Knobsticks 2017 Winter

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch

KNOBSTICKS

Winter 2017

Narrow boat “Beatty” ploughs its way through the silt and the weeds at the end of the Leek Arm of the Caldon Canal in October. [See page 10] Photo Nick Grundy

Editorial Just to let you see the difference these decisions make, here are four different font/size combinations we considered :1) This paragraph is in our old font size 10.

2) This paragraph is in our new font size 9.

[This is slightly smaller then the old size. It would have given us an extra 4 lines of text per page, but been more difficult to read]

3) This paragraph is in our new font size 10. [This is the size we actually chose, even though we can now fit 4 less lines of text on each page than before] Welcome to the last issue of 2017, hopefully arriving in time for Christmas.

You have probably already noticed that the front cover looks very different. This is because IWA have changed their logo and their recommended fonts.

4) This paragraph is in our new font size 11. [This size would have lost another 8 lines of text (i.e. 12 lines in total) per page]

One consequence of this change is that our long-standing “pottery” logo (see above) has been retired from the cover.

We have also changed the fonts used (both on the cover and within the magazine), so our title KNOBSTICKS is now in a bolder, less fussy font.

Personally I loved the old historic logo and the fancy KNOBSTICKS, but it has been decided that we need to present a cleaner more modern image to the world.

Personally, I was particularly interested by the article about “Ringing the Ring” on pages 14-17. It was good to see that even our Cheshire Locks work party has joining in (page 17). Whey not contact Alison and join in yourself too.

Anyway, far more important is what you, our members, think of the new layout.

Please let me know what you think (both of the new layout, and of how easy you find it to read this issue). For example, is our new font easy to read at the size we have chosen? Our new font is slightly larger than the old one. We could easily make it even bigger, but then there would be less in each issue ...

Page 2

————————

Enough of the technical stuff. We hope that you enjoy this issue (regardless of the fonts and logos used!).

Another chance to help physically may happen on the Leek Arm. See page 10.

Part 2 of the adventures of Sonning the Bear starts on page 18. This type of article is a bit of a departure for us, so we would like to hear whether you are enjoying it.

P.S. Still want more about logos? In that case see pages 3 and 8 for other opinions on the new IWA logo. Also see page 5 for the history of our old cover logo.

KNOBSTICKS

Deputy Chairman’s Report

You will by now have noticed that this issue of Knobsticks has a new look, using the updated identity that IWA launched a few weeks ago. The Association has spent much of 2017 looking at what it does well and what it might do better, specifically with a view to making ourselves more visible and appealing to both new and existing supporters. I was involved with one of the workshops earlier in the year where we looked at our core values and the message that we put to the outside world.

The reaction in the past few weeks, as the identity was launched publicly, was perhaps to be predicted. Some people love the changes; some people hate it.

Many aren’t bothered one way or the other. I was involved with the WRG Winter 2017

Bonfire Bash on the Uttoxeter Canal the weekend after it was launched where lots of discussion was had. It is fascinating to see people become passionate about what are actually tiny details. The slope of the letter A; the size of the word Group on the WRG logo; which colour best represents Essex Waterways; I even heard three people question why we needed to drop Excalibur from the logo – and that happened before I joined this committee a decade ago!

What I take away from the discussions is actually a positive. People are passionate about their IWA. We need to keep that fire in our supporters, but there is no doubt that we also need to do much more to attract new people to join us.

That is about both visibility (the brand) Page 3

Deputy Chairman’s Report and also our distinctive offer. I won’t repeat what has been published elsewhere but suggest that it is worth reading the piece starting on page 24 of the latest Waterways magazine.

I have commented here before about the challenges of recruiting to the committee but it is also true that we need more members overall. Throughout this article I’ve used the abbreviations IWA and WRG. I guess that all readers will recognise and use IWA but I bet there will be one or two who don’t know WRG is the Waterway Recovery Group. To most of the outside world even the acronym IWA is anonymous. I recently discovered that over the border IWA primarily means the Institute of Welsh Affairs. Google hedges its bets, offering those two and also the Independent Warranty Association. It is interesting to see that National Trust has quietly dropped NT and, closer to home, Canal & River Trust are no longer using CRT (or indeed CaRT which seems to be preferred by those who want to moan at them). Let’s get behind the changes and see if they help us wave our flag in 2018.

