MUSEUM MATTERS November 2010

The Newsletter of The Friends of The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne

See you all at

Illuminated Boats & Carols

11th December at 5pm

Village at War

Goes with a Bang

Seamus Lefroy-Brooks with Poppy [left] and Louis [right] from Shutlanger

photo: Lynda Payton

Stoke Bruerne resounded to the sound of gun and mortar fire once again in October for a repeat of its now annual World War II re-enactment staged by The Friends of The Canal Museum in con-junction with other village organisations and businesses. Although the almost continuous rain on Sunday, meant that ticket sales were suspended at midday, the event made a small surplus of around £800.

Despite a much reduced financial return than in previous years, the organising committee voted it a resounding success. Event Chair-man, Museum Manager David Henderson said; “Village at War has a incalculable value in raising the profile of the Canal Museum and Stoke Bruerne which makes a huge difference to visitor numbers throughout the year. For this reason, it has been decided to go ahead with another event in 2011 — that is, if sufficient volunteers come forward to help put it together — a task that is by no means arduous and even great fun!”.

This year’s colourful 40s event was opened on Saturday morning by local MP Andrea Leadsom accompanied by Winston Churchill (aka canal personality Ken Roseblade) and Field Marshall Mont-gomery (Alan Oliver).

For more pictures and a full report see Page 5

Since the last issue of Museum

Matters, we are delighted to an-

nounce that Village at War has

won yet another prestigious

award, its fourth in 2010 — this

time at the inaugural East Mid-

lands Heritage Awards held at

Kelham Hall, Newark, on the 16th

September 2010. Village at War

won Best Event.

All the entrants were short-listed

and winning museums from

across the 6 counties of the region

and in all types and sizes from

entirely volunteer run sites to

large and small independent and

local authority museums. Museum

Manager David Henderson is pic-

tured here collecting the award at

the awards ceremony.

VILLAGE AT WAR WINS

REGIONAL AWARD

40s re-enactors gave a wartime flavour photo: Anthony McCallum

Who has an important birthday this month and what present is

she getting from her Friends?

Turn to page 6 to find out

Stoke Bruerne and Shutlanger

in the Nineteenth Century

Part 5: by David Blagrove Another change that the village saw during mid-Victorian times was the restoration of St Mary’s Church in 1865. New pews, a tiled floor and alterations to the clerestory were pro-vided, but fortunately the hands of the restorers rested lightly on St Marys in contrast with churches elsewhere. Whelan’s Directory of 1849 notes that there was then a gal-lery across the west end of the nave. Doubtless this accom-modated the village musicians, as Sir John Betjeman was to put it in later years:

“From that West Gallery no doubt The viol and serpent tooted out The Tallis tune to Ken”¹

but it is not mentioned in Kelly’s Directory of 1854, which instead states that “there is an organ standing in the rood loft”.

Some idea of the Church’s importance at this time may be gleaned from the Religious Census of 1851, in which the Rector, Philip Henry Lee, claimed that on 30

th March that

year 116 persons attended matins and 185 an afternoon service, there apparently being no evensong. Additionally 112 Sunday scholars attended in the morning and 114 in the afternoon. The congregation was of course drawn from both villages. The vestry and an organ chamber were built on the north side of the chancel in 1881. The Reverend Lee was obviously no mere placeman. During his lengthy incum-bency from 1836 to 1876, when he died in office, he fought his corner over the matter of the Church’s share of the Tithe Settlement and oversaw considerable work done to the Church in 1843 and 1865. Additionally he took a great inter-est in the Village School, which he was instrumental in founding in 1838, with help from R.E. Sheppard, who do-nated the land, The Duke of Grafton, Francis Wentworth Vernon of Stoke Park and a grant of £50 from The National Society (a Church of England organisation).

In 1840 56 boys and 26 girls aged from 2 to 10 years old were being instructed there. Additionally a compulsory Sun-day School was instituted which in 1840 had 65 boys, pre-sumably the same as attended normal school, and 65 girls. This numerical discrepancy is explained by the fact that girls, once they were old enough, could earn between 1d and 4d a day as lacemakers. About 6 boys from Stoke at-tended the Grammar School at Courteenhall. In 1856 an infants’ school was started in Shutlanger and Lee was in-strumental in obtaining a grant from the National Society of

£5 per annum to-wards the salary of a “monitoress” and the Duke of Grafton and F. Wentworth Vernon increased this to £10. Lee did not have it all his own way though, for the Dissenters in the two villages managed to estab-lish a school of their own, where the condition of attend-ing a Church of England Sunday School did not ap-ply. In 1840 these pupils numbered

15. It was noted at the time that some 32 children aged from 4 to 12 years old did not attend any place of educa-tion and presumably ran wild in the villages. Following the Rector’s death in 1876 his work for the parish was com-memorated by a new East Window, installed the follow-ing year.

