The Inland Waterways Association
Keeping our waterways alive
Ouse News - Autumn 2016 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries Contents: Branch Committee
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Chairman’s Corner
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Volunteering
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Boat Safety Scheme p10 River Cam Update
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WRG Van Appeal
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IWA Christmas Cards p20
How many people does it take to paint a post?
Branch News
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River News
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A Ghostly Experience p26
Photo: Carole Alderton
Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways.
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Great Ouse Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers.
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Great Ouse Branch Committee: Committee members may be contacted by email: e.g. an.other@waterways.org.uk Chairman: Keith Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 Secretary: John Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 Treasurer: Enid Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 Ouse News Editor: Carole Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 Sales Officer: David Anderson Tel : 01480 477227
Membership Officer: Peter Webb Tel 01353 658581 Volunteer Co-ordinator: Gail Mead Tel 01359 232603 Member: Stephen Foote Tel 01763 838936 Member: Derek Bradley Tel 01353 661601 We are a small, friendly group and would welcome another committee member to help us organise meetings and events. Please contact the editor.
(Authorised to examine all private boats and in addition, residential boats provided they are fitted with a gas bubble tester) Additional contact : Ely Boat Chandlers 01353 663095
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Chairman’s Corner Well, we have just got back from our 6-week boating holiday and are wondering what to start doing first. However, ‘Er Indoors’ has decreed that I sit and compose this report before tackling the garden whilst she gets stuck into a mountain of washing. I am pleased to say that we had a great trip; although we were on a rather tight schedule and would have liked more time to explore the towns and villages along the way in more detail. Our route this year took us up the GU from Blisworth to Braunston, down the Southern Oxford Canal to the River Thames. We then headed upstream to the head of navigation at Lechlade before turning around and going with the flow down to Brentford. A steady run up the 88 locks on the GU then brought us back to base. All-in-all, a very enjoyable 500 lock-mile trip with only three wet days to dampen our enthusiasm. Is this an attempt by CRT to encourage biodiversity on the GU, or just the natural consequence of being downstream of Sewer Lock?
The only really bad experience during our holiday was when some b******d smashed a window on Watermist late one night, leaving shards of glass all over the bedroom and in the bedding. The redeeming feature of such unpleasant incidents is the help given by other people. We would like to express our thanks to Steve and Meg Foote who helped us clear up the mess and effect a temporary repair in the middle of the night using their Perspex side-hatch cover and to Middlesex and Herts Boat Services who made and fitted a more secure weatherproof plywood version the next day, without charge.
Ouse News Page 4 I have, reluctantly, come to the conclusion that I must be getting old and less agile as I somehow managed to fall off a lock gate and damage my leg and also, on another occasion, fell into the river whilst attempting to moor up. Sad really! It is 15 years since we last visited the Thames and were a little disappointed to see how standards have deteriorated in some respects during the intervening period. The lock keepers no longer have their smart uniforms and were often completely absent from some of the locks, even during busy sunny days in August. However, perhaps the latter can be forgiven as all of the locks now have push-button controls and can easily be operated by boaters themselves. It was also disappointing to find 3 pump-out facilities out of use and drinking water hoses cut off short. Needless to say, the onward march of the dreaded ‘continuous moorers’ has reached the Thames, preventing genuine boaters from stopping at many popular places. I have always had mixed views regarding the CRT taking over responsibility for the EA waterways, but it can be seen that the ongoing cuts in grant from DEFRA are beginning to show. Navigating the Thames is not a cheap experience for the boater, costing ÂŁ172.50 for a one-month visitor licence! However, the beauty of the river and the adjoining towns make it an unforgettable trip. If you have not already done so, you really must make it a priority to go and experience it for yourself. Back on our patch, we held our first working party weekend in July during which volunteers painted the railings, lock balance beams, fences and benches at Baits Bite Lock on the River Cam. It was hard work, but good fun and the lock and its surrounds looked a lot smarter by the time we had finished. I would like to thank Gail Mead for organising the event and to the volunteers who came and did their bit. Please look out for details of future sessions.
