Navvies

waterway recovery group

Volunteers restoring waterwaysNo 189 October - November 2001

Contributions......are always welcome, whether hand-written,typed, on 3½" disk (please include hard-copy)or by e-mail. Photos also welcome: slides orcolour or b/w prints. Please state whether youwant your prints back; I assume that you wantslides returned. Computer scanned photos alsoacceptable, either on disk or as e-mailattachments, preferably JPG format. Send themto the editor Martin Ludgate, 35, SilvesterRoad, London SE22 9PB, or e-mail toeditor@navvies.demon.co.uk. Press date forNo 190: November 8th.

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

In this issue:Editorial more anti-restoration press? 3-4Chairman MKP asks 'how was it for you?' 5Camp reports Droitwich, Melton & Oakham,Sleaford, Ipswich & Stowmarket, Droitwich again,Wendover, Basingstoke 6-17WRGWear the latest designer dig-wear 18-19Logistics trailer? what trailer? 20WRG BC news from our boat club 21Diary canal camps and weekend work 22-24Letters to the editor 25-28More Camp reports Droitwich again, the'National', and Droitwich again 29-34KESCRG get a trailer and plan a party 35Progress the Dig Deep projects andDroitwich 36-38Bankside return of the popular seriel 39Publicity report from Milton Keynes 40Bits & Pieces 41-42Noticeboard 43Backfill have you been on too many camps? 44

And next time......reports from the Lichfield Camp and the Basing-stoke Bonfire Bash, an article about the AndertonLift, more on the Cleanup and - by way of a change- something about Ludwigs Kanal in Germany.

Cover photo: in September the new lock-gates were installed Hanbury Locks on the DroitwichJunction Canal - this year's most important work-site for WRG - and the canal was re-watered for thefirst time for many years. This is the pound between locks 2 and 3, with lock 3 seen in the back-ground finished apart from completion of installation of copings on the wing-walls, and the wildlifealready moving in. (Alan Lines) Below: yet another recent canal reopening was the Union Canal inScotland, including this formerly filled-in section in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, which has now been re-constructed. Inset: the samesection of canal during the re-excavationwork. (Photos byDavidRobertson)

Contents

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EditorialHow many Canal Camp reports?

This being the early autumn edition of 'Navvies',and most of our Canal Camps taking place in thesummer months, there are rather a lot of CanalCamp reports in this issue.

To those who went on the camps: I hope youenjoy reading the reports, and I hope that theywill remind you of the good times you had, andmaybe even tempt you to book on another Campsoon, because not only is this year's only LichfieldCamp about to start, and not only are there twoChristmas Camps coming soon, but as you readthis we are also hard at work planning the pro-gramme of Canal Camps for 2002.

To those who didn't go on any camps: I hopeyou enjoy reading about them anyway, andmaybereading about all those good times and all thatinteresting work that you missed out on mighteven tempt you to go on one next year, because...(as per see previous para.)

To those who went on the camps but don'tenjoy reading the Camp Reports because youfind them boring or you don't like the in-jokes,nicknames, gossip, lavatorial humour or whatever(or you're just plain sick of Droitwich!) perhapsyou can do better! We welcome contributionsfrom new writers, and it's always nice to seesomeone come up with a totally original style ofCanal Camp Report. Go on, have a go!

And lastly to those of you who didn't go onany camps and don't like reading about themeither.... well, I could just say "Sod you, then!"

But I won't: Canal Camps are only one part ofWRG, albeit an important part. Camp Reportsare only one part of Navvies: even in this edition,which has been increased by an extra 12 pagesto include all the Camp Reports, they still accountfor less than half of the magazine.

Next time there will be fewer Camps to report on,and plenty of space for other articles - we've al-ready got one about the Anderton Lift lined-up,but we need more. So once again I'll repeat myappeal for some more canal restoration articles.You all seem to like reading the 'Restoration Fea-ture' pieces that I've included in the past: nowwill some of you please write some more of themand send them to me? Thanks!

More bad news?

Last time I mentioned an article in the 'YorkshirePost' by a columnist who regarded the restorationof the Huddersfield Narrow Canal as a waste of£30M, and compared it to the Millennium Dome.

Since then I have seen a piece in the 'Telegraph'property section whose author seems to havesomehow managed to winkle-out every anti-res-toration landowner on the entire Cotswold Ca-nals and quoted their worries at length, withoutfinding any real supporters of restoration at allamong the many property-owners along theroute. And while I realise that there are thosewith genuine concerns about how the restora-tion will affect their homes, my impression fromspeaking to a number of the local people while Iwas leading a camp at Valley Lock, Chalford, ear-lier this year is that most of them are very sup-portive of the restoration - and those few whohave worries about its effects are mainly (andrightly, to my mind) concerned that the restora-tion can and will be done sympathetically, ratherthan downright 'anti'. Not the picture painted bythe 'Telegraph' article at all.

And hot on the heels of that article comes an-other piece - this time it's in the Financial Timesmagazine, by someone called Roger Scruton whoreckons that canal restoration, which 'was longago agreed to be a Good Thing' is in the case oftheWilts and Berks 'a needless violation of a thriv-ing habitat' which is 'better decaying and ought notto be restored'. He is horrified to find that '20 or 30enthusiasts with a JCB Caterpillar' (aka CanalCamp 06) have descended on his local water-way with a view to restoring a lock between 'oneimpassible stretch of canal and another'.

He contrasts the successfully-restored Kennet &AvonCanal, offering 'peaceful andpicturesque holi-days, pleasantwalks through the country and an op-portunity to immerse yourself in the rhythm of ourwaterways' with what he refers to as 'our little ca-nal' which he says has 'no heritage feel to it: by afortunate dispensation our little corner of Englandis a heritage-free zone, with a sense of the past thatis all the deeper for being unconscious and unsold'.

It is - as I pointed out last time - an easy andenjoyable pastime to pick holes in this sort ofthing. For example one can point out that everysuccessful canal restoration - including the Ken-net & Avon which he admires - began with whatwas seen at the time as 'restoring a lock betweenone impassible stretch of canal and another'. Ormention that the W&BCAG who he seems to besuggesting are a bunch of johnny-come-latelyshave in fact been planning to restore 'his littlecanal' for a couple of decades now.

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Given how much of the surviving remains of the ca-nal had been lost in the previous 20 years, it is prob-ably to a great extent down to their existence and theway that theyhavegoneabout raisingawarenessandsupport from the local people and local authoritiesthat much of the canal exists at all, whether as asympathetically-restored waterway or the peace-fully-decaying habitat that he seems to prefer.

One can point out the differences of scale betweenthe W&B and the K&A, and show that not all re-stored canals have to be as grand and impressiveas the K&A, and that once restored, many of thesmaller navigable waterways blend into the scen-ery just as well as the derelict Wilts & Berks does.

Alternatively one can question their motives - I haveheard that Mr. Scruton owns a short section of theWilts & Berks himself. Maybe he doesn't want thehassle of having it restored and thinks that by goinginto print and declaring his corner of England herit-age-free he will get some support. I gather that oneof the main 'antis' on the Cotswolds works for a localnewspaper - and may have been involved in the 'Tel-egraph' article. And so on.... conspiracy theory is fun!

Alternativelyonecanaskwhy therearesomanyof these articles in the papers at the moment.

Of course it could be just coincidence. It couldbe that three disgruntled writers each happen tohave a grudge against a canal at the same time.It may be that there is simply so much happen-ing in canal restoration these days that amongthe acres of coverage in the local and nationalpapers there is statistically likely to be a certainamount of negative comment.

Or maybe it's a party political thing: Mr. Scrutonis something of a right-winger I gather; the 'Tel-egraph' isn't exactly a leftie rag either. Maybethere have been just too many positive-sound-ing announcements from Blair & Co about ca-nals recently, and just too many pictures of La-bour politicians visiting the latest restoration suc-cess: the political right have decided that as theyare duty-bound to oppose the left, they must takean anti-canal restoration stance. In which case Ihope they get thrashed at the next election too...

Or maybe it's a sudden waking-up of the 'NIMBY'swho have seen all the canal reopenings recentlyand suddenly realised that the bunch of jokerswho have been claiming that they are going toturn the local derelict ditch into a restored canalare actually going to do it.

Or might it just be that the 'official' view of theestablishment on canal restoration has come sofar from 'hostile' via 'unconvinced' to 'totally infavour' that supporting it is 'old hat' now?

Maybe canal restoration is now so supported-by-the-establishment, 'good news', 'sexy' - whateveryouwant to call it - that journalists are having doubtsabout whether to support it. What, write anothercolumn about how a piece of industrial heritagehas been rescued from decades of dereliction andsaved for thenation, andwill beanasset for everyoneto enjoy, and all the local authorities are backing itand a VIP is re-opening it next year? No, it makesfar better newspaper copy to take a controversialor heretical viewpoint: if that means rubbishing ca-nal restoration, then that's what the journos will do.

So what do we do? How can we take advantageof the canals' new-found establishment backing,without losing support among the bunch of anar-chists that started it all off, and without being somuch a part of the establishment that we getknocked for it? Answers on a postcard, please!

And even more bad news...

As you will read elsewhere in this issue, one ofour Canal Camps kit trailers was stolen duringthe Droitwich Camp in September.

You will - as usual - find a good deal of fairly light-hearted stuff about it here (and one or two other'trailer jokes' didn't quite make it into 'Navvies',e.g. the Blues Brothers version... "It's 106 milesto Basingstoke, we've got no trailer, half a Kit A,it's raining and we're wearing goggles.... Sod it!")but that doesn't mean we don't take it seriously.Jen of Logistics has done a huge amount of workon re-equipping the CampKits this year: sheneedsthis sort of thing like she needs a hole in the head.

But things could have been much worse - thetrailer only had part of the tool-kit and none ofthe catering kit in it at the time; it was the older ofthe two trailers; it happened right at the end ofthe main Camps season, at when we weren't run-ning concurrent camps on different sites, and wehad both kits and most of the vehicles at Droit-wich; at least the wheel-clamp didn't get nicked...

And that final one is my main point: the rea-son the wheel-clamp wasn't nicked was becauseit wasn't on the trailer wheel at the time!

I've heard people argue over the years about howuseful theseclampsare, andwhether theywould stopa determined thief. Look at it this way: the only timewe've had a kit trailer nicked to date is one of the fewoccasionswhenitdidn'thaveitswheel-clampon. Don'tmake the same mistake again!

Martin Ludgate

PS I've just heard that the other half of WRG Lo-gistics has found a good way of avoiding gettingthe vans nicked - run them out of diesel!

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ChairmanSo how was the summer for you?For me it was quite wonderful. I had the privilege ofleading a well funded, worthwhile project that hadthe backing of all parties. OK so I�m lucky like thatand have people that make sure problems are dealtwith before they get up to me. But all our kit worked,our vans didn�t break down, most of the bricks laiddidn�t get knocked down again and best of all prettymuch everywhere I went I saw people (both navviesand public) smiling and enjoying themselves.I expect you think after such an enthusiastic startthat the rest of this piece is going to be about whatwent wrong. Well it�s not because, in all honesty, itwas a very good summer.The year started with the spectre of the Foot andMouth outbreak and this together with low numbersfor Canal Camp bookings and several regionalgroups struggling to turn out meant it seemed likebeing an all time low for restoration in general, andWRG in particular.And yet looking back on the summer it all seems tohave gone brilliantly. Two things are probably respon-sible for this - firstly the considerable ingenuity oflocal organisers to rearrange jobs, accommodationand dates so that volunteers could always find somework to participate in without taking risks. And sec-ondly we have been so very, very lucky in thevolunteers we have attracted this year:Right from Easter through to September we havehad some fantastic newcomerswho have completelyfitted in with what we do. They have responded to allthe challengeswe have given as enthusiastically andeffectively as any �old hand�. Even the numbers ofbookings improved.Where did they come from?Wellwe hope it was a result of our more diverse recruit-ing attempts, it was certainly a more diverse bandof newcomers that booked, but I guess only timewill tell if it happens next year.Anyway themost importantmessage to all thesenew volunteers is �welcome�. Please don�t feelpressured to dive straight back in (though we wel-come anyone who wants to get more involved). Justslide in wherever you find you fit in best - as a regu-lar weekend digger or an occasional Canal Campvisitor you will always be welcome.One of WRG�s most oft quoted lines is �the right toolfor the right job�. While you may not like being de-scribed as a tool it is just as true about the volun-teers as it is about shovels (or perhaps spades). Theone true strength of WRG is its volunteers - almosteverything else can be substituted by anyone elsein the restoration scene, but no one can be as flex-ible as us and still produce such high quality work.In recent months I have been so keen to remindpeople that they all have their part to play (armchairsupporters, IWAbranches, backroom staff, etc) thatperhaps I have neglected the people at the muckyend. Well I hope I have corrected that mistake andnow perhaps it can be seen that whatever your tal-ents there is a place for you in WRG.That said, there is one group that do need to be sin-gled out for my particular thanks - the leaders.

I am well aware that this job is getting more andmore demanding (neatly counterbalanced by thepleasure of completing evermore rewarding projects,of course!) and this year we tried out a few things tomake their life easier. Next year we hope to furtherimprove on this and increase the support given toleaders. This is of course a �softly, softly� approachto revealing the fact that Gavin andAdrian will soonbe ringing round looking for leaders for next year.However don�t dismiss the promise - items such asthe safety video and the Personal Protection Equip-ment packs were brought in specifically to give theleader less to worry about regarding Health andSafety.We hope to give evenmore support next yearso, that leaders can get on with the main job - enjoy-ing themselves.By the time you read this about 20 of us will havejumped offAnderton Boat Lift to raise funds for its res-toration. However that does notmean that the story isquite over and that everyone can sit back andwait forthe opening next Spring. For those that jumped thereis still the task of collecting all the sponsor money. Soif you did sponsor someone and have not yet paidthen please pay upwithout themhaving to chase you.What does the next year hold for us? Well that isreally a subject for the next �navvies� but having re-cently had a committee meeting it looks like a prettygood year. Not that this year is over yet of course.Let�s not forget Camp 22 at Lichfield, the bonfire bashor Camp 23 at Basingstoke; indeed the regionalgroups are just pulling on their boots after the sum-mer hibernation [Err... I think you'll find it's called'estivation' not 'hibernation' when it's in summer....Ed] so lots still to do before 2002.So to roll back to the start of my piece - progress atDroitwich has been significant, indeed very significant- I don�t know of any faster progress anywhere atanytime. There are many reasons for this not least ofwhich is the quality of the volunteers as mentionedabove, but as Spencer Greystrong�s letter says - themajor difference here is money (especially the NeilPitts legacy from the IWA). Droitwich is not uniquehere - thanks to years of planning and campaigningalmost every restoration has got at least one projectthat deserves �medium sized� funding. For too longpeople have said things like �we need that money inthe bank - it�s our rainy day fund�. Well in my humbleopinion there is never a better time to spend money -with improved legislation, protection and public sup-port rainy days aren�t that commonanymore.The con-ditions formaximising results are better thanever: BW,EA, LAs and even commercial companies areswitched on to canal restoration at the moment. I ap-peal to IWA, Canal Societies, TWT and independentfunders to consider spending now. Quite simply weare worth the investment - we can deliver the results.

Mike Palmer

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Camps...and Iwonder if youcanguesswhere our first report is from...

Yes that's right - Droitwich! The Hanbury flight ofthree locks on theDroitwich JunctionCanal has beenour most important work-site for this year, with sixweeks of Canal Camps. And we have reports fromfour of them in this issue, beginning with...

Droitwich Camp 03: 30th June - 7th July

Following 7 days of sun onAdrian &Marcus�s camp,you�d have thought we�d have been wringing out ourpants every night from the rain but the gods werewith us and it was more a question of the blokeswringing out their T shirts from sweating in the glo-rious sunshine.

It was after one of these glorious days and one toomany lemonades that Gav - the camp leader - trickedme into writing the camp report; after one or twomore, Vicki then tricked me into writing it in the styleof the comments that we have to write in a Duke ofEdinburgh's Award report as we didn�t have any ofthat particular breed of camper. So I apologise inadvance for the quality of the read but a promise isa promise� (I�ll do my best to describe the work inthere somehow too but too be honest as you�ll dis-cover it mainly revolved around brick cleaning andwinding the solar power stereo up. If only we�d read'Navvies' Edition 187 beforehand!)

Dr Steve � Brought a luxurious element to the campby cooking for the week (excellent Christmas pud-ding), calibre of frog oh, and sofa bed!

Nutty Sally Nutt (Well wouldn�t you be after two solidweeks WRGing with the first being your first.) - Notonly a fine addition to theWRG family but also a finebrickie specialising on a slanty bit of lock 3 side pondand off side wall of lock 2 � cracking work but notliterally. Needs to work on traditional brickie's badattitude to truly blend in with other brickies.

Matt Taylor �T-shirt tanman and skilled brickie coachtaught Sally the art of WRGing and bricking; excel-lent work finishing-off the work on the side pond oflock 3 and a substantial section of the lock 2 sidewall.

Marcus Jones � Boot tanman, themost helpful manI know. The Marcus Motto �Ask and you shall re-ceive!�

Katherine � An excellent late addition to even outthe testosterone ratio. Excellent brick cleaner andmini demolition team member.

Mr Hair Mole � Part of the fashionable set on sitebut also did a remarkable amount of work. I sup-pose our low number of available ladies explains it!Particularly handy at pushing barrows up steepbanks to the bricklayers.

Nin-Nor-Nina aka Kango girl � Excelled in brickwashing after backfill concrete pour to support theside pond rebuild and at keeping us all smiling.

