August 2017 w pub

Endeavour

1 to attempt (eg the fulfilment of an obligation) by exertion of effort; 2 archaic to strive to achieve or reach ~ vi to make an effort to do something n a serious determined effort

Northampton Branch Newsletter - August 2017

LOCAL MP UNVEILS ARM’S FIRST NATURE TRAIL PLAQUE AT LOCK 17 Our Branch was pleased to be associated with the Canal & River Trust at the end of August to demonstrate publicly what can be achieved by volunteers working to maintain and improve the canal environment alongside a growing community involvement.

Chief guest at this largely media-focused occasion on Tuesday, 29th August was Andrew Lewer, the new MP for Northampton South, who arrived at Lock 17 on the Northampton Arm by boat.

After helping to lock through from the river up to the canal, he then unveiled the first of the Continued on page 16

MP Andrew Lewer gets into the swing of things at Lock 17

The IWA was founded in 1946 to campaign for the retention, restoration and development of Britain’s navigable waterways and for their fullest commercial and recreational use.

The IWA is a registered Charity (no. 212342), whose work is supported by members’ subscriptions.

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EDITORIAL MUSINGS John Humphries, who died on 30th May a few days short of his 92nd birthday, was National Chairman of the Inland Waterways Association for barely two years in the early 1970s. But in that short space of time he had a profound effect upon the Association, not least his persuasive skills achieving the return to the fold of two of the co-founders of the IWA – Tom Rolt and Charles Hadfield, both of whom had been “pushed to one side” (some describe it as “expelled”) years earlier by the mercurial Robert Aickman.

John’s brief chairmanship came at a crucial time in the Association’s battle to save the country’s canals and rivers from potential near obliteration. Afterwards, for many years, John was a highly influential figure in waterways politics and, in l980, he was awarded the OBE for “services to the water industry”. Waterways, our national journal, chronicles his life and works in more detail in the Autumn issue.

Notably, and fortuitously, his tenure as Chairman coincided with the 1971 National Rally of Boats held at Becket’s Park in Northampton. Throughout this record-breaking event, he was an influential figure, using his easy-going affability to spread the waterway message at all levels, not least to the Duchess of Gloucester, the Rally opener.

The fact that he was a prominent legal man in London, with the gift of stating his case in no uncertain terms, undoubtedly counted in his favour.

Our Old Stager worked closely with John on the media and public relations side at the 1971 Rally, including a visit with him to Barnwell Castle, near Oundle, to brief the Duchess on what it was all about. Over afternoon tea and biscuits, the Duchess soon relaxed in the face of John’s charm offensive!

In an article in the Rally brochure, John described the parlous state of the canal system, focusing on the possible repercussions of the Transport Act of 1968 when the inland waterways, then under the jurisdiction of the British Waterways Board, were divided into three categories – Commercial, Cruising and Remainder. The governmental attitude to the Remainder waterways was regarded as the most ominous and led to an active campaign in Parliament and elsewhere to save them from immediate extinction. The Northampton National Rally of Boats was the grand finale of a nationwide series of protest rallies in 1971.

The rest is well recorded history. Today we are the beneficiaries of all the work of those dedicated campaigners, spearheaded by the Inland Waterways Association nearly 50 years ago and in earlier years. If you don’t know the full story – and no doubt many of the younger generation do not – then please read it up. Indeed, those were the great campaigning years.

I have recently returned from a couple of weeks cruising from Stoke Bruerne. Boats galore, hordes of people walking the towpaths – the canals clearly the focal point of so many people’s lives. Thank goodness, then, that the IWA was there at a time of crisis to lead from the front. Some thought the campaigners were whistling in the wind.

Well, we know now they certainly weren’t.

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DIARY DATES October 10th 8pm IWA Northampton Branch Meeting at The Walnut Tree Inn, Blisworth. Speaker: Phil Clayton BCN — Joeys, Joshers and James

November 11th 7pm IWA Northampton Branch Annual Dinner at The Boat Inn, for 7.30 Stoke Bruerne (see page 25)

14th 8pm IWA Northampton Branch Meeting at The Walnut Tree Inn, Blisworth. Speaker: Patrick Moss — Somerset Coal Canal Part 2 December 12th 8pm IWA Northampton Branch Meeting at The Walnut Tree Inn, Blisworth. Christmas Quiz with John Pomfret

NORTHAMPTON ARM TASK PARTY DATES September 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 September 21st. October 5th, 8th, 19th.

November 2nd, 12th, 16th, 30th. December 7th, 10th, 28th.

For more information contact Athina Beckett athinabec@aol.com or phone 01908 661217 / 07721 319404

STOKE BRUERNE CANAL PARTNERSHIP WORK PARTY DATES

October 11th. November 8th. December 13th.

Contact: stokebruernecanalpartnership.org.uk

IWA Northampton Branch web site www.waterways.org.uk/northampton Please visit it regularly to see any updates

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Branch Chairman’s Jottings

by Bernard Morton “Ey up, how’s tha doing?”

As I write this, Sandie and I have just returned from a nine-week cruise exploring the northern canals – by far our longest ever expedition on Lexa! I don’t propose to bore you with all the minutiae of the cruise but thought I would share details of our route and highlight some highs and lows we encountered on the way.

OUR JOURNEY. We set off northwards along the Grand Union immediately after the Branch’s Boat Gathering at Stoke Bruerne accompanied by our good friends Linda and Ian Bekusch on Kooshie Number. Engine problems forced a day’s delay at top lock on the Buckby Flight but thankfully these were resolved relatively quickly.

