Hambleden Lock

Outinthedinghy

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I overheard another long time lock keeper telling another boater how his job was so much easier now that the lock laybys were outside of his responsibility.

It's true really. Just let people moor and swim off all the laybys, never mind moving boats. If there are any issues or accidents just get a blue light on the job.

Dealt with.
 

Chris_d

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I overheard another long time lock keeper telling another boater how his job was so much easier now that the lock laybys were outside of his responsibility.

It's true really. Just let people moor and swim off all the laybys, never mind moving boats. If there are any issues or accidents just get a blue light on the job.

Dealt with.
Yes laybys are great places to moor, a glorious summer scene...
20200831_161854.jpg
 

Flynnbarr

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I would be a little more sympathetic to LCH and her daughter's feelings if, in their various comments and statements, they had expressed an iota of sympathy for Simon and his family losing his job and their home, whether or not they believe that any of their actions contributed to this.

Was just about to write similar.......a jolly jape for LCH’s daughter before swanning off to uni with no thought to the mess/sad situation she’s left behind.....a well liked individual has lost his livelihood and home but never mind someone had a fun time playing at being a business......the newspaper article mentions it was a stressful situation for the young lady and her feelings were hurt....diddums.....does she realise how stressful it is for someone with no job and no home ffs....

Who’d be a lockie these days,in fact who would want to do any job where they have to deal with the general public who know all their rights but none of their responsibilities.:(
 

Outinthedinghy

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I'm well intrigued as to who the next resident of Hambleden lock house will be.

Apparently it will be a lock keeper but who would want all that responsibility with this story?

It's a large house right on the lock. Public going over the tail gates including idiot cyclist time triallers. Upper layby is now a short term pleasure mooring and it's also a big lock and a nuisance to approach if windy from upstream.

Car park on wrong side of the lock. Long windy gated access road. Bins and recycling point beside your car.

Who would want all that responsibility and public engagement ? I suppose there might be someone but I wonder who?

It's one of the worst locks on the River for public nonsense especially the Tour de France situation.


ETA happy to be corrected but I believe new resident keepers these days have to pay towards the housing rather than it being included in the job.

Not sure if that is accurate but if so then presumably that house would be quite an expensive one.
 
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Old Crusty

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I overheard another long time lock keeper telling another boater how his job was so much easier now that the lock laybys were outside of his responsibility.

It's true really. Just let people moor and swim off all the laybys, never mind moving boats. If there are any issues or accidents just get a blue light on the job.

Dealt with.

During the debate about the weight of lock ladders, used to rescue boat crew overboard in lock chambers, when threatened with having his long-serving, heavy ladders removed, the keeper asked the manager, now departed, how he would rescue the boaters from the water. The reply was, call the fire & rescue service.

So, picture the scene, you the duty keeper sees a boater or crew fall in the water, the casualty is conscious, it takes less than a minute to position the ladder in the chamber, casualty climbs out, gets dry, chat about water borne bugs and secondary drowning, all done, on they go, note it in the incident book.

Meanwhile, fire & rescue haven't even reached the padlocked gate a mile away from the lock site.

Going the manager's suggested route, it would not be looking good for the casualty though the keeper could fill the chamber slowly while said casualty clings to a life ring then help them out at the top. Assuming the wait in the cold water hasn't sapped their strength.

Remember, it's better to call 112 than 999 as this number bounces other subscribers off the system to enable your call.

One of many reasons why we need lock keepers on the Thames.
 

Outinthedinghy

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If I was doing a lock and someone went in I would get the liferings to them asap then try to maneouver them to the steps with a hitcher pole if they were unable to deal with it themselves. There are also those poles with the blue curved body handling device.

But yes I agree entirely that you do want lock keepers and apparently the lock houses are being kept for resident lock keepers. Which is great.

My comment about relying on blue lights earlier was tongue in cheek. You -definitely- want lock keepers on the River. No question whatsoever about that.

I think there is quite a strong argument for also having patrol boats.

I lived in a Riverside house near Kingston in the 80s/90s as a teenager and we had Thames Water patrol boats AND river Police in their own boats.

At the time it was a nuisance as I couldn't really get away with caning it up and down in my Broom speedboat but these days, 30 years on, I would quite like to see regular Police boats on the River. That would be quite cool actually.
 

Old Crusty

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If I was doing a lock and someone went in I would get the liferings to them asap then try to maneouver them to the steps with a hitcher pole if they were unable to deal with it themselves. There are also those poles with the blue curved body handling device.

But yes I agree entirely that you do want lock keepers and apparently the lock houses are being kept for resident lock keepers. Which is great.

My comment about relying on blue lights earlier was tongue in cheek. You -definitely- want lock keepers on the River. No question whatsoever about that.

What you describe is the other tried and tested method of rescue. You could practice it while awaiting the big red lorry and beefy folk.
 

Time Out

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If I was doing a lock and someone went in I would get the liferings to them asap then try to maneouver them to the steps with a hitcher pole if they were unable to deal with it themselves. There are also those poles with the blue curved body handling device.

But yes I agree entirely that you do want lock keepers and apparently the lock houses are being kept for resident lock keepers. Which is great.

My comment about relying on blue lights earlier was tongue in cheek. You -definitely- want lock keepers on the River. No question whatsoever about that.

I think there is quite a strong argument for also having patrol boats.

I lived in a Riverside house near Kingston in the 80s/90s as a teenager and we had Thames Water patrol boats AND river Police in their own boats.

At the time it was a nuisance as I couldn't really get away with caning it up and down in my Broom speedboat but these days, 30 years on, I would quite like to see regular Police boats on the River. That would be quite cool actually.

well we could, we just had to go above Ravens Ait where the water works would ‘absorb’ the wash ;) we must have missed each other by about 4 years i reckon!
 

