Bure Blog

A transport of delight

I was at an event the other evening where I was giving a little talk and somebody was very suprised to learn that in the days of the Navigation wherries were actually built in Aylsham. Today there is no trace of this trade or industry in Aylsham, I guess the nearest boat builders are now in Wroxham (and I know that you will be quick to tell me if I’ve got that wrong). Of course the wherries built in Aylsham would have been work-a-day boats; smaller than some because of the limits of the Navigation but nevertheless well suited for the task expected of them. There is a wonderful book entitled “Black Sailed Traders” by Roy Clark which tells the history and story of the wherries and the men who sailed them. It was first published by David & Charles in 1961 and was reprinted in 1972. Sadly it is now out of print but if you can get a copy it is a truly great read being both well written in a narrative style and full of facts which you just seem to take in. The book also has appendicies listing the wherries and you can see those owned in Aylsham right there in black and white together with the names of those that owned and operated them; an important record.

I’ve been unable to escape over the years from transport; it has been a passionate interest in nearly all its forms. If it is bygone and has a sail or 4 wheels, is powered by steam or flies held together miraculously with string (well rivets anyway) and if it carries passengers about their business or runs on tracks then I am your man. As a young boy I was passionate about buses; this was in the day when they had open rear platforms and had a driver and a conductor. Where I lived, many miles from here, they were nearly all Bristol built buses with coachwork from the old and now long gone Eastern Coachworks in Lowestoft. Imagine my pleasure therefore in the event we’re having in Coltishall on August 26th from 12 noon until 5pm. People will be able to travel by train to Hoveton and Wroxham on the Bittern Line (sadly Greater Anglia have seen fit not to sponsor us despite the fact that we hope people will use their service) or Wroxham on the narrow guage steam powered Bure Valley Railway. Alternatively you could arrive by car and park in the overspill Roy’s car park opposite the BVR station. Now the more astute of you will have realised that this is very nearly 2 miles from the event but we’re going to take you there on a 1959 Bedford bus (oh delight – the boy in me is joyous beyond bounds). We will have to charge a small sum for this service but we will limit it to a figure aimed to just cover the bus costs. When at Coltishall there will be games, exhibitions, food, drink, entertainment and the wherry Albion. We will also have the arrival of canoes that will have travelled the full length of the Navigation carrying a token cargo. There will be other boats and suprises galore – lets just hope the weather doesn’t follow the pattern of 100 years previously. All photos below are copyrighted to the owners of the vehicle and vessel and we have their permission to use. We look forward to seeing you and hope you enjoy what will be an experience.

The very bus we will be using - isn't she lovely? Her name is Lyn Ann by the way.

Albion

 

Boats in my dreams

In my life I’ve seen and done quite a bit – there’s been guns pointed at me – I’ve been in drug dens (in a professional capacity), appeared on TV and the radio and nearly got drowned in Loch Ness. I’ve been to sea in a violent storm in a small boat and I’ve got off the back of canal boats and pushed as there wasn’t enough water to really float (the summer of 76). I’ve spoken, literally, to thousands at meetings and I reckon I’ve probably driven to the moon and back and a bit more besides. Oh yes I’ve also been head first through a dry stone wall in a motor-cycle accident before crash hats were a legal requirement (some say this explains a lot). I’ve had children and now a grandchild as well and I’ve been knocking on deaths door at least once. So why do I still get nervous when I’m doing my little talks about the Navigation such as the one at Burgh last friday?

The answer I suspect is that if I didn’t I would come across as blase and it would also appear as though I was on auto-pilot which hopefully i’m not. What a nice evening it was with a little talk, the showing of a couple of DVD’s (available at a very reasonable cost from the Trust), some interesting and even tough questions about the history but also I’m glad to say the work of the Trust which looks to the future. They also had a really lovely Bar B Que and the weather for the first time for days stayed kind. I hope we can do similar things at other locations along the Navigation as it is important that what we do includes all the communities tied together by the thread that is the river. In its day the Navigation served not just Aylsham but all the communities along the way. If you would like a talk please let us know.

As we approach the event in August a lot of our efforts are going in to preparations and planning but we do need to spare a thought for the wider field and what we’re going to do after the event with our newly raised funds. Firstly we will move from open meetings to meetings for members – they will still be public and people will be able to come and join but the wholly open door and collection of disparate groups that have come together to celebrate the 100th will by the very nature of things cease to happen. I hope though that we can continue as now until at least one meeting after the event when we can celebrate the publication of the book which is now in preparation. I can reveal that it will be titled “Sail and Storm – the Aylsham Navigation”. I hope to shortly be able to tell you how and when you can advance reserve a copy. 

