Double Success - on top of the world at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

[Ray T]

DOUBLE SUCCESS – ON TOP OF THE WORLD AT PONTCYSYLLTE AQUEDUCT 

 Staff at Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust charity in Wales, are on top of the world with double celebrations at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Llangollen Canal World Heritage Site in North Wales.

 Peta Hearn, 26, destination assistant at the Trust’s Trefor Basin Visitor Centre, which serves the aqueduct, was named ‘Tourism Rising Star’ at the annual Wrexham Tourism Ambassador Awards 2017. Peta has worked as a seasonal assistant for the past two summers and has recently been taken on as a permanent employee.

 And on top of this achievement, a stunning two minute aerial film of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct has catapulted to the top of the Canal & River Trust’s social media rankings as the most popular waterway video of the year. Posted on the Trefor Basin Visitor Centre Facebook page on 17 March, more than 120,000 people have now watched the film which takes the viewer on an annotated flight around this outstanding wonder of the waterways.

 Lynda Slater, Canal & River Trust destination supervisor at Trefor Basin, said: “This is a fantastic way to celebrate the start of the main tourist season. Peta truly is a rising star at the World Heritage Site. She makes everyone feel welcome and has a special rapport with our visitors who come from all over the world to admire Britain’s longest, highest aqueduct.  She has impressed us all with her ability to learn quickly on the job and I am delighted we have been able to offer her a permanent position.

 “The people and the place are both equally important in giving visitors a great experience. And everyone who has watched the two minute film can’t fail to be impressed by our amazing aqueduct. The footage was taken by a drone in the height of summer and the whole area looks spectacular. It’s a great advert for the Llangollen Canal and this wonderful corner of North Wales.”

 The Canal & River Trust cares for 2,000 miles of the nation’s waterways, including hundreds of  aqueducts and bridges.Constructed by famous canal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop between 1796 and 1805, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a masterpiece of civil engineering and forms the centrepiece of a World Heritage Site.

 Measuring a record-breaking 1,000 feet long and 126 feet high, the aqueduct carries the beautiful, rural Llangollen Canal over the River Dee valley. A cast iron trough, which holds 1.5 million litres of water, is supported by 18 slender sandstone piers and 19 elegant arches, each with a 45 foot span.

·         Help promote the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on World Heritage Day, 18 April, by joining in a mass World Heritage Site tweet for one hour between 6.04pm and 7.04pm. Share five extra-special things about your WHS using the #WHSHour hashtag.

 For more information about Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Canal & River Trust, including how to volunteer and donate, visit canalrivertrust.org.uk.

 Ends

Edited April 5, 2017 by Ray T

[chubby]

What a load of bollocks ....

[Dave_P]

1 minute ago, chubby said:

What a load of bollocks ....

Explain please

[chubby]

Its my own fault really . I shouldn t have read it . Mostly i dont read these endless CRT bull press releases but occasionally do and i always without question regret it . 

So & so , head penpusher of such and such dept said " some load of corporate speak meaning almost nothing but not quite " 

Some other office bound corporate employee in charge of pushing paper clips across a desk somewhere added " some more rubbish meaning nothing " 

All these constant press releases - theyre just such tosh . Corporate nonsense & all those involved are only doing what they do in order to retain thier seat on the CRT gravy train.

Thing is , im not a CRT basher , but i just cannot  abide the endless stream of PR bull & spin . 

[matty40s]

Nicknorman will be on in a bit warning about drone regulations and congested areas.....

[Athy]

The release is interesting - but what did Telford and Jessop do to deserve being called "infamous"?

[furnessvale]

Saw on the side of an Arriva Trains Wales unit today that Cysyllte means "connecting".

On that basis Pontcysyllte means "connecting bridge".  Doesn't quite have the same romantic ring to it in English.

George ex nb Alton retired

[stegra]

25 minutes ago, Athy said:

The release is interesting - but what did Telford and Jessop do to deserve being called "infamous"?

Well if they were anything like our national treasure and engineering hero, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wasted the lives of countless working men on recklessly overambitious monuments to inflate their own egos.

[Ray T]

1 hour ago, chubby said:

What a load of bollocks ....

As ever CRT are damned if they do and damned if they don't. In BW days one of the many complaints was that they didn't communicate.......

Am I wasting my time posting these communications?

[Ray T]

44 minutes ago, Athy said:

The release is interesting - but what did Telford and Jessop do to deserve being called "infamous"?

