TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
is leaving, throwing in the towel.
Perhaps not remarkable in itself, people join organisations and leave. I don't think it happens often amongst the lock keepers though.
What irks me somewhat that here was a man well versed in the ways of waterways and the Thames in particular and his body of knowledge will be lost to the public good.
I mention his leaving for reasons which do not relate to his job but, as so often happens it is the things which are not part of the job description that the lockies do which they are remembered for.
He took on the site which had for many years been plagued by vandalism and general Yobbery. He turned it round by involving the local Yoofs and standing up to them.
He made arrangement for disabled assistants to help on the lockside.
He may (for all I know - I never thought to ask) have been instrumental in opening a café on site, and that has brightened up the area as well.
After he's gone, I wonder what'll happen.
If there isn't a Resident, then will the site return to anarchy?
The café burn down one night?
It's his choice to go. Definitely an independent character, so not disposed to the vagaries in working for a large organisation, so perhaps that's part of the reason.
However, it's disappointing that such folks can't be accommodated in the EA. To it's ultimate Managers - DEFRA (well they hold the purse strings), the Thames is just a stretch of water with the anachronism of attended locks.
To some boaters a lock is a necessary evil between one pub and the next. To others it's part of the experience, something that makes the Thames unique. Over the years I've seen the locks dumbed down, staff unwilling to give a guiding hand, offering advice and perhaps stouter words when a boater does something silly.
Many of the lovingly tended gardens have disappeared, to be replaced by a welter of coloured tape.
Even the new OOPPS equipment has been dumbed down (The older units below Boveney are quicker easier and more logical to work).
To my mind because the Thames passes through London and stretches through so many centres of population, and attracts all sorts of tourists; then it is deserving of perhaps a little more effort and certainly more funding that it would otherwise do.
So in celebrating the loss of a free spirit, whatever-your-name-is-this-week; may I wish you well in your future endeavours, and thank you for all the humorous conversations we have had, and for the snippets of Waterways Wisdom happily received.
In conclusion - to EA, please do try to engage loose cannons where possible. This river is not just a navigation with quirky flows and a miscellany of flood controls. It could be a flagship for all the good things the EA could do.
If you keep the oddballs,
bring back the gardens,
make the use of the infrastructure more pleasant to use,
THEN more people might use and pay for the River's facilities. Indeed some might even think that the EA is a Good Thing.....
Perhaps not remarkable in itself, people join organisations and leave. I don't think it happens often amongst the lock keepers though.
What irks me somewhat that here was a man well versed in the ways of waterways and the Thames in particular and his body of knowledge will be lost to the public good.
I mention his leaving for reasons which do not relate to his job but, as so often happens it is the things which are not part of the job description that the lockies do which they are remembered for.
He took on the site which had for many years been plagued by vandalism and general Yobbery. He turned it round by involving the local Yoofs and standing up to them.
He made arrangement for disabled assistants to help on the lockside.
He may (for all I know - I never thought to ask) have been instrumental in opening a café on site, and that has brightened up the area as well.
After he's gone, I wonder what'll happen.
If there isn't a Resident, then will the site return to anarchy?
The café burn down one night?
It's his choice to go. Definitely an independent character, so not disposed to the vagaries in working for a large organisation, so perhaps that's part of the reason.
However, it's disappointing that such folks can't be accommodated in the EA. To it's ultimate Managers - DEFRA (well they hold the purse strings), the Thames is just a stretch of water with the anachronism of attended locks.
To some boaters a lock is a necessary evil between one pub and the next. To others it's part of the experience, something that makes the Thames unique. Over the years I've seen the locks dumbed down, staff unwilling to give a guiding hand, offering advice and perhaps stouter words when a boater does something silly.
Many of the lovingly tended gardens have disappeared, to be replaced by a welter of coloured tape.
Even the new OOPPS equipment has been dumbed down (The older units below Boveney are quicker easier and more logical to work).
To my mind because the Thames passes through London and stretches through so many centres of population, and attracts all sorts of tourists; then it is deserving of perhaps a little more effort and certainly more funding that it would otherwise do.
So in celebrating the loss of a free spirit, whatever-your-name-is-this-week; may I wish you well in your future endeavours, and thank you for all the humorous conversations we have had, and for the snippets of Waterways Wisdom happily received.
In conclusion - to EA, please do try to engage loose cannons where possible. This river is not just a navigation with quirky flows and a miscellany of flood controls. It could be a flagship for all the good things the EA could do.
If you keep the oddballs,
bring back the gardens,
make the use of the infrastructure more pleasant to use,
THEN more people might use and pay for the River's facilities. Indeed some might even think that the EA is a Good Thing.....
