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No. 111October 1983
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Inside front cover --
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COMMENT - GETTING BOATS AFLOAT
We're glad to hear that the two county councils are planning to buy a weed cutter for use on the Canal next year. The desperate need is graphically demonstrated in Clive Durley's account and pictures of his intrepid (epic, even) voyage between Ash lock and Fleet this summer.
His photographs also confirm the point which the Society has often made that navigation alone helps to keep a channel clear. What is more, motorised craft prevent silt deposits forming. Without the regular trips made by the John Pinkerton, we hesitate to imagine the condition of sections of the upper end of the canal where weed growth is prolific and silt is again filling up the Whitewater winding hole.
Quite apart from the maintenance benefit derived, many people want to enjoy using their cabin cruisers and motorised day boats on the restored lengths of the canal. But, until slipways are provided, they are prevented from navigating the waterway.
A proposal to construct a slipway at Colt Hill, Odiham, was made as long ago as 1979. Yet Hampshire's planning application has been resisted by the parish council and has bounced back and forth between Hampshire, Hart and Odiham councils ever since.
What is the problem? If it's the extra road traffic the facility might generate it would be negligible compared with the increased volume of traffic being generated by the suburban development of London Road. If it's visions of a slipway on the scale of a Tyneside Yard, then, have no fear, we're talking about a short concrete slope into the water so that small boats oh trailers can be launched without risk of damage to the canal bank, the boat or the owner.
What a contrast between the procrastinations over a slipway at Colt Hill, and the enthusiastic approval by Surrey Heath to one at Mytchett.
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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
On Friday, September 22nd, at 5pm., Robin Higgs presented a 762-signature petition to the Mayor of Woking. The petition urged the Council to keep open space adjacent to the Canal at Kiln Bridge, St. John's free of development of any kind.
The land may have been zoned for residential development. But that was long before the Canal was destined for restoration and leisure use.
Are a few houses worth more than the value of open space to enhance the canal and its use by the existing community for recreation? The restored canal will play an important role in the near future, but its attractiveness will depend largely on its environment.
Woking Council is committed to the canal's restoration and plan to make a feature of it. With the Town Plan currently being revised, it would seem appropriate to withhold a decision on the Kiln Bridge site planning application until the future use of the canal and its needs have been reviewed.
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PHOTOGRAPHS
Front Cover
(top) Launching a mud barge at Barley Mow Bridge Winchfield.
(Bottom) Summer work camp volunteers laying a by-wash culvert at St. John's.
Inside Page
(Top left) Robin Higgs looks on as Arthur Hammond declares the Deepcut dry dock officially restored.
(centre left) Weed guarding the slipway at Ash lock.
(centre right) signs of navigation still visible a week after two boats passed through.
(bottom left) and at Pondtail (bottom, right), wall to wall carpeting at Fleet.
Photos by Mike Hammlersley (barge launching) Geoff Halliwell (dry
dock opening) and Clive Hurley.
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WORKING PARTIES Peter Cooper
The most notable volunteer restoration event on the canal in the past couple of months was the summer work camp at St. Johns, which is reported by Mike Fellows elsewhere in this newsletter. It's the sort of impetus that does the restoration effort a great deal of good, but of course we'll benefit most from it if we follow it up with good regular attendances at the Society's working parties.
These are listed below. It's normally best to contact your working party leader, a few days before attending, in case of last minute changes of plan.
Eyery weekend St. Johns (or Goldsworth) locks
A lock 11 the second chamber wall is now complete, with coping-stones
replaced, and the top hollow posts are cast. The work will now centre
about the recess walls, and the return and flank walls. Lock 10 can
now be regarded as finished and awaiting gates; the main Society effort
will now move to lock 9, with some overspill onto lock 8. The work
camp report describes progress on locks 9 and 8.
The Society's co-ordinator for all this work is MIKE FELLOWS on Wokingham 787428, and for further details you should contact him, or one of the working party leaders listed below.
