Lee & Stort Recorder - Autumn 2020

Autumn 2020

Since we are all stuck in the middle of the C19 situation, perhaps a little light relief is in order. During the 2019 Cavalcade at Little Venice, we visited the puppet theatre, which we had been meaning to do at every cavalcade since we started participating.

Although it is designed for the young young-at-heart, the older young-at-heart will also enjoy the performance. The audience begin their journey as soon as they step onto the gangplank and climb aboard. They descend below the waterline and leave the real world behind. Puppets from other parts of the world hang from

the walls in retirement. The theatre’s golden curtain is softly lit, a ship’s bell is rung, and the

audience fall silent in anticipation. Music plays, the lights dim, the theatre goes dark, and finally the curtain rises, to the delight of children and adults alike. The adults will have been requested to sit at the top of the tiered seating, so as not to block the view of the smaller audience.

The company began in 1978 as ‘Movingstage’, specialising in marionette theatre. After several years touring, they acquired the barge - and the rest we know.

The shows themselves may have a complete storyline, or perhaps be a series of sketches, all depicting certain popular scenes from childrens’ storybooks. The skill of the puppeteers is quite amazing, creating a very lifelike body language of the puppets.

As well as the more usual string puppets, shadow puppets, and now hand puppets, also perform.

The auditorium has seating for over 50, and shows tend to last for a little over an hour. Light refreshments are on offer, and small related items can also be purchased. Central heating will warm you in the winter, and there is a toilet on board.

And of course, it is . . . . . . . . . NO SMOKING The theatre has recently received a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund from the Government, aimed at supporting theatres through the pandemic. They are now able to be open for the next six months, still at Little Venice, and include their new Christmas show, ‘The Crow’s Tale’.

From the Branch Chairman When last I introduced this, our branch newsletter, in April at the very beginning of ‘lockdown’, the overwhelming feeling at that time was of uncertainty over how the approaching pandemic would affect our everyday lives. Well – here we are now, seven months or so later, and we know very much more about the impact on individuals, how the disease spreads, how it can be controlled, how it can be treated in hospital, and what the prospects are of finding an antidote. So – although we are a long way from seeing Covid-19 as just another of life’s niggles, at least we can be somewhat more certain of what life will be like living with it.

One aspect of that greater certainty extends to boating activities. As may be true for others, the pandemic pretty much wiped out any intention we had of cruising this year, although we did manage something of a busman’s holiday in that we rented a cruiser on the Caledonian Canal for a week in September – see associated article herein. But socialising is a hugely important part of leisure boating and the cancellation of local IWA activities (Cavalcade and Ware Festival) and national activities (Festival of Water), but also our regular monthly branch meetings has been – and continues to be – very disappointing. And as a small branch with just two waterways which pretty much look after themselves, that social aspect is our main platform, so its loss is particularly hard-felt. I suspect our branch is not alone in that regard but, under Paul Strudwick’s chairmanship, the six branches that constitute London region are increasingly working together to focus more on campaigning to maintain the heritage of, restore where possible and otherwise improve our waterways – which is, of course, what IWA was established 75 years ago to do. So, in some small way perhaps, Covid-19 was the stimulus we needed to re-think our raison d’être (mange tout, Rodney…).

I think it’s fair to say that, within London region, Canalway Cavalcade is a high point in the boating calendar and so I would draw you attention to a letter, which is reproduced in this newsletter, from Mark Saxon, chairman of the organising

committee, which sets out the current position regarding planning for Cavalcade 2021.

With best regards, and with every hope you will each stay safe and healthy.

Mike Newman Chairman, IWA Lee & Stort Branch w: www.waterways.org.uk/leeandstort/lee_stort

After the spring storm at Ware, that brought down the tree, that broke the seat, that displayed the plaque dedicated to Les, we have now rescued the plaque. Terry has it in safe keeping, and will ensure it is kept suitably polished, to be returned to its rightful place in due course, if the seat is ever replaced.

Strolling along by the river, we saw a piece of tree still lurking partially under water, waiting to ensnare any unsuspecting boat as it goes on its travels.

A little further along, is the still broken railing which was spotted and reported in July 18.

2018

Regarding the Victoria Cut footbridge, Ware Town Council have 2020 heard this week from the Environment Agency, that the pre-construction plans have been approved, (‘this week’ being 19-23 October 2020).

Work should begin in the next couple of weeks.

The ‘New Inn’ has a full program of monthly meetings, carefully planned, choreographed and implemented. A wide range of speakers alerted with a wide range of topics. That said attendance has been abysmal, even I didn’t turn up. As Monty Python once said, ‘say no more, say no more’. 1 Banny PLA are still pushing the message ‘Not to Discard Old Rope’ especially as old rope around propellers can cause near misses, which we are being asked to report (the near misses, not the wilful jettisoning of rope).

