IWA Chiltern Branch Grapevine Magazine Winter 2013

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www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern Chiltern Branch Newsletter Winter 2013 Branch to move to new Meetings Venue Another successful year of fundraising enabled Chiltern Branch to donate a further £1000 to the Wendover Arm Trust. Branch Chair- man, Peter Winter, presented the cheque to Roger Leishman at the Chiltern Christmas Party. A separate sum of £1000 was donated to the Trust by IWA London Region as a Richard Bird memorial. Roger, who is Restora- tion Director for the Trust, commented that in spite of the cancella- tion of the Wendover Festival, income for 2012 had been healthy due to these donations and the success of the sponsored ‘Walk an Arms Length’ in Sep- tember which raised over £13,500. Over the last 15 years fundraising at various events has enabled Chiltern Branch to donate over £30,000 to waterway causes. After five years of holding meetings at the Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club, the Branch is to move to new venue. With effect from September 2013 our meetings will be at Little Chalfont Village Hall. The current season of meetings will continue to be held at the Rugby Club, but they are unable to host further meetings due to increased demand for sporting uses of the facility. Further details of the new venue and the selection process can be found on Page 6. £2000 donated to the Wendover Arm Trust Chiltern Grapevine

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IWA Chiltern Branch Grapevine Magazine Winter 2013

Transcript of IWA Chiltern Branch Grapevine Magazine Winter 2013

Page 1: IWA Chiltern Branch Grapevine Magazine Winter 2013

www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern

Chiltern Branch Newsletter

Winter 2013

Branch to move to new Meetings Venue

Another successful year of fundraising enabled Chiltern Branch to donate a further £1000 to the Wendover Arm Trust. Branch Chair-man, Peter Winter, presented the cheque to Roger Leishman at the Chiltern Christmas Party. A separate sum of £1000 was donated to the Trust by IWA London Region as a Richard Bird memorial.

Roger, who is Restora-tion Director for the Trust, commented that in spite of the cancella-tion of the Wendover Festival, income for 2012 had been healthy due to these donations and the success of the sponsored ‘Walk an Arms Length’ in Sep-tember which raised over £13,500.

Over the last 15 years fundraising at various events has enabled Chiltern Branch to donate over £30,000 to waterway causes.

After five years of holding meetings at the Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club, the Branch is to move to new venue. With effect from September 2013 our meetings will be at Little Chalfont Village Hall. The current season of meetings will continue to be held at the Rugby Club, but they are unable to host further meetings due to increased demand for sporting uses of the facility. Further details of the new venue and the selection process can be found on Page 6.

Issue 32

£2000 donated to the Wendover Arm Trust

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PLEASE Sign up for IWA Chiltern e-News Postage costs are the biggest expense in bringing Grapevine to you, so why

not get your news by email and receive an enhanced version of Grapevine as well as regular bulletins about what’s going on. This means that you get a

better service while reducing costs. That has to be good, so sign up at: www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern.

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Chairman's Ramblings

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It’s just over six year’s since I responded to previous Chairman Ray Joyner’s request for someone to take his place since he was about to move out of the area. Now it’s my time to make a similar call as Hilary and I firm up our plans to move to Sussex. It’s been a rewarding and eventful experience to be Chiltern Branch Chairman, especially as I took on the role with virtually no knowledge of the workings of the IWA. Yet with the support of an excellent committee, getting involved and acting on behalf of the Branch has been remarkably straightforward. In my time as Branch Chairman the outlook of our waterways has changed dramatically. When I first got involved, British Waterways was faced with an onslaught of cuts with available funds uncertain from one year to the next. For an extended period the future looked bleak and the IWA and its members had to campaign vigorously to protect our heritage. Now, the transition to the Canal & River Trust has been made and, thanks in part to IWA’s efforts, our new waterways charity has the benefit of a secure 15 year funding package and has much greater freedom to achieve its goals. My impression is that the CRT has made a good start and I think there is a breeze of change in the organisation. We are seeing

