MUSEUM MATTERS May 2012
The Newsletter of The Friends of The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne
See you at the Gala Weekend Friday 8th-Sunday 10th June
SCULPTOR ARRIVES HOME WITH HER NEW BOTTOM!
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Altogether a splendid team effort, and particularly pleasing that FoCM was able to have the co-operation of our fellow organisation, The Boat Museum Society.
Left : Sculptor descends the lock flight at Whilton breasted up to Southern Cross steered by Ryan Dimmock Right: Steerer Richard Cox with Sculptor in tow behind Southern Cross
Sculptor, pictured above being towed by Southern Cross at Whilton Locks on the 14th April, is back on her mooring outside the Canal Museum once again after re-bottoming work. Rex Wain was the boat builder; a team of volunteers from FoCM, led by Lorna and Laura, did much of the preparation work; apprentices from the Heritage Dockyard, Ellesmere Port did much of the re-bottoming; and the rest was done by Brinklow Boat Services, with steelwork and remedial work to the stern gear being carried out by Steve Priest Boatbuilding. Considerable input also came from Andrew Cox; the engine was taken by boat to Ellesmere Port Friends Chairman for re-conditioning by the late Tony Burnip. Re-conditioning was carried out by volunteers at David Blagrove the Heritage Dockyard and Mike Turpin of the Boat Museum Society arranged for Sculptor’s return to Brinklow. Towage from Brinklow to Stoke Bruerne was done by Ryan Dimmock with Southern Cross, assisted by Richard Cox, Andrew's elder brother.
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Friends Chairman David Blagrove said: "Altogether a splendid team effort, and particularly pleasing that FoCM was able to have the co-operation of our fellow organisation, The Boat Museum Society." A team of experienced volunteers led by David Blagrove, and including Rick Thake and Rob Westlake, is now hard at work lining up the engine, gearbox and drive shaft to the tailshaft and fitting a new bearing. At the present moment the shaft is with Phil Lizius of Longboat Engineering at Blisworth for the removal of a damaged bearing. Once the shaft fitting is done the team will reposition the fuel tanks, lay the engine room floors Gala Weekend News and connect up fuel lines and controls.
Inside…
What’s new in the Museum — Curatorial Update Volunteer news Message from Museum Manager Chairman’s Notes and Update Treasurer’s Report Come to our Blitz Shelter Party! Dates for your Diary Transport Trust Award
The Friends are very grateful to everyone who donated to the Sculptor Appeal, especially Tim Coghlan of Braunston Marina who has been particularly supportive. If all goes to plan, and it is going to be a very tight deadline, Sculptor will be taking up her duties promoting the Canal Museum by attending the Braunston Historic Boat Rally at the end of June. We hear that the butty Ilkeston, which has been under restoration at the Heritage Dockyard for some while now, is now ready to leave. Ilkeston is based at the London Canal Museum on the Regent’s Canal and will be returned there in the course of the summer. Mike and Cath Turpin hope to bring the boat south from Ellesmere Port to Braunston in late June and it is hoped that Sculptor might be available to tow her round in the Parade. Afterwards Sculptor might be able to assist with towing Ilkeston south to Rickmansworth where the Rickmansworth Canal Trust would move her to London with Roger. David Blagrove said: “Obviously plans are in a nebulous stage at the moment, but it would be good if we could help our fellow-organisation, whose members have been most helpful in the restoration of Sculptor.”
WHAT’S GOING ON...an update on volunteer activities Audio Trail Handsets In February FoCM were asked if we could help fund the purchase of new audio handsets for the Museum as few of the existing ones remained in good working condition. Council agreed to make a donation of 50% (£2,250) towards the purchase of new handsets, but in the meantime asked if we could investigate the possibility of refurbishing the old ones. Recently retired electronics engineer and member of FoCM Eric Young stepped into the breach and managed to completely restore 23 out of 26 non-working units to full working order at a cost of around £5 each, re-
chat. You might just find that new book to read when you are next in the vicinity.
