Any Thames questions?

[KateB_C]

I am doing an interview with Eileen McKeever, non-tidal Thames River Manager for the Environment Agency.

Does anybody have any Thames-related questions they would like me to ask her??

It is an excellent opportunity to air your grievances and maybe even get some answers.

I will be meeting her on Wednesday.

Many Thanks

Kate B-C

 

[markc]

Too late for me - the BSS, lack of moorings and flooding has already driven me to the coast!!

 

[paulineb]

And me

Would you thank her from me please. If the river wasn't so awful last year, it would have taken me longer to discover the fun on the south coast.

Pauline B

 

[PGD]

Hi, I’ve been on the Thames for about 5 years now and one thing that does bug me is the charging system for river licences. The go up and up each year, you can’t pay monthly, you can’t get any money back if you are not on the river, they charge on "length over all" not "at the water line", after all that the bit in the drink!

Most boats then spend the Winter on hard standings not in the river, you should get a rebate if you’ve paid for a year of have the ability to buy a Summer / Winter license.

That or the EA could scrap the system altogether and introduce lock tolls say a £1.00 to go though, any higher and it would be too restrictive. At night when the locks are unmanned you just need a slot on the lock controls so you can operate them, say £1.00 for manual operation or £2.00 for the electricity?

Flooding as mentioned – they do need to try to do more to control it. We lost around 4 months boating last year as my mooring is between two locks and the were Red Boarded for ages.

Hire boats, it should be compulsory to pass a competence test before you're allowed out – too many stories to tell on that subject!

Most privately owned boats are in responsible hands as it's your thousands of pounds floating the river – but hire boaters – Hummm, I’m not saying we should take them off the river, just bring the standards of boating handling up a bit.

Hope that helps.

Peter Davey

 

[ChrisP]

Ask her what she thinks qualifies her to run a river.
How long has she spent at the sharp end finding out exactly how the river works and getting to know the people that work and use the river.
Does she agree that its a living thing with seasonal variations not some constant source of stable income to be drained off for the shareholders etc.
Why is it that the management is made up of university graduates who during their education never went closer to a river than fornicating on the bank. What do they know about running a natural reasource.
What happened to the people who lived and worked by the river all their lives and knew what it was doing without even the use of a telephone? where have the mariners gone? Why does the management no longer come up through the ranks. Could it be that they know more than the college boys?
Dont get me wrong technology is a great thing but the people looking at the dials still have to know what it all means.
What ever happened to public awareness and providing a service.
Where have all the river patrols gone?
Why are incedents of speeding (20 knots in a 4.8 knot area) causing thousands of pounds of damage with 4 independent witnesses not followed up. Is it too much trouble or was there a quiet word in the inspectors shell like?

Why does she always manage to dissapear when the real questions start.
Why do we only see her at prize givings etc but she's never available when you phone her office?

You won't get answers to any of the above but you did ask. If you're in the office today ask Suzanne what its all about and she can tell you how to get in touch with me, that is if you realy want to know what is going on from the sharp end.

ChrisP

 

[byron]

Ask her when is Envag going accept that the BSS has driven many hundreds of boats off the river and stop looking for other reasons. Ask her why the whole nautical world works in Knots while Envag works in Kilometers Per Hour.

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[Guest]

From the look of the posts so far it would appear to be all doom and gloom on the Thames. However we trailed our boat down to the Thames last year and had a fantastic holiday. It probably helped that we had the best weather of the year, but without exception the lock keepers and river patrol were all friendly and helpfull. Eileen her self came to our rescue before we even got to the River,when our holiday licence got stuck in some far away sorting office (due to the summers post strike) she arranged for a duplicate to be sent to Benson lock, next to where we were launching at no extra cost.
I have to agree on one point though, the quality of hire boat operation leaves a lot to be desired. We will be visiting again but next time with a lot more fenders!!

 

[ChrisP]

Out of interest

Kate don't take this the wrong way but here's a few questions for you.

How much do you know about the river.
How much time do you spend on the river.
How many years have you been boating on the river.
How will you know if the answers to your questions are factual or Bu***it.
How will you follow up your questions to get real answers when faced with a profesional question dodger.
Have you ever attended any of the various river group meetings.
Are you really qualified to represent the river users when you've never met them.

I could go on but I'm sure you see the point. This has all the makings of a "photo opportunity" for ENVAG. Column inches for Eileen knowing you won't be able to ask searching questions or make valid comments that could hurt her career.
Why don't you take somebody with you who can rely on to put the boaters point of view. See how fast your interview is cancelled when she sees that she might have to actually put something on the line rather than pass it off to a minion whilst making a hasty run for the door.

I admire your idea and agree that there should be some form of interview to let her know how boaters feel and to get answers to their questions but when you have to ask the audience for the material you really haven't done enough homework.

Having said all that I wish you luck and look forward to the article

ChrisP

 

[byron]

Re: Out of interest

As a Riparian owner.... you said it all Chris

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[hlb]

Can they have a big wave making machine. Oh and a few sharks and wales would be nice and some bears rambling round the edges.
Then it will be more like the real thing!!