In 1884 an infants' school was built in Shutlanger to a design by the architect Matthew Holding on land given by Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh. Hitherto such children had been accommodated in an extension to the Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1844. The following year the new school was licensed as a chapel of ease for divine worship, with seats for 150. In 1886 a chancel, with a stained glass east window was added as a memorial to Mary, the wife of the Reverend Lee, who died in 1885, having laid the foundation stone for the building the previous year. An altar from the parish church, replaced during the restora-tion of 1881, was installed at the chapel. In the mean-while the old infants’ school became a village Reading Room, a facility that Stoke was to lack for some years to come. The infants’ school closed in 1916 but the building, dedicated to St. Anne, remains in use as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's at the time of writing, with the nave also serving as a village hall.

■ To be continued

“girls, once they were old enough, could earn between

1d and 4d a day as lacemakers”

¹ “Verses turned in aid of St Katherine’s Stadhampton, 1952”. The reference is to Thomas Tallis’s (1505-1585) music that became a setting of the translation of Psalm 100 by Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711), often referred to as “the old hun-dred” and known today as the hymn “All people that on Earth do dwell”. The replacement of village bands by organs was a constant source of dispute in the 19th Century; see Thomas Hardy “Under the Greenwood Tree”.

Lacemakers could earn between 1d and 4d a day

PROMISES GO UNDER

THE HAMMER Twenty highly attractive lots ranging from a half-day cruise on a narrowboat to a luxury four bed villa in Thai-land went under the hammer at The Boat Inn PH on Fri-day 29th October raising just under £1400 for our cause.

The evening was kick-started by Denis Atkinson with a „mock‟ auction of nine antique items, some of them quite valuable and others absolutely worthless. Advance view-ings were encouraged and after prices were noted down bidding commenced (to ascertain what bidders thought they might be worth). A prize was awarded to the person who amassed the nearest correct value for all nine items. No money actually changed hands!

While valuations were underway, bidders were invited to partake of a light supper which was funded by a raffle drawn at the end of the evening.

The main auction was conducted in a highly entertaining and humorous manner by professional auctioneer John Harris who succeeded in extracting some very high bids. Our sincere thanks go to him and to Friends volunteers Bill Mann and Denis Atkinson who put the evening to-gether.

Auctioneer John Harris [left] and raffle announcer

David Blagrove [centre] look on while winner

Grete Ricketts collects her prize.

Our grateful thanks go to the generous support of our spon-sors who provided the promises. They were Silverstone Rac-ing Circuit, Laura Sturrock & Peter Oates, Saints Rugby Club, Denis Atkinson, Northampton Town FC, Lynda Payton, Tracey Bovington, Bill & Liz Mann, The Boat Inn PH, Lawrence Cook, Mike Partridge, Derngate & Royal Theatre, David Ingleby, Brian Collings, David Blagrove, NABO Chairman David Fletcher and Roade Cars.

FOLK SONG & STORY EVENING

SUPPORTS SCULPTOR APPEAL

On Saturday 23rd October a Folk Song and Story Evening in the Royal Oak Barn, Blisworth, hosted by Friends members Rose and Brian of NB Enigma, raised £130 for the Sculptor Appeal.

The event was supported by, amongst others, sixteen local boat crews.

More news on the Sculptor Appeal can be found on page 6.

DO YOU REMEMBER...

When you filled in your application form to join the Friends and support your local ca-nal museum? Did you tick some boxes of-fering to assist in some way? Well, we could do with your help.

Is there anyone out there who could spare a few hours to organise our winter talks season and also co-ordinate volunteers on behalf of the Friends who have offered to give talks?

Apart from our own highly entertaining talks to members which are held monthly in the Canal Museum over the winter months we are occasionally asked if we can provide speakers to other groups, such as WI’s and local libraries, to talk about the Friends or our canal heritage in gen-eral. It’s not an onerous task as we only invite 7-8 speakers to talk to us each year and we can assist with a database of members who have offered to give talks or demonstrations of canal crafts.