I wonder if there is anyone who could collect the abandoned rope, as it generally is better, than the string they currently and laughably ‘moor’ with. http://www.pla.co.uk/Safety/Near-Miss-Reporting I learnt a lesson in a well rainy September: don’t move a boat with domestic window glass windows! Some well-intentioned live-aboard decided to ‘fix/convert’ the collapsible wheelhouse on his Dutch Barge so that he could mount a heavy solar panel on the roof. And as a secondary purpose, try and cover up the wood rot, wet rot and delaminating plywood, so he could sell it on.

‘FindaSkipper’ was charged with the task of moving the Esme2 (Terry Pratchett fans rejoice) up the Leicester Arm, with its low arch bridges and oodles of waterfalling lock water.

Come to bridge hole, gently try to manoeuvre the now fixed wheelhouse through. Slightest touch on the edge of the wheelhouse, and the whole of the Alice in Wonderland pack of cards come tumbling down, spraying shards of bight3 sized glass over unhappy helmsman.

Mind you, the owner didn’t seem ecstatic.

Puzzling why he wanted it moved north, to be craned out, driven on low-loader, (£500+) south to Milton Keynes, then dropped back onto the GU. Canal runs south to MK.

Moral (a) Before moving floating sheds, check the windows have toughened glass markings. As admiral Eyre’s dad recently said: ‘abit o’ putty, ana a bit o’ paint makes it look like what it ain’t’.

Moral (b) Collapsible wheelhouses are necessary on Dutch Barges on canals with curved bridges.

Moral (c) Amend the terms and conditions of ‘Findaskipper’, to have sight of the last (non-existent) survey.

1.

2.

3.

Nudge Nudge, Monty Python - YouTube https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny Weatherwax Naval spelling of bite (not to be confused with Computer Anorak’s spelling of byte)

The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this Newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest

The Caledonian Canal by Mike I’d always thought it was the then Prime Minister Harold MacMillan who coined the phrase “Events, dear boy, events…” Apparently not – it was his Home Secretary, Rab Butler, responding to the PM. Nevertheless, it’s a good phrase to explain why so many plans for this year were put on hold by the ‘events’ of 2020.

For many readers of this article I’m sure, were plans to use their boats throughout the summer months, scuppered by Covid-19. Our plan was to cruise the Caledonian Canal. Even up to the point of departure in early September, there was always some doubt, but the clouds parted as it were, and we were able to fulfil the challenge.

Before picking up the boat we stopped off and took a day trip on the Jacobite steam train between Fort William and Mallaig, which notably runs over the Glenfinnan viaduct of Harry Potter fame.

It would be nice to relate a to a history going back to the early 19thc using so-many-million bricks all hand laid; in fact it was the turn of the last century using reinforced concrete; nevertheless it certainly looks impressive.

Since returning home, I watched a TV programme about Scotland’s railways, and hadn’t realised that line - which is still part of

the regular network (and so offers the same experience at a fraction of the cost, in modern carriages and without black smuts leaking through gaps in the windows) has always been subject to landslips, which most recently caused a derailment in early 2018. Apparently extremes of drought and rainfall increase the likelihood, so an innovative system of catchment fences has since been installed at vulnerable points along the line.

And so on to pick up our boat for the main event. By way of a reminder, the Caledonian Canal was constructed in the first two decades of the 19thc under the direction of Thomas Telford and largely with political motives (ie to provide employment for revolting Scots!) rather than as a sure-fire commercial venture. In practice, by the time it was completed, 12 years late and hugely over budget, ships had become much bigger (and so couldn’t pass through the canal) and more seaworthy (and so could make the northern passage).

It is undisputedly, though, an incredible feat of engineering, linking four lochs that make up the Great Glen (a rift valley between two tectonic plates – which apparently are still moving!) with five stretches of man-made canal incorporating 27 locks up and down, including the famous Neptune’s Staircase at Corpach, (but not a patch on the Caen flight, in my humble opinion).

We had hired a 12.0 x 3.8m (39.4 x 12.5 ft) cruiser from ‘Le Boat’ based at Lagan – roughly 1/3 of the way along the canal from Fort William. Ah – going onto the dark side, you might think! Well no – apparently the lochs can experience swells of 2m so a narrowboat is definitely not advisable, even if such were available for hire.

