Timothy West/Prunella Scales - Channel 4

[The Toad in the Hole]

just watched the llangollen one, and I appreciate it looks like I was in the minority, but that was a spectacularly dull TV. There was maybe a 30 minute programme in there, but an awful lot of filler and repetition as well. I suspect there is a really good 90 minutes of TV about their relationship with each other and with the canals, but 4 hours? Even with the excitement of "home" landmark spotting (my boat was visible for about half a second in one of the aerial shots), I gave up after they got on the train. I'm afraid I prefer my boating luvvies with a more adventurous streak - Timothy Spalls programmes are a hoot!

[john6767]

I had the same issue last week when I tried to watch Mondays episode on Tuesday on 4od on my PC.

 

I have since downloaded the 4od app. for my iPad and when I went on the app. this morning all three episodes where available, so it appears as if it may be that for some reason they make it available to the app. sooner.

 

I haven't looked for it on my PC this morning.

That must be the case, just looked again and it is there now!

[wullie]

Yes found it a bit boring as well, ok Pru has a slight memory problem, but how many times do we need to here it ? I thought they had 40 years experience on canals maybe its age related thing.

[David Mack]

I was a little disappointed that having boated the navigable bit of the Mont, and then visted the unnavigable section and discussed its unique fauna and flora with a CRT ecologist, there was no reference to the conflicts between navigation and ecology that arise from restoration.

[Guest]

I was a little disappointed that having boated the navigable bit of the Mont, and then visted the unnavigable section and discussed its unique fauna and flora with a CRT ecologist, there was no reference to the conflicts between navigation and ecology that arise from restoration.

I was curious about that segment too.

 

It almost seemed to imply that restoration was not a 'good' thing because of the impact on wildlife that has taken up residence in the unrestored bits of the system.

[bottle]

There you go assuming that C&RT is about navigating the cut, they are more like a conservation unit attached to anything but boating.

 

 

 

(tongue in cheek)

[Boscoppa]

Hi,with all its faults,still think it was good

[David Schweizer]

That collision wasn't on the really narrow stretches near the end. The thing that bothered me is the Tim went on about all his years of experience but when he was about to hit that boat, he seemingly did nothing to prevent it. Surely he should have engaged reverse at least? Pru kept calling to warn him. This sort of thing simply feeds into the idea that it's completely ok to force your way along the cut, ramming everything in sight. Very unhelpful to new boaters and hirers. Tim and Pru are grown adults and surely would not agree to a director's wishes if asked to deliberately hit another boat.

 

From my years in factual TV I struggle to remember an instance of a presenter doing what the directors asked them anyway!!!

 

I could be wrong, but I thought that the front end slewed over because he threw it into reverse somewhat over enthusiasticly.

Edited March 25, 2014 by David Schweizer

[deckhand]

 

I could be wrong, but I thought that the front end slewed over because he threw it into reverse somewhat over enthusiasticly.

I think they also said that they were struggling against the wind too.

[Guest]

I think quite a bit more is being made out of this bump than perhaps needs to be. Who hasn't similarly ballsed up? I know I have. Lets not forget that he may, despite all his experience be totally unfamiliar with the boat he was on, it was a hire boat after all, not his own and I could be wrong but I don't think their own boat from what I remember of seeing it on the telly is that length (60Ft)

 

Anyway FWIW I am in the 'it was both their faults camp'. The other boater could see a collision was inevitable but seemed to just carry on regardless and didn't appear to take any avoiding action at all - not even slowing to minimise any impact.

Edited March 25, 2014 by The Dog House

[Athy]

. Lets not forget that he may, despite all his experience be totally unfamiliar with the boat he was on, it was a hire boat after all, not his own and I could be wrong but I don't think their own boat from what I remember of seeing it on the telly is that length (60Ft)

 

 

I had a look at it last December. It looks longer than ours (which is 45 feet) but probably not as long as 60ft.

[alan_fincher]

I think quite a bit more is being made out of this bump than perhaps needs to be. Who hasn't similarly ballsed up? I know I have. Lets not forget that he may, despite all his experience be totally unfamiliar with the boat he was on, it was a hire boat after all, not his own and I could be wrong but I don't think their own boat from what I remember of seeing it on the telly is that length (60Ft)

 

Anyway FWIW I am in the 'it was both their faults camp'. The other boater could see a collision was inevitable but seemed to just carry on regardless and didn't appear to take any avoiding action at all - not even slowing to minimise any impact.

 

Their boat is a 60 foot Colecraft, so they are on hire boats in this series of a similar size to what they should be familiar with. I suspect lack of familiarity with the Llangollen on a windy day played more part than the boat length.

 

I've not been back and looked at it again, but the bump looked like he had probably got himself into a muddle, perhaps as David suggests when the bow swung over as he attempted to pull up, but I don't recall the steerer of the other boat attempting to do much other than carry on.

 

What my old mum would have called "six of one and half a dozen of the other", I think, and I'm sure the kind of thing that happens to hire boats quite regularly.

