Untitled

Working Party News
for WACT volunteers - May 2010
Editorial
Some very sad news, with the death of Tim Jolly. Tim was a regular on working parties in the 1980s when he became a personal friend, and one of the people I kept in touch with after going to France. He played a key role in WACT up to the end. Tim will be a hard act to follow,and will be missed by us all. At a packed AGM on 24 April we were pleased to see the Jack King trophy awarded jointly to Peter Jackman and Dave Kersley. Turlough’s speech suggested both gentlemen were known fortheir frequently-expressed opinions which differ from the ‘official’ line, but that didn’t stop themworking hard, and frequently beyond the call of duty, for the common cause. There was adistinct lack of whingeing on the day, I have to say.
Thursday and Sunday group
The Devils Hole Lock backpump was commissioned and worked satisfactorily. Easter Sunday, and the water from above DHL was released and started to fill up Loxwood pound.
The following Sunday a temporarywharf was built to enable the VIPparty to go onto DHL bridge for theformal opening, which took place thefollowing Saturday! be finishing off those jobs put to oneside for the opening. Not least of theseis sorting out the stop planks. Toenable the lock to be filled additionalstop planks were required at the topof the lock and these had been robbedfrom the set for the bottom of thelock. Now we will have a full set ofplanks and will make a shelter usingre-cycled plastic. Similarly there is to ZK takes the VIP party from Loxwood to DHL for the opening
- the water levels held up
ferns transferred by Keith Nichols back in 1995 from within the lock in its demolished state, tothe back of the training wall where the pump has been installed, have survived all theconcreting and tramping around in the area. They have sprung up in the last week in April andare a brilliant green.
The planning application for Southland lock has been put in, so preparatory work has started. Initially to move equipment there but also to establish by survey, levels and temporarybench marks. There will be no working party meetings on 13,16 & 20 May The Mrs Bucket group - Keeping up appearances on Mondays
Regretfully we have to report that Brian Crossley is in hospital as he has suffered a chest infection which has developed complications. We very much miss him and wish him a 12th April saw us busy on the Loxwood Link, installing the repaired info post at ‘Viagra Falls’ at the winding hole below Drungewick Lock; at the aqueduct site cutting, strimming andtidying up on both sides of the canal including around the slipways at the request of PeterWilding ready for the small boat rally. At Loxwood, clearing debris from the banks of the river, removing stones and rocks and strimming the grass in the overflow car park beyond the paperrecycling bins. We then moved onto DHL and, at Eric's request, removed all the accumulateddebris from the lock chamber in an innovative manner (rather like those exercises we used toundertake on management training courses!). Three members of the group did their bit as car parking marshals for the DHL opening day and our final meeting of the month allowed us to catch up on our nine regular sites. Mid-week working party
The MWWPhas started to clear the section of canal between Tickners Heath and Compasses Bridge. This includes the ‘common’ land which until recently was under the stewardship of Waverley Borough Council. The MWWP steel punt came into its own being used to clear the ‘off’side which at the Tickners end appears to be the airfield side. We came to a temporary halt, toassist with the towpath reinstatement between Loxwood Lock and Devils Hole. Thank Goodnessthe weather changed in our favour.
After the big bash on 17th April, we spent a day at Southland Lock, retrieving the cut timber and barrowing (five wheelbarrows) to the Doctor’s house (a bit of PR).
As I write, (26 April) future work will be: A return to the Tickners/Compasses section, exposing the concrete lumps and hopefully some spoon dredging to open up a channel for the Compasses small boat gathering; We have the two trees at Run Common to finish off and some fencing, class stuff, materials to Boundary fencing at Tickners Depot (unless David Junkinson’s team gets there first); andPulling out Himalayan Balsam at Shalford. This is new ground for WACT, for sure.
A quick word on the AGM. I was totally floored by the joint award to David Kersley (well deserved) and myself, which I feel is a team award and I would like to thank all members of theMWWP for their continued support.
Editor’s note: Because I was out of the country and couldn’t check my post, Peter’s contributionfor the last issue didn’t make it into print. The important bits are below: The MWWP is not restricted to North of Loxwood, as readers might have thought. We have worked at Toat, clearing trees and scrub and erecting fencing, including farm gates south ofLordings. We have worked at Malham. But we do seem to spend an awful lot of time betweenDrungewick and Shalford, which is where the work is for a team of 12 to 20 volunteers.