Now, cast your mind back to mid-September and you may recall temperatures in England above 30°C. It wasn’t like that in Scotland; we had 36 hours of continuous downpour and a 25 mph south-westerly blowing straight up the glen. We made it back from Lagan to the outskirts of Fort William and hunkered down there in the shadow of Ben Nevis for a couple of days. Fortunately the weather then improved and we set off towards Inverness, through ever bigger and wider landscapes under infinite skies. It is breathtaking.

Fort Augustus is an interesting place, then onto the huge expanse of Loch Ness, through Loch Dochfour (shouldn’t really count as a separate loch) and to the outskirts of Inverness. Inverness has its own flight of locks down onto the Moray Firth – perhaps not as spectacular as Neptune’s Staircase because it’s not a genuine staircase, which only canal nerds would appreciate – but both are out-of-bounds to hire boats in any case. It is good to have seen sea level at both ends, though.

The return leg was in ever-better weather - Loch Ness was like a millpond. We moored for a few hours close to Urquhart Castle to make a worthwhile visit to the Loch Ness Information Centre at Drumnadrochit (the main theme of which seemed to be to dispel any belief in Nessie – not the smartest of marketing ploys in my mind) and moored overnight at the bottom of the Fort Augustus flight. This, too, is a staircase flight of five locks and – like all locks on the Caledonian – is operated by ‘Scottish Canals’ staff.

So everything has to be done by the book which, coupled with a procedure which sees all waiting boats coming down the staircase before all waiting boats going up, can mean a lot of hanging about.

But with nice warm sun on your back that’s no great hardship (as Barbara demonstrates) unless you’re on bow-hauling duty as were the other two crew.

And so back with an unscathed boat to the Lagan base and the long journey home, leaving three principal impressions of the Caledonian Canal: 1. The scenery is breathtaking and big, and there’s a lot of it 2. The weather can be ‘changeable’, to say the least 3. It’s an awfully long way away!

A Day in the Life of a Waterways Chaplain Chaplaincy to waterways people started formally just over ten years ago with two volunteers walking a length of the Grand Union. They

discovered loneliness, poverty, alcohol and drugs dependency, mental and physical health issues and a high suicide rate. And so the ‘Waterways Chaplaincy’ was born, and it has been gathering pace ever since.

My name is Lorraine Newman, I am a senior Waterways Chaplain.

When I joined eight years ago there were just eleven of us, all volunteers, working on the Grand Union and the Lee and Stort, but there are now around 100 chaplains spread across our system of canals and navigable rivers, and we are expecting to double that number soon.

Waterways chaplains come in all shapes and sizes and from many different career backgrounds. Some are retired and some still working.

Diverse they may be, but what they all have in common is the central qualification needed to be a Waterways Chaplain: they are all good listeners. The Chaplaincy provides them with training, mentoring and a significant sense of common purpose.

My day starts with prayer. If it is a Monday I meet with a group of ladies from my village church and we pray together. Other days I pray alone because I need to be prepared. As chaplains we come across lots of amazing people but many may be going through difficult times, so I pray for those I have met for their many needs, and I pray for those I am probably about to meet.

To many, prayer might not sound like a very useful activity, but I can assure you, it is. In offering the people and needs I encounter to God, I am able to pass all of those burdens on to him and free myself mentally for the day ahead. If the day begins in this way I can put on my Chaplain’s gilet, and go out in confidence that this work I do is not mine but God’s.

The next thing that I do is check and deal with emails. Boaters often make contact with the chaplaincy through our website and those enquiries are sent on to the local team leader. I co-ordinate three teams of chaplains, (currently 18 of us), in London and the South East. Our area comprises the Rivers Lee and Stort, the London canals, parts of the Thames and the Grand Union from Brentford and north to beyond Leighton Buzzard.

When a boater contacts us through the website I will pass the information to a local Chaplain (if there is one) or I will contact the Lorraine chatting to a boater enquirer direct. Help can often be on the Lee & Stort Navigation given over the telephone but for

more complex issues I will arrange to meet with the boater, or whoever it is, face to face.

As well as contact through the website, I receive telephone calls, text messages and other contacts through social media. ‘Live aboard’ boaters (unless fortunate enough to have a permanent mooring) must move their boat every fourteen days, and continue on a journey, rather than return to a place left behind a month ago. But in spite of constantly cruising and being on the move, the boating community is amazingly good at keeping in touch and looking after their own. People will support each other through all manner of difficulties, but often when things are really difficult someone involved will urge their troubled friend or neighbour to get in touch with me.

Since my commissioning in 2012, I have worked as a Waterways Chaplain on the River Lee and the River Stort and so, over time, have become quite well known on these rivers. My telephone number and other contact details are frequently passed on to people who would benefit from a chat or some practical help. People I have been able to help in the past often become my ‘eyes and ears’ on the waterway and so the work goes on.

