Anglian Cuttings No.115

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ANGLIANANGLIAN

CUTTINGSCUTTINGS

Ipswich Branch Newsletter

Winter 2009/10 No. 115

The IWA may not agree with the opinions expressed in this publication. They are, however, published as

a matter of interest to our members and readers. Nothing printed can be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated.

The IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this publication.

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IWA IPSWICH BRANCH

YOUR COMMITTEE Chairman -

Chard Wadley

chairman.ipswichbranch@waterways,org.uk

Secretary & Anglia Cuttings Editor -

Charles Stride

[email protected]

[email protected]

Treasurer

Spencer Greystrong

[email protected]

Membership

Clive Saville

[email protected]

Publicity

Brian Holt

[email protected]

Social Secretary

Diana Holt

[email protected]

River Gipping Trust

Lewis Tyler

[email protected]

River Stour Trust

Sue Brown

[email protected]

Pickerel Project

Brain Cornell

[email protected]

*************************** IWA Ipswich - http://www.waterways.org.uk/InMyArea/EasternRegion/

Ipswich

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C H STRIDE

And what a lot has happened during

those eight years. In particular our local

restoration workers successfully

completed Creeting Lock and moved on

to Baylham, which this year saw major

works completed, despite what the

weather threw at them, with the

invaluable help of WRG as reported in

the last edition.

The River Gipping Trust has been set up

to handle the ongoing developments on

the Gipping and to widen the

involvement of local people and other

organisations which is essential for the

long term success of our plans and

dreams. Updates in regard to the

restoration and the Trust are included in

this edition.

Nationally we have also seen much

change during this period with many ups

and downs affecting our countrywide

system. Following a period of ‗Good

News‘ and the successful completion of

a number of restoration schemes and

extensions of our system we are now

back, due to the present economic

climate, in a time of major concern and I

would therefore draw your attention to

the Save Our System article from Chard,

and the Poster on the back cover. The

Government, of whichever colour, will

EDITOR’S

PONDERINGS

Did someone say something about turning up like a bad penny? I have to say I

prefer the saying — ‘You can’t keep a good man down’! Whichever it seems that

you cannot do without me as your Editor and so after a break of just over eight

years I’m back, and my first task on behalf of you all must be to thank Mick

Carter for his sterling efforts for all that time and for the production of 25 editions

of this newsletter. Many thanks Mick.

have many pressures over the next few

years and we all need to ensure that our

Waterways do at least receive their fair

share of support. Positive action is really

needed at this time, so please ensure that

you make a New Years Resolution, and

keep it, to do your bit on this occasion. A

template for letters to your MP‘s is

available. Please contact the Secretary if

you would like this.

BRANCH AGM

Friday 19th February

The official notice and Agenda was

published, as required, in the last edition

of Anglia Cuttings. Retiring Members are

Chard Wadley, Spencer Greystrong and

Mick Carter. I am very pleased to advise

that both Chard and Spencer have agreed

to stand for a further 3 years and they will

be proposed at the AGM. We do however

have further vacancies and we would like

to see some new members on the

Committee. DO YOU HAVE SOME

VIEWS? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN

CONTRIBUTE? PLEASE THINK

ABOUT PUTTING YOUR NAME

FORWARD. Proposal forms can be

obtained from the Secretary.

Lastly, contributions to future Anglia

Cuttings are always welcomed.

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CHAIRMANS’ JOTTINGS

Our winter programme is now halfway

through and we have had three very

different evenings. The first was an

informative talk on the Foxton Incline

Plane from the former Chairman of

Ipswich Branch, David Stevenson. The

second took us away from canals and

onto the railways with a very interesting

talk from Keith Froom on the Mid

Suffolk Light Railway. This looks to be

a very interesting museum which is at

Brockford Station, Wetheringsett near

Stowmarket. They hold special event

days through the summer such as a joint

event with Ipswich Transport museum to

be held in August 2010; so well worth a

visit (see page 13). The last meeting was

a Christmas quiz followed by mince

pies, sausage rolls and chocolate

brownies a big thank you to Joan, Diana

and Pauline for this tasty spread and to

Joan and John for organizing and

running the quiz. We now have three

more meetings at the beginning of 2010

starting with the Annual Dinner,

followed by the AGM in February and

Steve Hayward will be our speaker in

March. We then look forward to the

coach trip in May (flyer enclosed).

