The London WRG van contingent had a most unusual start to this dig. They missed 'last orders' in Pelsall! It wasn't all Martin's fault for being late at Waterloo. The main fly in the ointment was the cooker from Slough. Somehow Martin had been prevailed upon to collect this large beast which was lurking in its own trailer on a front drive in Slough. A major delay and much ingenuity went into the problem of how to attach the trailer to the van and the van's number plate to the trailer. String, penknives and a torch effected the union and we set off, the cooker letting us know noisily when it was turning right or left. It was soon noticed that the cooker was keen to see the sights and was turning within the trailer. Another stop, this time at a garage to buy tow rope to lash the monster down and we were off again. However a large cooker in tow did slow the trip enough for your concerned editor (or Ed) to ring to check on our whereabouts. It cheered us slightly to learn, on our arrival that the local hostelry was nothing to write home about and take-outs seemed to be the order of the day.

The following dry day saw a mixed crowd with many familiar faces working along the canal, starting at a blocked bridge hole at Goscote. The fishing tackle consisted of grappling hooks, kebs and rubber gloves, provided by BW. They also ran the variety of floats to collect the catch. Local boat-owners kindly provided tea and coffee and lunch was to be found in a local community centre. The canal was, I think, in a coal area - anyway the water and mud were black, and if you dug deep, stinking. The richest pickings were around the bridge holes (surprise, surprise!), anything on wheels being the local recycling favourite, especially bikes of all sizes, pushchairs and car and lorry tyres. However the local dumpers weren't narrow-minded and also threw in kitchen sinks (complete with draining boards), furniture of all sorts, road-signs and boards and even a full-sized china loo.

After a day of mud, wet and chill, a small band reconnoitred a couple of local pubs and agreed with the advance Friday party.

That evening a van load of explorers, stoically driven by Tim, went up the road to Pelsall Junction, just too far to walk, to sample the delights of that canal side pub 'The Royal Oak'. Surprisingly, one of the delights was a karaoke, and even more surprisingly, as the drink went down, different members of the group we up to do their party pieces. This culminated in a lively rendition of 'American Pie' by our one and only MARTIN LUDGATE with RHYS JONES. The DJ, with no persuasion kept the duo at the mike, and to be joined by Dan for a spirited version of 'Vindaloo' to followed by 'Welly Tubbies' including Allan Scott as Tinky Winky, Dipsy as Dan, La-la (Rhys) and Po (Martin). Another first! The final number was most of the crowd giving it their all as Spice girls knowing what they really really wanted. We got back on high to find everyone had already gone to bed! Another surprise!

Work continued on Sunday despite heads, but enthusiasm seemed to wane, dampened as it was by rain and hail. The Junction at Birchills was reached and various members of London WRG decided that 'George Stephenson' called more loudly than the cold and rain, and some poor fishing as the surrounding area improved

The journey home by van was, of course via Slough and the cooker only misbehaved towards the end when following motorists indicated something was amiss. The cooker had flung itself off its stand and was at a crazy tilt in the trailer. It was carefully pulled the remaining short distance back to its driveway, remounted its stand and a lighter vanload eventually got back home.

A weekend of surprises - and thanks to Martin for all the driving - but then no-one else had a trailer certificate - but would anyone else risk getting trained now they know the potential hazards?