Window Dressing creates a stir When Mick Butler and Roger Hasdell toured Northampton and its surrounding villages asking businesses to display some of the posters for our upcoming Gala Weekend, they didn’t bank on being offered a whole shop window right in the centre of the town close to the Guildhall, Museum and Theatre. Gents outfitters Montague Jeffery, armed with loaned artefacts, posters and other colourful objects supplied by the Museum, including Rosie & Jim, put on an eye-catching display which stopped some shoppers in their tracks. Director Sally Williams, who decorated the window, said: “Within minutes of us putting the finishing touches to the display, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of
Eric Young with two of the restored handsets turning them all to the Museum in good time for the new visitor season. Eric said: “In most cases all that was needed was a new battery, otherwise it was just a question of soldering broken joints and glueing together cracked cases. I’m really pleased to have been of some help and we now have some spare parts to enable the repair of other units should they fail in future.” When the new handsets arrive, Friends Chairman David Blagrove will be assisting with the scripting of updated commentaries to be loaded onto the handsets.
Bookstall After reading in Museum Times, the newsletter produced for staff and volunteers at Ellesmere Port, that a bookstall was proving very successful, Council members approached Friends member Grete Ricketts who lives at Canal Cottage right next to the towpath and the dry lock near to the Boat Inn. Having recently retired from running The Little Mermaid Gift Shop, Grete had indicated she had a little time to spare and we quickly snapped up her offer to run a bookstall for the Friends. Grete will be running the stall in the summer months alongside the Cream Teas that she and husband Alan already provide from their garden. If you have books, DVDs or CDs in good condition which you would like to donate to the stall to help raise funds for FoCM, please give them to any Council member (see back page) or to Grete at Canal Cottage. And, don’t forget to drop in for a cup of tea, a scone and a
Rosie and Jim create a stir at people who came into the shop to comment. It has caused a stir with more than one or two of our customers! I’m sure it will help business for you and for us.” When you are next in town, do stop by to admire the watery tableau. Sally and the staff at Montague Jeffery will be pleased to see you. You can find them at 2 St. Giles Street.
Membership Survey Thanks to Council members Denis Atkinson and Jenny Copeland, who carried out a combined membership and skills survey earlier in the year, our database of members has been updated. Sandie Morton, our Membership Secretary, has now distributed membership cards to all of you. If you haven’t heard from us, please let Sandie know. It may be we still have an out of date address for you. We’d also like to say thank you to those of you who have told us you have an e-mail address and are willing to receive the newsletter electronically. It really does make a difference, although we are still happy to provide hard copies to those who don’t have e-mail free of charge or to those who prefer a hard copy (at an extra £9 per year added to subs to cover printing, postage and packing, although with the new postal charges this might have to be reviewed soon).
David Blagrove, Chairman of the Friends, writes…
“We shall all survive the current mood of doom and gloom” Late winter this year saw some delightful weather but sadly the flowers that bloom in the spring did not bring promise of merry sunshine. Or at least if they did, they swiftly reneged on the promise, for April and most of May have seen some diabolical climatic conditions, the main benefit of which has been to fill the cut up and cause an easing of water restrictions. So far as the Museum and other Stoke Bruerne enterprises are concerned the poor weather over Easter and the first May Bank Holiday have seen the financial year off to a gloomy start. Possibly by the time that you read this things may have improved; we are certainly hoping for better conditions than at last year’s Gala, when the Friday night saw temperatures more appropriate to the Carol Event than June. Let’s therefore keep our fingers crossed for this year’s Gala, arrangements for which are currently progressing well under the new Committee.
Indeed I think we all owe a great debt of gratitude to those visionaries who were able to see the possibilities of Ellesmere Port some forty or so years ago when the North West Museum of Inland Navigation was first established there. The rest of the site would have undoubtedly gone the same way as the Telford Warehouses that once spanned one of the basins and the extremely unlovely neighbouring town would have been left with most probably a scruffy industrial estate on the site of what is now the National Waterways Museum. Whilst we can claim to have been the first dedicated canal museum, the Ellesmere Port museum can claim an even more important distinction of having brought hope and renewal to a part of the country seriously in need of such things at a time when Governmental thinking lagged far behind such ideals.