Sock Brown � Since I last met Alistair, he has learntthe ability to express himself vivaciously, particu-larly when he is bored of washing bricks in dirtysmelly water. Well done!

Alan Lines, his Willy (car, of course) and his baccytin were all assets to the camp but not as valuableas his sense of humour for the brick cleaners.

Birthday Boy � Key skill: driving dumpers where noman wants to drive dumpers. The reason being thatthe sexy new sidepond walls would only lookmouth-watering with many tonnes of landscaping soil froma local housing development.

Corinne � Came for a day and brought the sunshinewith her. You guessed it � spent the time brick-clean-ing. Well, we had to keep Matt and Sally from get-ting withdrawal symptoms�

Happy Harry. Improved the overall aroma on site(very important in the heat) with an excellent selec-tion of after-shave. Hope the beer festival appreci-ated our loss at the end of the week!

Jen �Very tolerant� Leigh. We got WRG logistics' kitand WRG logistics � could we ask for more?

Steve The Camper. And on the 3rd day a beardedman appeared, stayed a few days and passedthrough. Hope the brick cleaning didn�t scare himaway from WRGing for another 20 years�

Vicki � made my week. Head brick cleaner and jolli-fication queen. Certainly kept me sane.

Mr Collins � We are indebted! Ever thought of tak-ing up cake decorating?With your landscaping skillsin Blue, I think you could be a big success?

MKP � Who's that? Oh yeah, he�ll be the chap thatwas really in charge, what was that hierarchy thingabout locals etc.? Thank you very much for every-thing, we are very grateful!

Last but not least, thanks to everyone who passedthrough during theweek such as Jude and Ellie (esp.thanks for the homemade biccies!)

In short, a fab bunch of people and a great bit ofwork done which can be built on later in the camp-ing season.

Lots of love

Zoe 'Bubs' Rogers and Gav Moor. xxxx

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Camp 03 at Droitwich: demolitionof failed brickwork in lock 3 (topleft), bricklaying the tail walls of lock2 (top right) and the "slanty bit oflock 3 sidepond" (above);backfilling sidepond walls with con-crete (left) and then with soil thanksto the landscaping skills of Spen-cer Collins (below left); lastly "themain job that the camp revolvedaround": brick-cleaning! (bottomright) All photos by Alan Lines

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Camps...in which the Melton &Oakhamwaterways liveup to theirname...

Camp 08 � Melton and Oakham Waterways

After somuch nagging fromMartin, I suppose I oughtto put something down on paper about the first evercamp on the Melton and Oakham. Reluctantly,though: we�d rather have kept it a secret, but withthe rumours already traveling so fast about three-star country house hotels, neoprene waders, campsfull of girlies, rolling countryside, en-suite bedrooms,some rather nice locally brewed soft drinks�

The project for the week was to build a slipway in thecentreofMeltonMowbray, so thatboatscanaccessoneof the longer navigable sectionsand the towncanholdatrailboat festival in the future. In case thechallengeof try-ing to get concrete to sit on silly slopes wasn�t enough,wealsohadtotemporarilydamandpumpdowntheRiverEye, which forms the navigation at this point.

Limiting the camp to only eight people, because ofthe tiny site and the nature of the work, fitted in wellwith the choice (of) accommodation: two brand newstaff flats adjacent to the Sysonby Knoll Hotel, com-pleted only the day we arrived! Carpets, en-suitebedrooms, lounge, dining room, patio, adjacent ho-tel bar� somehow we managed to get everyone toleave at the end of the week, despite having theentirety of 'WRG No Fixed Abode' with us!

The first job was to install a temporary piled coffer-dam out in to the river. I�m not sure the cricket clubon the far bank were too impressed at by the noisefrom us piling all weekend, but the rest of the townseemed to enjoy watching Nina and Corinne wadearound in neoprene, while Matt assisted the pilinghammer with all his body weight!

While the piling operation was taking up most of thesite, the rest of the camp set about improving a setof riverside steps and landing stage, as well as pre-paring all the shuttering and stakes for the slipway.Naff joke of theweek: �I�d like tomake a point.� �Good,we need 50; there�s some 2� by 2� and a hatchet overthere.� But, hey, it was better than the naff song of theweek with chorus line: �Jump in the river and learn toswim��and please take those waders off first!

Word was spreading round the town, and it wasn�tlong before the tractor drivers were soon arguingabout who got the job of removing the excavatedspoil and delivering the limestone subbasematerial.One certain tractor driver seemed to take longer thanthe rest to unload. Strange that. Neoprene. Girlies.Hmm. Then the blokes at the hire shop joined in�

Draped up in enough visqueen, sandbags, and bitsof Corinne, the dam sealed surprisingly well. As thewater level dropped we were able to admire thehandiwork of the lovely little brats of Melton Mow-bray, but enough about Spencer Collins! Many ca-nals can offer more than the BCN, it might be said,but not often in terms of rubbish.

By Tuesday, we were well on schedule, with the ex-cavation pumped down. OK, so it had taken the en-tire stock of pump outlet hose from three counties tokeep the water level under control after one of thepile clutches had �popped out� (nothing to do with abig yellow machine, honest), but we were able tostart on the shuttering.

That was until the rain started....

We abandoned site, getting totally soaked in theprocess. Those who hadn�t had enoughofwaterwentswimming,while thosewhohadn�t hadenoughof leakswent off to Tesco to buy some more for the dinner.

Heavy rain continued all night and throughoutWednesday. A 7am inspection of the very swollenriver was followed by a speedy cancellation of theconcrete and equally speedy return to sleeping bags.With the water well over the top of the dam, entiretrees floating down the canal section at 2-3mph, theriver making a level at the weir, and much of thecounty flooded, any work was out of the question.We rescued what materials we could, made the sitesafe, gawped at the weir, and were extremely grate-ful of our deluxe accommodation.

Trips out to the cinema, Foxton Locks (meeting upwith Sadie by chance), or just to look at the floodingwere broken up by videos, some very good meals,and a highly professional talk on the Navigation. Oneevening we had a brilliant dinner in the hotel�s res-taurant, during which Richard�s boat had to be cutloose from its moorings at the bottom of the gardenas the river continued to rise.

On Friday wemade it back down to the site: the high-est of the piles were just starting to emerge again,but the river was still flowing very fast. We spent aproductive day resurfacing the car parking areaaround the top of the slipway, leaving the site notonly looking a lot tidier, but also ready for a contrac-tor to finish off what we had been unable to do, assoon as the water level drops.

With the kit cleaned and ready for its trip on to Slea-ford, we were joined by several local members ofthe society who hadworked with us during the week,and we had a very enjoyable evening with plenty todrink and eat. Not that we overdo things: Gav didthat for us with the barbecue! And there just mighthave been some discussion about next year�

So,many thanks to a really great bunch of volunteersfor making it so relaxing and fun, and especially to allthose in the Society and at the Hotel who did such atop job at looking after us.

Marcus Jones

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Camp 11 - Sleaford Navigation

The work on this camp was on Haverholme Lock onthe canalised part of the River Slea, continuing theproject we started last year, plus aWRGBITMweek-end dig a month ago. Last year we scrub bashedand cleared the bywash, felled trees and pulledstumps, and BITM then concreted the two thirds ofthe bywash base that was ready. We completed thebase concreting, and then themain task was to con-struct brick side-walls with concrete backfill.

There was also one last massive stump to removeon top of the bank at the end of the bywash. One ofthe problems was that having cut down most of thetrees close by last year, there was nothing to attacha Tirfor winch to, and this was one very heavy stump,embedded with bricks, the trunk having grown roundthem. It took a team of two or three Daves plus Ditwo days firtling and mattocking round the base tocut through the roots (Di was nicknamed the �StumpFirtler�), and then we finally attached the Tirfor tothe iron bar joining two large coping stones on thelock. This loosened it, and the only way then was tolower it down the end wall into the river, having firstenticed away Katy the dog, who was playing in theriver right beneath it. It was then hauled out of theriver onto dry landwhere the bonfire was built aroundit. Acomment wasmade to Di during the mattocking�What would be the penalty if the Assistant Leaderaccidentally got hit over the head?Washing-up dutyfor the rest of the week?� Di could think of far worsepenalties, so had to bite her tongue.

There were also a number of tall willows growing ina silted-up winding-hole (a turning-place for boats)below the bywash, and all these were cut down andmost of the stumps removed during the camp,necessitating some pretty big bonfires everyday. Fortunately, we had an expert bonfire-maker in Penny Matuska, and several of theyounger members learnt a few lessons fromher. One of the five Dave�s was up to his waistin water (in waders!) on occasions, cuttingup trees which had fallen across the river.

Meanwhile, Pete Bowers wasmaking steadyprogress on the bricklaying, and once the linewas established, most of the team gainedsome valuable experience in the art.Wewereusing new bricks for this wall, but the D ofE�ers (six of them) patiently cleaned old bricksfor use above water level on the lock. All themixing had to be done on the other side ofthe lock, and barrowed across, both for thebricklaying and the concrete backfilling, aswell as all the bricks, and on one or two daysit was almost like a conveyor belt with bar-rows going back and forth all day, and I thinka few of them finished with bigger musclesthan they started with! (the navvies, not thebarrows) However, a great deal wasachieved, with one wall up to the level re-quired, and backfilled, and the other not farbehind, and I�m sure everyone got a greatsense of achievement.

One of the biggest worries was the vandalism fromthe local yobs. Immediately after the BITMites haddeparted from their dig, some very rude graffiti wasscrawled in the wet concrete, which had to be cov-ered over the next morning before some sensitivesouls among the public arrived. They also wreckedthe fence by the car park, and the temporary bridgewhich the Sleaford Navigation Trust had constructedover the lock for barrowing materials was strippedof its decking, which was used to dam up the river.We were therefore quite concerned all week thatdamage would be done to each day�s work beforethe concrete and mix had set. On the Sunday nightafter the base concreting had been done, we felt wehad to mount a guard until most of the yobs haddeparted, so Pete, Di and I did shifts, paired up withBob, a local policeman who is also a member of theSleaford Navigation Trust until 10.30p.m. The big-gest surprise was on my shift, when a middle-agedcouple appeared on bicycles, and wandered roundthe lock, and then she disappeared from sight. Wefelt bound to investigate, and found them in the by-wash, where the woman was on her knees writingin the wet concrete! I now know that yobs come inall ages and both sexes....

Camps...while the Sleaford has themall stumped...

The Big Stump receives some firtling. (Di Smurthwaite)

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We had a fluctuating number on the camp, between15 and 19, including Ane (pronounced Annie) fromSpain. Poor Ane had no idea what she was lettingherself in for when she booked on the camp. Shewanted to come to England to improve her English,and had found details of the camp on the internet,but she had never heard of a canal or a lock, and it�ssurprisingly difficult to explain how a canal lock worksto someone with limited English! However, sheworked hard on any task given her, whether brickcleaning, bricklaying, or barrowing. It was very hotthroughout the camp, and a different heat fromSpain,so Ane suffered as much as the rest of us with thehumidity, and a lot of bodies finished the week adifferent colour than when they arrived. Katy spentmost of the time swimming in the river, and at othertimes sitting in the edge where she could at leastkeep her bum and paws cool.

The footpath was still officiallyclosed to dogs (it opened again rightat the end of the camp!), but somany of the public had ignored thenotices and walked their dogs thattheTrust gave us permission to takeour two camp dogs BelIa and Katyto site each day, provided we keptthem within sight. One man camealong about 5 p.m. each day with 12dogs, 6 German shepherds and sixJack Russells, who totally over-whelmed Katy. Wewere allowed totake our dogs into the accommo-dation, theSleafordRugbyClub, pro-videdweconfined them to thegroundfloor changing rooms and showers,so Di and myself, Miriam and Dave,all slept downstairs. On the finalnight, we were quite glad of thedogs, when from the sounds of itthere was an attempted break-in atthe Club, and our two barking sentthem packing...

Di spent the last three days in chestwaders pulling reeds out of themouth of the bywash, so when it isfully restored the water can flow in.The second day she was joined bya local lad, who was tempted by thethought of the cool water soakinginto his jeans, despite the appallingsmell, and he proved a great helpin getting the area cleared.

The most popular entertainmentwas ten-pin bowling at R.A.F.Cranwell, but a problem arose onthe first visit when not only the driverwas asked to provide identificationas we had been told, but all theteam. Who ever heard of navviescarrying identification on a night outon a camp (would WRG Driver Au-thorisation do?), but the R.A.F. po-lice finally cleared them.

Wehadavisit to JurassicPark III, anda tourof theBattleofBritainMuseumatR.AF.Coningsby.On the final nightweallwent toan IndianRestaurant thathadbeenbuiltonthe site of the oldRugbyClub just down the road.

Incidentally, the only rugby player amongst us wasSam, who is female...

We had a lot of help from the local Trust, particularlytwo of the Daves, plus Norman organising equip-ment and materials.

My thanks to Miriam for the cooking, ably assistedbymembers of the team at breakfast and sandwich-making. Thank you also to everybody for working sohard, and making the camp so successful.

Rachael Banyard

Thebywashbefore(above)andafter (below). PhotosbyDiSmurthwaite

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Camps...and an 'alternative break'on theStowmarketNavigation

Camp 12: Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation

After arriving on Saturday we were introduced to theproject and the safety aspect by means of an inter-esting video, starring our very own camp leader, Matt(we knowwho ruled really,wherewouldwehavebeenwithout the Delegating Dith?) We were then takendown to site, Creeting Lock, and shown where wewould be working, and also saw a previously com-pleted lock restoration project to let us see what wewere aiming for. After this we came back and hadthe first of many delicious meals (Thanks Helen!)

Sunday arrived, our first day on site. This mainlyinvolved pumping vast amounts of water out of thecanal, during which time we found it necessary torescue countless eels and fish frommeeting a grislyend. After the water had been pumped out, the lockchamber required a great deal of clearance as it wasfilled with a thick layer of silt and mud. This all hadto be shovelled into buckets and hoisted out usingthe bucket hoist and some good old elbow grease.

The rest of the week involved continuation of con-stant pumping of water, and sorting out the base ofthe lock. A large number of bricks were in a seriousstate of decay and the base of the lock had collapsedin places due to erosion. All these bricks had to beremoved (by hand, and using an electric breaker),then hoisted up, and barrowed away for future clean-ing byColin�smagical brick cleaningmachineTM. Theprize for King of Barrowing has to go to Ian, whodidn�t grumble once as his arms got longer and legsgot shorter each day!

The holes had to be carefully prepped, for instancechiselling a recess into the lock wall to hold the con-crete. Alice found a somewhat unique way of overcoming the lack of room to swing a lump hammer(see picture on next page!)

Once the appropriate areas had been cleared ofbricks we waited expectantly for the lorry load ofconcrete to arrive to fill the holes on the lock bottom.And we waited. A phone call later and we find outthat the concrete company had their dateswrong, andthe concrete arrived late (1 day, 1 hour and 15 min-utes late to be precise). Nevertheless this wasn�t toomuch of a problem, and we continued to prepare theholes for the concrete by smashing up some of themany damaged bricks (satisfyingly destructive) anddepositing them into the holes to await the concrete.

When the lorry load of concrete eventually arrived,we tipped it into a dumper because of weight re-striction at the lock side. The dumper loads weredumped into the lock, destroying four chutes in theprocess � thanks Peter! We then switched to manu-ally shovelling the concrete down to the party belowwho were having fun with the vibrator (!). Everyoneprovided muscle power, but in the lock it was in theform of Nigel �bloke�, Matt �PepperamiAnimal� Taylorand Ted �I�ve got my wellies stuck�. Unfortunatelythere was not enough concrete to fill the holes, sowe had to hand mix a further two cubic metres (notmade easy by the fact that our decent sized mixerdecided to pull a sickie).

Whilst all this was going on, trenches were beingdug by our very ownJonathan Edwardslookalike, namelyMarcus Jones, andhis band of helpers,using the excavator.Piling was driven intothe trenches andground anchors wereinstalled to give sup-port to the aging lockwalls. Gordon andTom managed to drillthrough our lock wallsfor us with the aid of asix-foot drill bit (all inthe aid of restoration!)and the guiding com-ments from Spence,one of the regular re-storers of CreetingLock. Sam and Tedgave us our dreamteam of ground an-chor preparers and in-stallers.Creeting Lock on the Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation. (Judith Gordon)

On our final day we were lucky enough to be joinedby an Anglia TV film crew who were making a se-ries about alternative breaks in the Anglia region.Generally, all was well, and as far as I could tell,nobody was embarrassed too severely. The last daywas not overly strenuous sincewe had beenmakingvery good progress. The trenches were finished andfilled in. Scaffoldingwas expertly erected, byCorinne,Swuze and a number of others, so the locals couldcontinue working on one wall of the lock, which wasovergrown with vegetation, and at the end of the daywe stood back and admired our handiwork.

Not all was hard work; we had a great time sociallytoo. We went to the cinema, played rounders on thebeach, went swimming, and had a fantastic end ofcamp BBQ (with drinks money from Anglia TV -Cheers!) and celebrated Gordon�s Birthday.

We should have celebrated with melon (Gordon�sfavourite lunchtime bite) but the masses demandedto have some cake. We also managed to raffle offthe �Hearsay beer� that had been lurking around allcamp. Matt won it, much toAlice�s disappointment.Does it still call to you? Drink me�..drink me�.

Overall, a job well done guys. Cheers.

Writtten by the Happy Campers.

