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Work Party at Honing Lock. In co-operation with The North Walsham & Dilham Canal Trust Sunday 8 Aug, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To clear both sides of the chamber islands to make it look cared for on the west bank and to provide an access way for the portage of canoes from the eastern tail of the lock through to the launch site north of the little bridge; to convert part of the existing fence into a gate to facilitate transport of canoes; to clear an area adjacent to the bridge over the back soke to make it easier for the launching of canoes there; to clear obstructions (bricks and rubble) from the canal north of the bridge over the lock; to remove several trees from the canal south of the lock and also the two brought down by recent high winds north of the lock. Cut 'grass' at Honing Cut, time permitting. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. Weather was fine with some cloud but dry and warm. At the H&S and work briefings, our new attendee Phil Harrison was welcomed and introduced to The Team. A 'gate' was fashioned in the screening fence running parallel to the footpath between the back soke access bridge and the lock bridge. Access being obtained, a way was cut through to the tail of the lock to provide portage of canoes past the lock. In the meantime, others made the public footpath wider by cutting back the overgrowth and then continuing to clear a large area beside the backsoke to allow the easier launching of canoes from this point. Chris and I walked to the end of the woods on the western footpath to ascertain the location of, and chances of removing, the major blockage there. On this assessment trip, a further three trees were noted to be removed. The high wind damaged trees (upstream) were cleared and the canal there left fairly free of obstructions, but the reed continues to encroach into the passage both north and south of the lock. By the time of taking a late lunch break (13.15hrs) the major obstructing tree (south) had been pulled to the side of the canal. During the morning, some five canoes were launched on the backsoke and carried their happy occupants smoothly southwards down the canal. Following a lunch taken in warm sunshine, all of the known obstructing (south) trees had been removed and/or secured. Mary was taken for her very first trip in a canoe down nearly to the East Ruston Arm! It was thoroughly enjoyable, she later reported! Roger jumped in above the lock (suitably attired, I have to say!) and cleared a large quantity of bricks, flints etc which had found their way into the water and which could have presented a hazard to launched canoes. Alan launched himself and walked upstream to very successfully pull out some of the intruding reeds in the navigation. He is very good at that! The tall weeds on the western side of the lock chamber (inside the fence) were cut down to match the eastern bank, to present a most favourable aspect from the bridge. We left site at 16.15 having closed the new gate to the eastern canoe portage route. The next meeting will be at Bacton Wood Lock on Sunday 22nd August. My thanks to all of the fourteen volunteers who turned up and worked so very hard to produce yet another wonderful result, to the praise of our many visitors!

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Work Party at Honing Staithe Cut. Sunday 18 July, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To check the water levels and growth on banks of cut and canal beside walk; check on plant growth in the cut itself and in the canal near to the road bridge. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. Weather was fine but not too hot - very pleasant! On arriving at the site, it became very evident that the few drops of rain which had fallen on this area had promoted a great leap in plant growth! However, after the H&S and general briefing, when Roger Mason, a new member was welcomed into our group, the strimmers and mower were put into motion and very soon the growth, in places up to four feet in height, was seen to tumble. Alan had said to me that he had noticed Himalayan Balsam growing at the head of the cut. That was just the job for me and I attacked it and cleared (?) about 13 sq. metres of the invasive plant. Further along the bank of the canal, beside the walk, several trees and branches, which had succumbed to the recent high winds, were retrieved to the bank - a messy job. Strange really that the ladies will pay pounds for this mud for beauty treatment and it lies here for free! Lunch break came upon us rather rapidly! Whilst sitting with food and drink, the reeds at the end of the cut started to move sideways and the bow of a canoe came into sight! The words 'Dr Livingstone, I presume' came to mind as Graham came into full view. He had canoed up from Honing Lock, accompanied by two other canoes but they did not venture into the cut. Photo credit to Alan Bertram The turn at the head of the cut was accomplished with a little difficulty, but by then Chris had jumped (gingerly slid) on board for the return trip. Having seen the intrepid explorers battle the reeds again, Alan decided to attack them, the reeds that is, from below water level and promptly donned his waders! In a rather startlingly short period of time, he had cleared a large area of the reeds from the mouth of the cut and a way along the canal towards the bridge. On retrieving these onto the shore, we disturbed a bee's nest in the bank, so promptly left that area without any harm being done. Some water plants were pulled out from the cut, to make it look a little clearer. When we left at about 16.00 the cut walk was again looking like it was cared for. We shall be there again with the mower in about three week's time to keep the grass and weeds to a manageable level. During the day, numerous visitors passed by and chatted, all on the very positive side for what we are doing. On the nature side, a heron was disturbed when we arrived - he had been sitting in the reeds along the side of the cut. Of the visitors, some three people were signed up to join the Canal Trust. A good day on all scores! The next work party will be on Sunday August 8th at Honing Lock and grass cutting at the Staithe Cut. A lot of interesting work to be done on that day, so look forward to seeing you there. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped today.

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Work Party at Ebridge Lock. Sunday 4 July, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. With the seriously reduced number of volunteers expected to be on site this day, the expectations were kept quite minimal. As I would be 'out of town' for the majority of the day and Chris was expected to be also away, I had asked Darren Cooke if he would be our Work Party Leader for the day. I am very pleased to report that he did agree. I explained to him to 'do as best as you can' on site in the general clearance of the lock sides, whatever else was feasible and also to clear the buttress on the north side of the canal, south of the road bridge. In the event, Chris Black did arrive on time and the duties were duly and gracefully shared! WORK ACHIEVEMENT. As I was not there, but did my turn for part of the afternoon at the Dilham Village Hall for the Canal Trust Exhibition there, I include below the report of the day as sent to me by Chris Black. Work-party report for 4th July 2010 at Ebridge Lock. I was not expecting to be available for this work-party but circumstances changed and I was able to attend. The weather was warm and dry, continuing the run of rain free Sundays. Shortly after my arrival Darren Cooke drove up and we decided what to do as we knew this work-party was going to have a small attendance. We eventually ended up with six volunteers. H&S issues were addressed then we set out to continue the clearance of the lock sides and a few yards beyond upstream. The east side of the lock had not been cleared for some time and looks much improved visually now thanks to Kevin's brush-cutter and mower. Darren cleared the weeds from the fence on the west side, this having been mowed at our last visit. Laurie Ashton arrived soon after and attacked the weeds and brambles growing in the cap stones on the lock. He then carried on with the dredging . I had had a conversation with him prior to this about the spillway construction. Darren and I did a bit of digging beside the top wall and found it to be bricked to a depth of approx 2' 6" with no obvious footings. It was probably built on wood which has since rotted away. Photographs were taken before we backfilled the hole for safety reasons. We took the decision not to advance the cutting upstream as the nettles were nearly 7' high and Laurie is dumping the spoil near the bank anyway. Lunch was taken at 13.00 and was a first for the Trust as it was consumed aboard ' Weasel'. It felt really good to be aboard a real boat afloat on the canal. Laurie had the galley well stocked with tea and coffee and had the kettle on the gas hob ready for us to make a drink! After lunch Darren attacked the brambles on the abutment on the south side of the road bridge and it is now much clearer. During the day we had several members of the public speak to us about what we were doing. One was a local who had canoed much of the canal in the past and had been involved in canoeing activities with the scouts. All were very positive about the renovation and we ran out of Trust leaflets! We left about 16.00 with Laurie continuing his dredging. Chris Black, Acting Work-party Leader. A lot of good came from this work party and my thanks go to all the stalwarts who attended. The next visit will be to Honing Staithe Cut on this Sunday 18th July 2010. Please remember the 'Big One' at Briggate in October. My apologies for the late delivery of this report.

