been

mention of Inglesham Lock...As mentioned earlier, Dig

Deep has been and will be work-ing on other sites. On theBasingstoke we have started theconstruction of a landing stage atthe downstream end of Lock 4 atWest Byfleet. We will also be re-building the by-wash at Lock 1once the County Council havegiven the go ahead which we

expect very soon. This is all vital work inhelping to keep the canal open and useableby boaters who these days do not expect tohave to leap off their boats onto slopingbanks. Later in the year Dig Deep will behelping the Wey & Arun summer camp teamin finishing work started last year on theinstallation of a new culvert just belowSouthlands Lock. This will be constructingthe headwalls and water control elements ofthe culvert and once finished will enable thecanal to be re-watered.

We shall start thinking about projectsfor 2011 in early summer with a view tomaking decisions by the end of September. Itwould be good to have one more site inaddition to Eisey Lock where we can reallyshow our mettle. If anyone has such a siteand would like to discuss it with us firstbefore making a commitment, please get intouch. Alan Cavender or myself (or yourEditor?!) would be very pleased to hear fromyou. See Navvies Directory for details.

Bill Nicholson

the coping stones...

...and now it’s time to start on the other wall

Does your canal society

have a suitable task that

Dig Deep could adopt as

one of its projects? If so,

please get in touch.

Cots

wold

Canals

Tru

st

WRG North West in 2009

January 2009 started off with our firstPaperchase (waste paper collection) of theyear on the 10th January, followed by ourfirst visit of the year to the Hollinwood Canal.This was at a new location for us, carryingout some scrub bashing on the FairbottomBranch below Croft End Farm. But this wasno ordinary scrub bashing, this was extremescrub bashing, as the majority of the treeswere growing within the canal bed, but thiswas in water (or should I say, heavily siltedwater, which meant deep mud). Needless tosay, several of us got covered in lovely gluti-nous mud (some more than others, espe-cially Ju, who was taken home on the Sun-day wrapped in bin bags!) as we cleared astretch from the stop plank narrows, includ-ing pulling some stumps out with a Tirfor.

The following weekend a select groupof us carried out the long-delayed task oferecting a roof between the two containers atNorth Cheshire Cruising Club. Here we wereably directed by Steve Dent, a roofer byprofession. The construction was solidenough to withstand the severe storms thatraged on the Saturday evening, despite onlyone anchor point in place.

February arrived, and so did the badweather. Our dig on the 7/8th on the Chester-field was cancelled at short notice due tosevere snow across the Peak District, whichmany of us would have crossed to reach thehall. The fact we were down to just sevenvolunteers was beside the point. Two weekslater, and the Paperchase was undertaken inquite pleasant weather.

March was to be a busy month for us.The 7/8th was the first of two visits toLichfield to work on the Tamworth Road site.Saturday (in the third change of plan) sawthe majority of us progress the brickworkfacing to the ‘Lego-brick’ wall below Lock 26,including a significant length of half-brick onedge forming the bottom course. Sundaystarted with a trial fitting of the pipes forLock 25 bywash, followed by final excavationof the foundations for the bywash outfallwall, after which we mixed and poured con-crete for the foundations, until we ran out ofcement with a third still to pour! A shock forthis weekend was Ju – she returned to thehall clean on both days!

The following weekend a select few ofus assisted the Friends of the CromfordCanal in their first attempt at clearance of asection of the canal bed at Sawmills, near

Ambergate, including operation ofthe chipper. At the end of theweekend, we had cleared about75 yards of canal bed, and spread20 tons of hardcore on the manywet spots along the towpath.

The 21/22nd was our firstvisit to the Manchester Bolton &Bury Canal at Little Lever, revisit-ing the section between Nob Endand Hall Lane on Saturday morn-ing, before moving on beyond thebreach to clear the towpath edgethrough to the former paper millwarehouse which sits astride thecanal bed, a task we completedaround lunchtime Sunday.

The following weekend wasour third Paperchase, however a

WRG NWA year in the life

Just to prove that there’s life north

of the Wilts & Berks, we catch up

on WRG North West’s activities,

ranging from Hollinwood to

Lichfield and the Montgomery

WRG NW in winter: clearing trees at Hollinwood

Photo

s by M

ike C

hase

group of us hijacked GCW and travelleddown to the BCN instead, and spent a pleas-ant weekend hauling various unmentionablesout of the Tame Valley and Walsall Canals,and getting covered in black smelly gloop.

