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Forth and Clyde Closure


Tim Lewis

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5 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

I've never heard of it used to describe someone as of loose character.  To me it was always used to describe naughty children. 

I've usually heard it to describe a woman of rather upright (or uptight) character,  usually by other women, and often after said woman has stuck her neb into t'other women's business ...

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1 minute ago, Iain_S said:

I've usually heard it to describe a woman of rather upright (or uptight) character,  usually by other women, and often after said woman has stuck her neb into t'other women's business ...

I think it might vary between different areas.:cheers:

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As I said previously,  I tried to support canalside business when I could, Bridge 49 being one.  Only managed once by boat before all of the residential moorings had been taken.  The other more frequent stop was the Park Farm Bistro on the eastern side of Linlithgow as it does have a pontoon mooring albeit just as you exit a bridge. The limited availability of visitor moorings is one of the saddest aspects of cruising the Union Canal as it almost impossible to moor alongside any part of the towpath because of lack of weed cutting and other maintenance. 

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19 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

I've never heard of it used to describe someone as of loose character.  To me it was always used to describe naughty children. 

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cowp

A coup is where you keep chicken - a cowp is where you tip stuff - like the tip.

The OXFORD ENGLISH dictionary is wrong. In the West of Scotland we used to have signposts : "The Coup" 

COUP 

2. A place for emptying rubbish, a dump (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 20; Cai.7, Bnff.2, Abd.9, Fif.10, Slg.3, Arg.1, Lnk.11, Kcb.1 1940).Sc. 1938  St Andrews Cit. (12 Feb.) 10/5: 
Mr C. —, architect, stated that he would require a coup for material within the next month or two . . . and he indicated a site which he has in view for the purpose.

COOP as in chicken coop.

Edited by LadyG
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9 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

Actually a broom is the most universal one of all the suggestions. So Iain wins. 

We all know a besom is a sort of broom, the kind a witch uses to fly to the moonimage.png.f11f337d372754f8d14c354c220a98df.png

is this Nicola?

Edited by LadyG
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7 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

She intercepts and approves - or otherwise - all internet traffic coming out of Scotland.

That explains what was going wrong with my post. 

6 minutes ago, LadyG said:

We all know a besom is a sort of broom, the kind a witch uses to fly to the moonimage.png.f11f337d372754f8d14c354c220a98df.png

 

So a Besom or bizzum or other variety of spelling could be any age of woman, apart from a child. (Maid, Mother or Crone)

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I was sad to read about the problems on the F&C, we came up with Helterskelter in 2011 to join in with a ten year celebration of the restoration and met lots of friendly boaters up there, sailing between Glasgow and Edinburgh was one of the most memorable trips we have ever done, it does seem things have gone downhill for boaters since that time, such a shame as we were hoping to do it again one day..

 

 

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54 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

I've never heard of it used to describe someone as of loose character.  To me it was always used to describe naughty children. 

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cowp

A coup is where you keep chicken - a cowp is where you tip stuff - like the tip.

Always thought that a Coup was when Chickens overthrow a Government  or unpopular Dictator?or is that a Co-op?

Edited by cereal tiller
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6 minutes ago, AllanD said:

This rather serious topic has been hijacked for the amusement of some. How sad that genuine concerns of the possible demise of any inland waterway should be trivialised in such a way. 

This is because, whilst we all agree that the situation is very unfortunate, we are all powerless to do anything about it, nor have any new ideas. Unless you have any suggestions?

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4 minutes ago, AllanD said:

Being "powerless"  does not mean that we cannot express sympathy, support or concerns for those directly or indirectly affected by what is happening. We are after all have mutual interest in boating. 

We did that already.

And IMO my teasing of Iain (who is one of those with a blue cross tattooed on his forehead) regarding the SNP is not entirely off topic.

Edited by nicknorman
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Whilst politicians are usually the first target when things go wrong it is worth doing a reality check on this story.  This closure is a result of a decision by the British Waterways Board.  Yes, dear old BW still exists, hiding under a kilt called "Scottish Canals".  Despite receiving grant increases from the Scottish Government well above inflation for the past two years, plus nearly £12m of earned property income annually, they decided not to keep a contingency sum in their budget for major failures, hoping that the Government would continue to bail them out, as 13-10 discovered recently.   The Lowland Canal Association have found out that of a total annual spend of around £19m, only around £3m is allocated to canal maintenance.

