Aylsham (River Bure) Centenary

Centenary celebration of the closure of the River Bure           July 2010   Given my interest in the Aylsham Navigation which follows the course of the upper Bure from my childhood home in Coltishall to Aylsham in North Norfolk, a forthcoming celebration ro rival the Olympic Games in 2012 has been brought to my attention. Stu Wilson is the catalyst for some form of comemorative event to mark the closure of the navigation on 26th August 1912, the day of the great flood. I think every village has a record of "a great flood" but this one was very real and washed away all the locks leaving one wherry stranded half way up. They are looking for enthusiasts to get involved and make this happen. This waterway is ripe for restoration with few blockages, loads of water,  just some missing locks. So if you fancy raising the profile of this navigation drop Stu Wilson a line as detailed below. Hello,   I have written to you all before about my idea of commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Aylsham Navigations closure which is on August 26th 2012. For a succesful event we need to start planning very soon. I'm very pleased to say that Aylsham Town Council at their meeting last evening backed this proposal in principle and so it is now time to move to the next step.   At some point in September of this year I will call a meeting to discuss this idea to be held at Aylsham Town Hall. I have already had a lot of positive feedback and some good ideas of ways in which we can commemorate this important event in our local history. There is no reason why we have to limit ourselves to one event, indeed we can undetake research and also have fun in some way. It's all up for discussion. The hope is that at the September meeting we can form a working party to drive this forward. However I am keen, as I'm sure you are, that this proposal gets as wider a base of support and participation as possible. For this reason, before setting up the meeting, I invite you to consider any organisations or individuals in your communities and sphere who may wish to be involved. Feel free to forward this email to them but please ask if they wish to be involved they should email me with their details so i can include them in the meeting invite.   You may be interested to see http://norfolkmills.co.uk/aylsham-navigation.html   Once again, thank you.   Regards   Stu Wilson 01603 279510 07867 527682