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Working Party Updates Volunteering Sessions During July & August we had some hour long volunteering session to clear some of the canal of detritus and reeds. These will now continue for as long as the weather allows. Look out for further dates via your email or whatsapp (scan the QR codes). If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Paul Able via his email: workparties@icloud.com or call him on ‭07973 169820‬ Nesting Season = Reed growth Read more 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! Recent working parties update Read more It's been some time since we updated this page with working party information. However, things have been continuing with gusto. Much reed has been moved since the Truxor came to cut down reeds along the stretch at the top end of Lady Bay. The Grantham Canal Society helped us enormously too, by coming to cut down an overgrown Hawthorne Tree. Included here are a series of photos from the past few sessions. Thanks again to Paul Abel for organising and to the fantastic volunteers! Truxor clearing using Shared Prosperity Funding from the UK Government Read more The article was featured on the Rushcliffe Borough Council Facebook page. Included here is the text: Canal & River Trust received a grant to support a project clearing reeds that are dominating parts of the Grantham Canal in West Bridgford, improving water flow and enhancing habitats for wildlife. 🦆🐞 Due to access issues, clearance was not able to take place in Lady Bay last spring. We’re pleased this has now been rectified and reed clearance now underway. The restoration works follow on from the great work done by local group WeBCan and local residents over the winter. Paul Abel reported that the Truxor digging for the Norfolk Reed rhizomes earlier today had left lot of pieces of rhizome which are now embedded in the blanket weed on the bottom. He suggests that this is going to be very heavy to pull out, but the Truxor’s visit will help keep a clear channel through the centre of the canal. Where we are now Read more Since the beginning of last June, Paul Abel has now organised a staggering 49 work parties! Yesterday's gathering was exceptionally successful. Verity, Ursula, Pam & Jezz, Penny, Margaret, Cath, Patricia and Ken managed to fill & float 21 of the new bags from the towpath over to the offside - many thanks to them all. We regularly receive positive comments from walkers on the canal about the gains made so far. However, there is still a lot to do and we will need regular maintenance parties moving forward. If you feel you could give an hour or two of your time to help improve the canal, please do get in touch with Paul Abel either by calling him on +44 7973 169820‬‬‬ or email workparties@icloud.com Squeezing another working party in despite the forecast. Read more 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. Last few working parties before the nesting season Read more Two working sessions were held last weekend. One at Rutland Road on Saturday where more clearance of weeds was undertaken. The boat served us well and is proving to be an asset. Everyone got stuck in clearing floating reeds from the water and the results are outstanding. Sunday saw another good turnout working further up the canal. Although very cold, it was great to have so many willing volunteers on both occasions and our gratitude cannot be expressed enough. Thanks also go to Jezz Richings for arranging sponsorship from Permarock for our new collection bags. They certainly look the part and we can't wait to use them! Rubbish! Read more Having noticed an amount of rubbish, trolleys and such being dumped in the canal, Mike, Ruth & Blue, the dog spent a couple of hours with a grappling hook dragging out unwanted items from Eltham Road end up as far as Morrisons. Reed Mace Clearance Read more Undeterred by the weather, Paul, Margaret, Penny, Les and others made great progress clearing huge swathes of reed mace along the top end of Lady Bay. Sunday 17th December Read more Hurrah! Inflatable up and raring to go - it allowed us to quickly clear the channel of Norfolk Reed today. Thanks to Cath, Pam & Jez, Margaret, Stic, Howard, Steve & Verity & Les. Commitment on a cold, wet December day Read more More than anticipated turned out for the working party this Sunday, which was great considering the forecast of rain and wind. Thankfully, the rain held off for the most part and three separate groups took on different areas of the canal bank along Lady Bay. Paul had hoped to launch the boat, but an incorrect adapter to inflate it, put paid to that idea. Never one to be thwarted, Paul soon found one and later sent us the phot you see of him here. Sometimes we don't always appreciate the work we have done, but the final photo (courtesy of Brenda Baxter) shows the swans enjoying the canal. Not being too sure of where about this photograph was taken, I asked her and was thrilled to see it was at the entrance to the canal at Gamston Bridge. It really does look tidier and the swans are clearly loving it too! Gamston Bridge Read more A small group today- many thanks to David, Cath & Howard. This area used to be a favourite for nesting swans before the brambles took over the bank. If we keep it clear of brambles, hopefully the swans will nest here again. Sunday 5th November 2023 Read more This Sunday saw intrepid volunteers getting into deep water on the canal at Lady Bay to clear a huge amount of reeds that were floating in the water in readiness of leak investigations which Paul Abel is undertaking. Paul spends many hours researching ways, means and methods of stabilising the water levels and we hope to bring you more news on this in the near future. Thanks to Penny, Les, Richard, Margaret, Verity, Steve, Stic (and Bear the dog!).

