Cargoes Spring 2010 by The Inland Waterways Association

Thames and Medway Canal

Worker checking his theodolite measurements from the swing bridge [Photo: Angela Acott]

The Inland Waterways Association

Spring 2010 Excavations reveal old copingstones [Photo: Bernard Snell]

Newsletter of Guildford & Reading Kent & East Sussex Oxfordshire and Solent & Arun Branches

Charity Barn Dance Editorial

Welcome to the first Edition of Cargoes in 2010. In the following pages are details of a host of activities and events around the Region. We would like to think that the majority of our members will find something of interest and many will want to get involved. At the recent National Festival & Boat Show Public Meeting in Wallingford we were reminded that 2010 would be a year of several significant Anniversaries – the 200th Anniversaries of both the Kennet & Avon Canal and the Wilts & Berks Canal, the centenary of Tom Rolt’s birth, the 60th Anniversary of IWA National Festivals and WRG’s 40th birthday. So it will be a year of celebrations but doubtless also one of dedicated and hard work. This is the prerequisite for success in both financial terms and public awareness. There is a clear waterways message which needs to be taken on board if we are to overcome the ever present funding threats that may become even greater in the post election scene. This year’s National Festival at Beale Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend is going to provide many opportunities for members in this Region to get involved. Further details are given in Gillian Bolt’s article on page 5 and plans for the Cressy Cruise (an Oxfordshire Branch initiative) are on pages 21-22. IWA’s Diamond Jubilee Event at Beale Park in 2006 was a great success. Let’s hope that this year’s Tom Rolt Centenary Event will be equally successful, marking, as it will, also another Diamond Jubilee, that of IWA’s National Festivals (the first of which was held in 1950 at Market Harborough). With your help and support we are sure it can be. The next Public Meeting will take place on Wednesday 24th February at Benson Parish Hall Sunnyside Benson OX10 6LZ. Finally, we make no apologies for repeating the AGM message contained in our Editorial in the last Cargoes. Each ‘Branch News’ section of this current edition gives details of that Branch’s AGM and IWAKES Branch News also gives details of the South East Region AGM (to be held at Maidstone on Thursday 25th February). Do please come along and make your views known. Cargoes Editorial Team

Cover Photo: Ancient Canal at Tongli, in Shanghai Region [Liam D'Arcy Brown] Another (much larger) Chinese Waterway, the The Grand Canal of China, will be the subject of Liam D'arcy Brown's talk at the Solent & Arun Branch AGM, in Arundel on 25th March - see pages 24-25.

An invitation is extended to all readers to the Navvies’ (WRG) Charity Barn Dance, which will take place on Saturday 6th March at 7.00pm. This is at Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, OX10 6LZ. If you need directions just ask. Tickets are limited (due to fire regulations), so book now. The price is £12 and includes a chilli supper. When ordering tickets please state how many of the following: meat – veggie – mild meat – mild veggie. For all enquiries (including on the night) contact Adrian Crow on barndance@kescrg.org.uk or 07807 456235

SERIAC 2010

South-East Regional Industrial Archaeological Conference This year’s annual one-day conference, hosted by the Surrey Industrial History Group (SIHG), takes place on Saturday 24th April at Chertsey Hall, Heriot Road, Chertsey KT16 9DR The programme starts at 9.30am and there will be a series of six lectures including ‘Life on the Thames: A look at How People Earned a living from the River over the Last 100 years’ by Steve Capel-Davies of Berkshire IAG and ‘The Croydon Canal (1809-1836): A View From Croydon’ by Paul Sowan of Subterranea Britannica. Booking forms and further details can be obtained from Bob Bryson of the SIHG at 6 Wychelm Rise Guildford Surrey GU1 3TH or Email meetings@sihg.org.uk

Inland Waterways Association South East Region: Chairman Paul Roper ‘Cranborne’ Baughurst Road, Baughurst, Tadley, Hants RG26 5LL Phone: 01189 813381 Email: paul.roper@waterways.org.uk Guildford & Reading Branch: Chairman [Vacant] [Enquiries to Region Chairman] Kent & East Sussex Branch: Chairman Mike Hannan ‘Trumpeter’, Water Lane, Headcorn, Kent TN27 9JN Phone: 01622 890586 Email: mcfhannan@btinternet.com Oxfordshire Branch: Chairman Ron Heritage “Arbre”, Main Street, Fringford, Oxon OX27 8DP Phone: 01869 277400 Email: oxfordshire@waterways.org.uk Solent & Arun Branch: Chairman Mike Laishley 16 Park Avenue, Widley, Waterlooville, Hampshire PO7 5DW Phone: 023 92325000 (evenings) Email: mike.iwa@ntlworld.com Opinions expressed in Cargoes are not necessarily those of IWA. Editorial Team: Ray Carnell and Cecil Ives iwacargoes@hotmail.com Next issue Summer 2010 Copy date 15th April 2010.

Wilts & Berks Canal News (Cont’d) I am now going to mention a few things happening on the East Vale patch. We have had planning permission confirmed recently for the ‘spillweir’ at the end of our leased length of the Canal at Childrey. Once the weather dries up we will start the preliminary work on the pipes crossing under the Canal from field drainage and then start work on the weir. I am looking forward to seeing the section complete and fully in water by the autumn. Further along, still within Childrey Parish but nearer West Challow, we are in the planning stage for replacing a culvert with a new flat bridge (similar to the one which stood here until 1948). We have a 40ft bridge in storage which the RAF have offered to fly across to the site as part of their training exercises. We await their next recce, but in the meantime we have applied for planning permission for the temporary bridge; I await a decision due at the beginning of February. I am also awaiting a full design for the new bridge and once sorted we can apply for planning permission together with one for a bridleway diversion. Advance Notices: this year is, of course, the 200 th Anniversary of the opening of the Canal in 1810. I should have more details of events celebrating the anniversary by the next edition. I suggest that you put Sunday 12th September in the diary for an event at Wichelstowe, Swindon. Also, there will be further details of our negotiations to extend Jubilee Cut into the adjoining gravel pit in time for an event after the National Waterways Festival in August.