Although our aim was to explore the northern canals, we took a somewhat circuitous route to take in points of interest along the way. So, from Stoke Bruerne, we followed the Grand Union to Braunston and then the North Oxford and Coventry Canal to Fradley Junction. To avoid the Birmingham/Wolverhampton conurbation (which we’ve explored several times before) we took the Trent and Mersey and Staffs and Worcester Canals to the Shropshire Union. The Shroppie led us to Chester (lovely city) and Ellesmere Port, where we visited the National Waterways Museum. I can recommend a visit here. Being familiar with the rather cramped confines of the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, it was a surprise to find such a large site to explore.

The main exhibitions were excellent but how sad to see so many (almost) derelict boats sitting there, hopefully awaiting future restoration.

From Ellesmere Port, we headed back down the Shroppie (not being brave enough to attempt the Manchester Ship Canal) and then towards Middlewich and the Anderton Lift. We didn’t take the boats on the lift but enjoyed looking around the visitor centre, which was free of charge. Being used to paying for entry to the museums at Stoke Bruerne and Ellesmere Port, we couldn’t understand why it was free – are CRT missing a revenue-earning opportunity here?

From the Anderton Lift, we used the Bridgwater Canal to skirt around the western fringes of Manchester and on up to Wigan – where we came to a sudden halt due to lack of water. On arrival at the bottom lock, the gates were chained up with very little water in the pound above. We were assured that CRT would flood the pound in the morning and the locks would be open between 8am and 9am and again between 2pm and 3pm. We had already arranged to meet up with my sister and her partner for a meal, so weren’t unduly worried about the early stop (especially as it had been pouring with rain all day). We had a super family Indian meal (made extra special by the fact that our two daughters had come up for the weekend to surprise us). It was only slightly marred by the fact that the restaurant didn’t serve alcohol … fortunately there was an off-licence nearby.

8 The next morning we were up bright and early ready for the arrival of CRT and water in the pound. The promised opening of the locks between 8am and 9am didn’t happen until about 10.30am when we were then only allowed to go up half way as the locks ahead had been closed at 3pm. It wouldn’t have been so frustrating had the rain not been lashing down whilst the pounds were practically dry.

Having eventually negotiated the Wigan Flight, we then headed on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal through some amazing scenery over the Pennines to Skipton and Leeds. It was between Blackburn and Burnley, just outside Rishton, that we had our one and only encounter with hooligans. We had moored up in open countryside with beautiful views, not expecting any “visitors”. We were enjoying some wine on Kooshie Number when three youths and a girl arrived. One ran along the roof and started swearing at us and threatening us as we took photos of them. We phoned the police and they ran off, pulling up a mooring pin of another boat nearby as they passed it. The police rang back later and said they were “pursuing suspects” and could we forward the photos to them. I don’t expect we’ll hear anything further – indeed we were rather surprised they took any action at all. On the Leeds and Liverpool Canal there were very few boats actually moving - we saw many widebeams along here moored up and lots with For Sale notices … but I wasn’t tempted.

We stopped for a couple of days to explore Skipton and to enjoy the warm, sunny weather. The castle is well worth a visit. When we reached Leeds, we avoided the city moorings and headed instead to the peace and quiet of Leeds Dock right by The Royal Armouries Museum. From here, a free water taxi operates to the city centre, which we found very useful for some retail therapy. Entry to the museum was free and it was a wonderful experience, only slightly marred by hordes of young schoolchildren dashing around barely glancing at the exhibits. You could spend a couple of days there and still not see everything.

Before leaving Leeds, we needed to purchase a large lump of wood from CRT called a handspike (for £15) to use on a few locks on the Calder and Hebble. We followed the Aire and Calder out of Leeds and then onto the Calder and Hebble. The mysteries of the handspike were soon understood. For some locks it was needed for ground paddles only, with gate paddles being operated by a windlass, but for some it was needed for both. Sandie was not very impressed, claiming the handspike was too heavy and the paddle mechanisms very stiff to operate. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, have a look on YouTube.

With Lexa being 59’ 3” long, I had researched whether we would fit into the Calder and Hebble Locks. Several people had described how this could be done safely but I still had some worries. For all but the last two, both boats were fitted in (Lexa going in first diagonally), then closing a gate and straightening Lexa up to allow Kooshie Number to fit in. For the last two, we struggled to get Lexa in and only managed it by occupying the middle of the lock.

After this excitement, we moved onto the Huddersfield Broad Canal and then onto

9 the Rochdale Canal. Here on the summit we again encountered a lack of water and had to run water through several locks to make progress. Fortunately, a couple of boats joined us so we could work as a team. Sadly, the Rochdale seems somewhat neglected, particularly the stretch from Littleborough down to Rochdale, with broken equipment, very rusty paddle gear making the locks really difficult to operate, badly leaking gates and rubbish preventing gates from opening fully. We noted that there were very few boats using it – a Catch 22 situation maybe … few boats, therefore not a high priority for regular maintenance, meaning that the locks are difficult to operate and boaters therefore avoid it?

After a well-earned break in Manchester, we headed for the Peak Forest Canal and Bugsworth Basin, which is an amazing place. The Basin was an important inland port during the Industrial Revolution with limestone, gritstone etc mined and brought by a tramway and transferred to narrowboats to be moved to Manchester.