Events Our last outdoor public event of 2017 was at the Stone Food & Drink Festival at the start of October. Over the years I have been attending this event I have seen everything from torrential rain or snow, to heatwaves. This year was somewhere between the two, but it was great to be back on the high street after an absence of a couple of years and trade was good. Having worried that we would not have enough volunteers to man the stand it actually turned out very well and we even had a couple of new faces, which was a great relief to me personally as I Page 4

had only got back from holiday in Ireland late the night before and was not feeling 100%!

Social Programme Our indoor events continue over the winter months with a super programme of social evenings at Stoke Boat Club, organised by our Social Secretary, Barbara, details of which appear on the centre pages of this issue. At our recent committee meeting Barbara announced that she would be stepping down, due to other commitments, which means that there is an opportunity for someone to get involved. If you think you might like to take on this role, please speak to me or any of the committee. Many thanks Barbara for all your hard work in this role over almost 8 years. We do need to appoint this role sooner rather than later. The start of the next social season in September may sound a long way off but it actually is not long at all. Many organisations book their speakers a year or more in advance so we need to be looking at this very soon if we are to maintain our high standard.

Work Parties I mentioned above the recent Bonfire Bash on the Uttoxeter Canal. This was the second of two WRG camps in the area which have again made a huge difference on that canal. IWA and Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust work really closely on this project and as people will know I wear hats in both organisations. It is certainly an exciting time to be involved and one area where we are seeing increased number of volunteers is our monthly work parties. I was asked only yesterday how large an area we are working on and, after consulting the maps, discovered that it is KNOBSTICKS

Deputy Chairman’s Report around a mile long. Clearly some areas get more attention than others but the more people we can get on board the more we can achieve. We are presently talking with our partner organisations in the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership, and the landowners in that area, to see where the project might go next.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has helped in any way at all in the past year, both committee and other members. I will wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and look forward to meeting many of you in 2018.

Steve Wood Deputy Chairman

Our old Cover logo—A History Lesson some commemorative ware for us at an advantageous price. As a result, it was agreed that they would produce 1,000 mugs for us to sell.

The next consideration was what design to have on the mugs. After looking at various designs, our eye fell on the fresco on the facade of the Potteries Museum.

Enquiries were made and permission obtained to use this design as the basis of the image on the mugs. The ware was duly produced and then transported by canal to the National Festival at Chester where they were put on sale for the first time. Eventually, they were all sold raising over £1,000 for the branch.

(Photo: Judith Turner) After twenty one years "Knobsticks" is having a new cover design, so it seems like a good time to tell the story behind the drawing that has become so familiar over the years.

1996 was the 50th anniversary of the I.W.A. Our branch, at that time known as the Stoke-on-Trent Branch, were looking for a way to mark the occasion.

Fortunately, in my profession, I had a meeting with the director of a local pottery company who offered to produce Winter 2017

What has all this got to do with "Knobsticks" I hear you ask? Well, someone had the bright idea of using the same design for our front cover, and the committee were so happy with the result that it has been there ever since. Twenty one years is a very long time, however, so time for a new design.

Alan Chetwyn By the way, the advantageous price that I mentioned earlier turned out to be even more so as the company never sent an invoice. We have always been grateful for their generosity.

Page 5

WRG Bonfire Bash on the Uttoxeter Canal

The Waterway Recovery Group’s annual Bonfire Bash is held on the first weekend of November. This year around 70 volunteers cleared a section of the derelict Uttoxeter Canal beside Alton Towers, had some big bonfires, and uncovered an overgrown wharf.

Page 6

The wharf would have been built to serve the estate of the Earl of Shrewsbury who was a supporter of the canal. Coal and other goods would have been unloaded here and transported up to what is now Alton Towers. The location of the wharf had been unknown with a local historian KNOBSTICKS

WRG Bonfire Bash on the Uttoxeter Canal surmising that it was closer to the Wire Mill at Alton, about half a mile away.

Nearby some masonry and holes were also discovered. [see photo on left of Steve Wood examining the holes] These are probably the remains of the bywash for a lock. A footpath crosses the line of the canal and Charlesworth’s Lock was known to be nearby but the exact location was unknown. Much of the stone would have been scavenged for use elsewhere but the invert will probably remain. This will certainly be a site for some future excavations to discover what remains of the lock.