After many years spent hiring

narrowboats and then cruising with

friends on their narrowboats I am

pleased to say I am now the proud owner

of my own boat. It is a motor tug called

‗Bruizer‘, which at the moment is

moored at Stewponey Wharf on the

Staffs and Worcester Canal. However,

when the BW winter stoppages finish I

plan to bring her closer to Suffolk and

moor her at Brinklow Marina on the

Northern Oxford Canal. So Carolyn and

I are really looking forward to a summer

of boating on our own boat.

Chard.

SOS2010 (Save Our System)

You may have already read or heard

media speculation that the Government

intended to include BW property

portfolio as a component of the £16bn

asset sale. IWA has been lobbying

Government ever since rumours of the

sale surfaced and are delighted with the

public‘s support. However, it has now

come to light that the Government has

now stepped back from the brink

regarding any immediate sale of BW

properties. The Government has issued

a statement indicating its support for

looking seriously at alternative models

such as the third sector. IWA has long

advocated a more independent ‗National

Waterways Conservancy‘ that has the

best interests of the waterways at its

heart.

The SOS2010 campaign still needs

support as we enter the period running

up to the election. IWA needs to

demonstrate how lack of funding is

affecting spending decisions and

maintenance. Please give your help and

I would encourage everyone to continue

to seek support for the e-petition on the

10 Downing Street website: http://

p e t i t i o n s . n u m b e r 1 0 . g o v . u k /

protectourcanals/ . If you do not have

the facility to support the e-petition then

I would encourage you to write to your

local MP in support of this campaign.

I would like to start by wishing you all a Happy New Year and to say I hope you

had an enjoyable Christmas.

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OUR REGION CHAIRMAN

REPORTS

We joined the IWA some 19 years ago

when my wife and I took the plunge and

bought a narrowboat after being holiday

hirers for several years. Almost

immediately we were ‗persuaded‘ onto

the Peterborough Branch Committee,

where we have sat in various offices ever

since.

I am currently doing my second stint as

chairman, and whilst Carole is our

membership secretary, somehow we

managed to acquire 2 sons, who are old

enough and experienced enough to crew,

so now we get to relax a bit more whilst

they do much of the work.

Our boat is moored at March, on the Old

Nene, part of the Middle Level

Navigations, and whilst we do venture

up on the canals occasionally, most of

our boating is done on the Middle Level,

Nene, Great Ouse & The Cam and

various Lodes.

Having extensive local knowledge of our

Rivers and the E.A. is one of the reasons

I decided that I could make a useful

contribution at Region and on Navcom.

Eastern Region grew after the

reorganisation implemented at the AGM

by the addition of Milton Keynes and

Chelmsford branches, which brought

BW into our area as MK looks after a

large chunk of the Grand Union. So we

now have: Peterborough, Cambridge,

Ipswich, Milton Keynes and Chelmsford.

It is a large area geographically and

whilst I will try to visit branches if

needed it may be an annual trip for

AGM‘s, however I am always

contactable by email, or phone.

The new region has only had 2 meetings

so far at which it became obvious that

we will have to take some care to ensure

we are all singing from the same hymn

sheet as we have both not only BW &

EA but also the Middle Level

Commissioners and Cam Conservators,

each having their own way of dealing

with things and very different waterways

to manage.

At our last meeting I was voted on to be

Region rep on Navcom, and I attended

my first meeting in October. I was very

surprised at how much of the meeting

was given over to issues of concern only

to BW and canals. It is clear that perhaps

our region has been seen as a bit of a

backwater and easily overlooked,

although many of the problems are

common to both EA & BW, especially

funding issues.