this in the way volunteers are now seen as a key aspect and in increasing openness. For example, we and other organisations were invited recently to discuss ideas on how the Bulbourne Workshops site might be redeveloped. I doubt that this would have happened a couple of years ago. Robin Evans is to stand down as Chief Executive of CRT in a couple of months and thanks are certainly due to him and Chairman Tony Hales for steering British Waterways successfully into its new form. In my discussions with Robin, I always found him very open and I was delighted that he was able to join us at our Annual General Meeting last year. It will soon be time for our next AGM, which will be my last as your Chairman. When I meet IWA members from other parts of the country, it is heartening to hear that Chiltern Branch is known as an Active Branch with a broad portfolio of meetings, events and successful fundraising. That reputation is well-deserved thanks to our committee and volunteers. Ideally, we’d like to do more, but we’re a very small group and to maintain even current activities we need more people to lend a hand. Just a few hours each month goes a long way. Please consider how you can help.

Peter Winter

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Chiltern Branch Committee: The following positions need to be filled:

Chairman Newsletter Editor Publicity Officer Website Manager

If you are interested or want to more know more about what is involved, please contact any committee member. New members: Chiltern Branch is pleased to welcome the following new members:

Mr G Clements Mr M Perkins Mr A Stratton Mr & Mrs S Lafferty Mr B Nicholson Mr & Mrs D Ramsay

London Region IWA London Region has put forward proposals aimed at tackling the problems caused by continuous moorers in the London area. Full details are on the News page of the London Region website. In addition, the problems caused by the continual blocking of lock landings by permanently moored boats in London has been drawn to the attention of CRT. The London Region AGM takes place on Tuesday 12th March. See Page 14.

Canal & River Trust The South East Area on-line Noticeboard can be found at canalrivertrust.org.uk/noticeboards/south-east-waterways which includes information from the Area Partnership. CRT is inviting comments on proposals for changes to the maximum stay times at 22 of the most popular visitor mooring sites in the South East including several

in the Chiltern Branch area. You can view the proposals and comment at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/consultations.

Wendover Arm Trust Paul Leech has been elected as Chairman of the Trust. Paul is no newcomer to the waterways, having gained experience working with the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway project and with IWA Chelmsford Branch. Chris Sargeant is to be the Trust’s new webmaster while branch member David Page takes over as Newsletter Editor. There’s more about restoration progress on page 10.

Aylesbury Canal Society Work is well underway at Circus Field on the development of new moorings and clubhouse following completion of the long awaited arrangements for the Society to move from the Aylesbury canal basin. Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Gets Formal Planning Permission The scheme (as reported in the Summer 2012 issue of Grapevine) to transform 2.1km of Maidenhead's neglected channels into a navigable waterway now has formal planning permission. The Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group is starting on the detailed design of every structure, footpath and metre of the enlarged channels - and is calling on the public to come forward with ideas. Anyone with suggestions or views about what should be considered in the final detailed design is asked to email [email protected]

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News

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John Brice looks for a helping hand over the summer 2013 is going to be a busy year for Chil-tern Branch. While the year kicks off with Canalway Cavalcade in Little Venice over the May Day weekend, our real involve-ment starts with the Rickmansworth Festi-val on 18th-19th May. We are a major player taking responsibility for running the Waterspace side of this event that attracts over 100 visiting boats. We also have a branch stand with information about our activities. The event is run by 100% volun-teers and as it gets bigger every year we always have a need to recruit more help. For the first time IWA’s National Festival is being held within the boundaries of Chiltern Branch at Cassiobury Park, Wat-ford. This major three day event over the weekend of July 19th -21st represents an exciting challenge for all those involved. Chiltern Branch is already working with the Festival Team putting everything to-gether; we play a pivotal role with local knowledge, and being the area host branch, all eyes will be on us. This gives us a chance to showcase our Branch, an oppor-tunity we should not let pass by, and we have aspirations to update our displays and presentations. If there is someone out there that has the knowledge and ability of put-ting together media displays, and has other ideas on how we can raise our profile, then I would like to hear from them. We are also recruiting helpers for our Stand at the National, where our mission will be to inform visitors on about Chiltern Branch, to promote membership, our branch out-ings and events, whilst enthusing about the canals in the Chilterns and having a bit of fun. Some knowledge of any of the above