April by comparison was a quietmonth, with just our second visit to theHollinwood on the 18/19th. On this occasionwe concentrated on the section towardsCrime Lake, initially having to retrieve nofewer than four large refrigerators from thecanal, and then transport them round to therefuse compound by the visitor centre.Cameron also went wading to retrieve theremains of a cast-iron bath. Afterwards weset to our usual towpath edge clearance andrepair, along the entire length to CrimeBridge, opening up the towpath somewhat.

On Sunday, the coping replacementteam moved back to the Fairbottom Branch,retrieving several stones and filling the ap-propriate gaps in the towpath edge. Thisweekend also coincided with the SandbachTransport Festival, which the sales teamattended, having quite a successful first day,although interest in the various stands wasless evident on the Sunday due to the his-toric vehicle parade.

May began with our annual joint digwith Essex WRG, which was the year’s sec-ond visit to Lichfield. Progress at TamworthRoad had progressed somewhat since ourprevious visit, with the pipework installedand buried by Lock 25, and the brickworkaround the outfall well underway. Our tasksfor the weekend started with the removal ofthe fencing and footbridge across the lockchamber (courtesy of Adrian), followed bybreaking out the head of the bywash to then

pour a new concrete footing. Adrian com-menced excavation of the drop chamber forthe bywash, which continued through Sun-day, whilst Paul organised the erection of ascaffolding handrail along the lock sideswhere the fencing was removed. As we wereinvited to the L&HCRT chairman’s house fora barbecue on the Saturday evening, mostremained on site to finish the concrete pour,being collected as the van returned past site.

On Sunday, a team was stationed belowLock 25 to progress the brickwork aroundthe bywash outfall, whilst the brickwork forthe head of the bywash was started, and themain channel measured and marked out. Jualso got her hands on the strimmer, andbashed some vegetation up near the mainroad. Sunday morning we backfilled thebrickwork below Lock 25, then commenced amass mix & pour of concrete into the pit toform the base of the drop chamber, this timefinishing the job instead of running out ofmaterial half-way through.

The following weekend wasPaperchase, which coincided with the firstManchester Bolton & Bury dig at Ladyshore.Several of us joined the locals on site onSunday and continued the towpath edgeclearance either way from Ladyshore Bridge,almost reaching the steam crane at MountSion.

The 17th May witnessed the first workparty on the Manchester & Stockport Canal,which was patronised by several WRGNWvolunteers, which saw the towpath bridge atClayton Junction cleared of vegetation,though the day was cut short by a torrentialdownpour.

The month was rounded off by the visitof the sales stand to the IWA Campaign Rallyat Kiveton Park on the Chesterfield Canal.Sunshine and high temperatures brought outthe crowds to make a successful weekend,which raised the profile of the ChesterfieldCanal, and raised much money towardsfuture restoration.

June arrived, and things quieteneddown, with just our usual Paperchase andthe annual visit of the sales stand to theMiddlewich Folk & Boat Festival.

July began with a rare summer dig,this being our third visit to the MB&B, thistime at Agecroft. Amid scorching tempera-tures, we cleared a path through the manyyears’ worth of growth between Agecroft andParkhouse Road Bridges. Only attending onthe Sunday, it was difficult to tell where the

WRG NW in spring: shuttering for Lichfield

towpath was when looking south fromAgecroft Bridge when we arrived, though wesoon forged our way through, with Cameronattempting to forge a path through somedense vegetation without the help of anytools.

Then it was quiet until the end of themonth, when we had our last Paperchasepre-National Festival, followed by the stall atCrumpsall Carnival on the Sunday.

August consisted of our usual attend-ance at the IWA National Waterways Festivalat Redhill-on-Soar, with many on site up to afortnight prior to the event. The sales standhad a successful weekend, helped by theweather and dry ground conditions, and wemade two £500 cheque presentations to theLichfield & Hatherton Canals RestorationTrust, and the Chesterfield Canal Trust insupport of their current appeals.

September came, but as many of ushad barely returned home from the IWANational, the Paperchase on th 5th was shortof volunteers, though we still achieved ourusual collection amount in the usual time.

Two weeks later was the wedding ofMalcolm Bridge and Barbara Fletcher. Bunglewas best man, and the WRGNW youth sectorwas very much in evidence in red wrg t-shirts at the reception. The month endedwith yet another visit to the ManchesterBolton & Bury Canal at Ladyshore, where yetmore towpath edge clearance was under-taken, and the steam crane received a coat ofblack paint.