It is important that we do all we can to

ensure that any problems we have are

brought to Navcom as this is the body

who in turn will bring things to Council

for consideration and may well result in

a ‖Policy‖ being decided upon.

No one should doubt that we face serious

problems in terms of funding cuts, our

waterways are under threat and we will

have to campaign hard to get our

message across, I am confident that we

will succeed.

Alastair Chambers

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With the untimely death of the Trust‘s

Chairman, Jeremy Clover, we have been

very fortunate to find a new Chairman in

Gordon Paton and do thank him for

taking on this position. Membership is

increasing and by the end of November

we hope to celebrate the 100th addition to

the list. No prizes for applying, but a

warm welcome awaits!

Although there is a restoration report by

Colin Turner elsewhere in this magazine,

mention must be added regarding the

clearance at Hawks Mill at Needham

Market. Trust members and supporters

made a grand job of clearing trees and

scrub from the open and grassed area in

front of the Mill. With the support and

help of Mid Suffolk District Council, who

kindly loaned an industrial ―chipper‖ and

operating staff, the area has again become

a pleasant place for people to come and

enjoy the river, and use the refurbished

seats.

Mitzi Tyler

Restoration Report

In the last report Spencer was rightly up-

beat about the progress made during the

canal camps. Apart from concreting the

invert, a significant part of the eastern

lock wall had been rebuilt, but more

remained to be demolished, and that is

NEWS The last few months have proved to be

highly active from the point of

communication with the wider world, as

well as the restoration of the lock

structures about which read elsewhere in

this magazine. From the

communications point of view, several

Trust members have carried the word to

many venues by way of power point

presentations brilliantly compiled by

Spencer Greystrong. These are primarily

to advertise the work of the Trust, but

also to disperse and collect information

about the history of the river. Not only

are these entertaining for the audiences,

but they provide much needed funds for

the Trust by way of donations. The

presentations have been given to a

variety of organisations from Farmers

Clubs to Local History Groups, with a

wide spectrum of organisations

interested in the work of the Trust. As

you may have read in the RGT October

Newsletter (those of you who are

members! and we would welcome you as

members if not)) the list covers a period

from September 08 and the presentation

has been taken to 18 venues so far with

more being booked for next year. So you

can see the Trust has been busy. With

the talks comes the opportunity to gain

local knowledge, as was the case at

Creeting St Mary in November, when a

member of the audience offered an early

film taken of the river. There are always

enthusiasts who can provide first hand

information to add to Spencer‘s

knowledge and be included in the

presentations.

7

where more trouble started.

When we got to the point where our

engineers report said that we should stop

demolishing the lock wall to conserve

the heritage value, and pin it with

stainless steel pins, as

it was sound but

hollow, we ran in to

trouble. The end of

the remaining wall

thus revealed was

found to be in two

separate parts, an old

repair to the face of

the lock 9‖ thick and

the bulk of the wall, separated by a dirt

filled gap with no apparent tie between

the two. We could not leave it like that,

so back to our engineer and the council

to get an amendment to our listed

building consent. After several emails

and site visits by both our engineer and

the conservation officer we got our

amendment, but we now have regular

visits from the conservation officer to

check that we are carrying out the

amendment properly.

Two thirds of the eastern wall of the lock

has been rebuilt to coping stone level

and back filled with concrete, and the old

repair has now been demolished and

rebuilding of the last part of the wall is

well under way.

We are just keeping ahead of the

weather. When we started to rebuild the

old repair the water rose to just below

the scaffold platform. Before leaving site

at the end of the day, we raised the

height of the platform ready for the next

days work. When we returned, after the

heavy rains at the beginning of

December the water had been over our

platform but had fallen sufficiently for us

to continue using it, after we had cleared

it and the stop planks of debris.

Our other time consuming problem is

disposal of the large spoil heap that we

have generated whilst doing the work.