< Back COVID Litter Pick April 24 2021 Our First Ever Litter Pick - Covid Secure After an awful lot of research and communication with Streetwise we were able to set up our first ever litter pick. This had to be Covid secure as it was still very much an issue. It was worth the effort though! Previous Next

Back Local Charitable Giving & Recycling Opportunities ​ Go Baby (Nottingham’s First Baby Bank) The Baby Bank is in The Meadows on the precinct near the Co-Op and you can park at the back entrance for free. It’s in the Digitall Prints shop and the lady who runs it is called Natasha. Opening times are currently Monday and Wednesday 12-2pm. They accept good quality donations for children 0-5 years (except mattresses and car seats .) They have a Facebook page and they will collect items, if you are unable to deliver. 20 Bridgeway centre NG2 2JD, 0115 986 6044 ​ Katherine's - Paused temporarily as moving house. Please do NOT deliver to old address. Cheese packaging so long as it's the flexible sort - clean, dry and, preferably, flat please. Also accepts crisp packets and plastic bottle tops . Items go to Terracycle. Contact - Katherine Rooke at krooke2011@gmail.com ​ Men’s Toiletries Hayward House palliative care based at Nottingham City hospital are always in need of men’s toiletries . ​ ​ Holme Lodge Care Home Holme Lodge are always looking for donations of towels, flannels, toiletries, mugs, cutlery and single bedding. Although no longer a charity, donations help them to use their limited resources to buy fun things for the residents. Any donations can be left in the porch. 1 Julian Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5AQ ​ ​ The Meadows Foodbank The Meadows Foodbank has been chosen recently to benefit from the Co-op Local Community Fund. They are raising funds to set up a community fridge to store more of the fresh surplus food they receive, as they would like to add fruit and veg to food parcels to increase their nutritional value. Please consider buying a Co-op membership card for just £1 and selecting The Meadows Foodbank on the Co-op website or app as your cause to receive funding towards their fresh food initiative. It’s quick and easy to set up and will make a big difference! You might also wish to join The Meadows Foodbank Facebook page to keep up-to-date with how you can help. ​ Stamps & Books Morrisons in Gamston are currently collecting good quality adult and children’s books to sell to raise funds for children’s charity Clic Sargent. They can be dropped off for attention of Kelly, who is the Community Champion (and awesome!) ​ Stamps for Bone Cancer Research Trust Please contact Sarah Frost via APL Facebook Group 1cm border needed around each stamp. ​ ​ Plastic Takeaway Tubs - Drop of at 30 Newstead Drive The Friary Homeless Charity on Musters Road in West Bridgford need plastic takeaway tubs for handing out food. They sterilise them on arrival but please wash them and ideally connect them to their matching lid (with an elastic band if you’ve got them.) ​ Medicine Blister Packs The pharmacy in Lady Bay have a box just inside the door where you can pop your empty medicine blister packs for recycling. ​ Contact lenses & Toothpaste Recycling Find this lovely lady’s Facebook page, Tree's Homemade Terracycle Recycling Depo, as she has kindly set up recycling bins for contact lenses and blister packs and some toothbrush and toothpaste items . Tree opens up her bins periodically at her Lady Bay home for people to deposit their donations into for recycling. Please check carefully what can and cannot be recycled in this way, so as not to contaminate the bins. ​ OLIO App You can list things you no longer want that other people might want to collect from your doorstep for free using the OLIO app (both food and non-food.) ​ ​ SHAREWEAR https://sharewearclothingscheme.org/ To donate locally, please private message Ruth Parry through the Abbey Park Local Facebook Group. DO DONATE: General Clothing (all ages) Shoes Coats Packs Of New Underwear Duvet Sets & Sheets Towels DON’T DONATE: Duvets Pillows Handbags Jewellery & Accessories Anything that isn’t clothing or light bedding If the quality isn’t good enough to wear or use yourself we won’t be able to use it. ReLived is the ONLY clothing collection scheme that guarantees the clothing donated here will go to someone in poverty in the UK free of charge. ​ ​ ​