Haydn

 

[byron]

You could also ask her if she could lean on South Oxforshire Dist. Council to allow more moorings. The longest stretch of the Thames is from Benson to Cleeve and has the least moorings. Now Ox.Uni.Boat Club have taken over Maid Boats there's even less as they have chucked off the moorers there.
I have availability for about 20 large boats but cannot allow anyone to stay longer than 30 days. There are other suitable sites too

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[ChrisP]

Re: Out of interest

I really don't mean to decry Kate's efforts but I think that the end product in the mag would be a far better representation of the actual situation if it were written by somebody who has actually "been there" rather than a fleeting glance. I still believe that the Thamse is big enough to warrant a correspondent of its own. and before everybody shouts I think the Thames covers most of the problems encountered on other waterways so we could all benefit from having somebody that knows and is willing to face the hard facts.

 

[boatone]

Maybe I'm old fashioned and getting long in the tooth but this forum is getting to be combatorial in the extreme. Just read back through all the posts in this thread and try and deny that you ain't all gone a bit overboard in the way you've responded to Kate's offer to let us all in on HER interview. OK, we all know there's a heap of things that we'd like to see change in relation to the EA and the Thames but giving Kate a hard time isn't going to achieve much is it (and if I were her damned if I'd even bother to ask next time). I've actually left the coast for the Thames and have to say that I enjoy every minute of my boating even if it is very different. Yes, I'd like to see more moorings (any chance of getting Queenie to let us tie up on that lovely empty stretch opposite Datchet?) and I'd like to see one or two of the smaller locks stretched a bit to avoid busy day traffic jams but the lockies are a great bunch and the Inspectors do TRY to tell me to slow down a bit in a nice(ish) way. As for the hire boat fraternity I wish I knew the answer. Most of the family crews seem to try and make a fist of it and most of the experienced boaters seem happy to try and give them a hand. Overall courtesy levels are MUCH better than on the M25 or even the A217! On the other hand I'd like to see stag-night yobboes constrained to one of the reservoirs at Staines and not allowed out on the real river! As for licence fees....well lets face it there's got to be some way of pulling in the revenue and this is probably as good a way as any. Its fairer than many systems (antifouling and lifting charges based on length really got up my nose when I had a narrow beam cruiser so now I've got a wide beam boat and feel I get more paint for my dosh!). The flooding problem is a major issue but probably one we're all going to have to learn to live with and certainly not a subject for quick-fix answers from any one single agency. I could go on and on but hope I've made my point without being a grouch. As a matter of interest, have any of you complained about Thames issues to your MP? Also, I get the feeling that the inland waterways mags are more inclined to speak their minds about regulatory and authority issues and it would certainly be no bad thing if MBY/MBM etc were a bit more militant on our behalf. One specific issue that you could raise Kate is why almost every sanitary station on the mid Thames was out of action in late July and I had to empty my potty at Kris Kruisers. THAT they should be able to get right!!! I could go on and on but hope I've made my point without being a grouch. Be nice to Kate today guys and let me enjoy reading the posts instead of feeling offended!

boatone@boatsonthethames.co.uk

 

[BarryD]

Boatone - Well said NM



Barry D.

 

[ChrisP]

After over 30 years on the river I can assure you, you have alot to learn.

 

[boatone]

After over 60 years of living I have learnt to be pragmatic. Your response is pretty much what I expected.


boatone@boatsonthethames.co.uk

 

[ChrisP]

After 60 yeats you should have learned that when a majority of a section of the populace agree there is a problem, there usually is a problem. Come back in 10 years or so and tell us that all is well in the garden, by then you may have found out that sewage is the least of you problems and that the customer service that you are so impressed with is as rare as hens teeth.

 

[KateB_C]

Just to reassure any of you worried about my qualifications...

I have been commissioned by Jake, our editor, to conduct this interview, as unfortunately he cannot make it. As most of you will know, Jake has many many years experience of living and working on the Thames, having been a lock-keeper, Thames boatowner and employee of the Environment Agency. He has briefed me thoroughly and has no reservations about my ability to put forward his point of view.

I have worked as a journalist for MBM for a year and as a result have come in regular contact with Thames users, lock-keepers and environment agency representatives. I am currently in the middle of writing a series on the Thames for the magazine and have a lot of experience in interviewing people in positions of responsibility.

I feel totally confident in my research for this interview, but felt that it might be a nice idea to approach the forum in case there was any point that I may have passed over.

Many thanks to those of you who have replied with constructive questions and I hope I can get some answers for you.

Kate B-C

 

[ChrisP]

Having met Eileen on several occasions and heard her version of the term discussion. I can assure you she'll have you for breakfast. Jake should of all people know how the attitude of the management toward the boaters has changed over the years. Now it's all "squeeze the last buck" and "I don't care what you think I'm in charge". If Jake is happy with your briefing then off you go but don't expect anything more than a sweet smile and a cup of tea, as for answers, forget it, she never bothered to learn the questions let alone the answers. watch out for her favorite phrase "I've not been briefed on that, I'll have to get back to you".

 

[BarryD]

Problem Chris?

Chris - you seem to have a real problem with this interview taking place? Have you ever met Kate (I haven't). How do you know she's not a rottweiler when interviewing? It's nice to see the forum being polled, but such negativity hardly suits you.

Barry D.