Victor: Best 'own goal' yet?
WHAT with CaRT, the EA and the IWA we get some fine examples these days of 'own goals' but that of the National Bargee Travellers Association takes the biscuit.
Actually stating that 'Many boat dwellers work locally and some are key workers. Many require access to local services such as health care and schools and will be put to extreme difficulty if forced to move unreasonable distances', rather gives the game away, so surely is the best own goal yet.
For it is stating exactly what a continuous cruisers must not do—stay in one place near their work, doctors and schools. They take out a continuous cruiser licence to do just that—continuously cruise, and agree to travel a 'reasonable distance' and 'not return', meaning of course that working or attending school in one place is impossible.
What you have done dear boys and girls is simply tell CaRT that you do not follow the rules, that to my mind is the most stupid thing you could have done.
Don't know
Mind you, as I have stated before, if those at CaRT pulled their fingers out and actually stated a distance that must be travelled to avoid having to pay for a permanent mooring, at least the continuous cruisers would know what the rules are.
At the moment, with those at CaRT unable to make a decision one way or t'other, no one knows.
The other problem of course is when CaRT takes people to court, it—and particularly its solicitors—always seem to make a complete hash of it, with the result that nothing is ever defined.
No good
As many of you will know the Bargees have chosen '38 degrees' to launch their petition to have their members stay in one place, that alas is far from a front-runner, as can easily be gathered, as most of its petitions, though on a wide range of subjects, are similar.
Should you study its website you can see why the 'procedure' for posting petition results is nonsense, and its membership claim harks very much to CaRT's own 'visitor' claims, and we all know the value of those!
The next stage will be the announcement of a 'victory', that the Bargees will latch on to, even if nothing—which is normal—happens, then it will disappear into the ether.
The furore
I think when our Thomas tackled dear Richard Parry about those time-trials he did not realise the furore he was about to create, as there is little doubt of boaters' feelings about cyclists using their towpaths for increasing their personal best speeds.
Eventually, as the trialists—if that is what they are—take over more and more of the ever increasing upgraded towpaths, these towpaths will become even more and more dangerous, and really, no one can just sit back and believe that they will 'be educated' to stop.
I reckon our Thomas should now have a section in narrowboatworld showing the towpaths where these time-trials take place, so that boaters will be aware of the danger.
Victor Swift