Something wonderful from CaRT

[Tumshie]

4 minutes ago, Athy said:

...and looks even more like Phil Mitchell in that shot. Perhaps he's sad about the lack of Grants.

? That would be a greenie. 

[MtB]

19 minutes ago, Athy said:

...and looks even more like Phil Mitchell in that shot. Perhaps he's sad about the lack of Grants.

 

I imagined he looked sad because his razor was broken so he couldn't shave and make himself look a respectable representative of CRT on filming day.

[rgreg]

Well CRT's Wellbeing push is certainly getting news coverage on the BBC this morning.

[billS]

I think that it sis sheer egotism that the chairman has endorsed a logo which represents him swimming in the canal...

 

 

...or could it represent a coconut.

[Athy]

6 minutes ago, rgreg said:

Well CRT's Wellbeing push is certainly getting news coverage on the BBC this morning.

I didn't have the radio on this morning as I was busy. What did they say?

[Jerra]

44 minutes ago, Athy said:

I didn't have the radio on this morning as I was busy. What did they say?

One thing I noticed on TV (the little I saw) referred to "research" by the CRT showing people's health and well being was better after visiting a canal.  Research?  I haven't heard of any but as it was the weather girl (carol kirkwood) standing at Little Venice it may just be she has got the wrong end of the stick.

[Proper Charlie]

9 minutes ago, Jerra said:

One thing I noticed on TV (the little I saw) referred to "research" by the CRT showing people's health and well being was better after visiting a canal.  Research?  I haven't heard of any but as it was the weather girl (carol kirkwood) standing at Little Venice it may just be she has got the wrong end of the stick.

It's this research:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/38060-simetrica-report.pdf

[Flyboy]

1 hour ago, Tumshie said:

 

He looks very miserable and rather frightening.

 

Perhaps he's a fisherman.   

[alan_fincher]

16 hours ago, Midnight said:

Interesting that 90% of their customers don't have boats yet pay nothing. 10% have boats but pay handsomely.

Depends on your definition of "pay handsomely".

Total CRT income in the last financial report was £202.9M, of which boat licensing itself contributed only £19.6m

So our licences are contributing less than 10% of the total.

As I couldn't possibly afford to pay 10 times what I currently pay for my boat licences, it is of course fairly essential that CRT continues to be able to secure 90% of its income from sources other than boat licences.

Please don't pretend that boaters come close to paying what it costs CRT to provide the waterways for us to enjoy!

[canalboat]

I assume the bald, unshaven, scary man is representing Canal and River Trust when he states :-

"Eight million people live within 1km of our canals and the best thing about them, in my opinion, is

they're free for everyone to use and enjoy".

That must mean that nobody has to pay for a boat licence or for a mooring any more!

[Boat&Bikes]

7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Depends on your definition of "pay handsomely".

Total CRT income in the last financial report was £202.9M, of which boat licensing itself contributed only £19.6m

So our licences are contributing less than 10% of the total.

As I couldn't possibly afford to pay 10 times what I currently pay for my boat licences, it is of course fairly essential that CRT continues to be able to secure 90% of its income from sources other than boat licences.

Please don't pretend that boaters come close to paying what it costs CRT to provide the waterways for us to enjoy!

I think what we get for our licence fee is a bargain. As much as people moan about the state of the canals we have been out for two months now No hassles whilst cruising and mooring. It’s brilliant out here! 

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Please don't pretend that boaters come close to paying what it costs CRT to provide the waterways for us to enjoy!

That's not really the point though is it?

 

The point is the new direction the Trust is taking seems to completely ignore the direct financial  contribution that boaters make. I can enjoy the waterways for zilch.

 

If all you boaters gave up on your boats tomorrow and stopped using the waterways what exactly would CRT have for other users to enjoy. OK the fisherpersons may be happy with that but do people visit waterways to stare at a wet muddy ditch? Of course they don't it's boats that people go to see.

[adam1uk]

8 minutes ago, MJG said:

That's not really the point though is it?

 

The point is the new direction the Trust is taking seems to completely ignore the direct financial  contribution that boaters make. I can enjoy the waterways for zilch.

 

If all you boaters gave up on your boats tomorrow and stopped using the waterways what exactly would CRT have for other users to enjoy. OK the fisherpersons may be happy with that but do people visit waterways to stare at a wet muddy ditch? Of course they don't it's boats that people go to see.

You can hardly argue that boaters are being ignored, when the expenditure on things that are needed for boating far exceeds the amount directly paid by boaters.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

You can hardly argue that boaters are being ignored, when the expenditure on things that are needed for boating far exceeds the amount directly paid by boaters.

I think I can argue that for all the reasons I have already said up the thread.

 

And as I have just pointed out maintaining the system (in a fashion) to allow boaters to move doesn't just benefit boaters does it? It benefits others who don't pay anything.

[Tumshie]

31 minutes ago, Proper Charlie said:

It's this research:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/38060-simetrica-report.pdf

I don't want to rain on CRT's parade but the are not breaking any new ground here, The Conservation Volunteers with their Green Gym have been on to this for a while (20 years, I think)

https://www.tcv.org.uk/greengym

https://abingdongreengym.blogspot.co.uk/

The Green Gym is Brilliant fun. 

