Future plans

Saturday 20th March 2010 10 o'clock	We are expecting a Intel workforce on the 25th, so this Saturday we will do some preparation ready for them. Also a bit of strimming and clearance down the canal bed.
Saturday 20th February 2010 10 o'clock	A nice Sunny, but cold, day and we are back again. A bonfire to remove some of the rubbish, a dozen trees planted amongst our new Hawthorne hedge and a general clear up.
November 21st Saturday 2009	In spite of the weather, we are close to reaching this years goal; one more day should do it.
October 31st Saturday 2009	We are nearly halfway down the wall and have started filling in behind. The next two work parties should see it nearly finished.
August 15th Saturday 2009	The work on the wall is progressing well. PICTURES
August 1st Saturday 2009 (July WP clashed with Fairford Air show!)	We are making very good progress replacing some of the missing large stones along the basin wall. Also spent a couple of hours pulling up Ragwort around the Basin. Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea, contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are poisonous to horses and other farm animals such as sheep and cattle and also to wild animals such as hare and deer. It is for pasture owners to recognise and control this potentially fatal plant.
June 6th Saturday 2009	Lots of strimming, more work on the aqueduct following up from an excellent work party bt Npower. PICTURES
May 16th Saturday 2009	The big tree root is now out of the lock wing wall and the wall has been temporally rebuilt. We now have the sand and cement on site and we have started to sort through our collection of stone so that we can incorporate as many of the originals back in the basin wall, Visits from Intel and Npower continue.
April 18th Saturday 2009	With a little bit of a nudge the tree root on the entrance to the lock finally came out, and our marine division sailed its boat on the Leat.
March 21st Saturday 2009	A good day. Cement mixer started OK, new generator works well, and new tyres and tubes fitted to launch trailer. The entrance area was tidied up and is looking very attractive for walkers. The replacement stone cast last month looks good and should soon weather in.
February 21st Saturday 2009	Really nice early Spring day. Explored the hole on the aqueduct and the signs are good that the arch is intact. Also cast a stone as a replacement along the Basin Wall.
January 18th Saturday 2009	It all depends on the weather, but there is maintenance needed on the cement mixer and two wheelbarrows. Plus we need to plan how we will rebuild the basin walls and sort out how much of the original stone is still usable.
December 20th Saturday	A good days work tidying up around the Basin. Fence re-instated across the top of the lock. All ready for next year. BLUE is off to Foxham, but was well worth having.
November 15th Saturday	It was a bit muddy around the Basin, but that didn't stop us putting in a good days work.
November 1st Saturday	A good days work with BLUE immediately proving its worth.
October 4th Saturday	The promised rain held off long enough for us to finish clearing the canal bed in the areas attacked by INTEL earlier this month.
September 20th Saturday	We completed some more clearing in preparation for a visit from an INTEL workparty. We also had some visitors from CCT looking around the Junction after their AGM at Lechlade.
August 30th Saturday	Interesting day. While we worked on the Basin wall, CCT were part way through a week long work party at the junction. PICTURES
July 19th 2008 Saturday	Lots of Strimming done, plus lawn mowing which included some of the area reclaimed from the Stinging nettles. We have also started to rebuild part of the Basin wall which is looking good.
June 21st 2008 Saturday	We extricated the digger from the canal bed and it will shortly be on its way back to Wantage. Further clearance of the basin walls was also carried out following on from our two good days earlier in the month. PICTURES
June 1st 2008 Sunday	Open Day at the Basin. In spite of the rain of the previous days which made our planned car park un-usable the day was considered a success. We had a steady flow of visitors , including family members and everyone seemed pleased to see our progress. There is no doubt better weather would have brought out more people, but nevertheless its was well worth the effort. PICTURES
May 24th 2008 Saturday	Fencing finished, lots of strimming done and more infill taken out of the lock. Looking good for June 1st.
May 17th 2008 Saturday	Another great day. The lock clearance has really gone well and should impress visitors on the Open Day.
April 19th 2008 Saturday	Another great day, even the rain held off (for most of the time). Marvellous turnout and a visit from the Maidenhead Sea Scouts. We finished the fencing around the Basin. Sowed grass seed on the newly levelled area, and cleared a lot more debris from the lock area.
March 15th 2008 Saturday	We have nearly cleared the infill from the Basin, but the rain was causing too many problems. PICTURES Half of the safety post and rail fence around the Basin has been erected.
February 16th 2008 Saturday	A successful day. The flooding has gone down although the adjacent fields are still waterlogged. We carried on clearing along the canal bed, and also attacked the stinging nettles with animal friendly weed-killer.
January 19th 2008 Saturday	Postponed...............for the usual reason........Flooding.
December 15th 2007 Saturday	Good days work in spite of the cold. The lock has started to produce a lot of stones from the chamber.
November 2007 3rd & 4th Saturday & Sunday	WRG are held their "Bonfire Bash" on the North Wilts this weekend. Thanks to their efforts and the continuing work of our own team we have made some great progress. PICTURES
October 21st 2007 SUNDAY	A very pleasant day allowed us to knock back a lot of the recent growth of stinging nettles etc..
August 4th 2007 Saturday	Open Day at the Basin. CANCELLED due to flooding. A few of us were on site all day to explain the situation to anyone turning up. There were a few and I hope we spoke to everyone. I would like to thank these visitors for their understanding, interest and donations. We also found time to remove the old barbed wire fence across the lock entrance and replace it with a "post and rail" fence. Much safer and tidier. PICTURES
July 21st 2007 Saturday	The weather defeated us for this one. It proved impossible to reach the Basin. We will endeavour to make up the lost time before the Open Day.
June 16th 2007 Saturday	We continued clearing the aqueduct and lock and then our intrepid explorers followed the drainage ditch looking for the reason for the slow run off of the water. Most of this was done before the rains came.
May 25th 2007 Friday	A quiet day as expected, but we continued clearing the site and exposing some more of the aqueduct.
April 21st 2007 Saturday	A very successful day. The aqueduct wall is looking good. A constant flow of walkers were most appreciative. PICTURES
March 17th 2007 Saturday	We spent our time tidying up the area on the top of the Aqueduct and Lock, as well as continuing with our archaeological survey. PICTURES
Feb 17th/18th 2007 Saturday/Sunday	The two day work party with WRG was very successful. The site is now very clear and work has begun on the aqueduct wall. PICTURES
January 21st 2007 Sunday	Flooded fields, overflowing river and canal and one very large tree blown over. It all went to make an interesting day. PICTURES
Dec. 27th 2006 Wednesday	Another very successful day. A very good turnout and a great deal achieved. Several walkers commented favourably and appreciated our efforts. PICTURES

Any help is always welcome.
There are many ways in which you can help, and not just on work parties.
Fund raising, publicity, research.....