MUSEUM MATTERS February 2012
See you all in June for our Gala Weekend
The Newsletter of The Friends of The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne
“Siamo Gemel” The Canal Museum & Museo della Navigazione Fluviale join forces Our Canal Museum has twinned with the Museo della Navigazione Fluviale in Battiglia Terme, Northern Italy, not far from Venice! The Battaglia canal, dug by the Paduans in the 13th century, was used to transport stone and other goods to Venice and Battiglia Terme has been for centuries the nodal point of a vast network of traffic and commerce and an important river port.
The Museo della Navigazione Fluviale in Battiglia
Just like our our Museum, the Museo della Navigazione Fluviale owed it’s inception to a canal worker, Riccardo Cappellozza, one of the last bargemen who amassed a collection of artefacts and persuaded his friend, the local librarian to help him find a building to house them in and to record a way of life that was about to disappear. On page 2 of this issue of MM you can read more about the Canals of Northern Italy and how The canal at Battiglia Terme the Museum came into being. You can also check out their website at www.museonavigazione.eu . There is a version in English. In June we hopr to be welcoming visitors from the Museo della Navigazione Fluviale at our Gala Weekend and Museum staff and volunteers are planning a twinning trip to Battiglia Terme in July.
In this issue... • • • •
The Canals of Northern Italy page 2 All Lit Up page 3 David Blagrove writes page 4 Be an Educational Volunteer page 5
• • • •
70 years ago page 6 Curatorial Update page 6 Sculptor Update page 6 Volunteer Opportunities page 8
The Canals of Northern Italy By Myra Robinson I often wonder when Ruskin wrote his great work The Stones of Venice whether he knew where the stones actually came
to contain them, rather than dug out in trenches as ours were.
from and how they were transported there.
The Museum of River Navigation in Battaglia Terme has been the life’s work (or at least the past 30 years) of the Battaglia Canal’s last bargeman, the visionary Riccardo Cappellozza. He tells the story of how he was chatting to his friend the local librarian about his work as a bargeman now that he was about to retire. They both realised that a whole language was about to disappear. Riccardo supplied the nouns for the tools and equipment, the verbs for the movement of cargo and business of sailing, and the stories about life on the barges, or burci as they are known locally. From that small beginning, he began to collect the abandoned materials of his trade from whole boats to tiny hooks. The collection grew. Space was needed. Not everyone recognised the importance of all these objects, but some enlightened fellow citizens offered him the former abbatoir to house the still-growing collection.
In the sleepy faded spa town of Battaglia Terme not far from Padua lies the key to the building of the great and unique city of Venice. The Euganean Hills around Battaglia Terme is an area of volcanic cones and hot springs, now a national park and an area favoured particularly by German tourists for its spa treatments and its wines. But at some point a thousand or more years ago it must have been discovered that the volcanic stone quarried there provided the perfect paving stones for the passages and alleyways of Venice, having a rough texture which prevented slipping, an important factor in a city based on water.
The SS16 Padua-Ferrara road follows the Battaglia Canal, and the entrance to the little town is across a modern bridge where various boats have been pulled up onto dry land, one eerily with a life-like figure keeping an eye on the traffic. This is the furthest outpost of the museum’s collection, next to boat sheds where the canal widens to permit barges to be stored and brought out for the town’s festive occasions, for rides to Catajo Castle and back for one euro. The museum itself is tucked away behind the main road, but could hardly be missed with its assortment of anchors, mooring posts, buoys etc arranged in front of the entrance. Barges on the Battaglia Canal
Canals provided the easiest means of transport to ship these stones from Battaglia Terme to Venice and in consequence a network of navigation systems sprang up and remained in use until the mid 20th century. The Battaglia Canal was constructed between 1189 and 1201, preceding by several centuries the canals of the English Industrial Revolution. They were often built at ground level with walls and banks
To enter the museum is to time-travel to a gentler age of beautiful hand crafted tools and a slower pace of life. There are, for example, several examples of the hand-carved forcole, receptacles for the oars made out of the hardest walnut, and beautiful pieces of sculpture in their own right. The last master carver still lives in retirement in a nearby village, and still occasionally makes new forcole in their traditional form, but these days from polished cherry wood. As a child, Riccardo Cappellozza lived with his family on the barge for three summer months each year, trundling through the flat fertile landscape of a triangle formed by Mantua, Ferrara and Venice. There were paddle steamers then, like small versions of Mississippi steamboats, but his wooden barge, one of hundreds, was the common form of transport for the movement of all kinds of cargo, even after the advent of railways. (And he points out that today, with
our awareness of energy conservation, canal transport is a much greener alternative to movement by road or rail. The canals are still there, and useable for more than the mere summer rides for tourists along the Brenta Canal to see Palladian villas.)
