Email: Sharing locks

I second Mike Relac's criticism of your piece on the Grand Union Situation. Arbitrary conclusions based on photographs can often be wrong.

The last photograph, despite the accusation being levelled at the boater, clearly shows no other boats in sight. Even so, should another appear there would still be time to join the first in the lock. Clearly the lock was going to have to be filled at some point, so the boater was absolutely within his rights to wait in the lock if he so chose. It hardly needs saying that at this point no water has yet been wasted.

Some boaters had a long wait at Sutton's this morning. Two boats were waiting for the boat in the lock to go 'up' into the Oxford Canal. Nobody went forward to offer any help. I was walking nearby and ambled over in my normal nosy way.

The boat was in the lock, and had been for some time. Both gates closed and the tail paddle open. Clearly they were going nowhere. They had bought the boat in Nuneaton this morning and encountered Hawkesbury as their first lock.

I talked them through the lock and gave rudimentary instructions for Hillmorton locks. My point is that no-one from the following boats bothered to go up to see what the hold up was. I just wonder how long they would have sat there if I hadn't happened along. Possibly it was the slight rain that put them off.

Tony Collins