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"Alice found a unique way of over coming the lackof room to swing a lump hammer" (Judith Gordon)

Installing the ground anchors. (Judith Gordon)

MeanwhileontheDroitwich(seeopposite) thecham-ber walls at lock 3were being rebuilt (above), aswasthe side-pond paddle chamber (below left) and thecoping stone on the 'pissoir' (the lower landing stagesteps) was reinstated. (below). A shame the stand-ardofconstructionontheaccommodationwasn'tquiteso high. (oppposite). Photos by Alan Lines

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Camps...meanwhile back on theDroitwich...

Camp 14: Droitwich Junction CanalWelcome to this week�s edition of �ChangingRooms�.Following on from last week�s episode, whereWychavon Borough Council successfully completedtheir challenge of turningWRG�s normal accommoda-tion intoasmall pileof rubble; thisweek the task is to turnthe Droitwich Canal Trust yard into top class accom-modation for a team of 25 fresh faced volunteers.The ever-inventive Mike Llewellyn-Palmer is lead-ing the WRG interior design team. �So Mike, whatare planning to do?��Well Carol, I think that we will be taking a slightlyrustic / industrial / wartime approach to the accom-modation. I�m thinking perhaps a canvas and ropetheme for the bedroom. Then we�ll have an open airhallway leading through to the kitchen, with a con-tinuation of the building site theme throughout�.�Sounds marvellous � I really like the use of space,the way that you have interspersed it with old cara-vans and water-bicycles. Let�s pop across to see�Handy� Harry Watts�.�. So Harry, what have we here?��Well Carol, as you can see, I�m taking theminimalistapproach to electrical distribution. Using this attrac-tive macramé technique, I have combined all thepower cables required for the accommodation andplugged them into one simple household socket.��Marvellous. Well let�s go and see Jude RyderRichardsonMoore, who is tackling our living space.��Hi Carol. I�m having sooooo much fun. Let�s beginwith the kitchen � I�ve fashioned this in the style of aPorta-cabin. Space is limitedsowe�vebeenveryclever� this wood lathe doubles as a can opener and thisreed cutter is just fabulous at peeling those spuds��and in the bedroom, I�m hoping to really set offthe gravel flooring to its advantage by using thesesalvaged carpet squares.��Well I have to say, I�m incredibly impressedbytheworkof the designers � now its time to bring in our campersand seewhat they think of their new-look home��Seriously a really MASSIVE thank you to the he-roic efforts of MKP, Jude, Harry, Al and Jen in turn-ing what could have been a cancelled camp into ahabitable (if not a little primitive) living quarters.Thanks also to the DCT for the loan of the yard.

And thank you also to our wonderful campers forbeing so understanding about the accommodationcrisis. After settling in to the marquee, we were fedby the team at the Railway (another thank you!), fol-lowed by a few getting-to-know-you beers.Work began on Sunday, with some help (and cake)from the H&G team. We PVA�d over the exposedbrickwork in lock 3, laid 2 courses and inevitablymoved a pile of bricks from one place to another.In the evening, we moved from camping like GirlGuides into the local Guide Hut, which became ourhome for the remainder of the camp.For the rest of the week:The Lock Chamber � Matt Taylor persuaded sev-eral campers to join himunder the acrowprops, com-pleting the brickwork on the offsidewall. As a result, afair proportion of Kit B now resides in the bottom ofthe lock (sorry Jen!). But the wall looks great.TheSidePond�The crumbling brickwork in the pad-dle pit of the sidepond was repaired, followed by theceremonial filling with water. Unfortunately nobodytold bricklaying Harrie T who, upon stepping back toadmire her pointing, fell into said water. If only she haddone this half anhour laterwhenmost of the water hadleaked back out of the side pond. Unfortunately, thefinal drainagewasnot assisted by the creative siphon-ing theories of Lawrence �The Logic� Rutt � I suspecthe will do much better in the realm of chaos theory.But the sidepond looks great, especially with thecompletion of the bottom wall by Brian.The gate recesses were cleared out and the brick-work replaced. The coper on the steps was alsolaid. Many,many brickswere cleaned and newcomerDave took a liking to the brick saw, brick sculpturesare now available on request. BW delivered lots ofmortar almost as fast as we used it and cranedthe lock gates onto the towpath.Entertainment throughout the week included themost expensive showers in the world, the usualswimming and cinema, a relaxing journey on thetrip boat and an opportunity to see Mikron per-form at the Railway.All in all, an enjoyable and productive week �MKPwas so pleased, he split his shorts. Thanksto Matt and Harriet for feeding us, to our camp-ers for working so hard and being understand-ing when they arrived and to Spence and Robfor coming to relieve us at the end of the week.

Rick Barnes

page 14

Non-CampsWendover: the Camp thatnever was...

Camp 18: Wendover Arm CANCELLED. . .Well, not completely.

I arrived Friday evening, 10thAugust, to join theBITMweekend dig on the Wendover Arm of the GrandUnion Canal, arranged to coincide with the start ofthe WRG camp, to be told the latter had been can-celled - well not completely. Apparently the leaderhad towithdrawat short notice, followedby the deputyleader, then two of the remaining volunteers weretransferred to Droitwich.

That left four, one ofwhomwas transferred fromDroit-wich by Roger Burchett, via a vehicle transfer for the'National' and three, includingmyself, staying on fromthe BITM group.

TheTringCricket ClubPavilion, booked for the camp,had been cancelled, so after late rearrangementsnextday, theScoutHall, booked for BITM,was retained fortheweek, thoughwith only two occupants,myself andBrian Betty, here on a seven week holiday fromCanada, having already attended theWilts. &Berks.,Thames & Severn and Droitwich camps. Dave &Stella of BITM had the use of a narrowboat mooredby Tring pump station 100metres from the work site.

The weekend work went well, despite three hoursrain on Sunday morning, 16 BITM and 10 Wendo-verArmTrust volunteers taking part. Shuttering hadbeen erected earlier for a wall section by Little TringBridge (re-built 2000/2001 and officially reopenedin May), concrete for which arrived Saturday morn-ing. At the same time, shuttering for a base sectionof wall elsewhere was being assembled for a con-

crete delivery on Monday, steelframes were being bent for furtherwall sections and the next portion ofthe trench for the week�s wall con-struction was being prepared.

On Sunday, while the rain fell, moreframes were bent and the shutteringfrom Saturday�s wall pour was takendown, cleaned and transferred to thenew wall site. (Two walls are beingbuilt from opposite ends to meet at awindinghole,extendingnavigation200metres by 2004. A towpath wall is al-ready completed.) Theafternoon sawthis shuttering re-erected ready for asecond concrete delivery onMonday,the completion of 24 pairs of formedsteel frame, enough for 6 base &wallsections of 7 metres each and fur-ther back-filling of the towpath.

The weather greatly improved onMonday and continued for the week,being hot and dry. So, with an aver-age of 12 people per day on site,work progressed well, casting 3 walland 3 base sections, two onMonday& one on each subsequent day, thetrench made ready to full length fora further 3 base and 5 wall sections,much of the towpath levelled (about150metres) by hand and using aminiexcavator & dumper, a new 50 me-tre length of 2metre wide trench wasdug back into a 2 metre high bankfrom the first wall section at thebridge (cast on Saturday) to a pointhalf way to the winding hole. Thebank behind this wall was also rein-stated to support a footpath comingdown from the bridge running besidethe canal on the offside.

page 15

OnWednesday,Dave&Stella decided theirwater tankneeded filling, so a boat trip was arranged, with PeteBowers, Brian Betty and myself invited. We headedoff to a water point at the junction with the Main Lineabout a mile and a half away. Here we partook ofPizza al Fresco with fizzy drinks, fed the ducks,watched a heron resting and the boats go by. The tripback, in the dark, was less idyllic. We virtually ran intoa group of 9 swans, mesmerised by our bow light andafter turning theboataroundatawindingpointahalfmilefrom the pump station, completing our journey in re-verseprovedvery awkward, continually reversinggearto keep thebowor stern fromcollidingwith either bank.A case of two steps back, one step forward!

Free showers had been arranged at the local sportscentre, though I made use of Mike Paice�s personalshower unit at the Scout Hall: a large bin, bucket &shower hose. One stands in the bin, having firstfilled the bucket with hot water and placed it on ahigh window sill, directs the shower head and turnsa tap. Voila! A quite effective, pleasing shower.

Had theWRG camp gone ahead with the volunteersexpected, it was hoped that a base and wall sectioncould be cast each day, almost completing the wallto the winding hole and that a second excavator &dumper could have demolished and removed exist-ing brick bank walls either side of a 50 metre sec-tion of canal between a stop lock and the bridge anddug the trenches for the new concrete replacements.Also, the trench from the other side of the bridge upto the winding hole, thus progressing the project byseveral months.

My thanks to Roger Leishman and the WendoverArm volunteers for re-arranging the accommodationwith so little warning allowing us to assist with theirproject. Personally, I would not have enjoyed theweek any more had the official camp been held.

Phill Cardy

Five stages in the process of building the canal wall on the Wendover Arm: firstly the trench is dugand a concrete base laid (opposite top); then the reinforcing for the wall is constructed (oppositebottom); next the shuttering and reinforcing are installed (top); the readymix concrete arrives (abovemiddle) and finally the concrete is vibrated into place (above). Photos by Stella Wentworth.

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CampsBuildingbywashesontheBasing-stoke Canal

Camp 15 4 - 11 Aug: Mission Impossible.

Special Agents : Frederick Towey and John Park.

The A Team. The Local A Team.

Charlotte Darwin. Peter Redway.Anne Jordan. Kevin Redway.Costa Muammar. Zak.Rebecca Softley. Chris WillisJeff Williams.

Your mission if you wish to accept it:

Backfill new bywash at Lock 11 Basingstoke Canalwith 36 cu metres of ready mixed concrete and 1 cumetre of concrete mixed on site plus build a man-hole in five and half days. This camp will self-de-struct in eight days.

The first problem on Friday night was to alleviateourselves of the two Italian spies who had been trou-ble on the KESCRG camp. So I got on the blower tothe top man (code name MKP) and off loaded theproblem into his lap.

We eventually got rid of them at six thirty Sundaymorning on a flight bound for Italy from Stanstedwith help fromMatt Taylor.

The second problem was KP hadn�t finished any-thing on any of the three sites although he had atleast twenty people working all week, and they onlymanaged to shift 12 cu metres of ready mixed con-crete, with a further 12 cu metres postponed tillMonday.

I met FT at Mayford Village hall late Saturday morn-ing to findwehad five star accommodationwith show-ers. I thought �Better than a tent any day of the week�.

FT and myself met the A team at a secret rendez-vous, (Woking Railway Station) late Saturday after-noon and took them to a secret location, (the Bas-ingstoke Canal Centre) for a briefing on Health andSafety using the new video supplied by the top manat C&A, MKP, which was very good.

Back at the accommodation we had a very goodmeal supplied by Maureen/KESCRG and had theusual mickey-taking about how much concrete wewere due to receive on Monday morning. A worriedKPwoke FTat 23.45 to tell him if we needed any helpduring the next week he would sort something out.

First thing Sunday was a trip to site to see howmuch the previous camp had done, which was verylittle (which I put down to poor leadership) and tohave a site safety talk. Then it was back to the ac-commodation to send FT, CD and CM out on a mis-sion for essential supplies, while myself, AJ and RSchecked through the kit and washed every last thingin the catering kit.

We all eventually made it on site in the afternoonsome of us with �dish pan hands� to prepare for theconcrete pour on Monday; Barry Ford decided tostay until Monday afternoon to help out which wasgratefully appreciated by all.

Monday dawned on us with a bang and a clatter ofcups as I made the first brew of the day and FTfried the breakfast into submission. We arrived onsite at 9.00am to familiarise ourselves with thepokers etc. and to make sure they worked; by earlyafternoon the first load appeared andwe got stuck inwith the help of KR driving the dumper with Z alongside. Soonafterwards the second load appeared andwe soon sorted that one out. I then approached PRand asked �please sir can we have somemore�, andso another load was soon on its way.

So by four thirty p.m. we had laid and vibrated 18 cumetres of readymixed concrete, and were drenchedby the heavy rain showers. TheAteam returned backto the accommodation with the knowledge we canhandle everything and anything anybody can throwat us.

I wondered what all the fuss KPwas going on abouton Saturday night, it makes you wonder... can�t hehandle the pressure?

Tuesday was spent back-filling over the previousdays concrete with soil and preparing forWednes-day�s pour.

Asecret excursion was planned for the evening withexotic food obtained from the local Chinese andChippie on the way, with the final destination beingOdiham in Hampshire. Once there we boarded afast speedboat very cleverly disguised as a narrow-boat on a mission to reach the undiscovered upperreaches of the Basingstoke canal.

Wednesday was like any other day - wet and wetagain especially when the concrete turned up. Twoloads were due late morning, so this gave us time topump the water out of the lower section, which wasa daily chore from this point onwards.

The first load arrived, and we started backfilling fromwhere we left off on Monday; CD and CM were op-erating one vibrator between them on one side ofthe trench andAJ and RS were operating the otherone on the opposite side with great vigour; the restof us were in the trench spreading the concrete out.The next job while we waited for the second loadwas to put a temporary chute over the manhole sothat the concrete would go where it was supposedto go.

page 17

Finally the second load turned up and we got stuckin with me in the trench shovelling like there was notomorrow, of course when the dumper conveyed thelast load of concrete down the chute I was the lastto see it coming and with the concrete fast nearingthe top of my wellies I was shouting every swearword I could think of... including �STOP!!!�

But everything turned out OK as the concrete filledthe trench the pipe rose out of the mud to the cor-rect level needed for connection onto the existingoutlet of the bywash and the young ladies on theteam learnt a few more swear words to add to theircollection.

Last mission of the day was to build some formworkaround the lower edge of the manhole and lay someconcrete there ably mixed by the A team.

Thursday morning was spent backfilling with soilthe top end of the bywash previously concreted theday before, removing the internal and external shut-tering from the manhole.

CM and myself cut the last piece of pipe and thencarried the pipe down to the end of the bywash, aswe were negotiating the narrow slope CM slippedand went feet first into the cut, which was very timelybecause the last load of concrete turned up early.So we all rushed round like blue-arsed flies to makea chute over the manhole section and a formworkstop at the other end to stop the concrete from flow-ing down the canal.

Then the heavens opened and it chucked it down,and like true professionals we just carried on work-ing, shifting the last of the concrete down into thetrench to cover the pipe.

After getting completely drenched, with some morethan others we decided to finish early and get evenwetter by going for a swim at the local leisure centre.

Friday morning was spent shuttering the last sec-tion between the new pipe and the old outlet of thebywash and then concreting it. After lunch weknocked out a gauge of mortar, built the manholeand then cleared the site of all the waste materialsready for reinstatement of the towpath - job done.

FT and myself would like to take this opportunity tothank all team members for a job well done.MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Saturday:

(well I said it would self-destruct)John Park.

OK let's hear from 'FT' now....

This was a real camp to remember: only seven ofus, but as good a crew as you could wish for. I wasvery much reminded of those hot and happy dayson the Mont, and of course Tory and her friends.

We had the advantage of the professional efforts ofan equally small number of local people withoutwhom we could not have been so successful:. 36 cubic meters of ready mix. Another cube with a mixer. Some shuttering. Some steel. An inspection cover. Lots of backfilling

So having very little to do (the best leaders tend todo very little) I thought the following 10 ways toamuse your leader would help future camps:1. Keep changing your name: this needs to bedone by most members but each name needsto be new � no swaps.

2. Text him/her in Arabic3. Wake him/her at 23.45 to announce that youhave ordered 18 cube of concrete for themorning.

4. Ask for a lift to the airport at 4 a.m.5. �Sorry I forgot/lost/dipped in water my D of Ebook.�

6. �I need a safety talk � I fell asleep during thelast one.�

7. Arrange for a thunderstorm during a deliveryof concrete: this needs a lot of influence in highplaces, but can be very spectacular.

8. Put the plant key in your pocket. This onlyworksif you wear different clothes next morning(alternatively you couldwork on a different site).

9. Ask for a bedtime story10.Arrange for him/her to run a camp and find alast minute reason for not attending,appointment at the hairdresser sounds good.

The hall was one of the best. Many thanks to theteam, Peter and family and the locals for such anexcellent experience.

Broc (the badger)

In the interest of avoiding too many low-flying libel writsarriving from the the direction of KESCRG, I'd like to saythat I think some of the remarks in the aboveCampRe-portmightbestbe takenwithat leastasmallpinchofsalt.

No doubt if KESCRG had got around to sending aCamp Report in from their week on the Basingstokeit would have been full of stuff about how the only rea-son they didn't finish off all theworkwas because theyfelt sorry for the WRG campers not having enoughwork to do, and felt that a little gentle exercise wouldbe good for John, Fred & Co.. But they didn't.

Still, there are a few photos on p45 to show that either(a) KESCRG did actually do some work or (b) they'reexceptionally good at faking it for the cameras. ...Ed

page 18

Latest News fromWRGWearThought I�d please the editor by submitting some-thing for Navvies that wasn�t a camp report - andupdate everyonewith general newsonWRGWear.I have a new email address for enquiries -wrgwear@hotmail.com. Apologies for the lackof web-site so far but I do have to earn a living (andboats are high maintenance!) I�ve got as far asgetting some catalogue style photos done (thanksmodels) but since I�ve not spoken to thewebmasteryet, a fully functional web-site within themainWRGone could be a fewmonths off. So very sorry if youwere under the impression it was up and runningbut I didn�t actually say that it was! In the mean-time if you�d like an order form, for items advertisedin an edition ofNavvies that you�ve lost, then pleaseemail me and I can send you a word document orsend an SAE and you�ll get a printed version.WRG Wear is proud to announce a winterrange (also available in summer) and at the endof this article is an order form for the latest itemsavailable. I�ve had many suggestions for itemsto supply and I�ve taken note - more items will beavailable soon.Julian from Jancraft (the people we order theclothes from) will be at the Basingstoke BonfireBash in November with samples of some of theitems so that you can try the size before you or-der - though he might not be able to produceyour items on the day.I tend to carry some samples in the boot of mycar so that people can try sizes, so if you see meon a dig just ask.I�d like to explain a little bit about the processbehind WRG Wear so that people can under-stand why orders sometimes appear to be a littledelayed. I only get post a couple of times a weekand I work away from home quite a bit so it cantake a while before I actually get the order.Because I live on a boat, I don�t actually keep astock of items so I order things on a per order basisfrom Jancraft who then post the items to you.Occasionally Jancraft don�t have items in so theyhave to be ordered and this can take a few days.Because I don�t do the actual posting of items I can�treally keep track of how long things are taking.

