Meetings of forum members

[wakey_wake]

Obviously we're all adults here and have a duty to take care of ourselves (or if any of us aren't then we have someone who does).

Obviously many members already know each other IRL, whether by recognising boat names on the cut or whatever.

Obviously some of us are happy to give our real names, boat names and approximate locations already; and some of us are happy with none of those. We all have our reasons, and any of us can turn out to be mistaken.

 

However the issue of "these technical boaty problems a member has would be much easier to diagnose if you would invite any other member round for a visit" is back.

 

 

My question then is, to what extent does the wider forum have an interest in the real-life introduction of members to each other? Or consequently, accept any responsibility for what could go wrong? Is it an extra duty moderators would accept?

 

There are grades of protection.
In the worst cases, which we might prefer not to think about, some way to assist in holding exploiters to account after they've done something awful.
In the best cases, encouraging the sensibly cautious member that the stranger they're about to invite into their life and home is well known and respected by a lot of other people and is doing them a real favour by popping in to look at the boat.
In between, perhaps assisting with arguments that arise from visits "he promised to help but he didn't" or "he came and confused me, and gave me bad advice".

 

It seems like this can be covered by both members giving to a moderator a reasonable proof of identity and approximate location, to not be published but just kept on record and hopefully not needed. Also being clear about whether money is changing hands, and the approximate time and location of the meeting. Perhaps also insisting that both members DM a moderator after the meeting. Perhaps offering a sensible collection of ground rules which might be agreed by both members.

 

The sort of accountability that is (perhaps unduly) promised on social media platforms with a "blue tick" or similar mark on the account name.

 

 

In support of this I quote from a recent thread, but I'm sure there have been others. This is a general question which could be of value to members old and new.

 

On 23/03/2026 at 15:30, wakey_wake said:

Another option which I've rarely seen on CWDF: give enough information about your location for people to consider volunteering to visit and help. Perhaps our wiser souls here can advise on some safe-for-both-parties rules about this, since there would be no professional qualifications or payments?

4 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

OP, where are you?  A visit by a forum member would be worth a thousand pictures.  I'm sure they would not be judgemental.

[system 4-50]

Good grief!  

 

I suggest that the forum provide the following details of a prospective helper, the length of membership, the number of posts, and the ability to search the history for evidence of disputed capability, and nothing more.  Which it does.

 

A proposed assistee should be made aware of their absolute right to be able say on arrival, "I don't like your face, no thanks", and any would-be assister should be able to accept that without demur regardless of the effort that they have put in to get there.

 

An assistee should also have a clear demarcation between allowing visitors to look and visitors allowing to make (agreed) alterations.

 

Meeting in a remote spot far from anybody else might be also be unwise.

 

Other opinions? 

[wakey_wake]

2 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Good grief!  

Ah well I've seen some (non boat) news articles recently. They may be weighing on me.

[David Mack]

Some years ago on the forum we had a single female boater who had some weird ideas and numerous problems which couldn't be solved by forum posts. Eventually a male forum member offered to visit her boat to sort out some issue. There followed allegations of inappropriate behaviour, although it was never clear to me on whose part. It was a long time ago and I cannot remember everything that (is alleged to have) happened. Both individuals are long gone from the forum. But at the time there was a general feeling that it might be unwise for a male boater to volunteer to help a single woman.

[haggis]

There used to be banters of members which gave folk a chance to put faces to names and I can think of 2 marriages which resulted from banters! It is a pity that we don't seem to have banters now. 

[Tony Brooks]

FWIW, I have been known to visit boaters on a FOC basis to try to help them diagnose a problem and plot a way forward. After the events David outlined I always make it a stipulation that any female must organise a chaperone. Although this can never be 100% safe, at least, in the event of allegations the police have a chance of getting two differing accounts from the lady and chaperone.

[Ray T]

25 minutes ago, haggis said:

There used to be banters of members which gave folk a chance to put faces to names and I can think of 2 marriages which resulted from banters! It is a pity that we don't seem to have banters now. 

The most memorable banters I can remember were in 2013 and 2014 when at least 20 boats and their crews met at Long Buckby. To quote a phrase "A fun time was had by all. " The New Inn had its coffers added to in no uncertain terms. Another boater and myself single handed from Calcutt area to Buckby breasting up in the locks.