As for the Trust we need to get our priotities in order and start working to improve things along the river. There are things we can do such as eradication attacks on invasive species, footpath improvements and better access for all coupled with responsible use. We will also need to introduce some interpretation boards along the line of the Navigation so it doesn’t slip back in to the mists of collective history. This sounds like pretentious twaddle but it really isn’t – we’ve been quite succesful in raising the Navigation’s profile and I want to ensure that after the 100th year it isn’t another 100 years before anybody looks to celebrating it again – it should be ongoing.

Interestingly I had a conversation this week about restoration. The official line and my genuinely held belief is that there is no appetite locally for restoration and it would in any case be very difficult technically but I do admit that I sometimes dream of boats on the Upper Bure again. Were it ever to be attempted it would have to be for others as I am at the wrong point in my life to start something that I could probably never see completed but I have been told that in the 1960′s there was a meeting held in Aylsham to try and raise enough interest for a restoration movement. I know nothing about this and if you were there or know something about it please do  get in touch.

The Navigation meanders on its way

 

Sneak preview : A truly grand day out

“So just what are you doing in August?”, she asked …… “well”, I replied, “quite a bit actually” Firstly I have a few personal plans of my own for that month which you’ll excuse me if I keep to myself but I also have a really exciting day to look forworad to and I don’t mean my birthday which does also fall in the month. Ever since we started work on commemorating the Aylsham Navigation and setting up the Bure Navigation Conservation Trust there was one date hovering above and around us which we just couldn’t ignore and that is August 26th – the 100th anniversary to the day of the Navigations enforced closure by the flood of 1912. We are now working to make that a really good day to publicly launch ourselves and celebrate the Navigation at the same time.

Looking forward to the date there will be a celebration on Coltishall Common with games, stalls and exhibitions. The wherry Albion and other historic boats will be in attendance and we hope above everything else that you will be there too. We’re making it very easy to get there and interesting as well. Firstly if you really can the only way to arrive is by boat and you will be very welcome but mooring will be at a premium so come early. Or you could come on foot if you live in Coltishall or Horstead and even further afield if you’re adventurous. I do know that there will be a guided “health walk” on that day ending at the common and following the Navigation. You could also come on the train to Wroxham either on Greater Anglia services from Norwich or Sheringham and even further afield or the Bure Valley Railway from Aylsham where you can either alight at Coltishall and walk (quite a long way) or continue to Wroxham from where we are running a bus shuttle in an historic old coach. We will have to make a small charge to cover the cost of this but although the whole day is about raising funds it is also about awareness and we really want families to come along and our costs will be such that they can afford and not feel as though they are being ripped off. Or you can come by car and park in specially provided car parks in Coltishall or at the Roy’s overspill parking area opposite the Bure Valley Railway Wroxham station and then travel on the historic bus.

You will see a lot to interest you along with the river and the arrival of canoes carrying the first cargo down the navigation in 100 years. There will be games, a raffle, exhibitions, food and drink all accompanied by entertainment. There will also be an opportunity to talk to BNCT and even join us if you support what we’re doing. The book of the Navigation’s history will be on sale (hopefully) as a pre-launch concession. It is due for formal publication in September. Our specially made and highly acclaimed double DVD set will also be available on the day (although you can always buy a copy now by contacting the author of this blog (stu.wilson100@btinternet.com) ). We also hope that the special embroidery done by the ladies of the Aylsham Evening WI commemorating the Navigation which will be gifted to the Aylsham Heritage Centre will also be on display. There will also be a souvenier programme and lots of suprises. It will be a truly grand day out.

The AlbionColtishall to Horstead bridge just after the flood

The Coltishall - Horstead bridge immediately after the flood

 

History is not bunk – even in the rain

My blogs are like buses – you wait an age then two come along together (more on buses, or one in particular, in a later blog). To be serious the reason is that I’m having some computer problems and I might have to go offline for a short while so I thought I’d do this one whilst I can.

Henry Ford is once alleged to have said that “history is bunk” – well I profoundly disagree. It is a lively modern subject that we ignore at our peril. We learn it to appreciate the past and its achievements but also to understand that the essential nature of human life is always the same just set in a different technological age. People over the years do not change but the technology which surrounds them does. Henry Ford is also alleged to say of his Model T that you can have any colour “so long as it’s black”. Well in my opinion life without history and its innovative teaching is like Henry Ford’s car – mono-coloured and drab.