Licence Support officers working for The Canal & River Trust also refer people who are in need of help. In particular, we are asked to help when owners of unlicensed boats are threatened with eviction and seizure of their boat - which of course is their home.

We can get alongside the boater and discover what the difficulty is.

There may be a need to claim benefits to help with licence fees, or to put together and agree an acceptable cruising pattern for them if they have stayed in the same place for too long. Once CRT knows that we are working with a boater they will usually give them a second chance and grant them another licence. This advocacy role is an important aspect of Waterways Chaplaincy.

My day may involve meeting with a Chaplaincy team, or I may walk a section of towpath with another Chaplain, or be involved with a mentoring session. Helping boaters with form filling is a regular activity.

Government health or benefit related forms can often be seventeen pages long and completing them is a daunting prospect for some.

There may be lifts to doctors; hospital visiting; helping somebody with no address register for a doctor or dentist or to get a bank account; making a trip to a food bank to help someone who is struggling financially.

And there is much, much more so that every day is different. One day I may have a kitchen floor full of soggy washing which I have collected

from somebody whose boat has sunk or sprung a leak, and the next I will be helping to organise a service at a boat festival or a funeral. This work is challenging, exciting and rewarding, certainly never dull or boring.

We are not only there for boaters. Waterways Chaplains are all Christians and members of mainstream churches, who agree to walk a mile of towpath every week. On that walk we chat to those we meet, who could be boaters, fishermen, walkers, people with towpath businesses, cyclists, indeed anybody living or working on or around the canal or river.

Simply put, our aim is to take the love of Jesus onto the towpaths of our waterways system, to serve Him and those that we meet in any way that we can. Thus the end of a rewarding day ends in the same way it began: with prayer.

As I write this we are in the middle of the COVID 19 lockdown, so life at the moment is very different.

Chaplaincy work continues, and with imagination much can be done from home. Meetings can be held using web tools like Zoom; Chaplains can be encouraged, and self-isolating boaters can be supported.

We can organise food boxes over the telephone and even help with signing on with a doctor. Every contact provides a new challenge but none that cannot be overcome. We have a Great God! To find out more about the Waterways Chaplaincy visit: www.waterwayschaplaincy.org.uk Lorraine Newman, Senior Waterways With Barbara Davis, aboard Chaplain (April 2020) ‘Annie & Walt’

From the Region Chairman Paul Strudwick I stopped being an Associations Trustee at the Associations AGM at the end of September, but am continuing as London Region Chairman, at least for the time being. Having helped find my successor, I am confident that I leave the Association in good hands. I

expect that they will help drive forward many of the changes I talked about last time and that this will help the Association influence the development of the waterways into the future. In London we really need some more help both at branch and region level.

In this letter I would like to tell you about two issues that our South London Branch and Region Committee are dealing with. You may have read in the press that Hammersmith Bridge on the River Thames closed to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic on Thursday 13th August this year.

Built in 1881, Hammersmith Bridge was the first suspension bridge

to be built over the Thames, and was designed only for horse and cart.

Fractures in critical parts of the bridge structure, found several years ago, had significantly increased in size due to this summer’s heatwave and have become a serious threat to public safety. The engineers monitoring the bridge, have concluded that any passage under or over the bridge is unsafe with the bridge in this vulnerable condition. So the navigational channels on either side of the bridge are closed whilst the engineers try to stabilise the bridge. At the time of writing, there is no date when the bridge will reopen for navigation. Only the government has the financial resources to fix the bridge and in early September, they announced the setting up of a taskforce to look at how to restore the bridge.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) ‘Review of Standards’ for older passenger boats, carried out a few years, ago was mostly withdrawn after representation by IWA and others. However the vessels which operate trips on the tidal Thames, are still considered unsafe , and need to be rebuilt to meet the MCA new ‘damage stability’ proposals.

There has been no serious safety breach involving an older passenger boat, on the Thames, since 1990, and since then there have been improvements

in river safety cover, including fast RNLI boats, police and fire cover, and all the vessels being fitted with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) which is constantly monitors when vessels are underway.

COVID-19 and the closure of Hammersmith Bridge, has and will have, a huge negative impact on the businesses that operate these vessels, many of which are on the National Historic Ships Register. This, and the MCA proposal, risks the loss of these historic vessels from the Thames.

The IWA are keen to work with the MCA and others to find a solution which maintains the Thames’ older, historic, passenger boats for future generations to enjoy.

COVID-19 continues to put restrictions on meetings and other gatherings, with no end in sight. It looks like the uncertainty has already put paid to next year’s Cavalcade. With the loss of London’s premier event for a second year we need to think of more innovative ways to make certain IWA's campaigning messages are heard by the widest possible audience.

