Beyond the Office: Canal volunteering day
In our latest blog post about Idox colleagues supporting their communities, we’re sharing the story of Gemma Greenhalgh (ResearchConnect), Kathryn Andrews (ResearchConnect), and Marie Dobson (Revenue Assurance), who spent a day with regular volunteers for the Chesterfield Canal Trust’s historic working boat, Python.
Python was built in 1929 to fulfil an order from Fellows, Morton & Clayton, the famous canal carriers, for “2 steel Canal boats of copper bearing steel”. Construction costs for Python and a second boat, Panther, came to £366. After 20 years, Python was sold to the British Transport Commission and became part of their South East Division Carrying Fleet before being transferred to the Engineering Department in 1961 for use as a canal maintenance boat.
She was considered surplus to requirements by 2000 as more modern, purpose-built vessels started replacing the older boats. She then fell into disuse for several years before joining the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 2009 on a five-year lease, which became permanent in 2011.
In 2013 Python sprang a leak, necessitating repairs which – together with a refit – took until 2018 to complete. She was then able to continue her valuable work on the Chesterfield Canal. The extraordinary efforts of the ‘Pythoneers’ volunteer crew keep the Python running to this day.
For Gemma, Kathryn, and Marie, their journey began with a safety and familiarisation briefing over a morning cuppa with that day’s team of volunteers – Pat, Tom, John, and Chris.
Once everyone was suitably attired in high-viz vests and life jackets, Kathryn and Marie walked alongside Python with Pat, picking up litter from the towpath. Gemma stayed on the boat, collecting litter from the canal and helping to cut back overhanging trees that were hazardous to other craft.
However, it quickly became apparent that more hands were needed on the boat than on the towpath, so it was a case of ‘all hands on deck’ to deal with the large amount of vegetation that needed to be cut and bagged to avoid it taking over the entire boat.
After a lunch break, there were two locks to navigate before Python was able to turn round and start the return journey – as Python is 50 feet long and the canal is only 30 feet wide, turning areas are few and far between!
By the afternoon, two of the regular ‘Pythoneers’ were back on the towpath armed with litter pickers. Most of the debris collected from the water was either food- or drink-related (crisp packets, cans, bottles, polystyrene containers, etc.) or tennis balls. However, the ‘find’ of the day was an old cash till, spotted by Kathryn and recovered by Gemma.
The section of canal covered was from Bridge 59 Welham Road (Hop Pole) Bridge to Lock 58 Retford West Town Lock:
The efforts of Gemma, Kathryn, and Marie are the latest in a long line of stories demonstrating our colleagues’ passion for supporting local causes. All three agreed that it was an excellent day, made even better for the knowledge that they were giving something back to the community – and the Pythoneers were very appreciative of the help.