 

Edited March 29 by Ray T

[David Mack]

Events like the Braunston Historic Boat Rally usually attract quite a lot of forum members (while others actively avoid such occasions), but nobody seems to organise any sort of collective gathering for those who would wish to meet other forum members (be they historic boat owners, non-historic boat owners or non boat owners).

 

Years ago there was talk of having Canalworld Forum badges, so folk could recognise fellow forum members, but it never happened.

Edited March 29 by David Mack

[Arthur Marshall]

I have a very vague memory that there was a meet at Stafford Boat club once, but I may well be wrong...

[Tim Lewis]

4 hours ago, Ray T said:

The most memorable banters I can remember were in 2013 and 2014 when at least 20 boats and their crews met at Long Buckby. To quote a phrase "A fun time was had by all. " The New Inn had its coffers added to in no uncertain terms. Another boater and myself single handed from Calcutt area to Buckby breasting up in the locks.

 

 

Buckby Banter October 2013

 

Edited March 29 by Tim Lewis

[wakey_wake]

7 hours ago, David Mack said:

there was a general feeling that it might be unwise for a male boater to volunteer to help a single woman.

 

Exactly in the grey area I describe, and significantly below where I would care to end up.

 

5 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

[...] After the events David outlined I always make it a stipulation that any female must organise a chaperone.

 

If I suggest a chaperone from each side in such situations (making 4) then there may be 🙄🤨 comments.

 

 

4 hours ago, David Mack said:

Years ago there was talk of having Canalworld Forum badges, so folk could recognise fellow forum members, but it never happened.

 

Groups meetings (scheduled or by chance at rallys) are another thing.

I imagine the only thing a badge needs is to be recognisable and not suggesting the wearer officially represents anything they don't?

[Ange]

@cheshire~rose and @Postcode wedding banter 2012.

I've got loads of others, we met many forum members during our boating days, some now life long friends. It's a shame the banters fizzled out, they were great.

[cheshire~rose]

That was a brilliant banter even if I say so myself! 

We only managed to get 16 boats come to our wedding banter! 

Postcode and I met at a Banter at Wheaton Aston on The Shroppie, we all met some other forum members for the first time that day too. I was a lone female (non boater) and it took some courage to turn up to that pub on my own when I had no clue what any of the people I might be meeting looked like! 

Another memorable banter was the wedding banter in Birmingham where we gridlocked the canal in the centre by rafting up boats right across to get wedding photos from the bridge. 

Banter breakfast was a thing too (not that you saw many 🤣) with a tradition of Ostrich Egg. The engineers really went to town on working out how to break into one of those! 😆 

I think it was covid that finally saw the end of the group of banterers that you and I were part of Ange. 

Quite a few no longer have boats for various reasons. Sadly a few from those early years are no longer with us. 

Loughborough was, for many years, the place for forum members to banter twixt Christmas and New Year and, depending when the holiday dates fell, many would stay 2 or 3 nights in the Travelodge with a decent group seeing New Year in together. 

The largest number of that group have long since friended each other via Facebook or WhatsApp and like myself, many rarely visit or post on here any longer. We stay in touch and will occasionally meet up if the geography and timelines come together. 

I know that sadly you can't make it but there are actually 15 of the folks who regularly used to attend those banters and have stayed in touch are meeting up in May. Sadly I can't simply throw an open invitation as I have in the past and was the usual thing at a canal side pub. It's a private room I am paying for with a limit of 60 people. Interestingly there are 22 people I met through this forum who Sadly can't make it. 

After all these years to still count 37 folks met through this forum as great friends says a lot I think ❤️ 

There are of course others that I have not got contact details for, but I am sure if I bumped into them tomorrow we would carry on as if we last saw each other a week ago. 

 

[Kiwidad]

8 hours ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

Buckby Banter October 2013

 

Some well recognised faces there

[Francis Herne]

The BCN 24h Challenge is usually a mini forum gathering, I've met quite a few people from here in various years.

 

This year the finish is co-located with the BCNS May Rally, open to all, so people can turn up for the weekend whether or not they're daft enough to enter the Challenge.

23-24 May at Titford Pumphouse.

[cuthound]

I attended a banter at The Blue Bell on the GU near Solihull in 2015.

