Trotman barge below Hampton court

The slumboats moored directly under Teddington Lock foot bridge are a disaster waiting to happen ! They are absolute tinder boxes just waiting for someone to drop a match cigarette but from the bridge!! But maybe that's Trotmans plan A so he can claim his beautiful boats were vandalised by local yobs start an insurance claim Bingo
 
I'd like to think that if anybody put large amounts of combustible material underneath a footbridge on the nearby A316 (and added several large propane cylinders on top) some authority would feel they should act due to the very real and present danger. No authority seems to be taking action to protect the public that use this bridge or this vital piece of local transport infrastructure despite the clear risks.
 
Is there a terrorism angle which newspapers could latch onto.

Not sure what you mean about it being a vital part of transport infrastructure. A few walkers and cyclists but its hardly a highway - or maybe it is ??

Thinking about it that's the only crossing between Kingston and Twickenham so it might actually carry quite a bit of traffic.

Maybe it should be replaced with a road bridge.
 
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There is a long-running proposal to build a footbridge over the river between Radnor Gardens (Twickenham) and Ham. Enthusiasm for this potential 'breaching of the moat' is a bit thin on the well-heeled Middlesex bank. It's feared it could lead to what has been referred to as the 'Anglers Effect' - an explanation for the 'uncharacteristic' composition of the clientele at the well known Teddington watering hole conveniently located at the end of the Teddington Footbridge.

To keep this on-topic - The Anglers bathrooms now appear to be used as the primary ensuite facility for Trotman's Slumboat clients. Stops them using the bushes I guess.
 
Re: Always willing to help.

mlines said:
Sort of related.....

http://www.ybw.com/news-from-yachti...s-narrowboat-sinks-in-the-regents-canal-45205

restoration - yeah, i believe that! More like a slumboat liveaboard. Once you read it was a work of art you know where its going. Still, not far to go with their fund raising target, only £9,920 of the required £10,000 to go.
Click to expand...

Thames forum getting a slagging off over in the lounge about this, see post #47 onwards!
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?469370-narrowboat-sinking/page2

I'd get my butler to post a strong reply but fear it will fall on deaf ears :)
 
I think some of the preconceptions regarding inhabitants of the other side of the river are just a tad outdated, amusing though they may be! (Incidentally, Teddington has no shortage of its own deplorables.)
 
Re: Always willing to help.

Chris_d said:
I'd get my butler to post a strong reply but fear it will fall on deaf ears :)
Click to expand...

Have been eternally grateful for few things in life,the Lounge is probably the most appreciated.
It has proved far more effective than any flypaper,in attracting those whos grasp of the 21st century is tenuous to say the least.
Produce a time machine that could take them back to whatever golden era they hanker after, you would make a fortune and make the world a happier place. :)
Must go, my Jeroboams of Champagne have just arrived........
 
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Alan ashore said:
I think some of the preconceptions regarding inhabitants of the other side of the river are just a tad outdated, amusing though they may be! (Incidentally, Teddington has no shortage of its own deplorables.)
Click to expand...

Just because there is "an apple tree in every garden" does not necessarily mean all the locals are pleasant people !

Does seem to have gone "upmarket" since I lived nearby in Hampton Wick in the 80s and early 90s. Probably still plenty of ruffians about.
 
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One of the smaller (I mean smaller than the barges) boats still on the layby side has sunk. I'm too far away to get a picture. The wooden one with a blue hull and white superstructure.
 
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Wrong boat, place and time ?

Is this craft one of the serial offenders or just some unfortunate in the wrong place at the wrong time. ?
No sign of oil or diesel on surface ?
Normally a little floating ring put round such craft ?
There are always one or two winter casualties,probably due to absentee owners not checking for simple leaks.
Xmas Quiz. Hydraulics.
You have a minor leak at your stern tube.
Does the amount of water entering boat get faster/slower as the boat sinks or remain constant.
My take.Although the pressure of water would increase the lower the boat gets into the water the pressure of the water inside the hull would counterbalance it.
Or if you drill two holes in your boat exactly the same size,one just below water line and the other in the bottom which would have the greater flow of water. ?


Please write your answers on a £5.00 note and send it to
OG.
Upnor apon Medway.
Ps. For the vegetarions among you, just send me all you spare fivers they will go to good cause. :)
Happy Winter Solstice.
 
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Having been brought up on the Thames (though now committed to the briny down in the SW), I find I am increasingly frustrated by the failure (there is no other word) of the concerned authorities, MPs, and boat owners/river users associations to get to grip with the substantial risks posed to human life and the environment by this group of boats.

There seems to be ample documented evidence that both the probability of an incident, with perhaps consequences for human death(s), and extensive damage to wildlife and the bankside environment, is being ignored or shoulder-shuffled.

If there is a fire or flood today, and people die, there will be an enquiry as to who knew about the risks and consequences, and who failed to do anything or raise the matter with the competent agencies.


The legal evasive tango should have been stopped long ago, and these boats forced to operate in a safe and harmless manner. That nothing has happened over several years is a measure of the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the regulatory agencies, and a lack of concerted drive by affected boaters and landowners. Why a public meeting has not brought together everyone affected, so that a strategy for mitigating the risk structure, and developing an effective legal case history for preventing continuing abuse of the regulatory and statutory systems, is a comment underlying the present dangerous situation.
 
Some time ago there was a fatality at Maidstone town centre.
Two people were living aboard a very small delapidated boat,perhaps around 7 or 8 meters long.
Fire broke out ,one of the folks manged to escape but the other did not make it for.
Services were there within minutes.
It turned out the occupants were paying money to the actual owner to live on the boat.
As for doing something about this, any attempt to get something moving will have to start from the top, suspect the number of folks actually prepared to sit in a cold draughty meeting room on any winters evening is going to be limited.
no pressure from public.no incentive to do anything ?
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/boat-fire-victim-named-a73587/
 
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