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Work Party at Ebridge Mill Pond site. Sunday 20 Jun, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To clear roadside grass on the verge of the mill pond; to tidy the chamber island; to clear the walk up to the weir; to clear away growth on the south eastern buttress of the road bridge down to canal level; remove best part of the two remaining trees, but leaving sufficient to mark the side of the road. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. I went to site and was surprised to find so much mechanical plant in place. The mill pond had been dredged to provide a reasonably sized area of clear water. As a further proof of the value of the work which we are carrying out on the canal, Chris and I watched a duck call her six ducklings to order and swim from the lock gates up the canal into unknown territory! With the return of frogs to Briggate Mill pond and other sightings along the worked on parts of the canal, we are all feeling rather gratified with the fact that nature is returning as we had hoped. As I cannot go 'off-road' yet I departed at about 10.30 and left Chris Black i/c. Here is his report-: The cold weather early on gave way to a pleasant day - and no rain! David Revill and I had the pleasure of seeing a family of Mallard Ducks swimming on the cleared stretch of water - a sight not seen for many a year on the reed choked millpond. We strimmed and mowed alongside the retaining wall of the millpond, there being no possibility of removing the remaining trees however. As requested we measured the wall, the dimensions of which are set out below. Most of the team were set the task of clearing the weir which had numerous nettles growing in the cracks in the concrete capping. All along the bank on that side the nettles have grown very tall and dense however with the ground paddles closed to maintain enough water for the dredger to float the clearance of these proved difficult as the water level was high. Laurie Ashton arrived before lunch and set about more dredging with 'Weasel'. A natural break occurred at about 12.30 so lunch was taken on the mowed area beside the lock. We had by then accrued 11 volunteers plus Wiggy the guard dog. Laurie and I had a discussion about the millpond wall and he was sure that the blocked up 'inlet' opposite the older part of the mill was an old culvert for a millwheel in the original mill. We also discussed the problem of diverting the water whilst repairing the top gates (and the lock eventually). We came to the conclusion that the millrace culvert was low enough to bypass the lock whilst keeping the water level reasonably low in the canal and millpond. We had several visitors during the lunch period, all very supportive of our project! A young lad spoke to us about how he and his brother had canoed down virtually all the canal fairly recently - some feat! He was looking forward to the restoration which would enable him to canoe easily on the canal. This is a perfect example of the recreational opportunities the restored canal would bring for our young people. After lunch we continued with the nettle bashing and Laurie returned to the dredging. I finished clearing around the west side of the lock and had to field more questions from interested passers by, all in favour with NO negativity. There was no attempt to clear the brambles on the south side of the road bridge. Laurie eventually had to curtail his dredging as two of the hydraulic hoses on the dredger arm started to leak. While he was trying to remove these we were visited by the local Police Community Officer who was very interested in the work and warned of machinery theft. He took our leaflet and my card as he was interested in possibly getting some offenders involved in a bit of restorative justice! His suggestion! We cleared up at about 15.30 and left about 16.00. Chris Black, Acting Work Party leader" Thanks again, Chris and all who attended. From the photos received, (thanks Alan) it turned out to be a worthy days endeavours! Next party is back at Ebridge on 4th July

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Work Party at Work Party at Briggate Mill. Sunday 6 Jun, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To cut and clear away any timber remaining near to the pond wall: to burn brash: cut grass on road verges; measure pond wall for costing of rebuilding; measure for costing of a wooden fence at western end of pond; measure wheel race chamber; consult with Mrs D Howes on her requested clearance of wheel chamber (exterior) and walls adjacent to public road, prior to enquiry for Village Green status of the mill site. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. Weather fine all (working) day despite the forecast with very little air movement. After the usual H&S and general briefing for the day, Chris and Richard started the work off by cutting the pond side verge with mower and strimmer whilst awaiting the arrival of Mrs DH. Alan and Richard then fired three of the piles of brash which fortunately had not been affected by the torrential rains falling elsewhere on the night before. There was found to be no remaining timber to be cut and removed. Following a lengthy chat with Mrs DH, I explained that the pond boundary is as it can be seen now, with the several trees growing into the pond wall having to be removed together with a couple beside them plus the lone sapling adjacent to the water inlet to the pond. We then concentrated our efforts on the water-wheel chamber. The exterior walls were covered in ivy and brambles with the odd sapling growing from the top. This was all mostly removed to leave a 'cleared' appearance as seen from the roadway. A tall sapling was removed from the quite wet base of the wheel chamber together with several smaller specimens. In the meantime Mrs DH had returned to site in working attire and joined us in our efforts at the lower end of the wheel chamber. As I can not yet go 'off-road', I thoroughly enjoyed myself being part of The Team again, albeit only being able to work on the exterior road-side walls. The wire netting covering the various apertures in the road-side mill building wall was reaffixed to good effect. The eastern wall of the wheel race chamber was not touched due to inaccessibility on this occasion. Lunch was taken with Carole's' luscious scones with jam and double cream (doctors should not read this) and the work continued. Measurements of the pond wall were taken (from the spill into the road culvert to the water wheel) for costing purposes at 113 feet long and the parapet wall over the culvert at 13foot 8inches by 4' 2” to the footing and being 1 ½ bricks deep. The wooden fence at the western end of the pond is to be 8metres by 1 metre high with three rails. The wheel chamber is, internally, 24' 2” long by 7' 6” wide. A couple living adjacent to the mill asked if we would remove a tree belonging to them, which had collapsed across the mill race outlet and onto Honing Estates land. I said that we would be pleased to help but not at this time due to the birds nesting period. Chris inspected the tree for later referral. Five other (groups of) people stopped for a chat and after explaining what the ultimate plan is to be, were delighted with the idea and what had already been achieved - in contrast to one gentleman, early on, who appeared to have been quite agitated until I explained the situation to him and what we would be doing today, in co-operation with other village folk. Unaware of my conversation with this gentleman, Alan & Graham took a stroll across the pond site to where the water inlet to the pond had been dredged and reported scores of frogs lying in several areas such that they could walk no further for fear of treading on them! Nature returning! Carole took me away at 14.30 leaving CB in charge for the final push. A short, 10', bole of a tree which will have to be removed from the pond site eventually, was removed without trouble and cut up. My thanks to all who turned up for a rather splendid day in all sorts of ways! The meeting on 20th June will be at Ebridge Mill pond starting at 09.30 as usual.