Barges in a lock on the Battiglia Canal
The museum’s top floor gives the illusion that you’re on a large barge. A ship’s steering wheel with brass machinery faces directly onto the canal in front of a floor-length window, and all around are ropes, handling gear, oars and panniers. Signor Cappellozza has a great party trick with the ropes, one which he usually does for visiting school parties. With practised skill he quickly plaits and twists 20
foot lengths into knots and invites the children to undo them. The freight boats were either wind-propelled, pulled by When they don’t succeed, he steps in and with a couple of deft horses or pushed along by the boatmen themselves using flicks the ropes are straightened once more. long oars. On one side of the room the various traditional means of propulsion are shown, and on the other a collection of domestic artefacts gives a picture of life on board. The family lived below deck where they kept wooden trunks for linens, a wood-burning stove for cooking and heating, a moscheto to keep insects away from food, and countless small utensils for every day use. The barge was home, as well as the means for getting to know the outside world which floated by. In it, the bargeman passed through the basins and the buta, the flooding created artificially twice a week to compensate for the shallower parts of the navigation system. The museum shows us the whole history of the almost forgotten world of river and lagoon transport, from the squeri, where the flat-bottomed barges were constructed (only one squero still remains in Venice itself, and that was brought back into use by an enthusiastic American), to the art of navigating the inland waterways. Inside the Museum of River Navigation
See more information and a photo gallery on the Museum’s website at www.museonavigazione.eu
It is right and proper that the University of Padua has recognised Riccardo Cappellozza’s great achievement by awarding him an honorary degree, of which he is very proud. He is much more than a museum director; he is himself an important exhibit, a vital connection with the artefacts of a way of life which no longer exists.
All lit up for Christmas Once again our Illuminated Boats & Carols event on 12th December lit up the canalside and Museum and this year, thanks to the Boat Inn, we were also able to project a series of Christmas greetings and festive images onto the face of the Museum. Centre of attraction was the children of Stoke Bruerne C of E Primary School who sung carols on the Museum Green, accompanied by Lincoln Noel on the electric piano and led by Andrew Woodward of The Boat Inn. The popular annual event attracted large crowds and 10 decorated boats. Visitors were able to take an illuminated boat trip down to the tunnel and back to see all the decorated boats. Narrowboat Inchy complete with Rosie & Jim nativity scene won the Best Illuminated boat competition for the 4th year running. Tim & Roberta have promised not to enter next year to give someone else a chance of winning. Santa and one of his reindeer were on hand to delight the children, all the gift shops and the Museum were open, mulled wine was on offer and the aroma of hot chestnuts roasting on an open fire completed the Christmas atmosphere. The "Guess the Name of the Reindeer" Competition was won by Lily Rudd from Alderton and although not primarily a fund raiser, more a community event, we raised £140. A big thank you to all our volunteers. Photo: James Rudd (Lily’s Dad!)
David Blagrove, Chairman of the Friends, writes…
“Big news...the general prognosis is positive” The big news as from the last day of January this year is that the Government has at last agreed a funding package for the new Canal & River Trust that relieves the pressure on the new authority for funding such things as the BW Pensions scheme and at the same time gives some assistance towards capital expenditure over the next decade or so whilst guaranteeing a sort of basic fee for the provision of what is essentially a National Treasure and amenity. This will have a knock-on effect with the new division of CRT that will be responsible for Museums and similar Heritage aspects of the waterways in the place of the present Waterways Trust. Obviously we must wait and see exactly how this will pan out for our own Museum, but at least the general prognosis is positive.
Exciting prospects A result of the prolonged negotiations over the financial settlement has been that the intended handover from British Waterways has now been delayed. It was hoped that this would be in April of this year, but it now looks as if it will be rather later in the year. However the preliminaries are now building up and one of the exciting prospects is a Conference of Volunteer Bodies that has been called for mid-February in Birmingham. Jenny Copeland, whose tireless work in connection with our Village at War events should be well known to you all by now, and I will be attending on your behalf. There will be much to discuss, including how all the different volunteer organisations connected with the waterways can work closely together for the common good.