[Guest]

Your mum is correct.

 

However it might happen to hire boats regularly but I would wager it still happens to privately owned boats at least occasionally.

 

It has happened to ours for sure...

[alan_fincher]

However it might happen to hire boats regularly but I would wager it still happens to privately owned boats at least occasionally.

 

It has happened to ours for sure...

Ours too.

 

A dent was out fault to the extent we had got in a muddle, but "the bloke on the Hudson's" fault to the extent that he was only concerned about sounding his very expensive and very shiny Klaxon, and waving his arms in the air, rather than making any serious attempt to stop until it was far too late to do so.

 

Sadly he was undamaged, not because of the obviously superior construction of a Hudson, but because if you ram straight on with a stem post, the dent is more likely to be in the boat where some other part of the structure got struck.

[nicknorman]

Ours too.

 

A dent was out fault to the extent we had got in a muddle, but "the bloke on the Hudson's" fault to the extent that he was only concerned about sounding his very expensive and very shiny Klaxon, and waving his arms in the air, rather than making any serious attempt to stop until it was far too late to do so.

 

Sadly he was undamaged, not because of the obviously superior construction of a Hudson, but because if you ram straight on with a stem post, the dent is more likely to be in the boat where some other part of the structure got struck.

Sadly?! Charming! But as you fully well know, it is the role of the Hudson owner to sound loudly on his shiny brass klaxon, and the role of everyone else to get out of the way. Therefore the inci-dent was entirely your fault. And next time, have some respect and kindly apologise when you are rammed by a shiny Hudson.

 

Anyway, on the subject of Tim's crashery, of which there were several examples, that I found rather painful to watch because of the implications of Tim's competence, the only ameliorating factor was that I noticed that, like quite a lot of hire boats, moving the tiller from one extreme to the other seemed to have remarkably little effect on the heading of the boat. Or to put it another way, clearly not a Hudson rudder!

Edited March 25, 2014 by nicknorman

[bizzard]

I think they also said that they were struggling against the wind too.

Probably had just had sprouts for lunch.

[nb Innisfree]

Probably had just had sprouts for lunch.

I say this forum can be very base at times...oops..pardon me ...

[Scholar Gypsy]

 

 

Regardless of that has anyone tried to navigate a boat while being on camera in a professional production??

 

 

 

Does this count?

 

To be fair:

 

• the first time they did the bit below Camden lock I nearly knocked the cameraman off with a passing tree. He wasn't looking where he was going.

   

• I did say I couldn't speak in French and steer the boat at the same time

[alan_fincher]

Sadly?! Charming! But as you fully well know, it is the role of the Hudson owner to sound loudly on his shiny brass klaxon, and the role of everyone else to get out of the way. Therefore the inci-dent was entirely your fault. And next time, have some respect and kindly apologise when you are rammed by a shiny Hudson.

So easy to reel them in every time!

[Ray T]

 

 

Does this count?

 

To be fair:

 

• the first time they did the bit below Camden lock I nearly knocked the cameraman off with a passing tree. He wasn't looking where he was going.

   

• I did say I couldn't speak in French and steer the boat at the same time

 

 

Lovely little video spoilt by some French bloke speaking over Simon.

[OldGoat]

No blurry use sounding your horn - shiny or otherwise - on 'tcanals. Nobody, but nobody knows the codes and mostly care less.

 

I shall continue to sound my intentions even though My Management says (to paraphrase the very late Jimmy Edwards) what a bloody-um-awful-noise (he was referring to an euphonium).

 

Even a bleep to say "I'm here" is ignored or treated as being aggressive.

 

 

[Ssscrudddy]

Lol, I beeped my horn at a fisherman who clearly hadnt seen me, I beeped him 3 times in the end & he still hadnt seen me. He jumped a mile as I went past & almost fell in, too late for his tackle tho.

[nicknorman]

...too late for his tackle tho.

Oh Matron!

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe he was deaf?

[patty-ann]

They are both elderly and to be fair they are being filmed so cannot be easy to act normal, so maybe lapses in concentration are due to combination of factors. Also they would have filmed far more than used and lots ending up not suitable TV viewing i.e. normal boating. Its the "exciting " stuff that gets viewing ratings and to be honest what else can they pep up the programme with?

[Phil Ambrose]

No blurry use sounding your horn - shiny or otherwise - on 'tcanals. Nobody, but nobody knows the codes and mostly care less.

 

I shall continue to sound my intentions even though My Management says (to paraphrase the very late Jimmy Edwards) what a bloody-um-awful-noise (he was referring to an euphonium).

 

Even a bleep to say "I'm here" is ignored or treated as being aggressive.

 

 

Depends where you are I suppose, our favourite river around here is the river Whissey and in places barely wide enough for 2 boats to pass plus many blind bends, in fact at 60 ft long we can have our bows on the apex of a bend while the stern is still passing the last one. Use of the horn is essential.

Phil