Mine is suffering, there’s no doubt about it !
The stress and pressure has been increasing over the past few years and it is definitely due to the recent policies and agenda of CRT.
I moved onto the canals following some years of stress related illness, primarily depression and over a period of time gradually it improved. Living at a slower pace in a place of tranquil quiet for a number of years slowly allowed me to come to terms with the damage to my mental health and I began to heal. I began to recognise the ‘triggers’ which brought on my depression and was able to manage my life in such a way that I was able to distance myself from them and even avoid them completely sometimes.
The stress and depression fell away as my life and my mind became quieter and calmer. I began to see the world and the people inhabiting it in a different light and part of that awakening was the ability to perceive the ‘real’ issues.
Over the last three years I have begun to recognise that CRT’s real agenda is all about money, corporate gains, executive salaries, profit margins and all of those things.
They love to tell us about their contribution to society and its ‘wellbeing’ with their inclusive policies embracing walkers, cyclists, paddleboarders, fishermen while all the time they are pursuing policies aimed at the boating community which are divisive and damaging.
Divide and conquer seems to be the order of the day !
This latest announcement about licence increases is just that, it divides us into groups, marina moorers and continuous cruisers, wide beams and narrowboats, all arguing over who should be paying extra here or less there, who should be paying a surcharge and who should get a discount, and while all this arguing is going on amongst boater groups CRT are getting away with lies, bullshit, fake data and statistics, inflated numbers etc. and frankly the mental stress and distress it causes is destroying my peace of mind and my WELLBEING !
It’s time to focus and think it through people !
These divisive money grabbing policies being presented to us by CRT as ‘essential’ to the future of our waterways and our way of life are completely flawed and seem to me deliberately aimed at liveaboard boaters.
Think about it… given the small number of continuous cruisers living aboard boats on the canals and rivers (CRT claim we number 5000 though I don’t quite believe them), how much real difference can yet another (above inflation) increase in our licence fees really make in the grand scheme of things ?
With most of us currently paying an average of (lets say) around £1,000 each for our licences, (I’m being generous with the numbers here) that comes out at £5,000,000 per year.
A 10% increase on our licences would provide a (relatively) miniscule extra £100 each, multiply that by 5000 and you get £500,000
CRT’s two highest paid employees are both on salaries of around £250,000 each !
Given the additional fact that CRT’s income last year was £214,600,000 perhaps sacking the vastly overpaid incompetents who can’t currently manage to balance the budget with the income of two hundred and fourteen MILLION pounds would be a way forward and would cover the FIVE HUNDRED GRAND which they are currently trying to squeeze out of the wallets of the piddling number of CC boaters most of whom are on low incomes, many being pensioners like myself, and who’s boat homes and way of life is being TRASHED by CRT’s INCOMPETENCE AND GREED !
I ask you, seriously, is it any wonder my mental health and my ‘wellbeing’ is suffering again ?
The link below is worth a look !
https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5027494
Wow !
😵💫
Its not about the money its about deliberately destroying a way of life and a community of people.
Excellent rant… 8 out of 10 plus a gold star for effort 😁
I agree, they seem to have an obsession with continuous cruisers and live aboard boaters. We are the ones most affected by their ‘cost cutting’ policies, their removal of facilities for domestic waste disposal and water points and their policy of ignoring reported maintenance issues until simple problems become major infrastructure failures is just plain stupid. A policy of zero pro-active maintenance means every repair being left until it becomes an extremely expensive disaster. Idiots in charge if you ask me !
I’m just going to pay for my ticket then keep my head down and keep cruising because you cant talk to them and you cant change there minds and you cant challange there decisions. There just going to do what they want anyways. Im a surviver so feckem. 😡