So please allow up to four weeks for delivery, butif you�re worried about your WRG Wear thenplease contact me and I�ll be happy to emailJancraft to see what�s happening.And finally...(a) please note that cheques should now bemadepayable to �WRG Canal Camps�(b) I don�t supply the Canal Camps t-shirts (theones with a list of this year's Camps on the back).These are available in medium, large and extralarge for £5 (pay 'WRG Publicity a/c') from WRG,PO Box 114, Rickmansworth WD3 1ZY.That�s all folks

Helen Gardner of WRGWear

WRGWearWinter RangePrinted 'Dirty Weekend' t-shirts £7

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRed

Printed 'Dirty Weekend' t-shirts with web ad-dress 'www.wrg.org.uk' on back £8.20

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRed

Printed t-shirts (printed with 'Happy butCrazy') £7

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlack

Printed polo shirts (printed with 'Happy butCrazy') £9.50

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlackNavyWhite

Printed sweatshirts (printed with 'Happy butCrazy') £12

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlackNavyGrey

WRG WearBe properly dressed for yourCanal Camp!

page 19

Embroidered t-shirts (with 'Happy but Crazy') £8Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large

RedBlack

Embroidered polo shirts (with 'Happy butCrazy') £10.50

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlackNavyWhite

Embroidered sweatshirts (with 'Happy butCrazy') £13

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlackNavyGrey

Embroidered fleece top with grey inside col-lar (with 'waterway recovery group') £21

Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeRedBlackNavy

Embroidered scarf (with 'waterway recoverygroup') £8BlackGreenNavy

Printed Baseball caps £5.50'Waterway Recovery Group' 'Happy But Crazy'

RedNavy

Embroidered Baseball caps £8'Waterway Recovery Group' 'Happy But Crazy'

RedNavy

Printed duffle bag (with 'waterway recoverygroup') £10BlackGreenNavyNatural

ToorderyourWRGWear...Simply tick the appropriate box(es) - or if you wantmore than one of a particular item, write the numberthatyouwant in thebox- thenwriteyourdetailshere....

Name:

Address:

e-mail address:

...and send this page (or aphotocopy if youdon'twantto cut up your copy of 'Navvies') with your cheque(pay 'WRG Canal Camps') to: Helen Gardner, nb'Sussex', The Boatyard, Rowdell Road,Northolt, Middlesex UB5 6AG.

wrg

Above: all the WRG Wear items previously advertised including large and small logo WRG T-shirts,vests and sweatshirts are still available - see 'Navvies' 185 or contact Helen for details. Above right:the 'Happy but Crazy' logo that appears on some of the Winter range - photos next time.

page 20

Logistics"...imagine my delight at thegift of diesel in a petrol can!"

�One of Our Trailers is Missing�

One might glean the following from the abovetitle but it is my regrettable duty to inform oneand all (who don�t already know) that Kit A trailerhas been relocated (in fact, downright misappro-priated for our purposes!). Someone, somewherein the vale of Worcestershire (probably!) is nowthe keeper of a lovely twin-axle trailer. My onlysolace is the fact that the thieves will have had anightmare picking off all that lovely lettering andDr. Bridge is the proud owner of a lonely jockeywheel!

In the continuing fiasco of the attempted �WhoseNavvies is it anyway?� this article is no excep-tion. I have plenty of content and even a style butnow it is the video shops of Southwest Birming-ham and South Yorkshire that thwart any attemptat such �humour�. Either that or I am looking forthe World�s trickiest film to track down! That said,if I�d idly flicked through a TV guide for the verysame week as the trailer was taken it wouldn�thave been a problem! But then there were lots of�ifs� in that week.

At least, for my part, the good news is that all thecatering kit was in the accommodation at the timeand half of the tools were elsewhere so that doesmeanmuch less to replace (Phew!). This is a hugerelief considering the money I�ve spent on newcatering stuff this year. Mind you, the inevitablebattle with Bateson�s (trailer company) that willensue when attempting to replicate said trailerwill make up any hassle factor reduced by lack ofkit to replace!! After all the items that have gonemissing over the summer camp season, the trailerreally has to be the most careless. I suppose thatit is my fault as I foolishly omitted to put it on thekit list � silly me! It�s tricky enough to get every-thing back even when listed so how did I expectthe return of anything that wasn�t?

The new Curver boxes have turned out to be verydisappointing � after having the previous set forten years (although it was definitely starting toshow!) the fact that we�ve had these for all of afew months and already they�ve got cornerssnapped off doesn�t say much for the standardsof manufacture now...

Either that or you lot are far rougher than in previ-ous years.When packing up the trailer please don�tratchet them in too strongly � if stacked properlythey only need the strap there to stop toppling.Anddon�t thread straps through handles as the boxesaren�t (and never were) very strong there.

Thank you so very much for all the presents yousent me from the National. How thoughtful? Youcan imagine my delight when I found the gift ofred diesel � especially when found in a petrolJerry can! Ni-i-ice! Do we have any brain cells torub together? Empty (�MT�!) Jerry cans are whatwe want in the trailer(s) please.

At the very least be a little courteous and makesure the following camp knows they have a giftof fuel!

Talking of courteous, when it comes to vanmove-ments and arrangements (I think you may findthat�s what �logistics� is) please can you contactme and ask before sorting them out betweenyourselves regardless of what your standing inWRG is � you won�t always know about certainintricacies of plans!

Thank you time: Thanks very much to Dick andSue up Elsecar for the use of their garden andgarage (and being my surrogate family!) duringkit repaints. Oddly enough, the place resembleda certain avenue in Blackpool at times, but at leastthe neighbours were more amused by brightlycoloured, planted tools than their annoyed North-west counterparts!

Thank you also to my fridge freezer replies/con-tributors, Stella [See you at the Bonfire Bash withit � I�ll be the one without the fridge freezer!] andAlan [It�s gorgeous! I did enjoy the trip throughthe Valleys to pick it up - thanks to Geezer Chrisfor giving me a lift with it too.].

And as ever, thanks to all the people I know whohave offered help in any way, general sanity (Ionly have the �in� variety left) or just all-round good-egg-ship!

I know it�s a little early (although the shops wouldhave you believe otherwise) but I thought I�d bestget on with writing this letter:

"Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like�"

Just Jenlogistics.jen@cwcom.net

Mobile Logistics � brought to you by the letters�C�, �F�, �E�, and the number �2�

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WRG Boat Club news

It was nice to see so many members at Milton Key-nes, though most were so busy that we didn�t get tochat for long, if at all. The social gathering on the Fri-day night was a great success as we got some tablestogether for ourselves and they were outside whichenabled us to watch the fireworks in peace and com-fort. What a superb display it was, all of us taking oureyes of the drink and food to watch it, that good! Allthe entertainment in the evenings was of a very goodstandard andmost enjoyable. Yes even theOldTimeMusic Hall which had great variety and all good. Pityabout the soundassomeof thebest linesweremissedby many. Many thanks to Lynne for getting all thenibbles for the Friday night get together and specialthanks to the �OliveMan� for donating the olives, whichthe secretary managed to hogmost of! Lots of mem-bers paid their subs at the social event, (this savespostage). Hopefully everyoneelsewill follow their leadand rush to pay up at the bring-a-boat weekend inSeptember, otherwise eitherAnne or I will be pleasedto receive cheques by mail though getting a standingorder set up at your bank is the best way to pay, ask ifyou�ve no details In answer to the question in the lastissue �what award shall we go in for this year?� (at theNational) well I did enter �Lynx� for the best workingboat. We can accept that some might not considerLynx to be the best turned out working boat and thatwe aren�t members of the CBOA but the great insultwas that despite enteringwedidn�t seem to havebeenconsidered, as nobody cameon theboat to look roundor talk to either of us about any carrying it had done,wasgoing to do, or aythingelse. Still on amore cheerynote two boat club members, the secretary and thegentlemanmentioned in the last issue, were given 10out of 10 by the Lavender Boat for their �bucket andchuck it� toilets, the only ones on site to receive suchanaccolade. Someclaim to fameeh? Wehaveheardthat this is the first National that 'Fulbourne' has man-aged to get to without breaking down, still it did arriveby lorry to ensure this. (I look forward to the Editor�scomments on that!) [OK: "It's the only way we'll get tonext year's 'National' at all, thanks to BW restoring theHuddersfield Canal too narrow for 'real' boats." ...Ed]

It would be handy to know howmanymembers boatswill be attending different rallies in the future andwhich ones proove the most poular. Which ralliesnot which boats! I should also be pleased to knowwhich members will be taking their boats to TheNational at Huddersfield next year. I know that somedon�t make plans too early and some don�t makeplans, just decide at the last minute what they aredoing, but please keep in touch. I have just attendeda jolly good rally/steam fair at Shakerstone. Therewere lots of boats there, many that had come straightfrom The National. Some of them belonged to clubmembers, we do get about! This article will hope-fully be in two parts as I shall send the above inbefore copy date and hope that the report on theAGM and Bring-a-Boat can be added later.

...and here's part two: Sorry, sorry, sorry to thebrave pair that did bring their canal boat to theAGMat BITM�s Bring-a-Boat weekend.

I had planned that we bring �Lynx� but after the �Na-tional� and Shakerstone we returned to the BlackCountry Museum, had to lift that VERYheavy bridgeand re-arrange boats to get in. It would have beentoo much to shift them all to get out again as theyare gathering for an imminent �Working Boat Do�.

Anywaythat ismyexcuse: Idon�tknowofothersbutcon-gratulations toTony andBarbara formaking the effort.

Itwasaveryenjoyableweekend, theclubAGMwasheldaftersupperontheSaturdayandpromisedtobeaspeedyaffair, asBITMmemberswerewanting toholdameetingassoonaswewere finishedand thepubscloseon time.

AGM details -

Club officers for 200 1/2002 will be �

Commode Door* Lynne CaterVice Sue BurchettSecretary (skivvy) Sadie DeanTreasurer Ann SmartAWCC representative Claire Moynihan

*Lynne has also agreed to take on the ordering ofgarments with the club logo.

Ann submitted the accounts and we are pleased thatshe has been able to sort them out after the separa-tion from BITM�s accounts. We are in the red, so itwas agreed to keep subscriptions at £10 + the £5joining fee.

We all had a look at BITM�s display boards andagreed that we are glad to pay for the improvements.

We will be able to give our Burgee to be displayed insome boat clubs and, for starters, it was agreed thatthey go to Stafford andCoombeswood (Halesowen). Itwasdecidedthat theLavenderBoatcrewshouldbemadehonoraryclubmembersduringevents,sothatourburgeecan be proudly flown on all suitable occasions. The clubnow comes into AWCC Midland region, and there fol-lowedadiscussionon the facilities andwelcomeofferedby different boat clubs that members had visited. Morefeedback is needed on this from all members.

Those present thought it would be pleasant to holdthe AGM in the northern area next year.

Please note subsciptions are now due (default-ers beware of the broomstick brigade).

Sadie Dean

WRG BCWaterway Recovery Group'sown Boat Club

Canal Camps cost £35 per week unless otherwiseBookings for WRGCanal Camps (those identifiedcamp number e.g. 'Camp 0122') should go toWRGCamps, PO Box 114, RickmansworthWD3 1ZY.Tel: 01923 711114. Email: enquiries@wrg.org.u

page 22

DiaryOct 20/21 LondonWRG Wilts & Berks Canal: Dig Deep project at Summit LockOct 20/21 wrgBITM Wilts & Berks Canal: Lift Bridge at East Challow. Leader: Phill Cardy.Oct 20-27 Camp 0122 Lichfield Canal Camp. Leaders: Steve Wyatt and Joanne �Smudge� SmithNov 3/4 wrgCBW Basingstoke Bonfire Bash: WRG Reunion weekend working party carrying out

Leaders: Ian & Liz Williamson. Please book using the enclosed form.Nov 3/4 LondonWRG Basingstoke Bonfire BashNov 3/4 Essex WRG Basingstoke Bonfire BashNov 3/4 KESCRG Basingstoke Bonfire BashNov 3/4 wrgNW Lichfield CanalNov 8 Thu Navvies Press date for issue 190: including WRG / Canal Societies directoryNov 10/11 NWPG Thames & Severn Canal: Dig Deep project at Valley LockNov 10 Sat wrgNW Waste paper collectionNov 17/18 wrgBITM Buckingham Arm: Leader: Athina Beckett.Nov 18 Sun wrg Committee & Board MeetingsDec 1/2 KESCRG Wilts & Berks Canal: Xmas party dig with London WRG.

Stump pulling, scrub bashing and hedge laying at Dauntsey. AccommodationDec 1/2 LondonWRG Wilts & Berks Canal: Xmas party dig with KESCRG. (see previous entry)Dec 1/2 Essex WRG Foxton Inclined Plane: Hedge maintenance and Christmas DinnerDec 1/2 wrgNW Droitwich Canal (TBC)Dec 8/9 wrgBITM Lichfield Canal: non-Christmas Party dig. Various work at Lock 26. Leader: JohDec 15/16 NWPG Wilts & Berks Canal: Dig Deep project at Summit Lock, Wootton Bassett. Accomm

Note date changed from previous weekendDec 15 Sat wrgNW Waste paper collectionDec 18 Tue Navvies Issue 190 Assembly: Provisional dateDec 22-31 W&BCCo Wilts & Berks Canal Camp. (see p42)Dec 26-Jan 1 Camp 0123 Basingstoke Canal Camp. Leader: Clive Alderman.Jan 5/6 wrgNW To be arrangedJan 8 Tue Navvies Press date for issue 191Jan 12/13 NWPG Basingstoke CanalJan 12/13 KESCRG Thames & Severn CanalJan 12/13 LondonWRG Wilts & Berks CanalJan 19 Sat wrgNW Waste paper collectionJan 26/27 wrgBITM Wilts & Berks Canal: Seven Locks project. Jungle bashing at Locks 4 & 5. LeaFeb 2/3 wrgNW To be arrangedFeb 2/3 LondonWRG Thames & Severn CanalFeb 9/10 NWPG Thames & Severn CanalFeb 9/10 KESCRG Wilts & Berks CanalFeb 23/24 wrgBITM Wendover Arm: Leader: Graham Hotham.

e stated.by a

GCanal

uk

Please send updates to Diary compiler:DaveWedd, 7 RingwoodRd, Blackwater, Camberley, Surrey GU17 0EY.

Tel 01252 874437. e-mail: Dave.Wedd@wrgBITM.org.uk.

page 23

Tim Lewis 020-8367-6227 wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.ukDaveWedd 01252-874437 bookings@wrgBITM.org.uk

bankside vegetation clearance on several miles of canal.