Personal anniversary On 14th March next I shall be celebrating a personal anniversary in that it will be exactly fifty years since I first came to Stoke Bruerne. Although I had for some years been involved in the campaign for saving the Kennet & Avon Canal and had boated and visited the Grand Union Canal in the London area I had not previously penetrated the Grand Union north of Rickmansworth. At that time the canals were operated by the British Transport Commission through their subsidiary body British Transport Waterways and the very name tells us what the priority was in those days. The BTC had inherited the canal system on nationalisation in 1947 and really had little idea what to do with it. Even by the standards of the austere post-war years when petrol and diesel fuel was rationed and there were no motorways, the prospects for the narrow canals of the Midlands looked pretty poor. Even the widened
Grand Union which still fairly bustled with traffic in 1947 was, in hindsight, a distinctly dubious prospect unless large sums were spent on recovering the wartime backlog of maintenance and investing in new plant and further widening. The BTC simply was not prepared to spend what small resources it had on such a prospect and could only see a future for the larger waterways in industrial areas. The voice of IWA was largely unheeded so far as any prospect of large scale leisure use was concerned in the early days on nationalisation.
Sitting there like a stuffed dinosaur By 1961 the writing was on the wall for the BTC and at least the fifteen years of IWA’s campaigning was bearing some fruit in that the then Government was considering placing the waterways in the hands of a body that would not merely be concerned with the industrial transport use. The BTC had acquired a collection of transport artefacts from its constituent private companies and was desperate to find a home for them, although looking after Museum pieces was not exactly what the Government had in mind for the Commission when it was set up in 1947. Initially a home was found in a disused bus garage at Clapham in South London and I recall visiting the place and seeing such sights as the famous locomotive “Mallard” sitting there like a stuffed dinosaur. A few bits and pieces from the canals had been acquired and the Curator, Mr Scholes, was doing his best to display them in circumstances that did no justice to them. During 1961 the news came that the BTC intended moving its waterways relics to the disused Mill building at Stoke Bruerne, so when, on 14th March the following year my boat rose in Top Lock I was agog to see what was happening. The short answer was “not much”, for preliminary structural work had to be carried out before any artefacts were moved in. Jack James, who was then the lockkeeper told me that “a big new scheme” was about to happen, but was unable to enlighten me further. As it happened, later that year, just before Christmas in fact, the pair of boats that I was then working broke down outside the old Mill and before we could move again the boats were caught in the tremendous freeze of early 1963, which lasted until March. This meant that I was on the scene as various artefacts began to appear and, with time on my hands, was able to assist Charles Hadlow in assembling the various exhibits, many of which came
from his own collection. Clapham obviously supplied a number of artefacts, as did Jack James from his own collection and it was a fascinating experience to see all these various bits and pieces coming together as a display. Mr Hadlow was essentially a Civil Engineer who was interested in history, so the original displays had a somewhat regimented appearance rather than the less formal sort of display we have today, but at least there was somewhere beside the waterways where the artefacts of the past could be displayed for posterity; and it was the very first such display. On 1st January 1963 the BTC ceased to exist and the waterways came into the care of the British Waterways Board (now British Waterways), who have been responsible ever since and will be until the handover to CRT. Next year we shall be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the Museum and the Friends are already considering what sort of commemorative event we should organise. By then the new Trust should be settling into the collar, so we have yet another exciting prospect to look forward to.
Glimmer of light Stoke Bruerne Canal Partnership, of which the Friends is an important member, has been beavering away behind the scenes with various projects. As I write a meeting is hopefully imminent with the various players in the saga of the Side Lock, Weighing Machine and other bits. Whilst the end of the saga is still distant, there is a small glimmer of light down the tunnel that is not an oncoming wide boat. The poor old Weighing Machine may yet be rescued from complete collapse and be given a suitable home where it can be well cared for. Another project, that of interpretation boards, has progressed much further thanks to the joint efforts of Brian Collings and Lynda Payton. A truly splendid booklet has been prepared as a preliminary to applying for Grant Funding for the major project. Lynda is, at the moment of writing, enjoying a somewhat more clement climate that that of Stoke Bruerne, but, thanks to modern Information Technology, she is able to oversee the design features and is also preparing the bid for Funding.