Ouse News Page 5 Nationally, the trustees have, on one hand, made a unilateral decision to stop paying a per-capita grant to branches and, on the other hand, to cease charging for the printing and postage of branch newsletters. It is said that this decision will have an overall neutral effect on branch finances. We have yet to verify this statement and regret the lack of prior consultation. Please remember to come to our first off-season meeting at Milton on the 27th October when John Dodwell will be talking about the change in responsibility for the canal network from British Waterways to the Canal and River Trust and the potential takeover of the rivers currently controlled by the Environment Agency. On November 24th Ivan Cane will be giving an illustrated talk entitled ‘Sluices and Staunches’. Both should prove to be very interesting evenings. Keith Alderton Why not come along to our next meeting on Thursday 27th October 2016 and listen to our talk by John Dodwell! John is a CRT Trustee and former IWA General Secretary. A14 West A10 to Ely A10 to Cambridge
Tesco
To Milton
A14 East Tennis Courts Entrance Community Centre
Details of more meetings are on Page 21 and the map above should help you to find the exact location in Milton! (The post code is CB24 6BL)
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Volunteering - Gail Mead, Volunteer Co-ordinator I’m not sure how it all started, but on a lovely sunny May afternoon a few members of the Committee gathered at Bates Bite Lock in Cambridge to meet Jed Ramsey from the Cam Conservators and Emma Matthars from IWA to talk about volunteering opportunities for the Great Ouse Branch. At the end of our discussion, we had proposed a weekend work party at Bates Bite Lock and I seemed to have acquired the role of Volunteering Co-ordinator! So it was, with flyers and emails sent out to the branch members and lists of volunteers collected, that Saturday 10th July saw 9 of us gathered at Bates Bite Lock to meet Jed’s colleague Colin who was going to oversee the weekend’s activities. He made sure we had plenty of materials - and lunch, and my camper van provided the tea bar.
Ouse News Page 7 On Saturday we ‘set to’ cleaning up and painting the railings around the lock and lock landing, painting the mitre gates and balance beams and mooring bollards, re-painting the white safety edge along the lock side and cleaning up the foot bridge over the lock. We even had time to re-paint the benches outside the Conservators office in the afternoon. And for those who preferred something less ‘painty’, there was litter picking for a towpath tidy. We had lots of positive comments from members of the public about the improvement we were making to the environment around the lock. On Sunday the weather forecast wasn’t good, with rain expected in the afternoon - we had fewer volunteers and Andy Murray was playing in the Wimbledon finals, so we decided to make it a half-day work party. We were able to give the lock beams a second coat of paint and paint the fencing around the office before the rain set in. Thank You to Carole, Keith, Enid, John, Jonathan, Tony, Adam and Ally who all gave up their time to make a difference, and a success of our first work party. It was a busy weekend! I would like to think that this was just the first of many. We hope to have two one-day work parties a year in the future, one being a lock tidy up in the spring and the second a towpath tidy/vegetation clearing in the autumn. So advance warning of a date for your diary - Jed Ramsey has suggested May 6th for a makeover of the area around Jesus Lock. We would love to see you. Watch this space!
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Gail making sure the chairman is working! (Note the clipboard)
Getting down to it!
Supervising the ladies!
Time for tea!
Colin is in charge!
