Volunteer Assistant Lock Keepers

[Daftmare]

My youngest has volunteered during the Summer on the Thames, not sure which lock yet.

 

Be interesting to see how it pans out and what the lock keepers think of it all.

 

Jo.

[Proper Job]

Yep.....

 

Last year was the last of the 'employed - ie. paid' Summer Assistants.

 

If the Lockie is absent, the lock will be 'self service' or manned by a volunteer.

 

I can't help thinking that the days of the full time Lockie per lock are numbered

[Speedwheel]

I was once offered a job as a summer lockie (in the days when they were paid) but the cluelessness of the local manager and the complete incompetence of BW HR led to me using the words "job, arse, up and stick" .

[canaldrifter]

I was once offered a job as a summer lockie (in the days when they were paid) but the cluelessness of the local manager and the complete incompetence of BW HR led to me using the words "job, arse, up and stick" .

 

I think the Thames EA are a little more clued up than BW.

 

Tone

[Proper Job]

No they're not.

 

My daughter was Summer Assistant last year at Abingdon.

 

They couldn't get their act together and it nearly resulted in the same ("job, arse, up and stick").

 

They actually ended up paying for her first week at home!

[Daftmare]

Yep.....

 

Last year was the last of the 'employed - ie. paid' Summer Assistants.

 

If the Lockie is absent, the lock will be 'self service' or manned by a volunteer.

 

I can't help thinking that the days of the full time Lockie per lock are numbered

 

 

I am pretty sure the Lock Keeper will still be on site - just off doing other jobs (checking weirs, cutting the grass, etc). They have other responsibilities besides pushing the buttons - that's the easy part!

 

J.

[canaldrifter]

No they're not.

 

My daughter was Summer Assistant last year at Abingdon.

 

They couldn't get their act together and it nearly resulted in the same ("job, arse, up and stick").

 

They actually ended up paying for her first week at home!

 

Then I stand corrected.

 

Tone

[Proper Job]

I am pretty sure the Lock Keeper will still be on site - just off doing other jobs (checking weirs, cutting the grass, etc). They have other responsibilities besides pushing the buttons - that's the easy part!

 

J.

I wish I could share your optimism.

 

I don't think it will be long before they will just become non residential 'maintainers'. The technology is already out there and being tested (automated locking, automated weir/level control).

[Dalesman]

Are there still BW lock keepers on the Llangollen Canal..?

[boots]

Are there still BW lock keepers on the Llangollen Canal..?

 

There was one at Hurleston when we came through at Easter,

 

Martin

[Dalesman]

There was one at Hurleston when we came through at Easter,

 

Martin

Was that the nice lady one..?

[Paringa]

No they're not.

 

My daughter was Summer Assistant last year at Abingdon.

 

They couldn't get their act together and it nearly resulted in the same ("job, arse, up and stick").

 

They actually ended up paying for her first week at home!

 

I remember her although i forget her name. A real breath of fresh air...

 

Send her my best.

 

Shame they are going down the volunteer route, how much does it cost to have summer assistants? I bet they don't get much money and i wonder how much "administration" is going into this latest idea...

[Guest]

I think losing the lockies at busy times at places such as Sawley would be a bad move.

 

We went out and back at Easter and both times we were locked through with consummate ease and friendly courtesy, never stepping off the boat - even though it was very busy.

 

Yes at quiet times you get the chance to do all the key turning and button pressing yourself and that's fun too - but when it's busy you need someone to be taking charge as in who goes where, who waits, who comes in and when.

 

Possibly a volunteer could be as well trained....I don't know TBH.

[LoneWolf]

Was that the nice lady one..?

 

Sadly she is no longer doing the job - she was a star when i came down early in November after a long day

 

They changed it from a 2 person (part time) job to one full time job which meant she would have to work weekends which didn't fit in with running the small hire fleet she also does

 

She's still around though, i've seen her a few times doing RYA (i think) courses through hack green locks

[Dalesman]

Sadly she is no longer doing the job - she was a star when i came down early in November after a long day

 

They changed it from a 2 person (part time) job to one full time job which meant she would have to work weekends which didn't fit in with running the small hire fleet she also does

 

She's still around though, i've seen her a few times doing RYA (i think) courses through hack green locks

Thanks for the info, yes must say we always found her to be more than helpful.

[sumajan]

Not too far off topic, but can anyone tell me what happened to Crystal who was lockkeeper at the

 

Foxton Flight when I went through

 

several years ago. I believe she worked the locks with her husband.

 

She was a 'Real Character'. I have more videos of her than I have of the canals, she seemed to appear

 

in every one regardless of location.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited for Daftmare:- Best of luck to your youngest, hope he/she has a great time.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

John Hinch

Edited May 18, 2011 by sumajan

[Redeye]

I think losing the lockies at busy times at places such as Sawley would be a bad move.

 

We went out and back at Easter and both times we were locked through with consummate ease and friendly courtesy, never stepping off the boat - even though it was very busy.

 

Yes at quiet times you get the chance to do all the key turning and button pressing yourself and that's fun too - but when it's busy you need someone to be taking charge as in who goes where, who waits, who comes in and when.

 

Possibly a volunteer could be as well trained....I don't know TBH.