WRG forestry had visited a few weeks earlier to do some tree clearance

Winter 2017

between Carrington’s Lock and Bridge 70, and a small team did some clearing up of brash left over from the work with a bonfire at the lock. A start was made on laying a section of hedge near the old pumping station that had obviously been planted quite a long time ago. [see photo below with newly laid section on left] There are regular work parties in the area on the second Thursday of each month, contact CUCT or Steve Wood to volunteer.

See Steve’s Uttoxeter Canal work-party report on page 9 for before and after photos.

Rupert Smedley

Page 7

View from the Region “IWA is staid, complacent and irrelevant”. These are criticisms which have been levelled at IWA over the years.

Those of you who attended the IWA national AGM at Langley Mill at the end of September will know that this is far from the truth. There we heard two excellent presentations which blew away these opinions by introducing the “New Vision for IWA” - the result of the trustees wish to ensure that IWA is as relevant to the future of our waterways as it has been to the “glorious” past. In a nutshell, our vision is for “a thriving, growing network of sustainable inland waterways for everyone”. You can read more about this in the November issue of our national magazine Waterways.

We are unique in the waterways world.

We have and are achieving great things.

No other single organisation has achieved so much but we habitually “hide our light under a bushel”. We do not shout about our current achievements. Just like our current logo, we merge into the background and allow others to claim the glory.

“It is our spirit, determination and vision which will protect and restore our

Page 8

waterways for future generations to discover and enjoy”. WE are the champions of ALL Britain's canals and navigable rivers. In order to achieve this, IWA needs to be strong and demonstrably unified and our new logo will help to propel us forward to continue the fight for the future of our wonderful inland waterways. [N.B. a “waterway” is defined as a navigable way] (Our old logo was revised about 10 years ago to remove the sword “Excalibur” which was considered to be not PC. Unfortunately, the ripple effect on the IWA had the effect of camouflaging the IWA and so this logo does not lend itself for use on on-line media or on anything other than a plain background. It also does not represent the whole of IWA which includes the Waterway Recovery Group and Essex Waterways to show us all as one strong family.)

I have to tell you that when I was first shown the embryonic new logo some 10 months ago, I was distinctly unimpressed. However, having lived with its development, I have come to really like it and all it stands for. I hope that you too will learn to appreciate it as I do.

Helen Whitehouse

KNOBSTICKS

Uttoxeter Work Parties In recent months our local volunteer work parties on the Uttoxeter Canal have concentrated first on preparing the sites to be visited by Waterway Recovery Group, then on follow up tasks after the two visits.

We started in October, clearing vegetation around the trees to be felled

by WRG Forestry Team, between Carrington’s Lock and Bridge 70. Much time is spent in forestry camps cutting up and burning felled branches, while the logs are cut to a size that they can be taken away for burning.

However on this site we have constraints on where bonfires can be laid due to the proximity of the South Staffs Water pumping station. As a result there was a backlog of felled branches which needed to be dragged down the roadway to our bonfire site at Carrington’s Lock.

Fortunately we had our best turnout of the year of volunteers in November and the task was completed that day.

Winter 2017

We will now move our attention to the reunion site where we hope to extend the cleared area of towpath towards Alton.

We do not have the same constraints on bonfires in this area and hope to make good progress over the winter months.

The more volunteers who can join us, the faster we can make progress on this task.

See the back cover for details of our upcoming work parties, run in association with Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust. Please do get in touch before coming to a work party this winter as we may be meeting in Alton rather than Denstone on some months. You can sign up to receive an email in advance of each work party by going to our web-site page http://cuct.org.uk/workparties Article & Photos: Steve Wood Photos: October [previous page] and November [below] work parties before and after the WRG Forestry visit.

Page 9

Leek Arm — Access to Winding Hole

Our Branch has raised concerns with CRT about the near-unnavigable state of the end of the Leek Arm of the Caldon Canal, which has become extremely silted up over the last few years, with reed growth encroaching into the navigation. [See front cover photo—Ed] At the moment boats are unable to reach the end of the canal without difficulty, and the winding hole, which previously allowed boats of up to 45ft to turn, is unusable so any boats that do venture through the less-than-7ft gap between the reeds and the mud are having to reverse back to the full length winding hole. The situation puts most visiting boats off stopping and exploring the nearby market town of Leek.

that by working together the three organisations can get the full length of this scenic canal navigable and well-used again. CRT have responded saying that the arm will be dredged later next year, and that there may be an opportunity for some volunteers to improve the situation before that can happen. If you would like to get involved please let me know.