Tim Lewis 020-8367-6227 wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.ukJohn Gale 01277-654683 EssexWRG@cs.comAnswerphone 01622-858329 Kescrg@btinternet.comDavid McCarthy 0161-740-2179 malcolm.bridge@btclick.comMartin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 editor@navvies.demon.co.ukGraham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 grahamhawkes@btinternet.comDavid McCarthy 0161-740-2179DaveWedd 01252-874437 bookings@wrgBITM.org.ukMike Palmer 01564 785293 mike.palmer@bbc.co.ukAnswerphone 01622-858329 Kescrg@btinternet.com

at Goatacre. See p35 for details and please book in advance.Tim Lewis 020-8367-6227 wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.ukJohn Gale 01277-654683 EssexWRG@cs.comDavid McCarthy 0161-740-2179 malcolm.bridge@btclick.com

hn Cheesbrough. DaveWedd 01252-874437 bookings@wrgBITM.org.ukmodation at Devizes. Graham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 grahamhawkes@btinternet.com

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179John Hawkins 01923-448559 hawkins@jote.fsnet.co.ukRachael Banyard 01249 892289

David McCarthy 0161-740-2179 malcolm.bridge@btclick.comMartin Ludgate 020-8693-3266 editor@navvies.demon.co.ukGraham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 grahamhawkes@btinternet.comAnswerphone 01622-858329 Kescrg@btinternet.comTim Lewis 020-8367-6227 wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.ukDavid McCarthy 0161-740-2179

der: Rachael Banyard. DaveWedd 01252-874437 bookings@wrgBITM.org.ukDavid McCarthy 0161-740-2179 malcolm.bridge@btclick.comTim Lewis 020-8367-6227 wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.ukGraham Hawkes 0118-941-0586 grahamhawkes@btinternet.comAnswerphone 01622-858329 Kescrg@btinternet.comDaveWedd 01252-874437 bookings@wrgBITM.org.uk

page 24

1st & 3rd Sunday of month BCG Elsecar Spencer Collins 0114-285-30443rd Sunday of month BCNS Jeff Barley 01543-3732842ndSunday& followingWed. BCS Cosgrove Athina Beckett 01908-661217Anytime inc. weekdays BCT Aqueduct section Gerald Fry 01288-353273Every Sunday ChCT Various sites Mick Hodgetts 01246-620695Mon & Wed mornings CCT Cotswolds Dudley Greenslade 01453 825515Every weekend (Sat OR Sun)CCT Cotswolds Neil Ritchie 01452-8540571st Sunday of monch CCT Cotswolds: summit MarkWelton 01453-872405Wednesday evenings CCT Cotswolds: East end Keith Harding 01451-8601814th Mon of month, 6pm CMT London Canal Mus. Martin Sach 020-7625-7376Every Saturday DCT Droitwich Canal Jon Axe 0121-608 0296Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane Mike Beech 0116-279-26571st & 3rd Sundays GCRS Grantham Canal Colin Bryan 0115-989-22482nd Sat of month GWCT Nynehead Lift Denis Dodd 01823-661653Tuesdays H&GCT Oxenhall Brian Fox 01432-358628Wednesdays H&GCT Over Ted Beagles 01452-522648Saturdays H&GCT Over Maggie Jones 01452-618010Sundays H&GCT Over Paul Brown 01386-443826Every Sunday if required IWPS Bugsworth Basin Ian Edgar 01663-7324931st Saturday&3rdWed. IWA Ipswich Stowmarket Navigtn. Colin Turner 01473-7305862nd weekend of month IWA SBC Maesbury, Mont. Barry Tuffin 01691-670826/492nd weekend of month K&ACT John Rolls 01189-6663161st Sunday of month LHCRT Lichfield John Horton 01543 2624663rd Sunday of month LHCRT Hatherton Denis Cooper 01543-3743702nd & last Sundays PCAS Paul Waddington 01757-6380272nd Sunday of Month SCARS Sankey Canal Colin Greenall 01744-7317461st Sunday of Month SCCS Combe Hay Locks Bob Parnell 01225-428055Most weekends SHCS Basingstoke Peter Redway 01483-7217103rd Sunday of month TMCA David Rouse 01474-362861Approx 15th of month WACT Mid-Week group Colin Gibbs 020-82417736Every Sunday & Thursday WACT Devils Hole Lock EricWalker 023-9246-3025Thursdays fortnightly WACT Maintenance Unit Peter Wilding 01483-422519or for general information on Wey & Arun contact their office on 01403-7524031st weekend of month WAT Little Tring Roger Leishman 01442-874536Every weekend W&BCAG Peter Smith 01793-852883Every Sunday W&BCC Dauntsey / Foxham Rachael Banyard 01249-892289Please send any amendments, additions and deletions to Dave Wedd (address on previous page)Abbreviations used in DiaryBCG Barnsley Canal GroupBCNS BirminghamCanal Navigations Soc.BCS Buckingham Canal SocietyBCT Bude Canal TrustChCT Chesterfield Canal TrustCCT Cotswolds Canals TrustCMT Canal Museum Trust (London)DCT Droitwich Canals TrustFIPT Foxton Inclined Plane TrustD&SCS Derby & Sandiacre Canal SocietyGCRS Grantham Canal Restoration SocietyGWCT Grand Western Canal TrustH&GCT Hereford & Gloucester Canal TrustIWA SBC IWA Shrewsbury & Border Counties

IWPS InlandWaterways Protection SocietyK&ACT Kennet &Avon Canal TrustKESCRG Kent & E Sussex Canal Rest. GroupLHCRT Lichfield &HathertonCanalsRest'n TrustLWRG LondonWaterway Recovery GroupNWPG Newbury Working Party GroupPCAS Pocklington Canal Amenity SocietySCARS Sankey Canal Restoration SocietySCCS Somersetshire Coal Canal SocietySHCS Surrey & Hants Canal SocietyTMCA Thames & Medway Canal AssociationW&BCAG Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity GroupW&BCC Wilts & Berks Canal CompanyWACT Wey & Arun Canal TrustWAT Wendover Arm Trust

Mobile groups' social evenings(please phone to confirm before turning up)London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11 days beforeeach dig. 'Jugged Hare', Vauxhall Bridge Rd,London, Tim Lewis 020-8367 6227 ore-mail wrgtim@netscapeonline.co.uk.NWPG: 9:00pm on 3rd Tue of month at the'Hope Tap', West end of Friar St. Reading.Graham Hawkes 0118 941 0586

DiaryCanal society regularworking parties

Regular monthly or weekly working parties:

page 25

Letters'Navvies' - is it colourfulenough?

Dear MartinI know that in publishing circles the Editor always getsthe last word but I�m going to get my retaliation in first!On a point of clarification, Sue Burchett caught meby the Wendover Arm (ooh that HURT) and askedme to point out that their member was not bannedfor drunkenness but for �inappropriate dress�. I thinkshe said he was actually wearing a dress and thelandlord deemed this �inappropriate�. That brings backsome memories of a certain brickie! ( Now that�s an�in-joke� from way back. If you ever have the pleas-ure of meeting 'Mucky' Mick Beattie ask him to explain it to you.)Now to respond to some of the points made by our editor.I hope I didn�t give the impression that I didn�t want any humour in Navvies. I�m with Steev when he saysWRGies are entitled to have some fun and I also enjoy reading about it. I was simply trying to make the pointthat for an article to be perceived as funny it must appeal to a reasonable proportion of the readership.We have done the full colour cover (Issue 183) which also had a full colour insert and we have also usedsponsorship to pay for the printing of both the 2000 and 2001 Canal Camps booklet. I still believe we shouldconsider greater use of colour. If this involves paid for advertisements and sponsorship then so be it. Thenormal argument used against sponsorship is the danger that editorial independence will be undermined.I can�t believe that Martin would ever allow his views to be influenced by the fact that the magazine isgetting money from other sources. (3 or 4 pints is, of course, an entirely different matter!!)I had forgotten that we have already issued a feedback questionaire, the resultsofwhichwerepublished in Issue180 (p17). It makes interesting reading and I noticed that some of the lessons learned were being implementedat our camp on the Ipswich and Stowmarket. I understand the Safety Video was very well received.As I made clear in my letter, I do not have access to the statistics but you yourself said that your subscriberswere at their lowest level since 1988. I simply drew inferences from that information and articles in past issuesof Navvies that we were not getting the same level of support that we have been used to in the past. As if toemphasise that point I called into the Wendover Arm on Saturday to find that the Camp had been cancelledbecause only 3 people turned up. And this on a project which has a significant amount of money available.On amore positive note I managed to get a guided tour of the Droitwich Junction canal the other day. (I justhappened to be passing through Droitwich on my way to work in Manchester. All right, I know I live inColchester, but mymap reading is a bit off.) Now there�s a project we should all be supporting.The top 3 locksand the sideponds are in remarkably good condition. The sidepond for No1 Lock had just been uncovered andit was if the brickwork had been completed yesterday. New ground paddles have been installed and the gatesare waiting to be hung. The brickwork for the wing walls on No.2 Lock is coming on in leaps and bounds.There are some lumpy old coping stones to be lifted and re-set on Lock No. 3 but it can�t be long before thetop 3 locks are in water. Re-connecting it to the River Severn might be a bit more work but I seem toremember there are some plans to do much the same sort of thing a bit further downstream.Unfortunately I see that MKP ignored your demands completely and failed to deliver the Chairman�s Pageon time. If it�s any consolation, he appeared to working very hard when I saw him.

Spencer GreystrongAswith the last issue, I will try to fight keepmy comments short. I would rather that you the readers used thesepages to debate topics such as this: the following are intended to be helpful comments aimed at keeping awell-informed discussion going. I hope they won't be seen as the editor 'getting the last word'!The Wendover Camp was reluctantly cancelled because the leader dropped out at short notice for per-sonal reasons and no replacement could be found, not because of lack of bookings - which were on the lowside, but not so much so that the camp could not have happened.It is in any case unreasonable to extrapolate from the low numbers on a single Camp. Overall the volunteernumbers - while not as good as we would like, and not up to the levels of the early-mid 1990s - have beenencouraging this year. But as usual there have been good camps and disappointing camps numbers-wise: weare doing our best to fathom-out the reasons for this variation - and readers' comments arewelcome. And bythe way, it isn't fair to say that 'other camps have suffered at the expense of the Droitwich'. (Please note I'm notreferring to Spencer's comments here, but to general rumour and gossip that I've heard.)Thecolourpages in issue183werea 'one-off' for our30thanniversary, andcost several hundredpounds,paid forbythe generosity of private individuals. I would love to publish in colour more often, and in response to Spencer'scommentswewill be getting a quote, but it's likely to be pricey andwhenwe're trying to find (say) £10,000-plus for anewminibus it'sdifficult to justify it. If anyoneknows(orwould like tovolunteer tohelpus find)asourceofsponsorshipor advertising that would enable us to usemore colour withoutmaking cutbacks elsewhere, please tell us!

The Editor

page 26

Dear Martin,After reading Navvies 188 I felt that I had to put pento paper.(well, my computer died on me ...)I have to agree with the sentiment of the letters onthe subject of the magazine - life would be a lotduller without it! If it can cheer up a miserable oldbugger like me then it can�t be a bad thing!Just a few comments brought up by SpencerGreystrong:As I understand it, the people in BITM were banned

from a pub for breach of dress code NOT excessive alcohol ( which I also find amusing).The noise of a night-time can be a bit too much on a camp, especially when there is hard work to do thefollowing morning. I think that more experienced WRGies ought to be more considerate along these lines.Accommodation? What can I say: it stresses in all the WRG literature that I�ve come across about it beingBASIC! It also states that you have to share a hall with a lot of other people, and very few have showers.[very few halls I hope, not WRGies? ...Ed]On the subject of names, the camp report for 0106 on the Wilts & Berks mentions me - would it have beenany different to use my surname as well? (Or even the nickname �Zippy�?)�Respond in kind� - sounds like a threat to me! Is this the impression Mr. Greystrong is trying to put acrossto people that are still considering whether to go on a camp or not, or indeed to go on another one?Finally (on this letter anyway) , Esther - would knowing more about MKP be a good idea? The rumours andstories that circulate are funnier than the boring old truth!The article by Malcolm Bridge on Mr. Mac was very good! Mr. Mac is one of nature�s gentlemen and has alot of respect in WRGies circles. He is one of these rare people where nobody has a bad word to say abouthim. As an �associate� member of WRG North West (designated by Jim Lamen as I live in Birmingham!)I have come to know; and having been allowed to work with NW, have gained a high regard for David.(always calling him 'Mr. Mac' out of respect!)I came close to contacting Just Jenwhilst onCamp0106 aswe couldn�t find the lid to theBurco - Paul suddenlyremembered that it was put in the Ladies� loo - I didn�t really want to go too deeply into the reasons why!There were a few comments from newcomers to WRG re why the use of plastic bowls and plates - then Irealised why! They do less damage when bounced off people�s heads for asking stupid questions! (Not thatI would really do that, Jen - honest!)We may have had a few cross words in the past, Martin but I�ll still buy you a pint when see you. You�redoing a great job (No bullshit! Praise where it�s due, mate!)Hopefully I�ll see some of you in the near future

KenWhapplesBoth Ken and Spencer (in his letter in the last issue) have commented on the standard of Camps accom-modation. While it is sometimes pretty basic, we have been trying to improve it - for example showers inthe accommodation (rather than aminibus-ride away at a sports centre) are becoming less of a rarity thesedays, and we hope that soon it will be part of the minimum standard for Canal Camps accommodation.This year's feedback questionaire is being analysed, and no doubt conclusionswill include attention to accom-modation. However wewelcome comments from 'Navvies' readers too. Would you be likely to come onmoreCanal Camps if you knew that you would never again have to pile back into the bus for a trip to the showers 20minutes after arriving back from a knackering day muck-shovelling - because there wouild always be hotshowers ready andwaiting at the hall? Would you be prepared to pay for such improvements? Would you paya luxury rate for a luxury camp where you got sleeping in a bed instead of on the floor? Or are you really notfussed? Or do you actually enjoy roughing-it, and think that the atmosphere (by 'atmosphere' I don't mean thesmell of sweaty feet!) wouldn't be the same if we went 'up-market'? What do you think?

The EditorLetter to Mike Palmer, WRG Chairman, from Richard Drake:Dear MikeMany thanks to all who contributed to a very successful National Festival at Milton Keynes. As always, wrgwere much in evidence and their contribution to the event much appreciated. It would be most unfair tomention anyone in particular, the success is in the team work. Well done everyone.Yours sincerely,

Richard DrakeIWA National Chairman

LettersWRG accommodation: is itbasic enough for you?

page 27

LettersShouldwerestorelock-cottages?What does 'MBE' stand for?

Dear MartinAsaHuddersfieldCanalSocietymemberandboat skip-per,andaWRGsubscriber, Iwas interested inyourcom-ments on the Yorkshire Post article. HCS has run a tripboat at Marsden for many, many years, first to publicisethe possibility of restoration, now to link the car parkwiththeVisitor Centre. The 'YP' reporter is ill-informed!However, it does raise an interesting question of ac-cess to the water. Most waterways users are notboaters - the majority are probably short distancewalkers. However,my experience of skippering boatsfor HCS and CNS is that many non-boaters love getting on the water, they just can�t afford it. Buying a boatis out of the question for most people and hiring is always thrice the cost of a cottage for the same numberof people in the same week. Instead people queue for ages for a 15minute trip at an annual festival on theirnearest waterway. Perhaps WRG should start restoring canalside buildings, into cheap hostels or B&Bs,which could be combined with the cost of a (much, much cheaper) day boat?Best wishes,

Christine JohnstoneWhat do you reckon: would it be a good idea for WRG to get involved (probably in combination with thelocal canal society or BW I would guess, rather than entirely off our own bat) in turning any survivingunrestored canalside buildings into cheap accommodation for would-be waterways supporters who can'tafford boats? Is this a good way of getting new people interested in canals and saving from demolition (ashappened a few years ago to make way for the new Safeways in Welshpool for example) the old buildingsthat are a real part of the historic canal system? Or would we be in danger of diverting effort from our mainfunction of helping to restore derelict waterways to navigation? Comments, please. ...EdDear MartinI would like to crave a few lines in an overfull 'Navvies' to say a sincere �Thank You� to the many folk whohave written, phoned or spoken to congratulate me on my recent award.At theI.W.A.Chairman�s �WineandNibbles�atMiltonKeynes,a fellowmemberof theorder�MrsAudreySmith,OBE� engaged me in a little �shop talk� and suggested that the letters MBE stood for �My B��y Efforts�! Whilst notwishing to upset such a lovely lady (ANDone of HIGHERRANK!), I beg to differ. So far as I am concerned it standsforMANYBODIES' EFFORTS throughout thewhole of themovement � I.W.A.,W.R.G. and all the local societies.I always rememberbeingatMarplewithNancysome30yearsagoand lookingdown intoa lockwherea loneGENT- Fred Kemp � had a hammer, chisel, towel and bricks andmortar andwas replacing cracked bricks along the frostline. He did it every Saturday afternoon. That same Chris Griffiths who announced with a flourish the formation ofW.R.G. North West 25 years ago (Navvies 187), did at the same time stand alongside us at National (and other)Rallieswith a card table, somebadges, pens and leaflets proclaiming the virtues of aNEWLOT�TheHuddersfieldCanal Society. Later his placewas taken by another foundermember, JohnMaynard, also on his own.It is on behalf of these early enthusiasts AND those of today that I shall receive the award � a HumblingHonour. My only regret is that Nancy �Mrs Mac�, who quietly and cleverly did so much as the power behindthe throne, will not be with me to share this happy moment.You�re a great lot to represent

David �Mr Mac� McCarthyDear Martin�Waterworld.� Now there�s a film that once seen, should not be repeated. Flicking through the numerous TVchannels we seem to have subscribed to one Sunday afternoon, the digital TV program guide at the bottomof the screen flashed up �Waterworld.� I quickly carried on to another channel. Finding nothing else I waspuzzled as to why such an awful film would be on Discovery Home and Leisure so I turned back and therewas our Fred talking about what a wonderful asset volunteers were and what a good job the WaterwayRecovery Group did with a gaggle of volunteers behind him digging and mattocking behind him for all theywere worth. Unfortunately I didn�t catch which canal they were on as I tuned in 2 minutes too late. Theprogram then carried on looking at various problems that British Waterways have to deal with on a day today basis (!), followed the good NB 'Ben' on the journey around the canal network with Rupert and Alisonand their crew (I distinctly saw Matt Taylor dashing around madly on it!), that incredible piece of engineer-ing called the Anderton boat lift, how locks work etc. etc. In fact they fitted a lot (a bit too much?) into ashort program. But fortunately it was on again this week, although no WRG input this time.So if you are one of those unfortunate people that have digital TV and somany channels to watch that therenever seems anything on, find the Discovery Home & Leisure channel at about 5pm on a Sunday afternoon- we are recognised!

Viv West (that�s the female Viv!)

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Letters...from 'Moose', 'Bungle' and'the Goddess of Fire'...