Lock 11
Every other weekend - 1/2 Oct, 15/16 Oct, 29/30 Oct, 12/13 Nov, 26/27 Nov, 10/11 Dec. KEN HALLS on Woking 23981 or PETER REDWAY on Woking 21710.
LOCK 9
Every fourth weekend - 22/23 Oct, 19/20 Nov, 17/18 Dec. -JULES WOOD on Farnborough 515737 or TONY GOULD on 01-941-3014.
Every fourth weekend - 8/9 Oct, 5/6 Nov, 3/4 Dec, - PETER JONES on Aldershot 313076.
Second and fourth Sundays of the month - 9 Oct, 23 Oct, 13 Nov, 27 Nov, 11 Dec. - ALAN GRIMSTER on Brookwood 6127.
Every weekend Dredging in Hampshire
The steam dredger 'Perseverance' has had quite an eventful spell9
beginning of course with sinking on 5th July, owing to a leaky pontoon.
A new mud-barge was launched on 30th July, and on the same day the
dredger team completed the Blacksmiths Bridge winding hole. The
following weekend they moved through the bridge hole itself, but the
dredger was then stopped for maintenance. This included work on the
faulty pontoon and on the engine, including replacing piston-rings,
rebcring big-ends, and other associated work. At the same time, major
repairs to the smokebox were carried out by Chris Blackman.
The dredger is expected back in service at the end of September, and will then again need further helpers to move the job forward towards Crookham and Fleet.
For further details contact ANDY STUMPF on Watford 37278 or BRIAN BANE on Hook 3627.
First Sunday of the month Bankside clearance in Surrey
2 Oct, 6 Nov, 4 Dec.
The Surrey bankside party are operating again this winter, though their
exact work site is not yet known. For this, and other details, contact
BERT and BETTY SCAMMELL on Aldershot 23215.
Various Weekends Lock Gate Building
8/9 Oct, 5/6 Nov, 3/4 Dec.
The existing working party have completed the first bottom gate for Lock 10, and are now starting on the other of the pair. It is now planned to start a second lock gate working party, probably on the fourth Sunday of the month, to add further impetus to this task. For further details of all these happenings, you should contact FRANK JONES on Deepcut 5711 (lock gate workshop or Camberley 28367 (home).
Second weekend of the month Lock 5 (Woodham)
8/9 Oct, 12/13 Nov, 10/11 Dec.
This look is now very nearly finished, with the coping stones now back
on the completed recess walls. All that remains is to finish the footbridge and paint the bollards, and complete the quadrants. For further
details contact PABLO HAWORTH on Byfleet 42081.
Third weekend of the month Lock 1 (Woodham)
15/16 Oct, 19/20 Nov, 17/18 Dec.
The chamber walls are now about a third of the way up, and so bricklaying
will be the order of the day for a good while yet. For further details
of this party, which, operates under the auspices of the Guildford branch
of the IWA, you should contact DICK HARPER-WHITE on Weybridge 42074
or ROY DAVENPORT on 01-979-7075.
Volunteer piling gang
It has now become apparent that far more work is necessary to open the stretch of canal in Surrey than was originally envisaged. One of the main tasks holding up the opening of some sections is bank protection. If any SHCS members should be interested in joining a small piling team please contact Mike Fellows.
Society full-time team in Surrey
The new run-off weir on the Ash Embankment is now complete, and only awaiting its commemorative plaque. At Mytchett Lake Railway Bridge the stop-plank grooves are now complete, and further bank rebuilding and protection is in progress in this area. The dry dock by Deepcut top lock is also now complete, and finishing touches are now being applied to the Deepcut Flight. At the same time, training continues for the young people employed on the team.
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BARGE LAUNCH MAKES A BIG SPLASH
The traditional method of launching canal narrow boats and barges proved to be the cheapest and easiest way of getting a 70-foot mud barge onto the canal.
After contemplating the hire of a 100-ton mobile crane at a cost of £500, and in view of the difficulty in gaining access to the launch site near Barley Mow Bridge at Winchfield, it was decided to launch the barge broadside onto the water.