South London Branch Social Calendar The following South London Branch Social Events will take place at 7.30 for 8.00pm at The Primary Room The United Reformed Church Hall Addiscombe Grove Croydon CR0 5LP: Wednesday 3rd March

AGM followed by a film “Kingswear Castle Goes to London” compiled by Alan Snowdon

Wednesday 7th April

Talk “Restoration of the Wendover Arm” by Roger Leishman of the Wendover Arm Trust

Wednesday 5 th May

Talk about “Hampshire Waterways” by Peter Oates of the Southampton Canal Society

Wednesday 2

June

Presentation about “The Higher Avon” by Roger Clay from The Stratford & Warwick Waterways Trust

Admission is free to all, members or non-members, although we do request a contribution towards room hire and refreshments. For more information contact: Alan Smith, tel: 020 8255 1581

From The Region Chairman Introduction As I sit writing this in the first week of January I look out to hard frosts and snow in what appears to be one of the worst doses of winter weather for years. Many of the canals are frozen over and it seems an age since I took my narrowboat out on the cut. Indeed I regret not leaving an electric tube heater on to stave off the frost but my marina, 80 miles away in the midlands, charges so much for electricity that I decided to be frugal and have relied on partial draining down of the water system. My field visits to waterway groups and projects have taken a bit of a back seat during the inclement weather. However in early December I did manage a lengthy walk along various sections of the derelict Itchen Navigation from the edge of Southampton up to Winchester. This long lost waterway has many lengths in water and remains of most of the 17 turf sided locks are still there to explore. The local wildlife trust is leading on conservation and restoration of the remains with the help of a lottery grant. For a variety of reasons there are no plans to restore this waterway to navigation although the local Solent & Arun IWA Branch help with the work parties and its good for IWA to demonstrate conservation and heritage credentials showing that we are much more than just a boaters organisation. My thanks go to Andy Berncastle of Solent & Arun Branch who joined me for some of the walk and ferried me between sections. It’s a good well signposted walk and I commend it to you. The Future of the Waterways The IWA campaign to defend our waterways against a variety of threats, but principally funding, is being led by the Navigation Committee currently chaired by Roger Squires. The National Chairman, Clive Henderson, has asked me to step into Roger’s shoes after the IWA AGM in September 2010 when Roger wishes to stand down. As a consequence I find myself drawn into the centre of IWA’s policy decision making at a crucial time for the waterways in the run up to the general election. Many of you will be aware of the much publicised threat from the Treasury for BW’s property portfolio which generates significant income for BW and which would be lost. Thanks go to those of you who responded to the online No.10 e-petition and for now the threat is on hold. However the battle is not yet won and if you haven’t signed please do so by clicking on the link at the IWA website homepage. DEFRA have produced a new consultation document “Waterways for Everyone” which is an update of a similar one nearly 10 years ago. It recognises the enormous potential for the waterways relating this to major initiatives such as climate change mitigation, environmental improvement, healthy lifestyles, neighbourhood renewal, community

4 cohesion and social inclusion. You can even find a reference to boating! What it does mean is that the decades of battling by IWA to get government to recognise the immense value of our waterway system has borne fruit. There is only one tiny problem - who is going to pay for it? BW have recognised that government funding is going to be increasingly tight and hence their 2020 vision in which they propose a move from the public to the third sector (ie a not for profit organisation serving a common good such as a charitable trust). I helped with the IWA response to this and the latest BW document “Setting a New Course”, available from their website has taken on board all of our points. In particular it now agrees that significant government funding will still be required for the system to survive in its current form, it acknowledges our concern that the government might take the opportunity of changed status to further reduce funding, it recognises the possibility that BW might change its name and perhaps increase its scope to take on other waterways. IWA is now developing its policies for the future of the waterways. If there was an easy solution to the severe fiscal conditions someone would have thought of it! However it is opportune to revisit a long held IWA vision of a National Waterways Conservancy in which most of the system is in the hands of a single authority which can represent the interests at a national, regional and local level as well as developing the business and realising the economies of scale. This was first suggested decades ago by IWA cofounder and great visionary Robert Aickman and the idea has been dusted off from time to time. The current existence of more than 30 waterway authorities, mostly public bodies, reflects the complex evolution of the waterway system and is frankly a historical anachronism that with a blank sheet of paper no-one would create today. I should stress that this is not a question of handing over other parts of the system such as EA waters to BW; rather it’s the opportunity to create something entirely new drawing upon the best of the constituent parts. Branch Issues Throughout February and March the four Branches in South East Region together with the Region itself will hold their AGMs - details are found elsewhere in this issue. Keeping these Branches going depends upon the efforts of a few volunteers and most are short of committee members. This is not unique to this Region and elsewhere one IWA Branch is set to disappear with others looking vulnerable. Those of you in the Guildford and Reading Branch area will remember that I included a special plea for help with the last Cargoes and I am happy to report there were a few offers so I am reasonably confident that we will have a viable committee next year. However there are spaces on all the committees so please get in touch with Branch contacts if you would like to help out. I also urge you to attend your Branch AGM to hear what’s going on and in particular to express any views you have. I hope to see you there. Paul Roper

Wilts & Berks Canal News

Brian Stovold (Chairman of East Vale Branch of W&BCT) writes: A Happy New Year to all readers from the East Vale Branch of the W&BCT. First of all I should like to thank the members of the Surrey and Hants Canal Society for their kind comments and donation following my talk in December. It happened to be on a very wet and windy evening and the M4 was not a pleasant drive. However this was more than made up by the welcome from the members on the night and it was good to have so many searching questions to answer, and to hear about the local issues in the area. Having family in Surrey I have followed the ups and downs of the Basingstoke over the years with interest. Where shall I start? Obviously part of the Wilts & Berks canal falls outside of the Cargoes area but I must tell you about some up and coming restoration activities. As you may know some years ago, at the same time as the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group turned into a Trust, the W & B Partnership was formed comprising all the local authorities as well as the Environment Agency, British Waterways and various others. In June 2009 the Partnership decided to pursue the recommendations of the Consultants Proposals in 2007 as regards a new route to Melksham from the Kennet and Avon Canal. The Project is designed to start to coincide with the 200th Anniversary of the opening of the Canal this year and to be completed by 2014 i.e. the 100th Anniversary of its closure. Various routes have been considered over the years but the route now gaining favour is one that takes in the green space between Berryfields near Melksham and the Semington Road. The route is easier and, from an engineering point of view, with locks nearer the River Avon. Topological surveys were taking place late last year with a view to going out to full consultation in 2010. Further east at Pewsham the Trust is planning for the restoration of 1200m of canal between the newly restored Double Bridge, opened by the Duchess of Cornwall last year, and Pewsham Locks. Just south of Swindon the new development of Wichelstowe is being created with the intial infrastructure going in. As part of this, the developers have already built a new canal bridge for the estate road, and are building a new section of canal and lock within the development. Overall there should be 4km of new or restored canal including a junction with the main line. The new section should form part of the new route around Swindon to the East. Negotiations continue for a long length of canal at Shrivenham, this area also includes the newly restored Steppingstones Lane arch bridge.