Following the annual clearance at Run Common (north) we crossed the road and started clearance where the stepping stones are, this section had two big, and I do mean big, trees Group/Project
blown down and straddlingthe canal and towpath.
branches (some up to 20inches in diameter) wedragged the trees with theTirfor winch up and on to thebank. We have now left thejob until after the ‘no cuttinggreen’ (alias the bird nesting)period when we can combinecutting up the trees withfencing.
cutting/clearance to go, withDavid K we moved the MWWPsteel punt to Dunsfold Park Have there ever been more boats on the Wey & Arun Canal above
Loxwood at the same time? JJ (and canoe) returns to Loxwood Lock
from DHL on 24 April with some of the Wilderness boats going the
other way
it on to Tickners where welaunched it for the start of clearance - very rewarding. As at 30th March we were due to move to between the Brewhurstsection and Devils Hole for removal of dead branches and any other unwanted articles.
Future plans include a return to Dunsfold Park, exposing the concrete lumps (ex Simmonds A welcome to our new members, and thanks to all from the biggest and best, the MWWP.
Winston Harwood Group
We have been busy clearing and burning the non-towpath side, between the lift bridge and Newbridge. Some had not been done for years - but we are winning! We had to stop Moved on to Devil's Hole Lock to do half of the turfing, after levelling clay soil. A worthwhile On to Lording's Lock and aqueduct and Winston's bridge area. Grass to cut and some cutting It was found that the unique water wheel had stopped. The main central shaft had allowed the wheel to lose level and tilt slightly sideways and jam up. a major engineering problem.
We have some mechanical expertise among Trust members and we have put up scaffolding in the adjacent river to enable finding and correcting the problem. (David Junkison deserves amedal for spending time up to his chest in cold river water!) David also has the originalconstruction drawings and copies which may help.
Ron Chamberlain has 'retired' after many years and will be really missed, having had eye operations. No, not caused by smoke from his fires (just one of his enterprises) Brian Crossley has for years cut grass in the Lordings area. He regularly met with our group and does not deserve to end up in a top hospital with a serious chest problem. Two of ourgroup visited him in hospital, need we say more, and he is making progress, thank goodness.
Recycling
In the last Wey-South bulletin I appealed for some helpers to load and unload quantities of unwanted catalogues, perhaps just once or twice a year. The need was to have four or five to load our Landrover and 4-wheeled trailer at a trading estate in Worthing, and ideally six tounload at the canal car park in Loxwood. The catalogues are usually packed in brown paperand strapped with plastic. They are not heavy to lift, but at Loxwood the brown paper and theplastic strapping has to be removed before putting into our Aylesford Newsprint paper banks.
Usually there are only a few days gracebefore we know if the catalogues areavailable to the Trust, so would need tophone/email round to see who isavailable from the list of willingvolunteers. Up to now have just two forloading at Worthing and three atLoxwood. Obviously we need to havemore than this, because with only ashort notice some will not be availableon the day. The reward to the Trust willbe at least £200, so please, is thereanybody else willing to go onto the list?For more details please contact me,John Wood on 01903 753099 or email Lady Egremont names ‘JJ’ at Loxwood Lock on 24th April
in green fashion (no broken glass involved)
Restoration booklet
The booklet A Guide to Restoration Progress is nearing completion. Many thanks to the guys who sent me photographs and anecdotes. We’re still working on the photos alongside the thousands from the archives. The lack of hard hats has reared its ugly head again! The regulations on Health and Safety have proved a problem with both the photos and the anecdotes. Of course, all the best ones, especially the anecdotes, can’t be put in print, which isa great pity.
I would also like to remind the group leaders to send me their attendance figures please - the hectic run up to the AGM has probably put them on the back burner.
It has been suggested that a member of one of the working party groups has a photo of the aqueduct and lock full of water at Orfold. If they read this would they please send it to ourSecretary, Julian (contact details in Wey-South), for him to copy for possible inclusion in theGTRP booklet.
London's Lost Route to the Sea
There seem to be no new copies of this essential volume available these days but a donor has generously given us a copy of the first edition (1965 - before any restoration started) which will be sold for WACT funds to the member making the highest bid before Monday 31 May.
Some of the illustrations differ from those in the 1986 edition. The book is in quite goodcondition. Please phone any bids to Geoff Perks on 01403 262855.
Working Party Diary
Usually first & third Mondays of 'Mrs Bucket' - Keeping Up

Source: http://www.weyandarun.co.uk/wp1005.pdf