National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas

Whilst not directly connected to canals, the National Memorial Arboretum, http://www.thenma.org.uk/, is only a stones throw from the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Trent flows through the grounds, so in my view, it counts as a canal orientated site.



I took the old folks up there this afternoon for a couple of hours, just to get them out in the sun and fresh air, and we could easily have spent four or six hours there. It was really interesting and anyone passing through Alrewas on the canal should put it on their must visit list. Entry is free, the car park costs £2, blue badge holders park for free, basically the car park charge is to raise money to tarmac the car park.



I was not aware the site has been open for the last ten years and is gradually evolving. What really amazed me was the scope of the memorials, we are not just talking about WW2, there are memorials before and after that, covering everything from the Boer War to the recent troubles in Ulster.

What really amazed me was the Armed Forces Memorial which lists every serviceman who has died in the service of our country since 1945. The inscriptions are current up to 2007, but what really worried me was the vast amount of space available for future inscriptions.

All in all, it is well worth a visit.

Modern technology catches up with Guelrose

For the last 2 years I have accessed the internet world via a T Mobile datacard that cost me £20 a month and gave me a reasonable access to the web. Today, I bit the bullet, and have upgraded to a web'n'walk stick. Wow, what a difference, no need now for an external aerial (it cost me the best part of £70 - anyone want it?) and the new plan costs me £5 per month less. What a result! The new system seems to be much quicker and after 12 hours trial I have no complaints - yet!

Wednesday 17th September 2008

It is so nice to have a spell of fine weather at last even though I am suffering from man flue! This morning, Wednesday, we left our mooring at Hopwas and cruised down to Fazeley Mill Marina where we were taking part in a charitable cruise for servicemen injured on duty. The day was organised by Corrinne who manages the marina. Corrinne is actively involved in http://www.purplesalute.org/ a non profit making organisation giving the ordinary people of this country a different way of helping servicemen of all kinds. On our arrival a minibus had already arrived from the Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, with three servicemen, Ally, Jim and Mike, together with an entourage of medics, nurses, and physiotherapists (these were also members of the armed forces) Three boats took part in the cruise, n.b. DIGITALIS (http://www.digitalis.org.uk/) , n.b. THE BLESSED BEE who may or may not have a website, and of course GUELROSE. We all set off in fine weather and cruised along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal for about a hour as far as Kingsbury Water Park, where we winded and then moored up for a while, giving everyone a good chance to see the myriad of water birds on the lakes. Unfortunately one of our visitors was in a wheelchair and was not able to get off of the towpath to take in the views, a section of towpath having been washed away in the recent rains.

After a while we all set off on the return trip and just to make it all better the sun shone. Once back at the marina our visitors were transported to the Three Tuns pub in Fazeley, where the landlady, an active supported of The Purple Salute, lad on an excellent buffet. After a couple of drinks it was time for our visitors to board their transport and set off back to the hospital.

I am in no doubt that all involved, including the boat crews, had a very enjoyable day out. Our thank must go to Corrinne for organising the event.

What's happening now?

GUELROSE got back to it's moorings on 31st August and has not moved since. However, in the meanwhile, Jenny and I have managed a two day trip to Dublin, staying in a hotel overlooking the Grand Canal, there was a lock to the left of the hotel, a lock to the right of the hotel, and a tram station over the canal, but where o where were the boats?

I spent several hours longingly gazing at the canal waiting for a boat to appear (okay, maybe a few minutes) over a period of time but no boats were to be seen. The canal appears to be navagable and the locks seem to be in working order but where were the boats?

On Wednesday 11th September we returned to the boat and were amazed at the water level in the canal. It was at least six inches above normal. Bearing in mind that the pound we live in extends from Fradley to Glascote locks and also takes in the Brirmingham and Fazeley to Curdworth Locks, we are looking at some 15 miles of canal, multiplied by the width of the canal multiplied by the 6 inch increase, then we are looking at a serious amount of water that has to go somewhere?

That's it for now, our next cruise will be next Wednesday, 17th September, when we will be taking a client of the military hospital based in Selly Oak for a days cruise, more of that later.

What next?

I am now back at Hopwas and will not being venturing far over the next few months.

EXCEPT, there is one important event to still take place on Wednesday 17th September. Corrinne ,who manages Fazeley Mill Marina, has organised a day trip for soldiers injured in Iraq and currently receiving treatment in the army hospital at Selly Oak, we will be taking part by taking some of them on a cruise.

There will be several boats taking part (I do not yet know how many) but it should be a good day out for those taking part....

This reminds me of a friend of mine from Somerset who organises every year, a trip for widows of servicemen, who are having a holiday at the British Legion home at Weston Super Mare. We have taken part in the past and up to 20 boats have taken part. The day starts with a coachload of people coming to Bradford on Avon, being shared out amonsgt the various boats, and then going for a boat trip.

My memory of the only time I have taken part is receiving on board two Welsh sisters from the Rhonnda Valley who had us in fits of laughter all the time they were on board. We picked them up at Hilperton Marina and cruised to Bradford on Avon. A visit to the the pub where they and their manager insisted on buying me pints, was followed by dinner on board, then a cruise back to Hilperton where they then boarded their coach and returned to the home in Weston Super Mare.

Once all our guests had returned we all had a BBQ at the marina. Unfortunately the marina has now changed hands and, although the cruise still takes part, it has had to be altered considerably and the social gathering after the cruise is no longer what it was.

IWA National 2008

This shows some of the land based exhibits....

And some of the stalls.....

This is the lavendar boat, very important to us as it empties our loos and takes away our rubbish

This is the view of the boats on A section and the exhibitors moorings taken from bridge 2

This is the site as I left it, condensed down to a security fence around the tardis and a few bits and pieces....

And this is another part of the site, now deserted..

I will return to the site in a couple of months and take some more photos of how it is then....