Vandalism shuts L & L in Wigan

[Clifford]

People are much the same everywhere, individual Wigan kids are no more evil than kids anywhere. Apart from a few psychopaths, kids don't wake up in the morning thinking "I'm going to make someone's life a misery today", they just want to hang around with their mates and do what their mates do. To them, they are acting normally.

 

The problem is that in some areas it has become 'normal' to mess about with lock gear and to see narrowboaters as outsiders. In other areas, boats are seen all the time, and are just part of the neighbourhood. Changing a culture is not easy, but we should all try.

 

Leicester has a bad rep. Going through a lock we felt a bit worried by three 'dodgy' looky older teenagers hanging around. At first we were studiously ignoring them, and they us. But I took an opportunity to nod and say "howdo". Straight away they were asking all sorts of questions and seemed genuinely interested. No doubt up to that point they'd been as suspicious of us ('them snobby gets on boats', probably) as we'd been of them.

 

I think there's just a chance that if those lads were with other mates who were talking about 'snobby boaters', they might just stick up for us in a small way ('they're not all bad') and just make it a bit less likely that the gang would decide to spend the day chucking stones at boats, or whatever.

[RichardH]

People are much the same everywhere, individual Wigan kids are no more evil than kids anywhere. Apart from a few psychopaths, kids don't wake up in the morning thinking "I'm going to make someone's life a misery today", they just want to hang around with their mates and do what their mates do. To them, they are acting normally.

 

The problem is that in some areas it has become 'normal' to mess about with lock gear and to see narrowboaters as outsiders. In other areas, boats are seen all the time, and are just part of the neighbourhood. Changing a culture is not easy, but we should all try.

 

Leicester has a bad rep. Going through a lock we felt a bit worried by three 'dodgy' looky older teenagers hanging around. At first we were studiously ignoring them, and they us. But I took an opportunity to nod and say "howdo". Straight away they were asking all sorts of questions and seemed genuinely interested. No doubt up to that point they'd been as suspicious of us ('them snobby gets on boats', probably) as we'd been of them.

 

I think there's just a chance that if those lads were with other mates who were talking about 'snobby boaters', they might just stick up for us in a small way ('they're not all bad') and just make it a bit less likely that the gang would decide to spend the day chucking stones at boats, or whatever.

Spot on

[Trento]

Catweasel..

 

I passed you at Parbold yesterday..

[Guest]

Catweasel..

 

I passed you at Parbold yesterday..

Sorry I missed you. Getting a few jobs done as we are moving off for a few weeks in the morning. Where are you heading for?

[Trento]

Middlewich then hopefully, up to York and Ripon.. And you ?

[Guest]

People are much the same everywhere, individual Wigan kids are no more evil than kids anywhere. Apart from a few psychopaths, kids don't wake up in the morning thinking "I'm going to make someone's life a misery today", they just want to hang around with their mates and do what their mates do. To them, they are acting normally.

 

The problem is that in some areas it has become 'normal' to mess about with lock gear and to see narrowboaters as outsiders. In other areas, boats are seen all the time, and are just part of the neighbourhood. Changing a culture is not easy, but we should all try.

 

Leicester has a bad rep. Going through a lock we felt a bit worried by three 'dodgy' looky older teenagers hanging around. At first we were studiously ignoring them, and they us. But I took an opportunity to nod and say "howdo". Straight away they were asking all sorts of questions and seemed genuinely interested. No doubt up to that point they'd been as suspicious of us ('them snobby gets on boats', probably) as we'd been of them.

 

I think there's just a chance that if those lads were with other mates who were talking about 'snobby boaters', they might just stick up for us in a small way ('they're not all bad') and just make it a bit less likely that the gang would decide to spend the day chucking stones at boats, or whatever.

I tend to agree with much of that, and we have done our share of PR with kids on the locks etc., but am getting a bit peed off of late around my neck of the woods. Three new NB's torched at Burscough last week, one torched at Parbold before Christmas (forum member) and IIRC seven damaged (one other forum member.) Regular damage at Wigan; we even had a service point removed owing to continuous vandalism. Sorry but these aren't bored kids chucking stones, these people have an agenda.

Middlewich then hopefully, up to York and Ripon.. And you ?

Towards Middlewhich ourselves, then who knows? We shall decide from there Will keep an eye open for you.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Guest