There were 19 lime kilns operating day and night – that’s what you call pollution!

The whole site is well preserved with many information boards explaining its history and layout and plenty of moorings … well worth a visit.

From the Peak Forest, we joined the Macclesfield Canal and managed to meet up with some old friends, Pete and Frances Gill on Poppy, conveniently within walking distance of a pub for dinner. The next day we went through the Harecastle Tunnel and onto the Trent & Mersey, where there were lots of boats moving in both directions – somewhat of a novelty after the quiet northern canals. The Trent & Mersey took us across to the Trent and onto the Soar down to Leicester. We stopped off here to visit the National Space Centre, which was fascinating. To people of our generation who have lived through the Gemini, Sputnik, Apollo, Shuttle, the Space Lab programmes etc, it really is a “must see”.

After Leicester we headed to Market Harborough and moored up in the Basin to attend a social function. Imagine our surprise when we moored next to Speedwell and found Barbara Bavister on board with some friends. I was aware Speedwell had disappeared from its top lock Buckby mooring and feared it had been sold. But Barbara explained it was now down at Leighton Buzzard where her family use it a lot, often taking her out with them. Hard to believe it’s 15 years since Ted died, isn’t it?

The rest of our trip was uneventful – down the Grand Union Leicester Line and the Grand Union back to our mooring at High House Wharf at Heyford.

So, quite an adventure! I am reliably informed by Linda, who kept a diary of our trip, that we did around 440 locks and over 50 swing/lift bridges – Eeh by gum … definitely not a trip for the faint-hearted. The latest addition to our family, Jasper (Golden Retriever), took to boating well. We had only taken him out for day trips on the boat before, so it could easily have been a disaster. He took a few days to master jumping on and off the back of the boat and then there was no stopping him.

A favourite game for him was racing on board Kooshie Number and stealing Ian’s socks and trainers – sorry Ian.

10 LEGACY UPDATE. There’s not a lot to report here as things having quietened down for the summer and I’ve been out of the loop for over two months. I do know that the old footbridge over the River Nene at Thrapston has been removed and due to be replaced by a new higher bridge very shortly. The electric cabling to the Quarry Field at Stoke Bruerne has been put on hold due to logistical problems. The mosaic nature trail panels were completed in Delapre and Briar Hill Primary Schools before we went away and I believe we are awaiting CRT approval for the exact positions at each of the 17 locks on the Northampton Arm. Hopefully, our volunteers will be installing them over the next couple of months.

ANNUAL BRANCH DINNER. Following the most successful event last year, we have arranged to return to The Boat Inn again with a different menu (at the same price as last year) and a slightly later date, Saturday 11th November (we’ve avoided half-term and Bonfire Night this year!). You will find a booking form enclosed or on our Branch website www.waterways.org.uk/northampton. I would advise early booking as seating is limited to around 50 – so don’t miss out.

Enjoy the rest of the summer out and about around our waterways – hopefully the sunny weather will return soon.

NEW BRANCH MEMBERS ARE WELCOMED We extend a warm welcome to the following who have joined Northampton Branch since the last issue of Endeavour

NEW MEMBERS Mr P Campbell, West Haddon, Northampton Mr J & Mrs H Philpott, Adstone, Towcester

We look forward to meeting you all at our Branch events IWA Northampton Branch now has a Facebook page. It’s 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.

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DINE IN STYLE IN WOODWARD’S CANALSIDE RESTAURANT 01604 862428 www.boatinn.co.uk SAVE THE BRANCH MONEY! Stop receiving Endeavour by post and instead get it electronically. You will be notified by email when it’s published on-line. This will save in postage and printing costs. The printed version will be available at Branch meetings. Contact Geoff Wood at geoff.wood@waterways.org.uk and he will organise it.

Editor

12 DAVID BLAGROVE COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE IS UNVEILED AT BRAUNSTON HISTORIC NARROWBOAT RALLY Tim Coghlan, of Braunston Marina, writes: The Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally has been running annually since 2003, and the traditional highlight is of course the daily parades of boats. But each year we try to find something new, a different take on our quite remarkable canal history at Braunston Marina and our illustrious antecedents. The yard has been continuously serving the canal boater since about 1792 – some 225 years, and to date, we have always found something new to focus on at our Rallies.

This year was no exception, when we remembered the Braunston years of the late, and already legendary David Blagrove - boatman, author, painter, song-writer, TV presenter, entertainer and much, much more. David died of cancer in August, 2016, only a couple of months after attending his last Braunston Rally which he bravely did in a very poor state of health, but still smiling through. He is commemorated with a plaque, unveiled by his wife Jean, and in the presence of his family, on the mischievously dubbed “Braunston Wall of Fame”.

The plaque is mounted on the outside wall of our Fellows, Morton & Clayton wet dock, where several other plaques already commemorate many of Braunston’s greats including, last year, the From left, Tim Coghlan, Sarah Borondy (nee canal painter Ron Hough, Blagrove), Prunella Scales, Timothy West the unveiling of which and Jean Blagrove David witnessed. David’s plaque is placed above Ron’s. It was quite appropriate as the two were great friends, and Ron painted David’s working narrowboat the Enterprise on the occasion of his first visit to Braunston in 1962.

