In a message dated 01/05/2007 05:35:25 GMT Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
So, let me pose serious questions to everyone here: is the tone of this group geared toward boat owners/liveaboards? Are renters unwelcome? How about wannabe renters? No, no and no. Until recently I did not have a boat - as it is I now have one-twelfth of one but that is irrelevant. The list is open to anybody who has an interest in canals and, particularly, boating but you don't actually have to have a boat to be interested in what having one involves. Similarly, you don't actually have to use the canals to get a sense of the history involved with building, using or restoring them - it helps, but it's not essential. Over the years, many people have posted asking for information about buying a boat, for leisure or for living on, and the combined experienced brain cell of this group has usually been able to provide guidance in one form or another. If the topic is too large for emails then the usual response it to point to a website, organisation or book (some written by posters to this list) where the info can be found. If after reading these there are still questions, then the list can be approached for the finer points. Most of us have rented in the past, with good experiences and bad, and are willing to help anyone to get into this weird 'hobby' of chugging (depending on your engine!) around the backsides of towns and villages of Britain finding and seeing parts of the country that are hidden from the 'normal' view. If you want advice on who to rent with, then you can ask. If you want advice on routes, then ask. If you are new and inexperienced then say so and you are less likely to be picked up on your use of English - I use the phrase 'less likely' advisedly! Most of the list members are British and there *is* a particular sense of humour in the UK. Unlike many cultures where, if someone makes a rude comment about you, you should feel insulted, in the UK it means the person making the comment feels sufficiently comfortable in your friendship to make personal comments in the expectation that you will not take them personally - and will expect you to respond in like terms to show you accept them as a friend. If you are going to boat around in the *real* Britain then, yes, in a way you will just have to understand it and accept it, I'm afraid, or you will find the experience of an evening in a pub a very harrowing one. This list has often been likened to a pub whose customers stand around the bar talking about matters of common interest; naturally this will centre around boats but it will often go off at a tangent and also spread over onto a couple of other lists - try and keep track of THAT conversation! Over the years we may not have actually met many of the listers but they are now friends with real personalities (in one case two!) and it sometimes takes a few weeks to get to understand their quirks. There are the quippers, the technical, the pedants, some who make sense, some who don't, those who won't buy a drink . . . . ;-) Sadly, you and Callum have hit the negative aspects early on and it may have coloured your opinion. In a similar way to Mark Twain's (reputed) comment, "If you go to Britain and you don't like the weather, hang around for a few hours until you find one you do like" Just substitute 'attitude' for 'weather'. If I'm in the wrong group, hey, my bad ... I'll leave and go searching for the right one. Only you can answer whether or not you are in the wrong group. Is it providing the information you want? Have you asked the questions you need answered? My email browser automatically sets up replies for bottom posting, so I have to find ways of responding so that my replies make sense (most of the time they don't!). It was only a couple of weeks ago that we discussed this . . . . DaveD [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