Wey and Arun Canal Trust News New Appointments

Conservation Adviser The Wey & Arun Canal Trust has reaffirmed its commitment to creating a ‘Green Corridor’ through Surrey and Sussex following the recent appointment of Ian Burton as the Trust’s Conservation Adviser. Ian, who lives at Middleton-on-Sea, held various senior roles in the local authority sector before taking retirement in 2007. Most recently, he was Director of Outdoor Business for Mid Sussex District Council. He has also worked in the consultancy field and is qualified in horticulture and landscape design. Ian believes that he can help to improve knowledge of the rich bio diversity of wildlife associated with the canal environment. He is keen to harness the conservation interest and awareness that exists in the local community which is reflected in the high value that many people place on the wildlife and recreational benefits of the canal corridor. Development Officer The Wey & Arun Canal Trust has recently appointed Bernard Ashley to the post of Development Officer, a task that will progress the long-term future development of the canal restoration project. Bernard, who retired last year after more than 30 years with the airports operator BAA, has long experience in transport, local planning and environmental matters. His most recent post was Transport Strategy Manager at Gatwick Airport, where he was responsible for ensuring passengers and staff could get to and from the airport in the most efficient manner while mitigating the environmental impact of their journeys. Bernard expects the new role to focus on the long term strategic development of the route, promoting the canal in its own right and also the wider social and recreational benefits to be gained from a long distance ‘Green Corridor’ through Surrey and West Sussex. He lives near to the canal, in Horsham, and is actively involved with one of several regular working parties. He acknowledged the strong foundations and good relationships with other Authorities built up by the Trust over the years, but believes that as the project grows, it will need more co-ordination. Further information about the Wey & Arun Canal Trust is available from the Trust’s office, on 01403 752403 (office manned weekday mornings, answering machine at other times).

5 National Festival & Boat Show 2010 Fantastic Support for Beale Park National With 300 visiting boaters already booked in to come to Beale Park and exhibitor bookings well ahead – the 2010 Festival promises to be another spectacular show. Support is coming in from all quarters too. River Canal Rescue are always great supporters, giving Gold, Silver and Bronze memberships for our Festival Cruising Awards. This year they have also offered two months free support for every boater who books in. Effectively this means that those boaters who are not RCR members will be able to ring up if they have any engine problems and for a one-off fee of £35, an engineer will be on the way. Hopefully this will ease the concerns of any boaters who would like to come to the Festival but feel uneasy about river travel. Other great offers for all the visiting boaters, campers and advance ticket purchasers include £3 off entry to Beale Park itself, 10% off entry to the Didcot Steam Railway and, of course, the opportunity to enter the great UK Boat Hire Prize Draw. Even if entrants don’t win the holiday, they will still receive a voucher worth £100 off a week’s holiday and £50 off a short break. The camping and boating entry fees also include entry to all the evening entertainment as well so the Festival offers great value. An additional bonus is that the Festival campsite will be opened from the Monday before the Festival again – giving visitors a great opportunity to see more of this lovely area at a very low cost of only £6.50 per night. 2010 is, of course, the centenary of one of IWA’s founders, Tom Rolt, and to reflect his passion for the working boats, Festival organisers will be setting up a “working” wharf on the lakeside, adjacent to the historic boat display. In addition, we hope to have displays of steam traction engines, steam boats and vintage cars which have been a lifelong interest for the Rolt family. Other Festival entertainments this year include the “Knights of the Crusades” who will be doing heraldry displays and setting up camp in the small arena. The raptor displays will also join them there. With morris sides and music on the land site, there will also be some interesting lake entertainment this time including the opportunity to “walk on water” in the Sphereballs, model boat demonstrations, Newfoundland Rescue dogs and other attractions still to be confirmed. Volunteers are still needed and if anyone can spare some time, please contact Anne Myall on ann.myall@btopenworld.com whilst boat and campsite booking forms can be downloaded from the website www.waterways.org.uk. Gillian Bolt

27 Cargoes Content – a new feature?

We are conscious that with such a large membership covering an area with a variety of waterways, there always seems to be plenty of news of events past, present and future to fill each edition of Cargoes. However, at a recent Region Committee meeting, it was suggested that space might be found for a regular item featuring, in turn, each of the Region’s waterways. Of course, with the number of waterways in our Region this would take several years to complete but we would hope to find someone willing to research and produce the series of articles. We would like to know what members think of this idea and any suggestions as to what might be covered by such a regular feature. If you have any views or might even be willing to help with the production, do let your Branch representatives know or contact us at the Cargoes Email address - iwacargoes@hotmail.com. Cargoes Editorial Team

Salisbury Group Our Salisbury correspondent, Myra Glover, writes: For the final visit of the year, 34 members welcomed Peter Halman to talk to us about the River Thames “Shaping history through the centuries”. This covered the section of the Thames from Oxford to Windsor and included spectacular aerial photography together with pictures taken many years ago along side modern ones. Peter began by telling us about the importance of the river in forming the political and social boundaries. The Thames formed a barrier when Britain was originally divided into separate kingdoms. He then went on to talk about the various settlements along the Thames, giving some of the history and the influence that the river had on people’s lives. These settlements were situated at convenient crossing points of the river and have grown into the major towns that we know today such as Abingdon, Wallingford, Marlow, Sonning, Pangbourne and Windsor. Had we realized that Oxford was where the oxen forded the river? Back in history these settlements were important for supplying food for both themselves as well as for London. These included items such as vegetables, honey, salmon and eels along with cattle, flax and timber. Peter told us about the trades associated with the river, such as dredging for sand and ballast for buildings, weir keeping to ensure that the navigation was always kept open, pollarding, water mills, carpentry, as well as the vital trade of boat building. Boats were the most efficient form of transport being able to transport fifty tons of goods compared to just eight tons by road. The canals that were connected to the Thames were vital trade links to the rest of the country. In the end it was the Great Western Railway that was the death knell for trade on the Thames. However from Victorian times the river

For Port Creek and Beaulieu cruise details, please contact Andy Berncastle on 023 8027 3599 or at hilary.berncastle@btinternet.com if you plan to take part or have any queries – or just turn up on the day! On all cruises, all take part at own risk. And if you’ve never tried really small boating, why not? Twice the fun for a day, for under a twentieth of the cost of a narrowboat. Re-find your spirit of adventure! Andy Berncastle

SOUTHAMPTON CANAL SOCIETY The Society is pleased to announce that IWA Salisbury Team were the winners of our popular annual Intersociety Quiz held in December. The Quiz Masters, Eric & Sue Lewis offered a challenging and taxing set of questions. The runners-up were IWA Guildford & Reading Branch, followed by the Southampton Canal Society and finally the Solent & Arun Branch.

Forthcoming Events Thursday 4th March:

Alan Copeland: "Curiosities of the Chilterns"

Thursday 1st April:

Travel Author Liam D'Arcy Brown "Grand Canal of China" an illustrated talk on the fabric and history of the canal and people who live and work upon it (for more details of this talk please refer to the Solent and Arun News, Forthcoming Events in this Cargoes)

Thursday 29th April:

Paul Gosling with "Goslings Gallivants 2009" Boats, Rail & Planes involved.

Thursday 3rd June:

SCS members John Silman & Tony Yoward give a talk on "Canals & Mills, General & Industrial".

