News from the Project.
This page contains items of news of the Project during the previous twelve months. For earlier items, see the Gallery page.

5 January 2012 - Members of the Project met on board Dick's Folly with Terry from Starline Marine, to discuss details of the new boat. This is an exciting project to be involved with and it should not be long before the decision is made to go ahead with the building of the new boat.

16 November 2011 - Members of the Project visited Starline Marine, in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire to discuss ideas for our new accessible narrowboat. The outline is for a boat 60 feet in length and capable of sleeping 10-12 people. Incorporating Starline's ideas, the plan is to make the accommodation flexible so removable bunks can make space for a wheelchair user. The boat will have a hydraulic lift to enable access to a large part of the boat from the rear deck. This boat was made possible by the gift from the executors of the late Graham Pickett who died earlier this year [see August 2011 entry below].

Abbots Langley Winter Acoustic Concerts - Sunday 13 November 2011. This was the second concert in the series held at The Abbots Langley Community Centre and organised by Tim and Lesley Brooks of AL Concerts [use this link to their website]. Dave Webber, Anni Fentiman and Brian Peters presented their show 'On the Road to Mandalay'. See their press release for more information. This concert was also publicised in the Watford Observer.

3 October 2011 - Members of the Stopgap programme run by HCS for young people in Hertfordshire met members of the Project to hand over new window covers they had made for Dick's Folly. The covers are made from recycled materials from Watford Recycle Art Project. These will come in very useful as only a few days before, the narrowboat was hit by an angler's line and lead weights which was cast from the far side of the canal. See pictures on the following page.

2 October 2011 - This 10km race has been organised for the last 29 years! All runners are sponsored and the proceeds are donated to local charities and causes. Last year our Project was one of the beneficiaries of the race, receiving a cheque for £1000. John Blake organised volunteers from our Project who wanted to help with the marshalling of this event. For details of the Tough Ten see their website [link to www.tough10.co.uk will open in a new tab/window]. Angi, Janet, Martin and John were willing to stand in glorious sunshine, telling the runners where to go. Click on this picture to enlarge it:

September 2011 - The Project is extremely grateful to many people and organisations who have helped and supported us through a very difficult time while Dick's Folly has been out service being refitted. As a way of offering our thanks, we have been organising 'Thank You' trips. The following page shows some of the photos taken during one of these trips with members of the Stopgap programme. 

24 August 2011 - We are extremely pleased to announce that the executors of the will of local resident Graham Picket have presented a cheque to the Project, in accordance with Graham's wishes. The committee have prepared the following press release. The Watford Observer newspaper have also printed an article which can be seen on their website, using this link, which will open in a new window/tab.

11 June 2011 - Abbots Langley carnival. Like last year, Little Dick was pulled along the carnival route by a group of Project members: Judith E, Martin C, Maureen M, Angi N and Ann G. A member of the public videoed the procession and Little Dick can be seen at about 8 minutes, just behind Postman Pat and his cat Jess [see the video on YouTube]. Other pictures can be seen on the following page.

10 June 2011 - Dick's Folly arrived at Croxley Marina on the back of a low loader and was craned back into the water! She has been repaired and fully refitted and she is ready for use [once our band of volunteers have given her a good clean]. Click on this picture to enlarge it: 

21 and 22 May 2011 - Rickmansworth Canal Festival. Because Dick's Folly was not quite ready, we could not take her to the festival, but we did make our presence felt by joining forces with a few friends; Eve and Tony on Triple B [Slow Down for Duck's Sake], Ralph and family on tugboat Tiny, and Janul onThe Crimson Pirate. Pictures of the event are shown on this page.

14 May 2011 - Rickmansworth Carnival. A small crew of volunteers joined the carnival parade pulling Little Dick's Folly with them. Pictures of the event are shown on this page.

11 February 2011 - Quiz night at The Nap Community Centre, Abbots Langley was a fun evening for 25 teams which raised £1,000 for the refit of Dick's Folly. More details on our Fundraising page.

6 February 2011 - JIG JAW appeared at the Abbots Langley Winter Acoustic Concert held at Abbots Langley Community Centre, Gallows Hill Lane, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, WD5 0AP [see their website]. Pictures of the event are shown on this page. Jig Jaw combined the percussion and passion of dance traditions with vocal harmonies in a tight scintillating quartet of singing and dancing talent. Jigjaw's music is developed from traditional dance melodies, so to showcase this connection we are following the concert with a barn-dance for which the accompanying music will be provided solely by their voices.