Victor can't believe there's already a water shortage!

Published: Sunday, 30 April 2023

 YES my friends, just three weeks into the season and a navigation closed through a shortage of the wet stuff.

All that blasted rain and comes the plaintiff cry from CaRT that it has to close the summit of the Rochdale as its pounds are running dry.

RochdalesummitThe navigation from Lock 36 to Lock 45 is now closed as—obviouslythe water has drained away through the many leaking lock gates.

Mind you, as the canal's third closure this month, with paddles 'dropping' like flies, it doesn't say much for the winter's maintenance, does it?

Already mounting up

These first three weeks are not doing much at all for CaRT's efforts in keeping the waterways 'in good and safe condition', with already 11 closures since the season started on Good Friday.

PurtonYpperSwingOne of the closures, our Keith tells, was the broken Purton Upper Swing Bridge, that had given up the ghost yesterday, Saturday, with a 'structural and mechanical failure'.

Hold on! Wasn't this same bridge out of action last year with the same 'structural and mechanical failure'?

It was indeed, and looking back I see it was 'successfully repaired' last November,

But alas, not so 'successfully', as it seems like the very usual bodge job, it lasting a tad over four months.

So I wonder how long Purton Upper Bridge, when finally again repaired, will last this time?

hurlstonPay if you can get there—or back

Another of the those stoppages was a wash wall collapsing on the Llangollen just above Hurleston Flight at its junction with the Shroppie.

It however was quickly made good with boats allowed through, though asked to listen to advice.

The bad news however is a closure when the wall has to be repaired.

With the bad news for CaRT being that it will be getting few paying the increased £12 mooring fee at the Llangollen Basin if boats can either not get there or their owners are worried about getting back...

Less bins

Afraid there are no rubbish facilities at Meadow Lane on the Nottingham Canal at its junction with the Trent, as they have been removed.

So it's either down the Trent or Beeston at the other end of the waterway.

Surely CaRT could organise some secure bins somewhere in a city centre if they really wanted to? our Keith suggests.  But has it tried?

What is rather naughty is that the bins were removed on the 1st April, yet the post advising this was four weeks later on the 27th April!

Clang!

Clang indeed, when our dear editor, upon dividing the first paragraph (to fit in) of an article concerning cills from River Canal Rescue, he inadvertently replaced with Canal & River Trust!

Oh! dear, Oh! dear.  Surely he should have known that the trust never mentions cills—nasty things that cause sinkings—But eventually he corrected it.

All it needs

You know, instead if the single word 'cill', that means bugger-all to newcomers, on the ground, why not the very simple instruction—'Keep boat forward when lowering'.

It's clearer and would certainly save boaters keeping to the rear of the lock and getting caught on the cill and sinking.

Victor Swift telling tales for 23 years