haggis

If I had my boat there, I think I'd get it out sooner rather than later in case the marina owner stages a "lock in" in the hope of getting support against CRT. haggis

We don't need to look very far for Nigels agenda. He said earlier (post 253 or thereabouts) that as CRT won't speak with him, he was using this thread to get his points to them as they read CWDF. I think you can probably give up now, Nigel, they probably stopped reading a long time ago :-) haggis

We have a share in Copperkins, and ex OwnerShips boat, now self managed, and the owners have regularly over the years, had away from base changeovers. When selecting where the changeover would take place, we just made sure that we could get fuel, pump out and if necessary, a valet. We discussed it with our base yard and they would arrange servicing etc round the boats availability at their yard. We now do all our own servicing so the boat comes and goes from base as the owners wish. No shares for sale though. haggis

Nigel, you may huff and puff as much as you like about what could have happened but from what we have heard about this lady, it is highly unlikely that she would have accepted any offer to put her boat on hard standing, tow it to a non CRT waterway or any other action which might have helped her. Re the time of year. Yes, it would be nice if all evictions from boats or houses took place only on sunny days but by carrying out the eviction at the time of year it happened, there was possibly more chance of the lady accepting help from one of the agencies there to help her than if it had been a nice day when going walkabout might have seemed, to her a good idea. The lady did not want help. haggis

That should be the case, Ditchcrawler but I know of one company who insisted on the boat coming back to their base at every turn round and the owners were not allowed to base the boat anywhere else. Sounded to me like the owners couldn't do what they wanted with THEIR boat. Don't know if the company is still in existence but their shared boats all had either "eight" or "twelve" in the name depending how many shares there were. haggis

I wonder if the lady herself would have accepted the offer of a free mooring in a marina and if so, would she still not have had to have a licence etc.? Back to square one in that if the lady won't accept help there is not a lot that can be done apart form what appeared to happen. As I read it, help in the form of Police and Social Services were there when she was evicted and it was her choice to ignore them and go walkabout. Sad, but at the end of the day, it was her choice which had to be respected. haggis

There is a web site http://www.doglost.co.uk/ where info on dogs lost and found is given and it may be that a check on there might identify the owners. haggis

I bought the Tom To app for my Ipad and it drives me mad on the few occasions I have tried to use it. When trying to get it to find the destination (before I set out) If I enter the post code, it works on the first 3 digits which, of course can cover a big area. There is then a drop down menu but it never lists the street I am looking for (some big street's too) and is therefore useless. if I put in the street name to start with, it seldom finds it. I hasten to add, that I am not trying to find small streets in the back of beyond but long, main road type, streets in big town in Central Scotland. I am not impressed! Iain loves his Tom Tom which he uses in the landy but the Ipad version is to my mind, a waste of money. haggis

It must be a tight call when you have stoppages to work between and awful weather to contend with haggis

If it is any consolation, it is not just hire boats which have to progress according to when SC want to operate locks and bridges. It happens to those of us who moor up here and I for one find it most infuriating to the extent that the only time we venture onto the F & C is if we are going to an event. Otherwise we stay on the Union where we can stop and start as we wish. Unfortunately, during the consultations prior to the Millennium Link, which saw the opening of the Scottish Lowland canals, it was stipulated by the local authorities when and how the lift bridges were to be operated. If the LAs had had their way, they would never have been opened at all. In the circumstances (the canals having been closed for 40 years) BWS, as it was then, grasped at any straw to get the canals reopened and we all hoped that things would settle down and a more realistic attitude would prevail. Sadly, this hasn't happened and we are left trying to get SC to realise that boaters can actually be trusted to operate locks and bridges. Good grief, the locks on the Crinan (also managed by SC) are actually bigger than the F & C and are boater operated. On the Lowland canals we are fighting against the hire boat operators as they too don't trust boaters to operate locks. There are actually two lift bridges between Auchenstarry and Kirkintilloch and there are limits on when they can be opened (LA Rule). This means that a boat has to be worked through the first one (in any direction) to give enough time for the boat to get to and through the second one before the last permitted opening of the day. I understand too that the emergency services have to be kept informed of all bridge openings so that emergency vehicles are not held up. twechar may be a small rural lift bridge but it carries a lot of road traffic. My advice to anyone hiring up here would be to contact SC as early as possible and arrange for passage through controlled locks and bridges. If SC have advance warning and know your wishes (before you actually get to the boat) they are more likely to have staff in the right place to help you. I don't think they try to be obstructive, but they are bound by some LA rules and they have limited staff. and they need to see the light :-) haggis

I am SO sorry to hear that your trip was spoiled by the attitude of the F & C staff. I always find they are a great bunch of lads and I enjoy the banter, especially after I offer them tea and coffee. I know that SC employ summer casuals and I can only think that the ones you met were in the wrong job. haggis

That's good, George, then you can tell us all tomorrow. A Happy Christmas to all on CWDF, especially those out boating. Lucky sods :-) haggis

Just take your time and enjoy the whole canal. You must go down to Glasson docks and visit both ends. We have never walked to Morecame bay when on the Lancaster but it is tempting as you get a good view of them. haggis

That's odd, no mention of John Sloan and I too thought he was on the ACC council haggis Crossed with Richards post.