If you think you might be interested, or would like more information about what is involved, please contact a committee member (see back page), or send an e-mail to:

publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk

David Blagrove, Chairman of the Friends, writes…

“Village at War...

an all-round success” Although the main excitement of this year‟s “Village at War” has died down, there are still echoes as we go to press, for as such events grow so does the administrative work, par-ticularly the accounting side of things. Hopefully all will be settled by Christmas and it looks as though the event has been an all-round success. There have been some complaints from villagers who found the presence of fairground genera-tors nearby too much of a good thing, but at least these prob-lems were mitigated by the most helpful attitude of the show-man and his family. Quite obviously we shall have to think seriously about the positioning of such amusements at future events. However the most important thing in my view that aided the event‟s success was the generosity of Alison Jones in allowing us the use of her large field in the Greenway for a show ground. We are most grateful. The events at the church were also a great success, pleasing the Parochial Church Council, members of which had never seen the Church so full. Sadly the hope I expressed in my last Jottings for an Indian Summer was only partially granted. The weather on Sunday was once again dreadful, but even so a good few peo-ple braved it.

“deteriorating rapidly”

I mentioned the matter of the Side Lock and Weighing Ma-chine last time. This is still far from being resolved, but at least something is happening. I cannot usefully report very much on the subject, since delicate negotiations are proceed-ing, but the Village Partnership is in the course of preparing a scheme for the continuing use of the side lock if and when the machine is removed. It is evident that it is deteriorating rapidly. The other project that I mentioned last time in con-nection with the canalside generally, that of interpretation, is proceeding slowly. Roy Sears, our Council member who has masterminded the booklet substitute for the stalled interpre-tation panels, has had to go into hospital for an operation. At the moment of writing he is at home and progressing well. I am sure all Members will join me in wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Meanwhile in his absence the project is be-ing guided by Brian Collings, so we may be assured that it is in very safe hands indeed. Our Council Member Bill Mann has also been in the wars, he has had a minor operation on his hand and is currently out of regular operation, but hopes to be back in full working order by the New Year; we wish him all the best and a swift recovery. Finally, our West Northants stalwart, Councillor David Griffin has intimated to me that he feels that he can no longer give our Council the attention he would like and so will be resigning his place as from the New Year. He has been a member since our inaugu-ration five years ago and I would like to take this opportunity of thanking him for his long period of useful input, especially from the point of view of local authorities.

“pleased to welcome”

At our September Council meeting we were pleased to wel-come Linda Davies from Northampton University who came along as an observer following the approach to the University mentioned in our last Museum Matters. Since then David Henderson and Louise Stockwin from the Museum have at-tended a Freshers‟ Presentation with much information about the Museum and its work. This has already brought forth interest from new students and we are hoping to build upon this substantially during the ensuing academic year.

This October has seen the fortieth anniversary of the end-ing of regular long-distance commercial traffic on the Grand

Union Canal (it seems only yester-day that it ended, sign of the ageing process I‟m afraid!). Whilst irregu-lar commercial traffic has never ceased completely the daily sight of loaded and empty working boats passing the Museum is now forty years in the past. The last such contract was for the supply of 100 tons of industrial coal per week to Kearley & Tonge‟s jam factory at Southall, known as “the Jam „ole” by boaters. This ceased in late August 1970 at the same time as the supply of coal to Dickinson‟s paper mills at Croxley, carried by a variety of small carriers in latter years. However a sudden call for a late order of 100 tons for Southall in October, after the boats had been laid up, meant that the Jam „ole was indeed the very last regular customer of the canal.

“commemorative run”

Since 1995 though the custom has arisen of a commemorative run by surviving working boats and others every two years and this year saw a special run made. Our treasurer, Laura Sturrock and her partner Peter Oates took Stanton, one of the boats to carry the last loads to the Jam „ole, round the course in the traditional seven days (Braunston-Atherstone-Southall-Braunston) that the regular boats would achieve. Another six boats accompanied them including Renfrew, another of the boats employed up to the very last. All the boats kept together and made landfall together at Stoke Bruerne for the final night of the run (see photo below). I am slowly recovering from this. One interesting piece of news is that the owners of Renfrew,

who have kept her in excellent condition ever since buying her out of trade forty years ago, have decided to sell her and she is to be re-united with her old butty boat Lucy, now undergoing extensive repairs and rebuilding at Braunston. This means that five out of the last six boats operating the final contract are still unconverted and in good hands, for the other pair is of course our old friends Nutfield & Raymond. Whilst on the subject of boats, Sculptor was moved in early November to the boatyard at Stretton-on-the-Fosse, where she is awaiting restoration. A small sub-committee of the Friends has been formed to oversee this, and I hope we shall be able to give subsequent progress reports for the Friends‟ benefit.