Dear Martin,I would like to thank all of those who helped & sup-ported me with the catering at this year�s NationalWaterways Festival camp.Including everyone who got up at an ungodly hourto cook breakfast: Harry T, Bushbaby, Toby, DaveLayman, Daddy Cool, Gav and Lou, Kay, Christineand the rest of the sandwich fairies, Jude for arrang-ing the Greek Evening after I�d reached poopville,Toby, Maureen and Eli for being marvellous and get-ting on with it without stupid questions, Dave P for the

endless shopping trips. Nina, IanWilliamson, SteveDavis and Eddie for help with the firefighting,And all thewonderful people who chopped things, rumbled potatoes and served. You are very much appreciated.See you all soon,

Harry (goddess of fire)PS The answer was 'no', but what was the question?Hello Martin,Could I ask for a bit of space in the letters page of Navvies just to congratulate Andi and Izzy for such agood National.I think all people who were present was happy the way it worked and the way Matt was able to take somepressure off the girls.A few things really come to mind when I think of this National...The boaters who broke through the security fence, did not succede the next night after the fencing crewplaced an 18ft scaffold pole in the way.Making the bridge like Fort Knox, after Security complained people were climbing over it. (never did again)Moving tracking again and again.Trying to keep with 'Nigel Site 2', when he would go off at a gallop and we should be following.The shout for more people to do car parks: it was funny watching how many people suddenly had the urgeto go to the loo or offer to do the washing up.Speaking to the traders and public - everyone was happy and pleased at the way the festival had goneThe new people (the DofE�s, 1st timers, etc), it was a pleasure to work with them, I hope they all come backand have not been put off by working at the National.A big congratluations must also go to the poor cooks - not an easy task. (remember I have helped cook forcamps) All the meals were very tasty and as normal lots of it!A very enjoyable but knackering National ( the way it should be)Thanks again and hopefully see everyone at the Bonfire bash

Dave ('Moose') & MariaDear Martin,In the current issue of the magazine, Spencer Greystrong suggests that using nicknames rather thanpeoples real names would be a good idea as it would enable people who weren�t on the camp to knowwho is being talked about.It seems to me that if someone doesn�t know who 'Tenko' is, putting his real name down will not reallyhelp. I know for a fact that many people who know me as 'Bungle' have absolutely no idea what my realname is. This was proved when I rang Black Price Security..�Hello, it�s George Eycott here��Who?��Bungle��Oh hello Bungle, why didn�t you say that in the first place!�A similar conversation ensued when I rang Julian at Jancraft. I didn�t know what 'Just Jen�s' full name wasuntil last year - and I�m not telling.....So, my conclusion is that putting peoples real name down will probably confuse even more people thanputting down someones nickname.

George 'Bungle' EycottWilts. and Berks. Canal Amenity Group Plant Officer

Claverton Pumping Station (www.claverton.ukwaterways.net)

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CampsBack on the Droitwich JunctionCanal again!

Droitwich Camp 17: 11 Aug � 18 Aug.

Sunday - Despite assurances that it never rains atDroitwich, it rained. A lot. So instead of canal workwe took the opportunity to visit the National Water-way Museum in Gloucester. Lunch in car park (thesun now shining)� Spencer demonstrated the cor-rect technique at distracting wasps from his food.Dave was soon stung, interesting connection per-haps? We arrived finally on site around 3pm andrapidly got on with work in the sidepond on lock 3,raking, pointing and preparation for laying protec-tive rubble against the wall. Lock 3 bricklaying be-gan in earnest with Matt Taylor training the new re-cruits. A good evening meal was had followed by atrip to the local.

Monday - A late start, poor weather again. Workcontinued in the sidepond. Jane and Swooze hadthe pleasure of using the large, vibrating hammerdrill, preparing the overflow wall for gravity fed grout-ing. In lock 3 there was yet more bricklaying goingon amongst tie rod fitting, stone cutting & delibera-tions on how best to encourage the heavy copingstones outwards. The joys of brick cleaning begantoo. Fish and chips then a narrow boat trip in theevening gave an image of how things can be aftermore hard work.

Tuesday - Many hands brick cleaning � well done.Several mudfights worth of puddling clay went intothe sidepond while the pointing was completed.Andy and Matt started the tail wall on Lock 2. Mid-morning Adrian turned his efforts to the vicious de-struction of a busy wasp nest under the guise ofdigging out behind the coping stones. Resulting inmany upset wasps and one badly stung Adrian.Hospital here we come.

Bricklaying continued in the chamber of lock 3 �Harvey,Chris, Steve,DaveandHarrietmaking agreatteam, fed by the concrete mixing excellence of Brianwith brick cutting by Mike. Mike R began his expertcreation of the entrance wall to lock 3, during whichtime John started on the stop plank grooves � top jobs

done all round. Plans of gravity groutingthe cavities in the sidepond wall some-how began to lose gravity.

Meanwhile, Spence entertained himselfand the rest of us by devising methodsof wasp nest destruction. A visit toMikron travelling theatre gave an inter-esting and very different entertainmentline up, complemented by screechinglocal peacocks also enjoying the show.

Wednesday � Yep, more brick clean-ing and bricklaying. Also plenty ofbackfilling and concreting in the side-pond and tail wall of lock 3. The iron-work was fitted to Mike R�s entrancewall to match with near perfection. Afull day of hard work in the hot sun wassupplemented by ice-lollies courtesy ofMr Palmer. The day finished with atasty BBQ at Mike Palmer�s, followedby the pub quiz and �play your cardsright� won by the talented Tess.

Thursday � Very hot day. Myself andBrian eventually managed to get thepump working to fill the newly sealedsidepond while brickies worked fullspeed in the chamber. Coping stonemovement was now mastered and be-coming extremely successful. Lock 2tail walls were coming along nicely.Marcus cleared the sidepond and inwent the water. Matt finished his tailwall and returned to the lock 3 cham-ber andwork continued on the sidepondpaddle gear walls.

Above: drilling holes ready for grouting the lock 3 sidepondwalls. Below: 'grouting by gravity'. Photos by Alan Lines

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Camps"...toMike Palmer for his excel-lence (not!) in plant driving..."

Cinema for tonight�s treat �Swordfish� a la Odeon anda quick pint. To top the long tired day we returned tothe car park to find minibus NJF with a slashed tyre.Cheers Worcester for your friendly locals!!! Thereal thanks must go to the AA. The moral of thestory is to make sure you all have a wheel nut span-ner where it should be��... Returned to the ac-commodation at 01:30 for a well earned sleep.

Friday - Hoping for a lie-in but alas no, up and outas usual. Last day worries gave rise to a little rush-ing andmuch jibing at those who some thought wereperhaps giving too much attention to detail.

The sidepond proved a little leaky due to gravitygrouting problems � oops. Re-think required. Agoodportion of the lock 3 brickwork was completed, withcoping stones aligned allowing scaffold to be re-moved. We also recovered a load of tools from thechamber below.

Temporary scaffold from lock 2 tail wall was takenaway leaving us to admire the brickwork.A thoroughsite tidy up made for a late finish.

After a fantastic tea cooked by Harriet it was ontothe famous end of week WRG Oscars night pre-sented bymyself and Spence. Notable Oscars wereawarded to Chris and Harriet for their excellence inbrickwork, to Harvey as best newcomer and to MikePalmer for his �excellence (NOT) displayed in plantdriving� (situation: dumper, road, verge, hedge, oops,reverse etc).

Some people then went to the pub, others tired afterthe long day managed to sleep in the accommoda-tion between others still chatting and drinking.

Saturday - Home time. The usual chaos of clean-ing, counting, packing, departing and general reali-sation of a weeks� aches and pains. Vans and equip-ment now off to the 'National'.

This leaves just a quick chance for me to expressmy thanks and those of everyone involved to all thepeople who worked so hard this week, particularlyto our job-sharing cooksTess and Suewithout whomthe week would have been both slower and tougher.Loads got done this week and I can only apologiseto those of you whose efforts I�ve not managed tomention above.

Rob DaffernAssistant Leader

Droitwich lock 3 sidepond paddle culverts receiving attention during Camp 0117. (Alan Lines)

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CampsThe IWA National WaterwaysFestival at Milton Keynes

Camps19 and20: theNationalWaterway FestivalMIlton Keynes, August 20th - 31st

When my dad, Dave Worthington, went on his firstcamp, he wrote a report for it, which has been quotedfrommany times. This Festival wasmy first camp, butI think I probably knew what to expect, as it was alsomyninth one....my parents have been draggingme to'Nationals' since Wakefield in 1992, so I went to Mil-ton Keynes as one of the youngest old hands, at theageof 16 anda couple ofweeks. For quite a fewyearsI have been wearing a wrg T-shirt with �2001 �Awrgoddity� on the back, and when I wore it this year, a lotof peoplewhohadn�t previously realised, suddenly didthat I was actually on camp officially this time.

My dad, my brother and I arrived at about 9 p.m. onthe Friday a week before the 'National' opened to thepublic. There were less than 15 people there, and notables or chairs. So after �borrowing� some from a pilewe found, we put them up in the sleeping accommo-dation and we had the first of many nights chatting,drink in hand (mine was, of course, non-alcoholic).

On Saturday we began the fencing in earnest, andas there was not much demand for plant, we usedforks and the dumper. I�m not a big fan of fencing, sowhen more help came, I wandered back to findsomething else to do. Gav turned up just in time tohelp me unpack the catering kitA. That evening wasour noble chairman�s birthday, and in honour of thiswe had a port-and-cheese evening. As the campdidn�t start until Monday, the numbers were still lim-ited, but we all had fun. Mike, however, didn�t seemto enjoy the morning after quite as much, and in-cluded �have port-based headache� on the list ofthings to do. In the eatingmarquee there was a largewhiteboard with a list of jobs on it and those workingon them, so that everybody could see what neededto be done, and from where Matt �The Thin Control-ler� could work his magic. Despite Mike�s headache,he still brought us breakfast � well, actually just teaand coffee � in bed, while everyone else threw a pigand Velcro balls around.

Mike and I were given various jobs to do on Sunday,and after we had done them, Mike left little job re-ports in Izzy and Andi�s big yellow book containingeverything about everything. I signed my name un-der them as well, and that was when Izzy decided itwould be a good idea if I wrote this camp report. (Idon�t think Izzy will make that sort of mistake again).

Sunday was the only day that Alan Jervis could getit to rain, but when it did, it seemed to rain enoughfor the entire two weeks. But overall this year wasone of the best I�ve seen when it comes to weather,as it was scorching every day apart from the firstSunday when it bucketed it down, and the Sundayof the festival, when it was seriously overcast.

Most people turned up onMonday, andAndi decidedthat it would be a good idea if we all introduced our-selves. We all sat around in a circle, and it all endedup looking like a proper meeting of �NavviesAnony-mous�.

Wewatched the brilliantWRG safety video together,bringing the phrase �The right tool for the right job�to the vocabulary of the masses. However, so thateveryone got to know each other properly, we had acamp outing to the local pub, on some retail park.The Geordie boys fromSunderlandwere happy todiscover that the pub sold Newcastle brown ale.However, at more than £2 a bottle, it was a little moreexpensive than the 75p a bottle that they were usedto at home.

Two of the regular festival jobs: laying roadway tracking and putting up fencing. Photos byMartin Ludgate

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Camps"...those strange people whoenjoy it..." (car parking, that is!)

The newcomers still seemed a little wary, but theywere forced to become friendly when Gavin forcedus all to sit around one table. Jason said that he wasstill expecting everyone to don their bobble hats andanoraks, as he thought that everybody would be nar-rowboat-spotters, and most of the other newcom-ers agreed.

Work began in earnest on Tuesday, and as well asthe standard jobs to do at the 'National', there werealso the standard bizarre jobs that have to be done.This year�s nightmare job was tracking, which wasput down, then taken up, then the ground under itlevelled, then it put back down, then it taken up again.Other pieces of tracking had to be carpeted, andpieces were put down in an attempt to protect thepaths from being trashed by the crane. The cranewas there to move the narrowboats from lorry to ca-nal, or from lorry ontoMilton Keynes�s first pier, whichwas built specially for the event, about 20 metresfrom the canal.

We had planned to go swimming on Wednesday,but because of the workload, it was decided thatpeople wouldn�t want to swim after a full day�s work,so a trip to the cinema was organised. Most peoplewent to see Rush Hour 2, but unfortunately some-body hadmisread the schedule, and we would havehad to wait an hour to see it, so we saw Swordfish.Quite a few people had seen it before, including me,but I still enjoyed it. After the film, I explained to thegirls what the plot was about, as none of them hadunderstood it.

There was about 12 tons of gravel brought in to fill inpotholes, and to ensure entrances did not get toomuddy.As this was the NationalWaterways Fesivaland Inland Boat Show, the gravel was brought in byboat and placed on the towpath.We had intended tomove it on theAVH flatbed transit. Unfortunately thisrequired reversing it through a copse, with only afew inches clearance either side.

I managed to actually get a job that was actuallyhelping restore canals, which is always a novelty on'Nationals', as I and a few others got to help pullstuff out of the canal, including an entire wardrobeof clothes, a pillowcase and numerous bags of peat.Our group managed to miss out on all the excitingstuff like the shopping trolleys and bikes, whichseemed to always be pulled out a fewmetres aheadof our position. However, we did get to help pull outsome large and very heavy piece of hire equipment,some sort of industrial planer for concrete or some-thing (I can�t really remember what it was, I don�tknow about practical stuff like that).

Theopeningof theFes-tival also heralded theopening of the beertent, whichwas not runby Bar-Tec, as part ofthe company had gonebust. Instead it was runby The Big Bar Com-pany. Throughout thetime that it was openthere were the normalevening entertain-ments, including aBoater�s Quiz and a covers band, which went downwell. However, the best entertainment was, of course,Saturday�s. WRG had two ten minute slots in a mon-tage of pieces. The theme was an Old Time MusicHall, so there were some spoof songs, including abrilliant version of 'Jerusalem', �I say, I say, I say" jokesand a monologue. Jason, Adam and Kirsty did a hi-lariousSandDance, Kirsty wore a fez, and Jason andAdam wore women�s clothes straight out of Aladdin

orAli Baba. However, the best act had to be the�If I were not upon this stage� group, and as forthe guy on the far right, absolutely brilliant�

As always, the legendary car parking teamcame and stole old and new hands alike, try-ing to find those strange people who actuallyenjoy it. Saying that, however, I really en-joyed my timeon the carparks this year(I hope no oneremembers thisnext year). Cathfound two eagerfirst-timers inGemma andEllen, and the only reason that Gemmastopped car-parking was because she had togo on Friday. Ellen won an award in the clos-ing ceremony for her love of car parking.Gravel is unloaded from nb 'Clover'. (George Eycott)

Toby's tracking &fencing jokes...

(1) Q:Whatgoes 'down-up-down-up-down-up'?

A: The tracking.

(2) Q:Whatgoes 'up-down-up-down-up-down'?

A: The fencing.

'Jerusalem': theWRGCatering version...

"...bring me my bowl ofburning chilli;Bring me my Harriet offire..."

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Camps"Gav is now proud to beknown as '10-stone Gav'..."

As well as car parking, Ellen managed to get herselfon one of the strangest jobs I�veheardof onaNational;otter racing.This isnotascruelas it sounds,as theottersweretoyottersstucktoaremotecontrolledcarwithVelcro.This was part of Canal Crazy: Waterways for Youth,which this year included all of the regular activities aswell as abseiling and boat and bug building.

As always, bizarre nicknames and anecdotes comeout of one and a half weeks in a strange environ-ment. Gavin is now proud to be known as �10 stone-Gav�, due to Vicky�s inability to guess people�sweights. Mike Palmer made himself a sandwichboard with leaflets about the Anderton Boat Lift ab-seil, and was horrified at the rush to help him whenhe requested a piece of rope �long enough to goaround [his] neck� at the Tardis.

Amore serious occurrence happened one night how-ever. Mole, Ellen and I went back to the accommo-dation, leaving the rest of the group of the youngervolunteers at the beer tent, including Mel, Ellen�sbest friend.When the rest of the group returned, Melwas not with them. They told us that presumed shehad gone backwith us, so they came back too.Whenboth groups said that they didn�t knowwhereMelwas,we went back to the Festival site, keeping a look outfor her on the way. We did not find her on the way, sowe looked in the beer tent, but there was no sign ofher, so we decided to check that the worst hadn�thappened: But it was too late! We found her, shehad been ensnared and was helpless to resist thelure of the Waffle Men. Needless to say, she wasvery embarrassed, and will probably be more sowhen she reads this, but she got the camp �Mostingenious way of getting waffles� award.

As always the weeks of planning and careful prepa-ration were, for the most part, demolished in a mat-ter of hours. Fencing practically flew down, the ex-hibitors queued to get their stuff and go. There werestill a few jobs to doaround site however.Tracking hadto be put down for the crane, and then taken up again.Tables and chairs were collected, kit was packedaway, and other pieces of tracking had to be de-car-peted and taken away.

The previously niceweather went pear-shaped in the eveningsafter the Nationalclosed � the eveningswere absolutely freez-ing, and people wereforced to sleep inmoreclothes than they werewearing during the day.

Tuesday brought theend of camp party,helped along by dona-tions of drink from various individuals and also nu-merous kegs of beer and over 300 cans of (out ofdate) Pepsi. The night was themed along Greece(although some people thought that it was Grease).A few people managed to wear togas and I man-aged to scrounge Victoria�s tastefully patternedbedsheet as a makeshift one. We also had somefantastic Greek food that evening. Camp awardswere handed out, including the ones previouslymen-tioned, as well as gifts for the chefs, Harriet, HarryandToby, and I got an award for �brainiest camper� asI got my GCSE results on camp, 7A*s and 3As, andthe leaders obviously decided that they were quitegood. The night ended up with as many people aswe could fit all squeezed into the brew hut so thatwe could listen to somemusic without disturbing thebroken and bruised people in the accommodation.

I really enjoyed myself on my first official camp, andI�d like to thank Izzy and Andi for making the wholecamp happy, by apparently never stopping smiling;all the people who cooked, as every meal was ex-cellent, and everybody else on camp, who also kepthappy. Since the camp, a number of the first timershave been e-mailing each other, and I know of atleast 4 who will be coming to the Basingstoke Bon-fire Bash. If anybody else wants to email me, youcan contact me at luke@lukeworthington.co.uk

Luke �Timmy the wee beastie� Worthington

Overheard atMiltonKeynes...