October was dominated by the reun-ion dig, held as part of the 40th Anniversaryof the 1969 Welshpool Big Dig that signalledthe start of the restoration of theMontgomery Canal. We were allocatedsite three, where we cleared some 60yards of canal bed from the roadbridge, before drifting back onto sites 1and 2 as Sunday progressed. The fol-lowing weekend, GCW was comman-deered for the October camp on theMonmouthshire Canal.

November began with anotherManchester Bolton & Bury dig, attendedby a few wrgies, which witnessed thefelling of all the trees obstructing thedry (read ‘wet’) canal bed between thepaper mill warehouse and the daminstalled after the 1936 breach nearLadyshore.

Successive weekends then involvedanother Paperchase, then our third visit

to Hollinwood. This involved our return tothe Fairbottom Branch near Croft End Farm.Mindful of previous difficulties in crossing thenarrows using pallets, I had brought an 11-foot section of shuttering to bridge the gap.Unfortunately, the narrowest point turnedout to be 10 foot 11 inches. Ooops! At leastthe crossing was stable, even though we stillhad to step down to water level to cross. Thework that had been started in January wasprogressed further, continuing the tree fellingas far as a widening of the channel some 60yards further. On the Sunday, we were joinedby Ju for some extreme tirforing. This in-volved wading out into the silt to latch ontothe roots to be pulled, and of course, gettingstuck in the mud. Needless to say Ju was inher element, and was coated in mud to thetop of the wrg logo on her t-shirt.

December saw the year rounded offwith our Christmas dig, this time held on theCromford Canal on the 5/6th. Site was atSawmills near Ambergate, progressing thework carried out in March. Whilst a fairstretch of mature tree growth was cleared,miscommunications during the week meantno-one at Lockwoods, the transport depotadjacent to site, knew that we could borrowtheir chipper, which meant that all the treesfelled could not be disposed off (being adja-cent to housing meant we couldn’t have abonfire). These were all left piled along thetowpath edge for later disposal.

New volunteers are welcome on allWRG NW weekends - our next one is sched-uled for the Hollinwood on March 20-21. Seethe Navvies Diary for details.

Mike Chase

WRG NW in autumn: painting the MB&B crane

London WRG at Eisey, Oct 31-Nov 1

Unfortunately I lost my voice prior to leadingLondon WRG’s Eisey lock dig and had tocommunicate using written notes. Luckily Ihung on to these notes so I can now usethem to tell the story of our dig.

Friday evening:

This is me saying ‘Hello’ to Tim, to which hereplied ‘Frank is coming later with 32 sau-sages’ I quickly did the maths and wrote ’50sausages now’: the sum total of our sausagestore for the weekend. Cleary my sore throathad not affected my powersof mental arithmetic.

The people who weregoing to enjoy this sausagebonanza included Tim,Dave Miller, 2 differentkinds of Martin, half anAlan Lines plus half a FrankWallder (this may equal onewhole Alan Wallder) AdrianCrow who kindly suppliedthe fizz for Saturday night(it was my birthday afterall) and new recruit PeteFleming.

We also had oneRachel plus a spare Rachelin case the first one gotbroken. (At one point we

used to refer to these as ‘New’ and ‘NearlyNew’ Rachels but no one can ever remem-ber which was which. We are currentlywaiting for one of them to do somethingespecially embarrassing or foolish, in orderto supply a suitable nickname.)

Meanwhile, urning to my next note:

NICE ACCOMM

Yes it was very nice accomm at WatchfieldPalace, where it was extremely warm andthere were 2 showers. New Year camp willhave had a pleasant time if they stayed there.

L NO CIDER ONLY STRONGBOWIS THAT A PICKLED EGG?

I see by this point we had moved onto thepub, where the very friendly locals weredelighted to see us, although they didn’t buyus any drinks. Sadly it wasn’t a pickled egg,only a pickled onion masquerading as one. Ihid my disappointment with a Strepsil.

Oh and there was a better cider onafter all, just the fringes on the landlady’sleather gilet were obscuring the StowfordPress label. This is the best cider in theworld.

...in which the author

demonstrates that you

don’t need to be able to

talk in order to boss

London WRG around...

In the pub. The chap at the back is the landlord, by the way...