More impressive than one would be led to expect
During April Sculptor made her return to Stoke Bruerne, towed from Stretton, near Rugby, by Ryan Dimmock’s Southern Cross. Externally and from the point of view of the hull she is now in a sound condition, but the engine and its attachments have to be reinstalled. Here again, our friendship with the Boat Museum Society has helped, for that organisation arranged for the engine to be taken to Ellesmere Port, completely overhauled in the workshops at the Heritage Boatyard and returned, entirely free of charge, for which we are extremely grateful. We should also not forget the Historic Narrow Boat Club. In memory of their member Dave Prior, who was one of our founder members and served on our Council, the Club have donated a set of running planks for the boat, made by Pete Boyce at his Braunston Yard. Southern Cross picked these up on her way to Stretton and the boatyard set them up, along with the false cratch for the boat’s homeward journey. Since the boat’s return the weekend after Easter, some working parties have been held, but the weather has been against anything other that purely mechanical jobs. Much needed polishing and paint-touching-up has had to be put on hold. As I write the current position is that the drive shaft and its bearings are being refitted, following some fettling work by Longboat Engineering of Blisworth Arm. Once this is done the engine can be lined up properly and set down on its housing, the fuel tanks repositioned and secured, fuel supply pipes reconnected, engine controls reinstated and the exhaust and cooling units replaced. On the boat’s return these latter parts were lying in the cabin, which has now had an initial tidyup and preliminary de-gunging, but there will be much to do before the cabin is fit to be displayed to the public. The electrics also require overhaul, so it will readily be seen that there is still much to be done before the boat can once more be a mobile advertisement for the Museum. Even when the engine and electrics are fixed, there will be much more fettling work to be done on paintwork, ropework, hull interior and so forth, so if any members would like to become involved, especially if they have any skills that might be relevant, I shall be most glad to hear from them. My telephone number is 01604 862174.
During March I was very pleased to welcome my opposite number at our friends and allies, the Boat Museum Society of Ellesmere Port. Chris Kay, the BMS Chairman, has recently taken over the hot seat from Steve Stamp, and he and his wife, Barbara, were en route from their home in Cheshire to visit family in Sussex and decided to break at Stoke Bruerne. We had a long chat and I was able to show them over the Museum and explain the sort of curatorial work that our Hon Curators and their volunteers have been doing over the last winter. We also walked round the site and visited the tunnel portal and Bob Nightingale’s blacksmith’s shop. Chris and Barbara were duly impressed by what they saw, for Stoke Bruerne is a very different site from Ellesmere Port. Unlike the latter place we are an intermediate point on a canal that is very much a part of the economic life of the area and also a popular beauty spot, whereas “The Port” is an industrial town at the terminal point of the Shropshire Union and even its best friends can hardly call it a “beauty spot”. Whilst the “Shroppie” is also very much part of the economic life of its surroundings south of Chester, the section across the Wirral suffers from its immediate environment once clear of Chester Zoo and it is mainly the Museum that attracts traffic along this part of the canal. Consequently the Boat Museum’s audience is largely drawn from a very different background from ours, and the site is very much larger, with far more water space. For those who have not been there, the setting is far more impressive than one would be led to expect, especially if one has slogged one’s way through the refineries and similar installations surrounding the canal. The Manchester Ship Canal runs right beside the Museum and, when the weather is clear, there is a great sweep of the Mersey Estuary visible as far as the Runcorn Bridge. Almost directly opposite is what used to be called Speke Airport, but is now named after John Lennon, and looking the other way it is possible to see both the C of E and RC cathedrals at Liverpool and the “Three Graces” that line the riverside near Pierhead. In spite of my rudeness about the immediate environs, we cannot match such a view at Stoke Bruerne. As I said, we are quite a different site.
In a sound condition
One of the ideas that was mooted in the early days of our Association was utilising the various craft attached to waterway museums around the country as a means of publicity. Because of the state of Sculptor this has not been possible for us to date, but now that the end of restoration is in sight we hope to use the boat for such a purpose in future. The Heritage Boat Yard at
Ellesmere Port has just completed work on the butty boat Ilkeston on behalf of the London Canal Museum at Battlebridge Basin, King’s Cross, on the Regent’s Canal, and will be bringing the boat south to the Braunston Gathering at the end of June. We would very much like to have Sculptor mobile by then so as to join with the Boat Museum Society in showing both boats off in the Grand Parade. The butty will have to be worked south to Rickmansworth, from where the Rickmansworth Canal Trust’s boat Roger can tow it to London and it would be a worthwhile venture if we were able to see to the Braunston/Rickmansworth part of the journey. Whatever happens, I feel that we should be able to assist the BMS in delivering the boat safely to Rickmansworth even if it means using a motor boat other than Sculptor. The BMS are looking to get some young boaters involved, which is yet another good cause with which we ought to be associated.
