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< Back Previous Next> Operation Dammit June 18th 2023 Dammit working party On Sunday 18th June 12 supporters of WebCan donned their wellies and waders to enable much- needed investigate work around a magnificent willow tree behind 20, Rutland Rd. Our public meeting, attended by 50 people, in the Poppy and Pint on the previous Thursday (15th June) voted overwhelmingly in favour of repairing the leaks in the Northern section of the canal, starting with the area under the willow tree behind 20 Rutland Rd. In the short term, we need to enable an arborist and other canal experts to examine the roots of the willow tree and the integrity of the canal lining over the next few weeks. However, the weather forecasts suggested a period of heavy imminent heavy rain, during which time the canal could fill with water and the opportunity for the arborist and other experts to do their investigation would be lost, or made much more difficult: we need to avoid having to drain this section to allow this work to take place. Project Dammit was launched to block the water from covering the area from where it finishes now just ahead of the willow tree behind 20 Rutland Rd, to the northern culvert. If we also wanted to have the canal lining repaired to stop the leaks in this area, it will be much easier to do so while the silt is relatively dry, than it would be if the water was let back in. So, we planned to build an earth dam where the log was situated: The plan was to make the dam from sacks from filled silt. Once in place, this would create a barrier sufficient to keep the water back until the leaks under the tree could be investigated by the Canal and Rivers Trust and, hopefully, a new impermeable lining could be put into place. Despite it being Father’s Day, WebCan supporters responded to the urgency of the situation, and formed a work-party to create this "silt bag barrier" bringing with them shovels, wellingtons and bags of enthusiasm. 20 old hessian sacks were kindly supplied by Faye Hawkins of 200 Degrees Coffee.

The Little Stranger A ghost story from one of Britain's finest and best loved writers. After her award-winning trilogy of Victorian novels, Sarah Waters turned to the 1940s and wrote The Night Watch, a tender and tragic novel set against the backdrop of wartime Britain. Short-listed for both the Orange and the Man Booker, it went straight to number one in the best-seller chart. In a dusty postwar summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his. Prepare yourself. From this wonderful writer who continues to astonish us, now comes a chilling ghost story. Author Author Imprint Little, Brown Book Group ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 9781844086061 05/01/2010 £8.99 512 A novel that gives a glimpse through the curtains of the residents living in a village in the wake of a young girls disappearance. With no body or evidence of foul play, there isn't much for the police to work on. Being a fan of fast pace crime books, this wasn't really cup of tea. A gentle evocation of country life. Season come and go through the 13 years of the narrative. The small day to day lives of the village play out alongside the menacing threat of the disappearance of Becky. Not a novel for the whodunit fans, and its unique writing style might not be for everyone. A fly on the wall into the lives of the families in a rural village. In the wake of the disappearance of a young girl. An interesting take up of the changing seasons through the 13 years since the disappearance. I really enjoyed this book. But would have liked a different ending.

< Back Previous Next> Gamston Pt 2 Bridge 4b at Swindale Close Silt and struggles! Boy, this is a tough area to clear by hand. We entered the water all togged up to find ourselves struggling with the depth of silt. Some (me included) had to give up as it proved too much. However, the guys did an amazing job cutting at the overgrown bushes and trees that have been blocking the canal for quite some time. We were unable to finish the work in the time allowed, so we now plan a revisit next Monday to tackle the remaining branches. It is already looking so much better.

Tree Planting Streetwise have now started planting to replace the beautiful Ash Trees that were damaged by dieback. New Acers, Cherries and Red Oak are being planted and will be hopefully gracing our park in years to come. Thankfully, Streetwise has a contractor to water them every 3 weeks from March. However it should ideally be once a week. If you can help in any way to ensure they settle in and become well established, please email us at abbeypark.ng@gmail.com ​ ​ More discussions are underway with a view to planting a possible orchard and even a mini forest so watch this space!

< Back Previous Next> Culvert Clearance! May 2023 Culvert working party A stalwart of WeBCan, Paul Able has been regularly measuring the depth of the canal at various points. Worryingly, he has found the depth of water in the pound by the Twitchell in Lady Bay has decreased much more than anywhere else. Undeterred, Paul asked if anyone could supply him with rods to try and clear the blockage. Thanks to Rob Cook from GCS he was supplied with the equipment and managed to unblock the offending culvert. It appears someone had placed rockery stone, logs and even a coat inside it. Ours is not to reason why!

Abbey Park Litter Picking News Litter picking for the following six months. ​ March 3rd 2024 10-11am March 31st 2024 10-11am​ April 28th 2024 10-11am May 26th 2024 10-11am NO JUNE DATE July 28th 2024 10-11am August 25th 2024 10-11am January 2024 ​ Read More October 29th Monthly Litter Pick ​ Read More July 2023 Monthly Litter Pick Abbey Park & Gamston Canal Read More June 2023 Monthly Litter Pick Abbey Park & Surround Area. Read More May 2023 Community Litter Pick Another Spring Clean Up Read More The Great British Clean Up Part Two Abbey Park & Surround Area. Read More The Great British Clean Up Part One The Canal Trent Lock 1 up to Morrisons Read More February Monthly Litter Pick Abbey Park & Surround Area. Read More COVID Litter Pick April 24 2021 Our First Ever Litter Pick - Covid Secure Read More

< Back Previous Next> Dog walks and litter picks Kids are bored, kids lark about. But all this makes work for someone. Lets hope now school has resumed things get back to normal. As we had been made aware of litter (namely a suitcase) being tossed into the river, We took the grappling hook out on a dog walk to see if we could retrieve it. Not only did we manage that, we also removed what appears to be a baby seat with cover from Gamston Lock

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< Back Previous Next> Monday 9th Oct Willow tree - fallen branch removal In no time at all and with the help of these fine human beings, the fallen branch was pulled from the canal.

< Back Previous Next> Nesting Season = Reed growth New sprouts are beginning to appear so time to tackle those shoots! Margaret has been a stalwart throughout last year and this. Here, she can be seen keeping the reed shoots at bay. Paul tried throwing the v-shaped blade contraption reporting that it definitely worked well but you need to be Geoff Capes to claim it is easy to use! The following session on Easter Monday Robert, David, Howard and Margaret helped by throwing the v-shaped blades which cut the new emerging reed shoots. The next step is to tow the blade from the back of a boat, or at least use a boat to place it in the water without creating a splash. It is meant to sink to the bottom and cut close to the bed, often bringing up shoots which can't be seen from the surface. Fingers crossed this works!

< Back Previous Next> Squeezing another working party in despite the forecast. Reeds, Rafts and Culverts Sue & Richard got to work on the culvert near Radcliffe Road Cycles this Sunday, while the larger team worked upstream clearing and bagging waste using our new (and may I say) super duper bags. The progress made was quite staggering by both parties. Report from Richard: We managed to get the water flowing through the culvert after removing a lot of litter as well as natural vegetation and silt. You can't really see from the photos, but there was a full bag of plastic debris and broken glass, etc. including a mudguard and a trainer, and another of unbroken glass bottles, aluminium cans, and other metal. All to be recycled. This included 2 old returnable milk bottles, one from the Co-op, which will be washed and go on our doorstep, and the other the taller, much older design. Also, some very old cans with separate ring pulls. Hopefully, we created a channel to prevent it all going in again. Thanks to Radcliffe Road Cycles for the bin bags.

< Back Previous Next> Working Together March 2023 Clearing the Towpath WeBCan, GCS (Grantham Canal Society) & The West End Canal Volunteers have all worked together over several days to help clear sone of the banks, paths and the canal itself. Here are just a few photographs of their work.