Endeavour August 2023

FISH MURAL under M1 BRIDGE Painted by NENE ANGLING CLUB JUNIORS

This mural was painted by River Nene Angling Club Juniors over the weekend of 8th and 9th July in a join operation with the Branch and supported by CRT.

The wall was prepared and painted the previous weekend by IWA Volunteers. CRT provided a temporary bridge for the junior anglers to get access safely.

It is under the bridge which carries the northbound on slip-road, close to Lock 12.

While we were on holiday in May, we visited the Corinth Canal in Greece. It connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. The Canal was dug through at sea level and has no locks . It’s 4 miles 6.4 kilometres in length and only 24.6 meters (80.7 feet) wide at sea level, making it impassable for many modern ships. The first proposal for digging such a cutting was in the 7th century BC. The project was abandoned and a less costly road was built instead.

In 336-283BC it was planned again but the surveyors miscalculated the levels of the adjacent seas, feared heavy floods. The canal was finally started in 1881 after several other attempts. The cost was 30,000,000 francs (US$6 million in the money of the day) but the project ran out of money and the constructors went bankrupt, Construction resumed in 1890 when the project was transferred to a Greek company and was completed in 1893 after 11 years of work.

Nearer to home , we went boating on the Grand Union Canal. South of Berkhamsted, the locks got progressively heavier, towpath was overgrown with stinging nettles 4 feet high in places. The bollards were hiding in the long grass and stinging nettles round the locks. I said to a local “The water is clear, you can see the bottom”. He replied “That’s cos not many boats come here”! We were at Cassiobury Park and only 3 boats went passed all day. The lock walls leaked so you had to leave the lock empty. A notice on one of the lock beam saying to leave lock empty was dated July 2017)

If this is the state of the canals now what’s it going to be like with the proposed cuts?

IWA Northampton Branch has a Facebook page. It is at https://www.facebook.com/IWANorthamptonBranch Members will find posts there about our talks, Task Party dates and much more, as well as being able to use it for discussion purposes. We’d like to hear your views. We also have a Twitter account @northamptoniwa where you can leave us a message or engage in discussion on what’s happening.

September

3rd 12pm Anniversary 10th Adoption of the Northampton Arm at the Memorial Garden by Lock 6 & 7. Come and help us celebrate! More details in Chairman’s jottings pages 8 & page 9

October

10th 7.30 IWA Branch Meeting at The Boat INN Stoke Bruerne. Speaker John Pomfret – an introduction to methods of extracting power from flowing water and development of water mills from days of ancient Greek and Roman civilisation through to the earliest water mills in the UK

November

14th 2.30 IWA Branch Meeting at The Boat INN Stoke Bruerne. Speaker Kate Saffin (Alarum Productions)—August 13th 1923 saw the start of a 14 week strike by FMC boatmen threatened with a pay cut.

December 2nd 7pm IWA Branch Annual Dinner at The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne. Details on page 11

Work Party Dates on page 10

ELECTRICAL

MECHANICAL ♦ PLUMBING & HEATING ♦ CRANE OUT

♦ HULL BLACKING & SPRAYING IF PREFERRED ♦ DIY SLOTS AVAILABLE

♦ HULL GRIT BLASTING WITH QUILL MACHINE ♦ OVERPLATING & STEEL WORK ♦ STERN GEAR

♦ BARRUS SHIRE AGENTS ♦ BETA AGENTS ♦ WEBASTO AGENTS ♦ CHANDLERY

Branch Chairman’s Jottings Branch Chairman’s Jottings Branch Chairman’s Jottings Branch Chairman’s Jottings

byBernardMorton byBernardMorton

As we are fast approaching the beginning of August, I am wondering what has happened to our summer! We are hearing daily/hourly about the scorching weather around the Mediterranean whilst we are “enjoying” below seasonal temperatures and a lot of rain. The experts blame the position of the jet stream and/or global warming – who knows!

Our boating trip “up north” had us experiencing all sorts of weather. Initially, it was quite cold and we were digging out jumpers and gloves. Then we had a couple of weeks of sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s/low 30s before it turned cooler and showery.

It was quite an eventful trip though shorter than we had initially planned. Our departure was delayed for about a week but it was perhaps our most leisurely boating trip ever – which we’ve decided was so enjoyable and to be repeated in future! We got as far as Lincoln but decided against heading for York and Ripon as we were rather unimpressed by the tidal Trent. We encountered a sunken boat in the Kegworth Lock (the old sitting on the cill as the lock emptied problem!). Despite rumours of it being a 2-3 day delay, CRT and RCR acted really quickly with it being removed by about 6am the following morning – we were hoping to view the process but by the time we woke up the boat was gone and the lock reopened.

