CRT Blogs on their website

[jelunga]

On the CRT website at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/blogs they publish blogs from various CRT people, including one from me. Does anybody

1) know they are there and

2) read them?

 

I personally find them quite interesting but difficult to find.

Views?

Edited June 6, 2013 by jelunga

[grahame r]

We do now! Good piece of marketing.

[pete.i]

On the CRT website at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/blogs they publish blogs from various CRT people, including one from me. Does anybody

1) know they are there and

2) read them?

 

I personally find them quite interesting but difficult to find.

Views?

 

Nope I had no idea they were there but then I suppose that is because I don't often go to the CRT website. Having said that I do volunteer work for the CRT and I didn't know about them. Maybe CRT needs to advertise itself a bit better than they are (not a criticism as such more of an observation) especially now they are a charity and need all the publicity that they can get.

 

Pete

[Lockie Junior]

Agreed, Pete.

 

The trouble with the waterways is that if you don't know about them, you don't know about them. Perhaps some big campaign to really get the waterways into the public eye and CRT also?

 

Regards,

Lockie.

[Tuscan]

Agreed, Pete.

 

The trouble with the waterways is that if you don't know about them, you don't know about them. Perhaps some big campaign to really get the waterways into the public eye and CRT also?

 

Regards,

Lockie.

I love the peace and quiet of the waterways , even without publicity the number of boats has grown by some 10,000 in the last decade, towpaths are now a mountain bike route and know you want a big campaign ......Shuuush I say

[grahame r]

If they do that then there'll be criticism that they are spending our licence fees on self publicity! I notice people are back out drumming up support for the "Friends of the CaRT" campaign, no doubt the whingers will be talking of chugging and money wasting again. My opinion is that the more people we can spread the cost of the waterways over, the better they will become. I've certainly noticed a better attitude since CaRT took over, we all need to spread the word.

[madcat]

Something else to read when I should be getting a life or at least doing something usefull.

[alan_fincher]

Are there CRT blogs any in which senior CRT managers demonstrate that they are familiar with the concept that some canals have both boats and boaters, and that the vast majority pay a lot of money to be there, and are largely "law abiding"

 

I ask because some of attended the South East Waterways Partnership AGM last evening, and you could have been excused for thinking that "boat" or "boater" can generally only be used iun the same sentence as "problem", "overstayer" or "enforcement". Despite a meeting that is supposed to share a vision of the long term plan for our canals, he words seemed to get very little mention in any other context.

[Tuscan]

Are there CRT blogs any in which senior CRT managers demonstrate that they are familiar with the concept that some canals have both boats and boaters, and that the vast majority pay a lot of money to be there, and are largely "law abiding"

 

I ask because some of attended the South East Waterways Partnership AGM last evening, and you could have been excused for thinking that "boat" or "boater" can generally only be used iun the same sentence as "problem", "overstayer" or "enforcement". Despite a meeting that is supposed to share a vision of the long term plan for our canals, he words seemed to get very little mention in any other context.

You will no doubt recall that he chairman of the SE partnership who chaired the recent workshops did not have a boat had not visited on foot let alone on a boat any of the 22 moorings under discussion in the recent consultation. If I recall he was a town planner. I'm not sure that any of the partnerships have any real canal involvement. There actual ability to influence CRT is I believe very limited and I think CRT see there role as money raisers.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

Are there CRT blogs any in which senior CRT managers demonstrate that they are familiar with the concept that some canals have both boats and boaters, and that the vast majority pay a lot of money to be there, and are largely "law abiding"

 

I ask because some of attended the South East Waterways Partnership AGM last evening, and you could have been excused for thinking that "boat" or "boater" can generally only be used iun the same sentence as "problem", "overstayer" or "enforcement". Despite a meeting that is supposed to share a vision of the long term plan for our canals, he words seemed to get very little mention in any other context.

BW had blogs which allowed comments. Robin Evans participated and was taken to task by myself and another member of this forum.

 

As far as I am aware, no senior CaRT managers blog.

[cotswoldsman]

You will no doubt recall that he chairman of the SE partnership who chaired the recent workshops did not have a boat had not visited on foot let alone on a boat any of the 22 moorings under discussion in the recent consultation. If I recall he was a town planner. I'm not sure that any of the partnerships have any real canal involvement. There actual ability to influence CRT is I believe very limited and I think CRT see there role as money raisers.