News may be more positive The saga of the Weighing Machine and side lock continues to grind on in the manner of the Mills of God, but there does appear to be some distant glimmer, so perhaps a more appropriate simile might be to compare it to the old electric tug that used to pull boats through Harecastle, or the one that still does so at Le Grand Souterrain on the Canal St Quentin in France (this tunnel is twice the length of Blisworth Tunnel and seemingly takes for ever to get through). Suffice it to say that the news may be more positive once the Canal & River Trust gets going next month. Allied to this is the work of the Stoke Bruerne Canal Partnership, of which we are members. At the moment, assisted by The Waterway Trust’s consultant Barbara Harvey, the Partnership is considering a Draft Plan for Stoke Bruerne’s canalside over the next ten years. It was initially hoped that a Preliminary Draft would be ready for our Gala in June so that the public could see what was contemplated and maybe provide feedback, but this will not now be possible. However I am assured that a public viewing and consultation will be held later this year.
Curatorial Report by Mike Constable The Honorary Curators are pleased to report that the Winter Working Parties managed to complete the majority of the tasks that had been set for that time period. Completion of the painting of the remaining display cases on the first floor was followed by a redisplay of their contents and some new captions. A couple of new interpretation panels are still in course of preparation, but they will be installed at a convenient time when available. The new ‘costume case’ has been installed and redisplayed, with captions and the electricians have replaced a new but faulty dimmer to keep the light levels at a suitable level for textile items.
Important role in the future The new SE Waterways Partnership that will perform an important role in the future running of the waterways in our immediate area has now been formed. Its Chair is John Best, previously Chief Executive of Milton Keynes Council and I am pleased to note that Lynda Payton, formerly Chair of Northampton Branch IWA and a member of our Council as well as the editor of Museum Matters, has also been appointed to this Partnership. It is of course too early to comment upon the work of the new Partnership, but the line-up of appointees looks most promising, with heritage and boating interests well represented. So in spite of current damp and glum weather, international financial ructions and a potential re-emergence of recession, there is room for optimism. I am disclosing no confidential information if I relate that the Plan will envisage the Museum as being at the centre of things in the Canal Corridor. The forthcoming summer will see the new Trust begin to operate; plans for this year’s Village at War are well advanced and somehow we shall all survive the current mood of doom and gloom. Enjoy your summer and make the best of it! David Blagrove
TRANSPORT TRUST RESTORATION AWARDS We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a Highly Commended Award in the 2011 Transport Trust Restoration Awards for the high standards that have been applied to the restoration of Sculptor. The Awards ceremony is due to take place on 18th June at Trinity House in London at which the Award Certificates will be presented by their Royal Patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
New costume case
The new ‘Gauging’ interpretation panel has been completed and installed. A second ‘stick’ has been added and the new display has apparently been the subject of a ‘tweet’ by BW’s Head of Heritage. New captions have also been added to the ‘Companies’ case and the remaining interpretation panels for this case are being worked on as I write this. They too will be added as soon as they are finished. New C&RT Trustee, Dr Simon Thurley, visited the Museum recently and at a recent conference attended by David, Louise and Mike, he expressed his enjoyment of that visit. All of the Trustees are expected to meet at the Museum shortly so we hope the last few outstanding items mentioned above will all be in place for that.
Message from the Museum Manager David Henderson brings us up to date Overview The Museum, as in most years, struggles to achieve a challenging financial target in the winter months although in March the budget was achieved and in January and February 4% and 6% up respectively. Overall the Museum is 7% up on last year and nearly achieved the challenging income target of £213,500. Income was enhanced by opening The Museum on New Year’s Day as the forecast was good and the Morris Men perform in the Village annually, attracting a crowd of people. The Museum took over £700 that day.
