Hole in the Canal

The future of our canal is still under threat as it is reported that there is a £250,000 hole in the budget to maintain a navigable canal.

Everyone is feeling the pinch and that, as we in Woking very well know, includes councils. The canal is owned by Surrey and Hampshire County Councils and the various areas through which the canal flows contribute.

Well, that is the idea, but although some councils have indicated they will pay their annual funding contributions many councils have indicated they do not intend to support the canal for the foreseeable future.

Surely the canal will not be allowed to revert to the way it was before that army of volunteers decided to do something about it? When it was reduced to a muddy path with old bikes and trollies stuck in it? When you could cross its muddiness balancing on that rubbish? When some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to turn the whole thing into a road?

Luckily the Basingstoke Canal Society (BCS) remains resolute in their determination to keep the canal going. Please remember them when you next enjoy it whether walking, cycling, fishing or just sitting and contemplating its loveliness: visit https://basingstoke-canal.org.uk/keep-your-canal-alive/

There are many ways you can enjoy the canal and help BCS – and you can nag your local councillor.

The trip-boat, Kitty, runs from close to the town centre by WWF and Kiwi & Scot, the coffee shop boat, is only a stone’s throw away – convenient for grabbing a coffee before the trip. BCS say you are welcome to take a picnic.

Trips on Kitty last for around 75 minutes, allowing you to enjoy the canal and the views from the boat. If you’re lucky you might even spot a kingfisher, heron or maybe even some goslings or ducklings. What a pleasant way to spend and afternoon – and children love it. There are trips on weekdays and weekends.

Kitty has a big sister boat: The John Pinkerton II, which plies from Odiham in the summer. On 14 August there is a family trip with the theme of children's Kings and Queens with activities aimed at 5-10 year-olds with entertainment for all.

The trip on 15 September sounds interesting: Ramble & Cruise. A Sunday cruise to Barley Mow with the option to cruise one way and ramble the other. The ticket price includes a ploughman's lunch to fuel you on your walk – or refuel you after your ramble. For more details visit https://basingstoke-canal.org.uk/themed-trips-on-john-pinkerton-ii/

When I mentioned sitting and just contemplating the canal you can do that in a slightly more energetic way by fishing. The fishing season on the canal began on 16 June.

The Basingstoke Canal Authority has taken on sole responsibility for issuing annual and day angling permits. BCA staff will undertake periodic checks on the towpath, which is a good thing: dogs, particularly in the warm weather, like to take a swim and in doing so break down the banks by their very wet scrabbling to get out of the water, so that's another reason to keep dogs under control on the towpath. That and to prevent them annoying the anglers.

Should you decide to get out your rod and pole in search of perch, you should know the following: annual permits £29.00, concessions £19.00, day permits £5, concessions £3. Concessions are: junior (under 16 years), disabled or pensioner. During the close season there is strictly no fishing from 15 March to 15 June.

Let us make sure close season only applies to fishing and not the entire canal.

A Truly Peaceful Walk

The Brookwood Cemetery Society was founded in 1992 and offers regular walks around the cemetery. The volunteer guides are very knowledgable and enthusiastic and have many years’ experience of the grounds and the history of the cemetery. As the Grade I-listed site is the largest cemetery in the UK , and one of the largest in Europe – it was once the largest in the world – that is, literally, a lot of ground to cover.

There will be several walks on Sunday 3 September, all starting at 1pm .

Ideal for first time visitors to the cemetery is the Introductory Walk – South Side led by Margaret Hobbs, who will show something of the size and beauty of the grounds.

A diverse group of people are buried there, going back to 1854. Lt Gen Sir Henry Goldfinch was buried at Brookwood on 25 November, 1854, just two weeks after the cemetery opened and he was the 29th person to be buried there: his is the oldest surviving memorial within the cemetery.

The walk entitled Symbolism, led by Alison Vince, will point out some of the wonderful designs on the many varied headstones.

The Geology Walk – a repeat of a popular walk led by guest tour guide Diana Smith – will point out the many different types of stone used for memorials within both sections of the cemetery. She will show examples and composition of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.