 

I will not get on my Soap Box at this stage. I have raised the subject of Waterways Partnerships many times in meetings with CRT including a recent one with Directors of CRT. I have great concern about these Partnerships. I am not anti these partnerships in fact I think the concept is a good one, but unfortunately some of The Partnerships seem to be confused about their purpose. They do have a lot of influence within CRT and a lot of money and time has been invested by CRT into these Partnerships. It might sound very sad but I have spent the last few weeks reading the minutes of every Partnership meeting and IMO The West Midland Partnership would seem to be the only one at this stage that has any idea of what they are doing. I have a great concern about the lack of boaters on these Partnerships, and when I say boaters I mean boaters that actually spend time cruising the waterways. Most Partnerships have someone from The Boat Hire Industry and the majority have senior members of the IWA. We have managed to get a few of the Partnerships to agree to a boater attending some meetings as observers but some have firmly closed the door on having an observer.

[Chris Pink]

It is a triumph that one member of the Kennet and Avon partnership is a liveaboard boater.

 

I agree with your analysis John and it would be a mistake to discount their influence simply on the grounds that they are full of ignorance and self-interest

[cotswoldsman]

 

I agree with your analysis John and it would be a mistake to discount their influence simply on the grounds that they are full of ignorance and self-interest

 

you say it so much better than I can

[jenlyn]

I like reading the blogs on the CRT pages, it gives me an insight into the staff that write them.

 

On the South East Waterways Partnership AGM, I can comment with, sloppy, anti Boat and generally corporate speak with no backbone. What really intrigued me, was the fact it was an AGM, yet half the members of the club did not turn up.

Edited June 7, 2013 by jenlyn

[alan_fincher]

On the South East Waterways Partnership AGM, I can comment with, sloppy, anti Boat and generally corporate speak with no backbone. What really intrigued me, was the fact it was an AGM, yet half the members of the club did not turn up.

 

Only a limited number of the minutes for the South East Partnership are online on the CRT site, (Just Jan to April 2013).

 

I have therefore chased up the missing minutes, and now have all except the very earliest, (it seems possible there were not adequate records mae of the first meetings).

 

The most surprising member of the partnership seems to be Verna Wass, (a teacher of traditional and historical dance and drama, but for whom I can find no obvious canal links). Verna Wass appears to have attended only the December 2012 meting, before sending her apologies for non attendance of every meeting so far in 2013. She was one of those not attending the AGM as well. Now I accept there may be personal circumstances that have given rise to this situation, but it is unclear to me how you can contribute to a partnership if you never attend any of its meetings.

 

(It didn't take long reading these minutes to turn up hackneyed corporate-speak like "low hanging fruit" - why am I not surprised!)

[Tuscan]

Whilst they have no executive power if I recall I do agree that they have the capacity of wielding influence over CRT in a way that could directly effect boaters with positive or negatively. I've read some of the minutes from your FOI Alan well done for chasing and also the original terms of reference be good to post it again but cant lay my hands on it. If i I remember a member can be deselected if they miss 3 meetings but I could be wrong.

[alan_fincher]

Good spot!

 

Members of the Partnership will be expected to attend at least 75% of meetings in any year. Absence for three consecutive meetings will, at the discretion of the Chair, disqualify membership and the position will be re-advertised.

 

 

So on the face of it the member of the South East Partnership that got on to it, and apparently attended a single meeting last December, but has sent apologies for all the first five monthly meetings of 2013, should probably be deselected and replaced by someone able to attend more meetings.

[Tuscan]

Wonder how we get this to happen and get a boater like your good self or similar enthusiast elected

[alan_fincher]

Wonder how we get this to happen and get a boater like your good self or similar enthusiast elected

 

I'm not now convinced I could do the job - I know remarkably little about traditional and historical dance and drama!

[Tuscan]

You must have seen Morris Dancing that'll do. You may be disqualified from standing as you have a boat that's the biggest hurdle to overcome.

[alan_fincher]

You may be disqualified from standing as you have a boat that's the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Double hurdle then, as I have two, of course......

 

I was watching some canal-side Morris dancing only days ago, and indeed canal-side theatre, (the excellent Mikron), only last night - does that help?

 

Perhaps not - Mikron are also boaters, of course!