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News & Views Do you have an article, comment or photo you would like to share? We would be very pleased to receive it! Contact the editor at: carole.alderton@waterways.org.uk
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NR16-004 Carbon Monoxide ‘please be CO wise’ follows Wroxham Deaths
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#CarbonMonoxide Ten Essential CO Safety Tips for Boats Over 30 boaters have died in the last 20 years from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. It is a toxin that replaces the oxygen in the bloodstream, blocking supplies to vital organs. At low concentrations it can cause chronic illness, at higher levels it kills. This deadly poison gas has multiple potential sources on boats including all fuel-burning appliances, flues, chimneys, engines and exhausts. Staying safe begins with installing all such equipment properly, in the way the maker describes. Letting maintenance drift, or putting-off repairs is a risk, as is ignoring running instructions. Crew members need to understand the risks and know the danger signs; they must always be watchful. These are the ten CO essentials that will help keep you and your crew safe:1)All the crew should know the symptoms of CO poisoning and how to react if it is suspected 2)Install fuel burning appliances properly, in-line with makers directions 3)Follow servicing guidelines; maintenance should be routine and competent - Don’t allow bodged repairs, adjustments and adaptations
Ouse News Page 13 4)Always use appliances as per the instructions and never use cookers for space heating 5)Don’t block ventilation – appliance fuels like gas, coal, wood, oil, paraffin, etc. need sufficient air to burn safely 6)Don’t bring charcoal BBQs on board, or have them near a cabin during or after use - only stone-cold charcoal is safe 7)Keep engine fumes out of the cabin space, never use a portable generator in or near a cabin 8)Learn about the danger signs, spot potential hazards before CO occurs 9)Deal with problems immediately, never use equipment you suspect has problems 10)
Install a certified CO alarm (BS EN 50291-2), test it routinely and never remove the batteries
For more tips and advice to help you and your crew stay safe go to www.boatsafetyscheme.org/CO
Information received from Paul Separovic Waterways Operations Team Leader (Gt. Ouse and Stour Navigations) Environment Agency
Ouse News Page 14 River Cam Update from Jed Ramsey, River Manager I’m writing this on what is surely the definition of an Indian Summer - 29 degrees in September?! I’m hoping that many of you made the most of this late surge in fantastic weather and got out on the rivers. River Crew Summer is traditionally the ‘quieter’ time for the River Crew and a good time to get a couple of weeks break! However, this year it has been pretty much nonstop. We’ve been pulling the usual range of debris out of the Cam including motorbikes, punts, trolleys and pushbikes. We’ve also been doing a great deal of pennywort clearance (an invasive species that grows like wildfire). We’re fortunate that the Environment Agency has found some funding to allow us to put a great deal of effort into this and go beyond just looking after the navigation. We’ve also had a few problems with Baits Bite Lock this summer, with a mysterious leak and a couple of failures. We’ve programmed a week of closure in November to give us some maintenance time to sort out these glitches. New Patrol Boat We’ve purchased a small boat to use as a patrol boat. Over the last couple of weeks the local press has run a small competition to help us name it. To date I’ve had 65 suggestions ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Here are few choice names: Punty McPunt Face, Binky (to go with our other boat – Berky), Cam Con 1, Unortho-Locks, Your Place Oar Mine. I’ll be putting a short list to the Board to vote on and hopefully we’ll get a name for the boat. We’ve already had some success with the patrol boat when we used it to seize an unregistered speedboat that was spotted getting up on the plane through the centre of Cambridge.
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Volunteering on the Cam We had an excellent weekend earlier in the year and I’d like to extend a huge thank you to the volunteers from the IWA who came down to Baits Bite Lock. The volunteers painted the whole place and really spruced it up. I’m hopeful we can organise a similar day at Jesus Lock in the future as the results speak for themselves! Diary Dates Upcoming events and works on the Cam. Please see our online calendar for full details of times and locations. Please note that for all events the river is still navigable and, where possible, we try to publish contact numbers of event organisers to help arrange passage. We also try to limit events to one day per weekend so that the Cam is always fully open for part of the weekend.
Jed Ramsey River Manager Conservators of the River Cam
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Ouse News Page 17 Do you remember that our branch donated £1,000 after the appeal last year? PRESS RELEASE: NEW VANS FOR WRG IN TIME FOR SUMMER CANAL CAMPS Issue date : 5th July 2016 Thanks to the success of the ongoing fundraising appeal, IWA’s Waterway Recovery Group has two new vans in time for this summer’s Canal Camps taking place on waterway restoration projects around the country. The WRG Van Appeal, which aims to raise a total £120,000 for 4 new vans, reached its half way target during 2015, enabling the first two vans to be ordered. The new red vans, which are 9 seater minibuses, were collected on 17th June and have since been prepared ready for use by WRG, including signwriting and fitting out the insides to keep the important contents safe whilst on the move. WRG vans play a vital role transporting volunteers, equipment, and tools on week-long Canal Camps and weekend digs, and travel a total of over 44,000 miles each year. Without them WRG couldn’t continue to support canal restoration across England and Wales. Mike Palmer MBE, Chairman of WRG, said “Thank you to everyone who has donated to the WRG Van Appeal, and to everyone who has taken part in the amazing fund raising activities around the country, from the Vantastic Fudge at Canalway Cavalcade, the barn dance and sponsored walks, and the large number of individuals doing weird and wonderful things in the name of WRG.” With £13,000 still left to raise, WRG hope to have the other two vans in time for 2017, so look out for further fundraising activities. Alison Smedley, Press Office, The Inland Waterways Association
Ouse News Page 18 New WRG Van
Grantham Canal Camp
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IWA Christmas Cards You can, as usual, purchase your IWA Christmas cards direct from the branch at discounted prices! These will be available for sale at branch meetings in October and November. They will also be available at Ely Boat Chandlers. You will not only make a saving on the advertised price, but also avoid paying the normal ÂŁ2.50 or ÂŁ4.50 postage and packing charge from head office. Please support your branch!