Throughout this project I have tried to engage with the community mostly with success but it is a matter of regret that the young and those that teach them have not embraced the historical significance of the Aylsham Navigation. It was really important in the development of the town we now know and also the communities along its route. It is a model of how new ideas and technologies were adopted and exploited and also one of how infrastructure is ignored and allowed to decay at your peril. We have a slavish curriculum that doesn’t allow for deviance and insufficient time for teachers to engage. I am not criticising teachers as in other aspects of the project they have given magnificent support and seen the full potential of what we’re doing. Some of our greatest and most active supporters are teachers. I am instead commenting on a system that doesn’t allow the flexibility or time to take advantage of local opportunities and I think that is to the disadvantage of both themselves and the young people they teach. However we move on – if any teachers out there would like a presentation for either themselves or their pupils please let me know and we’ll see what can be arranged ( stu’wilson100@btinternet.com ).

It has continued to rain and we are on course for the wettest spring in decades although they say the underground aquifers are barely replenished. Frankly I find that hard to believe – all this rain must be having some benefit. I do know that the river flow has returned to normal and even beyond. Levels are also up and continue to rise to the point where we are now on flood watch. How ironic a flood would be in 2012 100 years after the innundation that killed the Navigation overnight. It is good to see the river in good health but it is worth noting, the lack of locks apart, that it really doesn’t look much like it did in 1912. Back then the river was maintained for navigation at a greater depth and width than it is now at. The old photos are striking in the comparison with today but the encroaching vegetation does mean increased habitat and that is to be applauded but it must not be allowed to strangle the river. Fish stocks are returning and in places are being nurtured to allow for angling enterprise and they in turn attract other wildlife such as Otters, Egrets and Herons. The increased flow also rejuvenates the mill streams and I sometimes wonder if they could still be utilised in an environmentally friendly way to, as one suggestion, generate electricity.  As I’ve said before in my blogs these are personal views and do not represent BNCT policy.

I am passionate about the past but I always keep one eye on the future and that includes the clock which tells me the Archers omnibus will be on Radio 4 shortly. Bye for now.

Buxton Lammas in the flood of 1912

 

Acts of defiance

Enjoying the river at Cradle Bridge many moons ago

We have just passed the 80th anniversary of the great trespass by Ramblers on Kinder Scout in the Derbyshire Peak District. The purpose of this act of defiance was to eventually lead to the opening up of our countryside for the enjoyment of all. I think those who took part are owed a debt of gratitude by the present generation as walkers rights are now recognised and enshrined in law. However with the right of access comes responsabilities to respect the land and those that earn their living from it. It is also placed upon us to respect the privacy, within reason, of those that live in the area we wish to access.

These are principles that carry in to the river. Firstly, landowners have the right to enjoy privacy around their homes as the rest of us do. They must also be allowed to earn a living from the land they own so long as in doing so they do not damage the environment or act in a cavalier or illegal manner. I believe that landowners have the right to enjoy their land but they also have responsabilities. They might own the land and indeed, in the case of the river, the riparian rights but they are more stewards, or custodians if you will, than actual owners of anything as permanent as the land upon which we stand. The land and the river will out survive them and their heirs which means that they must keep it in good order for the rest of us to enjoy whilst, at the same time, making a living from it. We, in turn, must be allowed access in a responsible manner that doesn’t infringe on anyones real privacy or create a health and safety or environmental problem. The river is there to be enjoyed by walkers and those that wish to sail upon it. It is even there for those that wish to fish it so long as they do so in accordance with custom and practise and that includes paying all dues to those that nurture the stock and issue the licences. These are sometimes competing rights and privileges that come up against one another head to head. The real trick is finding a way to live together without having to resort to the kind of mass popular action which took place in Derbyshire 80 years ago.

I advocate walking, I actually wish I could do more than I do but my health gets in the way. I also respect the right to navigate so long as the ground and water over which boats or people pass is respected and does not suffer as a result. I think that people are inherently sensible – the vast majority anyway and they should not have a thing of beauty and wonder ruined by the minority. Our river is a place of wonder and home to much that is beautiful and precious – we should embrace it and enjoy the time we can have in its company. I should add that acts of defiance in its interests are not to be encouraged lightly but should never be ruled out.