Meetings are held at Chilworth Parish Hall, Chilworth, Southampton S016 7JZ, starting at 7.45 pm. Come along and meet us. Angela Rose

7 Small Boat Cruises

Sunday 25th April: River Arun to Pallingham We again exercise the right of navigation at the top of the tidal Arun, from Pulborough to Pallingham and back, some 20 miles from the sea. Suitable for small craft under about 16ft and under about 400kg gross on trailer, as it’s impossible to get a car on the slipway at Pulborough, so depends on willing hands and a long rope if necessary.

became a fashionable playground right up to today when it is still used for recreational sport and cruising. As always we entered a team into the annual waterways quiz organized by Southampton Canal Society and held at Chilworth Village Hall. Our team did very well, in fact they did too well and WON! They gained 19 ½. points, the other teams gaining 16, 15 and 10 ½. Now we are responsible for setting the quiz next year. Congratulations to the four team-members. Well done also to Rosemary Davis for winning a bottle of wine for gaining the highest score in the audience participation quiz.

Meet at the slipway at Pulborough ‘Swan’ Bridge (A29), north bank, east side of bridge, at 11.00, to launch and set off at 11.30. Park on south side of river except when launching/recovering, or elsewhere in town or at station. High Water at Pallingham should occur at about 13.30. Explore the old canal briefly on foot on arrival from 13.00 and cruise back to Pulborough by 15.00. Picnic lunch recommended. Bowsaw could be useful for small branches in the river or above it, particularly for any small cabin craft. Possibility of launching small dinghies at Stopham, or calling there briefly at the White Hart pub, just off the A283 (avoiding the submerged metal stakes of an old landing stage, by the pub garden wall below the old bridge), if time and tide permit. Landing at Pallingham Quay Farm is by special arrangement with the land-owner, to access the public footpath. Please respect this privilege. Please contact Tony Pratt on 01903 261991 anthonypratt@tiscali.co.uk or Brendan Whelan on 01903 816012; b_whelan@mistral.co.uk if you plan to take part or have any queries – or just turn up on the day! Sunday 13th June: Port Creek Port Creek, next to the A27 dual-carriageway, is what makes Portsmouth into an island. Tidal, with low bridges, we again attempt the challenge of navigating it in the time-window when there is both enough depth and enough headroom. For the confident harbour cruiser, a muddy launch at Fareham around 09.00 for a 12-mile cruise (using main channels, shorter if confident navigationally) through Port Creek eastwards to Langstone (Ship Inn), to recover at the good slipway there. High Water is at about 13.00. For the less bold, meet at Highbury, to launch directly into Port Creek near the railway bridge, from 10.30, to get away at 11.00. Explore Port Creek in both directions and either recover at Highbury (or Hilsea), or head east to Langstone (6 miles). Lift available to recover cars if necessary from launch site. Sunday 26th September: Beaulieu River cruise. Full details of this cruise will appear in the next edition of Cargoes.

The victorious Salisbury Team comprising (left to right) Colin Davis, Tim Symington, Nick Grundy (standing) and team captain Ron Glover [Photo: Ray Carnell] As usual we ended the year with twenty-two of us enjoying an excellent Christmas dinner cooked by Jeff at The Green Dragon. During the year our group raised £196 by holding raffles and were able to donate this money to seven different charities. Due to popular demand we have included extra talks in our programme for 2010. Now we will meet every month except April, June and August when members may be away boating.

25 years, to travel the full length of the canal, all 1114 miles. The talk will cover the history, construction, route, politics plus both the historic and current use.

Salisbury Group (Cont’d) Programme of Events Thurs 18th Feb Denis Dodd will be telling us about the little known Grand Western Canal which used to run from the River Exe to the Bristol Channel. This tub boat canal had a life span of 30 years and was well known for its experimental lifts, the first to be built in Britain and possibly the world. Denis will be telling us particularly about the excavations of the lift at Nynehead. If there is sufficient interest a visit can be arranged to see the excavations first hand. Thurs 18th March Ron Heritage, chairman of the IWA Oxfordshire Branch, will be telling us about the highlights of three of his trips: The Thames Tideway, Limehouse to Gravesend, on a campaign cruise escorting IWA boat Jubilee. The Liverpool Coal & Cotton rally (last trip on the River Mersey before the new canal was built.) Waterways in Scotland. Thurs 20th May One of our members John Golledge will be telling us about “My Rescue at Sea” This will be followed by: - Ron & Myra Glover showing slides, a DVD and talking about the Falkirk Wheel. Thurs 15th July Boules & BBQ at the Green Dragon 7.00pm An outline of the Autumn programme is as follows (more details in Cargoes nearer the time) Thurs 16th Sept The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race Thurs 21st Oct A talk entitled “Green and Silver” - the book by Tom Rolt in which he describes his journey through the Waterways of Southern Ireland. Thurs 18th Nov “Lydney’s lost fleet”. Thurs 16th Dec Christmas dinner at The Green Dragon Alderbury. Unless otherwise stated, meetings are at The Green Dragon, Old Road, Alderbury, Salisbury SP5 3AR , starting at 7.30pm where visitors will be warmly welcomed. Further information can be obtained from Ron & Myra Glover on 01722 710322 or from Jon Van de Geer on 01722 412841.

Today the canal stretches from Beijing, in the north, to Hangzou, near Shanghai, in the south. The first sections of the canal were constructed by the military in 483 BC. In around 600 AD, it was lengthened to become a conduit for grain travelling to the imperial capital. By the end of the Qing dynasty, in 1911, it had been largely abandoned because of devastating flooding, foreignbuilt railways and advances in ships. However, in the 1950s it became part of Mao's command economy, carrying coal, fuel, ore, bricks, sand, cement, etc, and so it continues today. The physical geography changes dramatically from south to north and the talk will include information on the major river crossings. Further information will be given on the kind of barges that work on the canal, the life aboard them. The talk will conclude with how the canal is now being reinterpreted by the Chinese Communist Party as a symbol of how the Chinese were technologically and economically far ahead of the rest of the world for so many centuries.