The years speed up as one gets older. Not only does 1970 seem like yesterday, but my last year‟s Chairman‟s Jottings seem like a few minutes ago. Nonetheless, here we are again and so I will take this opportunity of wishing all members a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year, and look forward to see-ing you at our events planned for 2011.

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“Bigger and

better than ever!” This year’s Village at War was bigger and better than ever, with a vintage fair featuring dodgems, a helter-skelter and swing-boats. Attractions also included a replica Spitfire, musical entertainers George Formby (aka Paul Casper) and the ever popular Lola Lamour, a special Land Army display featuring vintage tractors and a Dig for Victory garden along with farm imple-ments and static animals. Even the poor weather on Sunday didn’t deter families from turning out to experi-ence what it was like to live in the austere 40s and learn how to do the “Lambeth Walk” at the popular af-ternoon tea dances.

There was plenty to do for the children too with Wild About Waterways running activities in the Canal Mu-seum which was offering free admission on both days. And as usual, there was plenty of activity on the water with boat trips and vintage boats, as well as trading boats selling black market cheese and delicious fudge.

A £50 prize to the “best dressed house” in Stoke Bru-erne judged by “Mr Churchill”, who toured the village by jeep, was won by Rory O’Farrell and his partner Kirsty at Rosebud Cottage who not only taped up their windows, but hung out bunting and played stirring war-

(above) Local MP Andrea Leadsom opens the weekend

(below) The Cheese Boat photos: Lynda Payton

time music to entertain the passing crowds.

In all, the weekend was voted a resound-ing success and next year’s date has al-ready been set for the same weekend in Oc-tober, so put it in your diaries now!

(left) Churchill and David Blagrove get ready to lead the British Legion procession

(right) Lorna York and Sculptor get into the wartime spirit

photos: Anthony McCullum

SCULPTOR GETS 75TH BIRTHDAY PRESENT Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, 39 Church Street, Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire NN7 3LH (cheques made payable to Friends of The Canal Museum).

Lorna’s Trip Log...

Saturday the 5th of November dawned bright and sunny so we picked a good day to move Sculptor from Stoke Bruerne to Braunston. Rick Thake had pumped her out

on Friday afternoon but it took an hour of pumping before I could start the engine, as the water was over the fly wheel—that much water had leaked in overnight.

We started off at 8.30am in-stead of 7.30am and the journey to the bottom of the Buckby flight was uneventful, apart from a slight hold up on the Weedon embankment when another boat decided to back from one side of the canal to other which took about twenty five minutes to execute.

We accompanied another boat up the flight and set off across the Braunston summit as the sun was getting low in the sky which made seeing a bit difficult in places. As we entered Braun-ston Tunnel the head light de-cided to give up on me. It is amazing how much you can see in the dark! As long as I could see the other end of the tunnel with the cratch centred I was OK and luckily nothing was coming the other way. My only problem was when I got to the

bend when my sons came to my rescue. James with his lighter and Joseph with his phone, just giving me that little bit of light to see by. I prayed to my ancestors to get me through and I was so glad to get to the end of the Tunnel.

By now the light was fading fast, but I could see the top lock was already set for me. Mike Constable was waiting for us. Every thing was Ok going down the first four locks, on the fifth lock James came to tell me that there were two boats coming up and he would take the centre line and keep me to the side of the pound. The lights on these boats were very powerful, in fact they lit up the pound from the bottom lock to the second. In the event it was only one boat in the lock with two lights on and I thought to myself I could have done with one of them earlier.

By the time we came out of the bottom lock it was very dark and we had to find somewhere to moor. We squeezed into a tight spot by Butchers bridge and left Sculptor there. The following Tuesday Ron Withey took her on to Brinklow Boats at Stretton where she is now being well looked after. Lorna York

Thanks to generous donations from her Friends through the Sculptor Appeal and match funding from PRISM (Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material) adminis-tered by MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archive), Sculptor is to get a new bottom for her 75th birthday although work will not actually start until January.

Built in 1935 by W J Yarwood & Sons of Northwich with a Lister HA2 diesel engine, Sculptor was used by the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company for general cargo between the Mid-lands and London. During World War II she was commissioned by the Ministry of War Transport as a fire fighting facility, based on the Grand Union Canal at Greenford. It is believed that the vessel was handed over following completion, probably with its original butty Tou-can, on 29th November 1935. In 1985 she was withdrawn from the fleet and restored at the museum at Ellesmere Port and in 1986 she was moved to The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne.