Al Moore: "I need sixsharp knives for the IWAtent, NOW!"

What was going on?Nominations for Council?Canalway Cavalcadecommitteemeeting?

I think we should be told.

Helpingwith 'Waterways forYouth'. (Martin Ludgate)

page 34

CampsAnd finally, back to Droitwich forthe last time this year...

Droitwich Canal Camp 21: 8th � 15th September

This was a camp that will, for me at least, always beassociated with the events of Tuesday 11th of Sep-tember in New York. Suddenly any problems thatwemay have been experiencing on site seemed verytrivial indeed. The afternoon was punctuated by thesound of various mobile ringing tones going off allover the site as friends and colleagues tried to keepus informed of the situation, and there was not re-ally any other topic of non-restoration conversation.

It had all started very differently: a mixture of theusual suspects and newcomers was showing everysign of being able to achieve a great deal in thecourse of a week. At the end of two days the onlyones yet to finish their initial allotted task wereAdrianand myself, both of who would claim to be prettyexperienced. Never, ever, try to cut right through awing wall, at an angle of 45 degrees and, needing tomake the cut as straight as possible, use a veryheavy brick saw with a mind of its own. Eventuallywe scrounged an angle grinder from BW and man-aged to finish the job. Meanwhile other people wereforging ahead with bricklaying, concrete mixing, thedreaded brick cleaning, building shuttering, concretepouring and all the other sorts of associated jobs.

Inevitably not everything went absolutely smoothlyand onMondaywe had tomove from the usualGuidehut to different accommodation beside the gloriousscenic panorama that is an activity centre behind aShell garage on the A38. It is a very popular placefor wagons to refuel and I would dearly like to meetthe driver who insisted on testing the reversing warn-ing bleeper at regular hours through the night andshake him, or indeed her, warmly by the throat.

Adrian (why is it always him?) failed in his audition forthe part of chief coping brick juggler in the next WRGpantomime and had to be carted off to hospital, there-after taking no further part in the proceedings. MKPattempted to kidnap every Burco formiles around andrender them useless, so we had to hire one. Louise,one of our newcomers, had a potentially nasty acci-dentwhensheoverbalanced the saidBurcoand rolleddownaslope into a patch of stinging nettles and soak-ing herself. Fortunately the water had only just beentopped up so was still cold, although she did end upwith a badly swollen knee. Despite this the newlynicknamed 'Burco Bint' has promised to return.

Even with all these attempts to get out of doing anywork wemanaged to achieve virtually everything onthe list. Nearside wing wall completed; curvy wallup and protective iron work installed; lots of backfill;the biggest copingstone in the world in place; lots oftidying up. But for me the one thing that typified theweek, and the way that everyone was prepared topull together, was the fact that we had a van full ofpeople on site at 7.30 Friday morning, having hadnothing more substantial than a cup of tea, so as tostrike a lockful of scaffolding that took three week-ends to erect, by 12.00 when it was due to be col-lected. The fact that the wagon pulled off at 12.08 isa tremendous tribute to everyone there: as is theirfinally getting back to the accommodation at 6.30without a word of mutiny.

Wewere also able to see water in the lock for the firsttime since 1939. BW was doing a pressure test andwe actually had real wet water flowing down the flight.

Only other thing to say is a heartfelt thanks fromMike and me. It was certainly one of the bettercamps I have helped to lead, and we really appreci-ated the presents at the end. I don�t know aboutMKP but that was a first for me. Oh, and I did theGreat North Run in 2hrs 13 seconds, beating lastyear�s time by the impressive margin of 9 seconds!

Steve Barrett

Lock 3: preparing to install buffer beams on the upper wing wall (left), removing scaffolding from the chamber(centre) and the completed chamber wall with the scaffolding removed (right). Photos by Martin Ludgate.

page 35

KESCRGBook now for the KESCRG andLondonWRGXmaspartydig

KESCRG Xmas Party, Trailer and all...

That time is here again and the KESCRG/Lon-don WRG Xmas party is almost upon us. We areback on the Wilts and Berks this year, staying atthe village hall in Goatacre over the weekend ofthe 1st and 2nd of December.

The work is clearing the remainder of what westarted last year at Dauntsey.

TheAmoses have kindly offered to look after ticketsales: the cost is the same as last year at 3000pesetas or £12 for the weekend. [I wonder if youcan guess where Eddie e-mailed this piece to mefrom? ...Ed] Please write your name and addressand any special dietary requirements on a pieceof paper and send it with a cheque made pay-able to KESCRG to the Brian & Maureen Amosat 13 Trosley Avenue, Gravesend DA11 7QN.

PLEASE book in beforehand: this is not an un-reasonable request, bearing in mind the scale ofthe meal planned for Saturday evening.

�Uncle Ken� Parish has come up with the idea ofmaking this year�s theme �fairy tales�. I thinkyou will agree: a huge capacity for dressing upand making a fool of ourselves with this one....

For those who don�t know already, KESCRG hasbeen bought a new tool trailer. In fact not any oldtrailer but an Ifor Williams (the �dogs� lower bits� oftrailers!!) box trailer custom lined out and painted.

This was the result of a FANTASTIC donation fromthe Kent and East Sussex IWA sales team whoraised £3410 to pay for it. I can�t emphasise justhow much we want to thank the team, especiallyTony and John.

The new trailer was loaded with freshly paintedand sharpened tools following a tool repair week-end at Ian and Liz�s in September. Big thank-you to them for yet again letting us use theirgarden as the KESCRG maintenance yard! Weeven got some breaker training in, removingtheir patio!

The old trailer has now gone for a new life withthe Wilts and Berks Canal Amenity Group.

Does anyone want any shovels??? An audit ofour tools proved that we seem to have plenty go-ing spare!

Our October dig sees us returning to Valley Lockon the Thames and Severn where hopefully the

trailer will have beensignwritten. In No-vember we will bejoining everyoneelse for the reunionon the Basingstoke.

At the time of writingthe I am in Madrid[OK who guessed?...Ed] and haven�tgot details of nextyear�s dates. Hope-fully Ken has hadtime between boat-ing to update thewebsite which iswww.btinternet.com/~kescrg. The list ofnext year�s digs willbe there.

Hasta luega! Adios!

Eddie JonesKESCRG weekend

organiserThe keys to the new trailer are handed-over at theMilton Keynes festival. And yes,it really is so shiny that you can see people's reflections in it! (Martin Ludgate)

Dig Deep Report � Sept 2001

The Dig Deep Initiative involves four mobile work-ing party groups (London WRG, KESCRG, NWPGand WRG BITM) committing themselves to carry-ing out a certain amount of volunteer work (whetherin the form of Canal Camps or weekend workingparties) on certain restoration projects in southernEngland that have been adopted as 'Dig DeepProjects'. There are usually three or four of theseprojects on the go at any one time, and the idea is toco-ordinate the four groups' work on them so thatthey can be completed in a reasonable timescale.This helps the local canal societies responsible forthose projects to commit the necessary funding formaterials from their usually limited resources -something that we have found from experience inthe past can tend to be more of a problem if visitinggroups' work-parties are organised individually onan ad-hoc basis with no knowledge of when andwhether the job is likely to be finished.

Another Dig Deep year is almost complete. Follow-ing interruptions due to Foot and Mouth, work hasrecommenced on all sites.At the worst affected site,Summit Lock on the Wilts & Berks, recent work-ing parties have moved the project forward so thatat last the site is looking different from the positionthis time last year. Bricklaying has started on thechamber walls such that both are now ready for scaf-folding and re-building. The construction techniquespecified will involve considerable volumes of massconcrete being poured behind the walls as they rise.Volunteers will be relieved to hear that Readymix isto be used for this... although less so to know thatthere are still plenty of bricks to be cleaned! Newbricks are to be used for the main chamber walls.John Bowen is the local organiser and with somegood weather and hopefully no more F & M this siteis ready to �take off� next year.

Valley Lock on the Thames & Severn has prob-ably been our most successful site this year. Fol-lowing on from the WRG camp reported in the last'Navvies', NWPG spent a week progressing the topend of the lock and spillway and attempting to makeprogress clearing the silt from the bottom end. Bythe winter I would expect to see all the top wing andgate recess walls rebuilt (there are of course fourgate recesses on this part of theT&S), together withthecomplexpaddleholes, spill weir and retainingwalls.This leaves the question of the lock chamber. The off-side wall has to be taken down and re-bricked. Thisrequires a scaffold, which we hoped to put in duringthe summer. However, a combination of excesswater and rather more silt in the chamber than hadbeen forecast, made this impossible. NWPG spentfive days clearing just the bottom sill and fore-bayusing the Jones crane and a small dumper. Largemachine access to the site is almost impossible dueto the narrow lanes leading to it. WRGNA are dueto have another attempt in September in getting suf-ficient scaffolding into the chamber before the win-ter. If successful this should enable our programmedweekends to commence demolition. If not, then wemay be a little short of work.

page 36

ProgressDigDeep: the Basingstoke, Wey&Arun,Wilts &Berks andCotswolds

DigDeep at Valley Lock on the Thames &SevernCanal: the nearside paddle chamber rebuilt (aboveleft) and the offside one under reconstruction (left)during the NWPG Camp. Dig Deep at BonfireHanger on the Wey & Arun: NWPG carry outstump removal (above) on what is due to becomethe next Dig Deep site. Photos by Graham Horn.

Work continues on various aspects of the Basing-stoke canal back pumping project. The KESCRGcamp is reported elsewhere and there have beenrelatively few Dig Deep weekends on the canal dur-ing the summer. We are all hoping that the roaddown to Lock Onewill be finished soon � it must berivalling some of theM25widening schemes in termsof timescale and attention! 2002 will see Dig Deepconcentrate on the St Johns flight where volun-teers will be installing the pipe as well as buildingthe intake chamber for the back pump scheme there.No doubt there will be a little towpath surfacing workthere as well.

New for 2002 is a Dig Deepmini project on theBon-fire Hanger section of theWey &Arun Canal. Wehave been asked to construct three spill weirs acrossthe head of the former locks of the Sidney Woodflight to enable three pounds to be safely flooded.This will help to provide a water storage area for theLoxwood navigable section of the canal to the west.Two footbridges also have to be built to enable pub-lic footpaths to cross the flooded canal.

Each group has committed one weekend to thisproject during the summer months of 2002.

All sites would benefit from visits (and Camps) fromotherWRG groups not directly involved in Dig Deep.If your group is interested then please contact thelocal canal trust organisers who are:

page 37

Dig Deep on the Basingstoke: the apparentlynever-ending job of building an access road tothe Woodham pumping station nears completion(above) on a recent London WRG dig (MartinLudgate), while on this year's KESCRGCamp (top,middle and bottom right) the various ingredi-ents for a replacement bywash for Lock 11 at StJohns are assembled: some pipes, reinforcing,shuttering and a hole to put it all in. (Ken Parish)

BasingstokeCanal � PeteRedway on 01483 721710Cotswolds Canals � Neil Ritchie on 01452 854057Wey & Arun Canal � John Ward on 01483 527124Wilts & Berks � Peter Smith on 01793 636597

For general Dig Deep information contact AlanCavender on 01628 629033 � emailalancavender@lineone.net

Bill Nicholson

ProgressDroitwichJunctionCanalseesitsfirst boat for several decades...

Hanbury Locks in water!

Deb Turnbull attended her first Canal Camp on theDroitwich in September (see the report on page 34).It was the last of this year's six Droitwich Campsand it ended up with the locks so close to comple-tion that they could be re-watered...

As we have just had the last 2001 camp at Droit-wich and got the locks looking almost finished Ithought everyone would like to see the first, almostcomplete passage of a boat through the top two lockssince 1928. I�m afraid I figure in all of them as I wasin the only boat... Needless to say, some portagewas required as the locks aren�t actually in opera-tion yet, just full! This was done in honour of theDroitwich Canals Trust�s open day on the 22 Sep-tember and apparently the two locks are to be keptin water until October when they will be dewateredagain. So get along quickly before they return tolooking like a building site again.

The pound between Locks 1 and 2 looks completelyfinished in the picture. Also a lot of effort must havegone on during the week after the camp to tidy upand do some landscaping. Great work: the site nowlooks like a real canal. Having spent my frst canalcamp here (No. 0121) I think I can say that maybenever has a new volunteer seen so great a changein less than a week!

I also found out a little bit about some of the futurework from some of the many Droitwich Canals Trustwho were helping:

There was lots of speculation on the camp aboutthe bridge to go in for the Rugby club access roadbelow the locks. Well, another lock is planned be-low number 3 just �upstream� of the road so a humpbacked bridge will not be needed. Then a detourand two more locks before going into a tributary ofthe River Salwarpe.

Also, beyond Droitwich there will be a proper bridgeunder theA449 dual carriage way so a return to theRiver Salwarpe will not be needed.

5 years to the opening wasmentioned too, but that�sbeen heard before...for how many years now?

As the chairman of the local council paid a visit let�shope he was suitably impressed and all the futureplanning submissions receive full support.

Finally, yes, I got collared by BITM at the weekendafter the camp and hope to return to finish off thecoping bricks to the tail wall of lock 2. WRG hasn�tseen the last of me!

Deb Turnbull

Deb and her boat in lock 1 (above left), in the poundbetween locks1and2 (left) andbelow lock2 (above)

page 38

page 39

BanksideBankside BanksideMoorings

written byBruce Tunnelwritten byBruce Tunnel

OzCollingwood, CampLeader on the ThamesBerks & Andover Canal Camp at SpaglingworthLocks, cast a critical eye over a length of irregularbrick wall along one side of a muddy hollow in theground. The brickwork meandered up and down as ifbuilt by a drunk, there was a distinct lack of mortar in thejoints (and what there was appeared to consist mainly ofdry sand) and the whole thing leaned back at an anglethat varied between 10 and 20 degrees from the vertical.

"No, I'm afraid it's not quite crooked enough.Gordon! Give it a good clout with the 803, will you?"

'Gordon-I-broke-my-nose-three-times' Drakeclimbed into the excavator and thumped the wall severaltimes with the bucket, until several large cracks ran theentire height of the wall and it looked like onemore pushwould probably bring the whole lot tumbling down.

At that moment a tipper lorry labelled 'Mud &Wa-ter Services Ltd' arrived on site and - guided byOz - tippeda load ofmud, silt and rubbish (most ofwhich looked like ithad originated in the BCN) all over the base of the wall.

Meanwhile, JohnTetley andMark Robinsonwerestruggling with a KL15 crane and a decidedly second-hand looking lock-gate - covered in ivy andmoss, severallarge holes in it, a broken gate-paddle and a cracked bal-ance beam. Strangely, they seemed to be trying to installit rather than remove it.

"Errr... Oz", said Gordon quizzically, "it almostlooks likewe're trying tomake this canal lookderelict. Isn'tit the general idea that we restore them from dereliction?"

Oz noted that Gordon was showing his usual percep-tiveness - most volunteers would haveworked this out some-timebefore theThursdayof theCamp-but began to explain...

"Well you see it's todowith the restoraiton funding..."Indeed it was, and it was one of the Canal Society

Chairman Henry Banks's more original ideas for raisingmoney to pay for the restoration.

TheproblemwasthattheoriginalSpaglingworthLockshad been demolished. A diversionary route via a brand-newflight of lockswasplanned. But this had run into trouble...

The first problems had come from the nature con-servationists who had declared the new locks a Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest (SSSI) and tried to ban boatsfrom using them before work had even begun on buildingthe locks, on the grounds that every other canal that they'dever seen reopened had become a crucial habitat forbiodiversity as soon as it was completed, and they didn'texpect this one to be any exception. There was also thelittle matter of the 'Spag/Bol Agreement' whereby manyyears ago the wildlife interests had agreed not to inter-fere with the restoration of Bolminster Locks, so long asthe canal restorers didn't try to reopen SpaglingworthLocks. Henry hadn't realised that as far as the natureinterests were concerned, this 'agreement' not only in-cluded the original Spaglingworth Locks, but also anynew flight that anyone might build to replace them...

Fortunately the head of the Wildlife Berks Trust,Randolph Greenmantle, had met an untimely end whenhe tripped over a Great Crested Badger and drowned in aSSSI, (well, Henry insisted it was good fortune, but some-one had seen him leaving Bolminster Library carrying abook called 'How to train animals') and his replacementAlison Hyde seemedmore amenable. (The fact that someyears ago she had been on aCanalCamp and some incrimi-nating photos had been taken of her with the CampLeader,a dumper and a tube of stern-gland grease may have hadsomething todowith thismore reasonableattitude.) So someof the wildlife people's worst excesses - such as theirinsistance that the Canal Society would have to build twoparallel flights of locks, one for the boats and one for thewildlife - had been quietly dropped.

Having resolved the wildlife issues, the secondproblem was funding the restoration. And it appearedthat themain hope - theHeritage Lottery Fund - had (sincebeing conned out of £25M elsewhere for engineeeringwork on a canal that had already been restored) tightenedup on their conditions: now theywouldn't pay for any 'newconstruction' at all; grants were only available for restoringoriginal structures. SoOzand friends had just spent a weekbuilding an 'original structure' that they hoped would beconvincing enough to fool HLF into believing that it wasa 200 year old derelict lock, and ensure that a grant torestore it would be forthcoming. And theHLF representa-tive was due to turn up on the Friday and inspect the site.

Sure enough, a chap appeared on the final day ofthe Camp, and started examining the site, taking copiousnotes and photographs. Henry showed him all round thesite, explaining the many 'historic' features...