The Grand Canal in Jiang Nan [Photo: Liam D’Arcy Brown]

You are welcome to bring family and friends to what will be a unique insight into this dramatic and historic waterway. The talk is being arranged jointly with the Arundel Boat Club. Further information on the canal can be found at www.wikipedia.com the Grand Canal of China, an article largely written by Liam himself. For further information on the above event, please contact the Branch Secretary on: b_whelan@mistral.co.uk Tel: 01903 816012 Brendan Whelan

9 Solent and Arun Branch News Chairman’s report

Southampton Canal Society Quiz

Welcome to the first Cargoes of 2010 and a new Solent & Arun cruising season, see dates and details elsewhere in this edition. With a General Election looming this year it is going to be a busy year for the IWA trying to keep the waterways in the political arena. Watch out for any news on threats to Waterways and how to respond. The recent campaign against the sell off of the BWB property portfolio shows that it is still possible to make ourselves heard. I was personally surprised at how easy it was to register my name on the on-line petition, the petition is still open and is well up the list of most popular petitions on the government’s web site (No. 5 on 15th Jan), so give it a try. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/protectourcanals. Nigel Edwards has stepped down as Chairman of the Arundel Boat Club; he has nurtured the club from its formation to this AGM. He has put a tremendous effort into the formation of the club and its associated activities, which reaped its rewards with the visitors moorings at Arundel. We would like to wish him all the best for the future and look forward to working with his successor Dr C. Waite. We took part in the annual canal quiz at the Southampton Canal Society at the start of December, but unfortunately could only manage last place this time out. Must revise next time!!! Look forward to seeing you at the AGM and our special guest speaker or at one of our cruises during the year. Finally, a plea: the Solent & Arun branch has vacancies for committee members, no previous experience is required as full training will be given. Applicants must be IWA members, commitment is four meetings a year, some of these can be held electronically. Often these involve a meal as well and a few laughs. Why not give it a try? If interested then please contact Mike Laishley on 023 92325000. Mike Laishley

Forthcoming Events Thursday 25th March

Guildford & Reading Branch News

Solent and Arun AGM at The Norfolk Centre, Mill Road, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9PA, at 7.30 pm.

Following the AGM, at 8pm, there will be an illustrated talk on the Grand Canal of China, by Liam D'Arcy Brown. Liam is an experienced writer and presenter of talks. He has considerable experience of China and is the first westerner, in over 200

The Guildford & Reading Team consisting of Ray Carnell, Tony Davis, Mike Lewis and captain Ben Scott were able to secure the Runners-up place for the second year running. The visiting teams were very appreciative of the hospitality provided by members of the Southampton Canal Society.

AGM with Guest Speaker Ian West on Monday 15th March This year’s AGM will again take place at Byfleet Boat Club with a 7.30pm start. The Agenda was set out in the Winter 2009 Edition of Cargoes. Light refreshments will be available on the conclusion of the formal business. Following the interval, we shall be pleased to welcome Ian West, Chairman of IWA Festivals, who is going to talk on ‘IWA Festivals – then and now’. We are sure that members will find what Ian has to say of particular interest as we prepare for our third Beale Park National in a period of only a few years and at a time when questions are being raised about the future of National festivals that have been a feature of IWA’s campaigning for 60 years. Please come along and support your Branch.

Sales Stand & publicity The Branch AGM is but a few weeks away and from then until September promises to be a period of sustained activity with a series of events across the Branch which we shall be attending in publicity and fund-raising capacities with the Sales Stand and ever-popular Lucky Locks Game. The schedule of events we expect to attend includes: Woking Canal Festival on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th April Reading Waterfest on Saturday 19th June Guildford Festival Boat Gathering on Saturday 3rd July Goring & Streatley Regatta on Saturday 17th July Newbury Waterways Festival on Sunday 25 th July National Waterways Festival & Boat Show at Beale Park from Saturday 28th to Monday 30th August

Banbury Canal Day

Guildford & Reading Branch – Sales Stand and publicity (Cont’d) We shall also be lending support to IWA’s presence at the British Leisure Show at Windsor in March (see details below). Then, from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th June, we will again be joining forces with Middlesex Branch for the Beale Park Thames Boat Show where, as usual, there will be available a wide range of waterways books, maps etc supplied from IWA Sales at Head Office. Once again we would remind members that success depends in many ways on your support. We need volunteers to help on the Branch Stand with both Sales and Publicity, the latter being especially important in the lead up to this year’s National which is again taking place in the Branch area. We also need a good supply of second-hand waterways books and maps for the Branch Sales Stand. If you can help in any way or have items you would be willing to donate, please contact me on 01483 282806 or Email iwacargoes@hotmail.com. Ray Carnell

British Leisure Show – Windsor This show is taking place at the Royal Windsor Racecourse from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st March. It will be covering a wide range of outdoor leisure activities with Boats & Watersports expected to feature prominently. Opening times are 10am until 5pm each day. To maximise the opportunities afforded by IWA’s presence, a strong team is needed to help on IWA’s National Volunteer Sales Stand and to be on hand to support the Association’s publicity/recruitment efforts at the event. If you can help, even for only a few hours, please get in touch as soon as possible with Jerry Sanders on 01283 716 158 or by Email to jerry.sanders@waterways.org.uk.

Mikron on the Basingstoke Sunday 22nd August 7.30pm at the usual venue Fox and Hounds, Crookham Road, Church Crookham,Fleet. The show will be " Striking The Balance" Inspired by heroic sewing machinists from Dagenham, cleaners from Belfast, dinner ladies from Yorkshire and cooks from Liverpool, the show chronicles the continuing struggle for Equal Pay. Another gem from Mikron pens....! Further details in the Summer edition of Cargoes.

This is annual event in our calendar now and takes place on 3rd October. For those who have never attended, this is a fantastic occasion. Great fun with lots of colour, entertainment, food, dancing and more. Boat booking will start from around March/April and if you want to bring your boat book early. Space is at a premium and we had to turn boats away last year. Again I will need helpers. Watch out my usual volunteers I will be writing to you soon. If you are not on my list I have lots of room for more and it really can be fun. Mary Heritage

Forthcoming Events March 10th:

Oxfordshire Branch Annual General Meeting

April 14th:

Dr Martin Barnes, CBE, Civil Engineer “Thomas Telford – Civil Engineer”

Meetings are held at the Sports and Social Club, Yarnton Road, Kidlington, at 7.30 for 8.00pm. New Members and Visitors will be made most welcome. For details or directions phone Ann Yeatman on 01865 372552.

Canal Art Exhibitions A new exhibition by Oxfordshire Artist Michele Field. From 28th February to 26th March. An exhibition of “Oxfordshire Waterways and Flowers” at the Churchill Hospital, Headington, Oxford. The Art show is located in the old part of the hospital in South Street Corridor. Parking. Open 7am to 8pm daily. All most welcome For more information visit website: www.britishartists.co.uk/michele_field Exhibition at Audlem Mill. From 21st March to 17th April. The third annual exhibition of paintings of canal and waterways scenes is being held at Audlem Mill in Cheshire, one of the oldest and best known canalside shops in Britain. Artists confirmed so far include Sarah Pressland, Dusty Miller, Helen Harding, Sylvia Hankin, Rob Lowman (members of the Guild of Waterway Artists), Harley Crossley, Dave Holloway, and David Wright as well as local artists Sheila Webster and the late Maureen Hinchliffe. Entry to the exhibition is free, and all works are for sale. Audlem Mill is open seven days a week. Visitors should ring 01270 811059 for further information and directions to the Mill or visit: www.audlemmill.co.uk.