Alison Smedley (alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk)

IWA members, with support from the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust, have offered to help get the arm navigable again through utilising volunteers, and The same winding hole filled with boats are hoping CRT will take up this offer so during the Leek 200 Rally in 2002.

Page 10

KNOBSTICKS

Special offers In-store bakery Food-to-go Hot and cold drinks Groceries Newspapers Lotto Paypoint Payzone Free ATM Fresh fruit and veg Household and pet food A great range of beers, wines and spirits Open Mon-Sat 7am-9pm, Sun 7.30am-8pm

Less than 10 minutes from bridges 14 and 15 of the Caldon Canal

8-10 Diana Road, Birches Head, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 6RS. Tel 01782 263936 Visit our website www.londis.co.uk.

Find us on Facebook - Londis Birches Head Winter 2017

Page 11

Social Programme

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch PROGRAMME OF TALKS (etc.) 2017 – 2018 Season Friday 12th January 2018 NO MEETING Friday 9th February 2018 – 7:45 for 8 pm Branch AGM + Birmingham Canal Navigations 1994 Our branch AGM (usually very short) will be followed by ...

An interesting presentation, to be given by Alan Chetwyn, on all things to do with the Birmingham Canal Navigations 1994.

Friday 9th March 2018 – 7:30 for 8 pm IWA NEW YEAR ANNUAL DINNER Congleton Golf Club, Biddulph Road, Congleton CW12 3LZ The Cost of the 3 course Dinner with Coffee or Tea will be £20.95 per person Starters Leek and Potato Soup with Roll and Butter Brussels Liver Pate with Homemade Melba Toast Smoked Haddock Fishcake with Lemon Mayonnaise Main Course Slow Cooked Brisket and Seasonal Vegetables Baked Sea Trout with Watercress Sauce and Seasonal Vegetables Chicken Supreme with a Peppercorn Sauce and Seasonal Vegetables Vegetarian/Diabetic option – Contact Barbara Wells

Page 12

KNOBSTICKS

Social Programme Dessert Apple Crumble and Custard Fruits of the Forest Pavlova Chocolate Orange Brownie OR Cheese and Biscuits Tea / Coffee Booking form included with this issue of Knobsticks.

Full Payment is required by Saturday 24th February 2018 with your choice of Menu Selection

Friday 13th April 2018 – 7:45 for 8 pm Sir Peter Scott A designer, an Olympian, a wild fowler, a glider pilot, a skater, the Radio and TV voice of nature, and actor.

Presented by his namesake Peter Scott.

Friday 11h May 2018 – 7:45 for 8 pm Fenland Waterways The history of the fenland waterway systems in eastern England, and a tour around the currently navigable parts.

Presented by John Pomfret.

Admission to talks is FREE Donations to waterway causes welcome!

Refreshments available.

Non-IWA members are very welcome Venue (unless otherwise stated): Stoke on Trent Boat Club Endon Wharf, Post Lane, Endon STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST9 9DU For further information contact: Barbara Wells (01782 911004 or 07710 418908) socialsec.nssc@waterways.org.uk or visit the branch webpages at: www.waterways.org.uk Winter 2017

Page 13

Ringing the Ring across the whole route due to weathering, vandalism, theft and general wear and tear. The project aims to:  Identify and record damaged, missing and broken rings along with identifying new locations where mooring rings could be installed.  Install and replace the damaged and missing rings  Install new mooring rings at new locations which would benefit from an increase in moorings Planning The project was conceived in 2014 and planned to tie in with the 40th anniversary of the reopening of the Cheshire Ring in 2016. The local IWA Branches along with Canal & River Trust met to discuss the scope and aims of the project. IWA volunteers then walked, boated or cycled different lengths of the Cheshire Ring and surveyed the mooring rings as either ‘missing, broken or a potential for new rings’. From the survey a priority list was agreed between IWA and CRT to focus the initial project work parties.

IWA’s Cheshire Ring Mooring Ring Project is a volunteer led project undertaken by three IWA branches; North Staffordshire & South Cheshire, Chester & Merseyside and Manchester Branch.