FUNDING CUTS FOR WATERWAYS. The 10th of July was a dark day for our waterways. This was when the government announced plans to shave 5% off its grant each year for the ten years, starting from 2027 (when existing funding arrangements cease). Thus, CRT’s grant will drop to £50m in 2027 and will shrink to £31.5m by 2036. The impact of inflation has been ignored and CRT claim this will mean a real-term reduction in excess of £300m over the ten years.

Reaction to the announcement from CRT and IWA was swift and angry. Richard Parry, CRT Chief Executive, called for public protests against the funding decision and launched a campaign called #Keep Canals Alive urging the public to email their MP to demand an urgent rethink. Worryingly, he went on to warn that some canals would probably close due to the reduction in funding.

IWA, which had already launched a campaign called Protect our Waterways back in March, has now established an action group called Fund Britain’s Waterways which aims to bring together all organisations and individuals with an interest, whether business or personal, to “campaign collectively for an increase in Government funding of our inland waterways to avert their decline and to promote awareness of the huge economic, environmental and social well-being value they provide”.

If you are reading this, I am assuming that you care very much about the future of our inland waterways and would implore you to follow and support the campaigns by CRT https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/donate/our-campaigns/keep-canals-alive and IWA https://waterways.org.uk/fund-britains-waterways .

ARM ADOPTION ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS. As mentioned briefly in last issue’s jottings, we are looking forward to celebrating the 10th Anniversary of our Branch’s adoption of the Northampton Arm. There is much to celebrate. The idea of adoption first arose when Sandie and I brought our boat up from its moorings on the River Nene and we saw first hand the state of decline of the Arm. Approaching Lock 17 from the Nene, it was impossible to see the mooring bollards on the lock landing. To access these, your crew had to fight through nettles, thistles etc to secure the boat. The area around the lock was littered with litter and debris (broken glass, drug paraphernalia etc. from rough sleepers who had colonised the area over the years. All the way up the Arm there were problems and difficulties with lock operation and shallow water, overhanging vegetation making it an awkward and rather unpleasant journey.

At our next committee meeting, we reported what we had found, and the idea of a Branch adoption began to form. CRT had just announced its plans for small group adoptions and they welcomed our approach – though initially they wanted to limit us to litter picking and maybe a bit of lock painting. How things have changed over the 10 years! I like to think that the professionalism our adoption co-ordinators, Mike Butler and Geoff Wood, have demonstrated over this time has greatly impressed CRT and they have allowed us to expand our involvement such that we now do a lot of vegetation cut back, by-wash clearance, hedge laying, towpath improvements and much more.

So, we invite you to join us on Sunday 3rd September from 12 noon to 3pm at the Memorial Garden by Lock 6 & 7 to help us celebrate. There will be refreshments available so if you would like to attend, can I ask that you let Sandie, our Branch Sec, know via sandiemorton@gmail.com or 07917 163860 to help with catering arrangements. Invites have gone out to CRT staff, the press and local dignitaries and to our present and past volunteers.

ANNUAL BRANCH DINNER. As mentioned in the last issue our Annual Branch Dinner will take place at The Boat Inn, Stoke Bruerne on Saturday, 2nd December 2023 (apologies for any confusion created by there being different dates quoted in May’s issue). Menu and booking details are on page 11. A booking form is included with postal copies and on our website. We hope that you can join us for what is one of our few opportunities to meet in person and socialise.

BRANCH MEETINGS. After a somewhat variable season in terms of attendance at our talks for autumn 2022- spring 2023, we decided to try another season and to attempt to increase our publicity efforts to attract more people, both members and non-members.

Lynda Payton, as our Meetings Organiser, has again found some different, imaginative speakers/entertainers. We have kept to a mix of afternoon and evening meetings which seem to attract different attendees, and which can only be a good thing. For further information, please see page 4.

As I said in my last Jottings, it will be a case of “use them or lose them” I’m afraid! So, there’s a lot going on for our Branch presently. I hope we get to meet up with many more of our members face-to-face over the coming months – either at our 10th Anniversary event or when our Branch meetings resume in October. If you have a

holiday planned, I hope you have an enjoyable, relaxing time whether its on or around our inland waterways or further afield. If you find yourself with some time on your hands, please look at the campaigns by CRT and IWA and think about what you can do to support these. There is a clear and present danger to the future of our waterways from which so many people enjoy great benefit whether they are boaters, cyclists, walkers, fishing people, paddleboarders and canoeists/kayakers.

