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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:17:33 GMT
Hmm, just so long as they don’t try to “control” me going through locks!
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Post by Jim on Mar 6, 2019 18:22:01 GMT
Hmm, just so long as they don’t try to “control” me going through locks! I read your tale on the other channel, did you take a pic to identify him in your complaint?
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Post by kris on Mar 6, 2019 18:24:08 GMT
Hmm, just so long as they don’t try to “control” me going through locks! I read your tale on the other channel, did you take a pic to identify him in your complaint? ooh has Nick been bullying volunteers?
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Post by Jim on Mar 6, 2019 18:24:57 GMT
I read your tale on the other channel, did you take a pic to identify him in your complaint? ooh has Nick been bullying volunteers? No, one was bullying him. Bless!
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Post by kris on Mar 6, 2019 18:26:44 GMT
ooh has Nick been bullying volunteers? No, one was bullying him. Bless! he must have done something to upset them.
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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:27:16 GMT
Hmm, just so long as they don’t try to “control” me going through locks! I read your tale on the other channel, did you take a pic to identify him in your complaint? No, but there were only two and it was easy to describe which one was the baddie and which the goodie.
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Post by kris on Mar 6, 2019 18:30:17 GMT
I read your tale on the other channel, did you take a pic to identify him in your complaint? No, but there were only two and it was easy to describe which one was the baddie and which the goodie. so come on Nick what did you say to annoy them?
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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:30:22 GMT
No, one was bullying him. Bless! he must have done something to upset them. I can paste the tale in here if you like, but in essence he physically prevented me from opening the second bottom paddle on an Atherstone flight lock (very benign narrow canal). It was just an irritation, but IMO better to bring this to the attention of the volunteer supervisors so the wrong attitude can be trained away, before it escalates into a big deal.
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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:31:26 GMT
No, but there were only two and it was easy to describe which one was the baddie and which the goodie. so come on Nick what did you say to annoy them? They weren’t annoyed, I was. Actually on this occasion I was very good and just “let it go” and walked away. Out of character, I know!
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Post by naughtyfox on Mar 6, 2019 18:33:48 GMT
Is there room for a Shamima?
We've Only Just Begum...
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Post by kris on Mar 6, 2019 18:35:08 GMT
so come on Nick what did you say to annoy them? They weren’t annoyed, I was. Actually on this occasion I was very good and just “let it go” and walked away. Out of character, I know! most volunteers are okay, but I have met some that seem a little power crazed. As you say best to ignore them if you can.
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Post by naughtyfox on Mar 6, 2019 18:36:19 GMT
he must have done something to upset them. he physically prevented me from opening the second bottom paddle Assault? Did he actually touch you? PD1964 sez: "I think your complaint is trivial and quite pathetic and laughable actually." I am inclined to agree in this case - you got all the locks below filled up for free. I think we would have given both a box of Moomin plasters as thanks. " Our chap today never asked if we wanted help, he just “took charge” " - yeah, that's a bit of a liberty. I suppose it depends what mood you're in. And you have to weigh it all up - slightly inconvenienced yet greatly helped at the same time. Give and take. Here's a tip - forget that ONE minute wasted, I'll tell you how to get TEN minutes 'for free': GET OUT OF BED TOMORROW 10 MINUTES EARLIER!
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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:38:35 GMT
he physically prevented me from opening the second bottom paddle Assault? Did he actually touch you? No, but he was sat leaning over the paddle spindle. I would have had to assault him to get to the paddle spindle and open it.
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Post by Telemachus on Mar 6, 2019 18:40:52 GMT
Oh well here you go, this is what I sent to CRT volunteer supervisor for the area. I’ve removed the identifying text.
We arrived at Atherstone top lock this morning. The volunteer on duty, opened top gate for us. So far so good! His colleague went away down the flight to fill the locks for us. Great! I drove the boat in, he closed gate whilst I opened offside bottom paddle. Still good! By the time I walked across the bottom gates he was sitting on the balance beam leaning over the other bottom paddle spindle. I thanked him for his help and then went to open the second paddle. But he was in the way, so I said “I’ll just open this paddle”. But he didn’t budge, and proceeded to explain to me that because these locks drained twice as fast as they filled, I should only use one paddle. Well he sort of has a point in that it is true, they are fast drainers and slow fillers and thus in order to avoid putting water down the bywash of the next lock, I suppose there might be a case for it under the right circumstances. But the other chap, having gone ahead, had the lock below mostly full and anyway, with the rain last night, water was pouring over all the bywashes in the flight. So he just obstructed my normal use of the lock for no reason and short of physically pushing him aside which would probably be an assault, I had to comply with his wishes. I decided to “let it go” and complied with his suggestion that I carry on to the next lock. I had the gate open and had to wait a minute or two before the lock gates were finally opened, still just one paddle up, and our boat was able to approach the lock. Obviously this is not a big deal in itself, we wasted perhaps one minute. But it did annoy me. It seemed to be a power and control thing. He wanted to exert his authority and power (not that he actually has any) and short of a major argument and fight, I had to comply. By contrast the other chap continued to fill locks ahead of us down most of the flight, which was great. And he was picking up rubbish. This is what volunteers should be doing, not telling boaters with over 50 years experience how to operate a lock. I didn’t just pay £900 for my licence to have some volunteer tell me which paddles I may and may not use, for invalid reasons. This kind of thing, although seemingly fairly minor, conspires to spoil enjoyment.
Volunteers have a mixed reputation with experienced boaters. Many detest them, after all operating locks is one of the pleasures of boating. Personally I welcome them PROVIDED they don’t try to take control and be bossy. Setting ahead is great, and makes a big difference. I’m sure they are trained that the boater is in charge and they are there to assist when requested. In this respect, the gentleman in question needs some additional training. Of the two that were on I would describe him as <deleted>
As I said, not a huge deal but it revealed that his attitude and methodology was wrong. Under other circumstances, this could have more serious consequences such as a physical altercation.
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Post by kris on Mar 6, 2019 18:51:01 GMT
Sounds like you woke up in a bad mood and where being mardy to be honest Nick. The volunteer co ordinator will treat it as such I imagine.
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