Is it just us that complains about volunteer lock keepers

[booke23]

1 hour ago, Rob-M said:

Stenson is the closest I've ever come to putting a volockie in the cut due to the way he was speaking to my wife.

 

1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

There's a word for the volockie at Stenson.  It starts with a C and rhymes with punt.

 

The thing I don't understand is why the CRT put up with vile prats like this as volunteers. They're not employed so no complicated disciplinary procedure to go through to get rid of them. And although not employed they are representing the CRT and behaviour like that brings the trust into disrepute....the CRT don't need any help in that regard where a lot of boaters are concerned.  

[Athy]

18 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

 

First time I went up there in 1994 the house by the top lock was for sale. £35k no road access and a diesel generator in a brick shed. 

 

 

 

It's a former Oxford Canal Co. workshop building. For several years the canal artist who painted our water can, Jane (surname forgotten) lived there with her husband. They kept a wheelbarrow chained to a fence two locks down; that was the nearest road access, and all their groceries etc. had to be pushed up to the house in the barrow, although they did have a narrowboat so perhaps they sometimes used that.

[Momac]

2 hours ago, Jim Riley said:

What about the PRN?

It seems to me that's all forgotten at Cromwell Lock .

At other tidal locks two tides in daylight hours are not being manned at, as they would have been in the not too distant past.

 

At West Stockwith just now a new volunteer is being trained up.

[nicknorman]

2 hours ago, Midnight said:

 

Aside from the sensitivity of others I thought your comments quite funny too, but please desist or I will shag your.... oh maybe not! 😳

Why, what’s changed since last time?

[Iain_S]

4 hours ago, Jim Riley said:

What about the PRN?

Does it apply to cuttings and locks? 

[Tracy D'arth]

3 hours ago, billS said:

It may be the advanced CRT training program. They only get awarded their official windlass once they have demonstrated that they have given Nick satisfaction and eased his passage without complaint.

Someone should ease his passage. He deserves it, would welcome it and probably it would stop his carping about volunteers.

[cuthound]

17 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Gentleme and boaters -

What "we" forget that competant boaters (as in those who inhabit these fora) are in an huge minority.

Volunteers are provided to give service to everyone else. Its the majority of weekend / hire boaters who provide a lot of CRT's income - and therefore need cosseting - and 'managing'.

The occasional boater-who-knows-what-he-is-doing gets mixed up with the majority and thus becomes subject to whatever training the Volos get.

This obviosly upsets  expedrienced members on here  - mebe steeped in 'that's the way to do it, I and my forbears have always done it that way' syndrone age get upset, thus creating a rant on here....

 

You can't pull rank as no-one understands Vexilology (I tried wearing a Blue once  and everyone thought I was from the Antipodes..

 

The easiest solution mebe is to 'pass away on the other side' as harmonously as possible uttering 'pax vobiscum' as you proceed.

 

These things are sent to try us.

(My Management serves a more than adequeate libation before supper which may account for the verbosity of this post).

Mea Culpa.

 

 

Makes me wonder how I managed for the 40 years of canalling before we had volockies... or maybe the current generation of boaters can't cope with complicated things like locks. 😂

[doratheexplorer]

14 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Someone should ease his passage. He deserves it, would welcome it and probably it would stop his carping about volunteers.

Can we please all desist from commenting on Nick's passage!

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Can we please all desist from commenting on Nick's passage!

 

A narrow passage way, alley, or back entry, has various names around the country 

Jitty

Ginnell, or

Twitchel 

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

8 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A narrow passage way, alley, or back entry, has various names around the country 

Jitty

Ginnell, or

Twitchel 

 

 

Jigger in Scouse. Close in Glasgow.

[magnetman]

14 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A narrow passage way, alley, or back entry, has various names around the country 

Jitty

Ginnell, or

Twitchel 

 

 

Snicket

[Mike Tee]

Not so much about the volokies but more about the ones waving paint brushes, all done up in volunteer clothing and life jackets - they were painting the bottom lock by whilton marina the other day when we came through. When I say painting, if it bore a resemblance to either black or white, it was being painted. By about six volunteers - both sides of the lock and both ends AT THE SAME TIME!. That's fine, but it was impossible to go over the lock gates, so could only be worked from the side you happened to be on. Maybe four painting and two assisting passage would have been sensible. My wife pointed that out to the full time C&RT employee in charge - he said he would mention it to his line manager next time he saw them. We wear oldish gear when boating, so won't be putting in a claim for ruined clothing, although I do have quite a lot of white paint on newish ropes from a bollard that was within 30 yards of the lock, with no wet paint signs.