Background Since becoming fully navigable in 1976 the Cheshire Ring has been a popular destination for cruising. In the 1980s IWA Manchester Branch worked to create new visitor moorings around the ring. Over time the number and quality of existing mooring rings was declining Page 14

Partnership The project identified the importance of working in partnership with as many local groups as possible. Working with Canal & River Trust a work plan and installation methodology were agreed to best fit with the existing rings on the Cheshire Ring. CRT have eagerly supported this project from its inception through to its implementation, providing tools, materials and general support for the project. Volunteers from across the local groups have also turned up on work parties to help install the Mooring Rings, such as the Macclesfield Canal Society & Trent and Mersey Canal Society.

KNOBSTICKS

Ringing the Ring

Ring Locations To date 150 new mooring rings have been installed at 7 locations – total length of 900 metres of new moorings for approx 58 additional boats Another 66 rings are planned to be installed on the Ashton, Rochdale & Bridgewater canals

Chadderton Proposed Site Method: Kemfix 1

h

Dutton & Barnton New Rings: 29 Spacing: 8m Method: Kemfix

Fools Nook Planned Site: 8 rings Spacing: 8m Method: Concrete

Anderton Boat Lift New Rings: 32 Spacing: 4m Method: Kemfix

250 rings bought and supplied by Canal & River Trust are planned to be installed at locations on and surrounding the Cheshire Ring with help from IWA volunteers.

Top of Bosley Locks New Rings: 2 Spacing: 8m Method: Concrete

Middlewich New Rings: 35 Spacing: 4m – 8m Method: Kemfix Wheelock New Rings: 6 Spacing: 4m – 8m Method: Kemfix

Fundraising The initial £2,100 for the mooring rings came from the first IWA Restoration Raffle, and was the one “navigation” related project to give people a navigation option when buying their tickets and choosing a project to support. An IWA member provided us with a highly competitive rate making us 200 rings for £2,000 (£10 per ring). CRT provided all PPE, tools and materials to install the rings (cement, mixers, extra rings etc).

Method The rings are installed in 1 of 3 ways:  Concrete: A bent metal bar is passed through the ring. Both ends of the bar are then bent upwards, and the whole bar (apart from the short length Winter 2017

Ashton Lock 6 Proposed Site Method: Kemfix

Congleton Wharf New Rings: 6 Spacing: 8m Method: Concrete Rode Heath New Rings: 30 Spacing: 5m Method: Kemfix

through the ring) is embedded into a new concrete block.  Tie-back: A metal rod attached to the ring is clamped to a piling tie-bar.  Kemfix: A hole is drilled into an existing coping stones (or concrete). A metal rod attached to the ring is then inserted into the hole and chemically “glued” into place.

Launch (Anderton Lift) The official launch of the Cheshire Ring Mooring Ring Project’s work parties took place at Anderton Lift. IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch organised and led the day. 32 new rings were installed at 4m intervals along a 129m stretch of concrete and masonry banking to equalise the spacing between existing rings and replace damaged ones.

Page 15

Ringing the Ring Training (Bosley Locks) Bosley Locks was identified as a site in need of new rings due its popularity, facilities and missing mooring rings. We invited each branch organiser and their volunteers to Bosley Locks to learn the 3 methods of installing mooring rings on the Cheshire Ring. The day was intended to train both IWA & CRT volunteers to install rings to CRT standards. [See photo at start of article (page 14)] Middlewich The first task of the day was to identify existing rings obscured by grass and mud and reveal them once more. 35 new rings were then installed. There is now a continuous run of rings at 4 - 8m intervals from the Big Lock up to the start of the Andersen private moorings, interrupted only by the winding hole, the road bridge and a short section where sandstone copings mean that drilled in rings cannot be used. There is potential to return to this section later with the concrete method rings depending on popularity of those newly installed.

Dutton and Barnton Identified as a site in need by CRT, safety bollards marking the edge of the canal between Barnton & Saltersford were being damaged from boat using them as moorings. 13 rings were installed here. As a result of the breach and its subsequent repairs resulting in less trees, Dutton has become a popular mooring spot with beautiful views across the Weaver Valley and towards the Welsh mountains. Some rings were installed at the time of the repair but popularity meant that more were required. An additional 16 rings were installed so that there is now a length of 200m with mooring ring provision.