Paul Strudwick, London Region Chair Person.

The Canal & River Trust has published its Boater Report 2020 for its 34,500 leisure licence holders. The Report sets out how the Trust generates its income, including the contribution from boaters, and how that money is invested in the network.

The Report will be provided as an e-mailable PDF which will be included with licence renewals and new boat licence applications. A small

number of printed copies will be available for boaters without e-mail. A pocket-sized fold-out containing all the key information will be available as handouts for volunteer lock keepers to give to boaters.

It details how income increased by £6.1 million in 2019/20 to £216.1 million, and spend on charitable activities increased by £10.9 million, largely due to the emergency repair works at Toddbrook Reservoir. Underlying expenditure on core maintenance, repairs and infrastructure works continued to grow, including £8.2 million spent on dredging (2018/19: £7.2 million) and £7.9 million spent on vegetation management (2018/19: £7.6 million).

This year the Report contains profiles of twelve colleagues and volunteers, so boaters can get a sense of the wide range of jobs carried out across the Trust to help keep the waterways safe and open for cruising, and ensure boaters’ needs are met.

Jon Horsfall, head of customer service support at the Canal & River Trust, comments: “The Trust’s core purpose is maintaining the 2,000 miles of canals and rivers we look after and making the experience of using them as good as we can. Boaters play a central role in helping to fund the work with around 10% of our income coming from boat licences. The Report is designed to give licence holders an overview of how much it costs to maintain the waterways, where the Trust’s money comes from and where it gets spent.

“In what has been a difficult year for everyone, we have worked hard to keep the waterways open within the Government’s coronavirus guidelines. We appreciate the impact this has had on boaters and have offered concessions on licence fees, and specific additional support for boaters and businesses with additional needs.

“It has also made us appreciate even more the vast range of skills held by our colleagues and volunteers whose efforts are vital to the safe operation of our canals and rivers. Without them, and their tireless work, during lockdown and beyond, we would not have a navigable waterway network. This Report celebrates just a few of these roles. Boaters’ feedback is important to us, with positive comments as welcome as constructive criticism, and we’d urge boaters to let us know when they’re happy with the service they’ve received from the Trust. Meanwhile we’ll continue working to make sure the waterways are open for boaters to cruise for years to come.”

The Boater Report can be viewed here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boaterreports

Just to keep us all in the picture, the following letter concerns the 2021 Cavalcade at Little Venice:

Dear All, Since the decision to postpone IWA Canalway Cavalcade in 2020, we continue to experience uncertain times. As you can imagine this makes it hard for us to plan what IWA Canalway Cavalcade 2021 could look like. But we wanted to share an update with you and encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns.

We have been working hard as a committee to consider every possible circumstance, and hope that next year's event can come to life, perhaps looking a little different. We want to reassure you that our passion for this event is still as strong as ever. And we are doing everything we can, with the safety of our volunteers and visitors at the forefront of every decision, to make it happen.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely for the rest of the year and will confirm in early February whether we plan to go ahead in May. Until then we will proceed with the hard work and planning that goes into making this event the jewel of the London waterways festivals. In the meantime, we also welcome any constructive thoughts you may have on things you'd like us to take into consideration. And we ask those who have committed to attending next year, whether by boat, foot or as a supplier, to bear with us in this difficult time.

Thank you for your understanding, may 2021 be better for us all.

IWA Canalway Cavalcade Committee

Committee Members Branch Chairman London Region Chairman Mike Newman Paul Strudwick h:01279 843 358 m:07887 540 398 m: 07885 240 281 e: mike.newman@waterways.org.uk e: paul.strudwick@waterways.org.uk Secretary, Membership Secretary

Treasurer Carole Beeton Position Currently Vacant m: 07905 701 948 e: carole.beeton@waterways.org.uk

Joint Events Officers Banny Banyard Terry Stembridge m: 07860 669 279 m: 07709 205 498 e: banny.banyard@waterways.org.uk e: terry.stembridge@waterways.org.uk Magazine Editor Monica Hawes Bob Langley m: 07943 169 800 h: 01707 646 876 e: monica.hawes@waterways.org.uk e: bob.langley@waterways.org.uk Craig Haslam George Cutting m: 07956 848 025 m: 07721 654 410 e: craig.haslam@waterways.org.uk e: george.cutting@waterways.org.uk The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest.

Nothing printed may be construed as policy, or an official announcement unless otherwise stated.

IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. The IWA is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no 612245. Registered charity no 212342.

Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WA. Tel: 01494 783 453. Web: www.waterways.org.uk