The contents of the spoil heap are brick

and concrete rubble mixed with puddling

clay and silt.

Disposal to landfill would be expensive

in landfill charges and transport costs, as

the weight limit on the bridges on the

approach road to the site would

necessitate multiple trips with small

vehicles. So we are separating the

rubble, which can be recycled locally for

just the cost of transport and using the

rest as back fill behind the lock wall.

Sorting is a boring thankless task

especially when the stuff is wet, but we

are getting there, the pile of sorted rubble

is now almost as big as the remaining

pile of spoil.

Colin Turner

Our grateful thanks must go to the

band of local stalwarts, headed by

Colin, and supported by WRG, for

turning out on a regular basis, come

rain, come shine, which has led to the

successful years work at Baylam -

WELL DONE ALL

8

River Stour Trust Restoring and conserving the River

Stour Navigation

This summer 4 trip boats were in action

at Sudbury and Flatford, plus the

tearoom at the Granary. Crew training

and certification continued as all

skippers are now required to be suitably

qualified, and a new trip to the

Boathouse Restaurant meant training the

crews to navigate between the

underwater remains of 6 earlier bridges

beneath Ballingdon Bridge. Although

weed in the river in June became bad

enough to stop boat operation until

emergency clearance work was done,

besides our regular trips we have held a

Teddy Bear Ride event encouraging very

young children onto the boats, a Pirate

Day for older children, and a members-

only Mini-S2C to canoe the length of the

river. Some lucky members enjoyed a

glorious day on the sailing barge Victor,

sailing between Mistley and Felixstowe.

The Trust held its AGM in June, when

all existing Council members were re-

elected apart from Lesley Ford, who

resigned, and Alan Cook rejoined.

We trailed 2 of our boats from Sudbury

to Bures to give trips as part of the Bures

Europa Event on Saturday 4 July, giving

the public a rare opportunity see the

village from the river. Our Coracle

event there on 1st August was also

enjoyed by everyone who took part.

This year‘s 2-day Steam and Electric

boat event attracted 9 visiting steam and

electric boats to join our 3 boats on the

river.

In mid September we held our annual

S2C weekend which this year attracted

302 boats onto the river to navigate from

the Granary at Sudbury to the sea at

Cattawade. As someone remarked, this

is probably the greatest number of boats

there has ever been on the navigation at

one time. As usual, we had glorious

weather and the weekend was enjoyed

by all the participants.

We hosted our first 2 day school outing

at the VEC, with 70 children and their

teachers learning about river wildlife,

lighters and the ‗man and boy‘ who

operated them, how a lock works, plus a

ride on a boat – for many a first time

experience.

There has been an illuminated boat

procession on the river at Sudbury, while

a waterbus service is being trialed

between Flatford and Dedham, allowing

a one-way walk with a ride back.

Work at Stratford Lock re-commenced

on 13 July, with completion of the

gabion wall to the footbridge, a length of

about 80m, the target for this year. 2305

man-hours of work have been put into

the job this season, and the site is

currently being tidied and closed down

for the winter. Next year should see the

9

clearance of the lock chamber itself

begin.

FRANCIS BATTEN

In September we were saddened by the

death of our Vice-President, Francis

Batten, whose drive, encouragement and

support for the Stratford Lock project

will be greatly missed. He shared with

his family a passion for the canals and

for his beloved Stour, as we heard in his

obituary:-

―In the early 60s Francis, his wife, Nen,

and their young son, John, managed to

escape for a week‘s holiday on the

canals and from that time on all 3 of

them enjoyed a lifelong love of boating.