Mart

in L

udgate

Dig reportLondon WRG on the Cotswolds

Dig reportLondon WRG on the CotswoldsTHE CEILING IS THE COLOUR OF TOFFEE

I FOUND IT IN WAITROSEIT WAS MY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY,EVERYONE HAS TO BUY ME DRINKS

KAREN MOVED TO FRANCE

Quite a lot of stupid drunken chat as you cansee. It was a shame I lost my voice this par-ticular weekend as I had a particularly goodjoke about a man going into a sex shop whichI think London WRG might have appreciated.Possibly almost as much as they appreciatedNigel’s story about the dead Labrador. Nevermind, I’ll save it for the next dig.

This is me getting a round in.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO BREAKFASTTOMORROW

That’s the beauty of being ill, it means youcan’t do breakfast as no one wants you tocough on their sausages.

Saturday morning: Just as well we haveseveral dozen sausages too many as most of

them are burned anyway. Never mind!

EVERYONE NEEDS TO MOVE THEIR KITAND OUR FOOD KIT OUT OF THE WAY

I see I woke up bossy. Only disadvantage ofWatchfield is we had to share the hall withother groups.

WE’RE SO LATE!!

As usual, haring it to site way past the timewe said we’d meet the local Jon Pontefract.Can I just put in a word for Jon he is veryeven-natured and helpful. Not at all like alocal in any way in fact.

CAN YOU BRING BRICK KIT? THX

More bossing. It’s what leaders do best, voiceor no voice. Rachel was doing a good jobreading these out but I did notice she keptprefacing everything with ‘Sophie wants meto tell you…’ in case anyone mistook her for afascist dictator, rather than a merespokewoman for one.

3X SHARP, 2X SMOOTH, 2X LIME

Good old Cotswold Lime mortar mix.

“It was a shame I lost my voice as

I had a particularly good joke

about a man going into a sex shop

which I think London WRG

might have appreciated...”

Good progress on the chamber wall

Tim

Lew

is

WHEN MY MUM PHONESCAN YOU SPEAK TO HER

AND DIRECT HER TO SITE

Yes my actual Mum who was coming on herfirst ever dig but had made great pains to tellme she was going to have to arrive late andleave early. In the end she stayed longerthan planned which I think meant she en-joyed it.

WHERE’S THAT MORTAR?TEA’S UP!

Sometime round afternoon tea break Mooseand Maria turned up, although there are nonotes marking the occasion. Possibly they fellin the concrete mixer (the notes, not Mooseor Maria). Much excitement surrounded thearrival of Moose’s new dog ‘Ace’ who greetedeveryone by biting their fingers (that’s a trickto watch out for, folks). Although very thin,fairly quiet and with a real light of intelligencein his eyes, this rescue dog shows great prom-ise of developing into a thick, noisy andoverweight trip hazard once he has become afully-fledged WRG dog. I shall look forward tobeing nibbled on by him at many future digs.

Meanwhile new recruit #2 ie my mumwas quite getting into the bricklaying and

“...shows great

promise of developing

into a thick, noisy and

overweight trip

hazard...”

Sophie and her Actual Mum working on the brickwork

Mart

in L

udgate

Mart

in L

udgate

even braved The Loo From Hell at the farmclose to site.

We headed back to the accomm where myMum had made a casserole which was en-joyed by all. After a mug of hot mulled cidermy voice was just starting to come back,however I decided not to go to the pub andheaded home for a hot lemsip in a real bed.Those who carried on through the rainySunday sent me regular picture messagesand seemed to get a lot of work done, finish-ing off the course it seems. Thanks to every-one who came and for Jon Pontefract for notbeing like a normal local.

Sophie Smith

Dig reportLondon WRG on the Cotswolds

DirectoryCanal societies and WRGASHBY CANAL ASSOCRod Smith4 Ashby Road, SinopeCoalville LE67 3AYTel: 01530 833307

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

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

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

BUGSWORTH BASIN(IWPS)Ian EdgarTop Lock House, Lime KilnLane, Marple SK6 6BX.0161 429 [email protected]/iwps/index.htm

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

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

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

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

FRIENDS OF THECROMFORD CANALTony Brookes07770 [email protected]

DERBY & SANDIACRE CSDoug Flack23 Thoresby Crescent,DraycottDerby DE72 3PH01332 576037www.derbycanal.org.uk

DIG DEEP INITIATIVEAlan Cavender53 Derwent Drive,Maidenhead,SL6 6LE01628 [email protected]