The views in this blog are entirely my own and are not BNCT policy. Above everything I believe in a quiet life with all being able to go about legitimate business with responsability and care for those around them. We should respect the rights of those that earn their livings from the land and the river but they in turn need to understand that our forebears stood up for the rights of access and that they will not be given up easily and nor should they. I really respect those “wage slaves” in 1932 that became “free men on a Sunday”.

 

Looking back

There I was 100 years ago this week stood by Horstead Lock and watching Zulu locking through bound for Aylsham with a load of coal. That April the weather was dull and wet, much as it is now and I wouldn’t have failed to notice the paucity of maintainance on the Navigation. The lock gates were leaky and clearly past their best. The water levels were just sufficient to maintain a navigable depth despite the recent April showers. Of course I know nothing of what is to come later in the year in the form of the flood which engulfed Norfolk in August and in doing so caused the destruction of the waterway and havoc amongst the communities along its course. Also we mustn’t forget that flood also cost lives in Norwich.

In my newspaper 100 years ago I would be reading about the sinking of the Titanic in the north Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. It gripped and shocked the nation all at the same time. It also changed ocean travel forever as the Board of Trade report into the tragedy made it a requirement that all ships carry enough lifeboats for all on board. The fact that they didn’t previously says something about the class system which presumed that the crew and 3rd class could swim for it and also the Edwardian delusion of British supremacy. They genuinely thought this ship was unsinkable.

Titanic

I could also have read a story that pointed to the future in that Harriet Quimby the aviatrix had just become the first woman to fly across the channel in a flying machine. Within a few short years they would become sophisticated war machines but the audacity of a mere woman flying over the open sea would have been very newsworthy. 

Back to the now and we continue to progress towards our event commemmorating the events of August 1912 which will be held at Coltishall in 2012 on the exact date 100 years on, August 26th. We still need a lot of help with this so if you feel you can help please feel free to join in. We also need to find one or two old buses in private or commercial hands that are able to to take a vital role in this event. If you know of one or anybody that might help please let us know (stu.wilson100@btinternet.com ). Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

I can’t finish this blog without a final, for the moment, comment about the Oxnead Trees. This has been a big learning curve for me and one of the lessons is that you cannot please all of the people all of the time. The majority that have corresponded are sorry to see the trees go but not all – some have welcomed it and think that what replaces them will be better. The landowner has not broken any laws and cannot be blamed for what he has done. The trees were after all planted to eventually be cut down it’s just they have become part of the landscape and many will miss them. My objection is really with the system, as if you wanted to so dramatically change the landscape in other ways you would need to get planning permission. I don’t advocate that for felling trees (except where there are TPO’s) but I do think the Forestry Commission should consult before granting felling licences in the way that District Council’s consult over planning matters. If you agree please write and tell your MP as we need to change the national rules and frankly that will take more pressure than I can muster.

Finally I haven’t mentioned kitty for a while, actually we have 5 but I am referring to our youngest now one year old and called Bonnie, this has been a momentous week for her. She has caught her 1st mouse which is rather worrying as she is a self appointed house cat who will not go outside. You would think with that many cats we wouldn’t get mice indoors. C’est la vie.

Millstream Aylsham courtesy of the Aylsham Archive
Bonnie, I wonder what she’s seen?

 

Beauty and the Beast with a dose of Keels

What a week !!!!

Personal news out of the way first – I met my grandson for the first time and took the opportunity of getting an all important 4 generation photograph taken. A wonderful family occasion and he is beautiful. Thankfully he has not inherited my looks.

Then there were the trees (see news page) – an avenue of some 40 poplars have been felled at Oxnead making what was a beautiful and tranquil spot look like a wasteland. This is creating some heat and interest. The reality is that the land owner was probably well within his rights to cull these trees as they are likely to have originally been planted with that in mind. The trouble is they have lined the river and become much loved and their loss has ravaged the view. We are told that they will be replaced with indiginous species and hedgerows but we will have to wait and see. Any new planting will take some years to establish and the view as it was will never be restored. As one correspondant said it will not be the same “…. in my lifetime”. Sadly that is probably true. We must seek to ensure that all involved with the river consider amenity and visual value along with profit and to that end we will be looking to see what formal measures might be taken. The before and after shows the effect this has had.