NORTHAMPTON ARM 10 YEARS ADOPTION ANNIVERSARY

This is from May 2015 Endeavour

Richard Parry, CEO of The Canal & River Trust, with Bernard

Morton after unveiling the plaque and mural commemorating 200 years of the opening of the Northampton Arm.

A mosaic mural to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Northampton Canal Arm on 1st May 1815 has been unveiled at Gayton Junction on the Grand Union Canal. This was the first of our art installations and is at the junction of the Arm and the GU. Other works of art soon followed mosaic bench at Lock 16 and murals under the M1 bridge near Lock 12 and the mosaic nature trail. Our celebrations on 3rd September at 12noon by locks 6 and 7 would be an ideal opportunity to view some of these, socialise and enjoy some refreshments. Just let Sandie Morton know if you are planning on coming. sandiemorton@gmail.com or phone 07917 163860

We extend a warm welcome to the following who have joined Northampton Branch since the last issue of Endeavour

Nigel & Susan Fenwick

Justin Powell-Tuck

Steven & Catherine Revell

We look forward to meeting you at our Branch events

TASK PARTY DATES

NORTHAMPTON ARM TASK PARTY DATES

September 3rd, 19th. October 1st, 17th.

November 5th, 21st. December 3rd, 19th.

Contact Geoff.wood@waterways.org.uk or phone 01604 453932

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCIETY WORK PARTY DATES

Every Tuesday, Every Thursday and Second and last Sunday in month.

Contact: athinabec@aol.com or phone 01908 661217/07721 319404

STOKE BRUERNE CANAL PARTNERSHIP

September 13th. October 11th.

November 8th. December 13th.

Contact: stokebruernecanalpartnership.org.uk

BRAUNSTON CANAL SOCIETY TASK PARTY DATES

September 14th, 30th. October 12th, 28th.

November 9th, 25th. December 14th, 30th.

Contact Clive at braunstoncanalsociety@gmail.com or phone /text Clive on 07817435911

The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this magazine, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or aWith all the rain that we have had n official announcement unless so stated, otherwise the Association accepts no liability for any matter in the magazine. Neither the editor nor IWA can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions in the magazine, and opinions stated are those of individual contributors. We will, however, gladly publish corrections if notified. The editor reserves the right to shorten or modify articles published in the interests of clarity or space.

The Inland Waterways Association is registered as a charity (No. 212342)

ANNUAL BRANCH DINNER

Saturday 2nd December 2023 at 7pm

The Boat Inn, Stoke Bruerne

Home Baked Bread Basket

Home Made Tomato, Apple & Beetroot Soup (v)

Ham Hock Terrine with Chutney

Halloumi Fries with Sweet Chilli Dip (v)

King Prawn & Avocado Salad with Lemon Mayonnaise

Fillet of Loch Fyne Salmon marinaded in Soy Sauce on a bed of Spinach

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Mushroom & Tomato

[£5 supplement]

Supreme of Chicken with Leek & Bacon Sauce

Roast Loin of Pork with Cider Gravy

Goats Cheese & Vegetable Nut Roast (v)

All served with a selection of fresh vegetable & potatoes

Lemon Tart with Clotted Cream (v)

Fudge & Ginger Pudding with Crème Anglaise (v)

Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream (v)

Fresh Fruit Salad with Cream (v)

Cheese & Biscuits (v) [£2 supplement]

Coffee or Tea with Mints

MEAL PRICE IS £28 per head plus supplements if desired.

(v) = Vegetarian. Any other special dietary requirements, please contact Sandie Morton on 07917 163860 before booking.

STEADY AS SHE GOES FOR THE 2023 BRAUNSTON HISTORIC NARROWBOAT RALLY

Despite the cost of living crisis, this year’s Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally - held in its traditional slot over the last weekend in June - remained as popular as ever. A total of 82 historic narrowboats attended, versus 81 last year, with the boats coming from all corners of the waterways. And the numbers would have been much higher, but for mechanical problems, perhaps to be expected with these old canal leviathans. Indeed, the Coventry Canal Society’s working narrowboat Panther failed to attend for the second year running, due to mechanical problems, which happened shortly before its intended departure. With fine weather, attendance by the public was also very encouraging. Car park takings were fractionally ahead of 2022. Now successfully revived, the annual Braunston rallies remain by far and away the largest rally of historic narrowboats anywhere on the inland waterways.