Shortly after the formation of The Friends of The Canal Museum in 2005/6, the perilous state of the septuagenarian's bottom gave cause for concern and in 2007 she was saved from sinking by the quick action of Friends Chairman David Blagrove who plugged a major leak in true boatman’s fash-ion. In 2007 and 2008 Sculptor went into the dock at Braunston where volunteers carried out more robust temporary repairs, but apart from her local trip to the annual Braunston Historic Boat Show, insurers stipulated that she was unfit to leave her mooring.

In early 2009 an Appeal was launched by The Friends of the Canal Museum to raise funds for her repair and in July this year aided by a large donation of £1,000 by Tim Cogh-lan of Braunston Marina and monies given in memory of the late Dave Prior, the fund reached a level where £13,000 of match funding could be applied for. We are very grateful to Honorary Curator Mike Constable who did all the work on the grant application to PRISM. Mike said: “Sculptor is a vital part of the Canal Museum as she is the first contact that most visitors receive as they approach the site.”

The repair work is vitally needed as the state of Sculptor’s bottom boards have continued to deteriorate to the point where almost continuous pumping-out was needed.

Sculptor left for Brinklow Boat Services for repair at the beginning of November where she is now being cared for until work can start. In the meantime, the Sculptor Appeal Fund remains open, as money still needs to be raised to provide a contingency fund. Donations can be made via our website at www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk or by post to Treasurer, Laura Sturrock c/o The Friends of The

Sculptor coming through Nether Heyford

photo: Laura Sturrock

Message from the Museum Manager David Henderson brings us up to date

Financial The targets for this financial year have been very challenging after a successful previous year which benefited from much better weather (especially during the school holidays) and the reduced level of VAT at 15% which helped sales. Consequently, it has been very difficult to reach income targets, and this has only been achieved in the month of April. Visitor numbers were very low in September, recovering slightly in October. Overall, visitor num-bers are only 1.7% below last year, but this has a knock-on effect on both cafe and shop sales.

In retrospect, it would appear that the increased trading antici-pated in the budget was somewhat ambitious, and this will be ad-dressed in the 2011/12 exercise, which will also be affected by the further increase in VAT to 20%, which will not assist in increasing shop sales. Gift Aid Museum staff have been successful in asking for visitors to Gift Aid and as a result figures for September are 157 Gift Aids = £430.66, and in October 157 Gift Aids = £435.12. Local Business and Promotions The Museum has continued to work closely with the other local businesses in the village. Most supported the Village at War week-end by buying advertising space in the excellent VAW programme.

At the VAW event the village ran out of car parking spaces at 2pm on the Sat afternoon. We contacted Rookery Farm and the owner agreed to open his field and allowed 40 cars to park. All these ac-tivities highlight the co-operation and support the local businesses provide for each other. Health and Safety There were no accidents or incidents reported in this period of time. Training I attended an internal training course on Human Resources at Elles-mere Port (21st Oct) Events and promotions On 9th September I attended a NEL seminar at Benefield Hotel and gave a powerpoint presentation on the Village at War successes. On 16th September Village at War received Best Event Award for the East Midlands at Kelham Hall in Newark. On 2nd/3rd October the 2010 Village at War event was a great success (despite rain on Sunday). The Friends will make between a £800-£1k surplus and Stoke Bruerne’s reputation as a tourist desti-nation is enhanced throughout the County.

The Village at War programme offered a 2-for-1 entry to the mu-seum on future visits to Stoke Bruerne. This has been quite suc-cessful with 23 vouchers being used in October. Curatorial The Canal Museum has been re-accredited. Flagship MLA Course We have received a grant of £700 to attract young volunteers. The Museum has produced a leaflet which was very successful at a Volunteer Fair at Northampton University on October 14th Survive and Thrive I attended a Business Planning Course on July 29th

Museum Forum I am a committee member of the Northamptonshire Heritage Fo-rum and am involved in the production of a Forum booklet with Head of Libraries (Northampton C.C ) and the Manager of Sulgrave Manor. Also, the redrafting of the Forum constitution (linked to Survive and Thrive) and an Ancestral Working Party that is led by Northampton Enterprise Ltd.

