canalboat

You had to queue today though! Half a dozen people have been working on the locks all week and work is still ongoing. Apparently a sill has to be replaced in one lock and then the gates will be replaced.

Annnndd its open again. A man just came to unblock it and possible was more thorough than the previous ones as he found - not just the cap off a cassette which is the usual culprit, but the entire L shaped arm !

And for the latest in the drama - CRT got a telephone call this morning from a boater in a hospital bed. He explained that he had struggled with two toilet tanks up to the Elsan point from his boat moored below Hillmorton bottom Lock to find it was closed. He struggled back with his two full training weights but collapsed, and an ambulance crew recovered him to the road and took him to hospital. You may imagine this would spur CRT into action - Silly you. The Elsan Point is still closed.

No change on the Elson front. Still closed. Some boaters took to emptying into the used the lockup loo until that got blocked until one of the lock-keepers unbunged it (not quite in the volunteers handbook). Boaters are saying that the next Elson points in both directions are also blocked.

And its closed again. That is after the contractors went away after apparently unblocking it. And so is one of the bottom locks closed again after a bus-load of CRT experts "repaired" it from being closed yesterday. Quite a long tail back of boats heading South. Not so many heading North.

It is now open but the contractors who unbunged it left it in a filthy state.

The Elsan at Hillmorton Locks is blocked. That of course does not stop people still emptying their effluent into it even though it overflows direct into the canal. Reported to CRT and Southern Water as its attached to their pumping station.. Southern Water turned up but said its a CRT problem. No sign of CRT yet. Recommend no swimming.

Remember - Only a Ginger can call another Ginger - Ginger

It was a thought but why should I have the aggravation and stress of confrontation with dull people. I did like the thoughtful words of The Happy Nomad above.............

I have just looked in unbelieving horror as a boy aged about 12 got off a hire boat that was coming up through Hillmorton bottom lock carrying two bags of rubbish and ignoring the bins, threw them both into an attractive flowerbed on private property and ran back to what I guessed were his parents. All looked well dressed respectable intelligent people. I carefully picked the bags out of the flowers and put them in the Biffa skip provided by CRT. I then telephoned the Hire Company whose management promised to speak to them harshly. It's getting worse isn't it? Or is it just me getting old?

Basic Boat have my vote - they recently paid a claim in full with no hassle and were very peasant to deal with.