"Look at the unusual paddle gear here." (it cer-tainly was unusual: it had been constructed by Henry'snephew from parts of an old sewing-machine treadle ta-ble and a LandRover gearbox.)

"See the remains of a wooden working boat stilllying there in the canal bed" (they were indeed the re-mains of a woodenworking boat: thanks to the number ofgrants from HLF for various wooden boat 'restorations'that were more like total rebuilds, there was a ready sup-ply of rotten old narrow boat timbers to be had. Henryhad simply donated £10 to the Friends of 'Reginald'...)

"Lookatthosemasons'markscarvedinthestones"(well,theremayhavebeena stone-masonwith the initals 'MUFC'.)

The man was obviously deeply impressed, andHenry sensed that he was onto a winner.

"So are the Heritage Lottery Fund going to awardus a grant to restore this lock?" he asked

"Heritage Lottery Fund? Oh no, I'm not from theHLF, I'm from English Heritage."

"Then what are you doing here?""I've been sent down to have a look. We'd heard that

there was an old lock here, but we were a bit sceptical be-cause we thought all the old locks had been demolished.But now I've seen it, I have to say I'mmost impressed withthe significance of the surviving remains. In fact I'm goingto recommend that the lock be made a Listed Structure -possibly anAncientMonument, and thewhole areawill beproposed as a Conservation Area. Isn't that exciting?"

"Oh yes - that's bound to help us to get the fundingfor a good quality restoration job, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid not. This is much too important a his-toric site to risk damaging it by restoring it to navigation.I'm afraid that if youwant to reopen the canal toboats you'regoing tohave to leave thishistoric lockcompletelyuntouchedand build a brand new one on a new site alongside."

page 40page 40

Publicity...recruiting for WRG at theMilton Keynes festival

WRG Publicity

A quick update from the Publicity team...

What a busy time we had at Milton Keynes!!Wednesday and Thursday saw Mandy, Steve,Glen and me crawling around on our hands andknees in the IWA tent - no we were not grovellingfor more space, quite the opposite! Wewere busycovering new display boards (in some rather funkybright red material) and re-doing all the plasticbits and bobs on the stand, so that we could re-ally fill the space that IWA had reserved for us inthe tent - many thanks to Ray Carter and his scis-sors and staple gun.

Friday saw us bright and early doing the finishingtouches to the stand, setting up theWaterways ForYouth Activity, then we opened for business - andwhat a busy day it was! In fact we were busy overthe 4 days, with 30 new �Navvies� subscriptionstaken, 18 volunteer personal protection packs spon-sored, lots of sponsorship pledged for the Ander-ton Abseil, including one man who didn�t mind whohe sponsored as long as it was a young lady with anice bottom. (It would of course be unethical forthe publicity team to name the chosen bottom!)

Plus many other donations, enquiries, orders forWRG wear, and lots of partakers of the Water-ways For Youth activity.

There were also some old friends seen (�Gremlin�andWendyMartin, Earl andJuliaFord (plus troupe),with Barry doing best Uncle bit) and new promisesmade to come along digging again. I can reportthat �Gremlin�has kept his promise, and camealongto help out at the first weekend at Droitwich.

So all in all, a very successful event, and the IWAteamgot2newmembers fromwithinour team!! Well,I couldn�t possiblyget cupsof tea from the IWACressyClub for non-IWAmembers, now could I....? So bigthanks to everyone who helped out on the stand:Mandy. Steve,Glenn, Ian, Liz, �Bushbaby�, �Smudge�,Tess, John, and for anyone who I�ve missed I apolo-gise. Plus all the others who supplied Choc Ices(thanksLou!!),madesurewehadsomesquashwhenthetemperaturewasupinthe90�s,anddefinitelymadeus feel part of the camp, even though we were work-ing in the marquee rather than out on site.

By the time you read this we will also have beento the IWAAGM and boat gathering at Banbury -update in the next issue!

Big thanks toeveryone-andaMASSIVEWELCOMEto everyone who subscribed to �Navvies� at MiltonKeynes!! I shall hopefully see you all at theBonfire Bash in November. If you want to giveme a hand in the kitchen over the weekend, thendrop me a note: judith_moore@uk.ibm.com orgive me a call: 01564 785293.

Thanks,Jude Moore

The WRG publicity display at Milton Keynes. (Martin Ludgate)

page 41

Bits & pieces...featuring waterways in theNorthWest... and Basingstoke.

page 41

Remember the last tripontheAshton?Most of you probably don't: the final attempt totake a boat through the Ashton Canal before itbecame totally impassible took place in 1961. Butwhat some of you might remember is an excel-lent blow-by-blow account of the final journey,giving a fascinating picture of the situation 40years ago when canals that were still officiallyopen were being allowed to fall into a state ofsuch dereliction that a trip along the worst bits ofthe BCN today looks like child's play by compari-son. But I won't spoil the suspense by telling youwhether they actually got through, what they didwhen they found someone had set fire to a set oflock-gates the previous night etc. etc. becauseI'd like to reprint the whole piece in the next is-sue. The trouble is, I can't find it! I don't knowwhich magazine it originally appeared in, but Iwas sure that it had been reprinted in 'Navvies'some time in the 1970s; however either I'mmiss-ing that issue or I must have been mistaken andit was actually another magazine.

I know the article exists - I remember reading it!If anyone else remembers it, please can they helpme by trying to track down a copy and send it tome? Thanks.

And still in the Manchester area...

One canal that would have seemed an unlikelyprospect for restoration in 1961 is the RochdaleCanal, where after years of delays due to has-sles with the canal's owners TCS, and problemswith the funding that were finally sorted by theefforts of The Waterways Trust, rebuilding workby contractors is at last going ahead at full speed,with reopening scheduled for next year. Thisphoto by Dave Mack shows Benhealey Bridge,Littleborough, this summer, where a culvertedroad crossing was being replaced with a naviga-ble-sized crossing. Incidentally, the pipe acrossthe middle of the picture carried the flow of waterdown the canal while work was in progress.

Good news: MBBI realise that to many readers the above initialsstand for 'Men Behaving Badly', but in this casethey stand for 'Manchester, Bolton & Bury', an-other restoration scheme in the Manchester area.

You will remember from the last issue that the gov-ernment had finally climbed-down on the Birming-ham Northern Relief Road - a new toll motorway -and agreed to provide for navigation where itcrosses the Lichfield Canal. You may also recall afew issues ago that the government were finallyheading towards adopting a policy of alwaysmak-ing provision for future navigationwhere a new roadcrosses a waterway that is under restoration. Andbeing a cynical lot, you probably thought 'I'll be-lieve that when I see it' and wondered how exactlythe powers-that-be would try to weasel-out of pay-

ing for a bridge next time the same situ-ation arose.... such as a rather tight defi-nition of what actually counts as 'underrestoration' or whatever...

Well, the new policy has had its firsttest recently, and passed it with flyingcolours: the government has paid£300,000 to provide a tunnel under theManchester & Salford Inner ReliefRoute for future use by the Manches-ter Bolton & Bury Canal. Although norestoration work has taken place so farin this area, it will be absolutely vital infuture as the link between the existingrestored lengthss and the rest of thenational canal system.

By boat to the Basingstoke Bash?In case any of you WRG Boaters fancy arrivingat the Basingstoke Bonfire Bash by water, I'mpleased to be able to tell you that not only will thecanal be open at the time, but anyone working onthe canal that weekend will be allowed to bringtheir boat up the canal for the weekend withouthaving to buy a Basingstoke Canal licence.

Please contact Surrey & Hants Canal Societychairman Pete Redway on 01483 721710 if youwant to take advantage of this generous offer.

page 42

Bits & PiecesComing soon...Lichfield Camp: October 20-27This year's only camp on what is always one of ourmost popular sites will be just about to start as thisissue is published, but I'm sure we'll welcome a fewlast minute bookings provided you contact us (viahead office) first.The Basingstoke Bonfire (& Beer!) BashThis takes place on November 3-4, the work ismainly 'scrub-bashing' to remove overhanging veg-etation from the offside bank of the canal, and ac-commodation is provisionally in Sheerwater school.More details will be sent out when we get your book-ing form (enclosed in this issue). Speaking ofwhich...By the time you read this it will only be a couple ofweeks away. If youwant to come (What do youmean"If?" Of course you want to come! It's your chanceto meet up with everyone from this year's summerCanal Camps and all the regional groups in WRG,KESCRG and everyone else for a mega workingparty and Guy Fawkes 'do'...) and you haven't al-ready booked in, please do so NOW!We really do need to know how many are coming,so that we can work out details of transport to site,plan the catering and so on. If lots of you don't bookin till the last minute, you will throw all our carefulcatering planning into disarray... andworse than that,we might not order enough beer, and it will beYOUR FAULT when it runs out!KESCRG / London WRG Christmas digSee the KESCRG article on page 35 for details ofanother big annual scrub-bash and party.Christmas Camp on the Wilts & Berks Canal...on 22nd-31st December 2001. There will be veg-etation clearance round Locks 4 and 5 at SevenLocks, near Tockenham, bricklaying and concretingon Lock 3 (depending on the weather), andhedgelaying and stump-pulling at Dauntsey, withplenty of big bonfires to keep warm. Accommoda-tion at Foxham Reading Rooms, and anyone pre-pared to help with cooking will be very welcome.Cost £50 for the whole camp, or £5 per day for any-one wanting to come for part of the period. Bookingthrough Rachael Banyard, 5 Canal Cottages,Dauntsey Lock, Chippenham SN15 4HD, or tel-ephone/fax 01249 892289.Christmas on the BasingstokeMore festive fun and scrub-bashing on December26th to January 1st with Clive Alderman in chargeagain. This is the 'official' WRG Christmas Camp,so please book via the usual Head Office address(see top of Diary pages).

The National Canal Cleanup 2002The return of this annual event after a year's breakin 2001 will - we hope - see us move to new waterson the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in the Man-chester / Salford area. Provisional date is 16-17March; more details next time. And speaking of ca-nal cleanups...

Nomore trolleys?No, that's not a change to theWRGDress Code, it'sa possible outcome of a recent court case. Tescohave just been prosecuted for allowing 33 of theirsupermarket trolleys to be thrown into the Chelmer& Blackwater Navigation in Chelmsford.

Tesco have had to spend a total of £37,517 on finesand costs. Gosh, that'll earn them a lot of points ontheir Club Card...

NavviesSubscriptionsanddonationsThe cost of a 'Navvies' subscription is kept deliber-ately lower than the actual cost of producing themagazine, so that everyone can afford it - we wouldfar rather lose a few quid on someone's subs thanlose the benefit of their voluntary labour on the ca-nals. Most subscribers add a donation towards theactual cost of the magazine, for which we are verygrateful. Some go even further and add a sizeablesum, as their personal contribution towards support-ing our work - for which we are even more grateful.We would like to point out that these larger sums(as much as £200 in one particularly-generous re-cent donation) can be made even larger if you are aUK tax-payer by making your donation subject toGift Aid, enabling us to claim the tax back. Pleasecontact Head Office (see top of diary pages) for in-formation. Thank you.

Thank you......to AVH Van Rental for once again lending us apickup truck for use at the 'National' this year.

Welcome.....to the 30 subscribers we signed-up at the 'National'this year. And particularly to Mr. Warren R. Gibbs ofSandy - with initials like that, he should go far!

And finally...Despite this being a bumper-sized issue, space is stillat a premium thanks to all the copy you've submitted !

Apologies for having to (a) use a rather small printsize for some of the articles (free magnifying glassnext time?) and (b) hold over a few items till nexttime, when there will be fewer Camp Reports andmore room for articles about the Anderton Lift, Lud-wig's Kanal, what claims to be the first ever shop-ping centre served by canal in Malaysia... andmore!

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed - Ihope to see most of you at the Bonfire Bash.

Directors :

John Baylis, MichaelBeattie, Malcolm Bridge,Roger Burchett, RayCarter, Spencer Collins,Christopher Davey,Helen Davey,Roger Day, RichardDrake, Neil Edwards,Adrian Fry, JohnHawkins, JenniferLeigh, Judith Moore,Michael Palmer,Jonathan Smith.

Secretary:

Neil Edwards

VAT reg. no : 285 1387 37

Nothingprintedmaybecon-struedaspolicy or anofficialannouncement unless sostated-otherwiseWRGandIWAacceptnoliability foranymatter in this magazine.© 2001 WRG ltdISSN 0953-6655Waterway Recovery GroupLtd is a subsidiary of the In-landWaterwaysAssociation(a registered charity).Registered office:3 Norfolk Court, Norfolk Rd.Rickmansworth WD3 1LTtel : 01923 711114Registered in England no1599204

Navvies ProductionNavvies ispublishedbyWa-terwayRecoveryGroupLtd,PO Box 114, Rickmans-worth WD3 1ZY and isavailable to all interested inpromoting the restorationand conservation of inlandwaterways by voluntary ef-fort inGreat Britain. Articlesmaybe reproduced in alliedmagazinesprovidedthat thesource is acknowledged.WRG may not agree withopinions expressed in thismagazine, but encouragespublicationasamatterof in-terest.

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

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

Printing and assembly:John &Tess Hawkins4 LinksWay, CroxleyGrnRickmansworth, HertsWD3 3RQ 01923 448559hawkins@jote.fsnet.co.uk

TheWRGCanalCamps mobilephones:

07850 422156 (A)and

07850 422157 (B)

NoticeboardS t a m p sw a n t e d

Send all your used post-age stamps, cigaretteand petrol coupons andold phone cards to IWA/WRG Stamp Bank, 33,Hambleton Grove,Emerson Valley, MiltonKeynesMK42JS.Allpro-ceedstocanal restoration.

MOVING HOUSEDarryl Foster has moved to:34 Moorland Gardens, Luton, Beds LU2 7QFTel 07903 446577. Mobile: 07762 348449

page 43

Directory update:Chesterfield Canal contact details:Keith Ayling, 16 Pinchfield Lane, RotherhamS66 1FDFoxton Inclined Plane Trust now have email:mike@foxcm.freeserve.co.uk...and they also have a new web site:http://www.foxcanal.fsnet.co.ukEssex WRG now have a web site:http://www.essex.wrg.org.ukBuckingham Canal Society's web site has moved:http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/bcs/..as has the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust's:http://www.katrust.org/...not to mention the Ribble Link Trust:http://www.ribble-link.co.uk/Full directory next time: updates to the editor please.

Lonely Hearts

Wheelclamp seeks trailer for friendship.

Maybe with a view to getting hitched later.

Please write c/o WRG Logistics.

Parking space wanted...Do you have somewhere secure that we cankeep one or more of our vans / trailers whennot in use? If so, please contact us via IWAhead office (see Diary pages).

ROCK DRILLS AVAILABLE

IWA Ipswich Branch have availablefor loan a selection of rock drill bitsfrom 3ft to 12ft in length that will drilla hole approximately 35mmdiameter,suitable for ground-anchors.Youwill need a drillingmachiniewitha 7/8 inch hexagon drive socket.Contact Colin Turner on telephone01473 730586 or e-mailcolint@copdock.freeserve.co.uk

Backfill

page 44

You know you�ve been on toomany CanalCamps recently when...(1) You call your home �The Accommodation�(2) You refer to your car by the three letters in its

registration number.(3) You refer to the place where you work as �site�,

your boss as �The local organiser� and yourspouse as �The Camp Leader�.

(4) At bedtime you find yourself instinctively rolling-out a sleeping bag on the living room floor.

(5) Youput your earplugs in last thing at night to blockout the snoring... and you live on your own!

(6) You can�t decide what to cook for your dinnerunless you�ve looked at a rota pinned up on thekitchen wall.

(7) You invent bizarre nicknames for everyone elsein your household.... and swap them for newnicknames every week...

(8) It doesn�t feel right when you walk out of yourfront-door without a hard-hat on.

(9) You have a list on the wall (or a file on yourpersonal computer) of all of your friends, givingtheir food allergies, whether they are vegetariansand who to contact in an emergency.

(10)You start cracking in-jokes with your fellowpassengers while you�re travelling on the No 63bus.

(11)When your 17-year-old cousin departs afterspending a few days staying with you, youapologise to him for having lost his Duke ofEdinburgh�sAward booklet.

(12)Every Saturday you feel an irresistible urge tocount all your belongings and put them in a trailer.

(13)When your in-laws turn up on your doorstep foran unexpected visit, you curse them for notsending their booking forms to 114 first.

(14)You can�t organise a family outingwithout getting9 different people to be involved in tedious andcomplicated vehicle movements to collect thesame car.

In Droi twich, no-one can hear you swearNow showing at a cinama near you:The sequel to the WRG Safety Video...

One of ourtrailers is missingA secret Canal Camp report is smug-gled out of Droitwich on microfilm and

hidden in a Burco....

Starring Lou Ustinov and Jen Nimmophotography by Alan Lines directed by Alfred Hitch-lock

A Palmer Brothers production

(Never mind the film, have you seen thetrailer yet? No, neither have we...)

...also coming soon...

Marcus Jones's Diaryfeaturing the hit song "It's raining, Jen"And finally...Remember those H&G Xmas Cards we mentionedlast time with the nice watercolour of Over Basin?Well I'm afraid I made amistake: I said the proceedswent to support the Hereford & Gloucester Canalrestoration. However, closer inspection of the smallprint on the back of the Xmas cards reveals that theproceeds go to support "The restoration of theHer-efordshire& Gloucestershire Canal Trust".Is this true? Are the H&GCT in that bad a state?Maybe they think that if we do a good enough job ofrestoring the Canal Trust, the restoration of the actuallengths of canal will naturally follow on afterwards.In other words, it's a case of "Look after thePenniesand the pounds will look after themselves".Sorry.