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Work Party at Work Party at Bacton Lock. Sunday 23 May, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To further clear the breach area and parts of the dried canal; to vertically cut through the exposed canal bed to ascertain the construction method; to remove already felled timber and burn brash; investigate the surrounding area for any further signs of old construction; to visit Honing Lock area and erect fence and notice; to visit Honing Dee Bridge and erect notice only. As I could not be there for the main work party after Honing Lock, here is the report as sent to me by Chris. “Work party report for the 23rd May 2010" "Bacton Wood Lock ( Breach)" A cloudless blue sky and wall to wall sunshine greeted the volunteers today. It was already warm by 10.00 and got hotter! 16 signatures on the EAWA worksheet was quite a surprise as when I arrived there were only four of us. As arranged, Mary and I went down to Honing Lock to meet David Revill and his chauffeuse Gisela. I had briefed Graham Brown with the plans for work around the breach, nominating him as temporary work party leader in my absence. I asked him to give the H&S talk and guide the team whilst I was at Honing. The reason for the Honing visit was to erect a fence at the lock end of the pound to Dee bridge and to place a notice on it reminding the public that there is no public footpath beside the canal and to politely request that they do not walk beside the canal. A notice was also placed at the Dee bridge end with the same request. David and Gisela took photos as evidence that the work had been executed. David and Gisela returned to their boat as his leg is still recovering. Mary and I returned to Bacton Wood Lock and were greeted by a large number of volunteers, the Hymac and two large fires. The idea was to remove the good timber from the fallen trees and cut it up ready for bagging up and destined for wood burners eventually. The Hymac was used to retrieve the bags of wood from the far side of the breach as were some of the smaller branches. We stopped for an early lunch as I think all of us were wilting in the heat. Hot baked potatoes from the embers went down a treat! After lunch I gave the team a taste of the outcomes of the two meetings earlier in the week. Graham Brown and I spent a good half hour sketching out a method statement for the canal as this is required by NNDC, in particular to see if we need any planning permission for new structures etc. We also have a new volunteer called Alex Compton whose studies at Easton College may prove very useful to the Canal Trust. Alan Bertram took several pictures of the activities which included the removal of the large tree stump in the side of the breach. It didn't give up easily but is now on the canal bank! The alternator on the Hymac seized up so we could not move it any further. At approx. 15.30 I called time and we loaded all the kit into the dumper and went back to the lock. More bricks have been laid on the east side of the lock chamber. The crumbling face had been removed, as on the west wall, to allow the setting of the gate hinge in the new brickwork. It is looking splendid! The cill has been repaired and has reached a point where timber can be replaced on the cill floor to facilitate the installation of the upper gates. Laurie Ashton is seeking some decent timber for this. We left site at approx.16.30. "Chris Black, Acting Work Party Leader” Many thanks for that work and report, Chris, and of course my thanks to the wonderful volunteers! Next work party on Sunday 6th June 10 will be at Briggate where there is a large variety of things to be done, hopefully in good weather? I also attach the work party programme for the second half of the year, which is, as always, liable to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

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Work Party at Work Party at Bacton Lock. Sunday 9 May, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To remove saplings and brush at the area of the breach and to investigate the breach itself, check the adjacent backsoke. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. s I was to be in hospital at this time, Chris Black would be the on-site leader and the report below is as he sent through to me. "WORKPARTY REPORT FOR SUNDAY 9th MAY 2010." 07.30 in Yelverton, grey miserable skies and drizzle! Mrs Black reluctant to go in this weather and I agreed. Car loaded and I'm about to set off on my own when my wife is up and has a change of mind - a womans perogative. As we drive northwards blue skies appear and the sun came out, staying like that all day. Attendance was rather light at eight volunteers - and a surprise extra, Laurie! Italian weather was just as miserable so he returned early. We set off upstream to the breach where I gave the Health and Safety briefing and an outline of our tasks for the day which were to clear the brash and hazardous trees from the breach area. Looking upstream from below the breach the view was obscured, hiding the outline of the canal heading north. Laurie drove his dumper up to the work area and we set about clearing it within the bounds of the far banks of the back sokes, which are quite wide apart at this point on the canal. Some large trees had blown over and were in a hazardous condition. Some were diseased and rotten inside. On the lock side of the bank of the breach was an old barbed wire fence which was removed for safety reasons. This was stacked in a pile with the many iron stakes etc. used to support it. The brash was put in neat piles ready for burning at a later date and the usable timber for firewood was cut up and placed in the dumper. We reached a natural break at about 12.00, the chainsaws needing a sharpen and a bit of maintainence so I decided to call a halt for an early lunch, sitting in the warm sun on the east bank. Lunch over we set about clearing the rest of the fallen timber and the northwards view of the canal came into view. It is well profiled here. I got into a conversation with Laurie about the repair of the breach and mentioned the existence of the old culvert entrance on the east bank. He was not really aware of this so we took a closer look. It is a concrete pipe about 2' wide in a heavy concrete block and as it is so large we all wondered where the other end was as it was not visible the other side of the canal. Where was it? Well it turned out to be under our pile of barbed wire and some digging revealed a concrete wall about six foot long in very good order, with a 2' pipe in it! The pipe is blocked with soil and clay so we have a task now to try to clear it so we can put the CCTV camera down it to see if it is intact under the canal bed. There is a break at the east end where the concrete retaining wall has moved. Work came to an end at about 15.30. Rebuilding the lock has moved on with the west side upper gate hinge in place and the east side ground paddle mechanism bricked in. "Chris Black, Acting Work Party Leader" Many thanks for that report Chris and for taking on the task! Interesting about the culvert at the breach! The diameter of that culvert should now be compared with that of the culvert just east of the Wherry Inn. When the water from the northern end breach is diverted back onto the canal once more, it will naturally mean less running through the culvert under the Bacton Road and therefore less running through the culvert at this breach site. Further investigation at this site I feel is warranted at the next work party there on Sunday 23rd May 10. My thanks go to all who attended and seemingly enjoyed the weather and results! !)