New bottoms have been fitted There is currently little to report about “Sculptor” other than to say that the new bottoms have been fitted, the reconditioned engine has been returned from Ellesmere Port, where the Heritage Dockyard have done a splendid job for us, and she will shortly be returned to the water. I hope to have even more positive reports to make next time. Other ongoing projects include the regular working parties in the Museum by the Curatorial Volunteers led by Mike and Sue Constable. A steady programme of refurbishment continues and we shall be assisting with the provision of new showcases. Planning for next June’s Gala and the Village-atWar (which will take place over the last weekend of September this year) is well advanced and we all
look forward to a bumper summer’s activities. As you are doubtless aware, we have been sharing our winter meetings with the Northampton Branch of IWA at the Walnut Tree Hotel, Blisworth this winter. It was always intended as an experiment and we shall be considering the future of such winter meetings at forthcoming Council meetings. The Christmas Carol and illuminated boats event went off most smoothly last December, thanks to the mild weather and the efforts of Bill and Liz Mann on the catering front, the children and staff of Stoke Bruerne Primary School, Andrew Woodward from “The Boat Inn” and Lincoln on the keyboard who led the singing and provided music respectively and lots of others. Thanks are also due to the boaters who attended and who lit up their boats. Once again Tim and Roberta on “Inchy” took the prize for the best illuminated boat, being judged by Lincoln as an independent judge. In spite of this Tim has most sportingly declared that they will not enter the competition next time!
A great social success Finally, while on the subject of meetings and events Jenny Copeland and Denis Atkinson organised a Soiree at the Museum in November. This was well attended and a great social success, giving us a chance to thank all those who have given time and energy in furthering the aims of the Friends. Accordingly we propose to kick start the celebrations for the Museum’s fiftieth anniversary by a similar event in February of next year.
More Educational volunteers needed... British Waterways is currently working with the museum to develop their education programme for schools as well as update the WOW (Wild About Waterways) education resources. One thing British Waterways wish to do is increase the number of education volunteers supporting the museum who would like to work with school groups in introducing children to the canals. An ‘Open Session’ is being held on 22nd March at The Canal Museum for anybody interested in finding out more. The session will be between 11am and 1pm. If you wish to attend or want more information, please contact Elaine Stanley at British Waterways on 07733 124565 or e-mail her at elaine.stanley@britishwaterways.co.uk
...also for our Gala Weekend The WOW team need your help running activities for children at our Gala Weekend taking place over 8th 10th June. Come along to the Open Session or contact a Friends committee member if you are interested and can volunteer for a few hours at this event.
70 Years Ago... By Mike Constable Almost 70 years apart, these two pictures feature a Canal Boatwoman Trainee who now lives about as far away from the UK Canals as it is possible to get. Much loved by wartime journalists, and usually photographed with a shaft, Audrey Harper started on the boats at the end of 1942 and was one of the last to leave in 1945, spending some time with Daphne March on the Heatherbell after leaving the GUCCC. Marrying Ken Williams in 1946 and leaving almost immediately for South Africa, the couple returned to the UK so that Ken could do some extra medical training before re- Audrey Harper, turning to SA. In 1962 the family moved to Tas- Then and now... mania where they have remained ever since. The journey home in the early Fifties was under- Photos: taken by Car, with two small children and Mike Constable Collection took three months to complete, using the Suez Canal and avoiding terrorists and elephants en route. Thinking about what such a journey would entail today brings that feat into perspective, with both the roads and the cars being very different. (On reflection some of the local roads today are actually worse than they were in the Fifties, but there is rather more traffic on them today!). The modern photo shows Audrey last Christmas and she is adding some of her memories to Mike Constable's research into the Training Scheme.
Friends Membership The Friends of the Canal Museum enjoy, and in reality depend upon, the support of well over 100 members. A Cheese and Wine party was held at the Museum in November to acknowledge this support and allow members to meet old friends and make new ones. The Council is now following this event up by writing to all members to confirm their membership and to update the arrangements for the collection of annual subscriptions. In particular we hope that members will be willing to pay by standing order and would be most grateful if you could return your details as requested in the letter.
