Jump to content

Celebrity 5 Go Barging 2019


Jo_

Featured Posts

It could have been a lot worse, I found it watchable. Remarkably for a programme with "celebrity" in the title, all five of them actually are quite well known people.

In the bit about the flint mill where they said the flint came from the South Downs, I found myself wondering whether it was taken up to the Caldon by water. Maybe it could have been if it was at the time when the Wey and Arun was open? But why bother bringing it that far when other chalk hills exist much further north, e.g. the Chilterns?

Anyway, the point of the programme is to watch five people thrown together learning boating from scratch, apart from a bit of brief instruction from the hire boat company. I was going to say five strangers, but at least Michael Buerk must have met John Prescott before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I watched out it for the same reason people rubberneck at accidents.....and it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be....it’s probably done a better PR job for the waterways and to encourage people to try a hire boat than the CRT TV ad could ever dream of....mind you I would loved to have gone up the Leek branch that quickly...and I didn’t know they had extended it into the town..?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did try as I thought it would be crap. I was not disappointed and turned it off after a bout ten minutes and watched some recently applied paint dry, it was far more entertaining. 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They really ought to try to get the terminology correct. I found the programme frustrating to say the least. One of us watched the whole thing, it wasn't me. 

 

Then, blow me down, there's another one next week!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

They really ought to try to get the terminology correct. I found the programme frustrating to say the least. One of us watched the whole thing, it wasn't me. 

 

Then, blow me down, there's another one next week!!

It would be interesting to know which bits of incorrect terminology irritated you? I'm genuinely interested :) 

 

Brand new to narrowboating, with a bit of tuition from the hireboat company, and off they went. In a sense, how could you expect the terminology to be correct? I'd guess that hundreds or thousands of people every year do the same thing, and have no idea there is a whole different language for boating, so they say it as they see it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

It would be interesting to know which bits of incorrect terminology irritated you? I'm genuinely interested :) 

 

Brand new to narrowboating, with a bit of tuition from the hireboat company, and off they went. In a sense, how could you expect the terminology to be correct? I'd guess that hundreds or thousands of people every year do the same thing, and have no idea there is a whole different language for boating, so they say it as they see it.

I think it would do a lot of the moaners of hire boats good to watch this and see what a complete newbe is up against the first time they take to the tiller, just the push left to go right doesn't seem right to someone who has never boated. and a leaver that often goes up and down for forward and reverse. don't forget no breaks and that is before you reach the first lock.

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, haggis said:

Ah, but Brian, the folk who moan and criticise hire boaters never had to learn. They knew everything the minute they stepped aboard and never ever made a mistake. I sometimes think that folk who go narrowboating (I won't call them boaters) are a crowd of complainers. If it is not hire boats or shared boats it is folk going past their badly moored boat too fast. I wonder if complainers are more prevalent among folk who use the internet . I sincerely hope so as what we see on the internet is not encouraging.

 

haggis

I agree very much with those sentiments. It was interesting to see that on more than one occasion they were described the use of the windlass as "locking the gates". I do wonder about the handover from whatever company is involved in these programmes; it gives me an impression that they don't give them as much of a briefing as an ordinary punter may receive so that subsequent mistakes and "calamities" can be filmed to make an entertaining programme.

 

Howard 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, howardang said:

I agree very much with those sentiments. It was interesting to see that on more than one occasion they were described the use of the windlass as "locking the gates". I do wonder about the handover from whatever company is involved in these programmes; it gives me an impression that they don't give them as much of a briefing as an ordinary punter may receive so that subsequent mistakes and "calamities" can be filmed to make an entertaining programme.

 

Howard 

I suppose it depends on how long they allow for the handover/training. How much can you teach in an hour, or even two, and how much is going to be remembered? I think it was a fair representation of how things would go with most people new to narrowboating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suffered my wife repeatedly growling " its not a barge " at the TV. Not as bad as it could have been. Relieved that there was no sex, especially with Prescott.

 

What did they call a windlass?  I know it jarred at the time.

Where was the trip through Leek tunnel or did I nod off at that point?

Were they not told to reverse off the mud when aground?

 

I was somewhat horrified to see the tealights on the polished table and on the table cloth, terrible fire risk, would cause damage at least if not disaster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're still on the Caldon, and it's stunning with it's overgrown flower banks. This beauty wasn't captured on the prog.