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Work Party at Honing Walk and Canal. Sunday 25th April, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To further the progress already commenced on the betterment of the Walk through the boggy part of the wood and to continue the clearance along the side of the canal immediately south of the 'D' Bridge. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. Weather was forecast to be fine with possible showers later in the day. It turned out to be very pleasant but then, about noon, precipitation commenced. This shower developed into rain but ceased after a while and the sunshine returned to present us with a very sunny afternoon. Ten members of The Team turned up and following the usual briefings we split into two parties. Ivan and Darren elected to re-visit the Walk (they are of the best in walkway [titivation] construction, after all!) and the rest of us turned to the south to where the view of the canal from 'D' Bridge is obstructed at the first bend in the canal by large projections of saplings and brush on the west bank. Work progressed very steadily here and soon the dead trees, branches and cut down saplings were stacked alongside the backsoke to form a newly created hedge of some sizable proportions! Ideal for birds in which to build their nests and for small animal habitation. Owing to the shower/rain at noon, it was decided to take an early lunch under the protection provided by a large, ivy covered tree. Alongside this tree, the bank was well covered in bracken, wild roses and blackberry growth. Following the participation of refreshments, I departed to rest up a little and left Chris Black in charge. The following report is as provided, with thanks, from Chris and Ivan. Facing this massive entanglement of thorny growth, mixed with not a little brash, Kevin went off and returned with his brush cutter to better enable the removal of this very unfriendly entity. The pictures taken at the end of the day prove that this was a very wise move which facilitated the complete removal of the visual obstruction! At the end, Kevin also strimmed the whole balance of this area and Chris cut back the remaining tree stumps to ground level. The view from the bridge really shows the canal profile now but which would benefit from a bit of dredging along the west bank. 'Up north' on the Walk in the woods, another twenty yards of the sides of the walk were lined with larger timbers and the space between filled with smaller timbers at right angles. This was then covered with mud and covered in turn with reed, which was then trampled well in. The reed/mud system progressed until no further mud oozed though the reed. The final picture of this walk approaching the little timber bridge is truly amazing and I am certain will be well appreciated by all who use it. Later on, Darren mowed the stinging nettles on the Staithe Cut (nearer to the roadway) and Ivan cleared a walk through the spoil from the earlier dredging along the north side of the Cut. The work party left site at approximately 16.00. My thanks, as always, go to all of The Team and for the work which they do so well. These last three work parties in this area have really made a big difference to the scenery. The next work parties will be at Bacton Wood Lock area on Sundays 9th & 23rd May - just 'upstream' of the lock, at the breach. So please park as usual at the lock parking space. As I shall be severely incapacitated then, Chris Black will be in charge, so any questions to him please. I look forward to being back with you all as soon as possible/practicable.

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Work Party at Honing Staithe Cut, Canal and Bacton Wood Lock. Sunday 11th April, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. Changed from that envisaged due to circumstances! Now: dredge more of the Staithe Cut and nearby canal, to continue with tree clearances along the canal nearer to the Lock and to assist with brick (?) removal at Bacton Wood Lock. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The 13 (thirteen) total of volunteers were spilt into three groups to attend to each area and H&S and general briefings given. Alan accompanied Tom & Digger down to the Staithe cut, whilst Chris, Matt and I left for the canal south of D Bridge and were later joined by Graham and Dawn. Richard took Mary and Tim to Bacton Wood Lock and they were joined by David T and Kevin. Weather was good but the breeze was almost like the lazy one again. Progress was very good along the canal as access had already been made. A large number of trees were still apparent growing over and into the canal and these were systematically removed along with several growing near to the bank. Very satisfying. On retiring for lunch break at the D Bridge, we could not help but notice the enormous amount of work carried out by Tom & Digger, not forgetting Alan of course, on the canal bank and into the Staithe Cut. As at lunch-time, nothing had been heard from Bacton Wood. I departed after lunch and left Chris as i/c. From the reports, which I have received today (12/4/10), Tom cleared the north side around as far as the Weavers' Way end of the Cut and left everything in fine order - just ready for nature to take over once more. Along the canal, all the problem trees had been removed, apart from some which are far too big. Should they eventually fall over, then they can be cut up and removed! At the Bacton Wood Lock, work had progressed at a pace and reached a point when no more could be done! It is thought that approximately 8.5 tonne of bricks had been removed from the chamber wall and relocated via a dumper truck. From a logistical point of view, a day which at first seemed to be problematic, turned out to be very splendid indeed and an enormous amount of work progress was accomplished. We are back at Honing at the next work party and this will be split again, probably into three groups, with one at the Staithe Cut Walk in the woods, one to clear up on the canal side and the final one at the lock area looking at portage points. My thanks again go to all who attended for their dedication and hard work. Progress can be seen to be made and the era of tedious work should be coming to a close in the near future, albeit it is most of the time an enjoyable tedium!