Hampshire's senior canal ranger, Tony Harmsworth, put the clock back 60 years to the time when his grandfather, the late Alec Harmsworth, used to build barges at Ash Vale and launch them broadside down a ramp.
It took Tony Harmsworth, whose family owned the Basingstoke Canal for thirty years until 1949, four days to build a slipway on the banks of the canal at Winchfield.
The 12-ton steel barge was supported on two 42-foot pitch pine ramps which were carefully angled and greased to ensure the barge would slip smoothly onto the water.
Despite the lengthy preparations, the actual launch could not be totally predicated and an air of anticipation surrounded the appointed day. But Tony need not have worried - when the wedges were released, the barge made the customary spectacular splash as it slipped gently onto the water.
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SOCIAL JOTTINGS Social Secretaries
Hampshire - Vacant - Volunteer wanted. Surrey - Mike Grist, Woking 71681.
Social evenings, with a varied selection of speakers and subjects continue at Woking and Fleet. PLEASE SUPPORT THESE EVENINGS and bring along non members and friends if you wish.
WOKING SOCIAL EVENINGS: All at the Christ Church Hall, Town Square,
Woking (50 yards from Centre Halls).
Monday l4th November, 7.45pm. Peter Chaplin of T. Harrison Chaplin Ltd. the specialists in waterside construction and good friends of the Society will give an illustrated talk entitled 'Thames from Source to Tideway' based on his book of the same name. The book will be on sale during the evening at the Society Sales Stand and Peter Chaplin has kindly agreed to autograph books purchased during the evening.
Monday 12th December, 7.45pm. A FILM EVENING featuring a Miscellany of Vintage and more MODERN TRANSPORT FILMS not previously screened at members evenings before.
Monday 9th January 7.5pm. Ian Wakeford, of Woking will give an illustrated talk based on his valuable and extensive collection of Historic Slides of Woking and the Basingstoke Canal. Not to be missed.
The Society Sales Stand will be present and coffee, and biscuits will be
avaliable.
FLEET SOCIAL EVENINGS All at the Prince of Wales.(Baronial Room) Reading Road South, Fleet.
Wednesday 23rd November 7.45pm. Society member and Working Party Leader, Bert Scammell will show slides taken during the recent Inland Waterways Association European Waterways Tour entitled 'Locks and Lifts on the Waterways of East and West Germany'.
Wednesday 14th December 7.45pm. Members Christmas get-together.
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NEWSLETTER CO-EDITOR WANTED
We are still looking for someone to help Dieter Jebens compile the Newsletter. You don't have to be a writer - it's more a job of collating news and information. So, an interest in Society activities is necessary and involvement an advantage.
Thanks to contributors like Peter Cooper, the job doesn't take up a great deal of time - not for the co-editor anyway! He or she usually compiles Gongoozlers Gossip, the Diary and Social Jottings. We meet once every two months for an 'editorial conference' and the rest is done by phone and attending special events.
Our current co-editor Chris Brazier must give up doing the job at the end of the year, so will someone please volunteer. Phone Dieter Jebens on Farnham 715230 for further details.
THE GANG OF TWELVE
Since there was no ballot to elect the Executive
Committee this year, we did not record the names of its members. For
the record, then:
Robin Higgs, (Chairman). David Millett (Vice-Chairman). Philip Riley
(Secretary). Peter Fethney (Treasurer). Vic Trott, Peter Coxhead,
Andy Stumpf, Gordon Scott, Mike Fellows, Roger Cansdale, Derek Truman,
and Chris Brazier. Minutes Secretary (non-executive) Gwen Carlton.
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WORK CAMP 1983 Mike Fellows
After a gap of a couple of years it was decided to run a 2-week work camp on the St. Johns (Goldsworth) Flight, from 30th July to l4th August. This differed from previous years when the camps were basically WRG camps. This time it was to be our own carap, completely run by us, but advertised via the WRG publicity machine. We hoped to attract 10-15 people and had earmarked various jobs on lock 8.
Our first problem was accommodation. Here Woking Council came up trumps, by leasing us an old baker's shop, and the flat above, right in the middle of St. Johns and just across the road from the work site; an ideal situation. The shop and flat were in a terrible state, but thanks to much hard work by a few 'locals' the premises once again became habitable.