DORSET & SOMERSETCANAL SOCIETYDerrick Hunt43 Greenland MillsBradford on AvonBA15 1BL01225 [email protected]

DROITWICH CTVaughan Welch29 Dice Pleck, NorthfieldBirmingham B31 3XW0121 477 [email protected]/dctEAST ANGLIANWATERWAYS ASSOCDavid Revill, 43 Kings RoadColtishall, NorfolkNR12 7DX01603 [email protected]

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

ESSEX WATERWAYS LTDColin EdmondPaper Mill Lock, North HillLittle BaddowEssex CM3 4BT01245 [email protected]

FOXTON INCLINED PLANETRUSTc/o Mike BeechFoxton Canal MuseumMiddle Lock,Gumley RoadFoxton,Market HarboroughLeicestershireLE16 7RA0116 279 [email protected]

ROLLE CANAL AND NTHDEVON WATERWAYS SOCAdrian & Hilary WillsVale Cottage, 7 Annery KilnWeare Giffard, BidefordEX39 5JETel: 01237 [email protected]

RIVER GIPPING TRUSTLewis Tyler, Church CottThe Street, Capel St MaryIP9 [email protected]

GRAND WESTERNCANAL TRUSTDenis Dodd, Wharf CottageNynehead, WellingtonSomerset TA21 0BJ01823 661653

GRANTHAM CANAL SOCColin Bryan113 Hoe View RoadCropwell BishopNottingham NG12 3DJ01159 [email protected]

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

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

LANCASTER CTPaul Shaw, 12 Malham CloLancaster LA1 2SJ01524 [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SHREWSBURY & NEWP’TCANALS TRUSTTam [email protected]

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

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

SOMERSETSHIRE COALCANAL SOCIETYBob Parnell, 34Wedgewood RoadTwertonBath BA2 1NX01225-428055www.coalcanal.org

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

STOVER CANAL SOCIETYGeorge Whitehead26 Northumberland Place,Teignmouth TQ14 8BU.Tel: 01626 [email protected],www.stovercanal.co.uk

STRATFORD ON AVON CSRoger Hancock1 Tyler StreetStratford upon Avon CV37 6TY01789 [email protected]

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

SUSSEX OUSERESTORATION TRUSTPaul Morris, FarmcoteNettlesworth LaneOld HeathfieldHeathfieldTN21 9AP01453 [email protected]

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

THAMES & MEDWAYCANAL ASSOCIATIONJohn Epton, 45 Vinson CLoOrpington BR6 0EQhomepage.ntlworld.com/john.epton/tmcaWENDOVER ARM TRUSTRoger Leishman7 Hall ParkBerkhamstedHP4 2NU01442 874536www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk

WEY & ARUN CTThe GranaryFlitchfold FarmLoxwood, BillingshurstWest SussexRH14 ORH01403 [email protected]

WILTS & BERKS CTGeorge Eycott4 Lewendon RoadNewbury RG14 1SP07771 [email protected]

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

WRG:GENERAL ENQUIRIES,CANAL CAMP BOOKINGS,DRIVER AUTHORISATIONJenny Black, IWAIsland House, Moor Road,Chesham HP5 1WA01494 [email protected]

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

WRG NW - ENQUIRIES/PAPERCHASESDavid McCarthyWoodstock,14 Crumpsall LaneManchester M8 5FB0161-740 2179www.wrgnw.org.uk

WRG BITM & 'NAVVIES'DIARYDavid Wedd7 Ringwood RoadBlackwater, CamberleySurrey GU17 0EY01252 [email protected]

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

WRG EAST MIDLANDSJohn Baylis215 Clipstone Rd. WestForest TownMansfieldNotts NG19 0HJ01623 633895

ESSEX WRGJohn Gale24 Longleaf DriveBraintree,EssexCM7 [email protected]

WRG SOUTH WESTGavin Moor54 Kiln CloseCalvertBuckinghamMK18 2FD07970 [email protected]

IWA/WRG STAMP BANKSteve & Mandy Morley33 Hambleton GroveEmerson valleyMilton KeynesMK4 2JS01908 [email protected]

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

'NAVVIES' EDITORMartin Ludgate35 Silvester Rd.LondonSE22 9PB020 8693 32660777 947 8629 (mobile)[email protected]

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

WRG BOAT CLUBSadie Dean236 Station Rd.WhittleseyPeterboroughPE7 2HA01733 20450507748 186867 (mobile)[email protected]