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Work Party at Honing Staithe Cut and Canal Sunday 28th March, 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To continue clearing and tidying the area around the Cut and along the canal walk; to improve the walk through the woodland; to continue the clearance of the canal and bank south of the 'D' Bridge. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The weather forecast was not too encouraging but was again not quite accurate and we met in sunshine, which prevailed for the rest of the day - very pleasant. Following the H&S and the plan briefings, the majority of the 13 folk departed from the Triangles to the Staithe Cut area whilst I went with Chris, Roger, Graham and Matt to the canal south of the Bridge. I had had a site meeting with Mr A Paterson on the Friday and had agreed a work programme for this area. Since the major clearance of the canal here, and its bank on the west side, progress was quite rapid. The work was relatively easy because a good access was possible. Trees were readily removed and stacked in the approved manner at the top of the canal bank alongside the previously placed brash. On returning to the Staithe Cut at our lunch-break, we found that good progress had been made in clearing all of the fallen timber from the Cut and also a large quantity of growing weeds and other tall vegetation strimmed from around the edge of the Cut Others had continued with the supply of fallen branches and other smaller pieces of trees into the rather soggy walk through the wood area. It is anticipated to make this walkway a lot more stable before the end of the summer in preparation for the next winter months. After the lunch break, I unfortunately had to leave but left Chris Black as i/c and work continued as before. Two visitors arrived during the afternoon session, Mr L Ashton and Dr Tom Moore. Tom & Digger would like to return to the Cut to continue dredging and with diggers' extended arm this should make a great improvement both at the mouth and at the Weavers Way end of the Cut. Laurie would like some assistance in removing a further area of bricks from the chamber wall at Bacton Wood Lock as he has the bricklayer back in harness, (he's pretty fast!). With our Team doing the basic work, it will allow the bricks to be laid at a greatly improved rate. The work ceased at about 16.00hrs when a contented group left for home. Re work at Bacton Wood Lock. I have been asked by a couple of members of The Team if it is possible for individuals to go along and help at Bacton Wood Lock on non work party days. Yes it is, but this would be on an individual agreement between yourselves and Mr L Ashton and would not come under the cover of the EAWA Work Party insurance nor health & safety conditions. Once again many thanks to all who turned out on this occasion and made such a difference. The next event will be on Sunday 11th April at Honing Lock and Staithe Cut, meeting again at the Triangles initially.

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Work Party at Ebridge. Sunday 14th March 2010. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To remove as much as possible of the tree growth entwined with the BT overhead cables on the roadside; to clear the weir again; to continue with the removal of the cut down trees in the canal bed and bank upstream of the lock and to start clearance of the reed growth in the mill-pond area (time permitting) WORK ACHIEVEMENT. Due to my limitations, I took an early departure from the site and left Chris Black in charge. Following is his report as sent to me:- "David Revill, being somewhat incapacitated with a gammy leg, had warned me that he would be attending for only a short time today and I would have to take over as work party leader after he left. The weather was fine and bright but accompanied by a cold wind. David gave us the usual health and safety talk and had made a specific point to me to ensure that nobody in the work party was to cross the canal via the 'sandbagged' gates as the stability of these was unknown, considering the number of years they had been there. Four specific tasks had been identified for today. Remove as many as possible the tree branches growing into the BT aerial cable alongside the road. Clear the weir (spillway) of weed growth and small bushes. Continue the removal of the remaining trees upstream and cut down some of the reeds. Fourteen volunteers turned up at various times of the day, some leaving early or after lunch. It was good to see Marc Lines back with us. Marc and I set about the roadside tree. It took considerable thought and ingenuity to find the best way to remove the branches without damaging the cable but by lunch we had cleared the branches from the cable leaving only two to be removed, probably using a cherry picker as they lean into the road. The timber was cut up and the small branches stacked in a tidy heap. Whilst we were on tree duty others were busy clearing the weir which now looks much improved. Some work was carried out on the trees upstream but not as much as we had hoped. I had spent most of the day working on the tree by the road so could not use the chainsaw on the fallen timber there. We did not have time to cut any reeds. We had two visitors of note today. Laurie Ashton arrived just before lunch and told us about his new purchase - a 42ft dredger! He told us how he intended to put it in the water where he has dredged a channel on the south side of the millpond and work his way upstream. He had some video of the 13 hour trip to get the dredger to Wayford Bridge - it's only got a small engine. Tom Carr arrived about 2.30pm armed with paperwork and a few thoughts about this area of the canal. I walked with him to the end of our tree clearance activity upstream to keep him up to date with our progress. We ceased working about 3.30 pm and left the Trust Chairman trying to recruit a new member. Chris Black" There we have it! My thanks go to Chris for this report and of course taking over for the day with a successful result. My thanks of course go as usual to The Team for turning up once more and carrying on the good fight! The next meeting will be on Sunday 28th March 2010 at Honing Staithe Cut.

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Work Party at Briggate Mill Pond. Sunday 21th February, 2010.. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. The Plan. To continue dredging the pond; to remove as much waste from the grassed area of the chamber island; to take measurements of the lock proper for inclusion in the Management Plan. Work Achievement. Weather - frosted, hard ground; overcast with rising temperature; at commencement of work, sleet turning to snow prevailing, turning to rain later. Tom and digger had arrived and moved onto site before the main briefing. At the H&S and general briefing, we welcomed three new members to The Team - Richard and Sue together with Bill. Also appearing on the scene at this time were Mr L Ashton and Mr Jeremy Cushion with a cherry picker and a set of chain saws! The plan then changed with the addition of taking down as much as possible of the offending trees growing on the pond retaining wall and rooted under the highway. The four trees growing on the bed of the mill pond could also possibly be felled, given the time and conditions. Following the briefing, The Team split up to carry out the various tasks. A group attacked the chamber island with strimmers and other cutting tools and then raking the spoil into several piles for later disposal. A bit of a dismal task, but competently completed. The underlying grass should now be able to re-assert itself, especially when being well attended during the growing season. Traffic marshals were placed strategically, and marker cones placed, on the public roadway about the cherry picker. Using agreed calls and signs, traffic was permitted to pass safely through the area without undue hindrance and no adverse comments were heard! Jeremy, going aloft in the cherry picker, made short work of reducing the three main trees at the eastern end to ground level. He made the task look so easy, working in his usual very professional and competent manner. In the meantime, Tom with digger had moved to the north side of the pond after having cleared a further stretch of channel in the direction of the pill box away from the canal. They continued to provide a more substantial bank by placing some of the spoil over the previously positioned tree trunks and brash on the northern pond boundary. To help to prevent damage to vehicles and/or persons whilst passing the cherry picker, some brambles and other hard growth were removed from the water wheel mill structure and the grass verge subsequently cleaned up. The roadway was constantly kept clear of tree pieces and these items were placed into the pond area. The roadway was also swept to prevent any likely/possible damage to vehicles' tyres. As the snow turned to rain during the latter part of the morning, the conditions steadily worsened and it was then decided to call off the work party. And so at the end of a most unexpected mornings' activities, the plant and skilled operators departed and the rest of us mere mortals cleared some more of the brash away to a pile for later disposal, when dried out, and the roadway finally brushed clear and the verge alongside the pond wall was raked clear to enable the disturbed grass to once more grow into a green sward in the warmer weather to come. I was disappointed that the weather turned out the wrong way - but on the other hand most impressed by the efforts of The Team in such dreadful conditions. A total of eighteen (18) volunteers were present in The Team. Well done to all and we do hope that the three new members will not be too put off by what could be said was a bit of a disjointed day. The next outing is at Ebridge on Sunday 14th March when I hope that the weather will be a little more co-operative? Once again, a BIG thank you to all