Nen was first to buy a narrow boat –

Kew – which was kept on the River Lee

near Bishops Stortford for weekends and

holidays. Francis at this point joined the

River Stour Trust and devoted a lot of

time and energy to its ventures, using his

knowledge, influence, skills and

equipment to good effect and the Trust is

indebted to him for much of the access it

gained via his negotiations with fellow

landowners to otherwise inaccessible

locations on the river. By the early 70s

Francis had become Chairman of the

Trust and was much involved in the fight

against proposed changes in byelaws to

remove all statutory rights of navigation

on the Stour - attending the hearing in

London, giving evidence in the House of

Lords and keeping the Trust‘s counsel

well-briefed. The family fleet increased

with the addition of John‘s pair of

working boats, Pictor and Whitby and

Nen‘s purchase of a horse-drawn narrow

boat, Betelgeuse, giving trips to tourists

in Chester, courtesy of the charming

shire horse Snowy, whom some of you

may recall was used to draw the Trust‘s

restored lighter along the water meadows

in Sudbury. Snowy later became the

subject of a book written for children

and also caught the Queen‘s eye during a

Royal visit to Chester, occasioning her to

stroll over to administer a pat and a kind

word.

In 1981 Nen and Francis moved to Kites

Hardwick on the Warwickshire/

Northamptonshire border and Francis

finally bought his own pair of boats,

Callisto and Ara, which he ran as

camping boats on the Grand Union canal

at Braunston. In acknowledgement of all

his work for the Trust he was made a

Vice-President and continued to attend

AGMs when possible and support its

latest ventures. Meanwhile he increased

his already extensive knowledge of the

canal network, becoming a familiar face

in the Midlands known for his

friendliness and enthusiasm if not always

the accuracy of his steering. In the early

90s the couple down-sized to a bungalow

in Long Buckby where they were able to

continue their association with the

waterways but by the end of that decade

the boats, apart from John‘s, were sold

as advancing years began to take their

toll.‖

Susan Brown

10

The Lee & Stort

—

A View from

America

Part 1

We met Dan and Sharon on their narrowboat ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ on the Leeds &

Liverpool last year and spent several days travelling with them and sharing the

double locks. They hail from the USA but having been bitten by our canal bug,

bought their own boat and spend most of the summers over here. This year they

visited the Lee & Stort for the first time and this is their view of our nearest piece of

‘connected’ waterway .—Thank you Sharon for the extract from your log.

We entered the tidal Thames at

B ren t fo rd T ha me s Lo c k o n

Saturday. First time we've been thru one

of these locks when BOTH ends of the

lock were open at the same time. We

just "sailed" right thru! The tide was

23.5 feet on Saturday. In fact, Sat. thru

Tuesday were all very high tides. It was

quite a shock to see people wading

barefoot thru the water on sidewalks in

front of their homes and people sitting in

pub gardens with water half-way up the

tables. We quite enjoyed the trip thru

the middle of London--as usual--but this

is the very first time we ever really

thought one could be seasick on a

narrowboat. We've been on the tidal

Thames in 23 mph winds with white

caps and just went smoothly thru the

water. This time, there was a LOT of

water and a LOT of boats who were

really churning it up. Time of day could

have had something to do with it as the

tide time for us was 3 pm. We were

VERY happy to see Limehouse at

5:55! Dan did great getting us

in. Usually, we're told to go beyond

Limehouse, turn, come back to

Limehouse and then turn in to the lock

cut. This time we were told to start

turning just as we got there...and to keep

on turning till we were in. Dan thought

at one point we were going to go all the

way around and miss it, but we made it

in. They've built a beautiful new

pontoon with great "safe" steps (not the

old ladder up the wall bit that used to be

there!). However, the lock was open for

us and we went right on in and didn't

need the pontoon at all. Limehouse

Basin was FULL! Stort Boat Club was

there quad-breasted in 3 different

places. We managed to get moored after

being told by someone from

Barnoldswick (pronounced Barlick) that

NO one was to moor by him as he HAD

to leave by 6:30 the next morning and he

didn't trust ANY boater to be up

then. Oh, well. There are still some

friendly boat people around...and we

managed to find them and get moored.