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Branch News Winter Meetings
are at 8 pm on Thursday evenings at the Cole’s Road Community Centre, Milton (North Cambridge) CB24 6BL. Members & Visitors welcome. T HURSAY 27 TH O CTOBER
2016
Our October meeting will be a talk by John Dodwell about the formation of the Canal & River Trust and potential takeover of the Environment Agency navigations. John is a CRT Trustee and former IWA General Secretary.
T HURSDAY 24 TH N OV
2016
‘Sluices & Staunches’ - an illustrated talk by Ivan Cane.
T HURSDAY 23 RD F EBRUARY
2017
‘Boating Across the Wash’ - an illustrated talk by Simon Judge.
T HURSDAY 23 RD M ARCH
2017
This will be our branch AGM, together with an update from the River Managers of the Environment Agency.
Visit to Drainage Museum at Prickwillow to be arranged in the Spring! More details to follow.
We welcome the following new members to the branch. We hope you will introduce yourselves to us when coming to an event or meeting: Bron Madson & Andy Ransom, Ely Margaret Starkie, Horningsea, Cambridge Members who have moved to the branch: Malcolm & Susan Bartlett, Baldock, Hertfordshire
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Ouse News Page 23 River News from the Environment Agency - Paul Separovic Floating Pennywort The Environment Agency employs a combination of measures for Floating Pennywort control. Which is most effective depends on the amount of growth and location - each location should be individually assessed for the most practical solution(s) and environmental constraints. Internally we use three control measures, either alone or in combination with each other – mechanical, hand and herbicide (permission is required from the EA for herbicide use in or near water). When using mechanical or hand control it is very important that no small fragments are released into the water as these will re-establish further downstream. There are several methods available for treatment dependent upon the size of the clump of pennywort and the nature of the watercourse. On the wider sections of river the preferred method is removal via weed boat (harvester) with herbicide applied to the cut material on the bank and to any small plants remaining in the margins. The herbicide used is glyphosate based. For small patches, herbicide can be applied directly to the plant without the need for removal first. In addition, on shallow channels it is possible to hand pull the pennywort to remove it from the channel.
Ouse News Page 24 Although, usually over the cold winter months, there is natural die back of the weed, a mild winter may not have killed the weed off which may mean it will have a head start next season. We removed in excess of 1000 tonnes over a four week period of this invasive species from our water courses in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire at the end of last season. We have also partnership funded the Conservators of the River Cam to treat the Floating Pennywort on the Rivers Cam and Ely Ouse. They worked away at this over the winter and also attempted to treat the tributaries of the River Cam to limit and eradicate this weed in the head waters that feed the catchment, tackling the issue at source in an attempt to limit its spread. We also identified pennywort on the Bedford Ouse last year and we are trying to take action to treat this in-house; Bedford Ops added it to their work plan. We have a good You Tube Video: https://youtu.be/ hk5ysBoG2zQ that shows what we are doing to tackle this non native invasive species. The IWA helps by widely promoting the awareness of Non-Native and Invasive Species, distributing the species fact / identification sheets such as those sent recently on Floating Pennywort from the Non-Native Species Secretariat . Get familiar with what species you may find and record and report sightings, all of which can be done online or via numerous smart phone apps that are available for IWA members to download. Most importantly, implement and adopt recommended biosecurity measures and back the Check Clean Dry campaign, especially at the beginning of a season with vessels being put back into the water.