Most disappointingly for this year was the absence again of President, the last surviving steam narrowboat, where the problem of building a new steam boiler to modern standards continues. President, with its butty Kildare, were to have been the stars of the Rally, leading the opening parade. Instead, by way

Cygnus and Otley waiting to parade

of ‘Plan B’, Kildare did come, and was towed in that opening parade by the replica steam canal tunnel tug Hasty, with music legend and steam enthusiast Pete Waterman at last at the helm.

The opening took the now well established format of the chosen pair of boats entering the marina from the canal under the famous Horseley Ironworks Bridge to a peel of bells from Braunston Church – ‘the Cathedral of the Canals.’ And serenading the pageant was fine music from Daventry Brass. Following Hasty and Kildare, were the Braunston based historic pair of boats, the Nutfield & Raymond. In their holds were a number of celebrity guests, including actor and canal enthusiast ‘Poirot’ – Sir David Suchet and his wife Lady Sheila – both Vice Presidents of the IWA. Also Richard Parry, CEO of the Canal & River Trust, and Tony Hales OBE, retired Chairman of the Canal & River Trust. Tony still continues his passion for the waterways and has attended every Rally since 2009, and hopes to continue doing so for as long as he can.

The winning historic narrowboat for this year’s ‘Nurser Award Buckby Can for the Best in Show as voted by the historic narrowboat owners’, was to David Ross and his partner Tracy Pear Pearce, co-owners of the magnificently re-restored Dory, with its Bolinder engine. The 70 foot boat was built by Yarwoods of Northwich in 1934 for Fellow, Morton & Clayton. As well as that Buckby can to be held for a year, Pete and Tracy also received £250 worth of Midland Chandlers vouchers, generously sponsored by them.

Nutfield and Raymond following Hasty and Kildare in the formal opening of the Rally

The Guild of Waterways Artists were again provided with their own marquee, sponsored by Braunston Marina, and ten of its members had their works on display, including the great canal artist Dusty Miller, who was also book-signing his new book on his life as a waterways artist.

There was also a trade marquee shared with a number of canal societies. Leo McNeir, novelist and canal crime writer had a stand, where he signed copies-for-sale of his very latest book Ivory Tower. Amazingly, this book is the 14th in the Marnie Walker series, which has included greats, like Death in Little Venice. Canal societies were also outside, as were a number of good causes like the RNLI, which were given free space.

The Rally is also billed as a canal festival – in the fine tradition of the first IWA Rally held at Market Harborough in 1950, inspired by its co-founder Robert Aickman. Entertainments included the canal-travelling Alarum Theatre, with their new play, ‘Rats, Ropes & Revolution’, billed as ‘A woman’s story of the Boatmen’s Strike.’ The play marked the centenary of that 14 week event in 1923, which only hastened the end of canal carrying forty years later. The Rally’s resident music-impresario Janul for some years now, produced the amazing musicians she finds each year for the beer tent – a mini -Glastonbury, without the mud. Children were entertained by Professor Diamond’s Punch & Judy Show.

On the Sunday evening, to close the event, the Rally sponsored a candle-lit choral concert by Fiori Musicali of William Byrd’s music to mark the four hundredth anniversary of his death in 1623, the venue was across the meadows from Braunston at the ancient church of Wolfamcote. This was to raise awareness of this redundant church and the funds needed for its preservation.

Dory Voted best in show by the historic narrowboat owners

The Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally is sponsored by Braunston Marina and Towpath Talk, and is supported by the Canal & River Trust. Braunston Marina will be hosting the event again next year on the same last weekend in June, 2024, with David Suchet opening it on hopefully the restored President.

Lady Sheila Suchet with Roger Golder steering The Raymond

Below

Former ice breaker Oxford

Cheque presentation of £200 to IWA

Photo Andrew Denny

All photos by Tim Coghlan unless credited

VISIT STOWE HILL WHARF FOR ALL YO

Proprietor Robert Gudgeon welcomes you to Stowe Hill Workshop

• Full Repaints

• Hull Blacking/Stern Gear

• Inspection and Repairs

• Engine Repairs and Maintenance

• Complete Fit-Out and WoodworkAlterations

• Plumbing Installations and Repairs

• Electrical Installations and Repairs

• NEW — Fuel Polishing Service

• Stockists of Morris Oils and Grease

• Full range of Batteries always available (please let us know your requirements)

By road we are easily found, a few yards off theA5 at Stowe Hill towards Nether Heyford. By boat close to Bridge 26

ALL WORK UNDERTAKEN, FROM SIMPLE TASKS TO COMPLETE FIT-OUTS

YOUR ESSENTIAL BOATING SERVICES

When you go cruising again let me know about your trip so we can all share in your experiences. This is where you can suggest new places to visit or to avoid.

