Chairman’s Update December 2019
Dear Members of the Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust/Society,
Welcome to the latest edition of the newsletter!
Yet again another year has nearly gone, can someone please tell me where time goes?
Linda and myself on behalf of the Trust and Committee wish you all the best for the upcoming festive season, and indeed wish you all a very Happy New Year, and of course, thank you for your continued support.
As I type this it is Cyber Monday, another day of bargains available on line, but please keep in mind our offer of a gift as membership/friend to someone you are struggling to find that ideal present for is available online via our web site.
The River Boat
As you may have seen in social media or heard on Radio Derby – “the trip boat is coming”.
We are now nearing the completion of the shell and start the bottom blacking and painting before Christmas. We already have a motor and as soon as the windows are fitted she will be afloat in the yard/marina at Sheetstores in Long Eaton. It’s great that Barry Argent (Ike’s son) is working with Paul Barber to deliver the boat. We have received a grant via Derby City Council to build the boat and landing/mooring points. So it is now down to us – and hopefully you.
Can you spare us some time to operate/sponsor the boat? We plan to run 45min long trips from Exeter Bridge to Darley Abbey, so we need people to make up a crew of two. One will be captain and helmsman/woman, who will take responsibility for the boat and safety at embarkation. The other will be support and take care of serving drinks, selling merchandise, talking to passengers, etc. We will be equipped with a disabled lift and have a remote control plastic collection mini boat for the kids.
If all goes well we expect the boat to encourage the Council to put a lock in the weir outside the Council House and extend our route to Pride Park – but that will be several years away.
Drop me a line and I will pass on your details to Liz/Mike who are coordinating this exciting project for the Trust.
Digging at Draycott
In my last update I mentioned that extreme gardening is back with a renewed vigour, we are clearing the ditch at Draycott prior to restoration and have had a digger on site to clear the bed to improve water flow that was causing some issues with local flooding. First picture is of Anne fighting her way through scrub, the second shows the cleared bank that allows a better water flow in times of flood. We aim to follow this up with selective planting that encourage more diverse wildlife on to site.
No Society meeting in December
No members meeting in December, we will be back in January.
Thanks for your Support in 2019!
It has been a busy year, and as I say every month, we only get this done by people like you helping us. In the New Year will be publishing a Situations Available note on this update to highlight areas that we need more detailed support with, things are happening, we are getting positive results, we have two offers of sponsorship for the tractor and one kind offer of support for the spring edition of the Packet –one hour or one pound helps.
Regards