aspects would be useful but is not essential as training can be given. Now if you do have the gift of the gab, reckon you can sell fridges to Eskimos, and enjoy the banter of a market stall then Liz and Carolyn would like to hear from you. Volunteer sales staff are needed for the Chiltern Boat Jumble which we plan to hold at the National Festival. We will also require volunteers to collect and move stock and to set up and dismantle the stand. We may be busy but we cannot miss out on a Lock Ransom weekend at Marsworth on 17th-18th August. This is a big fund-raiser for the Branch and a great social event for the volunteers. Why not join us and make a weekend of it camping with tents and caravans, and a group dinner at the Anglers Retreat on Saturday evening? On the social side for members we organ-ise eight evening meetings per year includ-ing a Christmas Party. We are lucky to have Colin, who arranges all our speakers, and as reported elsewhere in this issue, we will be moving to a new venue at Little Chalfont from September 2013. As a result we will require volunteers to help with setting out the tables and chairs and cater-ing for teas and coffees. If you can help please contact me at the number below. Those are our major events for the year but by no means all of them. We have not fin-ished the Himalayan Balsam clearance project at Bulbourne, which we will need to revisit in the Spring, and we have al-ready stuck our hand up to assist the Canal & River Trust on the Marsworth side pond regeneration project.

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2013 is going to be a busy year!

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Chiltern is one of the more active Branches getting involved in a diverse range of ac-tivities, as well as being one of the best performing fundraisers in the IWA. None of this can be done without volunteers. This is an appeal to members who don’t normally get involved and who possibly don’t come to meetings to think about vol-unteering. These events involve a short term commitment, you will not be dedicat-

ing your life to it, but we try to make them entertaining and sociable, so why not give it a try? First step, come to one of our meetings, meet your committee, ask ques-tions and see what opportunities we can offer. You never know, you might enjoy it.

John Brice Fundraising and Waterways Events

Tel: 01494 873298 Mob: 07740 733241

The National Festival at Cassiobury Park is just the centrepiece of IWA’s Festival of London Waterways which encompasses eight events over the summer. These are:

Canalway Cavalcade Little Venice, London 4-6 May Rickmansworth Festival Grand Union Canal 18-19 May Ware Boat Festival River Lee 5-7 July IWA National Festival Cassiobury Park, Watford 19-21 July Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 10-11 August Angel Canal Festival Regents Canal, Islington 1 September Mayor’s Thames River Festival 14-15 September Slough Canal Festival Slough Arm 14-15 September

Busy 2013 (continued)

Bring out your Jumble As John Brice says in his article, we are planning to have a Chiltern Boat Jumble at the National Festival. Historically, this has been our best fundraising activity and hav-ing missed out last year due to the cancel-lation of the Boxmoor Festival, we are looking to make the most of this opportu-nity. Although it’s early, now is a good time to put aside those items that you don’t want but which will be appreciated by others. Naturally anything related to boating

would be great, but we can take most things including good quality clothes to sell. If you feel you have quite a lot and do not have the room to keep it, then please contact me and we will arrange collection and storage. If you have jumble of some value, we can also work on a split proceeds basis. But please look at your unwanted Christmas presents or anything like that, make a note on your calendar for July 19-21 and start saving now.