Visitors Visitor numbers are down on target by 1.7% and down slightly on last year by 0.1%. However, on income for admissions it is achieving the budget by 1% and 4% up on the previous year. The target of 50 schools for a calendar year has been exceeded. A total of 56 has been achieved.
Shop Sales Shop sales have been declining over the last 3 years, 9% down budget and 2% down on the previous year. Reasons for the decline can be attributed to the VAT increase and we have seen more trading boats on the towpath who sell similar products to the Museum.
Cafe The Waterside Café has continued to perform well and is 9% up on the budget and 21% on last year’s income. Visitors are prepared to treat themselves to a drink and cake but purchase less in the shop. The cafe is offering a special deal of a hot drink and a cake for £3.95 and was very popular at weekends. The café was decorated in January and has improved its ambience. Regular visitors have stated that it makes the room look bigger and cleaner.
Marketing The Museum has produced excellent new leaflets that are distributed by an agency to hotels, supermarkets and Milton Keynes Shopping Centre. A new leaflet on courses was produced and distributed through libraries, schools and other museums. The Stoke Bruerne Canal Partnership has also produced a Stoke Bruerne Visitor Guide. It is handed out free of charge to visitors paying admission or at £1.50 for a non- admission sale. The strategic marketing plan is to promote the visit through different agencies at a reduced rate, eg. Tesco’s Vouchers, 2–4–1 vouchers and Heritage Explorer Passes. It is believed that admission income may not increase too much but the throughput into the Museum will aid increased sales in shop and café with the promotions. The Tesco and Explorer offer will be reviewed after 12 months before renewal.
Promotional Offers In the Hudson’s Heritage Explorer pass programme, the Museum receives 50% of admission and is promoted in tourist information sites. The Sunday Telegraph 2–4–1 promotion and Sunday Times promotion 2-4-1 operate until 12 May 2012. It was agreed that all sites will accept Tesco vouchers in 2012. It is believed that the national marketing of Tesco will improve visitor numbers at all three sites, including spend per head. The Olympic Offer with Visit England/NEP website and the Days Out website, where 2-4-1 vouchers can be downloaded, may also improve marketing.
Working with BW The Manager has been on the working party undertaking the renovation of the Iron Trunk Aqueduct at Cosgrove. The children from Cosgrove Junior School visited the Museum on 21 February as they are producing a special project for BW in relation to the Aqueduct.
The Open Day organised on 26th February was very well attended as there was sunshine throughout the day. Louise Stockwin has worked closely with Elaine Stanley promoting the education offer to local schools. They have undertaken ‘outreach’ with schools and introduced the new Canal & River explorer package replacing WOW.
Curatorial Two new LCD monitors have been installed in the Museum. One is displaying photographs by Jim Payler and the other will have a slide show on Foxton locks linked to an exhibit. The curatorial team has been painting internal display cases and has installed two convex mirrors above the Pontcysllte Aqueduct to allow visitors to have a better view of the small detail inside the Aqueduct. A new exhibition case for the costume display, funded by the Friends, was delivered in March and has improved the quality of the exhibition. The new Audio Trail handsets, to which the Friends have contributed 50% towards the costs, arrived in March and volunteers will be helping with a new script linked to proposed new interpretation signage which is subject to a Heritage Lottery bid by the Stoke Bruerne Canal Partnership.
Twinning News Italian representatives will be attending the Gala weekend in June and it is hoped a few delegates (including the local council) will visit Padua in July. The Italian Museum was able to gain extra funding for its international relations. We are seeking to produce an exhibit on their Museum (they likewise). Anyone linked to the Museums can gain free entrance on a visit to Italy or England. Their website address: www.museonavigazione.eu is linked to our website.
Other News Louise and I attended the Waterways Conference at Ellesmere Port on 23rd May. We have to say The National Waterways Museum did put on a good show and the presentation from John Inch and his team was very good – talking about all the improvements since the departure of Stuart Gillis (and the famous BBC programme - Behind the Scenes). We also had a chance to see the Queen and Prince Phillip about 5pm on the quayside aboard Leander, a 246ft vessel loaned to the Queen during her Jubilee Tour by Sir Donald Gosling, moored only 200 metres from the Waterways Museum on a small island well secured by the police. The Queen waved to the two of us. April and May has been very poor. It has been the wettest drought on record. Takings are well down on all previous years. We are all hoping for a very good June with the school holidays and the Jubilee weekend. Let’s hope the European Football and Olympics will not be a visitor distraction in June and late July/early August.
