Diary | Directory

Editorial Comment ~ Tim Jolly.

Volunteers who get their WPN by email (nearly 50 people), will know that the Midweek Working Party is doing clearance work on a site never worked on before ? from Mill Farm Bridge to the southern end of the field behind ?Wayside? The first date was 5 October and I understand work is ongoing. It?s always good to work on a new site, not only in itself but also because it raises our profile locally. Contact Peter Jackman for more details on 01483 772132.

Work proceeds at Loxwood. I help out at the Onslow shed most weekends and have seen the progress in building the lock walls. Particularly spectacular has been the 30+ ft drill making the 80-odd holes for the concrete piling, with concrete being pumped through the drill (auger?) as it withdraws. Then a cylinder of reinforcing steel is dropped into the concrete-filled hole and going down nearly all the way under its own weight is then tapped in the rest of the waymachine's arm. The piling was due to finish by Wed. 19 October.

There were no boat trips on the weekend 15/16 October due to lack of water but it has rained since, so lets hope that we can start pumping again soon. The stretch behind the Onslow has to be rewatered for the Santa Cruises (once the hardcore laid down for the big piling machines is removed!)

TSG Group ~ (Eric Walker 03/10/05)

Despite it being the holiday season, work continues with visiting WRG weekend parties and an extra working party on Wednesdays. Our working parties on Thursdays and Sundays will now continue as previously. With all this effort there is about a quarter of the brickwork done.

The Yumbo and the Hanix digger are due on site this month. John Verrall has started preparation to the east of the road and Mike Burras expects to be on site by the 5th October.

There is a need for us to make some more of the WACT concrete blocks, so we are looking for volunteers to spend a few hours on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday morning at Tickners. It takes about three hours with three people. If we manage three mixes a week they will soon be done.

Monday Group ~ (John Empringham 09/10/05)

I am pleased to say that we are up to date with our maintenance work at the eight sites that we regularly visit and try to keep looking "cared for".

At Fastbridge a couple of the team have replaced the seat which had rotted, and repaired the steps down as well as clearing the rampant vegetation growth. Readers of this publication will probably know of this little canal bridge tucked away unseen from the road, but as a newcomer I found this site fascinating. If you haven't stopped to look then I would recommend it. It is on private property but the owner seems happy that enthusiasts can cross the bridge (past the NO ENTRY sign) on foot and take the steps down immediately on the left under the bridge and sit on the (newly restored) bench seat. The canal is normally in water at this point and the roar of the heavy traffic on the Guildford to Horsham road makes such a contrast. Incidentally can anyone shed any light on why the cottage opposite is signed as Vastbridge whilst the Ordnance Survey has this as Fastbridge?

In October we shall be out on Monday 10th October and Friday 28th October. Ring me for details.

Message from Colin Gibbs

Working Party Christmas Lunch.

Please note. This year's pre Xmas lunchtime gathering will be held at the Three Compasses Inn on Monday 5th December at 1.15pm. Menus are available from the pub or your group leader. The cost will be £19.95 plus £1.05 gratuity = £21. Please advise me of your attendance and menu choice by 9th November. Also note, t you could be asked to pay a cancellation fee of £5 should you be unable to attend once orders have been placed.

Logs.

As many of you know, we have a large quantity of logs at the Ticknersheath Depot. If you would like a trailer load, please let me or David Kersley know. I think the going rate is £50 a load. (donation) We will do our best to make sure all logs are split.

Winston's Gear.

Even in death Winston still continues to organise us! Ever planning in advance, Winston's Will stated that he wished to give the Trust his tools and any equipment in his garage which will be of use to the future restoration of the canal. His gear includes the "RED VAN". We have taken possession of it, but in their infinite wisdom, the Group Leaders have decided it would prove to be a mixed blessing - past experience has highlighted the pitfalls of the Trust owning vans. Therefore, we wish to offer the van to any member of the Trust, preferably a working party member, who wishes to save the paintwork on his/her 21st century car, when travelling through farmyards, fields, muddy lanes and unmade tracks. Please give me a ring if you can take on the van. I'm sure Jim would prefer a donation rather than paying for tax insurance and maintenance bills.