Booking for the walks is essential, the average group size being 15 to 20 people. Booking may be done by e-mail, [email protected], or mobile, 07714 289375.

A donation of £5 per person includes refreshments afterwards at the Society Lodge inside the gates to the Glades of Remembrance on Cemetery Pales: this is also the starting point for all the walks.

Do remember to wear suitable footwear; some of the ground can be uneven.

Very English!

It being a Thursday in summer we decided to take Tea at the Rec in Bisley. We’ve done it before and enjoyed ourselves. But this time our starting point was Ashford Hospital. I would have hummed and hawed to work out the route in my head but we had GPS so the nice lady  guided us all the way.

And what a route! Places I don't think I'd ever been. Lovely country roads – Longcross, Valley End... I kept recognising places and muttering that I was sure there would be a pub on the right or garage on the left. And there wasn’t. I was out of kilter.

Then, suddenly, we were on a road I knew well – and could place pubs and petrol stations accurately. What a blessing GPS is. Another blessing is that when the children asked “are we nearly there?” we could tell them our ETA with some confidence.

Mind you, I do like a real map which shows the names of the rivers we cross, churches with spires or towers, parish boundaries – but I understand fewer and fewer people know how to read a map these days. Surely  Scouts and Guides are taught?

I do hope so, for the clever hand-held GPS – phones – don’t always have clear signals and have been known to run out of battery.

We arrived at Bisley recreation ground. It was a perfect summer’s day. The gazebos and umbrellas were arranged in front of the newly refurbished pavilion. Teas and homemade cakes were served along with, to the delight of the children, ice creams in cones complete with a chocolate Flake stuck in them. Raffle tickets were on sale. Groups of elderly, well, mature, people sat chatting whilst children ran around playing with the various toys and games provided.

This lovely quintessentially English event takes place every Thursday afternoon throughout August and is held in aid of various charities. On our table was a note that the previous week had resulted in over £1,000 for Chase Hospice and the current day’s charity was Cancer Research.  

The sun shone from a sky with little white clouds of the sort a child might draw. What a perfect end to the day.

PeriNews

Bisley is not the only lively village in the area. I am regularly sent an electronic version of the PeriNews – bearing news from Pirbright village.

I have bemoaned that very few villages send me information on their events. Thus that ubiquitous Man from Mars reading the Woking News & Mail – which, I am sure, would be his first point of reference for life on Earth – would assume the only village in Woking borough to be Horsell. That is the village in which I live and therefore have local information at my finger tips.

I was delighted at a nugget in the PeriNews:

“The annual visit to Pirbright by the English National Opera Cricket Club is on Sunday 25 August with the cricket beginning at 11am, the BBQ firing up in time for food around 5.30pm and the fun and fabulous performance beginning around 6.30-7pm.

“As ever there will be the usual blend of sublime singing, superb instrumentalism and completely silly nonsense. There will be a BBQ, salads and a full bar with all proceeds benefiting Pirbright CC during what is an extremely exciting time for the club.

“We’ve had a rainy summer so far, but if it's a bit gloomy don't be put off, we've never been cancelled by the weather yet, we always find a way! Spectators are welcome all day, so please bring a chair or rug, some friends and family and enjoy this unique event, there’s nothing like it.”

Nothing like it indeed – I had no idea the ENO had a cricket club, let alone that they annually play at Pirbright.

Surely yet another example of a quintessentially English event.

Flowerpots and Scarecrows

Readers will remember – how can one forget? – that joyous rendition of synchronised swimmers composed of flowerpots which recently appeared on this page? The theme of the 2024 Horsell Flowerpot & Scarecrow Festival is the Olympics and the Francis family certainly rose to the occasion with their work: imaginative, humorous, and creative. We somehow missed giving the family due acknowledgment, which we now do.

There are still people making fantastic entries for the Festival which will appear on a map to guide you around the exhibits. Or take flowerpot luck and just wander around the roads of Horsell and prepare yourself for some amazing sights around the corner.

The festival runs until 31 August and details may be found on the Horsell Village Wire Facebook page under Albums, Flowerpot Festival.