WRG DIRECTORSCHAIRMANMike Palmer3 Finwood RoadRowingtonWarwickshireCV35 7DH01564 [email protected]

WRG PLANTGeorge Eycott4 Lewendon RoadNewbury RG14 1SP07771 [email protected]

SITES GROUPJudith Palmer3 Finwood Rd.RowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH01564 [email protected]

WRGPRINTJohn & Tess Hawkins4 Links WayCroxley GrnRickmansworthWD3 3RQ01923 [email protected]

IWA CHAIRMANClive Hendersonc/o IWA,Island HouseMoor Road,Chesham HP5 [email protected]

TRANSPORT MANAGERJonathan Smith23 HardingsChalgroveOxfordOX44 7TJ01865 891 [email protected]

OTHER DIRECTORS

Rick Barnes11 Lawns ParkNorth WoodchesterStroudGL5 5PP07976 [email protected]

Mick Beattie42 Eaton DriveRugeleyWS15 2FS

Spencer CollinsThe Boatyard,5 Hammond WayTrowbridgeBA14 8RS07790 [email protected]

Chris DaveyAngle HouseGreen TerraceSkipton BD23 [email protected]

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

Harry Watts12 St John Road, SloughSL2 5EY07889 [email protected]

Help us keep this directory up to dateIf you spot any errors or omissions or know of any changes to any contact details inthis list (for example a new work party organiser) please pass them on to the editor.

The next full directory will appear in issue 242, but any corrections received beforethen will also be included in the next available ‘Navvies Noticeboard’

Thanks you for your assistance in maintaining an up-to-date Directory

Navvies newsFirst the good news

As you may have heard, the threat by theGovernment to force the sale of British Wa-terways’ commercial property and use it tofill a small part of the hole in the country’sfinances has receded. Although not everyonefeels ‘BW the property developer’ is an idealmodel for financing a historic canal network,ending it in the drastic manner proposedwould have been seriously bad news. Let’shope (optimists that we are) for a moremeasured approach to trying to get BW towherever we want it to go.

Now the bad news

Remember those battles the canal movementused to fight against road-builders whowould happily bulldoze their way through arestoration project to save a few quid? Re-member how we thought we’d seen the lastof them thanks to new planning guidance?And remember how the road-builders man-aged to sidestep the new rules at Lichfield?Well they’ve done it again on the Grantham.The new A46 crosses the canal - all well andgood, they’re building a bridge.

But half a mile away the new roadcrosses Stragglethorpe Lane, which crosses thecanal on the level - and unless a new canalbridge for the lane is put in now, it may beprohibitively expensive later. But the HighwaysAgency won’t include it as a (very minor) partof the A46 job - because they don’t have to, asStragglethorpe Lane isn’t a new road.

It isn’t a lost cause yet, but GranthamCanal Partnership has a battle on its hands toget the plans changed. See www...

On the Sankey they’ve gone one better.Some cowboy developer has not only gotconsent to put a new low-level access bridgeacross the canal, but when it turned out thatthe bridge had illegally obstructed the towpath,they put in an application to shut the towpath!

Sorry to depress you with bad news,but it shows how far we still are from gettingsome canal restorations respected by official-dom. Will the proposed changes to BW makematters better or worse - or not make ablind bit of difference? Feel free to write tothe editor with your views.

WRG Boat Club news Jan 2010

As I write the River Nene is closed becauseof High Water, I assume some of the snow

must have melted, and much of the MiddleLevel and all of the canals are frozen. Hmmnot a lot of boating news then!

I have had a message from Association ofWaterways Cruising Clubs about the New Hand-book. They are keen that as many of us as possi-ble can get it on line. Please let me have your e-mail address, if I haven’t it already. Contactingmembers by e-mail, and not having to buy andpost the handbooks to over 40 people, saves theimpact on the environment, money and time!

I had a very nice ‘thank you’ letter from TheGrantham Canal Society and an update the resto-ration plans. The top length of the canal is due toopen Easter 2010 and there will be a slipway foruse by visiting craft at Denton Wharf. For up todate restoration news you can subscribe to their‘electronic news sheet’ by sending your e-mailaddress to [email protected] andrequest addition to the mailing list.

Our foreign correspondent has been intouch, enquiring about the situation duringthis very cold spell, it all seems so tragicwhen all your information is from Sky TVcoverage. Still by the time you read thisEngland will be as hot and sunny as whereshe is, as she was pleased to point out!