[doratheexplorer]

38 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Snicket

Can we please stop commenting on Nick's snicket?

[doratheexplorer]

57 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A narrow passage way, alley, or back entry, has various names around the country 

Jitty

Ginnell, or

Twitchel 

 

 

Also:

 

Entry

8 foot

[magnetman]

When my mother was little she had a pony and one day there were some works taking place on the house which required awful pleb "builders" to gain access. 

 

Obviously being a real house there was  a tradesmen's entrance and a route through the building to the gardens for things like horses and ponies. In case they need to graze. 

 

When she announced, aged around ten, to the builders "I am just taking my pony up the back passage" they may have been rather surprised. 

 

It's normal in a lot of cases but sometimes language is confusing for more ordinary people. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rob-M]

30 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

Not so much about the volokies but more about the ones waving paint brushes, all done up in volunteer clothing and life jackets - they were painting the bottom lock by whilton marina the other day when we came through. When I say painting, if it bore a resemblance to either black or white, it was being painted. By about six volunteers - both sides of the lock and both ends AT THE SAME TIME!. That's fine, but it was impossible to go over the lock gates, so could only be worked from the side you happened to be on. Maybe four painting and two assisting passage would have been sensible. My wife pointed that out to the full time C&RT employee in charge - he said he would mention it to his line manager next time he saw them. We wear oldish gear when boating, so won't be putting in a claim for ruined clothing, although I do have quite a lot of white paint on newish ropes from a bollard that was within 30 yards of the lock, with no wet paint signs.

Had this at Fradley where they painted everything white at the same time so no lock bollards available to secure the boat whilst setting the lock and then had to be careful around the lock beams.  The volunteer supervisor didn't seem to get my point when I suggested they only paint half the items at one time.

[Mike Tee]

I don't think it is that they don't see the point, I think they don't give a shit.

[Victor Vectis]

7 hours ago, Rob-M said:

Stenson is the closest I've ever come to putting a volockie in the cut due to the way he was speaking to my wife.

I wonder if it was the bloke who winds the bottom paddles down if you open them fully?

 

His argument is the water flow disturbs the boats moored on the offside below the lock.

[billS]

1 hour ago, Mike Tee said:

I don't think it is that they don't see the point, I think they don't give a shit.

Passagewise, that sounds restrictive.

[haggis]

17 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

I wonder if it was the bloke who winds the bottom paddles down if you open them fully?

 

His argument is the water flow disturbs the boats moored on the offside below the lock.

Oh, we met that one, or one like him,  who told me just to open one bottom paddle because of the boats moored below. I ignored him. I know at  one time the volockies at Stenson were boaters who moored at Mercia but  don't know if that is still the case. 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Mike Tee said:

I think they don't give a shit.

 

2 minutes ago, billS said:

that sounds restrictive.

 

Maybe constipation ?

[ditchcrawler]

18 hours ago, AndrewIC said:

Yes. The best vollockies are a lock or two in front, thinking and setting ahead.

Had that going down Farmers bridge, every gate open as I got there

[Captain Pegg]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Had that going down Farmers bridge, every gate open as I got there

Volockies on the BCN, is nothing sacred?

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Only time volunteers have annoyed me was when I were told it would have been helpful if I had booked in advance. 
Bosley flight. 
Twats. 
I don’t (we’ll didn’t at time) need to book and can work myself quickly down that flight. 
 

I think they see single handers as a hinderance to them. 
 

[Rob-M]

14 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

Volockies on the BCN, is nothing sacred?

I've only seen one so far on Farmer's Bridge which was a couple of years ago.  He stayed with me and closed the gates, left me to work the boat through the locks and Mrs-M set ahead. He was a nice chap, was keen to understand how I single handed the boat through the locks and why I did what I did.  His view was it appeared I knew what I was doing and he didn't want to get in the way.