Liz Norris Mob: 07977374116

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Festival of London Waterways

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Choosing a New Venue How Little Chalfont Village Hall was selected

It was a bit of a shock to learn that after the current season of talks we would not be able use the Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club as our meetings venue. Af-ter all our meetings have become in-creasingly popular and attendances have risen by almost 40% during the five years since we moved from the Market Hall in Amersham. The news meant that finding a new meeting room became a priority task because firm arrangements are needed for Colin Bird to engage speakers. In selecting a venue for our meetings we need to take account of a number of fac-tors. First of all, we needed to review the dis-tribution of our membership as we had inherited part of the old Herts Branch since we last changed venues. In fact we have memberships from as far away as Holmfirth and Newquay, but the main concentrations are in Aylesbury (45),

High Wycombe (32), Rickmansworth (32), Berkhamsted (32), Hemel Hemp-stead (25), Watford (24), Amersham (12), Chesham, Slough and Tring (11each), Gerrards Cross (10) and Bea-consfield (9) with the rest being widely scattered. From this analysis we appreci-ated that while Aylesbury had most memberships, there was a strong pres-ence in the eastern part of our area. As a result we concluded that the Amersham/Chesham area would be the most suit-able area to look for a venue. John Brice led the search and eventually six venues that could accommodate our dates were short-listed. Carolyn Leonard and Peter Winter joined John on a tour of inspection last December, when halls were viewed in Little Missenden, Bal-linger, Chesham and Little Chalfont. Each venue was assessed based on costs, hall size and quality, toilets, disabled facilities, PA and projection equipment,

accessibility, parking, location, public transport links and catering/bar facilities. While most of the ven-ues were deemed suit-able, it was the unani-mous view of the team that Little Chalfont Vil-lage Hall was best suited to our needs and that future meetings should be held there.

Little Chalfont Village Hall is conveniently located

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We have used this hall previously, when the Am-ersham Market Hall was unavailable, but it has since undergone a major refurbishment, has in-stalled projection equip-ment and an excellent kitchen. The hall is oper-ated by Little Chalfont Parish Council and is lo-cated at the junction of the main A404 and Cokes Lane with easy access from the M25. Parking is available by the hall or in the adjacent public car park (free after 6pm). The Chalfont and Latimer Tube Station is just a few minutes walk away as is the Sugar Loaf pub.

While we are sorry to leave the Rugby Club, we hope that the Little Chalfont Village Hall will be equally popular, especially as it is more easily accessible for the whole of our membership.

The refurbished interior

Over 40 members came along to the Branch Christmas Party and by all accounts it was a good evening. The welcoming glass or two of mulled wine were followed by an excel-lent buffet provided by Chef Paul.

The festivities also included a picture quiz on past Branch events compiled by Jenny Brice and a brain teasing pub quiz by Colin Bird. The raffle had a huge selection of prizes helped us to raise over £100 during the evening.

Christmas Party Cheer

Chef Paul shows off the buffet

Working hard on the quiz

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It was a cold day on Sunday 13th Janu-ary, but plenty of people braved the con-ditions to take advantage of a rare oppor-tunity to see behind the scenes at the Canal & River Trust sites on the Mars-worth Flight and at the Tringford Pumping Station. The top gates of Lock 43 of the Marsworth Flight were being replaced as part of the winter stoppage programme, and it was at this lock that extra scaffolding and steps had been installed to allow viewing and access to the lock chamber. By the time of the open day the top gates had been replaced and work on the paddle gear was part complete. With the chamber drained it was possible to see

the underwater workings and there was also a tabletop display of some of the lock ironmongery. Plenty of CRT staff and volunteers were on hand to answer visitor’s questions and to show people around the site. The stoppage at Marsworth also includes work to remedy the leaking gates on the bot-tom lock, No. 39, which is well-known to Branch mem-bers being the site of our annual Lock Ransom.