 

We have been through Sawley around 5 times this year and have yet to see a lockie.

 

Cheers

 

redeye

[Guest]

We have been through Sawley around 5 times this year and have yet to see a lockie.

 

Cheers

 

redeye

 

I'm not sure what point you are making other than you seem to be advocating 'getting rid' as boaters can manage without them.

 

We have been through there many times too and also not seen one and done the locks ourselves. I was pointing out when they are on at busy times, like when we went through at Easter it is appreciated.

 

Same as the Trent - it's perfectly possible to work the big hydraulic locks yourself when they are not on duty, like the last time we went through there. But if it was busy I would wager a lot of boaters if not most would appreciate them being on duty.

[Proper Job]

I remember her although i forget her name. A real breath of fresh air...

 

Send her my best.

 

Shame they are going down the volunteer route, how much does it cost to have summer assistants? I bet they don't get much money and i wonder how much "administration" is going into this latest idea...

Charlie. I'll give her your regards. We're off boating tomorrow for a long weekend, I think she want to go to Abingdon to see Roger.

 

She's probably the last in the line of a long family acquaintance with working on the river. But she's happy, she had her Summer on the locks.

 

They were only on minimum wage, but I suppose if you multiply that along the length of the river, it's a few quid saved.

[Daftmare]

 

Edited for Daftmare:- Best of luck to your youngest, hope he/she has a great time.

 

Cheers

 

John Hinch

 

 

 

Thanks John - its my youngest son, now 18 (and finally old enough to do the job).

It will get him out of the house (and off the computer games) at least!

 

Jo.

[Proper Job]

Thanks John - its my youngest son, now 18 (and finally old enough to do the job).

It will get him out of the house (and off the computer games) at least!

 

Jo.

It's a shame he won't get paid for it, but he'll have a great time and meet loads of people.

 

Let us know where he end up, we'll raise a glass as we go through

 

[Daftmare]

It's a shame he won't get paid for it, but he'll have a great time and meet loads of people.

 

Let us know where he end up, we'll raise a glass as we go through

 

 

 

Will do. Training Day is 1 June, so we will find out which lock he gets then.

But anyway he will be the tall, spotty, sulky one!

(All the other volunteers at the Open Day were much older, he was the only teenager there).

 

[haggis]

Not too far off topic, but can anyone tell me what happened to Crystal who was lockkeeper at the

 

Foxton Flight when I went through

 

several years ago. I believe she worked the locks with her husband.

 

She was a 'Real Character'. I have more videos of her than I have of the canals, she seemed to appear

 

in every one regardless of location.

 

I too often wonder what happenned to Chrystal and her husband (Mick?). They were moved form Foxton to Watford where they continued to live on their boat in, if I remember correctly, one of the side ponds. The last time we saw them there, one of them (Mick, i think) had been very ill. The next time we came that way they were nowhere to be seen but the lockie on duty said that they had both left BW and were living on their boat down the Welford Arm. This was several years ago.

Chrystal was indeed one the canal characters and she must have upset someone in BW very badly to get moved from Foxton where they were part of the scenery to Watford where they lived with the constant noise of the motorway.

 

haggis

 

 

 

 

 

Edited for Daftmare:- Best of luck to your youngest, hope he/she has a great time.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

John Hinch

[ditchcrawler]

Last saw Mick and Crystal at Rose or Clifton Cruisers cleaning boats, doing handovers etc. Thay have worked at both and I think Clifton was the latter.

[Tiny]

I remember her although i forget her name. A real breath of fresh air...

 

Send her my best.

 

Shame they are going down the volunteer route, how much does it cost to have summer assistants? I bet they don't get much money and i wonder how much "administration" is going into this latest idea...

 

Linda's leaving is a real shame as most of the other lockies we have had there don't do, as she does and help out. many of us regulars through that on non- linda days the locky will will be in his hut making tea when we pass as when they actually appear and start supervising they are often a bit unthinking as to how they arrange boats in pounds going in opposite directions. (One seems to think that with one in each lock coming up his best bet is to make one wait so it meets two in the short top pound. We wonder if its done for a laugh.)

 

In more sane times you saw Bw blokes on the flight who were not contractors cutting the grass (many of who are helpful to boaters) and the locky always kept watch on the flight - especially on the bottom lock where, even though it says 'fenders up' there was alway the odd 'not me' boat who got jammed and which point the locky would be needed and often cut the fender off to free the boat.

 

Of course the odd tight boat (for width) also came through and the butty of one hotel pair regularly got stuck in the second lock up and, due to a touchy captain everyone had to wait while it was dragged free by its poor crew (as the captain always went off through the next lock with the motor maybe to stop it getting damaged doing the dragging job itself.

 

Talking to another too wide boat owner he jammed in the bottom lock and, finally reversing out on full thottle popped out of the lock backwards, shot across the pound jammed in reverse and took out his prop and gearbox on the ledge at the far side. The rebuild took a number of months as the boat was built during the miners strike and after when he got laid off and was produced by a man with little cash who acquired the metal to use in the hull which was so thick that bending it was interesting, as were the (bus) windows used and who used a massive tug engine and gearbox. (The replacement box came off a trawler!) He was, of course a Yorkshire man.

Edited May 18, 2011 by Tiny