Old Crusty

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If I was doing a lock and someone went in I would get the liferings to them asap then try to maneouver them to the steps with a hitcher pole if they were unable to deal with it themselves. There are also those poles with the blue curved body handling device.

But yes I agree entirely that you do want lock keepers and apparently the lock houses are being kept for resident lock keepers. Which is great.

My comment about relying on blue lights earlier was tongue in cheek. You -definitely- want lock keepers on the River. No question whatsoever about that.

I think there is quite a strong argument for also having patrol boats.

I lived in a Riverside house near Kingston in the 80s/90s as a teenager and we had Thames Water patrol boats AND river Police in their own boats.

At the time it was a nuisance as I couldn't really get away with caning it up and down in my Broom speedboat but these days, 30 years on, I would quite like to see regular Police boats on the River. That would be quite cool actually.

My happiest patrols were on the Mitchells. Perhaps we should bid for the EA patrol fleet then get them out on the water. Might need a scrub first.
 

Outinthedinghy

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well we could, we just had to go above Ravens Ait where the water works would ‘absorb’ the wash ;) we must have missed each other by about 4 years i reckon!
Yes there is the waterworks bit. Oddly enough I had an incident there with a Diablo catapult and some homemade lead projectiles. Someone was not happy. I pulled over to give them the catapult as requested however they did not quite realise what would happen when they were subjected to the wrath of my Mother, to whom I had reported the incident. We lived in Lower Teddington Road (even number with riverside garden) at Hampton Wick from 1986 to 1996. The River police also received short shrift on a number of occasions when they saw fit to interact with us.
My happiest patrols were on the Mitchells. Perhaps we should bid for the EA patrol fleet then get them out on the water. Might need a scrub first.

PL Isis comes to mind. That's a Mitchell I think.

Having helmed Steve SRB's ex Thames Water and ex BW Robert Ives 29 boats I have to say they would take some beating for Thames patrolling.

The Mitchells seem a bit large and possibly rather heavy?

Twin screw is nice though, specially if someone else is paying for the diesel!
 
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Old Crusty

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The Mitchells are great for the lower river downstream of Reading to Teddytown especially when boarding the odd boat in the Sunbury area. The 29s, two of which are 31' will go anywhere, go astern like driving a car and give you the duck's eye view of the river.

All are single screw and the Seven Springs has a bow thruster for some unfathomable reason. I removed the fuse on the thruster to stop those upstream patrol types from disturbing the rich and famous along the Thames but I expect they've noticed by now.
 

Outinthedinghy

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I did wonder after that but thought perhaps there was a twin screw Mitchell somewhere with EA flag on it.

Also I think the 31 version of the patrol boat was made by a different company not Robert Ives.

Creative Marine perhaps ?
 

Old Crusty

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I did wonder after that but thought perhaps there was a twin screw Mitchell somewhere with EA flag on it.

Also I think the 31 version of the patrol boat was made by a different company not Robert Ives.

Creative Marine perhaps ?

Can't recall the builder. I do recall stuffing the stern in the riverbank the first time I power turned the Loddon at the Boulter's yard, my colleague failed to mention the extra 2 feet ?
 

Scapegoat

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Maybe a platform between the steamer piles on other side would be sensible. A second layby because if it's anything like last year that layby is going to be difficult to get into safely.
Surely that’s a good reason for it to be located elsewhere, far away from the lock lay-by side
 

oldgit

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Surely that’s a good reason for it to be located elsewhere, far away from the lock lay-by side

It is shame that this enterprise came to such an inglorious conclusion causing considerable ill feeling among all the parties concerned.
Unfortunately Faecesbook ,while it might have some benefits , it seems many disputes invariably appear to descend into the chaos of the mob. Spats more likely to be found in nursery on display .

On a (very)brief exposure to the FB website was appalled to watch over 24 hours , adults that I had much respect for, descend to the level of toddlers over some rather inconsequential matter, the fallout from which lasted for blimming months.
Took a lot longer to erase the "Window on Hell" app from my phone than to install it. :)

"Popup" a good idea but just needs to be well away from the lock laybay ?
................and well done to the young lady for at least having go.
The Thames Navy can now go back to moaning about EA tap outrages. :)
 

Outinthedinghy

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Surely that’s a good reason for it to be located elsewhere, far away from the lock lay-by side
Yes I agree. It should never have been put there in the first place. However from a business perspective it's pretty obvious why it was put there !

The extra entertainment of boats manoovering or hovering in the area due to unavailability of layby makes it an even better location for customers because there is something entertaining to watch.
 

Outinthedinghy

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It is shame that this enterprise came to such an inglorious conclusion causing considerable ill feeling among all the parties concerned.
Unfortunately Faecesbook ,while it might have some benefits , it seems many disputes invariably appear to descend into the chaos of the mob. Spats more likely to be found in nursery on display .

On a (very)brief exposure to the FB website was appalled to watch over 24 hours , adults that I had much respect for, descend to the level of toddlers over some rather inconsequential matter, the fallout from which lasted for blimming months.
Took a lot longer to erase the "Window on Hell" app from my phone than to install it. :)

"Popup" a good idea but just needs to be well away from the lock laybay ?
................and well done to the young lady for at least having go.
The Thames Navy can now go back to moaning about EA tap outrages. :)
facebook is dreadful. Just brings out the worst and of course their advert placement business model relies on people being agitated . Without agitated people they would make less money. So it is in Zuck's interest financially to wind as many people up as possible.

Sad really but I suppose it's was an inevitable outcome of mass internet access.
 
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