I'm no fan of the political masters in charge in Edinburgh but on this one they have a defence - bissums or not

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20 minutes ago, Waterway2go said:

Whilst politicians are usually the first target when things go wrong it is worth doing a reality check on this story.  This closure is a result of a decision by the British Waterways Board.  Yes, dear old BW still exists, hiding under a kilt called "Scottish Canals".  Despite receiving grant increases from the Scottish Government well above inflation for the past two years, plus nearly £12m of earned property income annually, they decided not to keep a contingency sum in their budget for major failures, hoping that the Government would continue to bail them out, as 13-10 discovered recently.   The Lowland Canal Association have found out that of a total annual spend of around £19m, only around £3m is allocated to canal maintenance.

I'm no fan of the political masters in charge in Edinburgh but on this one they have a defence - bissums or not

But surely ultimately, SC is accountable to the Scottish government. If the government was actually interested, they could do something about the wrong sense of priorities you mention.

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1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

But surely ultimately, SC is accountable to the Scottish government. If the government was actually interested, they could do something about the wrong sense of priorities you mention.

yes, SC is accountable to the Scottish Government but one of the big problems boaters have had is that despite contacting MSPs etc, the SC Board is made up of a few people who know how to manipulate governments and say the right weasel words to make it look as if all is well.  It was hoped (in fact rumoured) that the chief executive would have moved onto pastures new long before now but unfortunately he is still in post. He has many failings but knowing how to deal with politicians is not one of them. We live in hope.

Haggis

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3 hours ago, Waterway2go said:

Whilst politicians are usually the first target when things go wrong it is worth doing a reality check on this story.  This closure is a result of a decision by the British Waterways Board.  Yes, dear old BW still exists, hiding under a kilt called "Scottish Canals".  Despite receiving grant increases from the Scottish Government well above inflation for the past two years, plus nearly £12m of earned property income annually, they decided not to keep a contingency sum in their budget for major failures, hoping that the Government would continue to bail them out, as 13-10 discovered recently.   The Lowland Canal Association have found out that of a total annual spend of around £19m, only around £3m is allocated to canal maintenance.

I'm no fan of the political masters in charge in Edinburgh but on this one they have a defence - bissums or not

And that's it in a nutshell: the funding is generous, the management is incompetent.

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14 hours ago, sandgrown said:

I was sad to read about the problems on the F&C, we came up with Helterskelter in 2011 to join in with a ten year celebration of the restoration and met lots of friendly boaters up there, sailing between Glasgow and Edinburgh was one of the most memorable trips we have ever done, it does seem things have gone downhill for boaters since that time, such a shame as we were hoping to do it again one day..

 

 

I would second this. I remember you well Helterskelter!

This event was not long after I moved myself and boat up to Scotland and it re-inforced the sense in my decision to move north of the border. The management took pride in the fact that this was a small, nimble organisation operated by a staff of 130 that were readily adaptable. 

This was also the turning point when SC decided that it was a regeneration agency first and foremost, progressively elevating its property activities over its navigational duties, to the point where its staffing is now totally bloated. It's not too hard to imagine that its wages bill now absorbs most of its grant in aid and income.

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As someone who has left the water 5 months ago I have had firsthand experience of SC's financial haphazard handling of my account during my time afloat.  Some spurious bills sent with little or no details,  some inaccurate and one obviously ridiculous. The time and effort required to rectify these could be lengthy and very frustrating.  If this was the tip of the iceberg I can only imagine the extent of the full problem. 

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27 minutes ago, AllanD said:

As someone who has left the water 5 months ago I have had firsthand experience of SC's financial haphazard handling of my account during my time afloat.  Some spurious bills sent with little or no details,  some inaccurate and one obviously ridiculous. The time and effort required to rectify these could be lengthy and very frustrating.  If this was the tip of the iceberg I can only imagine the extent of the full problem. 

Tell me about it ............and several dozen other boaters on SC waters as well!

I even had the direct debit sum for my mooring fees/licence altered (upwards) mid-term without any explanation. Until then it was not something I would have expected to check monthly ........ but I do now!

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