The camp was led by Ken Parish of the Kent & East Sussex Canal Restoration Group, who had given up two weeks holiday to run it. He also had strong support from many other members of his group, but it was pleasing to see that most of the support came from Society members who gave up anything from one day to two weeks of their holiday. The WRG publicity brought in about 8 people for each week from all over the country, coming from as far afield as Glasgow, Sheffield, Manchester, Rugby, Norfolk and Grimsby.
Work started slowly but soon acquired a pace which was difficult to keep up with. As we only planned for 10 - 15 people, finding work for the 20 - 25 people who were always on site was something of a problem. More plant was ordered and more jobs earmarked. At one stage all five locks on the flight were receiving some attention, and Martin Smith, who was keeping us supplied with plant, materials, etc., had virtually a full-time job servicing us. We used about 100 gallons of diesel, 60 gallons of petrol, 8 tons of cement, and countless tons of ballast. The work included the following:-
Lock 11 - bridge spines painted. Lock 10 - landscaping and painting. Lock 9 - demolition, and paddle culvert pipes inserted and concreted in. Lock 8 - bypass channel, including inlet, completely finished, top wing walls and paddle recesses demolished. Chamber cleared, and bottom cill (which was 3ft thick concrete!) broken out. Lock 7 - twin pile dam across tail of lock, and some dredging.
Said like this it doesn't sound much, but it used up about 2,700 man hours of labour, has brought the restoration of St. Johns Flight forward by about five months, and would have cost at least £8,000 to have done by a contractor.
Despite all the hard work it was not without the funny side. Like the man who decided to prime the pump when it was running - a fatal mistake - he was drenched and had to go back to the accommodation to change. Half an hour later he was back, and sent to get the pump going again. This time he looked down the outlet hose to see if anything was coming out - back to the accommodation again!! Then there was the man given the job of putting the DEEP MUD signs in below lock 7, who succeeded in slipping into the mud up to his waist, whilst holding the sign above his head. Nobody could pull him out (or take photos) as they were all falling about laughing.
All in all the work camp was a fantastic success, and our thanks must go to all those who gave up their time so freely to come and help us, and to all those behind the scenes, without whom it couldn't have happened.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Sir,
I read with utter dismay the last paragraph of Mr. Lewis Harris' article on angling in the canal in the August Newsletter.
My earliest memories of the canal - and what attracted me back to it in later life - are of spending hot summer days dabbling in the shallows for sticklebacks, dickie red-throats, and the minnows and tiddlers he writes about. Yes, we had those awful nets, or if you were very clever you waited patiently with a hand in the water to see if you could catch something by hand. Home we went with our jamjars, mucky and happy.
I remember one particular group of minnows which I kept alive for several months and grew very fond of.
Am I new to understand that this favourite childhood pastime is outlawed? That if I take my small relations out for an afternoon's minnowing or collecting tadpoles a big man in a board will clap me in irons?
Shame. This is not what I campaigned to save the canal for. To say I need a piece of paper and get involved in officialdom to do what kids have been doing from time immemorial proves that 1984 is literally not fcir away. Sorry Mr. Harris, but you'll have to catch me and my minnows in the act.
Yours sincerely,
June Sparey,
133 Upper College Ride, Old Dean, Camberley.
Dear Sir,
I would like to say thank you for the support received during the summer work camp on the Basingstoke Canal at St. Johns. Not only from the large number of volunteers that attended but also from those behind the scenes, responsible for providing the accommodation, materials, equipment etc.
It was pleasing to note, that approximately 6O% of the navvies present carne from the S and HCS and regular visiting groups, this nucleus of trained personnel made my task far easier and allowed a number of jobs on the whole of the Goldsworth Flight to be tackled during the two weeks that the camp was running.
I will close by again saying Thank You to everyone involved.
Yours faithfully,
Ken Parish (Work Camp Organiser 1983} 53 Cromwell Road, Canterbury, Kent.