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Work Party at Briggate Mill Pond. Sunday 7th February, 2010.. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. The Plan. To discuss with Tom the best way forward in the prevailing conditions (the latter obviously not known prior to the day!); to clear fallen timber and reeds from the west end of pond: to expose wall in west end to establish its end point. Work achievement. The day started off with light rain, which ceased after about one hour on site followed by overcast conditions. Bit cool! Thankfully no further precipitation or wind. After H&S and general briefing we all set to! The pond area was mostly covered by a few inches of water so Tom and Digger could not safely venture forth in that direction. Therefore the pre-conceived plan of dredging the inside of the pond near to the road in the first instance, followed by dredging the connecting link to the canal, was reversed. With a newly extended reach on Digger, a great entrance channel was dredged and the chamber island further raised with the spoil. As the canal is lower than the mill pond bed, the result of this was the start of draining down the inside area of the pond. Hopefully and without too much rainfall in the next two weeks, this should result in a more stable pond bed enabling Digger safe access to the other required areas. Some of The Team were assisting the dredging operation by removing sections of trees brought to the surface and placing them aside ready for re-use elsewhere. At the west end of the pond it was noted that two trees had been seriously shortened since our last visit here. Very helpful! It is understood that an inspection of the remaining trees to be removed, will be made on 19th February 10. The brambles covering the top of the mill pond wall and guard rail, in the west, were removed and stacked in preparation for later disposal when dried out. I took the opportunity to speak with the owner of the property opposite, who parks his vehicles just beyond the west end point of the pond. As a fence would be required across the end edge of the pond, about 6metres long, we discussed the issue and agreed on a wooden structure of 4-5 posts and 2-3 rails, TBD. A cut-off part from a tree trunk has been erected as a temporary post to mark the end of the pond wall. There is a collapsed concrete barrier post and a separated piece of metal tube lying there but not at the end of the wall. After a picnic lunch, taken on the chamber island, work recommenced with renewed vigour in an attempt to restore circulation (despite the luscious cake from Carole! Bless you.). So with each body's hydraulic system back in full working order, the dredging continued and the remaining area of brambles (that needed to be removed), removed and the east bank cleared down. No pond wall has been discovered to the east of the mill waterwheel culvert entrance, so the bank is more of a steep incline. Plans for the next visit were discussed with Tom and agreed (many thanks again Tom) - subject to the weather playing ball. We welcomed another new face to The Team today, Alan Bertram who made our number on site up to ten. Good to meet you, Alan. My very grateful thanks go to all of you for a great day of progress albeit slightly hindered by the lack of some tools which meant that we could not attack the reeded areas. The benefit is of course that the work you did today does not have to be done on another day - and the pond is really now beginning to take shape. Next work party is again at Briggate Mill Pond on Sunday 21st February 2010. Look forward to meeting you all there.

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Work Party at Ebridge. Sunday 24th January 2010.. Report from: David Revill, EAWA. Work Party Leader. THE PLAN. To continue clearance of felled trees and other obstacles from the canal bed and bank; to cut back undergrowth and generally tidy the chamber island and roadside grass verge. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The weather forecast was for a dry but overcast day and so it was. Not too cold with the temperature at lunch-time at +5C. After the H&S and general briefing, at which we welcomed Richard Harmer to our fold, some folk set off up the canal walk to the work site at the far end whilst others stayed behind to do the honours at the chamber island and grass verge. We had been selected by the Radio Norfolk team to be the site for Clue 2 of their Sunday morning radio show 'Treasure Quest'. I had received this clue envelope from the BBC during the week and duly placed it on one of the existing, original paddle gear winding posts beside the upper gates. Some excitement took place as cars whizzed up and down before the Radio Car arrived with the very lively Becky and driver Ian jumping out and searching for the clue. A very good piece of publicity for the canal, which I hope will have been heard by several thousand folk in the county. Thanks go to Diane Howes of Briggate for taking loads of photos of the event. In the meantime, Mark Webster of the BTCV turned up to investigate what we were all aiming towards. I did take some time out to explain the general plan and how we were working our way towards the final goal. The chamber island looking once more cared for, the attention was then focussed further up the canal. Back to the work face then! Whatever happened to the 'only 100yards to go'? The far end of the mill pond is now well behind us and the banks of the canal can now be clearly seen on both sides - about 30 feet apart. Trees are now at some distance apart and are generally not a major obstacle to progress. Unusually, there was a fair amount of water present instead of the usual 3 feet wide trickle. It did make the removal of felled trees a little more difficult of course, but most of this task was achieved - only three main ones remaining and there is also a couple of large piles of brash to be burned at a later date when the wind is in the right direction. Lunch was taken on the chamber island and during the break a lady, who was being taken for a walk by her canine friend, came by and stopped for a chat. I mention this here because of the interest her visit occasioned. She said that, whilst she was in general agreement with what we were doing as a whole, she was most concerned about the plight of the wild-life. In this connection she was frightened that we would be removing or destroying large areas of undergrowth and marsh away from the canal, which is probably the habitat of a number of small animals. We each of us replied on the topic that we are also very concerned with wild-life and far from removing their habitats we are indeed improving them. Nature does need a little helping hand at times and in any event we are merely restoring the canal to what it was for over some hundred and fifty years with all the benefits deriving therefrom! I gather that the lady was suitably reassured by our combined answers and happily departed with one of the Trusts' brochures. After this break we all returned to the point of labour and left it in the state mentioned above. I think that the term 'cool and weary, but happy and contented' would sum up the mood at the end of the day. My thanks to all who attended and welcome to Richard and Mark - hope to see you both again at future events! The next meeting is at Briggate Mill pond on Sunday 7th February 10. (BTCV (formerly British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) is the largest practical conservation charity in the United Kingdom.)

