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al pairs of historic working boats including Nutfield & Raymond and Nuneaton & Brighton crewed by The Friends of Raymond and The Narrow Boat Trust respectively. The Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club had arranged for their AGM to be held in the nearby Braunston Village Hall later in the day to give their members an opportunity to attend.

A small marquee manned by IWA Northampton Branch Members on the towpath near Union Canal Carriers base was busy collecting signatures for the Daventry constituency petition and explaining the purpose of the event to those who had come to see the boats or were just out for a walk. The marquee was also the hub for WOW children's' activities - an I-Spy Canal Trail and Colouring Competition.

Members of IWA Ipswich & Northampton Branches were out in force with boats or on foot, joined by members of Finedon Angling Club, local walkers and cyclists, many of them 'wearing' protest slogans or carrying protest banners.

On the dot of 11am our VIP's arrived at Butcher's Bridge to meet an Anglia TV News crew along with photographers and reporters from The Rugby Observer, Northampton's Chronicle & Echo, Daventry Express and the national waterways magazines. The VIPs were Sonia Rolt, IWA Vice-President, widow of LTC Rolt, founder of IWA and WW2 "trainee"; Tim Boswell MP for Daventry; Christopher Heaton-Harris MEBP (Con) and Derek Clark MEBP (UKIP). Also in attendance were IWA Vice-President David Blagrove, David Stevenson, IWA Leicester Branch, Bill Joyce Chairman IWA Grand Junction Region and Cllr. David Griffin (Daventry District Council), the main force behind the new Daventry Canal, which will join the Grand Union not far from Braunston. And, last but not least co-organisers of the event, Lynda Payton, Chairman of IWA Northampton Branch and Tim Coghlan, Braunston Marina.

After all interviews were recorded and photographs taken, and using the bridge as a platform, Tim Coghlan, proprietor of Braunston Marina, introduced our celebs one by one using an old fashioned brass megaphone to rousing cheers and much horn blowing. Sonia Rolt, her diminutive figure hardly visible above the bridge parapet spoke at length to a hushed audience drawing parallels between her early days with IWA campaigning to save our waterways from dereliction and today's battle to restore the funding cuts.

Both local MEP's Christopher Heaton-Harris and Derek Clark emphasised the importance of maintaining our waterways heritage and expressed the full support of their respective political parties for what they believe to be a good cause. Local MP Tim Boswell (Daventry), Patron of the Buckingham Canal Society and The Friends of the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, as well as a good friend of the waterways in general, expressed his belief that the campaign had good cross party support within Parliament although he expected that the battle to restore the cuts would be long and hard.

After the speeches were over all our politicians took the opportunity to speak with boaters, walkers, cyclists, canoeists and local residents who explained what the waterways meant to them and how they feared the DEFRA funding cuts would affect them. Tim Boswell MP then braved the towpath mud to visit the IWA marquee and sign the Constituency Petition which he has agreed to present to Parliament.

At 12 noon a few boats dispersed but most remained tied up four or more abreast leaving a narrow channel for navigation while crews retired to the various hostelries in the village for liquid refreshment, lunch and to catch up on news. At one of the village pubs in the evening, local band Braunston Pickle entertained those who had decided to make a 'weekend' of it.

Lynda Payton
Chairman IWA Northampton Branch