Write a report about your cruise, let others know the good and not so good places to moor, eat, drink, places of interest worth visiting and anything else that might help others to enjoy that area. Let us know of any mishaps or interesting things that happened on your journey. Include pictures of your cruise, unusual things scenery and anything else that you want to add. I am looking forward to receiving your reports.

Or maybe you could tell us about the boats you’ve hired or owned. Email your articles to me, tony.clarke@waterways.org.uk

The Branch is collecting old printer, toner and/or inkjet cartridges for recycling.

I would be most willing to take them off your hands. This form of recycling may not generate large amounts of funds but, as they say, every little helps.

Please bring them to the Branch meetings or please email me on sandie.morton@waterways.org.uk

Leeds & Liverpool Canal Trip Part

1

by Paul Simpson

Made it at last! After originally booking for May 2020, before Covid-19 was known about, we had to defer twice because of government restrictions and then a third year because of illness. So, fourth time lucky, in early summer 2023, we arrived at Silsden boatyard to start our 2 week holiday. 'We' being my wife, Jan, our daughter & her husband, Nadine & Rich, and myself. After several trips to load up the boat and going through the handover procedures we were ready for the off in the early afternoon, headed towards Leeds. However, the 57 ft boat was facing the other way and I had the job of winding in a very tight space with one of the staff next to me. Not having steered a narrowboat for 7 years I was a bit rusty but this was accomplished with lots of toing and froing and without bumping into anything. We cruised to Stockbridge for overnight mooring where we found a disappointing fish & chips shop, and the following morning a long since disused water tap.

Ahead of us lay the challenge of Bingley Five-Rise. One of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, designed by John Longbotham and built in 1774, which raises boats 59 ft 2 ins over a distance of 320 ft. I enquired about the process for descending the locks and a rather grumpy lock keeper told me that passage down had finished for the morning and to go and read the notice board – the rest were as friendly and helpful a bunch as you would wish to meet. There is only one passage down in the morning and one in the afternoon, and similar sessions for going up, all to save precious water. A wait of over 3 hours ensued. I had been receiving closure notices from CRT for over 2 years and knew nothing about such restrictions.

Rich & Nadine had never previously negotiated wide beam locks so this was to be a baptism of fire for them. However, somehow I ended up at the tiller

Going up the Bingley Five-Rise

with Rich helping the lock keepers, and the ladies safely ensconced inside. Just as we were about to start our descent of Five-Rise one of the lock keepers suggested I might get a little splashed and should put on some waterproofs. That was an understatement! I was looking forward to taking some photos from inside the staircase but it was too wet from all the leakages, and in any case my hand was firmly welded to the tiller in fear. It certainly was an experience, looking up at the massive gates behind me and wishing there was at least another boat in the chamber with us. After that, Three-Rise didn't seem so bad but I was glad to be out and also glad that I had done it. Despite the delay at Bingley we arrived at Saltaire by late afternoon and saw lots of lovely bollards to moor up against for the evening. However, these turned out to be for day time use only so we got the last useable slot astern a barge. They were moored against the armco so we thought it would be OK for us, but because of the low water levels and rocks we had to stand off and 'walk the plank' to get ashore. Whilst getting ready to go out we had a Canada Goose land on the bow and was trying to get inside until it got shooed away. I got a notification that swing bridge 212 was closed which would impede our progress tomorrow. Our evening venue was The Boathouse Inn, sandwiched between the canal and River Aire, with beautiful views over the river to Roberts Park. A massive improvement on the previous night.

The following morning we decided to explore Saltaire – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built by Sir Titus Salt in the 1850s and which takes its name from his surname and the name of the river. Apart from the huge fudgecoloured mills lining the canal he built rows of workers houses and provided a church, alms houses, hospital and a school. It even has a railway station still in use. It's a fascinating and attractive place to visit and well worth the time. We walked up the gentle slope of quiet streets and suddenly found ourselves on the main road with traffic and shops, a bit of a shock. We treated ourselves to morning coffee at The Quaffery, a delightful find, before immersing ourselves back into the Victorian landscape and back to the canal.