Prior to the plaque unveiling I gave a short address on David’s Braunston years, and the distinguished actor and canal enthusiast Timothy West read two passages from David’s great book, Bread Upon The Waters, concerning his first visit to

13 Braunston in 1962. One piece that Timothy read is recalled here. It is set in what is today called the Large Dry Dock, where the Enterprise was undergoing repairs and a repaint – that sort of work which is still going on today, the daily bread of that hundred years old Fellows, Morton & Clayton ex-steamer dry dock. Timothy read: “At tea breaks, the gossip and badinage was exchanged as the men sat round a roaring Salamander oil space heater in one of the dry docks. The chances of Northampton Town or Coventry City and, of course, the favourites in the day’s racing vied with the state of Braunston’s young ladies as the most absorbing topic. We learned that currently seven unmarried village maidens were pregnant. (Ron Hough called them ‘The Magnificent Seven’).”

The Enterprise was a former canal-carriers Fellows, Morton & Clayton motor, built in 1903 and named the Kimberley, which in the late 1950s had been crudely converted to passenger carrying using old bus seats, given a coat of paint and renamed the Enterprise. Once he had abandoned training as a solicitor in London, David converted it back to a working narrowboat, but kept the name. In the years since it has gone through many changes and many hands, but has recently been converted back to a working narrowboat, and its original name, Kimberley. It appeared at the 2016 Rally, which hopefully David saw. It also appeared again at this year’s Rally.

Following Timothy West’s reading, his distinguished actress wife Prunella Scales read the Irish Patrick Kavanagh’s poem on the Grand Canal in Dublin (below).

Jean then unveiled the commemorative plaque and Timothy West read the wording.

Also by way of another tribute to David, an hour’s jam-session was held on the Saturday night in the beer tent, with musician friends of David’s led by Braunston Pickle leading us in a melody of the songs David wrote, some sentimental, some saucy, but all highly entertaining.

Patrick Kavanagh’s Poem Written on a seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin O commemorate me where there is water, Canal water preferably, so stilly Greeny at heart of summer. Brother, Commemorate me thus beautifully Where by a lock niagarously roars The falls for those who sit in the tremendous silence Of mid-July. No one will speak in prose Who finds his way to these Parnassian islands.

A swan goes by head low with many apologies, Fantastic light looks through the eyes of bridges And look! A barge comes bringing from Athy And another far-flung towns mythologies.

O commemorate me with no hero-courageous Tomb — just a canal-bank seat for a passer-by.

14 In a break in that jam session, at his family’s request, I auctioned off a painting David made in 1990 of the Braunston Turn in former days, which featured on the front cover of the first edition of his book, A Canal History of Braunston. It is a great painting and the family was selling it to raise money for the David Blagrove Charity Trust which they and others have set up in David’s memory – to support the canal and community at Stoke Bruerne where he lived. The painting generously sold for £350.

The commemorative plaque on the wall at Braunston Marina

APOLOGIES FROM THE WENDOVER ARM TRUST Promoter Michael Wright offers his apologies for the omission of the tickets for the Wendover Arm Trust’s Grand Draw 2017 from the last copy of Endeavour.

He writes: “This is based on the plans of mice and men, in my realistic opinion. On previous occasions, I would have visited IWA Head Office at Chesham to insert the books of tickets with the magazine into your individual addressed envelopes. This, however, is dependent on the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. This year it all went wrong. My ‘agent’ did not give me the appropriate prompt. The first I knew of the summer issue was the receipt of my email copy. Always a pleasure to read it for current updates of Northampton scandal. (Thank you Tony!)

“I am perhaps as disappointed as you are that you have been unable to show your support for the restoration of the Wendover Arm Canal, continuing month by month.

It was with immense surprise that this year the first envelope I opened was a cheque for £250 as a donation, together with a very supportive letter.

“You are always welcome to surprise me...OR ... next year I will invite you again to support the WAT restoration…hopefully!”

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Friends of The River Nene What an absolutely amazing year our little organisation is having.

We have been in existence for just three years, have secured the use of six membersonly moorings on the river and, as I type, have just added our 420th member. We really must be doing something right!

Visitors to the river always comment on how beautiful it is. It really is a hidden gem and has a lot of history along its banks.

Our dedicated and hard-working committee is constantly looking to secure more moorings on the river and provide additional facilities, although this does take time to bring to fruition. We are, however, hoping to be able to add an additional two moorings by the beginning of the 2018 boating season.

We have recently been invited to attend a workshop, facilitated by the local council, to examine the needs and the potential of The Embankment at Wellingborough from a river user’s perspective and, as a result of this, a working group is being formed to look at how this and the Nene corridor in general may be developed in the future.

One big hope is that we can help to resurrect the Wellingborough River Festival and will update our website on this with news as and when it becomes available.

A big thank you from Friends of The River Nene to IWA Northampton Branch for their continued support. It really is appreciated.

Hope you enjoy the moorings on the river and if we can help in any way please do contact us by email at friendsoftherivernene@hotmail.com Visit our web site: www.friendsoftherivernene or join our Facebook page.

Alison Loasby, Secretary, Friends of The River Nene This mooring is located between Woodford Lock and Lower Ringstead Lock

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MOSAIC PLAQUE UNVEILING AT LOCK 17 mosaic plaques, designed by local schoolchildren, which will eventually form a mosaic nature trail at each of the 17 locks along the whole length of the four and three-quarter mile Arm. On his hands and knees, wielding trowel and cement, he eased the final piece of mosaic tiling into position, observing: “I’ve taken part in many ceremonies like this over the years, but this has been the Having carried out the unveiling, Andrew Lewer adds most fun and innovathe final touches to the mosaic plaque under the tive so far!”