You have a PM

7 minutes ago, stegra said:

Well if they were anything like our national treasure and engineering hero, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wasted the lives of countless working men on recklessly overambitious monuments to inflate their own egos.

You have a PM

[rgreg]

1 hour ago, chubby said:

Its my own fault really . I shouldn t have read it . Mostly i dont read these endless CRT bull press releases but occasionally do and i always without question regret it . 

So & so , head penpusher of such and such dept said " some load of corporate speak meaning almost nothing but not quite " 

Some other office bound corporate employee in charge of pushing paper clips across a desk somewhere added " some more rubbish meaning nothing " 

All these constant press releases - theyre just such tosh . Corporate nonsense & all those involved are only doing what they do in order to retain thier seat on the CRT gravy train.

Thing is , im not a CRT basher , but i just cannot  abide the endless stream of PR bull & spin . 

It's good business practice to get publicity wherever possible; this is how the public interest (and financial support) is developed. Also recognising high performing staff is good practice too for morale. It must be really frustrating for CRT when they seem to face negativity from some people no matter what they do.

[rgreg]

25 minutes ago, Ray T said:

As ever CRT are damned if they do and damned if they don't. In BW days one of the many complaints was that they didn't communicate.......

Am I wasting my time posting these communications?

On some people, clearly. However, others may like to read them so keep posting.

[jonathanA]

41 minutes ago, stegra said:

Well if they were anything like our national treasure and engineering hero, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wasted the lives of countless working men on recklessly overambitious monuments to inflate their own egos.

The man was a genius and accomplished more in his short (by modern standards) life then any number of the so called great and good of our current era.

your ignorance of the work of this outstanding engineer ( in the proper sense of the word) is evident in your silly post

[stegra]

7 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

The man was a genius and accomplished more in his short (by modern standards) life then any number of the so called great and good of our current era.

your ignorance of the work of this outstanding engineer ( in the proper sense of the word) is evident in your silly post

We're each entitled to our own opinions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Tunnel

The death toll from blasting with men in the tunnel convinces me of his recklessness. The fact that the alignment may well have been an attempt at an annual celebration of the 'great man' only adds to my skepticism of his greatness. I don't question the fact that he was an outstanding engineer. Perhaps many of the widows and their families did.

[chubby]

52 minutes ago, Ray T said:

As ever CRT are damned if they do and damned if they don't. In BW days one of the many complaints was that they didn't communicate.......

Am I wasting my time posting these communications?

No Sir

I would not say you are wasting your time . Its me who s wasted his time reading yet more ( IMO ) meaningless drivel . I am not a CRT basher - i just tire of corporate bullshit . 

In my estimation that is all these press releases are full of waffle with thier So & So said " blah blah " . As i say , its my opinion that theyre all just " corporate whores " riding on a gravy train - big salaries for achieving virtually , if not actually sweet FA . 

This is my opinion . Others will think otherwise . Its my own fault- i shouldn't have read it & in future i wont as they never have anything worth taking notice of . 

Apologies for any offence caused 

[rgreg]

37 minutes ago, chubby said:

No Sir

I would not say you are wasting your time . Its me who s wasted his time reading yet more ( IMO ) meaningless drivel . I am not a CRT basher - i just tire of corporate bullshit . 

In my estimation that is all these press releases are full of waffle with thier So & So said " blah blah " . As i say , its my opinion that theyre all just " corporate whores " riding on a gravy train - big salaries for achieving virtually , if not actually sweet FA . 

This is my opinion . Others will think otherwise . Its my own fault- i shouldn't have read it & in future i wont as they never have anything worth taking notice of . 

Apologies for any offence caused 

Did you actually read it? It is recognising an exceptional member of staff and inviting people to support the Pontcysycllte Aqueduct on World Heritage Day. No "Corporate bull####" as you so eloquently put it; just sensible PR which, as I said previously, is good business practice in these times when the more support the waterways receive, the better.

Just to clarify, the reason CRT put out these press releases is to reach the general public as well as the canal-using fraternity. They have had much success with this in the North West, even achieving local TV news coverage. So good work I would say.

Edited April 4, 2017 by rgreg

[Pie Eater]

1 hour ago, Ray T said:

As ever CRT are damned if they do and damned if they don't. In BW days one of the many complaints was that they didn't communicate.......

Am I wasting my time posting these communications?