A brisk walk or a short trip in a mini-bus took visitors to the Tringford Pump-ing Station. Most restoration volunteers on the Wendover Arm will have been to the pumping station site to load or stow

Marsworth Open Day Behind the scenes at Marsworth & Tringford

The drained pound below the lock

Down in Lock 43

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tools and equipment, but on this day the doors were opened for a look inside. Keith Evans of the Friends of Tring Reser-voirs provided an over-view of the history of the station and how it had changed over the years from housing steam beam engines of the 1800s to the use of electric pumps powered initially by early diesel engines and now from mains electricity. Following the overview, Keith led guided tours of the facility. From the outside you wouldn’t be aware of the well shafts, some over 23 metres deep, that house the pumps and which are linked by tunnels to beneath the various

reservoirs. This station is a remarkable example of engineering and it has been supplying water to the Tring summit level for nearly 200 years. Back at the top of the Marsworth Flight one of the old Bulbourne workshops is now home to the Hammer & Tongs

blacksmiths and they had also opened their doors so that visitors could come into the warm and see the black-smiths at work. It should be noted that Hammer & Tongs are no ordinary blacksmiths; they are artists and their gates, fences and other work are quite remarkable. CRT is to be congratulated on this Open Day. It was interesting, well organised, well staffed and a very infor-mative leaflet was provided.

Looking down one of the well shafts at Tringford

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It’s been a couple of years since we re-ported on progress by the Wendover Arm Trust’s restoration team. At that time Stage 1 of the restoration of the ‘leaky’ section had just been finished and rewatered; this was a 321m length with a mooring bay. Since then attention has been focussed on the next Stage, which also includes a mooring bay and has been extended by about 100 metres to 447 metres so that the bund can be placed in the narrows at Bridge 4A. The period of dry weather that extended during the summer of 2011 and through the start of last winter may have been a headache

for boaters, but it did as-sist progress on the resto-ration. The dry conditions meant that the tracked equipment and the work party teams were able to operate much more effi-ciently. The mooring bay was completed and a good start made on relining the banks and bed of the ca-nal. 2012 was a bit of a mixed year. Although some snow got in the way, the relatively dry conditions of winter and early spring period meant that good

progress continued. WAT Workparties tackled the tasks of bank profiling, laying Bentomat liner down the banks and con-creting in the bottom row of blocks just in time for a Waterways Recovery Group

Update from the Wendover Arm

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Using the new frame to backfill with soil

Laying and covering the bed liner

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team to lay some 4,000 blocks on the bank sides to complete most of the work on a 75 metre stretch. Thereafter the weather was a real trial and slowed progress as conditions became in-creasingly wet on the canal bed which was churned into a quagmire by the tracked equipment. This meant that the restoration was literally bogged down, with signifi-cant effort having to be de-voted to pumping out work areas to make any activity possible. Nevertheless the teams soldiered on and by the end of the year the restoration had been completed almost to within sight of Bridge 4A. One development of particular benefit to the volunteers has been the introduction of a frame to help back-filling soil above the layers of blocks. Previously this had been a

really labour intensive and slow task re-quiring several volunteers to shovel and stamp the soil deposited by the excavator. Now with the use of the frame most of the hard work can be done by the excavator with just a couple of people on the bank. Branch member Brian Harris came up with

the idea supported by Tony Bardwell. Elsewhere on the Arm, there has been more work at the site of the old pumping station at Whitehouses with further clearance and during the ‘summer’ the Kent & East Sussex Recovery Group spent a week re-constructing the wharf wall and settling tank. Hopefully, Stage 2 can be completed in 2013.

Pumping out the canal bed

Restoration of the wharf at Whitehouses

Photo: Ray Orth

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Bulbourne Yard: A New Future?