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TEN YEARS AGO..... (From Newsletter No. 32 Sept/Oct 1973)
* Members were urged to write to the DoE in support of the two County Councils compulsory purchase orders to acquire the Canal. A public enquiry would be held on 2nd October it was reported. (The Canal Company agreed to sell Hampshire their length of the canal in November 1973 - Surrey did not acquire the eastern part until March 1976 - Ed)
* Pressure of work caused local journalist June Sparey, former Committee member and the Society's Secretary to give up editorship of the Newsletter. Issue No. 52 was edited by Jon Talbot whose articles on the Canal appeared in 'Hampshire' Magazine and waterways journals.
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BOATING ON THE BASINGSTOKE - 1983 STYLE - Clive Durley
The cruise was timed to start at 11am. from Ash Lock by which time only Jim, Margaret and their son, Alan (IWA Members) with a Tabur Yak II dinghy, and Barbara and myself with our 14ft 'Sundust' had turned up. Vic and Shirley Trott, who were organising the cruise, decided by 11.13 there was not much likelihood of anyone else coming, so we set off towards Fleet.
Having stopped to clear the woed from the propeller three times before we got clear of the wharf, we settled down for a gentle trip which we were determined to enjoy despite the weather which was very much cooler than it had been for many weeks and there was more than a threat of rain - like a steady drizzle which frequently worked itself up into a deluge.
We had gone about 100 yards when Jim's British Seagull outboard decide there was a much too high a weed-to-water ratio and went on strike. Jim got out the oars. My 4hp Mariner soldiered on for another 50 yards or so but found the diet was too rich for it and refused to chew any more. Jim was struggling manfully to force his boat over, rather than through, the thick blanket weed and Vic and I tried to paddle with a couple of pieces of board but we realised very quickly that at our present rate of progress we would be lucky to reach Queens Parade by nightfall let alone the Fox and Hounds at Fleet before closing time. We tied Jim's Yak on behind 'Sundust' and Vic and I pulled both boats from the towpath while Shirley fended off with an oar. This was pretty hard going as the weed built up in front of the boats into a thick raft until it looked as if we were moving a somewhat lumpy lawn along the canal.
Eventually we reached Iron Bridge (Queen's Parade) and the canal seemed clear ahead so we decided to give motorised propulsion another chance, Jim and crew got under way while Vic and I tried to clear the weed from around 'Sundust' before we started the outboard. We found that in pulling the boat, we had in some way managed to get it on top of a raft of solid weed and it took us 20 minutes to get it clear. Then the motor refused to start. In tipping it to clear the weed I had omitted to turn off the fuel and in consequence the cylinder was flooded. Eventually it dried out and off we went. After all the exercise I was now very warm and the rain had stopped and, as far as we could see, the canal was clear.
We made very good progress past the playing fields and through the Farnborough Road bridges. The weir looked good and very functional. It was most enjoyable to see the canal from a new angle. Having walked the towpath along there many times it was interesting to see how different it looks from a boat. We were able to see into the nature-reserve areas at Claycart and Eelmoor Flashes. In one was the biggest family of swans I have seen - I counted six cygnets. They were not ib the least interested in us or peturbed by the boats.
Then - more blanket weed. This stuff really was vicious. It not only winds itself round the prop but takes in anything else that it within reach and twists it all into solid ball of vegetation, sometimes more than a foot in diameter. It became necessary to clear the prop every 10 yards or so and even after this operation the boat could hardly make any headway. This lasted to just short of Pondtail Bridge where we could at last see clear water. We stopped for what we hoped would be the last prop-clearing before the Fox and Hounds and cruised under the low bridges feeling very pleased with ourselves. As we cleared the
old bridge the stern and then the motor went up and down as we dragged over somebody's unwanted Christmas tree and then, as we rounded the next bend, we saw before us what looked like a lush meadow. It was, in fact, the canal with wall-to-wall carpeting of duckweed and other growths resembling steel wool. It took us another hour to reach Reading Road Bridge and as the pubs had long since closed, there seemed little point in going further. The time was 3-30pm. Four and a quarter hours to travel six miles. (I have since been told that the same trip was done in 2 hours in July last year so that is some measure of the amount of weed-growth since then). It all seemed rather a lot of effort to have a very late picnic lunch only half a mile from home! - and we still had to get back to Ash Lock.