GALA WEEKEND We need your help! We desperately need prizes for our children and adult tombola stalls. Drop them off to Trevor at Waterways Cottage, Bridge Road, Stoke Bruerne or at the Canal Museum, or call Lynda on 01604 861205 to arrange a pick-up. We also need helpers over the weekend. Can you spare a couple of hours? Call Lynda or report to the Control Point on the day. Face Painters particularly welcome!
COUNCIL 2011/12 Chairman David Blagrove 01604-862174 also member of the Curatorial Group
Vice-Chairman Lorna York
Treasurer
www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk
DIARY DATES Talks take place through the winter held jointly with IWA Northampton Branch at the Walnut Tree public house, Blisworth, on the second Tuesday of the month from September through to May inclusive. More details are published on our website and in future newsletters. A donation is appreciated to help cover expenses.
Laura Sturrock
Please put the following dates in your diaries:
Secretary
Thursday 7th June Mikron Theatre at The Canal Museum — Can You Keep A Secret? at 7.30pm. Donations appreciated. Bring a chair & rug (if chilly).
Denis Atkinson
Membership Secretary Sandie Morton membership@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk
Publicity, Newsletter & Website Lynda Payton 01604-861205 publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk
Museum Management Board: John Alderson Other: David Henderson (ex-officio seat), Jenny Copeland, Bill Mann, Trevor Allum and Michael Butler
Events Sub-Committees: Dennis Atkinson, David Blagrove (occasional), Bill Mann, David Henderson, Lynda Payton (occasional), Rick Thake, Tim Carter (occasional), Laura Sturrock, Jenny Copeland and Michael Butler, Trevor Allum, Helen Westlake, Mike Partridge, David Daines (occasional), Terry Richardson, Roger Hasdell (corresponding), Graeme Scothern (corresponding) and Victoria Powell.
Non-Committee Posts Roger Hasdell - Joint Newsletter Editor Terry Richardson - Assistant Publicity Officer Brian Collings - Curatorial Group
You are invited to join us for a
Blitz Shelter Party Saturday 30th June at Roade Village Hall
Friday to Sunday 8th-10th June Celebrating our Waterways Heritage—Stoke Bruerne Gala Weekend 2012 (check the website for more details ) Saturday 30th June Blitz Shelter Party with fun, games and dancing at Roade Village Hall with bangers and mash supper. Tickets £12 from Museum or call Jenny Copeland on 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
Treasurer’s Report May 2012
Current finances Currently the combined funds of the Friends Charity and the Friends Trading Company amount to about £13,000. FoCM have supported several projects in the museum with donations of over £5,000 since the last report in January.
Sculptor Now that Sculptor is back in Stoke Bruerne, work continues to prepare the boat. FoCM put together an updated budget for work on Sculptor that was submitted to The Waterways Trust in March for inclusion in a grant application. If this is successful it will provide much needed funds to complete the restoration of Sculptor. All the work carried out since the boat's return has been entirely volunteerbased, but there is still some major work required to bring the boat up to exhibition standard over the coming months.
?NEW FORMAT FOR MUSEUM MATTERS?
Fun and games, dancing, licensed bar and don’t forget the bangers and mash supper (assuming Mr Jones comes up with the sausages) Tickets £12 (including Supper) from the
Museum or Jenny Copeland on 01327 300973
As you will be only too aware, the Royal Mail has substantially increased postal rates and Museum Matters now costs 69p (previously 58p) per copy to post. Although we don’t post many hard copies to members (less than 25 currently), thanks to most of you taking it electronically, we are wondering if it is time to consider changing MM to a smaller A5 format. MM could then go out at the cheaper standard letter rate and there may be additional cost savings to be had for printing and the purchase of smaller envelopes. MM would have exactly the same amount of news as before, just a doubling of the number of pages to sixteen. We’d like to know your views. Please e-mail the editor, at publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk or telephone Lynda on 01604 861205 and tell us what you think.
The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages pub lication 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.