Our thanks to Rita, one of Winston's executors, for arranging the transfer of the gear at the end of September. We will miss Winston so much, but will remember a remarkable man. How about - "The Winston Harwood Flood Lock". Did anyone else know it was there?

Short Back & Sides & A Bit Off The Top, Sir? ~ (Keith Nichols 13/10/05)

The Hedge-Laying Group re-formed on Friday 16 September to start the annual hedge trimming. Four of us started opposite the Drungewick Slipways, working Westwards, completing Drungewick Gauging Station Meadow hedge,.approximately 500m (500 English yards), by mid afternoon. Thursday 6 October saw three of us at the Western end of Brewhurst River Meadow, by Birch Copse River Pump. Working towards Baldwins Knob Lock, we completed about 250/300m on a very warm, slightly murky day. Tuesday 11 October, four of us started again from the 6 October finishing point but due to delays: cattle movement to the meadow, slip-up in communication, lost hedge trimmer starter pull, we only managed about 150m. Again it was a very hot 21C sticky day so lots of water (unfortunately not beer) was drunk. We finished about 100m short of Baldwins.

Trimming consists of not only cutting the towpath side and top of the hedge, but also the ground vegetation in front of the hedge to make collection of cut material easier. This makes the distance travelled per cut 3 to 4 times more than the length of hedge. For those that think Leylandii are the fast growers of the hedge world, in this very dry year, the re-growth along the hedge has been between 3 and 6 feet!

There is probably 1 to 2 days trimming left to do at Brewhurst River Meadow. As far as hedge-laying goes for this season, there are only 3 short pieces amounting to less than 100m to do. Sites being probably: Baldwins, Drungewick Lane and Drungewick Lock, plus associated copicing - probably at Devils Hole.

Work will be on some Sundays plus my rolling day off: Monday 24 October, Tuesday 1 November, Wednesday 9 November etc. plus extra days during the week 14-20 November. Please ring me for details nearer the time on 01403 753882/07817 798865. Thanks to Bob, Roger, Ray, Tony and Ian so far.

Blackberry Season to Season ~ (Turlough Bamber 04/10/05)

It is not possible to have a Working Party News for October without a tribute to Winston. I think I said al I wish, to at his Thanksgiving Service at the Crematorium last month. He was a great Guy and I am told he made a contribution to almost every restored structure on the Canal. That is really something. The Chairman & John Wood have written a fitting tribute for the next Wey South. We all will miss his "maverickness": whatever!

I only knew him from 2004 Blackberry season to the 2005 Blackberry season. In my visits to Winston in hospital and at the end at home, he repeatedly gave instruction on the slipway! Thanks to the Dig Deep Week End camp & Graham Baird, the Lordings Slipway is substantially complete. It will be used for launching the EW reed cutter before the 2006 nesting season and for the Small Boat Rally Spring 2006. We are very grateful to them all, for such an excellent job in one weekend as well as to Henry Ayres for permission to build on his land. A good job done & at minimal cost.

I do not wish to sound like a cracked record but we do have to address the continual issue of Safety Helmets, boots with toe protection & Visi waistcoats use by volunteers. Many of us from the Construction the Industry have grown up in less stringent environments than we have today. The reality is: it is the Law & we cannot get away from Health & Safety Issues. Working Party Leaders are expected to ensure all workers are "safety dressed". Contractors must also comply and the final responsibility for enforcement of Safety rests with the Project Managers on behalf of the Trustees. Our Insurance cover for "volunteer" workers could be invalidated in the case of an accident if we as individuals have not taken "all due care & attention". In insurance terms we may not have 'mitigated a loss'. From personal experience I know Insurance Companies do not always pay up!

In October we will firm up on training in November. I have several names but there are still vacancies for Operators of Chainsaws, Brushcutters & Tirfors, 4X4 Off Road (with trailer & loading), Herbicide Spraying, & Health & Safety Awareness in the Field. Please firm up with Party Leaders and let me have final names as soon as possible. We will have a Trainer from the Chichester College to come to us or go to the Brinsbury Campus. Skills improvement & licences are essential not an optional extra!!

Behind the scenes much work is being done by several Members to set up the Canal Completion Strategy Consulting Project, with interaction with Environment Agency, English Nature and Waverley to name but a few. We have selected the W S Atkins as Consultants.

