Farce at Camden Lock

[mark99]

Lined up awaiting vollocky to open Camden Lock. Slid in offered to help work the lock and advised  help not needed to work the lock and trip boat the Jenny Wren was going in with us. Closed my gate and the Jenny Wren crew member shut hers went down and unwound her paddle and then proceed to walk over the gate to unwind our/volocky paddle.

In front of the usual Camden vast gallery she, the lady crew member lauched into only what can be described as a volley of aggressive screaming abuse at my wife that we should be unwinding the paddle. Screaming that "its been like this all week". 

My wife at first thought this woman was talking to the vollocky but she was not. 

At this point my wife errupts and shouts we were instructed not to help. At this point the crew member went further ballisic. I was close to the Jenny Wren captain and said calmly " listen, twice we were told not to help the volocky would do it" however by now the captain had lost it and looked straight through me and got really nasty verbally abusing the wife. No amount of reasoning would calm him down and for a fraction of a second I thought violence was coming. He was screwing his face up and really had lost the plot shouting threats.

By this time the lock gate was opening and the Jenny Wren trip boat sped out.

Never seen anything like this on the cut before and the Camden gongoozlers got  right old show.

Foul, aggressive, nasty and threatening from a so called professional.

The volocky saw the whole show which for my next steps is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MtB]

Sounds a very unpleasant experience Mark. My commiserations. What next steps are you planning?

One minor point, if they involve a written account of the incident may I suggest you use the terms "raise" and "lower" the paddles rather than "unwind"? The term wasn't immediately clear to me until I thought about it for a sec. 

[mark99]

Thanks Mike. Already dropped R. Parry a note and now the trip boat operator.

It was, at the time, a perfectly horrible 5 minutes. Grown men like him bawling at the top of his voice. Psychotic.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2017 by mark99

[dmr]

We've been shouted at three times in the last three days, twice for going too fast when we were on tickover and once for setting a lock ready for an approaching boat (yes they then shouted at us for "confusing" them) I think there must be some sort of nastiness bug going about.

Let it go, smile, shrug your shoulders and have a beer, its their problem not yours. I guess full time boating in London brings out the bad side.

.......................Dave

[Machpoint005]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

We've been shouted at three times in the last three days, twice for going too fast when we were on tickover and once for setting a lock ready for an approaching boat (yes they then shouted at us for "confusing" them) I think there must be some sort of nastiness bug going about.

Let it go, smile, shrug your shoulders and have a beer, its their problem not yours. I guess full time boating in London brings out the bad side.

.......................Dave

And you will probably live a lot longer too!

[Robbo]

I find just ignoring and doing something more important like answering the nonexistent ring on your phone is worth while in these situations.

[mark99]

6 minutes ago, Robbo said:

I find just ignoring and doing something more important like answering the nonexistent ring on your phone is worth while in these situations.

I hear you. My middle name is laid back but the violence of this chaps manner was serious. He literally flipped from me and him  chatting through who was to exit first etc to bawling threats to a woman.

[Neil Smith]

I am surprised the locky never said any thing to them.

Neil

[MtB]

44 minutes ago, dmr said:

We've been shouted at three times in the last three days, twice for going too fast when we were on tickover and once for setting a lock ready for an approaching boat (yes they then shouted at us for "confusing" them) I think there must be some sort of nastiness bug going about.

Let it go, smile, shrug your shoulders and have a beer, its their problem not yours. I guess full time boating in London brings out the bad side.

.......................Dave

 

I similarly 'confused' a Hudson a few years back. 

Arrived at a lock set against me complete with open gates the far end, saw a boat coming the other so waited for them to enter the lock. As they approached they slowed to an almost dead stop, then eventually moored up on the lock landing and broke out the tea service for a spot of refreshment.

Irritated, I went down and asked them a bit curtly if they were going to come through the lock. Their reply was very disarming. They said they'd only just collected the hire boat (yes, an incognito Hudson!)  saw us arrive at the lock first and as it was therefore my lock, and they'd moored up to wait for me/us to turn it and come through first!

So I explained the etiquette, we had a laugh about it and I can't remember who went through first.

[J R ALSOP]

Jenny Wren is not one of the  London Waterbus Co.Fleet, you don"t want to upset Maggie. Phone 020874854433 and complain direct to them.

