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Post by peterboat on Dec 8, 2017 14:49:18 GMT
Funny you should post this I was talking to a CRT chap this morning and he confirmed the reduction to six areas as well upper and middle management losses he said perfik Parry stated in 2014 that these were his aims. I don't know why it was put on the back burner for so long. Perhaps certain trustees were a sticking point, and having now left, the options for Parry to move have resurfaced. π I think the on the ground work force will be glad to see the tiers of management removed, I for one will as every manager removes money out of the system for canal maintenance
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Post by lollygagger on Dec 8, 2017 16:21:11 GMT
Foxy, are you really so naive or just pretending for comic effect?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2017 16:24:42 GMT
I suspect the last few words of foxy's post are accurate.
Its not exactly rocket science to cause disruption to navigation.
oops the boat seems to have drifted across the cut just above Braunston locks and totally blocked the channel. Its terribly hard aground.
I reckon the majority of CRT license holders are quite happy about it all. Of course if you are doing a conspiracy theory then it could be suggested that the attempt to encourage building of marinas and force people into them (where a lot of boats stay for most of the year and some never venture out) coupled with a deliberate degradation of the navigation itself could make the system ripe for a selloff. Guess who'd be buying? Marina owners.
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Post by lollygagger on Dec 8, 2017 16:53:09 GMT
But you write as if she was given a budget without ceiling and completely autonomous.
The reality of the modern way is not enough money and hands completely tied. Use x contractor for this and y contractor for that, prices have already been agreed.
Set up to fail, make the best of it because it's a good salary, stick it for a CV acceptable stint and move on.
I'm not claiming she was any good or even nice, she could be an evil arse licker. But even if someone really cared and was capable of getting far better value for money, their hands would also be tied and the positive effect limited. It's the modern control freaky way.
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Post by TonyDunkley on Dec 24, 2017 14:06:49 GMT
There's some good news on "Planet" to bring a bit of Christmas cheer for Alan Roberts, and everyone who has given their support since this disgraceful episode began just over 15 months ago, on the morning of the 19th of September 2016.
The mug man chosen and appointed by C&RT back in the Summer to play the part of of the 'new owner' of "Planet", Steve Beacham of Sharpness Shipyard, has been in negotiations with several parties over the last few weeks with a view to finalizing a sale by yesterday, the 23rd of December. One of these parties had previously expressed an interest in buying the ship when it was first advertised at Β£100,000 in the early part of this year by C&RT's pet boat snatchers, Criminal Commercial Boat Services, on the Boat and Outboards internet brokerage website, but withdrew after obtaining legal advice, including Counsel's opinion, which confirmed that ownership of and title to the ship had at all times remained with Alan Roberts, primarily as a consequence of the unwarranted, unauthorized and illegally executed seizure, the unlawful removal from Liverpool and the Mersey, and the subsequent unlawful detention in Sharpness.
We know for certain that this same advice has recently been passed on to Beacham in a lengthy exchange of e-mails with the same interested party, in which it was explained to him that the signed and sealed Bill of Sale that C&RT have provided him with isn't worth the paper it's written on because the chain of legitimate transfer of title (to the ship) ends with the Bill of Sale that Alan Roberts acquired with the ship when he bought it in 2009. Despite having been made aware of the fact that he was in the process of selling someone else's property, Beacham elected to proceed with finalizing the sale by 23 December, reliant entirely on the worthless and fraudulent BoS supplied to him by C&RT's own shithouse 'in house' lawyers as the sole means of passing on good title to the next buyer.
Consequent to the above, I sent the following e-mail to Beacham a week ago yesterday : -
FAO. Steve Beacham, Sharpness Shipyard & Drydock Ltd.
Dear Sir,
It has come to the notice of the rightful owner of the above named vessel, Mr Alan Roberts of Liverpool, that you are in negotiations with a number of parties with a view to selling his ship to them. Mr Roberts is also aware that one of these interested parties has made numerous attempts to alert you to the fact that 'Planet' is not yours to sell, and that the Bill of Sale with which you have been furnished by Canal & River Trust is a fraudulent and worthless document.
The party who has attempted to alert you to the illegality of what you are doing is of the opinion that you may well have become innocently involved in the conspiracy put into operation in Liverpool on the morning of 19 September 2016 with the intention permanently to deprive Mr Roberts of his ship. It has been noted, however, that thus far in your talks and negotiations with potential buyers you have failed to mention or produce any documentation establishing a bona fide and uninterrupted record of documentation transferring ownership and title from Mr Roberts to the sellers named on your fraudulent and worthless Bill of Sale. For this and other reasons, Mr Roberts and I are inclined to take quite the opposite view, and we believe that you are and have been a willing participant in this criminal conspiracy from the day of inception.
The time has come, Mr Beacham, for you to make a decision. Either you continue to stand by your co-conspirators in this matter, or you belatedly recognize the fact that they have set you up for a fall, and join with Mr Roberts in assisting him in the recovery his ship. Should you wish to make direct contact with Mr Roberts or his lawyers, you may do so by first contacting me via e-mail at any time during the very short period remaining to you to extract yourself from the invidious position in which you have been placed by the Canal & River Trust.