The watchful eye of a young supporter plaque is sited at the nearby “narrows” upstream of the lock.

Andrew revealed a previous and very tangible connection with the canals as the Founder and Chairman of the Cromford Canal Partnership. This came about during his Leadership of Derbyshire County Council from 2009-2013 when he was also the Cabinet Member for Culture as well as being Chairman of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site between Derby and Matlock Bath.

As well recorded in Endeavour, in the four years since Northampton Branch adopted the Arm, we have worked closely with CRT, our volunteers and other supporters, clocking up over 5,000 volunteer hours. CRT Chief Executive Richard Parry, who attended the unveiling, paid tribute to all the hard work put in by the volunteers. He said: “Believe me, your commitment and enthusiasm is so greatly appreciated.”

Vicky Martin, the Trust’s South-East Waterways Manager, described the Arm as a “canal in bloom”. She added: “It is really wonderful to see the canal bringing the community together and the community, in turn, helping us to transform the waterway.”

In 2015, to commemorate the 200 th anniversary of the opening of the Arm, a mural

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Branch Joint Task Party Organiser Geoff Wood steers nb Shannen carrying the VIPs (busily chatting away beneath the cratch cover!) at the approach to Lock 17 was created at Gayton Junction and a mosaic bench installed at the bottom lock at Far Cotton by the Branch. The idea of linking up the two was the brainchild of Branch Secretary Sandie Morton. She explained: “I wanted to encourage more people of all ages to walk and cycle the Arm. So I came up with the idea of a nature trail with mosaic plaques at each of the 17 locks. Local children from Briar Hill and Delapre Primary Schools created the beautiful designs and manufactured them under the guidance of mosaic artist David Bowers from Mosaic Madness.”

The project is being supervised by Mick Butler, Joint Task Party Organiser, who said: “Given reasonable weather, I reckon we should have all 17 of the mosaic patterns in place by next spring, when we can get the children who were involved in the design of the patterns together for a grand unveiling.” Funding for the project is through the legacy left to the Branch by John Faulkner.

Sandie writes more about the mosaic trail project on page 24. In order to include a report of the media event on 29th August, we have delayed the publication of this issue of Endeavour. Editor.

The mosaic plaque at Lock 17.

Other plaques will follow at the locks along the whole length of the Arm over the next few months

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Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally continues to highlight the old boats Tim Coghlan, of Braunston Marina, reports: A total of 94 historic narrowboats attended the 15th Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally at the end of June, an event which remains by far and away the largest rally of historic narrowboats anywhere on the inland waterways. The number of boats attending was also a significant improvement on last year’s 67 boats, and this was despite the growing popularity of similar events around the waterways going head to head with it. As David Daines, owner of the 1935 Yarwoods narrowboat Cyprus, said: “Braunston remains the premier event, and it is the first we put in our diary every year.” The Rally has come a long way since the first one in 2003, when 29 boats attended – which seemed a lot at the time.

This year’s event also attracted about 7,000 visitors, some travelling from as far afield as Canada and Australia to attend, providing an important visitor-spend for the local economy.

The Rally was formally opened by veteran actor Timothy West (81) - Stan Carter in EastEnders—and his actress wife Prunella Scales of Fawlty Towers fame. They were back by popular demand, having previously opened the 2013 Rally. Since then their canal TV series Great Canal Journeys has gone from strength to strength, now with a worldwide audience of waterways enthusiasts.

Timothy West steers into the marina

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Boats galore on the Grand Union Canal With a little help from members of the Narrow Boat Trust, Tim and Pru respectively helmed the 1936 Grand Union Canal Carrying Company’s motor and butty, Nuneaton and Brighton, from the canal into the marina. As they passed under its famous 1834 Horseley Ironworks Bridge, they declared the 2017 Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally “Open!” to the sounds of Daventry Brass and the bells of Braunston church – the “Cathedral of the Canals.”

Shore-side attractions included a trade marquee and also a number of exhibitors and canal societies. Among other entertainments was the canal-travelling Alarum Theatre with their new play, Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways. There were also Morris Dancers and the famous beer tent with music provided by a number of groups.

Tim Coghlan said: “For me what was most pleasing was the number of boats that came which had never been before, plus the comments from so many owners that it is events like the Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally that inspires them to restore and maintain their boats, which are such an important living and moving part of our canal heritage. Each year I hear the same gratifying story, which makes organising the Rally so worthwhile.” All profits, which exceeded £6,000, were donated as usual, to canal causes.

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 – 23rd - 24th June, 2018.

Pictures by Tim Coghlan.

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Old Stager recalls…

JOHN GAGG, THE MAN WHO SPREAD THE WATERWAYS MESSAGE NEARLY HALF A CENTURY AGO I count myself fortunate to be able to number among my personal friends the late John Gagg, author of waterway books, a passionate supporter of the IWA and all its works and a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers, always extolling with immense enthusiasm the value of Britain’s canals and rivers. I have written about him before, but a good story is always worth retelling.

For many years he contributed the Cuttings feature in the Association’s Waterways journal, a column, later written by David Blagrove, cataloguing a round-up of media references to the waterways, accompanied by pithy comments on the often ridiculous observations made which illustrated the ignorance of the public (and journalists) on this subject. He requested contributions to this column, always to be deluged with replies.

By profession John was an educationalist who regarded his mission, especially in retirement, as being to raise the awareness of the waterways world in general. It was all achieved in a highly readable, popular style. He never indulged in wedges of history.