We headed out the next day thinking to

stop at Tesco and then be on our

way. However, where we moored to go

to Tesco there was a sign saying BW

was giving tours TODAY of the new

lock they built for the Olympic site so, of

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course, we went to see. Great tour of the

new lock--called Three Mills Lock. It's

HUGE!! The BW lady was

terrific. She's normally the Bow Lock

lockkeeper so knew the area well. Once

the Olympic bit is over--or not needed

for building material--us ordinary

boaters are going to be allowed to use

this lock. LOTS of us can fit in at any

one time!

We moved off to see the Olympic

sites. The main stadium where the

opening and closing ceremonies will be

held is basically in place. It's huge--of

course! They've got the "stepped" areas

for the stadium seating in, but the seats

have not been installed. We were quite

surprised to find that it is to be an open

air stadium. The Olympics are not that

much later than Wimbledon...and it

A L W A Y S r a i n s f o r

Wimbledon! So...what were they

thinking? Perhaps they've also got

millions of brollies on order! It appears

that the framework for at least two other

buildings are up. We think one of them

is the aquatic center. Further on--at

Waltham Abbey--they have started on a

fantastic white water canoe center that is

to have "strainers, sweepers, holes,

waves, pillows, eddies and undercuts"--

whatever all of these are. AND...the

public are to be able to use the facility

BEFORE the Olympics (we assume the

British team will train there) and then it

will, of course, be turned back over to

the public after the Olympics. The

drawings look pretty exciting. Right

now they just seem to be pushing a LOT

of dirt around with huge bulldozers.

The Lee Navigation (as opposed to the

River Lea--which really isn't

navigable..at least by us) is fairly

straight. The locks are big and heavy

and will take 2 boats side-by-side. Most

of the time we were on our own, but it

wasn't a big problem...except that we

were following 2 boats so always had to

re-work the lock in order to use it. That

wouldn't have been so bad except that up

here boats do NOT shut any gates when

they leave. So, we ALWAYS had to go

up and shut the upper gates before we

could empty the lock so that we could

actually enter it. Just made for a little

more work. Probably good exercise for

us. We moored along the way on Sat.

night and it was quite nice.

We came through a very beautiful lock

yes terday--LOTS of gorgeous

flowers: dahlias of all sizes and colors,

canna lilies, begonias. Really, really

beautiful. They were up over the lock

bridge, too. Couldn't have been

prettier. (Each of these locks--on the

Lee Navigation AND the River Stort--

ALL have a bridge over the back (lower)

gates so that one must continually walk

around the entire lock in order to work

the front gates.) As we left this lock, we

were actually in BOTH the Eastern and

Western Hemisphere as we were

straddling the Prime Meridian. We

didn't feel any different, see anything

different or hear anything different, but

we KNEW we were there--the map said

so! Anyway, sort of fun.

(To be continued)

12

‖Under Agenda Item 7 of the

agenda "Improving small vessel safety

on the Tidal Thames" was a report by the

Harbour Master (Upper) that again there

have been concerns of some, and more

than is acceptable, boats ignoring traffic

signals and advice and more specifically

t r a v e r s i n g

bridges that

have closure

signals. It has

become so bad

that they have

had to put up

Road Signs -

'No Entry' as

Narrow Boats might recognise this!

We were advised that the

behaviour of many Narrow Boats and

some "Dutch" Barges have deteriorated

this year. Not advising London VTS

(Vessel Traffic Service) taking no

cognisance of other commercial and

recreational craft. Going through closed

arches is seen to be a major concern as it

is possible that during the closure it can

be possible for debris to drop on the

boats and there are heavy construction

materials and plant. This has already

happened to a passenger vessel who

chose to ignore the closure signal.

The reaction of some of those

steering the boats have been in some

cases abusive; saying to Harbour Master

patrols that they are not sailors or boaters

but 'steerers' of narrow boats, and that

they are not advised by the BW Lock

staff at Limehouse or Brentford! And in

any event the rules do not affect them

and they never look at Notice to

Mariners!