Barbara left us at Pondtail to walk home so that dinner would be ready by the time I returned. The return journey only took 2-1/2 hours despite being forced to paddle for some time because the weed had blocked the cooling-water duct and we, therefore, had to allow the engine to cool down.
We followed the channel through the weed that we had made on our outward trip and were able to keep going for much longer spells between weed-clearing, although we still had to bow-haul through Aldershot.
It was hard work and, at times, frustrating but we all enjoyed it and felt we had achieved something. Jim must have been very stiff next day as he had rowed far more than he had motored. The sight of him lifting his oars out dripping in a green gossamer of blanket weed while the boat slid back into the hole he had just rowed it out of, is one I shall remember for a long time.
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DIARY
OCTOBER
15 Jumble Sale, Victoria Hall, Ash Vale, 10.30am.
26 Members films and slides, Prince of Wales, Fleet, 7.45pm.
29 Jumble Sale, Macrae Hall, Reading Road, Yateley, 2.00pm.
NOVEMBER
12 Autumn Fayre, Civic Hall, Fleet, 10.30am.
14 Vintage and Modern Transport films, Christ Church Hall,
Woking, 7.45pm.
23 'Locks and Lifts of East and West Germany', a talk with
slides by Bert Scammell, Prince of Wales, Fleet, 7,45pm.
DECEMBER
12 'Thames from Source to Tideway', a talk with slides by
Peter Chaplin, Christ Church Hall, Woking, 7.45pm.
14 Members Christmas Get-together, Prince of Wales, Fleet 7.45pm.
JANUARY
9 'Historic Slides of Woking and the Basingstoke Canal'
presented by Ian Wakefield, Christ Church Hall, 7.45pm.
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ADMINISTRATOR WANTED FOR LENGTHSMAN SCHEME IN SURREY
We're looking for an administrator to keep in regular contact with the
18 volunteer lengthsmen who patrol the Surrey stretch of the canal.
The administrator is also required to liaise with Surrey County Council.
The job takes a little time regularly (every three months or so) and requires someone who is organised, used to keeping records and conscientious!
If you want to keep in touch with what is happening on the canal, this
is an interesting job and will make an important contribution, to
the Society's work.
Ring Tony Rozelaar (the present administrator) on Woking 66684 for full details.
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DRY DOCK OFFICIALLY OPENED - Philip Riley
An informal ceremony was held at Deepcut on 3rd September to celebrate the completion of the new dry dock. A rather windswept Robin Higgs opened the proceedings by referring to the important contribution which the dock will make to the facilities available on the restored canal. He said that it would provide an ideal place to carry out essential maintenance work on the Society's barges, tugs and dredger. It could also be used by the John Pinkerton and might even form the basis of a boat construction yard. The completion of the dock marked another step forward in the restoration project. It provided further evidence of the successful parnership between the Society, the County and District Councils and the Manpower Services schemes. Robin paid particular tribute to Brian Hancock and Douglas Brown of Surrey County Council who were both heavily engaged in the design of the dry dock. He also thanked the young people employed on the MSC scheme led by Jim Reid and ably supported by Doug Saunders, Dave Garrett and Grant Charman who had built the dock using materials provided by the Society. They had all done a magnificent job and the young people had learnt many useful skills which would enable them to secure a better future. Special thanks were also due to John Morton and Jean Maskell of the Camberley Careers Office, to Arthur Hammond, MSC Area Manager and to the MSC team responsible for the Society's scheme including Nick Tooze, David Powell and Hazel Long. They had all given invaluable support to Frank Jones, who originally inspired the scheme to restore the dry dock and had overall responsibility for its successful completion.