Ouse News Page 25 Floating Pennywort Facts:
Ouse News Page 26 A GHOSTLY EXPERIENCE by Mimi (with contributions from Richard ) Alderman Just prior to getting married in 1969, and being very short of money, we decided to buy, convert and live on a boat; which we lived on for 30 years but actually owned for 38 years in total. However, to cut a long story short, we bought an 85’ x 15’ Thames Barge from Pitsea and, with the aid of a tug, got it towed to the River Lea, after which it was mainly pulled by hand to Stanstead Abbotts. The boat was just an empty hull apart from lots of EMI records and mud which we duly cleaned out. Obtaining a street of prefabs, we stripped them of the wood for our use and the remaining structures were sold on. Part of a demolished church made a York Stone fireplace, a rag and bone man was chased on his horse and cart through the streets of London, with Richard bidding for a double stainless steel sink with double drainer and so on, searching for other cheap or free materials with which to build our first home. Within a few months we had more or less fitted out the boat and duly moved in and had our family, two girls, Lisa & Vicky. As the children grew up so the toys got bigger, which made us decide to empty what is known as the lighter-man’s cabin and utilise this area. This is the part of the vessel at the aft where the lighter-man had a bench to sit or sleep on and a little stove for warmth and cooking. We decided to rip everything out with the intention of storing our freezer in there along with the girls’ toys, such as bikes and dolls prams. Richard cut a doorway into this room as the only access prior to this was through a hatch on the top-side which wasn’t exactly convenient. He duly started removing everything so he could line the walls. Behind where the bench was fitted Richard discovered lots of old newspapers dated from the late 50s or early 60s. Whilst browsing these old papers I discovered that all the pictures appertaining to stories about the ‘Wapping murders’ had been neatly cut out which gave me the shivers as there I am, on a boat which was working on the Thames at that time. The story goes that an influential doctor had caught something from these ladies and to get his revenge lured the girls onto boats moored on the Thames.
Ouse News Page 27 His drinking partner, a butcher at the meat market, but doing a moonlighting job on the barges, murdered and consequently cut up the bodies, placing the parts in sacks then throwing them into the river to feed the eels. Richard, in the meantime, found loads of tissue paper which he started dumping until he realised it looked like they were full of congealed blood. So, along with the newspapers and the tissues he bagged them up and duly reported to our friend who was in the police at Scotland Yard, stating he didn’t wish to look like a fool by making something out of this when it could be nothing.Within a few hours, two huge guys appeared from the Yard to photograph the area with infra-red cameras and taped off the entrance to the lighter-man’s cabin. This was not a huge problem, apart from lots of wood and building materials for this room that had been temporarily stored on top of my bath. Unfortunately, this lasted for several weeks which was rather inconvenient, especially with two young children. We also had 24 hour surveillance outside which made us realise the seriousness of the situation. Finally all was cleared; confirming it was the doctor and the lighter-man who committed the crimes and that our boat was one of the vessels used for the murders, but provided no further evidence. Well, if you think that’s spooky, carry on reading….. Some years later we were having a family dinner at the table in the kitchen when, to our amazement, smoke rings wafted up between us and you could even smell the aroma of a stale burning cigarette. Richard and I gave each other a knowing look but said nowt so as not to scare the girls. One evening, a few months later, we were playing cards with friends in the lounge when the same thing occurred, with ring after ring after ring wafting upwards and across. Our friends could also see the smoke and were rather taken by surprise and looking, in the least, alarmed. I said to no one, as such, “please leave us alone”. Sounds daft eh? I am glad to say that we had no more ghostly presences, but I always hated going into the lighter-man’s cabin. Since, we have often wondered if it was the spirit of one of those ladies of the night in search of her slayer (or perhaps for the money she failed to obtain for services duly rendered). Whatever the reason was, I guess she found her answer, and respected our request as we never had any more ghostly apparitions.
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The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No 612245. Registered as a charity No 212342. Registered Office: Island House, Moor Rd, Chesham, HP5 1WA. Phone No 01494 783453.