11 S&HCS Social Meetings

Special Events during 2010 (Cont’d) lengths of the journey as they travel north on the Oxford Canal towards Braunston and the Leicester arm of the Grand Union Canal. IWA are setting up a website on which you will be able to follow the boats as they will be tracked throughout their voyage. Regular updates will be available showing pictures of the places they visit, meetings with other Branches and events they will be attending en route. Do come and join in this event and give them a hearty send off. Banbury Council are also keen to have a welcome back event as the boats head down the Oxford Canal, heading for IWA’s National Festival at Beale Park at the end of August. The date for this ‘welcome back event’ at Banbury has yet to be agreed. I will keep you posted. Mary Heritage

Oxford Heritage Weekend “Open Doors” This year the Heritage Weekend will take place on 11th and 12th September in the Hythe Bridge pocket park and as last year, we will be running trip boats and will have a variety of stalls and information stands. In addition we will be organising the children’s craft workshops and I really do need your help. A large number of people volunteered to assist at this event last year and all were kept very busy. This year we are running three boats so additional crews are required. Skippers must have helmsman licence as a minimum. The crew members and waterside assistants must have “boat” experience but there are many other tasks where just a willingness to get involved and assist is all that is needed. So please contact me so that I can compile my lists ready. As you can see from the above info I will be planning this “on the hoof” this year so would be pleased to hear from you ASAP if you can spare an hour or so on either, or both of those dates. A very special request for that weekend is for someone to head up the children’s craft stall. Last year Helen from the training centre in the Castle did this but cannot do so this year. It was so successful we have been particularly asked to include/organise this. Helen I am sure will help with suggestions and planning. WOW activities which can be found on the website are what she used. So come on someone step forward please! Mary Heritage

At the January meeting Peter Oates, a stalwart of the Southampton Canal Society, talked about the Itchen Navigation. Peter gave a short history of the navigation from Southampton to Winchester, starting in Roman times leading up to improvement of the navigation followed by its ultimate demise in 1869. He illustrated the talk with numerous photographs on the remains of the navigation, many taken in the 1970s but a few more recently. At the end he covered briefly the more recent work, funded by the lottery and supported by the local wildlife trust and IWA Branch, to preserve the remaining heritage features of the navigation. The programme of talks continues to April on the third Wednesday of each month starting at 8pm at the usual venue the Parish Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Station Road, Chobham. Coffee/tea and biscuits will be available during the interval. Nonmembers and friends are very welcome. The future programme is as follows:Wed 17th February Roddy McKee - 'Tale of Two Steamers – Waverley and Kingswear Castle' Roddy will be recounting the history of these two restored paddle steamers and updating us on the ongoing work that has been taking place over the years to keep these historic vessels in operation, including the two stages of large rebuilds. They are the only two operational sea going paddle steamers left in this country, and long may they be so. Wed 17th March

Ron and Myra Glover - 'Crossing Germany from west to east'

Ron and Myra will be describing and illustrating their cruises in Germany in their steel motor cruiser from the River Rhine in the west through to Berlin and then north to the Mecklenburg Lakes and back to Berlin thence eastwards to the Polish border. Wed 21st April

Runnalls Davis - 'Birds, Beaux, Barges and a Great Big Bang – The Regent's Canal'

One of our popular speakers returns again to talk about London's very own canal which is comparatively little known, and this voyage follows it from its somewhat sordid beginnings at Limehouse on the Thames to the sublime Regency beauty of Little Venice. Its history and changing fortunes are described, as well as some of its landmark buildings, strange curiosities and the eccentric characters who have left their mark on it. For further information on this talks programme contact David Millett on 01252 617364.

Social Events Report

Woking Canal Festival The Woking Canal Festival will be held at the Bridge Barn over the Easter weekend, namely Saturday 3rd April and Sunday 4th April. This family-friendly event will include live entertainment, stalls and Easter Egg Hunt. We always need extra help, so all offers would be warmly welcomed by Verna Smith who is on 01252 517622.

Weyside 2010 Weyside 2010 from 11th-13th June at Byfleet Boat Club. The boaters event on the Wey. DIY BBQ Friday and Saturday evenings. Lots of fun, boaters’ games, quizzes, stalls, competitions. Live entertainment Saturday evening. Free admission. Come by boat, bike, car or on foot. Boat entry form from Byfleet Boat Club or download from www.byfleetboatclub.com Further details: Rodney Wardlaw 07887 552922 or Ian Smith 07836 594898.

Weybridge Thames-side Festival Weybridge Thames-side Festival, to be held on Saturday 4th September, is being organised by Weybridge Society to celebrate completion of a range of upgrading works including giving safe access and wider landings to visitor moorings along the Weybridge bank of the Thames downstream for approx. 200 metres from the existing slipway (EA work due to start spring this year). Programme to include boaters BBQ on the Friday evening and stalls aimed at encouraging the general public of Weybridge and Shepperton to become aware of (or re-discover) their Thames Path and the new ‘wheelchair friendly’ access to its ferry. It is hoped that members returning south from Beale Park will have the time to stopover, and River Wey and Basingstoke Canal licence holders will feel able to join in by obtaining ‘one day’ Thames licences from the Shepperton Lock-keeper - valid for 48 hours on a ‘two for one’ basis.

At the meeting on Wednesday 11th November the speaker was Chris Coburn, founder of Lee Sanitation in Fenny Compton. The title “Adventures in a narrow boat – for a purpose” described his exploits over many years, on his narrow boat Progress, to publicise campaigns to conserve and protect our inland waterways. Chris is a passionate advocate of canal restoration and maintenance and the survival of many canals is in jeopardy. Some of his trips have been documented and shown on TV in the programme Waterways World and Country File. Chris has undertaken two trips across the English Channel – not for the faint-hearted! The boat needed to be adapted to make it watertight and the weather not too windy. The first trip was for the anniversary of the Dunkirk landings in company with the small ships, some of whom had taken part in the rescue from the Normandy beaches in 1940. The second, in 2004 was to protest against plans to take the M40 toll road through two canal crossing points on the Lichfield and Hatherton canal, which was being restored. This would have made reconstruction of this part of the canal impossible. Chris was determined to lobby the European parliament if necessary. His campaign resulted in the money being found to take the motorway across the route of the canal so that full restoration will eventually be possible. This was a fascinating talk illustrated with excellent slides and TV film footage. The December meeting on Wednesday 9th was the annual Skittles Night event. There was great competition between all the teams, with much vociferous encouragement and advice to each participant! A buffet supper of sausages and chips was also enjoyed by all. Sue Wardley, Social Secretary The Mount, High Street, Adderbury, Banbury OX17 3LU