I understand that the National

Community Association do have training

programmes for Narrow Boats and they

intend to intensify

their work leading

to the festival next

year on the

Thames - I am now

in contact with

their organiser who

was at the meeting

yesterday.

I know that most bona fide

members of your organisations would

comply, but in some way or another as

representatives of cruising motor boats

which must include narrow boats we

must address this problem.

It is also a problem on the upper

reaches of the Thames when the river is

in flood, and I am sure it happens on

other wide rivers with inexperienced

narrow boaters entering tidal or fast

running water. However, in my

relatively wide cruising experience that

includes the Rhine, the Tidal Thames

through the London Bridges is one of the

most serious waterways and could be

very dangerous if not handled properly.

ATYC are considering an

additional training programme to

improve boat handling on the non-tidal

Thames, and the thought is that we make

NARROWBOATING on the

TIDAL THAMES On October 7th. 2009 the Port of London Authority held its 4th. Harbourmasters

Recreational Navigation Group Meeting. One of the points discussed was the

danger of Narrowboats disregarding navigation notices as can be seen from

agenda item 7 reproduced below.

13

it user friendly for narrow boats as well

as the normal river cruiser, and from the

meeting yesterday it might well include

an endorsement for the river from

Limehouse to Teddington. However

this is very much work in progress and if

it proceeds will start in 2010. Narrow

boats are still the cheapest way of getting

afloat for new entries to the boating

fraternity.‖

It is essential that us Narrow

boater‘s can show that we not only know

the rules but also abide by them, the BW

Lockkeeper is not responsible to ensure

that we have the required safety

equipment, we are. Likewise it‘s our

responsibility to know the signals that

indicate bridge arches are closed and to

contact London VTS (Vessel Traffic

Service) on VHF Ch 14 or mobile phone

02088 550315.

British Waterways publishes a

guide to the tideway, which are down

loadable from their web sites at http://

w w w . w a t e r s c a p e . c o m / m e d i a /

documents/35.pdf

Brian Holt

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

May I take this opportunity to wish all our members a very Happy New

Year and I look forward to meeting with many of you at our events or

on the Cut.

We gladly welcome all our new members -

From Norfolk - Mr & Mrs D & A Dunham; Mr M E Redmile; Mr & Mrs

P R Smith; Mr & Mrs M & J Watkins; Mr R J Langton & Family; Mr & Mrs R & M

Copson; Mr J Jefferson; Mr M Turner; Mr R Wild; Mr A Woods; Ms H Woods.

From Suffolk - Mr & Mrs A B & S M Head; Ms J Plouviez & Mr M Dixon; Mr &

Mrs T & H Jones; Mr & Mrs AP & RJL Grayston; Mrs A Adams; Mr A Brewer; Ms

S Hemmings-Smith; Ms E Wilson.

From Essex - Mr & Mrs G & E Swinscoe; Mr D Lee; Mr & Mrs M & V Paine; Ms

F Abbott; Mr I Dennis; Mr & Mrs M & J Lees.

******************

Obituaries

Over the last year we have sadly lost the following members:

Mrs. B. C. Taylor; Mrs. F. J. Batten: Mr. J. Fillingham.

We are also sad to report the death of James Hoseason, who played a major role in

the development and encouragement of waterway holidays on the Norfolk Broads

and the whole waterway system. He was a supporter of our Restoration activities.

We offer our condolences to all their families and friends.

Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum

Brockford Station, Wetheringsett, near Stowmarket, IP14 5PW

Suffolk‘s only full size steam railway set in the heart of rural Suffolk.

For details of programme of events and opening hours – visit

www.mslr.org.uk or ring 01449 766899. A great day out for all the family.

14

EASTERN REGION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Eastern Region of the Inland

Waterways Association will be held on Thursday 18th March 2010 at 8.00 p.m. at the Milton

Community Centre, Milton, Cambridge.

