Tooley's Boat Yard

[alan_fincher]

For the avoidance of doubt.....

 

My posts on Banbury have been a bit tongue in cheek, I'll admit.

 

We did decide to spend part of a day there having been to a Thrupp banter, so admittedly arrived by car, not boat on that occasion.

 

I do agree that it is better to have any dry dock in use as a working feature than any of the "stuffed and mounted" nonsense that exists at Bulls Bridge - the latter is just a sad joke.

 

That said, despite having a great interest in canal history and heritage, I have to say that we went to "Tooleys" and came away bemused.

 

The dock was not in use when we were there, and I would have thought most of the public would have thought "what on earth is all this about then ?".

 

I don't know about "well stocked chandlery". Perhaps it has improved, but we found a Santa's Grotto, some bored elves, quite a lot of tat, and some of the most eye-watering chandlery prices I can ever recall seeing, IIRC. I particularly remember picking up a bog standard "Walsh" alloy windlass, and thinking "that beats even the price I saw being charged at Foxton!".

 

If things have improved, then I apologise to "Tooleys", and to Banbury.

 

And yes, we do need every possible working dock or slip to stay in use, whether historic or not. The fact that it has, can of course, only be a 'good thing'.

[Chertsey]

Have you got anything positive to say about Banbury at all?

I could probably think of something, but that wasn't the point of my post. The point of my post was to mention a particular aspect that I found profoundly depressing.

 

ed. to add: I wasn't going to put this because I don't see why there should be a presumption that one has to find something positive to say, but I did actually like the town itself, once away from the horrible canalside development. I must have done, I bid on a mooring there last year (quite relieved with hindsight not to have got it though).

Edited October 29, 2010 by Chertsey

[Derek R.]

We stayed in Banbury in '83, and found a welcome reception from Mr. Tooley. Bought some diesel there, and settled up in the little green caravan from which we gained a rag rug from Mr. T. I think it still survives - the rug I mean. Banbury Cakes were a favourite on our shopping list, but the last time I visited in the course of work in the late nineties, not a single baker could I find did Banbury Cakes. The tea shop near the cross had been turned into a wine bar, and the bus station was an eyesore. We've had bus stations for generations, why are those built of late so ugly? Perhaps they match the buses.

 

Banbury is still a famous date in the Vintage Motorcycle Club's calender, with the 'Banbury Run'. I think it starts from elswhere than the old School that it traditionally did, but the Banbury Run it still is. Very popular, and always over-subscribed with entrants. Here we are.

 

Love the corrugated site Neil, great admirer of the corrugated school of architecture, there's a few nice Churches made from same, and a schoolhouse or two. Reminds me of a booklet I have of Railway Sleeper buildings. Quite a few of them in the Scottish Highlands still. Our stick shed was a bit of both, sleeper walls and corrugated roof. Weighted down with stones thay lasted a lot longer than heather thatch.

 

Hope this don't get removed for being

 

I guess Gas Street and Paddington basins are much finer places today for all those folk working around them.

Edited October 30, 2010 by Derek R.

[Timleech]

We stayed in Banbury in '83, and found a welcome reception from Mr. Tooley. Bought some diesel there, and settled up in the little green caravan from which we gained a rag rug from Mr. T. I think it still survives - the rug I mean. Banbury Cakes were a favourite on our shopping list, but the last time I visited in the course of work in the late nineties, not a single baker could I find did Banbury Cakes. The tea shop near the cross had been turned into a wine bar, and the bus station was an eyesore. We've had bus stations for generations, why are those built of late so ugly? Perhaps they match the buses.

 

 

 

Haven't Bus stations always tended to be ugly? I haven't been to Banbury for a looong time, other than passing through on a train, but surely Tooleys used to be hidden at the back of a horrible bus station?

 

Tim

[ditchcrawler]

Have you got anything positive to say about Banbury at all?

Cheapest diesel in the area, Sovereign Narrowboats.

[kitman]

some of the most eye-watering chandlery prices I can ever recall seeing, IIRC. I particularly remember picking up a bog standard "Walsh" alloy windlass, and thinking "that beats even the price I saw being charged at Foxton!".

 

And yes, we do need every possible working dock or slip to stay in use, whether historic or not. The fact that it has, can of course, only be a 'good thing'.

 

The following post isn't directed at you Alan as I understand that yours was another tongue in cheek post, but those two comments (said pretty much in the same breath) reminded me of a couple I dealt with whilst working at my first boatyard.

 

As a side note I'd just like to say that when this happened I had (amonst other things) a backgroud working in retail for a few years, specifically in customer service roles, selling and also warehouse.

 

A local man and a woman came in wanting us to black their boat. They were a fairly average couple around late 40s, smart casual dress and polite. They asked me in a matter of fact tone how much our blacking prices were. Nothing unusal about this so I told them. They reacted by saying "Oh..that IS expensive" and pointed out that they could get the service elsewhere cheaper.

 

This again is nothing unusual. Amonst other motives for customers saying it, it can also be a run of the mill bargining technique. I have learnt over the years that your prices can be the cheapest around and people will still tell you that you are too expensive. Anyway, under normal circumstanes I wouldn't say anything out of politeness but I was on my own and it was the end of the day so I thought I'd try something different with these two.

 

I'd been working within the canal industry for just 3 months at that point, but I had already worked out that boaters are naturally keen to preserve the waterways. So I thought I'd be a smart arse and I asked the man and women why they felt they didn't want to spend money to support their local boatyard. Obviously we relied on money in return for sevices to keep the dock running otherwise there would be no dock. That was - and I'm sure still is - the reality of the situation at that yard.

 

Anyway, with this new angle now presented to them they quickly back tracked and being 'well to do' they were rather embarrassed about their previous attitude. It may me wonder whether or not they had realised the full impact of what they saying. They had a 'cut-throat' attitude about getting the best price for their blacking which of course is their prerogative, but at what cost? They loose their local yard?

 

So, I'm sure you are thinking 'so what? If the boatyard was that desparate for money why didn't they lower their prices?'.

 

All the boatyards I have been envolved with want to offer their products and services at the best prices they possibly can. This is because there is a desire to be cheap on price because they want the business from potential customers, but at the same time they can't sell something for under a certain price because they wont make the money they need to pay their fixed overheads. It's a fine line to tread. If you cant get the mix between too high or too low right then either can lead to bankruptcy.

 

In the case of the couple who wanted their boat blacking cheaper. They were trying to get a reduction on the ticket price without realising that it's not a simple case of making a price higher or lower at a whim and also that SME's struggle hard to maintain their income on an even keel (sorry for the boating pun!). They were my first but the wont be my last to try the technique of 'lower the price or I walk'. It's part of business life but in the special case of our unique canal industry is it fair of people to act this way? Is the survival of canal businesses directly connected to the survival of the waterways heritage?

[Nightwatch]

Cheapest diesel in the area, Sovereign Narrowboats.

When he's open for business!!!

 

We've used him in the past and yes good service all round. Strange opening hours.

 

Martyn

[Captain Pegg]

I realise this is an old thread but it seemed a bit pointless to start a new one with the same title.

I was recently trying to verify some information on past owners of Tooley's boatyard but although I didn't succeed I found the following appeal toward publication of a book on the history of the yard. It may be of interest to folk on the forum.

JP

https://www.gofundme.com/scxxt-book-fund-raiser?

Edited January 3, 2018 by Captain Pegg