I WAS really hoping to make this an account of our cruise without having to resort to my sometimes most three complaints concerning Cart—ridiculous visitor numbers, waste of money and the state of the waterways.
I managed to avoid the ridiculous visitor numbers to a large extent and even the waste of money, with the exception of those daft signs, but alas the state of the waterways is getting so bad, I just could not avoid it.
Broken all season
That hypocrisy with the lock really got to me, and was exacerbated by discovering the next lock, Wood End, from the 'showcase' one, was also in a shocking condition, but even worse the broken paddle I reported on the 9th of May was still wrapped in black plastic on the 17th September—the whole boating season—with no attempt at its repair.
It seems now it is not a case of 'wait until it breaks' before it gets maintenance or even repair but wait until it causes a stoppage then repair it—which would certainly account for so many stoppages these days.
I have lost count of broken paddles, but have noticed that they are no longer advertised by being wrapped in plastic, though obviously quickly found as being out of order by boaters. Then I realised by not being so wrapped those important visitors to the canal would not know they are broken! Devilishly clever, and a further example of Cart's hypocrisy.
Only one Smurf
Here we are at Fradley with Shadehouse Lock being just a little too far for visitors, so lacking any maintenance or a lick of paint, but then dropping down to the junction, out has come the paint pot where the visitors congregate, together with one of those Fradley Smurfs, but being just 8.30 in the morning perhaps a little too early for more volunteers.
And the paint had been out by the lock next to the car park of course, but dropping down to the next lock away from visitors its lid had been firmly closed, as the gate was back to normal—but what worried me much more was the very loose coping stones at the bottom of the lock where boaters get back on their boats.
Dangerous
Though there was the also now normal 'Aware' notice, the coping stone shown at the top of the photograph was definitely loose and rocked, being ready for tumbling into the water, with a boater standing on it following or crashing into the boat.
This one is very dangerous, and surely a bucket of mortar would have been much more sensible than two notices. Obviously too much to ask. I just wonder how long it will be before there is an accident, as I can't see it being repaired very quickly.
Beyond the visitors
We are now well past the visitors, with very few tramping from Fradley all the way to Alrewas or back, and not only no paint on the locks, but they in a terrible condition. as the lock beam in the picture shows.
I never understood why so many with long lasting steel beams were discarded for rotting wooden ones, but I expect it was because of an outcry from the silly traditionalists, who haven't the gumption to realise that many of today's stoppages caused by failing lock beams would not be occurring should they have remained in, or replaced by steel. It is certainly not the cost, as the dumping of steel makes it cheap these days, whilst wood takes many hours of work.
And please don't tell me it provides labour, as the replacement of nearly every lock keeper by unpaid volunteers shows what Cart thinks about its labour...