FreeSpirit : Crikey can the Case get this out.

Saturday 27 April 2019

Crikey can the Case get this out.

I had a short trip down the Erewash yesterday. Not on FS but on ECP&DA's workboat Pentland. Quite unexpectedly really as I had only gone to chat with Norman (Chairman) about getting more tokens for the electric meter. Pentland was in the lock ready for the descent and he was raising the paddles. It was work party day and a large branch had snapped off during the March storms above Eastwood lock which needed removal. First noticed by us when we left for Warwick early March and was most surprised on our return to see it still there. So we told Norman once back at Langley stating that the only way to get past was to keep well over to the towpath side. Nesting birds were mentioned as the reason it hadn't been touched but I assured him that no birds would be nesting in the water! Anyway, an earlier work party had removed some of the smaller branches but the main limb still needed to be dealt with. Today they hoped to rope the large limb and tow it back to the basin to deal with there. Oh hang on, I've sort of got ahead of myself as I was telling the story of why I had that trip on Pentland. So at the lock, whilst Norman was winding the paddle, I happened to mention that photos were needed for the Outlook magazine (Ian is the editor, I take photos!) and it was suggested that I go down on Pentland to the fallen branch, take some photos, leave them to it and walk back t'mill.

All day it took for them to remove the branches from that limb. Most were underwater and the bow saw was used to get rid of these. Pentland arrived back a lot slower than when she went out. Attached to the dollies and on a longish cross rope was that limb and in Pentland's hold, a huge pile of cut branches and logs which had been removed first.