I often return to his 5,000 Miles, 3,000 Locks, a hardback published in 1973 by Arthur Barker Ltd, costing £2.00, 170 pages with an eight-page black and white picture section. It’s an engaging read and my latest foray into its pages was on a random basis. First, I noted John’s acknowledgement of the IWA’s involvement in the restoration of the Southern Stratford Canal, a project led by the indefatigable David Hutchings. John wrote: “The effect of the canal restoration in 1964 was electric on cruising people like us.

Instead of expecting canals to get worse and worse and fewer and fewer, we suddenly saw that they might get better and better and more and more extensive. This possibility may still be in doubt, but at least the deterioration of those days was not only stopped but reversed. Whatever happens to the inland waterways system in the future, the almost miraculous revival of the Southern Stratford will stand in history.”

He writes about tidying up the canal environment: “I’m not as enthusiastic about this sort of thing as some canallers, however. There’s a tendency to praise a local authority highly if it tidies up the towpath, and to ship councillors there from other areas to have a look at it. But all the towpath tidying, tree planting and white painting in the world doesn’t make a waterway any more navigable. I believe that associations such as the Inland Waterways Association ought to stress that civic beautifying of canal surroundings should always include arrangements for dredging the canal bed

23 too. For what use are beautiful surroundings if the waterway becomes a smelly, shallow, boatless ditch?” So keep at it, you Task Parties on the Arm but be sure CRT are ever-mindful of the necessity of an adequate navigable channel.

Turning to John’s postscript, I quote (and do please remember he is writing in the early 1970s): “But always we cruise under threat. The canals, in particular, have been scorned for almost the whole of this century by governments of all shades. Already their valuable commercial potential has been almost lost. And still no minister emerges with the conviction – or even the bare knowledge – to initiate action to retain our fascinating network in decent condition.

“This seems quite nonsensical in view of the money which is found for other leisure activities. For even if our canals are never again used for goods – as canals in other countries still are – they can still provide energetic pleasure for vast numbers of boaters, anglers and walkers, and for this alone they surely deserve more realistic government support.” Rest easy, John – it really is much better now.

He pays a warm reference to the IWA, of which he was a Council Member for many years. He describes it as “that remarkable mixture of enthusiasts, rebels, diggers, fighters, persuaders and just plain boaters, walkers and anglers, who have fought for our inland waterways for many years. Some IWA members think that it is too aggressive and ungentlemanly towards authority, but its original tough founders feel that it has gone soft. It has certainly at times used some of its energy on internal warfare. But for all the differences of opinion and tactics in a body containing such differing personalities, the plain fact is that without the IWA the cruising network of canals wouldn’t exist today. Much of it would just have rotted away without constant IWA pressure and often sheer physical labour.”

When I knew John and his wife, Margaret, their home was at Princes Risborough, at the southern end of The Chilterns. In later years they lived at Blakeney on the North Norfolk coast. If you come across one of John’s books second-hand, snap it up. It’s a classic of its time. It will tell you graphically of what it was like cruising the waterways half a century ago.

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MOSAIC NATURE TRAIL DOWN THE NORTHAMPTON ARM

by Sandie Morton Following our Branch’s celebrations to commemorate the 200 th birthday of the Northampton Arm in 2015 (it opened on 1 st May 1815) with the creation and installation of a mosaic mural at Gayton Junction, a mosaic bench at Lock 17 as well as hosting the 2015 Festival of Water at Northampton, another exciting mosaic feature is nearing completion and will shortly appear on the Arm. Having a mosaic masterpiece at each end of the Northampton Arm, both of which have been much admired, I was keen to have something along the length of the Arm that linked these two features. After much deliberation, I came up with the idea of linking the two with a nature trail using mosaics with something at each of the 17 locks. My aim was the creation of something that would encourage more people to walk/cycle along the Arm, enjoying its unique environment. Bearing in mind that some, if not all, of the locks have Grade 2 listed status, the nature trail would need to be unobtrusive and not hinder the safe working of the locks, nor impede pedestrians and cyclists.

In consultation with David Bowers of Mosaic Madness, who had worked with us for the mural and bench, the concept of using 600mm by 300mm paving slabs as a base evolved as these could be sunk into the ground and thereby be relatively inconspicuous and not present a safety hazard. Each slab would have a nature theme depicting an animal, insect or plant likely to be found along the Arm and the initial letter of these would spell out a phrase (from Lock 1 to Lock 17), thus creating a challenge which hopefully children will respond to and want to work out the phrase. In time, one slab became two with the second slab depicting something from the canal environment such as a bollard, a windlass, lock gate etc.

Having gained CRT’s approval for the Trail, I approached several primary schools closest to the Arm regarding participation in the project with designing and creating the mosaic slabs and was delighted to receive enthusiastic responses from Briar Hill Primary and Delapre Primary. David and I spent an afternoon in each school carrying out design workshops with Year 4 children at Briar Hill Primary and Year 5 children at Delapre Primary. The children were given a list of letters from the phrase to choose from and they were asked to design a picture with a nature theme that could be used for the mosaics. They were all extremely keen and worked hard (nothing to do with the fact that the children whose designs were chosen would win a £10 voucher I’m sure!). After a difficult time judging their work, we ended up with 17 brilliant designs. Not being at all artistic, I left David to create the designs for the canal features.

