Had enough after a minute

HAD a look at the video from Parry, but after a minute I had had enough, writes James Henry.

'Rose tinted'

The value of it to us boaters who actually use the canals and who know its true worth - it is little more than a 'rose tinted' job, and seems to have 'forgotten' the most effective element that affects boaters—the hundreds of stoppages that prevent us being able to plan a cruise any more with the certainly of it being completed.

I'm not going to comment on the content, it is what is expected, but was surprised at some of the towpaths shown, for their condition showed they certainly had not had the thousands of visitors that we are led to believe. So someone slipped up there.

All in all, what bit I saw was as expected, sheer propaganda of how wonderful is CaRT and how the millions are spent on looking after the waterway keeping them in tip-top condition.

Infrastructure continually fails

If this is so, then why the ever constant stoppages, week after week or often day after day or even many on the same day as the infrastructure continually fails?

It just does not compute. And I can safely guess they were never mentioned.

For the believers

It is clear to all that the video by Richard Parry was for the confirmed believers, such as the 'friends' that take it all in as gospel, writes Helen Cripps.

Many of us must have met them as you have told.  They are ultimately non-boaters who believe all the clap-trap that is fed them of the wonderful condition of the waterways with Canal & River Trust brought in to repair the damage left by British Waterways.

That's the joke of the decade!  For we boaters who know the actual state of the waterways and CaRT's repeated failures are aware of the truth, and it is not that!

[We have had numerous other emails on this same theme, but chose just these two as the first received—Editor.]