Bulbourne Yard is an historic site that was used for the construction of lock gates and other canal infrastructure. However, it is now outdated for modern practices and production was transferred to Stanley Ferry and Bradley in 2003. At present, with the exception of the blacksmiths, the site is largely disused with many of the buildings deteriorating to a poor state of repair and significant investment will be required to ensure their preservation for the future. Hence the site is currently a financial liability to the Trust so options are being considered to secure long-term sustainable uses for the yard. Chiltern Branch along with other canal stakeholders was invited to attend a meeting with Canal & River Trust repre-sentatives. I attended with our Chair-man, Peter Winter. Roger Leishman and Ray Orth also attended, representing WAT. We were pleased to be asked to contrib-ute to this consultation, feeling this would not have happened a few years ago under British Waterways. We had discussed the site at a prior Branch Com-mittee meeting so had considered the viability and cost effectiveness of some options. James Lazarus of CRT explained the history of the project and how it would be unlikely for the Trust to undertake this venture alone but that they would retain full control. He also said that to

date no discussions had taken place with the local Planning Authority but some initial survey work had been undertaken which had revealed various constraints on the site, including four Grade II listed buildings, site contamination and bat roosts including a maternity roost. It was also made clear that CRT wished to keep a working wharf but this could be concentrated in one area of the site. Naturally any proposals would need to make a commercial return and there were significant costs and hurdles to be overcome before any development could take place. The floor was thrown open for discus-sion and a number of different uses were suggested by attendees and discussed. These included the potential to use part of the site as a hub for visitors and vol-unteers with educational facilities and a visitor centre. However, it was expected that much of the site would need to be converted to residential use if the project were to be commercially viable. At the conclusion of the meeting CRT indicated they would start to take the development forward by consulting with Aylesbury Vale District Council and other community groups. They would also evaluate how CRT land on the op-posite bank might be used to enhance or complement the development. CRT undertook to keep everyone updated on progress.

Carolyn Leonard Planning Officer

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CRT initiates redevelopment discussions

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Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Chiltern Branch of the Inland Waterways Association will be held on Wednesday 27th March 2013 at the, Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club, Ash Grove, Weedon Lane, Amersham, Bucks HP6 5QU. commencing at 8.00pm

AGENDA 1. Apologies for Absence 2. Approval of the minutes of the AGM held on 28th March 2012 3. Matters Arising 4. Report of the Branch Chairman 5. Report of the Branch Secretary 6. Report of the Branch Hon. Treasurer and presentation of Accounts 7. Adoption of Accounts 8. Business of the meeting notified under byelaw 1.3* 9. Election of Committee members 10. Address on behalf of the IWA Trustees 11. Any Other Business

* Note: Byelaw 1.3 provides that any member of a region or branch may propose business to appear on the agenda of an AGM of their region or branch, provided that notice of such business is delivered in writing to the Chairman of the region or branch at least six weeks before that meeting.

Elizabeth Norris, Hon. Secretary, IWA Chiltern Branch.

Nominations for election to the Chiltern Branch Committee must be deposited with the Hon. Secretary (Elizabeth Norris) 6 Tillers Link, Shephall, Stevenage, Herts SG2 9BA by 7th March 2013 at the latest. Nominations must be made in writing, in the format below, signed by the proposer, seconder and the nominee (all of whom must be paid-up members of the Association).

(Name)………………………………… is proposed as a committee member of he Chiltern Branch of the Inland Waterways Association for election at the Branch AGM on Wednesday 27th March 2013.

Proposed by……………………………. Seconded by …..………………………

I agree to my nomination as a committee member ………………………………..

The AGM will be followed by a Ploughman’s Supper.

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Chiltern Branch AGM

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From the north: Follow A416 through Chesham, past 2

garages opposite each other, over a small roundabout and up the hill towards Amer-sham.

At next roundabout (1½ miles) turn right at into Copperkins Lane.

Take 2nd left (½ mile) into Weedon Lane. Take first right (¼ mile) into Ash Grove. The club is at the end of this road (100yds).

From the south: Take A416 from Amersham to Chesham

and over roundabout (Boot and Slipper pub on corner).

Turn left at the next small roundabout (¼ mile) into Copperkins Lane.

