A few of us were on the boat this Saturday applying the final coats of paint and varnish. I have to say that I was amazed at the state of the river. I’ve never seen so much rubbish floating down it. The poor rowers and canoeists were having a hard time fighting through the bits of furniture, boxes cans and plastic bags. The rubbish can only be the result of wanton fly tipping by unlicensed and unscrupulous people. I hope next time they’re throwing stuff in the river they slip, fall in and get a gob full of something nasty!
Having said that, the river is in good condition and the posing Chinese Fisherman and his/her mate were having a whale of a time. Some of the lads on the boat have seen considerable sized fish by Lea Bridge Weir so they are not going hungry.
Of course the other aspect to the state of the river is the work undertaken by British Waterways – or not as the case may be. On the basis that it is more expensive to keep a boat on the river than it is a car on the road, you would expect to see some form of clean up or better policing.
They say that BW has a £30m deficit as a result of government cut backs. Well on Saturday we saw one example of where to make savings. Now I’m not one to knock the Queen, but in these economic times does the she really need a fly past on her birthdays? Not to mention her carbon footprint. The money saved on aviation fuel could clean several miles of rivers and canals.
Besides, can you imagine the conversation in Buck House? “I say Philip, what’s that terrible noise outside?” “It’s one of those ruddy flypasts for your birthday my dear” “Well could you have a word with somebody and ask them not to make so much noise next year. I can hardly hear the racing results on the telly”
Having said that, the river is in good condition and the posing Chinese Fisherman and his/her mate were having a whale of a time. Some of the lads on the boat have seen considerable sized fish by Lea Bridge Weir so they are not going hungry.
Of course the other aspect to the state of the river is the work undertaken by British Waterways – or not as the case may be. On the basis that it is more expensive to keep a boat on the river than it is a car on the road, you would expect to see some form of clean up or better policing.
They say that BW has a £30m deficit as a result of government cut backs. Well on Saturday we saw one example of where to make savings. Now I’m not one to knock the Queen, but in these economic times does the she really need a fly past on her birthdays? Not to mention her carbon footprint. The money saved on aviation fuel could clean several miles of rivers and canals.
Besides, can you imagine the conversation in Buck House? “I say Philip, what’s that terrible noise outside?” “It’s one of those ruddy flypasts for your birthday my dear” “Well could you have a word with somebody and ask them not to make so much noise next year. I can hardly hear the racing results on the telly”
No comments:
Post a Comment