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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.

Where We Belong One summer. One house. One family learning to love again. Cate Morris and her son, Leo, are homeless, adrift. They’ve packed up the boxes from their London home, said goodbye to friends and colleagues, and now they are on their way to ‘Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World – to stay just for the summer. Cate doesn’t want to be there, in Richard’s family home without Richard to guide her any more. And she knows for sure that Araminta, the retainer of the collection of dusty objects and stuffed animals, has taken against them. But they have nowhere else to go. They have to make the best of it. But Richard hasn’t told Cate the truth about his family’s history. And something about the house starts to work its way under her skin. Can she really walk away, once she knows the truth? Author Author Imprint Simon & Schuster UK ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages 1471173860 27th May 2021 £6.29 384 There are multiple themes in the plot that gradually unfold; mental health, suicide, learning disabilities, dysfunctional families and their breakdown, relationships that aren't always what they seem and more Some of the plot is a bit predictable, some of the characters aren't very likeable, some of the characters behave completely out of their usual character and make strange decisions, but hey real life's like that too 7/10 Annette The author’s pleasant writing style made this book a very easy read but the whole plot was too contrived/predictable for my liking. On the positive side, Leo, the Downs Syndrome character was portrayed in a good, positive light and he was a strong character. He and his new friend Curtis were really the only characters I liked. Leo’s over protective Mum, Cate, made some silly decisions that an over protective Mum just wouldn’t make! So, all in all, not the best plot! 5/10 Catherine Novel steeped in grief, guilt and duty... I hugely fluctuated in my liking of this book. Found the plot lines somewhat contrived and implausible and just struggled to empathise with the main character, Cate, although I appreciated the other characters, especially Cate's son Leo who is such a positive role model of a young man with Down's syndrome. Not my favourite book club choice 4.5 /10 Caroline

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Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Working all day at a lathe leaves Arthur Seaton with energy to spare in the evenings. A hard-drinking, hard-fighting hooligan, he knows what he wants, and he's sharp enough to get it. Before long, his carryings-on with a couple of married women become the stuff of local gossip. But then one evening he meets a young girl and life begins to look less simple… First published in 1958, ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ achieved instant critical acclaim and helped to establish Alan Sillitoe as one of the greatest British writers of his generation. The film of the novel, starring Albert Finney, transformed British cinema and was much imitated. Author Author Imprint Harper Collins Publishers ISBN Publishing date RRP (paperback) Pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0007205023 & ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007205028 First published in 1958 £5.72 240 Liz: A fascinating insight into what it was to be a young working class man in post war 1950’s Britain. Arthur Seaton spends his weeks working in a local bike factory and his weekends drinking, fighting and sleeping with married women. Set in Nottingham written using the local dialect and describing working class lifestyles and attitudes to politics and the threat of war this novel is a documentary of the times. Not a comfortable or easy read but challenging and compelling . 8/10 Jenny: I really enjoyed being immersed in Arthur's riotous, fast moving world. I found his character entertaining yet repugnant and wondering what would become of him kept me reading late into the night. 8/10 Theona: Tried hard to read this book but had to admit defeat as I just couldn't get into it. 0/10. Tracey: Loved this book, it gives an insight into a lost world, where almost every street had a pub, shop and gawker!! 9/10