Held in the village hall at Govilon, just below the Mon & Brec canal, this well-attended and (mainly) jovial meeting proved once again to be of value to the many people associated with this lovely canal. The meeting was led by very interesting reports on the extensive winter work programme that had been completed, on time, just before Easter and including much work addressing the various leakages along this very fragile canal.

Of real importance is that much of this work was funded by a Welsh Government through a grant of over £2million in recognition of the important role the canal plays in both attracting visitors to South Wales as well as supporting the health and well-being of the local communities.

It was sad though not to see any of CRT’s Partnership members at this meeting. They would have been delighted by the active programme being pursued by CRT aimed at encouraging local community engagement with the canal and its associated infrastructure. It was important also to recognise not only the use of CRT Volunteers in assisting at the locks but also in doing extensive towpath clean-up work etc.

In discussing the excellent publicity the Mon & Brec had been getting over the past few years, boaters were warned that Tim & Pru’s TV programme would be recorded on the canal in a few weeks’ time!!

Once again, though, the meeting ended on a very sad note, noting the recent and totally unexpected death of Peter Griffiths, who had built up Cambrian Marina and its’ high quality hire fleet over the past 30 years. Having recently handed the fleet and marina over to one of his sons, and the B&B business to his other son, Peter and his wife Ruth had finally started to enjoy the fruits of their labours. Peter, a true canal-professional, will be sorely missed.

Mike Rodd