25 The creation of the mosaic slabs took place in the schools during May. David and I spent three days in each school working with the same children who had taken part in the design workshops. David, well used to working with young children in schools, organised them into small groups and guided them in the art of mosaics - a messy time for us all, including the staff, but great fun.

So, where are the mosaic slabs now? The short answer is in safe storage awaiting installation by our wonderful team of volunteers. We had hoped that this work would have been carried out during the summer but we’ve had to factor in approval from CRT’s heritage people over the exact location for the slabs and for underground surveys to be carried out. The good news is that the first slabs have just been laid (at Lock 17) just in time for a visit to the Arm by Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South, which CRT organised. (See report elsewhere in Endeavour).

Once all the slabs have been laid, we hope to launch the Nature Trail with an event including the schoolchildren who were involved with its creation and to have details of how to enter the Mosaic Trail Challenge by submitting online the phrase spelled out by the slabs at each lock.

Funding for this project was only possible by the generous legacy left to the Branch

by John Faulkner, a long-standing Branch member, for which we are hugely grateful.

ANNUAL BRANCH DINNER Saturday 11th November 2017 at 7pm for 7.30pm By popular demand we are returning to

The Boat Inn, Stoke Bruerne Our guest speaker will be James Griffin Director of Wyvern Shipping Company Numbers are limited to 50, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

A booking form is included in Endeavour and is also available on the Branch web site, www.waterways.org.uk/northampton

Branch Meetings 2017-2018 10th October: Phillip Clayton Joeys Joshers and James 14th November: Patrick Moss Somerset Coal Canal part 2 12 December: John Pomfret Christmas Quiz 9th January: Sheena Wilson CRT Water Management with CRT 13th February: Tim Carter An Inland Navigators Tale 13th March: AGM TBA 10th April: Tim Coghlan Canal Life and Times of David Blagrove 8th May: John Pomfret Middle Danube and connecting waterways

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DAVENTRY CANAL ARM TO BE SUBJECT TO A £300,000 BUSINESS PLAN Will it ever be built – or will it remain just a well-intentioned pipe-dream of some?

Such is the situation regarding the Daventry Canal Arm, the story of which moved a step forward (or even sideways, depending upon your view) at a meeting of Daventry District Council at the end of July.

The saga has now been running for well over 10 years. This latest development sees the District Council agreeing to spend up to £300,000 on a business plan, subject “to due diligence and detailed examination”, to examine the option of delivering a first section of canal costing £8.71m. This funding would come from capital money, used to invest in land and property and is separate to that spent on the day-to-day running of council services. A final decision on whether to proceed with spending this money will not be made until the Business Plan returns to a future Council meeting for consideration. Should such investment be approved, the £8.71m would be gradually reimbursed to the Council through the Community Infrastructure Levy planning charges paid by developers of new housing to fund local infrastructure projects and other external funding sources yet to be identified.

Feelings run high over the matter. It would appear that Daventry Town Council is opposed to the scheme, voicing concerns about visual and constructional impact, detrimental effects on wildlife and ecology in the area and concerns over sustainability of the scheme and whether boaters would actually use it. The Town Council has expressed grave concerns about the wisdom of committing £8.71m of public money with no guarantee the scheme will attract the further funding necessary.

However, Daventry District Council is wholeheartedly in favour citing that the town is close to the heart of the waterways network yet disconnected from it and that the two-mile canal arm would lead to “a vibrant water space destination in the centre of Daventry including retail and leisure outlets such as bars and restaurants whilst providing leisure and recreational space for local residents, workers and visitors”.

In answer to a series of questions submitted by the general public, District Council Leader Chris Millar said that the Canal Arm was not about the short term, it was a transformation project for future generations, a new habitat for wildlife and, combined with a boat lift, a unique visitor attraction in the UK. The Daventry Express reported that during the debate on the recommendation, some Council members asserted that they would vote down the long-standing project should a business plan show it would not be beneficial. For the moment, though, they were happy for the project to move forward as it formed part of the long-term vision set out by the Council years ago.

In a letter to the Daventry Express, Dean Hawkey, Chairman of Daventry Canal Association, suggests to all “naysayers” that they read Water Adds Value, a fact-based joint report by the Canal & River Trust and the Inland Waterways Association. He

27 believes that if the town centre waterspace is developed to a high standard it will be a major success, encouraging further investment by businesses, attracting visitors to local shops and tourists to local hotels and restaurants.

IWA Northampton Branch Chairman, Bernard Morton says: “As active users of our waterways, we should surely give qualified support to this proposal. IWA Head Office has discovered that the 1793 Act of Parliament allowing the building of the Grand Junction Canal (now the Grand Union) included provision for four branches, one being from the Braunston summit to Daventry, which of course was never built.

“This scheme would create the nation’s first destination canal arm for more than 150 years with the two-mile stretch of canal leading to a new waterspace development near the town centre with moorings which would not only attract boaters but also provide a valuable resource offering valuable wildlife habitats and recreational space for residents and visitors.

“And who cannot but get excited at the possibility (albeit a very vague one) of an inclined plane boat lift within our Branch area!”

To be continued, undoubtedly.

MONEY FOR OLD CARTRIDGES AND MOBILE PHONES When I first became Branch Secretary, members occasionally gave me bags of old printer cartridges for recycling, but I was totally unaware where they should be sent for this purpose. The Branch even received out of the blue a cheque for £64.10 for these cartridges. Very nice…

Fast forward a couple of months to when Lynda Payton asked me if we (the Branch) were still recycling these items and I replied that I had a store of them in a corner of our office but didn’t know what to do with them. Luckily, she was able to enlighten me about the scheme as well as handing over a large bag full of cartridges for recycling. I am now registered with the company and know just what to do.