The Nene, however, will still be closeduntil Easter or later. I have a list of the Winter/Spring stoppages for the Anglian Region.Phone or e-mail me if you want information.

Some (prospective) good news, the localIWA are working on persuading the MiddleLevel Commissioners and Local Councils togive permission to construct some landingstages at some of the interesting spots on theMiddle Level Navigations. We wish them well.

I haven’t received any more suggestionsfrom members about gatherings/activities wecan boat to. I know, as our illustrious editorpointed out, that the Droitwich just may not beopen should we gather to cruise it together.Under those circumstances we could thenspend time doing something to help speed upthe opening and letting people know howdesirable the opening of the canal will be!

I hope we can all look forward to manyimprovements in facilities, structures andnavigation this year, not to mention joyousunderstanding between boaters and canalrestorers with relevant authorities!

xxx Sadie Dean (optimistic as ever)[email protected]

J

Contacting the chairman:

Mike Palmer3 Finwood Rd,

Rowington, WarwickshireCV35 7DH

Tel: 01564 785293

email: [email protected]

Online Navvies

subscriptionsYou can now take out or renew a Nav-vies subscription online via the IWAonline shop website. The address is:

https://www.iwashop.com/ecommerce/proddetail.asp?prod=nav1

Stamps

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

Dial-a-camp

To contactany WRG

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

NOTICEBOARDWell done

toAlison Smedley MBE

whose name appears in theNew Year Honours Listfor services to waterways

Thanks to Chris Griffiths of Stroud-print for his continued help with printing

Congratulations...to...

Spencer Collinsand

Victoria Westwoodon their engagement

Room to letJames Butler has a south

facing double room to rent with offroad parking in a quiet village nearBanbury and Daventry. If you areinterested contact James (or Jenny

at Head Office) for furtherdetails

DREDGER CREW WANTED

Cotswold CanalsTrust has recentlyrefurbished its dredging fleet (dredger,tug, barges) to start work on the volun-teer contribution to clearing the Phase

1a length of the canal near Stonehouse,and is looking for more crew with therelevant WRG driver authorisation andpeople to train the Trust’s volunteers.

If you are an operator or (especially) aninstructor in the appropriate category

and would be able to help for anythingfrom a few days to a longer period, CCT

would be delighted to hear from you.Just drop an email to:

[email protected]

MANY THANKSMANY THANKSMANY THANKSMANY THANKSMANY THANKS...from WRG Print to everybody who hashelped at the Navvies envelope-stuffingsessions at the London Canal Museum andof course grateful thanks to the museum forcontinued use of the facilities. It’s good tosee the regulars but it would assist us greatlyif some more people could attend. It onlytakes about a couple of hours, but a lot of theLondon WRG people have now moved away -some to Australia! To offer your servicescontact John Hawkins - see p2 for details

No sooner is Terry home from adig than he’s plugging in his digitalSLR and uploading the latestalbum. Patiently he tags all thepeople in each photo in turn. He’ssure folks appreciate having aphoto guide to their weekend,although he can’t understand whyso many of the women franticallyuntag their photos as soon as heputs them up. It’s false modestyreally: most WRGies are far moreinterested in seeing how thewingwalls are doing at Eisey lockthan how dark the circles areunder anyone’s eyes.

WRGieotypes No 14: The photographer

Dear Deirdre, is it socially accept-able to untag unflattering photos ofoneself which ones so-called friendshave put on Facebook?

Deirdre Writes: perfectly accept-able. Although admitting you are sen-sitive about such things is like a redrag to most WRGies in possesion of acamera. Be aware you could wakefrom a booze-coma to find ‘I touchkids’ written on your forehead in per-manent marker, a cigarette butt ineach nostril and your own Flickr tributealbum.

Dear Deirdre: I hear this year’sBonfire Bash is going to be ‘oopnorth’. I’ve never been further than

Birmingham and to be honest I’m abit scared. Is it safe up there?

Deirdre Writes: unfortunately alot of what is said about the north istrue. Fortunately there is going to bea parallel bash organised for softersouthern types. You’ll be staying at aTravelodge outside Tunbridge Wells,quilted toilet tissue has been ordered inspecially and you’ll be doing some lightgardening work with no heavy lifting.Special calfskin work gloves have beenlaid on and bottled water will be avail-able if you feel at all faint during thelong drive back to the home counties.

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Don’t worry -

Jane and John

will be back

sometime

soon...

????

From this...

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