Special Events during 2010 In the previous edition of Cargoes the 2010 Tom Rolt Centenary Celebrations were mentioned. In particular the possibility of a re-enactment of the historic”Cressy” Cruise, which is well documented in Tom Rolt’s book “Narrow boat”, was mooted. Plans are now well ahead for this. Some of you may have seen the press release put out by IWA which gave the background to this cruise which is Oxfordshire Branch’s contribution to these celebrations. A “send off” event is being planned for Saturday 24th April that will take place from 11am around the canal side at Banbury. Culminating in the “send off” of Chairman Ron and wife Mary on their boat “Heron” together with Tony and Christine Crawford on “Jupiter”. They will leave Banbury at 12 mid-day to follow the journey made by Tom and Angela in 1939. Tooleys day-boat ”Dancing Duck” with various VIPs on board will lead the way. Several other boats will accompany them for varying

13 Oxfordshire Branch News Chairman’s Report

The AGM fast approaches. Notification of this was in the last edition of Cargoes, but just a reminder that it will be held on March 10th 2010 at our usual venue, the Sports and Social Club, Yarnton Rd, Kidlington. I know AGMs are not particularly popular but are mandatory to all organisations as an opportunity to inform members what the committee are doing and an opportunity for members to have their say. If you want any issues raised please try and let me know before the event as we need to add these to the agenda and the answers sometimes require some research. Following the formal part of the evening Peter Strong, a leading member of the Jericho Boatyard Trust, will be giving us an update on the current position regarding the boatyard and explaining their hopes and plans for its future as a working boatyard once again.

Kennet & Avon Canal Trust Meetings Both the Newbury and Reading Sections of the Trust hold monthly meetings to which non-members are always welcome (see also K&A website:www.katrust.org.uk). The Newbury Meetings are at The Stone Building, Newbury Wharf at 7.45pm prompt (doors open 30 mins before). Admission is free, light refreshments and ample parking. Wed 24th February The Cotswold Canals Restoration By Liz Payne, Chairman of Cotswold Canals Trust. This restoration is a key one in the south of England. The Trust suffered something of a setback when financial pressures forced British Waterways to withdraw from the restoration partnership in early 2008 but it has picked itself up and dusted itself down and is forging ahead again.

The policy for members voted on to the committee is that normally they serve for a 3 year period. As my final year approaches I have the common concern that if others are not prepared to become part of the committee before the more experienced retire who do they learn from? During the current year we have worked with a very small committee and have relied heavily on those who are prepared to take on a particular responsibility but do not wish to become full members of the committee. They have all done a sterling job. I am very pleased to say that Sue Wardley has taken on the role of Social Secretary and is very quickly getting a grip on the job. She has provided reports on our social events over the past months and is busy now booking speakers for the autumn. Sue would, I know, be pleased to hear if you have ideas for speakers.

Wed 31st March Boat Building & Industry at Honey Street

Progress has been made regarding the new moorings at Wallingford. Our thanks to John Dalton for his work on that project.

Friday 26th February The historic Old Bath Road, London to Reading.

Mary, our events and volunteers coordinator, has provided reports on forthcoming events so I will not repeat that information. Suffice to say it will be a busy year for the branch and any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Friday 26th March Annual General Meeting and Canal ropes and hands-on ropework (with audience participation) by John Arthurs

This edition will be published before we, on NB “Heron”, and Tony and Christine Crawford on NB “Jupiter” embark on the re-enactment of the “Cressy” Cruise. We leave Banbury at 12 mid day on the 24th April and it would be good to see some of you in Banbury for the send off. Finally, thanks to all of you who have signed the parliamentary Petition about the proposed sell off of Assets. Diligence is still required as, although government have agreed not to pursue this “at the moment,” it is certainly not a case where we can rest on our laurels.

Friday 23rd April BBOWT Living Landscape Project and insects of the Kennet Valley by Jacky Akam

A Happy New Year to you all

Ron Heritage

By Adrian Softley

Wed 28th April Branch Annual General Meeting, followed by: The K&A Canal 50 years on: A review based on photographs from 1960s canoeing trips by Ray Denyer. The Reading meetings are held at All Saints Church Hall, Downshire Sq, Reading RG1 6NH (off the A4 Bath Road, Reading end) at 7.30 for 8pm start. A £2.50 per person donation is requested towards the hire of hall and provision of refreshments during the mid-session break. Further Reading meetings are as follows:

Friday 21st May The Grand Canal of China.

By Tony King

By Liam D’Arcy Brown (see also pages 24 - 25)

Further details about the Reading Meetings can be obtained from John or Pam Swift on 0118 941 5540,

19 Kennet & Avon Canal Events

Reading Water Fest will take place on Saturday 19th June. A special Exhibition will be held between 15th July and 30th September at the West Berkshire Museum at Newbury Wharf celebrating 200 years of the Kennet & Avon Canal. The exhibition, which overlaps with both the Newbury Waterways Festival and the Heritage Open Days weekend in September, will be open Thursday to Sunday each week. Newbury Waterways Festival will take place on Sunday 25th July at Victoria Park, Newbury. The theme this year will be "2010: A Canal Odyssey" - to reflect the need to look forward as well as back in the Canal’s 200th anniversary year.

River Thames News Wallingford Visitor Moorings Plans Approved Our hope (expressed in the Winter 2009 Cargoes) that South Oxfordshire District Council might be persuaded to produce a revised design that did satisfy the needs of boaters was fulfilled and the new plans were approved in December with unanimous and enthusiastic support from the SODC Planning Committee. We are still looking at a height of 1.1 m for most of the Visitor Moorings section. That is much better than on the original plans and there is an undertaking to try to get it a bit lower than that as construction details get worked out. They have got the message! Crucial to all of this was the Environment Agency’s agreement for the new line of the riverbank to encroach into the river. The environmental conditions they attached might be a little challenging – but they did agree!

ASHFORD

The approved scheme includes visitor moorings, a passenger boat operating base and ‘services’ mooring with water-point and pump-out installations. Construction tenders are now being delivered and the contract to build is due to be awarded in February. The budget will be very tight and what is needed is a very good Contractor who is efficiently organised and keen to do the work. I am confident that at this stage we have achieved everything we possibly could. That so many waterway organisations and individuals took the trouble to have their say really has worked. John Dalton

Kingdom Tours – Medway Visit From Friday 30th April to Monday 3rd May Kingdom Tours will be running a Canal Study Tour which will include a visit to the Thames and Medway Canal. If you are interested in joining this trip apply to Kingdom Tours, 27A Kingsbury, Aylesbury, Bucks.HP20 2JA, but you will need to be quick. The trip also includes Chatham Dockyard, a trip on Kingswear Castle, and a steam railway trip, plus a talk by Brian Macknish, TMCA Chairman. For further details see www.kingdomtours.co.uk.