Ancestral Tourism I represent the Museums on a committee seeking to bring visitors to the County whose families lived and/or worked in Northamptonshire. Curatorial Group The group restarted their winter work on Tuesday 2nd November. The Quilt exhibition was taken down that day and replaced with a Family History exhibition Actions for the winter The costume case is to be replaced at an estimated cost of £4k New graphic panels for Canals at War The first floor displays will be themed on boats, boating and the people of the boats. The second floor displays will be themed on engineering, mainte-nance and the workforce connected therewith. Sculptor The curatorial group has gained £13k match funding from PRISM towards the costs of replacing Sculptor’s wooden bottom. A con-tract has been placed with Rex Wain at Brinklow Boats to under-take the works starting in January for her return before the Gala Weekend Event in June.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Reported by Friends’ Treasurer Laura Sturrock

Chairman David Blagrove 01604-862174

Vice-Chairman Lorna York

Treasurer Laura Sturrock

Minutes Secretary Denis Atkinson

Membership Secretary Sandie Morton membership@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk

Publicity, Newsletter, Talks & Website Lynda Payton 01604-861205 publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk

Museums Management Board Representative Roy Sears

Volunteer Co-ordinator: Vacant

Other David Henderson (ex-officio seat), David Griffin, Jenny Copeland, Bill Mann, John Alderson, Brian Collings

Events Sub-Committees Dennis Atkinson, David Blagrove, Bill Mann, David Hen-derson, Barbara Everest, Jennifer Chybalski, Lynda Payton (occasional), John Alderson, Rick Thake, Roy Sears, Tim Carter (occasional), Laura Sturrock, Jenny Copeland and Michael Butler

Non-Committee Posts Roger Hasdell - Joint Newsletter Editor Terry Richardson - Assistant Publicity Officer

DIARY DATES Regular Friends talks meetings take place throughout the winter, normally on the third Thursday of the month in the schoolroom at the rear of the Museum. More details are published on our website and in newsletters. A donation is appreciated to help cover expenses.

Please put the following dates in your diaries:

Saturday 11th December from 5pm onwards Illuminated Boats & Carol Singing Hot food and beverages, lantern procession, carol sing-ing on the Museum Green with the children of Stoke Bru-erne Primary School, illuminated boats and village gift shops open for your last minute Christmas presents. Prize awarded to best illuminated boat.

Thursday 16th December at 8pm No talk this month.

Thursday 20th January at 8pm Tim Coghlan talks about “Evelyn’s War” (as serial-ised in Canals & Rivers magazine) in the Schoolroom at the rear of the Canal Museum.

Thursday 17th February at 8pm Speaker TBC. In the Schoolroom at the rear of the Canal Museum.

The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be

construed as policy or an official statement unless so stated. The Friends of The Canal Museum accept no liability for any matter, errors or omissions contained within this newsletter. We will,

however, gladly publish corrections if notified. The editors reserve the right to shorten or modify articles published in the interests of clarity or space.

COUNCIL 2010/11 www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk

Join us on Saturday 11th December at 5pm onwards for a magical celebration of Christmas with the children of Stoke Bruerne Primary School singing carols. Bring your boat, if you have one, and make a spectacle of yourself with some col-ourful illuminations. You never know— you just might win a prize as three times winners Inchy have promised not to compete this year! There will be hot chestnuts and soup to keep out the chill and all the shops will open for those last minute presents. Trip boat Charlie will be offering boat trips to the tunnel and back, and will be leading the Illuminated boat Procession (leaves 5pm from outside the Museum). Topiary will be offering complimentary festive treats and re-freshments. The Canal Museum will be open and serving steaming hot beverages and The Little Mermaid Shop will be serving mulled wine. A perfect start to Christmas—and not to be missed!

ILLUMINATED BOATS & CAROLS

Current finances Currently the combined funds of the Friends charity and the Friends trading company amount to about £20,500, of which £8,548 is earmarked for the working boat Sculptor. A further £6,947 is held by the charity to be used for projects at the mu-seum. It will be necessary to retain funds to finance the Gala weekend and the Village at War next year. The trading company cur-rently has funds of about £5,000 which would cover the costs of the Village at War 2011. Stoke Bruerne Village at War The surplus from the 2010 Village at War is approximately £800. This year the weekend was expanded with attractions in the event field as well as the museum green. As a result the cost of setting up the Village at War was substantially greater than the year before. The weather was excellent on Saturday and the entry fees on that day covered the cost of the weekend. Unfortunately the weather was poor on Sunday and attendance lower, hence the small surplus for the weekend. Sculptor Work will start on the new bottom for Sculptor in the New Year, funded by the Sculptor Appeal monies raised by the Friends and a grant from PRISM. The Friends will assist in monitoring progress and costs as the work is carried out.