Chairman’s Comment 4 Camp reports Inglesham, Waveney

able thanks to you all - if it stops an incorrect concrete pour, or a wasted day waiting for the materials to turn up, or an error in the finished water level or maybe even a serious injury then it will be very worthwhile.

A clear example of the concept of starting your planning early was a meeting IWA’s Mikk Bradley and myself had recently where we were deep in the CRT detail of planning Grantham: gates go in at Lock 15, work starts on Lock 14 an exciting little project that is not due to start till 2020. It’s done by fantastic people, some of whom still early days but it does look like 2020 will have been friends for more years than I can be rather busy in the area of Schoolhouse remember and some of whom I have only Bridge on the Montgomery Canal. known for two days - but by Friday will feel

I realise that for many readers all this like I’ve known them for ever. It’s a huge concentration on paperwork and planning diverse bunch of people who are just a might seem a little contrary to the “WRG pleasure to be with and bring experiences way” but I’m writing this sitting at my laptop you just don’t get anywhere else. (Last night whilst looking out over the Canal Camp I’m during a card game being played by some co-leading on the Grantham Canal. What I very “international rules” one of our French can see is people all working well and safely, volunteers asked “Can you explain to me the making great progress and not too much difference between “this” and “that”?”. Which happening in the way of “stuff ups”. Which prompted the sort of conversation you just may well be one of the things keeping Mr don’t get anywhere else! Ludgate awake at night – if all the “amusing I’m really confident that, no matter how after the event” stories in Navvies disappear WRG continues to evolve, it’s still going to be then will it change the tone of everyone’s an organisation shaped by its people. And favourite magazine? that is important, because one of the most (As an aside I am writing this sitting on important things about the canal network is a comfortable chair at a table in the site that everywhere you look you see unique office and I’m a little worried about my heritage – heritage shaped by engineers, laptop battery running out because the mains artisans and navvies. The waterways are sockets are not going live until tomorrow, people things, they were built by individuals, which are levels of luxury and OTTness that it’s important that they are rebuilt by indieven I’m concerned about. However some- viduals who can put their passion and enthubody else has paid for them so I may as well siasm into a living network. use them.) Anyway it’s time for me to go out and

But more importantly, and this is some- build a bywash. So I’ll stop there and go out thing that has always been constant, I am and enjoy the sunshine. looking out at some fantastic work being Mike Palmer page 5