Robin then introduced Arthur Hammond and invited him to perform the opening ceremony. Before cutting the tape, Mr. Hammond said a few words about the MSC schemes and their role in the restoration of the canal. As a canal enthusiast who had regularly enjoyed canal holidays he was particularly pleased that the MSC were playing an important part in the revival of the Basingstoke Canal. He reiterated the importance of the partnership to which Robin had referred. He said that the future of youth employment lay with the Youth Training Scheme which comes into operation in September 1983. As the name of the new scheme suggests, the emphasis will be on training, some of which will be 'off the job'. He confirmed that the Society's present scheme will become a Youth Training Scheme, thereby preserving our long and successful association with the Commission's Youth Employment Schemes.
The tape was then cut by Mr. Hammond but regrettably, because levels are presently reduced at Deepcut, water could not be admitted to the new dock. Hopefully, we shall be able to flood the dock in the spring and it is only then that we shall know whether Frank Jones' latest masterpiece will really hold water!
Thanks to everyone who helped in organising this event.
YATELEY JUMBLE SALE
A Jumble Sale will be held at Macrae Hall, Reading Road, Yateley
on Saturday 29th October at 2.00pm. in aid of the Society's funds.
Items for sale and offers of help on the day will be welcomed. Ring J.L. Greenfield on Yateley 873167.
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GONGOOZLERS GOSSIP
APOLOGIES for the late arrival of the last Newsletter.... the production complexities make producing a Fleet Street newspaper as easy as putting together a 12-page duplicated.....
OWNERS of equipment loaned for the Work Camp accommodation are asked to contact Mike Fellows (Wokingham 787428) to arrange for its return with thanks.
HOLIDAY Narrowboat 'The Return' will be available for hire by members again next year. More details in next Newsletter.
AUTUMN FAYRE, Saturday November 12, 10.30am. at Fleet Civic Hall. Offers of help and articles for sale to Rosemary Millett (Fleet 7364) or Janet Hedger (Fleet 7465).
EXPANSION of the Society's Manpower Services Commission Youth Training scheme means that Frank Jones is now looking for unemployed 16/17 year
olds.
CURRENT time to cruise from Ash Lock to Reading Road bridge in Fleet, is 4-1/2 hours. Last year it took 2 hours. Just shows the problems caused by lack of use and excessive weed growth.
TRIP BOAT 'John Pinkerton' is expected to make a profit of £10,000 this year.
'RETURN' Holiday narrow boat which the Society hired out for the first season has made a profit of around £750.
WHARFINGER pub overlooking Ash Wharf closed its doors for the last tin; in August.
WEED cutter demonstrated in August to Surrey and Hampshire County Council is expected to be ordered for delivery next year.
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COPY DATE FOR DECEMBER NEWSLETTER: 1ST NOVEMBER 1983
Published by the Surrey & Hampshire Canal Society Limited, a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee, registered as a charity.
Editors: Dieter Jebens, Janet & Chris Brazier; production Diana Snow and Cecil Eynon.
Collation & distribution: Janet & George Hedger, Clive Durley and helpers.
Editorial Office: 60 Middle Bourne Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU10 3NJ (Farnharn 715230).
Chairman: Robin Higgs, 18 Barnsford Crescent, West End, Woking
(Chobham 7314)
Vice-Chairman: David Millett, 14 Dinorben Close, Fleet (Fleet 7364)
Hon. Treasurer: Peter Fethney, 5 Longdown, Courtmoor, Fleet (5524)
Hon. Sec: Philip Riley, Meadow Vale, Guildford Rd., Normandy
(Worplesdon 234776)
Membership Sec: Ted Williams, 36 Kestrel Rd., Basingstoke (61579)
Working Party Information: Peter Jones, Aldershot 313076 and Peter
Cooper, 01-993-1105
Trip Boat: Ron Hursey, 119 Keith Lucas Rd., Farnborough.(519619)
Sales Manager: Aubrey Slaughter, 37 Fir Tree Way, Fleet (23102)
Talks Organiser: Pauline Hadlow, Beaulah, Parkstone Drive, Camberley
(28367)
Exhibitions Manager: Phil Pratt, 26 Fleetwood Court, Madeira Rd.,
West Byfleet (40281).
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