Yours faithfully,
A.K.Dunkley (Shipowner's Representative)
__________________________________________________
There was no response to the above e-mail, so yesterday morning I got to work on arrangements to seize and re-possess the ship during the Christmas/New Year break. As the only way to get access to "Planet" would be by water, I made arrangements over the phone for launching a RIB (with sufficiently little air-draught to pass under the Dock Road swingbridge at Sharpness without it having to be swung off) into the G & S canal close to Sharpness Dock. Having done that, I then phoned the port operators (Victoria Group) and told the Port Manager (Garry Strickland) what we intended to do, and why we were having to do it. The reaction to this, from all of the several different sources it came from, was in itself worthy of the telling, but I'll save that up for later. The gist of it was that we would not be given permission to enter the port, were strongly advised against so doing, and that Sharpness Shipyard would be advised of our intentions. I confirmed that we would not be taking their advice, by way of the following e-mail, copied to Beacham and Gloucestershire Police, and sent around mid-afternoon :-
FAO. Mr Garry Strickland.
Dear Mr Strickland,
Further to our telephone conversation of earlier today and to advise you of the intentions of the rightful owner of the above named ship, Mr Alan Roberts, I can confirm that Mr Roberts plans to re-possess his ship at sometime during the next few days. The repossession will be during daylight hours, at a time and date yet to be fixed.
The Gloucestershire Police will be asked to attend and will be re-acquainted and brought up to date with all aspects of the continuing unlawful detention of and attempts to sell the ship by Sharpness Shipyard and/or the Canal & River Trust.
As a consequence of access to the ship via the wharf gates in the northwest corner of the Dock being denied, boarding will be accomplished from a small boat with sufficiently low air-draft to enter the Dock from the canal without the need to swing Dock Road bridge.
For your information, I will forward a copy of an e-mail sent to Steve Beacham on Friday 15 Dec 2017 immediately following this transmission.
Best Regards,
A.K.Dunkley (Shipowner's Representative)
_______________________________________________________
. . . . . . and there, I thought, the matter would end until we arrived in Sharpness to board and repossess the ship.
Much to my amazement, however, at a few minutes past eight that night I got a quite remarkable e-mailed letter from a, apparently, much changed and now conciliatory Mr Beacham stating that the next day's sale of the ship would not be going ahead, and suggesting that we should suspend hostilities over Christmas and New Year pending a meeting with Alan Roberts and his representatives at which he hoped that a mutually beneficial outcome for all concerned could be achieved.
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Post by thebfg on Dec 24, 2017 16:21:35 GMT
Now that sounds like great news. Well done.
The doubter in me says I bet he intends to sell it back to him.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2017 18:04:23 GMT
I thought the boat had been sold to an unknown person for Β£12,500 a while ago.
I'm not really following this story very closely so may have got the wrong end of the stick. It's quite likely.
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Post by bargemast on Dec 25, 2017 9:14:29 GMT
What a story Tony, would there finally be a possible 'happy" outcome to this ever so terribly smelly story ?
What you wrote sounds hopefull, but I won'tscream of happiness until it's really over, and that Alan Roberts has recuperated his "Planet".
I've had several seemingly hopefull happy endings of some nasty things that happened, but even with all the promisses that were made, it never ended happy.
I hope that in this case it's going to be successful, that would be a great start of the new year, but if it happens, where will he find a mooring for "Planet"?
Hoping for the best,
Peter.
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Post by Gone on Dec 25, 2017 9:27:30 GMT
Assuming I have kept up to date on this, there is still have the problem of CRT's claimed costs to settle. Had these been paid he would have got the boat back a long time ago. So even if they were to agree he still owns the boat, I can't see them releasing it until this is paid or a court orders them to. Still hope it does go well for him.
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Post by lollygagger on Dec 25, 2017 9:37:37 GMT
Assuming I have kept up to date on this, there is still have the problem of CRT's claimed costs to settle. Had these been paid he would have got the boat back a long time ago. So even if they were to agree he still owns the boat, I can't see them releasing it until this is paid or a court orders them to. Still hope it does go well for him. But CRTs costs were self inflicted. My cynical mind thinks they merely couldn't be arsed to deal with it over Christmas or CRTs legal lot already broke for Christmas and the reply is simple stalling until the original position resumes in the new year.
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Post by Telemachus on Dec 25, 2017 9:58:54 GMT
Yes I would be worried that itβs just a deception to avoid hassle over Christmas. Come the new year heβll probably back-pedal.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2017 12:19:26 GMT
Yes I would be worried that itβs just a deception to avoid hassle over Christmas. Come the new year heβll probably back-pedal. My thoughts as well, he is up to something, I wouldn't take it at face value.
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Post by Graham on Dec 25, 2017 12:53:38 GMT
TonyDunkley Is the email verifiable to being from Mr Beacham, do you have previous emails from that address that you know with certainty came from Beacham and you mention a letter is it sign fully? If so the courts would take it as a letter of promise to enter into negotiations with Mr Roberts after Christmas. I would be asking him for a date of such meeting and where.
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Post by peterboat on Dec 27, 2017 14:51:11 GMT
Fingers crossed for a good outcome to this Tony Where is the boat going to go once Mr Roberts gets it back?
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Post by TonyDunkley on Dec 27, 2017 17:59:14 GMT
Fingers crossed for a good outcome to this Tony Where is the boat going to go once Mr Roberts gets it back? Thanks, Peter, but we're still quite a long way off from having to decide on that. Alan Roberts is far from well but is going back into hospital on the 12th for further surgery. The prognosis for that from the doctors is good but even so he will still be saddled with all the problems his Polymyalgia causes him, as well as the side-effects of the medication used to treat it, . . . it actually adds to the severity of the symptoms of the disease itself, and I don't think the stress of the last 15 months has helped much either. I'll be sending a reply, agreed with Alan and his solicitor, to the 22 December e-mail from Beacham, the proprietor of Sharpness Shipyard, sometime tomorrow and I'll post up both that e-mail and our response on here later.
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