Page 16

Work at Dutton (by site of breach) Wheelock A popular overnight mooring with good access to shops and pubs, Wheelock had six new rings installed by the Kemfix method to increase mooring capacity.

We also cleared vegetation (uncovering several more rings), improved the path and fixed a gate. The site has also been identified as having potential for installing 10 new concrete method mooring rings in the future.

Rode Heath Volunteers from both IWA & CRT KNOBSTICKS

Ringing the Ring installed 30 mooring rings and cleared overgrowth from existing rings. This provided a new 150m length of mooring opposite the Broughton Arms in Rode Heath. The rings were installed at 5m intervals. As part of the work three more volunteers were trained to use the hammer drill. It is expected that the new rings will also provide an economic benefit to the immediate area.

Congleton Wharf A site with great access to local facilities and with easy access, Congleton Wharf is key to a lot of boaters looking to resupply and take a break. Over the two days 12 volunteers dug out and installed 6 concrete method rings.

The Future The success of the Cheshire Ring Mooring Ring Project has led the way for IWA & CRT to continue the partnership

and the project into the future. We expect that, as a result of these mooring rings being installed, there will be a boost to the local economy, social improvements and improved environmental protection. Due to the popularity of the project amongst the local population CRT have purchased another 250 mooring rings to be installed on/ near the Cheshire Ring, further opening up opportunities for boaters locally and nationally.

It is hoped that some of the remaining IWA funded rings will be installed on the Bridgewater Canal, working in partnership with the Bridgewater Canal Company, thus completing the ring and working together with a further navigation authority.

Alison Smedley & Alex Melson (July 2017)

Cheshire Locks Working Party August 17th Most of the metal work around the two Church Locks (locks 47 and 48) was prepared and painted.

September 7th Along with members of IWA Chester and Merseyside we spent this extra workparty installing mooring rings.

11 rings were installed between Preston Brook tunnel entrance and the stop lock to assist boaters waiting for the tunnel & operating the lock.

25 rings were installed NW of Ollershaw Lane bridge at Marston for the benefit of boaters visiting Lion Salt Works or stopping at the Salt Barge. Grass was also trimmed back where it was growing across the coping.

Winter 2017

September 21st Work continued on Church despite the bad weather.

Locks

October 19th Painting of metalwork completed on Church Locks, but heavy rain prevented completion of woodwork painting.

October 23rd-27th We helped CRT & volunteer lock-keepers from Middlewich in clearing offside vegetation using a CRT work boat. Over 5 days the combined team cleared overhanging vegetation on a 10 mile length of canal from Hardings Wood to just past Wheelock John Brighouse Page 17

The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear

Part 2 Sonning and the Lock.

Sonning was inside the boat, sitting on a cushion. There were lots of things the little bear still didn’t understand. He didn’t know the boat people’s names, so he had given them bear names – ‘Polar’ for the big lady with white hair and ‘Grizzly’ for the brown-haired man. He didn’t know what a lock was either. Polar had said the locks on the Thames were ‘intimidating’ and, as she was a very big human, Sonning thought a lock must be some sort of monster.

Sonning heard the noise from the boat change and noticed the trees and fields weren’t going by so quickly. The river forked, passing to either side of a little island. A small blue sign on a post pointed the way to a lock.

‘I wonder why Polar and Grizzly don’t turn left and avoid the lock, if it’s so frightening,’ Sonning thought. ‘That’s Page 18

what I would do!’ He looked wistfully along what he thought was the safer channel until he saw a big red and white notice sticking up out of the water.

“Danger! Weir!” it said.

‘Oh no!’ gasped Sonning. ‘Whatever a weir is, it must be an even fiercer monster than a lock! That must be why we’re going the other way.’ Both routes seemed to lead to monsters of some sort.

The little bear trembled with fear. He hoped Polar and Grizzly had chosen the right channel.

Sonning saw land close to the boat now.

It was very level, hard-looking land with gigantic black and white mushrooms growing at regular intervals along the edge. Sonning saw a pair of feet in big boots walking beside the boat, then someone bent down to loop a rope around one of the mushrooms. It was Polar. The boat came to a halt beside the KNOBSTICKS

The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear hard, grey path. A few seconds later, he saw Grizzly walk by.

through the cabin and went out to the front of the boat. Grizzly didn’t seem to hear him. He was busy, looping the front rope around one of the mushrooms.