Take 2nd left (½ mile) into Weedon Lane. Take first right (¼ mile) into Ash Grove. The club is at the end of this road (100yds).

Until April 2013, evening meetings of the Chiltern Branch are held on Wednesdays com-mencing at 8.00pm at the Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club, Ash Grove, Weedon Lane, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5QU. Tel 01494 725161. When arriving at the club, it is best to use the entrance on the right after you have passed the club house. Directions are:

Chiltern Branch Meeting Venue

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meetings of the London Region of the Inland Waterways Association will take place on Tuesday 12th March 2013 at Hillingdon Canal Club, Uxbridge Wharf, Waterloo Road, Uxbridge UB8 2QX.

AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. Approval of the Minutes of the 2012 AGM plus Matters Arising 3. Report from the Chairman 4. Presentation of accounts 5. Business of the meeting notified under byelaw 1.3 *6. Election to fill posts on the Committee 7. Questions from the floor

*NOTE: Byelaw 1.3 provides that any member of a region or branch may propose business to appear on the agenda of an AGM of their region or branch, provided that notice of such business is delivered in writing to the Chairman of the region or branch at least six weeks before that meeting.

The London Region AGM will take place immediately after the Annual General Meeting of the Middlesex Branch at 8.00pm and be followed by a talk by Simon Salem of the Canal & River Trust.

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London Region AGM

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Editor’s Address: Grove Cottage, Church Road, Penn, High Wycombe, HP10 8NX

The IWA may not agree with the opinions expressed in this Newsletter but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated, otherwise the IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this Newsletter.

The IWA is a registered charity (No. 212342) whose work is supported by member's sub-scriptions. The IWA campaigns for develop-ment of Britain's waterways for use by all.

Advertise in Grapevine Advertising Donation Rates Single Three Issue Issues Full Page A5 £40 £100 Half Page A5 £25 £65 1/4 Page A5 £15 £40 Members small ads £1 for12 words. Extra words 10p. Send payment with the adver-tisement to the Editor.

27th February Twenty Eight Years of ‘Waterways World’ Cruises Brian & Velma Kirton Long standing members of Chiltern Branch, Brian and Velma Kirton have been associated with the waterways for more than a quarter of a century. Operat-ing his own business, Brian developed with ‘Waterways World’ magazine a series of very successful tours based on waterway themes that ran for 28 years until his retirement in 2010. Brian and Velma will tell us all about the pitfalls, the highs and lows, the dramas and occa-sional high comedies that accompanied their experiences.

12th March London Region AGM See page 14.

27th March Branch Annual General Meeting The Branch AGM will be followed by a ploughman’s supper and social evening. See page 13.

24th April The Dorset and Somerset Canal Derrick Hunt Some canal schemes and promotions did not quite hit the big time. This is one of them and Derrick will unveil the history of the efforts that were made to complete the task. Derrick is a retired Contracts Manager in aerospace engineering. He has been associated with ‘Wilderness’ boating for 15 years, is Vice-Chairman of the Somerset Coal Canal Society and a Visiting Research Fellow of the Uni-versity of the West of England. 4th to 6th May Canalway Cavalcade London’s festival in Little Venice. 18th & 19th May Rickmansworth Festival 19th to 21st July IWA National Festival Cassiobury Park, Watford

17th & 18th August Marsworth Lock Ransom

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Diary

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Your Committee

www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern

Chairman & Newsletter Editor Peter Winter

01494 819065 07722 184117

[email protected]

Secretary Liz Norris

01438 238187 [email protected]

Treasurer Ken Aylmer

01923 232515 [email protected]

Programme Secretary Colin Bird

01932 248178 [email protected]

Fundraising & Waterway Events John Brice

01494 873298 07740 733241

[email protected]

Planning Officer & Membership Secretary Carolyn Leonard

01628 526512 [email protected]

IWA representative to WAT Jenny Brice (non-committee post)

01494 873298 [email protected]

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Winter comes to Little Tringford