Our winter talks have included (commentary by Stewart Shuttleworth):

THE FASCINATING STORY OF KNOTS

David Walker's presentation to the Trust in January 2005 was a blockbuster - I hadn't realised that knots came into so many aspects of life. David started by telling us about himself. He was a butcher by trade and learnt a few knots during that stage of his life. Moving onto window cleaning, he met the late Ike Argent (boatman), who introduced him to the Guild of Knot Tyers. The Guild has a membership of 1300. My son, Alec, was intrigued with the notion of all these folk sat round at the Boat Museum tying their knots. Many of the Guild seem to have been guests of David and have left wonderful examples of their work as mementoes. They also have a knot tyer's bible, the Ashley Book of Knots, written by one of the last whalers out of Nantucket. It is definitive, every known knot is in there! All 3800!! David took us on a world tour of knot tying. The Egyptians apparently had a whaling industry and some of the knots are preserved. The Incas used knotted ropes as a means of storing information. David burst into conjuring with his boomerang knot, which had some of us following its trajectory around the room. A tour by trade was also undertaken. Sailors, of course… particularly under sail, used many knots but even today most ships have a couple of crew members who can splice the tying up lines and sort the fenders… and the terminology that became part of our language - "no room to swing a cat", "man with a chequered past", "let the cat out of the bag". Cowboys had a vast wealth of knots necessary for their daily tasks. The access to leather provided a ready source material. The subject is huge .. beyond the knots are the masts, the macramé, the fenders, even the knitting!

HORSE BOATING

In her talk in March, Sue Day told us how, at the age of 21, she had learnt to harness a horse in farm work. Later, living in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, she had got involved with the Ashton Canal Co. in 1980 and gone on their first horse boating holiday to Llangollen in 1983. Over the years she had developed the notion of a waterways system still open to horse boating, leading to the inception of the Horse Boating Society in 2001. She also had an affinity with the boats they used, as well as the horses that pulled them. The "Maria" is the flagship of the Ashton Company and is the oldest working wooden member afloat, built in 1854. Sue described the 150th Anniversary trip celebration. "Maria" was said to have a change of career every 50 years - the first 50 was spent carrying limestone from Bugsworth Basin, the second 50 as a maintenance boat and the next 50 involved with heritage. There was a wealth of information about their trips. The basic principle coming over is that Sue and her colleagues see horse boating as fundamental to our waterways system. By demonstrating it practically they can help our learning, plus demonstrate to others that fundamentally the waterways were built to accommodate the boat and the horse!

THE RIVER DEE-ITS USES AND HISTORY

Tim Ackerley, from Dee Valley Water, having spent 26 years in water treatment, gave a lively and informed presentation on our local water company to the Trust's meeting in February. The present company had been formed by a merger between the Chester and Wrexham companies in 1997. Water supply was first developed in the Chester area by the Romans, using lead pipes and elm, the trees being hollowed out. Even examples of Roman fountains have been found. At the Bridgegate in 1600, a tall octagonal tower was built to supply water to the town, which existed for 90 years. A pumping station was built at Barrowell Hill in 1826, the area being called Chimney Gardens, although in fact the second chimney was merely decoration, the first serving a Boulton and Watt beam engine. In the nineteenth century, cholera and typhoid were rife in towns. A series of tunnels were dug under the Dee from Chimney Gardens. Originally the aim was to allow water to filter through the underlying sandstone from the river into the tunnels to be extracted for the townsfolk's use. Tim described the upper Dee with the Celyn and Brening reservoirs holding water and the former generating 4 to 5 megawatts of electricity. He said Chester Corporation generated electricity on the old Dee Mills site from 1911 to the 1940's. In 1984 an accidental release of phenol combined with the purifying chlorine to make TCP! Since then a number of monitoring stations have been set up testing for pesticides and ammonia, as well as phenol. Floods can be a headache. In 1946 the river rose by 13 feet!! Tim showed images of Bangor on Dee high street being served by boat rather than car. The Dee has been known to freeze, as have the company's reservoirs. Tim showed 'hairy' scenes of men on ice rafts wielding pickaxes to keep the filters open. The Dee isn't the only local water source. Tim showed an image of Plemstall Borehole, an artesian well, 350 foot deep with an 8 inch diameter pipe. Purification usually takes place with ultra violet light and chlorine. A talk with an unusual (for us) slant on the use of water. The company used the canal for delivering coal and removing ash from their site so there are connections.

THE NUTMEG CHARITY CRUISE 2003

People make inland voyages for many reasons… adventure, re-creating working routes, exhibiting art, religious missions, etc. etc. Wendy Smith's reasons were overtly charity, but the roots went far deeper than that. She told the Trust's meeting in November about how she was brought up at Harefield on the Grand Union and early memories are of the working boats towards the end of carrying. Her father was from Uxbridge, next to the yard where the Towy was built. Wendy, for a period as a child, was confined to a bed at Westminster Hospital and looked out longingly over the 'cut', not knowing that one day she would return by boat. In the 1980's, Wendy moved to North Wales with her family. The family became enthused with the cut, owning a number of canal boats; the Nutmeg being the fourth one - 23 ft long and consuming 3 gallons of fuel a day. She was home to Wendy for the return voyage to her past - Harefield, The General Elliot at Uxbridge, Camden Market - where she had been a stallholder. She recounted her many experiences, particularly of support and goodwill towards her venture. The voyages stimulated stories and observations which she related.