‘The lock monster must have escaped!’ cried Sonning. ‘I wonder if Polar and Grizzly have to help the lock-keeper catch it again?’

‘I’m all alone on the boat!’ he cried. ‘I hope Polar and Grizzly don’t think I can fight the lock monster on my own!’

He saw another sign on a fence beside a pretty house, close to the boat. ‘Lockkeeper on duty,’ he read. ‘Well, that’s a relief! If there’s a lock-keeper, hopefully the lock will be in a cage or on a lead, so it can’t bite or scratch us.’

Grizzly was talking to a man by the house. Sonning saw Polar’s big feet passing the window again, then the boat moved forward, passing more giant mushrooms and a very big gate.

‘The lock must be shut in behind that,’ said Sonning, studying it carefully. ‘Now we’ve gone past the lock-keeper and the gate, we must be safe!’

When Grizzly stepped back onto the boat, he expected them to set off down the river again. To Sonning’s horror, the engine stopped.

‘Why aren’t we getting away from the lock monster as quickly as we can?’ he asked Grizzly, when the man came Winter 2017

There were other people coming to help, on other boats. Sonning could see the glossy wooden hull of a boat quite different to Uplander II from the window on the opposite side of the cabin and his keen little ears could hear other boat noises, which stopped as the boats gathered together.

‘It must take a whole army of people to recapture a lock monster!’ he said to himself. ‘I hope nobody gets hurt, especially my new friends. I don’t think I can watch!’

Sonning cowered down on his cushion and covered his little black eyes with his paws. He felt quite poorly, as if he were sinking downwards. When he uncovered his eyes, it was quite dark in the boat but he could just see a slimy, wet wall through the window. Sonning gave a small squeal of terror.

‘Uplander’s been eaten by the lock monster!’ he cried, reasoning that the slippery surface outside must be the inside of a huge creature’s throat or stomach. ‘How will we ever escape?’ As his eyes got used to the dark, Sonning saw Grizzly at the front of the boat, calmly holding the rope.

‘Maybe the lock-keeper can pull us out?’ he thought. ‘Or, if he feeds the lock Page 19

The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear monster those giant mushrooms instead, perhaps it will spit out the boats? I would rather eat big, tasty mushrooms than wood and metal – but that might just be because I’m a small bear, not a huge, scary monster.’

Suddenly, there was a familiar rumbling noise and Sonning realised that Uplander II was making a noise again.

He heard an unfamiliar clanking and grumbling sound too. In front of the boat, something started to move, letting in more light. Grizzly pulled on his rope and, as it dropped down from high above him, gathered it into a coil and put it neatly on Uplander’s nose.

The gap in front of the boat got wider and wider, wide enough for at least one boat to pass through, then wide enough for two boats or more. Sonning could see the whole width of the river, running bright and clear under a blue sky ahead of them.

Uplander II started to move forward and was soon in the sunshine. Sonning was very relieved indeed, until he remembered that Polar had said there were more locks ahead.

‘I hope there are giant mushrooms to feed to them too,’ he thought.

Water was flowing fast into the river from the left. Looking back up the channel, where the weir monster was, Sonning saw a waterfall.

‘How lovely!’ he said, looking at the tumbling plumes of white water. ‘If only there was a way of safely getting boats over the falls and avoiding the terrible weir monster, it would be much nicer than being eaten by the lock monster. I wish there was a pretty waterfall along this channel too.’

That set Sonning wondering how he, his friends and their boat had got from the level above the waterfall down onto this lower section of the river without going over a cascade or down rocky rapids.

For now, he just couldn’t seem to work it out.

Article & Photos: Sarah Honeysett

‘The lock monster is spitting us out!’ cheered the little bear. ‘Grizzly’s rope must have pulled out the big mushroom it was tied around and it’s going to eat that instead. Well done, Grizzly! You’ve saved us!’

Page 20

KNOBSTICKS

C.J. Skelhorne Jewellery The Treasured Gift Let Us Help You Choose The Gift That Will Always Be Treasured *Diamond Rings *Gold & Silver *Watches & Watchstraps *Clocks *Pens *Gifts *Engraving Specialist Jewellery Repairs On the Premises • Watch and Clock Repairs • Pearl & Bead Stringing Silver Repairs & Plating • Valuations

01782 279547 14 Piccadilly Arcade, Hanley, Stoke on Trent STI 1DL

Winter 2017

Page 21

For an extensive range of traditional narrowboat and sailing fittings

ADVICE AND FRIENDLY, HELPFUL SERVICE. Brass fittings, portholes, windows, mushroom vents, tiller bars and pins, pigeon boxes, rope, fenders. Solid fuel stoves and chimneys, cookers, fridges and freezers, showerbaths and basins, water and shower pumps, Hep 2O plumbing.