Curatorial News From Mike Constable The Curatorial Team are gearing up for a major push in the very near future, (provided the weather does not prevent it!) with the promised arrival of a new Gauging & Tolls interpretation panel which will need fixing on the wall, plus an additional exhibit to go alongside it. Similarly the new Costume Case has been ordered so the old one will have to be cleared and removed. A further new display case is being constructed to re-house the Tramway Exhibition on the top floor and eventually some new interpretation panels will be needed for that display.
The opportunity is also being taken to record the various types of help and assistance members and other supporters have said they feel able to offer. We realize these change with time and The re-bottoming of Sculptor has been done plus engine room would like to maintain a more accurate record. preparation, cleaning of diesel tanks, caulking, shoeplating, makIf you are a member, or would like to be a mem- ing and fitting of bulkheads, cleaning and painting of tanks, cleanber, but have not received a personal letter ing and painting of the engine room, fixing engine beds, wire please get in touch with Denis Atkinson at brushing and cleaning of the hull. dvkinson@talktalk.net. Work still to be done, and which we still have to pay for, includes the re-launch, engine fitting, and any steel work that may need Help is needed from those doing. Also, we still need to pay Ellesmere Port ÂŁ2,510 for the Opepe for the bottom. of you with practical skills.
Sculptor Update...
We need to build a theatrical set for the Gala Weekend!!!
In total these costs could amount to ÂŁ7,000 but could be considerably less if steel work can be deferred and if installing the engine can be done mainly by volunteers.
Any volunteers please contact Lynda on 01604 861205 (after March 2nd) or e-mail lynda.payton@btinternet.com
We still have grant applications pending with Prism, who we hope to hear from soon, and Haven which will be notified in April. The Sculptor Fund is currently standing at Nil so we are keeping our fingers crossed that the results will be positive.
Manager’s Musings by David Henderson Financial
Marketing
The Museum has had two good winter months in December and January and achieved budget due to the mild days. The financial year since April has been excellent and we have over achieved our financial monthly targets. Expenditure is below budget too, but we are looking to spend on maintenance and new items in February and March as well as producing new marketing literature.
We are producing a new Stoke Bruerne leaflet and are offering 2–4–1 visits in to the Museum the winter. The Waterways Trust is offering to take Tesco vouchers from March 2012 for one year which will be valid in all three Waterway Museums.
Decoration & Maintenance The café has been cleared and the ceiling and walls painted. It looks much brighter and cleaner. We are also building a storage area at the rear of the new learning centre and a waterways type fence is being erected between the stone wall and the external toilets.
New Purchases
Canal & Rivers Trust Museum staff have met with representatives from British Waterways to ensure a smooth transition when The Waterways Trust staff are transferred to the new Trust after April 2012. The Museum will be having new computers and printers installed as part of the transition since they will be supported by a Canal & Rivers Trust company rather than TWT.
The Curatoral Team are purchasing a new showcase for the Iron Trunk Aqueduct Open Day costume models. The cost is £1767 and the Friends have I have been working with British Waterways on the restoracontributed 50% towards the cost. tion of the Iron trunk Aqueduct. The working group gained The Museum is also purchasing 30 new audio trail units at £60k from the Lottery Peoples’ Millions. There is an Open a cost of £4500. The Friends have kindly agreed to con- Day on Sunday February 26th organised by British Waterways tribute 50% towards the cost of these too. David Blagrove is and the Working Party. Please come along and support the producing a new script for the audio trail and we will be celebration of the completion of the project. See elsewhere in downloading the new scripts onto the handsets in due MM for more details. course. install in the Mu- Twinning with an Italian Museum and other images The Canal Museum has twinned with the Museum of River will be displayed. Navigation, River Terme near Padova. Representatives from Allum and Lynda Italy will be attending our Gala Weekend in June and we hope to go to Italy in July. Stones from this region were A new exhibition panel on Gauging has been designed by transported by river to build Venice. Check out their website on www.museonavigazione.eu the Curatorial Team and has been recently installed. The Museum bought two Sony TVs to seum on which images of Jim Paylor linked to the Foxton Lock exhibition Thanks to Friends volunteers Trevor Payton for making this happen.
FINANCIAL UPDATE February 2012 Reported by Friends’ Treasurer Laura Sturrock Current finances Currently the combined funds of the Friends charity and the Friends Trading Company amount to about £22,000. The Sculptor Fund is currently standing at Nil as all the funds have been spent on the restoration to date. The Friends are supporting several projects in the museum and will donate £3,400 in total to these projects over the next few weeks. Sculptor We are awaiting the results of two applications for grants for work on Sculptor. There is still some work to do to complete the rebottoming, plus the cost of craning the boat back into the water. Then the engine needs re-installing. We also have to pay the balance for the timber used to re-bottom Sculptor. So we need to raise further funds to complete the work and all donations are very welcome.