IWAKES Branch News

Medway Navigation nd

The river is very high at present (2 Dec); I hope this doesn’t delay the EA with their winter programme!! This includes capital work on East Farleigh, Teston & Eldridges locks. East Farleigh & Teston are to have new landing stages and Eldridges new fish & canoe passes. In the early part of 2010 (Jan. to Mar) Anchor, Sluice Weir, Oak Weir, East Lock, Porters Lock, Eldridges Lock and Town Lock lengths of river are to be lowered for inspection & clearing operations. A guardrail has been added at Hampstead Lock for further protection. Work will soon be carried out to replace the sluice gates at Allington lock; part of a total refurbishment of the whole structure. It is good that in these days (of economic gloom and goods being imported) these gates are to be manufactured locally, by Hunton Engineering at Hunton less than 10 miles away! In fact at time of writing I have been informed by an EA operative that the first of the three gates is likely to be commissioned before Christmas!! The recent downpours and fast flow has only put-back works by a couple of days to date but this may delay the divers work. The licence fee for powered craft will rise by 3.3% in April 2010. The reason forwarded for this increase at the Annual Medway Navigation Consultation Meeting held at Allington Lock on 3rd Dec.2009 was fully understood and accepted by all parties present. Graham Ingram

Past Events Angela Acott reports on three meetings last Autumn: A presentation “On the River” was given by tug skipper Mick Wenban. He has spent all his life on our great river, having joined his father as an apprentice in 1961. In those days the Thames was considerably busier and each tug employed nine men and boys. Now it is down to three. The boys had to start with the menial tasks, cleaning the decks and stowing the ropes. When he first started out he had to learn to row a lighter, a practice still carried out, but now for pleasure. All the seamen lived within a square mile of Town Pier, so they could reach the tugs quickly. When Mick first started out they were Halcyon Days on the River; always busy and with many friendships that have lasted a lifetime. But they were hard days also. Lighterage was at its height and the docks were buzzing. The dockers were a law unto themselves, striking at the drop of a hat. Eventually, the docks started to shut down. The Upper Pool of London was the first to close, freight being moved to Harwich. Only Tilbury is now left on the great River.

Future IWAKES and Other Events

But to Mick it is still a good job. Gravesend tugs and skippers are still the best, as in the heyday of shipping. There have been, and still are, plenty of characters connected with the river and plenty of amusing anecdotes came forth from Mick.

Thursday 25th February: 7:30 for 8:00: IWA Kent & East Sussex Branch AGM and IWA South East Region AGM. Held at St Nicholas’ Church Hall, Poplar Grove, Maidstone: The AGMs will be followed by a quiz with Martin Ludgate’s questions posed by Paul Roper.

A massive recycling plant is being built on the other side of the river from Dagenham and many tugs will be used in this operation. Coreys have already put four new ones on order. Plenty of boats were going past the window of the Yacht Club as usual, reminding Mick, that he had a tug to catch and he hurried off, leaving us amazed at his stories and interesting life.

Thursday, 15th April: 7:30 for 8:00: “The Royal Military Canal”: with Owen Leyshon from the RMC Project: At Berwick House, 8 Elwick Road, Ashford. TN23 1PF (See Map).

Historic Waterways

Wednesday 28th April: 7:30 for 8:00: Thames and Medway Canal Association AGM, followed by “Saving Gravesend's Heritage Today”, then “Trail-boating the Oxford and Worcester Canals” (a digital presentation by Bernard Snell). Held at Gravesend Sailing Club: This is a TMCA event to which all are welcome. Advance Notice: Saturday 20th November: “Grand Canal of China”: Liam D'Arcy Brown (further details to follow). Tea and coffee refreshments are available at all IWAKES evening meetings.

A joint meeting of the Sussex Ouse Restoration Trust, Solent & Arun Branch and IWAKES was held at a new venue at Haywards Heath in November. And very nice it was too; just about the right size for the 27 members present. We saw three old waterways films. One BWB of 1950’s Commercial traffic. Bill and Joe working out of Brentford to Birmingham, smoking constantly, in seemingly good weather. Many places were still recognisable. It took them four days, and the road was practically empty. Then we had two slightly newer films in colour. "Waterways Our Heritage" had a lot of superb aerial shots, including the Caledonian Canal. It also featured the

17 Thames and Medway Canal

Regents Canal and its trip boats, still going strong today. The last film, narrated by the late beloved Johnie Morris from 1970, was entitled "Gentle Highway". The Gravesend Lifeboat Some twenty members gathered to hear a presentation given by Ian Smith (helmsman) and his wife Tina on the Gravesend Lifeboat "Olive Laura Deare 1 and 2". To wake us up, they showed a 30 second short film of a lifeboat launch and rescue, which had originally been a TV commercial and it certainly hit home. Originally, there was no dedicated rescue service on the Thames but after the ''Marchioness” disaster, in which 51 lives were lost, the need for a service was perceived and four stations were created. Teddington, Chiswick, Tower and Gravesend all have their allotted section of river, but often overlap if the need arises. Gravesend Station has nice plush offices at the end of the Pier. Their patch extends to 26 sea miles but there is flexibility within the patch. In 2004, RNLI had a new Headquarters built at Poole, where all crew go to be trained, and a very intense course it is. They train in the largest wave pool in the UK, storm conditions can be simulated, and film makers often use the facilities for effect.

National IWA Awards for Branch Committee Members

The start of ‘re-watering’ works (see photos on Back Cover) Tuesday 13th October was a day long awaited as a start was made on dredging and restoration of the Thames and Medway canal by three sets of workers. Three surveyors were on the Swing Bridge, measuring in all directions. Two young men and one young lady ecologist came via EA to check on flora and fauna around the outflow into the Thames and two men from Cliffe Construction came to make a causeway across the canal, so the far bank could be inspected. The state of the puddle clay was found to be OK. But the near side was only supported by rotten timbers. Progress would continue as permissions were received. Two days later, more excitement, as the same two workmen plus digger transferred to the piece of land opposite the Canal Basin, to dig to find the buried lock. With some very careful measuring, the top of the lock was found, without too much difficulty. There was a great deal of excitement all round, as the copingstones were carefully revealed. They appeared to be in reasonable condition. Alan Kew, from Gravesham Borough Council was in charge of overseeing this operation, in a cheerful and easy-going way. We are sure a lot more of interest will soon be revealed. Angela Acott

Thames and Medway Canal Trust (TMCA) On the Sunday working party on 13th Dec only about half a dozen members came and went, but our ranks were swelled by the Chain Gang, from the Community Payback Scheme. The lads made a real dent in the small trees, either side of the Obelisk and then a huge fire was lit which got rid of a lot of the shrubbery. Some of the work party worried that said Obelisk might get scorched, but it seemed to survive intact. The gang departed at 1500 hours, and then a few members remained to make sure the fire was safe. After the work party on Tuesday 8 Dec, great excitement occurred, when it was announced digging had started at the Gravesend end, so two couples chased along from Higham, only to find the digger had long gone, but evidence was found of two or three holes. These were to ascertain the depth of the cycle-track, and to find the wall of the canal at Mark Lane. Angela Acott Roy Sutton holding the Cyril Styring Trophy and David Harman with his Richard Bird Medal

[Photo: Bernard Snell]