Keep posting Ray as CaRT press releases don't always reach everyone.

[chubby]

Ok

 im not obliged to agree with anyone elses point of view . I don t much care for the endless banging on about " our achievements " . Self praise is no praise . 

Its commendable to recognise a staff members efforts . However if someone can convince me that a " mass tweeting between 6 & 7 pm to show your support for this or that " isn t corporate nonsense then i d be somewhat surprised. What a load of total crap. Only in the mind of someone who spends far too long sat at a desk in an office environment could think it good idea . It isn t , its tosh .

As for the expression " damned if they do , damned if they dont " - this is also rubbish . As i say above im not obliged to buy into all this media orientated self congratulation - i dont have to agree . Consequently some folk will applaud , some will not . Its not a matter damned if they do , damned if they don t . Im not a CRT basher . They do alot of good work and i imagine they face many challenges in many different ways - i just simply tire of thier media obsession and i do genuinely believe that many are just riding a corporate gravy train . In future i ll just ignore them , just like i had to unsubscribe from all the emails they send me . 

. 

Edited April 4, 2017 by chubby

[rgreg]

24 minutes ago, chubby said:

Ok

 im not obliged to agree with anyone elses point of view . I don t much care for the endless banging on about " our achievements " . Self praise is no praise . 

Its commendable to recognise a staff members efforts . However if someone can convince me that a " mass tweeting between 6 & 7 pm to show your support for this or that " isn t corporate nonsense then i d be somewhat surprised. What a load of total crap. Only in the mind of someone who spends far too long sat at a desk in an office environment could think it good idea . It isn t , its tosh .

As for the expression " damned if they do , damned if they dont " - this is also rubbish . As i say above im not obliged to buy into all this media orientated self congratulation - i dont have to agree . Consequently some folk will applaud , some will not . Its not a matter damned if they do , damned if they don t . Im not a CRT basher . They do alot of good work and i imagine they face many challenges in many different ways - i just simply tire of thier media obsession and i do genuinely believe that many are just riding a corporate gravy train . In future i ll just ignore them , just like i had to unsubscribe from all the emails they send me . 

. 

I think you are confusing these PR campaigns, which are aimed at raising the profile of the waterways in the public domain, with "self praise" simply for the purpose of saying "look how good we are". 

[WotEver]

8 hours ago, stegra said:

The death toll from blasting with men in the tunnel convinces me of his recklessness

It isn't clear to me if that decision was his or if it was George Burge's. I suspect the latter. 

[Athy]

8 hours ago, rgreg said:

I think you are confusing these PR campaigns, which are aimed at raising the profile of the waterways in the public domain, with "self praise" simply for the purpose of saying "look how good we are". 

The two are surely not mutually exclusive. If you owned a car company, you might well take out adverts to raise the profile of your make of car, but it is unlikely that the adverts would concentrate on the car's faults.

[rgreg]

9 minutes ago, Athy said:

The two are surely not mutually exclusive. If you owned a car company, you might well take out adverts to raise the profile of your make of car, but it is unlikely that the adverts would concentrate on the car's faults.

I think you misinterpret my point. The OP appears to be criticising CRT of "self-praise" in their press releases purely for self-indulgence, and failing to recognise the value of them using this to elevate their public profile and increase awareness/interest in the waterways.

[Athy]

4 minutes ago, rgreg said:

I think you misinterpret my point.

And, perhaps, you mine. They are both raising their profile and pointing to their positive achievements ( =- saying how good they are).

As with most publicity and advertising, it is up to the reader to decide whether their press releases give a true and fair picture of the product.

[rgreg]

13 minutes ago, Athy said:

And, perhaps, you mine. They are both raising their profile and pointing to their positive achievements ( =- saying how good they are).

As with most publicity and advertising, it is up to the reader to decide whether their press releases give a true and fair picture of the product.

Yes of course any publicity campaign should focus on the positives. What I am saying is that the OP does not seem to recognise the purpose of this: I.e. reaching out to as many people as possible and not just the boating fraternity. I think it's a bit unfair to label these press releases as "bull####".

[Bee]

12 hours ago, stegra said:

Well if they were anything like our national treasure and engineering hero, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wasted the lives of countless working men on recklessly overambitious monuments to inflate their own egos.

What !!! I'd start looking for a steel helmet if I'd said that. Although I have to say I wouldn't have wanted to be a shareholder in many of his projects.