We were invited to set up an additional display covering our section of the canal. It ran for two weeks, and on the weekend days we arranged to have members of the group in attendance at the museum to answer questions and hopefully to generate additional interest.
It was a much appreciated opportunity for us: we don't get much local publicity, as we don't have many high-profile projects, so we were very happy to put together some posters, maps, explanations and photos.
On this day, the final Saturday, I was "on duty" with Ken Oliver, our chairman, for the morning, and he would be replaced by Doug for the afternoon.
Above are a few items of interest, ranging from Gwynneth's beautiful porthole lace work, to a lump of coal dug out at Childrey Wharf. (We had to promise to give it back to Phil afterwards).
Below is a view of the exhibition area: as you can see, we have some splendid large posters, all displayed very professionally. I'll run through the three walls of display in detail, starting with the one on the left.
The posters start with some large photos of our work at Silver Lane, West Challow, and at the Wharf in Childrey.
We've put a lot of work into these areas, and we are quite rightly proud of them.
On the left we have hard work at Silver Lane: in the middle we have King's Lift Bridge as it is now: and on the right we have Childrey Wharf, during and after. It was amazing how many local didn't know where the Wharf is, so I was very happy to show them on the map, and to encourage them to take a walk across the fields to it.
On the next wall, below, we have the old map of the whole Wilts & Berks route, showing how it will link to the Thames and the Kennet & Avon: photos of Abingdon, and then photos plus map of the new Jubilee Junction where our canal will meet the Thames.
We have to skip over the section between Drayton and Abingdon, as we can't make any plans or do any real work until Thames Water decide whether they are going to build the blasted reservoir or not. The latest news indicates that they've put off making the decision to go ahead or not for another two years, which is a little frustrating for all residents, not just for us.
On a purely selfish level, we (as a group) don't mind which way the decision goes: if they build the reservoir, they will build a large length of the canal for us, which will save us money. If they don't, then we dredge the original line, all of which is rural and legally protected, which is straightforward work and therefore easy to do.
Finally, below, the section that generated the most interest was of the circular walk around wantage and Grove; photos of Elms Farm, and of the Grove Top Lock which we restored a couple of years ago.
Many people were fascinated by these panels, and spent some time trying to relate their own favourite walks to the maps. I'm hoping that I've persuaded a lot of people to explore a different section of Wantage, with the help of the handout version of the circular walk map.
In addition, there was another set of posters at the top of the stairs, including a superb then-and-now shot of the original wharf, taken in 1895 with boats on it, placed against a modern photo taken from very nearly the same vantage point, showing just how much has changed!
We're very grateful to the Vale and Downland Museum for their support, not to mention their cups of tea!