FREE

DOMESTIC HOT WATER FROM WATER COOLED

ENGINES BY HEAT TRANSFERENCE CALORIFIER

Send large SAE for our Disc or catalogue Main Honda agents, outboards and generators. Parts and service. Calor gas and fittings, diesel, DIY and yard storage, slipway, pump out.

Gifts • canal souvenirs • maps and books • clothing

Newcastle Road, Stone, Staffs.

Tel: Stone (01785) 812688 Fax: (01785) 811317 www.stoneboatbuilding.co.uk email: sale@stoneboatbuilding.co.uk

The Swan Inn Stafford Street, Stone Two minutes from bridge 93 at Star Lock

Serving 10 Real Ales & Scrumpy Cider Bar Snacks available Beer Garden Page 22

KNOBSTICKS

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire contacts President: Chris Skelhorne Vice President Roger Savage roger.st21@gmail.com

Web-site Liaison Alison Smedley (temp) 01538 385388 webmaster.nssc@waterways.org.uk

Planning VACANT (Use planning.nssc@waterways.org.uk) Chairman VACANT (Contact steve.wood@waterways.org.uk) Membership Officer Ju Davenport Deputy Chairman Steve Wood 07976 805858 membership.nssc@waterways.org.uk steve.wood@waterways.org.uk Navigation Officer Jon Honeysett 01782 772295 Treasurer Alan Chetwyn (No Email) 01782 279277 navigation.nssc@waterways.org.uk Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club Rep. Secretary Judith Turner 07789 518816 Rupert Smedley secretary.nssc@waterways.org.uk Burslem Port Work Party Steve Wood 07976 805858 Sales Officer VACANT (Contact steve.wood@waterways.org.uk) steve.wood@waterways.org.uk Caldon + Uttoxeter Work Parties Social Secretary 07976 805858 Barbara Wells 01782 911004 Steve Wood steve.wood@waterways.org.uk socialsec.nssc@waterways.org.uk Cheshire Locks Work Party Publicity Officer 07808 878317 Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 John Brighouse john.brighouse@waterways.org.uk publicity.nssc@waterways.org.uk Newsletter Editor Roger Evans 01606 834471 newsletter.nssc@waterways.org.uk 10 Long Lane, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0BL

Other committee members: Julie Arnold, Maria Frost, Rob Frost West Midlands Region Chairman Helen Whitehouse 01543 491161 westmidlands@waterways.org.uk

The Branch committee meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at Stoke Boat Club, Endon Wharf, Post Lane, Endon, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 9DU. All Branch members are invited to attend.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association, the West Midlands Region, or our Branch.

They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers. Š The Inland Waterways Association - Registered as a charity no. 212342 www.waterways.org.uk/staffscheshire Winter 2017 Page 23

Join Us on a Canal Work Party

Our Branch runs 3 work parties each month, helping to maintain and restore our local canals : Cheshire Locks (Trent & Mersey Canal, Kidsgrove to Wheelock) (jointly organised with the Trent and Mersey Canal Society) 3rd Thursday of each month (except December), 10am to 3pm.

Contact: John Brighouse Phone: 07808-878317 Email: john.brighouse@waterways.org.uk

 Uttoxeter Canal (Bridge 70, near Denstone — or near Alton) (working in partnership with Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust) 2nd Thursday of each month, 10am to 3pm.

Contact: Steve Wood Phone: 07976-805858 Email: steve.wood@waterways.org.uk

 Burslem Port, Stoke-on-Trent (working in partnership with Burslem Port Project) 4th Tuesday of each month, 10am to 3pm.

Contact: Steve Wood Phone: 07976-805858 Email: steve.wood@waterways.org.uk ——————————–————-—————————-————— See the IWA website www.waterways.org.uk under “Events” for dates.

Volunteers are advised to wear stout shoes and old clothes, and to bring waterproofs (and a packed lunch and drink if staying all day) Page 24

KNOBSTICKS