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GU Leicester currently unavigable


PeterCr

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Currently we're stuck on the GU coming out of Leicester going south.

 

Late this afternoon some kids have completely drained a pound a couple of locks up from where we are at bridge 105. I've had a look and it's about 6 inches deep. They also untied some CRT workboats which have floated all round the canal and have smashed all the windows on the boats.

 

There's a woman from CRT there and another person coming but although they've closed the paddles they don't know where water will come from, so can't comment on whether it will be up tomorrow or not.

 

If you're heading this way I'd take it easy until there's more news. Not good for us if it's a long process, no winding holes anywhere around here.

 

Cheers

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The telling statement there is that CRT staff don't know where the water is coming from......

Anyone who knows that stretch , and especially staff who work that stretch should be fully aware of the existence of Saddington, Naseby and Welford reservoirs.  

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5 minutes ago, matty40s said:

The telling statement there is that CRT staff don't know where the water is coming from......

Anyone who knows that stretch , and especially staff who work that stretch should be fully aware of the existence of Saddington, Naseby and Welford reservoirs.  

Yes exactly. I asked the woman why she didn't know and she said they were emergency  staff and they had to cover an area from Wales in the West down to about Stratford, and here and somewhere high up to the North. She'd never been here before. I asked if she had some sort of map or other information from CRT showing the reservoirs or other useful information and she said that she had nothing.

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11 minutes ago, PeterCr said:

Yes exactly. I asked the woman why she didn't know and she said they were emergency  staff and they had to cover an area from Wales in the West down to about Stratford, and here and somewhere high up to the North. She'd never been here before. I asked if she had some sort of map or other information from CRT showing the reservoirs or other useful information and she said that she had nothing.

Bring back the local lengths man/lock keeper" all is forgiven"?

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1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And double the licence fee so their wage costs are covered?

If they swapped half of the (in my opinion) useless/unnecessary office bods for the same #on the ground staff in troublesome areas it might see less problems or a swifter resolve if there is a problem, for possibly  no additional cost I can well imagine that the moral of the boots on the ground staff is at a low ebb

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15 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And double the licence fee so their wage costs are covered?

It can't be cost effective to have people drive halfway across the country and then not be able to do anything useful when they get there though can it?.

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4 minutes ago, Rick-n-Jo said:

It can't be cost effective to have people drive halfway across the country and then not be able to do anything useful when they get there though can it?.

 

Could you post up some estimated figures then perhaps?

 

Give us your estimate of the costs of employing 100 lengthsmen Vs. a team of say 5 emergency responders and their vehicle and travelling expenses?

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4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Could you post up some estimated figures then perhaps?

 

Give us your estimate of the costs of employing 100 lengthsmen Vs. a team of say 5 emergency responders and their vehicle and travelling expenses?

The facts are that you are of course quite right. We all know or I think  we do that the days of lengthsmen and local work gangs worked best for maintainance  but You and I also know the greatest cost to any business is staff and when it can be cut it will be. I will just add a little ditty here in that one sunny afternoon about 25 years ago we were entering Dukes cut with my Mum onboard. We pulled up and my mums eyes widened, she looked incredulous at the 3 BW blokes stood at the end of one balance beam. One had a pot of white paint in his hand with a brush and had just painted the end of the beam another was holding the " Wet paint " paper sign onto the side of the beam and another was operating the stapler to attach it.....I kid you not. Mum was then retired but had been the one and only caretaker of the village school doing every job on her own for twenty years so that was why she was wide eyed. Multiply this scenario dozens of times countrywide and thats partly why we are now were we are.

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8 minutes ago, Rick-n-Jo said:

No, because it's not a fair comparison. More local preventatives maintenance could mean fewer emergencies to respond to, and less overall cost.

 

Well make it fair then. Post up your estimate of the figures illustrating the cost is less, taking into account the massive cost of the occasional breach. You may well be right but unless you can put some credible figures together, your comments are not really valid.

 

 

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57 minutes ago, X Alan W said:

If they swapped half of the (in my opinion) useless/unnecessary office bods for the same #on the ground staff in troublesome areas it might see less problems or a swifter resolve if there is a problem, for possibly  no additional cost I can well imagine that the moral of the boots on the ground staff is at a low ebb

try telling that idea gto the police . . .

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It's open again, they had the pound filled (and those above it sufficient for navigation) by just after lunch.

 

This morning there was 2 guys there who knew exactly what they were doing. They were local, lived less than a mile or 3 away, and knew every lock and pound. They were on call yesterday all day (and one even complained that he couldn't have a drink as he was on call) and they were never called. Instead of calling the guys who knew the area and were ready to go they called someone who had no idea, not her fault.

 

The 2 guys were quite disappointed they weren't called, they said they would have worked through the night to get the water up, but they didn't know.

 

At least they got started this morning and by about a bit after lunchtime it was navigable.

 

Disappointing to see that the workboats had windows smashed and anything else available destroyed, including all the wiring for the machinery pulled out and trashed.

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10 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Could you post up some estimated figures then perhaps?

 

Give us your estimate of the costs of employing 100 lengthsmen Vs. a team of say 5 emergency responders and their vehicle and travelling expenses?

Free mooring.

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14 hours ago, mark99 said:

Free mooring.

I must admit I think your idea has merit. But it's complicated I've if you go boating, or have a conflicting responsibility. However as an adjunct to the voluntary lock keeper thing it's a great idea.

problem is can you go through 2 weeks of diversity training with annual check ups in order to voluntarily walk a towpath and check paddles. I couldn't that partly why I retired

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On 26/06/2018 at 08:24, X Alan W said:

If they swapped half of the (in my opinion) useless/unnecessary office bods for the same #on the ground staff in troublesome areas it might see less problems or a swifter resolve if there is a problem, for possibly  no additional cost I can well imagine that the moral of the boots on the ground staff is at a low ebb

Then what would you advocate when people complained about how inefficient the licensing system was?

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2 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

Then what would you advocate when people complained about how inefficient the licensing system was?

I wasn't referring to the office Indians only the chiefs of this & that depts that were not seemed to be needed in the days when the canal system was a fairly efficient working system I would guess that if they employed a system as used by a hopefully money making business with computers 5/6 staff could cope /turn around in a reasonable time the applications for a boat license the down turn came when BW phased out sectiom insectors/foremen & no one eyed up & checked the foot soldiers work rate & like "topsie" in a lot of cases the inefficiency 'Growed" so   & for the genuine keen workers the moral went down so they left to be replaced by folk who carried on & upped the inefficiency sad really

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