As I was finalising this I heard Jim's leg is continuing to give him difficulty. We all wish him a speedy recovery & hope to see him rejoin his ship WACT " MWWP".

We all have a contribution to make. This contribution by every one in the Restoration of the Canal is very much appreciated. It is not taken for granted: no way! 01483 421305 turlough@mail.com

Winston Harwood's Group ~ (Lawrie Wraight 30/09/05)

(I believe this Group is now headed by Dave Junkison - unfortunately I have no 'phone no for him at present. Lawrie has kindly done this report, even though he wasn't very confident about doing it! For space reasons it has been cut down somewhat. I suspect that the events take place over quite some time. The heading is his although he also calls it the Tuesday Working Party. I'd like to see these photographs for Wey-South! - Ed.)

After the special working party concreted the cavity wall space of the aqueduct at Lordings, the original coping blocks were painstakingly re-placed, levelled and concreted to look as old as possible. As some coping stones had been lost over the years, Winston built a casting frame to create facing slabs, made using a heavy ballast, to give a stony finish. The slabs were positioned on the lock edge, wooden formwork built around them, and concrete poured into the centre. About six feet lengths of artificial coping stones were made every week until that side of the aqueduct was completed. Meanwhile, new metal paddles were installed on the water wheel, to replace the wooden ones. The brickwork at the bottom of the aqueduct has been repointed and repointing is now taking place at all levels on the walls. Some problems have been experienced when repointing the roof of the old arches under the aqueduct.

Clay that had previously been removed from the lock was returned to the lock, one barrow at a time, and has been levelled in an attempt to make a waterproof base. All the scaffolding has been removed from inside the reconstruction area, creating a large void to conjure up views of the future, when it will be full of water. Both sides of the lock have been cleared of working materials, so that work could be done to level the approaches and grass seed has just germinated on the far side, giving a landscaped finish to what was a building-site and our eating area. The Land Rover has removed some surplus materials for storage at Tickners.

The access to Lordings is through fields owned by Henry Ayres and cattle sometimes have to be moved to allow us to get past gates, so members have gained valuable work experience in cattle droving. It would be unwise to refer to us as cowboys though! Others have enjoyed swimming in the Arun (break time only). There are several photographers in the group who record almost every aspect of the work.

Situations Vacant ~ (John Wood 17/10/05)

Vacancies occur from time to time to fill important roles. Can you help fill them?

SIGN WRITER
An ongoing need for an experienced sign writer. For example, we will soon require signage for our new Mobile Display Unit.

CONSERVATION OFFICER
We urgently require someone with up-to-date experience of conservation, particularly in a river or canal environment.

MAINTENANCE MANAGER
An important role to manage the ongoing maintenance of already restored sections of the canal, in order to prevent nature reclaiming all the hard work carried out in previous years. The actual maintenance work would be carried out by the appropriate working party.

Press date for articles for inclusion is the 20^th of the month by letter or e-mail.

If you do not attend regularly, please contact the site manager before joining a work party.

MOST TUESDAYS maintenance sessions at Tickners Heath. Check with Colin Gibbs first.

TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS at Lordings. Site details from Dave Junkison.

WEDNESDAYS Loxwood Link maintenance. Site details from Peter Wilding.

EVERY THURSDAY and SUNDAY Meet 0930 at the Onslow Arms, Loxwood. Lots of jobs mainly construction. Site details from Eric Walker.

Friday 28th October - E.G.M. Cranleigh Village Hall

Tuesday 1st November - Boat Group/Sales Staff evening - Black Horse, Findon. Jo Beagles 01483 418195 Working Party Directory.

John Empringham (Monday Working Party) 01483 562657
Tim Jolly (W P News Editor) 01403 267408 e-mail: tim.jolly@tesco.net
Peter Jackman (Mid-week Working Party) 01483 772132
WACT office (General Enquiries) 01403 752403
Dave Junkison (Lordings Lock & Aqueduct) 020 8941 0685
Peter Wilding (Loxwood Maintenance) 01483 422519
Eric Walker (Loxwood Area) 02392 463025 email:ericwalker@onetel.com
Colin Gibbs (Tickners Maintenance) 020 8241 7736
Don Gibson (Midweek Walks) 01903 201375