The December issue of our monthly magazine, The Fifty Eight, named after the 58 locks from Tardebigge to the River Severn at Worcester, was a commemorative one to celebrate our 35th anniversary.

Long-standing members sent in stories and memories of the old days, when most boaters owned plastic cruisers with outboard engines.

Now, of course, many members own narrow boats specially built for leisure cruising, although a large number of our members are walkers, cyclists, photographers or historians. Anyone who is interested in canals and our heritage are welcome at our meetings, held on the first Tuesday of each month at The Boat and Railway, Stoke Works, at 8pm. Our next meeting will be an illustrated talk by one of our very knowledgeable members, Colin Scrivener. He is a mine of information on canals and their history, having spent much of his youth abroad working boats.

Our charity narrow boat, Cecilian, is undergoing some maintenance during the winter and will be ready to give people with special needs holidays and day trips by the spring.

For more information, visit www.wbcs.org.uk or contact David Wheeler on 01527 833359.