With the news that swing bridge 212 had been repaired we arrived at Field 3 Rise staircase locks, the first set we had to descend on our own and the first wide beam locks for Rich & Nadine. However, we had trouble draining the middle lock but fortunately Saltaire a UNESCO world Heritage site

there was a CRT inspection engineer on site who diagnosed the problem as a ground paddle that had been left open by a previous boater. The towpath along this section of canal seems heavily used by cyclists and runners but we met very few boats. As we approached Rodley, we saw a long line of moored boats so decided to take the last slot available on the end – becoming a theme, but we were able to moor alongside the armco. It was a little walk along the towpath to the town to the Ephesus Restaurant – a popular and outstanding Turkish restaurant which went straight to the top of our favourites list.

Paul’s trip report will continue in the next Endeavour

As a follow up to my Leeds & Liverpool trip article for Endeavour, I wondered if, through your magazine, your readers might be able to answer a number of queries that have been puzzling me?

What are the upright 'fixings' pictured at Stockbridge, Skipton & Foulridge (amongst a couple of other places)? And what were they used for? This one is at Skipton

What are the triangular-shaped markers fixed to the Foulridge Tunnel roof, positioned every few metres but not all the way through the

Please send your answers to Editor tony.clarke@waterways.org.uk and I will print the answers in November Endeavour when there will be some more questions from Paul.

Foulridge Tunnel Roof

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCIETY

The main event for the BCS has been our annual Festival at Cosgrove with a Craft Fair in Cosgrove village hall.

This year’s festival took place over the weekend of 22nd – 23rd July. For information we have been holding festivals at Cosgrove since 1993 but in the early days they were more of a boat gathering.

At this years festival we had twenty-nine trade boats booked into the festival with several stalls along the tow path. Raymond and Nuffield join us as usual with several other traders who come each year but we also had quite a few new boat traders join us as well.

Terry Cavender is working at our Cosgrove site on Tuesdays and Thursdays where most of the work involves piling and dredging. This work is going well and I have included a few photos of the work being carried out on the Buckingham Arm at Cosgrove.

We now have our dredger Diana helping with the dredging. Diana was once owned by CRT but now belongs to the BCS and our volunteers have spent several work party days getting Diana into working order and being repainted. Apart from wanting her to work well and look attractive Diana is taking part in a special event at Cosgrove in September. Please see below.

There will be a special event on Saturday 2nd September starting at 10.30 at Cosgrove where Diana will be launched and we will be joined by the actor Sir David Suchet who will launch Diana, everyone invited so please join us.

I also continue running the work parties at our Bourton Meadow site for volunteers who enjoy working at our nature reserve sites on alternate Thursdays and on the second Sunday of each month. Plenty of hedge trimming and weed and reed pulling and a chance to don waders and work in the canal bed!

Again we are always looking for more volunteers at all three sites so if any Northampton volunteers have any free time please make contact with me

Athina Beckett

Buckingham Canal Society

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(suggested donations)

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These meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month from Oct to May

The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne Food and drink available

October 10th 7.30pm

John Pomfret— Water Power in the Nene and Avon Valleys

14th November 2.30pm

Kate Saffin (Alarum Productions)

The heart of the 1923 boatmen strike: A century on No Meeting in December but we have our Annual Dinner

For more details of meetings see page 4

Branch Chairman

Bernard Morton

07785 375787/ 01604 858294

E-mail: bernard.morton @waterways.org.uk

Vice Chairman, Joint Task Party Organiser & Membership Secretary

Geoff Wood

E-mail: geoff.wood @waterways.org.uk

Branch Secretary

Sandie Morton 01604 858294

E-mail: sandiemorton @gmail.com

Treasurer

Paul Lynam

E-mail: paul.lynam @waterways.org.uk

Newsletter & Archivist

Tony Clarke 07305 893924

E-mail: tony.clarke @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member

John Pomfret

E-mail: john.pomfret @waterways.org.uk

Joint Task Party Organiser

Michael Butler

E-mail: michael.butler @waterways.org.uk

Planning Officer

Helen Westlake

E-mail: helen.westlake @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member

Catriona Butler

E-mail: Catriona.butler @waterways.org.uk

Non-Committee posts

Website and Media Officers

Gail Anscombe Email: gail.anscombe@waterways.org.uk

Lynda Payton Email: Lynda.payton@waterways.org.uk

Branch Meetings

Lynda Payton

E-mail: lynda.payton @waterways.org.uk

Vacancies

Publicity Officer and Grants Officer

The Inland Waterways Association is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country's 6,500 miles of canals and rivers.