[FadeToScarlet]

59 minutes ago, mark99 said:

Thanks Mike. Already dropped R. Parry a note and now London Waterbus Co.

It was, at the time, a perfectly horrible 5 minutes. Grown men like him bawling at the top of his voice. Psychotic.

 

 

Jenny Wren isn't the Waterbus Company, it is operated by Walker's Quay

http://www.walkersquay.com/jennywren.html

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, J R ALSOP said:

Jenny Wren is not one of the  London Waterbus Co.Fleet, you don"t want to upset Maggie. Phone 020874854433 and complain direct to them.

Isn't there too many digits in that number?

[J R ALSOP]

Oops 0207 4854433 

[Athy]

5 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Isn't there too many digits in that number?

One too many, I'd say.

[alan_fincher]

8 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Isn't there too many digits in that number?

One way of not getting many complaints!......

[Robbo]

48 minutes ago, mark99 said:

I hear you. My middle name is laid back but the violence of this chaps manner was serious. He literally flipped from me and him  chatting through who was to exit first etc to bawling threats to a woman.

Call yourself, and then your voicemail will answer it and record the conversation 

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, Robbo said:

Call yourself, and then your voicemail will answer it and record the conversation 

 

That's a good point. In fact go a step further and do as Jenlyn occasionally mentioned doing. Overtly hold your phone up and tell the bloke the conversation is now being videoed and recorded.

[Robbo]

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

That's a good point. In fact go a step further and do as Jenlyn occasionally mentioned doing. Overtly hold your phone up and tell the bloke the conversation is now being videoed and recorded.

I would use something like Facebook/YouTube live, then it gets recorded off-phone as well.   

For those with a Apple Watch, remember to set up your emergency contacts, a long press of the button will call 999, and then your emergency contacts with your GPS location.  It's under the watch app / my watch / general / emergency sos 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Robbo

[1st ade]

27 minutes ago, Robbo said:

Call yourself, and then your voicemail will answer it and record the conversation 

Good Tip. Thanks and a Green thing.

[zenataomm]

53 minutes ago, Neil Smith said:

I am surprised the locky never said any thing to them.

Neil

They're trained to work a lock if the boater requires it, and not if they don't.

They have no authority or responsibility otherwise, and are briefed not to get involved in anything other than helping to operate locks.

 

Should violence or a H&S danger surface anywhere then everyone within the fallout zone has a personal responsibility. That's not what seems to have happened here.

 

[junior]

If my memory serves me correctly from steering a trip boat regularly on that stretch, this is fairly normal behaviour from 'Jenny Wren'. 

Please do put a complaint in, I'm not sure that dropping Richard Parry is the best thing to do though, surely he's got better things to do than reply to every Tom, Dick & Harrys low level complaint. I would have thought 'Head of Buisness Boating' would be a more sensible option if you feel the need to go straight to Executive level.

[mark99]

1 hour ago, FadeToScarlet said:

Jenny Wren isn't the Waterbus Company, it is operated by Walker's Quay

http://www.walkersquay.com/jennywren.html

Thanks really useful. In the mist of discombobulation I missed that. Edited the winge.

Edited May 8, 2017 by mark99

[mark99]

7 minutes ago, junior said:

If my memory serves me correctly from steering a trip boat regularly on that stretch, this is fairly normal behaviour from 'Jenny Wren'. 

Please do put a complaint in, I'm not sure that dropping Richard Parry is the best thing to do though, surely he's got better things to do than reply to every Tom, Dick & Harrys low level complaint. I would have thought 'Head of Buisness Boating' would be a more sensible option if you feel the need to go straight to Executive level.

Richard, to his credit, has replied immediately. Thanks Junior for the info btw

[bizzard]

If I were told ''help not needed to work the lock'' I wouldn't interfere, ideal I reckon, let em get on with it whilst I break out the rum instead.

[MtB]

On 08/05/2017 at 19:09, bizzard said:

If I were told ''help not needed to work the lock'' I wouldn't interfere, ideal I reckon, let em get on with it whilst I break out the rum instead.

 

Not what happened here though is it?

The Volly told the OP twice that they would do the paddle for them, then didn't do it. AIUI.