The before courtesy of Chris Goddard

 

The after courtesy of Jim Pannell

 

Now for one of my gear changes. I promised sometime ago to talk of Keels and have recently been gently reminded of that. A Norfolk Keel is an older style of vessel to the wherry and their design may even go back to the Vikings although medieval times is certain. They were square rigged with a transom stern and could carry approximately 30 tonnes. The last of the Keels was finally abandoned in the 1890′s although most had gone much earlier than that. They were limited in their cruising area as they were less manouverable and needed more water than the Wherry which followed them. The Wherry was a more rounded boat, some were bigger but all were able to go to places that the Keel’s couldn’t. The principle improvement to the Wherry was the rig that was designed to be operated with the minimum of fuss and by only one or two people. Wherries also had keels as part of their construction but most that used the further extremities of the Broads such as the Aylsham Navigation were able to detach them thereby improving their draft for the shallower rivers. The detached keels would be left sunk in water so as not to dry out and were attached to the bank. On the Aylsham run they would detach just before entering Horstead Lock and recover their keel on the return.

There are next to no images of a Norfolk Keel but my favourite is a painting (below) by the Broads artist David Dane whose website can be found here. David had to go to the Science Museum in London where there is a model of a Keel to get the details right for his picture. There is also an interesting history to that model involving the raising of a sunken Keel to take measurements but perhaps I will tell that another day. 

Now I think I’ll go and hug a tree.

Heading for Breydon, a Norfolk Keel painted by David Dane and reproduced here with his permission.

 

A momentous week

Well here I am again having survived an afternoon of medical poking and prodding at the N&N and remarkably maintaining enough fuel to get me to where I needed to go in the desert that North Norfolk became due to some governmental inspired collective madness.

This has been a momentous week for us all but I will get my personal news out of the way first as I then want a clear run at the Navigation. In this week I became a grandfather for the first time. So raise a glass to Alec and then we can move on.

Also this week we had our meeting at Burgh and we crossed a threshold. We completed the process of setting ourselves up as the BNCT by adopting a series of policies which we must have and an operational model for how we will do our work. We can now set sail in to the future. From now on we will be talking about what we can do and also be having some guest speakers rather than the navel gazing that the setting up process felt like towards the end. As part of that meeting we set the membership fee at £12 per annum for a full working adult with £7.50 for juniors (under 18) and concessions. We also have a family membership rate for 2 adults and 2 juniors of £30. A membership form will shortly be available on line but if you would like to join before then please email me at stu.wilson100@btinternet.com

We also have for sale at the very reasonable price of £7.99 + £1.50 p&p (local delivery free) a 2 DVD set produced for us by a local film maker (see below). Those that have seen this film have all remarked on the quality and the beauty of the local scenes shown here to their best advantage. This film set my dream juices flowing and after watching it I could clearly see a wherry emerging from the Brampton end of Oxnead Lock and progressing peacefully past the Common and on towards the Island. It was the Mayflower, possibly with Isaac Helsdon at the helm, and she was heading for Burgh Staithe. It really is a televisual feast crammed full of the local beauty that is all around us.

Were I able to ride on the Mayflower it would be a truly remarkable week but the DVD is a very close second best. Apologies if you were expecting a blog on the Keels and wherries but I haven’t forgotten you it’s just I thought this was a week worth commenting on.

The DVD cover

 

A grand day out

I have been out and about for work this week, heading south from Norwich once by train and once by car. I have been to London and the South Coast on business (and also Ipswich twice but that doesn’t count) and by the end of the week I wasn’t quite sure where I was. In London I transitted through Liverpool Street for so long the first view of the capital for generations of East Anglians and also migrants coming from the continent through the Port of Harwich. I have been through the station dozens of times but never really stopped to look before. Now, if you excuse the digression, I lived for a number of years in the East Midlands and the rail terminus in London from there is St Pancras, a station that grabs your attention from the moment you get out of the train with probably the most spectacular roof of any of the London mainline stations. It is a true marvel of Victorian engineering and you really can’t fail to notice it. Liverpool Street on the other hand is normally very forgettable particularly if you go straight on to the tube or out the back door in a taxi. On arriving in London I was running late as is so often the case with trains on this line – I hate to think how this already crowded and near capacity line will manage during the Olympics – so I did my usual blinkered exit but on the way back I had arranged to meet my sister for coffee briefly which gave me time to explore a little.