COUNCIL 2011/12 Chairman David Blagrove 01604-862174 Vice-Chairman Lorna York Treasurer Laura Sturrock Minutes Secretary Denis Atkinson Membership Secretary Sandie Morton membership@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk Publicity, Newsletter & Website Lynda Payton 01604-861205 publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk Volunteer Co-ordinator: Vacant Other David Henderson (ex-officio seat), Jenny Copeland, Bill Mann, John Alderson & Mick Butler Events Sub-Committees Dennis Atkinson, Bill Mann, Barbara Everest, Jennifer Chybalski, Lynda Payton, John Alderson, Rick Thake, Tim Carter (occasional), Laura Sturrock, Jenny Copeland, Michael Butler, Trevor Allum, Helen Westlake, Mike Partridge, David Daines (corresponding), Graham S c o t h e rn (c o r re s p o n d i n g ), Roger Hasdell (corresponding), Chris Whitby (occasional) and Terry Richardson (occasional). Non-Committee Posts Roger Hasdell - Joint Newsletter Editor Terry Richardson - Assistant Publicity Officer Roy Sears - Museum Management Board Representative
Volunteer Training Opportunities The Stoke Bruerne Canal Partnership is applying for funding for Interpretation at Stoke Bruerne and if successful, volunteers from members of the Partnership including the Friends will be invited to attend training courses to learn how to lead Heritage Walks and become involved in Oral History Projects. If you are interested in learning more about what is planned or are interested in becoming a volunteer leading walks or recording reminiscences, then contact Lynda Payton on 07885 190444 or e-mail lynda.payton@btinternet.com The Partnership also hope to organise a number of participative heritage activities involving local schools and the community in connection with the project which will last a whole year. If you are interested in helping with this and would like to be part of a new team being formed to run these - we would like to hear from you too.
www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk DIARY DATES Regular Friends talks meetings take place throughout the winter, normally on the third Thursday of the month in the schoolroom at the rear of the Museum. More details are published on our website and in newsletters. A donation is appreciated to help cover expenses. Please put the following dates in your diaries:
Tuesday 13th March at 8pm Joint Meeting with IWA at The Walnut Tree, Blisworth IWA AGM followed by Quiz with Mick & Catriona Butler Tuesday 10th April at 8pm Joint Meeting with IWA at The Walnut Tree, Blisworth Speaker: To be confirmed Saturday 5 May - Sunday 6 May Introduction to Traditional Canal Painting Course at the Museum. For more details tel. 01604 862229 Tuesday 15th May @ 8pm Joint Meeting with IWA at The Walnut Tree, Blisworth Speaker: To be confirmed (note date change) Saturday 19th May & Sunday 20th May Introduction to Traditional Canal Painting Course at the Museum. For more details tel. 01604 862229 Thursday 7th June @ 7.30pm Mikron Theatre at The Canal Museum (check the website for more details as they become known) Friday to Sunday 8th-10th June Celebrating our Waterways Heritage—Stoke Bruerne Gala Weekend 2012 (check the website for more details as they become known) Saturday 30th June Blitz Shelter Party with fun, games and dancing at Roade Village Hall with bangers and mash supper. More details to follow or call Jenny Copeland 01327 300973 Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th August Pirate Weekend at the Canal Museum Saturday 8th September & 9th September Introduction to Traditional Canal Painting Course at the Museum. For more details tel. 01604 862229 Saturday 22nd September & 23rd September Introduction to Traditional Canal Painting Course at the Museum. For more details tel. 01604 862229 29th to 30th September Village at War Weekend Saturday 8th December Illuminated Boats & Carols
Put a date in your diaries now! Saturday 30th June Blitz Shelter Party with fun, games and dancing at Roade Village Hall with bangers and mash supper. More details to follow or call Jenny Copeland on 01327 300973
The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official statement unless so stated. The Friends of The Canal Museum accept no liability for any matter, errors or omissions contained within this newsletter. We will, however, gladly publish corrections if notified. The editors reserve the right to shorten or modify articles published in the interests of clarity or space.