 

Met loads of CWDFers, many who no longer post on here. Was made to feel very welcome.

 

It was probably one of the last banters except for the New Year ones at Loughborough.

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, cuthound said:

I attended a banter at The Blue Bell on the GU near Solihull in 2015.

North Stratford.

[cuthound]

2 minutes ago, David Mack said:

North Stratford.

 

Yes  I don't know what caused me to say GU.

 

Hopefully not sudden onset, premature senile dementia 😱

[David Schweizer]

On 29/03/2026 at 17:08, Ray T said:

The most memorable banters I can remember were in 2013 and 2014 when at least 20 boats and their crews met at Long Buckby. To quote a phrase "A fun time was had by all. " The New Inn had its coffers added to in no uncertain terms. Another boater and myself single handed from Calcutt area to Buckby breasting up in the locks.

 

 

For anyone who is interested, I was the "Other Boater" pictured here holding the two boats on a centre line whilst Ray was turning the lock. We used to get some interesting comments from other boaters when they saw our boats breasted up. The banters were great fun, and I met quite a few forum members who I did not previously know, including Cheshire Rose,(and Dave), Tree monkey and Blue String Pudding. 

 

Edited March 30 by David Schweizer

[alan_fincher]

On 29/03/2026 at 21:21, Tim Lewis said:

 

Buckby Banter October 2013

 

 

Blimey, I've aged!

[bizzard]

We now have wretched smart phones and social media to thank for the loss of banters, not to mention nice  hobbies ie hand crafts ect most hobby shops have now gone, all due to bl--dy phones. The hobby is now phones. 

Phones are also the reason why posts on here have shrunk by quite a lot. It's hard having to prod at those little buttons to post and to reply.

Edited March 31 by bizzard

[Chris Lowe]

@bizzard Don't you find that typing is even harder on your hi-tec pilchard tin?

[bizzard]

6 hours ago, Chris Lowe said:

@bizzard Don't you find that typing is even harder on your hi-tec pilchard tin?

Oh dear. I've gone and lost the key for it, so back to laptop.

[Chris Lowe]

12 hours ago, bizzard said:

Oh dear. I've gone and lost the key for it, so back to laptop.

We could send you an inferior replacement baked bean tin

[ditchcrawler]

On 30/03/2026 at 03:56, cheshire~rose said:

That was a brilliant banter even if I say so myself! 

We only managed to get 16 boats come to our wedding banter! 

Postcode and I met at a Banter at Wheaton Aston on The Shroppie, we all met some other forum members for the first time that day too. I was a lone female (non boater) and it took some courage to turn up to that pub on my own when I had no clue what any of the people I might be meeting looked like! 

Another memorable banter was the wedding banter in Birmingham where we gridlocked the canal in the centre by rafting up boats right across to get wedding photos from the bridge. 

Banter breakfast was a thing too (not that you saw many 🤣) with a tradition of Ostrich Egg. The engineers really went to town on working out how to break into one of those! 😆 

I think it was covid that finally saw the end of the group of banterers that you and I were part of Ange. 

Quite a few no longer have boats for various reasons. Sadly a few from those early years are no longer with us. 

Loughborough was, for many years, the place for forum members to banter twixt Christmas and New Year and, depending when the holiday dates fell, many would stay 2 or 3 nights in the Travelodge with a decent group seeing New Year in together. 

The largest number of that group have long since friended each other via Facebook or WhatsApp and like myself, many rarely visit or post on here any longer. We stay in touch and will occasionally meet up if the geography and timelines come together. 

I know that sadly you can't make it but there are actually 15 of the folks who regularly used to attend those banters and have stayed in touch are meeting up in May. Sadly I can't simply throw an open invitation as I have in the past and was the usual thing at a canal side pub. It's a private room I am paying for with a limit of 60 people. Interestingly there are 22 people I met through this forum who Sadly can't make it. 

After all these years to still count 37 folks met through this forum as great friends says a lot I think ❤️ 

There are of course others that I have not got contact details for, but I am sure if I bumped into them tomorrow we would carry on as if we last saw each other a week ago. 

 

I have just seen the posting on Facebook about the Banter from 19 years ago  Jan Warsop - 19 years ago, I went to a CWDF Banter at Wheaton... | Facebook