I saw three things I had never seen before, leastways not knowingly. The first was a 24 hour McDonalds – I’m sorry  – WHY? The second was much more useful, ranks of bikes for hire here and then leave them at your destination elsewhere in the city centre and I’m told that the locals refer to them as Boris Bikes. There’s a legacy if ever there was and I’m sure if he achieves nothing else the Mayor of London can rest satisfied that his name will (hopefully) forever be remembered in connection with what is undoubtedly a very good idea. The third was outside what was originally the main entrance on to Liverpool Street itself and is now there but seemingly ignored. It is a memorial to the Kinder Transport – a refugee movement that rescued approximately 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi controlled parts of Europe in the 9 months before the start of World War 2. They came through Harwich to London by way of Liverpool Street and many will still be alive today who would otherwise have met the same grim fate of their famillies. This memorial stood there proud but, I suspect, largely un-noticed. I certainly allowed myself a few minutes silent reflection before it. London life went on around me and I wanted to scream out STOP, LOOK and LEARN. Every year my wife and I do a couple of train trips for the sake of it – since I was 12 I have slowly been collecting rail miles and there are now only a few branch lines left to do. One of these is the line from Manningtree to Harwich and I have resolved to pay this line a visit in the coming summer so I can pay my own private tribute to those who risked so much to organise the Kinder Transport.

Of course in the summer there will be another grand day out to our celebratory event in Coltishall on August 26th. In that event we will celebrate 100 years since the flood that destroyed the Aylsham Navigation and we will have entertainment, games, exhibitions, food and lots of fun. The Wherry Albion will be in attendance and more details will be published nearer the time. The event will be on Coltishall Common from 14:00 just where the Edwardian Yachts below are moored. There will be a chance to buy the DVD produced by John Parker (see previous blogs) and the book on the definitive history of the Navigation. A really grand day is guaranteed for all and we particularly hope that families will make an effort to come along.

Now I have had a request to talk a little about wherries and Norfolk Keels but that will have to wait until next time. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this lovely spring weather.

Courtesy of Brian Kermode

 

A night in at the pictures

When we started this thing off it all seemed so far away and it has been hard work to get where we are with different people from the local History Society, the WI and all the Parishes along the Navigations course all doing their bit towards a common end of celebrating the history, flora and fauna of the Aylsham aka Bure Navigation. Along the way we’ve founded a charity and started to prepare an event on August 26th in Coltishall (we still need entertainers for that by the way so if you can help or know someone please get in touch).

Early on in the process we were contacted by a Norwich based independant film maker with a passion for the Broads and he offered to produce a film for publication in 2012 to coincide with the celebrations. John, as that is his name, just got on with it. He would attend meetings and would contact me from time to time about who to see about getting access to so and so or some normally private place. He also asked some searching questions about the history and the copyright of some of our material. We had a fairly early idea of his capabilities when he started to post “tasters” on You Tube (and they are still there if you search for them) but the overall thing was left entirely in his hands rightly as it was his “baby”.

The other evening my wife and a couple of others gathered at Brampton Village Hall, an unlikely venue for a world film premiere, to view the end result on big screen. To say I was impressed is to do it an injustice; the quality and content blew me away with admiration. John has produced a two DVD set with a combined running time of just below an hour. The main piece is a beautifully crafted and narrated documentary entitled “A wherry for Aylsham”. Using a combination of current footage, archive material and close shots of a wherry at work we take a trip up the Navigation from Horstead to Aylsham by way of all the villages enroute. Watching the video you can believe that the trip is taking place today and there are many wonderful local views, some of which are not normally available to the general public. It was a real treat and I can, without hesitation, recommend it for its interest even if you are not particularly interested in matters historic.

The second, shorter, film comes without narration but does have a very lovely musical score. It follows the navigation again from Horstead to Aylsham as it is today and in making it John actually did the trip by canoe. It is beautifully filmed and if you live along the Navigations course there will be bits you can’t fail to recognise.

The set, both DVD’s in a gift box, is available to purchase from BNCT (contact stu.wilson100@btinternet.com) at a price of £7.99. There may be a delay after ordering as to save costs they are being produced to order. It really is a televisual feast for the eyes and intellect.

I’ve never attended a film premiere before and I must say I was surprised by the lack of red carpet and adoring crowds. Perhaps we can find a bit of concrete for John’s hand print.

UPDATE SAT 17th March – Films it seem are like buses, you wait hours for one and then two come along at once. Another presentation has been prepared, by Derek in Aylsham this time, which I saw today. This is a short piece concentrating on the flood in 1912 and made up entirely of archive material. It is not going on general sale but it will be available for talks etc (if you ever want a talk just give me a shout) and will also appear at the Heritage Centre in September. Although very different to John’s film this is also very well prepared and narrated and will be of great interest particularly to local people in the Bure valley.

1st draft of DVD cover (we know about the spelling mistake) !!!!