THE February meeting was an informative and amusing talk by Andrew Stumpf, regeneration manager for British Waterways.

He began by saying any canal restoration would probably take 30-40 years.

He said 200 miles of canal have been restored over the last five years, regenerating 27 towns and cities and creating 20,000 jobs.

He mentioned the "Wych Barge", the money for which was provided by "The People's Millions" Lottery fund and was voted for by TV viewers.

This historical boat will be erected in Vines Park, Droitwich.

The Droitwich Canal should be open from Hanbury Wharf to the Severn by 2008.

Mr Stumpf talked at length about the progress made on the Cotswold Canal, which will run from Saul Junction on the Gloucester Sharpness Canal to the Thames at Lechlade.

He also told about the restoration of the Bedford and Milton Keynes Canal, a project in its early stages.

The next meeting is on Tuesday, March 7, at 8pm at The Boat and Railway, Stoke Works, Bromsgrove and will be an illustrated talk by a canal enthusiast Roy Kenn.

He will be talking about the building of his "Les Allen" narrow boat and will be showing slides of his travels.

Visitors and new members welcome.