 

Wished I knew where they popped off for shopping. Guess they had a limo to collect them ? 

 

The worrying bit was the barging bashing about, I know people have to learn, but it was made to look like it was a 'sport'. I guess narrowboat hire companies were wincing :)  I imagine a group looking for a 'jolly boy's outing' might think it's their type of holiday.

 

Edited by Jennifer McM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

 

I can honestly say, hand on heart, that the very first time I steered a Narrowboat I wasn't all over the pace. Needed some concentration, but no way did I perform like those idiots on the telly last night. I'll admit due to lack of concentration I've hit things since, but whenever anyone is now to something, like steering a Narrow Boat, you just need concentration. 

 

Incidentailly I've never ever steered a barge. Narrow Boat yes, Barge no!! 

Edited by Nightwatch
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm fairly sure that these days, with internet etc, anybody (with any brains) would do a bit of research if they'd booked a (fairly expensive to them) holiday on a narrowboat - indeed, if they had googled 'barge holidays', they'd probably be somewhere in France on a Dutch style barge - but these 5 no doubt paid nothing and couldn't be bothered to research anything. Unless of course, as the majority of them were actors, they were acting? For a fee? (Moi, cynique?)

So, with hindsight, although I only watched 11 minutes of it, they were all earning their money making an 'entertainment' programme. Which didn't entertain me, but that's just down to personal preference - they were not making a programme about narrowboat holidays, just a bit of fun doing it mostly wrong in boats. And it got us all talking about it!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I cringed at the terminology used and some of the antics remember this is a programme aimed very much at non boaters or indeed those who don’t know a canal runs along the bottom of their street.

 

I hate dumb tv with a passion but sadly celebrity programmes like this are popular and it could have been far worse. I think more people have probably engaged with this than CRTs robot ad....and at little or no cost to CRT.

 

In a similar vein I’ve heard that the new Top Gun film has been made with the help of the US Navy...Im guessing they decided it was better to help the film co and use them to get a message across than they could ever achieve by making a recruitment/patriotic campaign. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With a few reservations,I enjoyed the prog.I think progs like this and Tim and Pru help to promote interest in canals and boating with the public,and this I think is a good thing.

Used to watch Rosie and Jim with my kids and enjoyed that too. I could sing you the Rosie and Jim song if you like.?

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

With a few reservations,I enjoyed the prog.I think progs like this and Tim and Pru help to promote interest in canals and boating with the public,and this I think is a good thing.

 

Generally agree but would it be any less enjoyable if the producers took the trouble to give the celebs some proper instruction to begin with, and got someone out from the hire company to show them how to overcome common problems like getting stuck - instead of sending the message that it's all a bit of a boozy lark  for idiots?

 

And why perpetuate stuff that is plainly wrong, like calling the boats "barges", and windlasses "lock spanners"?

 

Obviously none of these people are the hapless duffers that we are being asked to believe they are, but they are self-declared novices, and it would be a better advert for the holiday industry if it was made clear you can soon get the hang of it all and have an enjoyable time.

50 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

 I could sing you the Rosie and Jim song if you like.?

Without wishing to seem unkind - some other time, perhaps.?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ostensibly they nipped off up the Leek branch to shop whilst the others looked round the flint mill at Cheddleton. Clearly ridiculous to have done all that from Cheddleton to the junction and up the Leek branch and back (including the long march in and out of Leek) in a couple of hours but I guess poetic licence to concoct the story.

We got some fuel from Black Prince at Etruria last Tuesday and they were telling us they were going to be on the telly on Friday. The guy who was showing them how to steer at the beginning served us the diesel. He told us that one of the men was a complete gentleman and another a pain in the backside - I’ll leave you to decide which was which.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were there for the Morris dancing on Thursday as well, also by chance. Our boat was the one visible from the pub.

 

We haven’t been up the Caldon for three years and this trip was the busiest we have ever seen it. Still not busy like the Llangollen but quite a lot more boats moving than any time before. At the end of the Leek branch on Wednesday there were four of us overnight and apparently the night before one boat was breasted up to get in.

 

This morning we stopped for a late breakfast at the Emma Bridgewater factory and coming back found ourselves at the back of a queue of 4 boats going into Planet Lock. Queueing for locks on the Caldon - whatever next?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.