A 'Feel-Good' charity

I WOULD just like to second the opinion of Brian D. Jarrett. CaRT is certainly a 'Feel-Good' charity, writes Andrew Bailes.

It's one part of the whole Feel Good Operation put into practice by Tony Blair's wholesale adoption of John Major's supposedly charitable National Lottery. Cameron's Big Society followed on in the same vein, boosted by the Olympics and all their Volunteers.

Less contribution to charities

These were all obviously worthy schemes (gambling notwithstanding) but since then the income of charities and the time available to volunteers both diminished.  The Lottery's income now comes largely from scratchcards, which make less contribution to charities than the much-publicised National Draw.

All of this has led to the less resilient society, of which our waterways play a small but important part, with more focus on vague notions of wellbeing than on the massive improvement brought to general wellbeing by a well-funded, functioning infrastructure.

Never voted on or approved

On a final note, the establishment of the Canal and River Trust was never voted on or approved in the House of Lords. The bill was passed only because the time to discuss it had expired.