So, dear members, if you have any unwanted printer, toner and/or inkjet cartridges, I would be most willing to take them off your hands. Also, we can get money for old mobile phones through the same company. This form of recycling may not generate large amounts of funds but, as they say, every little helps.

I am usually at our monthly social meetings at The Walnut Tree on the second Tuesday of each month from September through to May to receive any of the above. If you cannot get to one of our meetings, please email me on sandie.morton@waterways.org.uk and we’ll try to get them collected.

Thank you.

Sandie Morton, Branch Secretary

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JOB VACANCY IWA Northampton Branch ARE YOU THE PERSON WE NEED ON OUR COMMITTEE TO FILL THE ROLL OF PUBLICITY / GRANTS OFFICER? If you are interested in joining our team, please contact Bernard Morton, Chairman, 07785 375787 email bernard.morton@waterways.org.uk

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 an 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.

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BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCIETY Athina Beckett reports: Our annual festival at Cosgrove took place over the weekend of 22 nd23rd July and as usual this event was split into two parts with a canal festival along the towpath and a craft fair and cream teas in Cosgrove Village Hall. This year’s craft fair proved to be the most successful ever and the canal festival attracted as many people as last year in spite of the weather. We were congratulated on the variety of trade boats along the towpath and the goods being sold. On Saturday night, instead of holding the fish and chip supper outside, we moved it to the village hall where we were entertained by Phil Underwood.

Our main work parties have been at Bridge One at Cosgrove. To publicise the work being carried out here we have a new slogan, “Bridging the Gap”, raising funds to restore the missing arch for Bridge One. To help with the fundraising, we attended the History Festival held in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, over the weekend of 17th-18th June, and the Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally the following weekend. At Braunston, with our brand new banner giving the details about the restoration of Bridge One, I was able to chat to Timothy West and Prunella Scales about our restoration work on the bridge when they presented cheques.

The weekend of 8th-9th July saw a joint visit by KESCRG/London WRG to Cosgrove. By hiring in extra dumper trucks and excavators, we were able to clear the first 250 metres of the canal bed ready to re-water this section of canal.

In the meantime most of our regular practical task work parties have been held at our Hyde Lane Nature Reserve site with the help of several companies, including Virgin Money who helped us paint the lock gates at Cosgrove, Argos, Santander, Vinci Technology and two groups from Network Rail. Further work is planned at both Cosgrove and the Nature Reserve site over the next few months.

Our new walks leaflet, The Ouse Valley Way, is proving very popular and is now available in local libraries and Tourist Information centres in the area. If anyone can help and wants leaflets for their local library, please contact me.

Finally if any Northampton IWA members have any free time on Thursdays and Sundays, you would be very welcome to join one of our practical task work parties. See page 4 for details.

Restoration work under way on the Buckingham Canal

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ADVERTISING All advertisements must comply with the requirements of the Trades Descriptions Act and avoid misrepresentation of goods offered for sale. The Business Advertisements (Disclosure) Order 1977 requires that businesses seeking to sell goods must clearly indicate this in an advertisement.

COMMERCIAL RATES 1/4 Page (box) £12.00 +VAT 1/2 Page (box) £25.00 +VAT Full Page £40.00 +VAT Other sizes by arrangement 10% discount for 4 issues paid yearly in advance 5% discount for 4 issues paid quarterly

CLASSIFIEDS (suggested donations) £1.50 for 22 words, 15p each additional word £3.50 for box around classified advertisement (nb. telephone numbers count as one word) £3.50 for photographs

BRANCH SOCIAL MEETINGS Regular Branch Social Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month from September to May inclusive at THE WALNUT TREE INN, BLISWORTH, at 8pm All members and non-members welcome.

Food and drink available

NEXT MEETINGS Tuesday 10th, October Speaker: Phil Clayton BCN — Joeys, Joshers and James Tuesday 14th, November Speaker: Patrick Moss — Somerset Coal Canal part 2 Tuesday 12th, December Christmas Quiz with John Pomfret The next edition of Endeavour will be published in November 2017

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WHO’S WHO IN NORTHAMPTON BRANCH 2017/2018 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

Branch Meetings Gemma Kinsey E-mail: gemma..kinsey @waterways.org.uk

Boat Gathering Chairman & Joint Task Party Organiser Michael Butler E-mail: michael.butler @waterways.org.uk

Sandie Morton

Planning Officer

01604 858294 E-mail: sandie.morton @waterways.org.uk

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

Treasurer Paul Lynam E-mail:paul.lynam @waterways.org.uk

Newsletter Tony Clarke 07939 977859 E-mail: tony.clarke @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member John Pomfret E-mail: john.pomfret @waterways.org.uk

Website & Social Media Officer Sam Line E-mail: sam.line @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member Alex Madisons E-mail: alex.madisons @waterways.org.uk

Publicity & Grants Officer Vacant (volunteer required)

Boat Gathering Non-Committee post Endeavour Assistant Editor, Advertising & Distribution, Archivist Roger Hasdell 01604 248582

Sub-Committee members Michael Butler (Chairman), Catriona Butler, Tony Clarke, Paul Lynam, Alex Madisons, Bernard Morton, Sandie Morton and John Pomfret

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