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Work Party at Honing Staithe Cut. Sunday 13th December 2009. Report from: David Revill, EAWA THE PLAN. To remove the fallen tree at bridge end of cut; to reduce the overgrowth where possible; to further back-fill the walk through the wood with brash; generally tidy up; identify trees which might present a hazard. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The day started off with a rain-shower and this state of affairs continued with intermittent sunshine. We began by welcoming a young man, Tim, who is carrying out a part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and who is using this type of operation as a section of his endeavours. The health and safety briefing was carried out at the Triangles together with the plan for the day. The first item on the agenda was to remove the fallen tree which was understood to be from 'land owned by others' and the brash etc replaced onto that land. Other fallen branches etc were also removed. At the bridge end of the staithe again, some of the weeds on the land had grown quite extensively and these were cut back with the brush strimmer. Brambles were cut back/removed from the walk near to the bridge. It was noted that work had taken place on the structure of the bridge and it now looked in a pretty good visual state. The grass has not grown appreciably since the last cut and the whole area seemed immense and open with a good deal of water in the arm! The surrounding trees are now looking decidedly bare having lost their cladding of leaves for the winter. The walk on the north side of the arm was widened a little with the use of strimmers. I set off with Tim to walk the Walk and identify possible hazardous trees. This was done and seven (7) trees identified which will be reported to the land agent for further inspection. Roger and Peter, meantime, were filling in more brash to the walk through the woods. This walk is certainly quite 'damp' in places but the brash is making it a little more bearable. When Tim and I arrived at the far end of the Walk and adjacent to the Weavers Way, we heard a car alarm sounding followed by shouts from the direction of the Triangles. We hurried along in that direction and back up to the parked vehicles to find that Caroles' passenger door glass and my cars' rear window had been smashed. Luckily it seemed that nothing had been taken! Carole telephoned the police and after some confusion with a couple of office operators, two police officers arrived within 23 minutes and surveyed the scene and took details. A Scene of Crime officer later arrived and carried out a forensic check of the scenes. Before the two officers departed, a call came in saying that a similar attack was reported on the coast, not too far from our location! I was advised by the police to remind all our volunteers not to leave anything on display in vehicles which could be seen to be of value. This is particularly pertinent to us. BEWARE! Not being able to leave the vehicles parked there without attendance it was decided to call it a day, well, after the much looked forward to piece of cake and we left just after 14.00. Ivan and Darren did remain however to check over the area for any other minor things to do and to make a further check for tools. My thanks go to all who took part in the morning and you DID make a really beneficial difference to the scene. Please note the changed plan for the beginning of 2010 and the next party will be at Bacton Wood Lock on Sunday 10th January 2010. I sent you all my additional thanks for the work carried out through the year and wish everyone a special Happy Christmas and a safe, contented and healthy New Year..

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Work Party at Briggate Mill Pond Sunday 29th November 2009. Report from: David Revill, EAWA The Plan. Within this and the next two work parties at this site and before the beginning of April next, to complete the clearance of the mill pond site; outline the banking to the pre-laid out marker posts; to clear the roadside pond wall in order to ascertain the extent of repair/rebuild work required; to reduce vegetation growth on the chamber island; to remove old tree roots from the pond base; to check for clay puddling in pond basin; ascertain and complete work of clearance at western end as far as possible. Work Achievement. The weather started with high cloud but as soon as the party was on site the rain started and developed into a stair-rod 'drizzle'. Notwithstanding this the party carried on and after about an hour of water-cooled working, the precipitation ceased and before lunch-break, the sun broke out and continued until close of play. With a total of thirteen (13) folk on site at various times it showed the keenness to complete this project. After H&S and task briefing, we rapidly set to! Tom and Digger were present and launched themselves at clearing the old tree roots, deeply embedded in the base, which was successfully carried out to over 70% of the area, the worst parts. Work commenced in the north-west corner to outline the northern bank along to the canal. Fallen trees and brash were used to accomplish this task, which did eventually reach as far as the near-side canal marker post and even started the northward bound line alongside the programmed edge of the canal. Apart from banking, no further work is anticipated along this line. In the main area of the mill pond, there is only one small tree left to be removed - apart from the large trees growing under the roadway and in the western end area. Strimmers were used to start the clearance on the chamber island and in particular to reveal the locations of major obstructions e.g. metal posts retaining the chains used to secure one of the lower lock gates in a vertical position. Marc used the Big Machine to clear the rest of the island in short time. Strimmers and a reed cutter were employed near to the wall and spill basin to great effect. We ceased labours at about 15.00 and left the site in a much changed state. A few robins were noted as we worked, very grateful for overturned earth and exposed worms. One gentleman, who stopped by, expressed his great pleasure at the thought of the restoration of the pond as he had learned to swim there as a lad! A tremendous effort was made by all and that shows in the results. I am confident that the other two work-parties here will finish the planned task and leave the site a pleasure for both local folk and visitors alike. We plan also to return during the summer months to cut the grass (?) on an (ir)-regular basis to keep it looking decent and tidy. My thanks go to everyone who attended with such enthusiasm! The further two visits here were planned for March 2010 but this may have to be changed to February - watch this space for confirmation. The next work-party will be at Honing Staithe Cut on December 13th - the last outing of 2009.

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Work Party at The Old Wherry PH , Royston (Austin) Bridge Sunday 15th November 2009. Report from: David Revill, EAWA Here follows the report as sent to me by Chris Black, Leader on the day. "The day started badly at home! Because the weather had been so poor on Saturday with strong winds and heavy rains my usual job of loading the car with tools, mowers and all the other requisites for a work party was postponed until Sunday morning. Our weather forecasters with their £30m computer had promised a fine start but it was raining solidly. I got wet but as we set off the sun duly appeared and it remained fine and warm for the rest of the day. We arrived at the agreed meeting point on the field track near the pill box and were soon joined by more of the volunteers. We walked to the Old Wherry PH expecting to be met by Mrs. Harvey (the owner of redundant pub) but the curtains were drawn and no sign of life so we assumed she was still in bed and carried on with my Health and Safety briefing and instructions to the work party as to our tasks. Carole and I carried out the little domestic chores we had been asked to do, the grape vine was clipped back to the wall and I cut the grass outside the back door. "We then concentrated on clearing the canal bank on the west (house side). Matt cleared much of the sedge growth with the large strimmer and we soon had all the bushes and old tree stumps removed. The bank slopes at about 45 deg and efforts to find a retaining wall failed. An old picture of the moorings confirming that it was likely to be a wooden structure. "We gradually worked our way north to the bridge. Trees were removed from the east bank and stacked there. Brash and bushes were cut down together with brambles and sedge making the whole area look very tidy. It would seem that the brash above the bridge had been cut down by Highways and we cleared up their mess! As pointed out by David R we did not cut down the bushes between the house and the bridge for security reasons and having cut back bushes below these installed a temporary chain link fence to deny unauthorized access to the house. This arrangement will need to be altered at a future visit. "We had a visit from Laurie Ashton and his mate to see how things were progressing. He was very pleased with our activities. We discussed the removal of the remaining larger trees which he agreed would have to be taken out to gain access for any dredging / re-profiling. The banks have dropped in places and require building up again. "We were visited by friends of Mrs. Harvey, the first two thought we were going to be there last week and seemed concerned that we were upsetting the wildlife which I hope I managed to convince them otherwise. The other two people came to feed the cat and were very interested in our canal restoration. They knew Roger H. We were shown a large cast iron plate about 2' round which had written on it - North Walsham Canal Co Bridge, 5 Ton axle weight limit. It would make a fine addition to our finds collection! With two stroke petrol getting low we decided to call it a day at about 16.15." My grateful thanks go to Chris for sending me this report after a hard days' slog and also, of course, to the many members of The 'A' Team for applying themselves once more to the effort. The next meeting will be at Briggate on Sunday 29th November 2009 when a fuller explanation of the works to be completed there in the short term., will be given.