 

In fact the majority of what CRT are proposing to do for community wellbeing is all ready being done by other trusts like English Heritage and The National Trust; the only difference is that the canals are right in the heart of the cities but they are hardly hiding in plain sight, because it's not like (for the most part) you can miss them really, so why are people suddenly going to start visiting canals when they haven't been before? Or is it just because I tend to look for a canal that I see them?

[Athy]

6 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

it's not like (for the most part) you can miss them really, so why are people suddenly going to start visiting canals when they haven't been before? 

Oh, but you can.

From the age of 13 I was brought up within three miles of the Ashby Canal. I didn't know it was there and I don't remember any local people ever talking about it. That is a great pity as, for my first few years in the area, it was still a working coal-carrying waterway.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

Or is it just because I tend to look for a canal that I see them?

I think it is exactly this.

 

If I know there is one nearby whether in this country or France even I will always seek one out even if we are away in the Caravan. We also did this even before we were boaters. Jo public I suspect will have very little notion of the location of lots of waterways including rural and inner city ones.

[Tumshie]

4 minutes ago, Athy said:

Oh, but you can.

From the age of 13 I was brought up within three miles of the Ashby Canal. I didn't know it was there and I don't remember any local people ever talking about it. That is a great pity as, for my first few years in the area, it was still a working coal-carrying waterway.

I suppose at they've 'always' been there people take them for granted. Which is sad.

[rgreg]

2 hours ago, Athy said:

I didn't have the radio on this morning as I was busy. What did they say?

It was featured on Radio 2 news and weather this morning. They focussed on the well-being aspect of the waterways and some of Richard Parry's comments were aired. Carol the weather girl made reference to the well-being drive on location  by a canal. So I guess, as public awareness is the objective of the re-branding, that is a start. 

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, Jerra said:

One thing I noticed on TV (the little I saw) referred to "research" by the CRT showing people's health and well being was better after visiting a canal.  Research?  I haven't heard of any but as it was the weather girl (carol kirkwood) standing at Little Venice it may just be she has got the wrong end of the stick.

I'm not sure that the Manchester canals have a very good record on extending life.......

[tree monkey]

54 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

I suppose at they've 'always' been there people take them for granted. Which is sad.

I was brought up in Ellesmere Port, the reason the town exsisted was because of the canal, its name came from a small Shropshire town called Ellesmere, via a plan to build a canal and hardly anyone knew anything about the canal, I didn't and it was never mentioned in School or even advertised by the council. 

 

Unless you have an active intrest most people hardly see them

At least in my experience

 

I suppose we had the boat museum but that was hardly mentioned or advertised locally

Edited May 23, 2018 by tree monkey

[Tuscan]

The independent research quoted was ,when you read the press release ,commissioned by CRT who no doubt framed the question they wanted the answer to.

 

It comes back every time to how the waterways are being funded. However it seems to me that to CRT  need to get back to the roots of the issue. If as CRT now seem to accept the original model (replacing government funding largely through friends and funds raised through the partnerships) has failed then the focus should surely just be on bringing pressure on government to commit to a further grant. Everything else is a side show.

 

The first thing therefore is for CRT to seek clarity from government ( and the opposition who may be in power when the time comes) on whether further funding is possible and probable and on what criteria is it based.. This needs to be transparent so that boaters and other users can be united in supporting CRT and achieving these aims.

 

So until government gives some clarity all CRT can do is tinker round the edges with logos and wellness. Playing the fitness card is a good one if the government buys that it is keeping people away from the NHS but I suspect Joe public would rather any extra money went direct to the NHS than to the Waterways. 

[Tumshie]

4 hours ago, tree monkey said:

I was brought up in Ellesmere Port, the reason the town exsisted was because of the canal, its name came from a small Shropshire town called Ellesmere, via a plan to build a canal and hardly anyone knew anything about the canal, I didn't and it was never mentioned in School or even advertised by the council. 

 

Unless you have an active intrest most people hardly see them

At least in my experience

 

I suppose we had the boat museum but that was hardly mentioned or advertised locally

I was always a bit of a water baby when I was growing up so a slight glimpse of a canal would have been all I needed to get lost for hours, so maybe my thinking skewed by that.

 

On the other end of that spectrum I have cousins who live practically on the towpath of one of the most popular and beautiful canals in England and one of them especially I doubt her children give two hoots about the canal or its boats but that is because she looks down on the canals and nothing that CRT say or do is going to change that.

 

When you live locally to visitors attraction like a museum you often never get round to visiting it, do you.

[john6767]

Sorry I can’t resist this.  

 

CRT have updated the logo, in various colours, all over social media.  But just came accross a retweet of a tweet from @CRTComms the CRT Press team,  perhaps they did not get the memo ?

 

[Tumshie]

I was intrigued by that Telegraph story

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/22/canals-prescribed-gps-combat-depression/

 

It would seen there are quite a few news stories out there at the moment with CRT as the main 'source'.