AGENDA

1. Apologies

2. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 13th February 2009

3. Matters Arising from those Minutes

4. Chairman‘s Report

5. Election of Committee Members (see notes below)

Notes: [following the amendment of Region Byelaws which came into force on 14/3/09]

The Chairman of the Region is elected in a separate ballot and the Chairmen of each of

the branches within the Region are members of the Region committee ex officio. This is

an election for the remaining members of the Region committee.

There is no limit to the number of members of that committee

The period of office of the following elected members of the Region committee comes

to an end at the 2010 AGM namely, John Hodgson, Nigel Long, Paul Strudwick and

Peter Webb. All are eligible to stand for re-election. David King and Stuart Thurston

were co-opted during the year and their period of co-option expires at the 2010 AGM.

Both are eligible to stand for election.

It is no longer necessary for those who wish to be elected to the committee to be

nominated and seconded but all who wish to stand must agree to do so. Consent from

members of the Region who wish to stand for election at the AGM 2010 must be

deposited with the Region Secretary [Nigel Long 7 Georgian Court, Peterborough PE3

6AF or by email at [email protected]] before the start of the Annual General

Meeting

CONSENT FORM

I agree to stand for election to the Eastern Region committee at the 2010 Annual

General Meeting. I am a member of Eastern Region

(Sign) ----------------------------- Print Name ------------------------

15

DATES

for your

DIARY

WORKING PARTY DATES Working Parties are held by the River Gipping Trust at Baylham Lock

from 0900 to 1700 every Wednesday and on the first Saturday of each

month, unless that Saturday is a Bank Holiday in which case it will then

be held on the second Saturday of that month.

For further information contact Colin Turner 01473 730586 .

1st

2nd

BRANCH MEETINGS & EVENTS

FRIDAY 8TH JANUARY-

Annual Christmas Dinner

FRIDAY 19TH FEBRUARY– 1930

Annual General Meeting and Member's Talk

(See AGM Notice Anglia Cuttings 114)

FRIDAY 12TH MARCH—1930

Talk by Steve Haywood, the original ‘Grumpy’ Boater and Author.

MONDAY 3RD MAY—1030

IWA/River Gipping Trust/River Stour Trust

Save Our System 2010 Event— The Granary, Sudbury

SATURDAY 9TH/SUNDAY 10TH MAY

Annual Branch Outing (See Insert)

OTHER DATES

FIRST SUNDAY EACH MONTH

Stowmarket Pickeral Project Clean-up Days at Stowmarket

MONDAY 1ST—SUNDAY 14TH MARCH

National Towpath Clean up.

THURSDAY 18th MARCH

Eastern Region AGM—See Notice

SATURDAY 4th APRIL

River Stour Trust Boat Trips commence at Sudbury & Flatford

SATURDAY 1ST—MONDAY 3RD MAY

Canalway Cavalcade, Little Venice London

MONDAY 3rd MAY

River Stour Trust—Teddy Bear Boat Rides Sudbury

SATURDAY 29TH —MONDAY 31ST MAY

National Trailboat Festival/Welsh Waterway Festival, Newport Gwent

SATURDAY 28TH– MONDAY 30TH AUGUST

IWA National Festival. Beale Park Reading.

16

The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distribution company limited by guarantee.

Registered Office; Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. HP5 1WA

Tel: 0149 783453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk

Registered in England No. 612245. Registered as a Charity No. 212342

USEFUL WEBSITES IWA - http://www.waterways.org.uk

Waterway Recovery Group - http://www.wrg.org.uk

Save Our System - http://www.SOS2010.org.uk

River Gipping Trust - http://rivergippingtrust.org.uk River Stour Trust - http://www.riverstourtrust.org

East Anglian Waterways Association –http://www.eawa.co.uk

The Broads Society - http://www.broads-society.org.uk The Australian Canal Society - http://www.auscanal.org.au/

British Waterways/Waterscape - http://www.waterscape.com

Waterways Trust - http://www.thewaterwaystrust.org.uk DEFRA Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - http://www.defra.gov.uk