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Work Party at Ebridge Sunday 25 October 2009. Report from: David Revill, EAWA THE PLAN. To continue removing trees and other bush growth from the canal bed and lower bank on the eastern side of the canal upstream of the lock. To reach the 'target', which is the point where no more trees have fallen into or are blocking the canal or lower parts of the bank. Two members to cut the grass at Honing Staithe Cut and Walk area. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The weather was mainly clear with blue skies and a little breeze at times, sometimes a bit stronger from generally the south west. No rain at all. At the H&S briefing, two new members, Kevin and Andrew, were welcomed to the Team and then presented with their very own H&S booklets! The plan for the day was explained and we all set about the trek to the work-face. It is surprising just how far it is from the bridge! When the first members arrived there, it was to find that an enormous number of trees and saplings had been brought down since our last work party here. We had expected some work to have been done, but this was just amazing! My thanks go to whom so-ever co-operated in this manner. 'All' it needed now was for the debris to be cleared away to a safe and tidy location - and this was done to a large area during the day. Whilst this was going on, I continued with Andrew along the top of the bank, clearing a pathway through the fallen and growing trees and arrived at the target before lunch. One can now walk the whole way without having to bend or climb over any large obstacles. The target, incidentally, is a patch of grassed land on the bank between the canal and the backsoke which is not overshadowed by any trees. On arriving back at the main party, I stated that the target had been reached and asked casually if anyone could guess how far that would be from where we stood? Chris correctly guessed the answer to be 100yards (what else?) and as a reward, and also to ease the many aching backs, I blew the whistle for the lunch break. On the return walk to the mill site, I noticed a lady walking a dog on the marsh land below the canal and exchanged a few pleasantries with her - it turned out to be Mrs Manning. At the lunch, Carole produced her usual delicious culinary cake art piece, which really capitalised in its' excellence! After the cake the Team staggered once more onto aching legs and set off back to the work face, with Carole in charge. Chris and I set off for Honing and found a very pleasant sight awaiting us. The water level was fairly high for this area and the canal fully covered its allotted space between the banks. Even the Staithe Cut was replete with water and no land protruding from it. We duly cut the grass, which was not a hard task, and strimmed the sides of the walk as far as the new bridge, which tested to be really firm in it's' location. It is noted that a tree, near to the road bridge, has collapsed onto the walk way and will need to be removed. It was not ascertained as to the ownership of said tree, but it could be from the land under the control of the County Highways Department. On returning to Ebridge we found that the Team had ceased work (it was getting on) and we departed at about 16.15 following what can only be described as a very good and successful day. Some of the brash was left in piles on the dry canal bed for future disposal. My grateful thanks to all who came and worked so very hard in making a big impression. The next outing is to the Bacton Wood area and following talking with the lovely lady owner of the Wherry Inn, Royston Bridge on the Bacton Road, B1150 we shall be at the Wherry Inn site to work on the canal in front of the Inn on Sunday 15th November 09. Therefore please go directly to the site and not to Bacton Wood Lock. Note: for the teetotallers there is not a problem as the Inn closed down some decades ago! "Rescueing Damsel in Distress!" "Before." "The Task." "After."

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Work Party at Ebridge Sunday 11 October 2009. Report from: David Revill, EAWA THE PLAN. To continue to clear trees and bushes from the canal bed and bank on the north-eastern side upstream of the lock. Two people to cut the grass at Honing Staithe Cut. WORK ACHIEVEMENT. The weather was forecast to be generally good with maybe the odd shower - it turned out to be generally fine! With a total of seven members of The Team on site, plus guard dog, we attempted the impossible - to clear the final, now famous 'one hundred yards' to the end of the tree line. At the start, our new member, Matt, wielded the strimmer through the overgrown weeds and grass on the chamber island with deadly accuracy and finished off the beheading with the mower! Not the entire island, you understand, as that was not a major requirement for this day. Sufficient to be able to park one vehicle and trailer - and a place to enjoy our lunch break. Whilst this work was taking place, others moved up to the work-face - or as near as could be reached due to the greatly overgrown way alongside the canal. It is surprising just how far we had progressed on previous occasions, especially hacking our way through the undergrowth now. Once at the work-face, things all swung into motion and it was not long before we broke for lunch after seeing several more metres cleared and stacked at the top of the bank. Carol apologised for not making a cake but had made a large Norfolk Scone instead. How nice and thoughtful! One person who shall be nameless, and probably outcast? said, on seeing the scone that it made him think of coping stones! How cruel? During my little 'talk' I mentioned that whilst all the work carried out by The Team was very important indeed, there was a great deal to be done behind the scenes. We, Carol and I or Chris and I, have had meetings with Natural England and also the Broads Authority in different locations. We were well received by both organisations and came away with a lot of valuable information, something which is not normally readily available without a lot of 'digging'. We are most grateful to those we met at both Natural England and the Broads Authority and I am sure that we will be returning for further assistance, now that things are progressing along the canal. After the scone and that 'loaded down feeling' we all returned to the task on hand and continued until about 15.15. Mr Laurie Ashton paid a visit and discussed various ways of moving forward, including making the banks watertight. The result of the outlet of the culvert from Mr Paul Gibbons' farm dyke, which runs under the canal, could be seen in the backsoke, which is now fairly heavily restricted with weeds again. Clearances achieved this day. Owing to running out of time, the planned grass cutting at Honing Staithe Cut did not take place and will now be done during our next meeting. My thanks again go to The Team for another excellent days work with the resultant new views of the mill from a distance! David Revill, work party organiser, walking back from exploring the next length to be cleared on October 25th 2009. Our next meeting is again at Ebridge on 25th October 09.

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