Andromeda is back!

Last year we launched the Andromeda Project (http://www.andromedaproject.org/) and asked the public to help us locate star clusters in our nearest neighbouring galaxy: Andromeda (M31). The project was a phenomenal success and in less than three weeks volunteers had classified more than a million images. This week we want to try and do it again! Today we're releasing a whole new batch of data into the Andromeda Project and we're calling this Round 2.
The data you'll see are amazingly detailed images from the Hubble Space Telescope, which has peered deep into Andromeda as part of the PHAT survey. The aim of the Andromeda Project is to the locate all the star clusters and background galaxies found in PHAT and to build up the most complete map of any spiral galaxy anywhere. This is amazing science that can only be done with the help of citizen scientists.To join the Andromeda Project visit http://www.andromedaproject.org/ - thank you and good luck!
Thanks,

Rob and the Zooniverse Team

Our survey said!

The Canal and River Trust has a bewildering number of people who are in one way or another tied into organising the future and direction of the trust. For each of the trust’s eleven waterway areas there is a Waterways Partnership allegedly drawn from local communities. In reality chosen by the chairman of the partnership. The role of Waterways Partnerships is completely advisory as are the roles of various other groups involved in the governance of CaRT. Plus a couple more extra partnerships thrown in for good luck. 

With around a dozen or more people on each partnership. Each individual is encouraged to have a view and therefore holds a different agenda.

The cost to us of all these 'incidental top level volunteers' getting involved in the governance was £662,000 last year or about £4243.58 each! The partnerships were supposed to be self funding, and any surplus generated was supposed to go into CaRT's coffers. At the moment CaRT is putting money into the partnerships. That is an ongoing situation and I fear it is not going to change any time soon. 

In reality the partnerships seems to have all the hall marks of a job creation scheme. It does appear on first glance that some are setting up their own little fiefdom and that nepotism is still alive and well.

As for the 'find-a-friend' chuggers, I have fond memories of being accosted by a chugger in Birmingham. Just after the 'grand opening of CaRT' in Gas Street. The company of chuggers  that CaRT employed then promptly went bust after a few short months. The two 'friends' figures I have  seen touted around are 4k and 5k. Both figures woefully short of the target set for the first year.

But why don't CaRT set a low figure and then have something to celebrate rather than a figure they can't reach and then have to defend the situation. Unless of course, it was a low figure that they set and then completely missed that by a country mile? Somehow a charity asking the public for donations with 'canal' in their name is not as catchy as one like 'British Waterways Trust' would have been. Plus it would have saved a fortune on the rolling out the new name and a logo encapsulating the posture of an angry swan.

So I drew together my own partnership team. I posed them the question of what would be the best way forward for CaRT. Their collective answer - 'start again' but what do they know!

How many of the special people making up our partnership team do you know? Click the image below for the names!

Thinking Out Of The Box (8)

Thinking out of the box (also thinking out side of the box, thinking beyond the box or thinking the unthinkable) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. The cliché, has become widely used and refers to novel or creative thinking. Thinking out of the box, is forcing yourself to give considerations to options that you might discount in the first place. To think outside the box is to look farther and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking beyond them.

I love history, ever since we started hire boating. I have read as much as possible about the history and the life and times of those working on the inland waterways. There are many books, some good some bad written about the canals. Some of the best have been written by the 'Idle Women' a title bestowed upon the women who joined the Inland Waterways during the last war.

The waterways were used extensively during the last war. But once the war war over the usefulness of the canals was forgotten once again. "Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning" is a play upon the wartime quote of arguably the greatest statesman this country ever had. Winston Churchill was the right man, in the right place, at the right time. Affectionately known during the wartime  as 'winnie' he was a larger than life figure who could motivate and inspire with words and deeds. His talent was to surround himself with people, we would call today 'movers and shakers'. He was also a man of vision. There are many volumes written by and about this charismatic man of his times.

There were others who could also lay claim to being 'the right man, in the right place, at the right time.' One such individual was Robert Aickman. He was certainly a man of great vision, Aickman is sometimes described as the father of the 'Inland Waterways Association.' Aickman was in his own way, fighting a war to preserve the inland waterways that we enjoy today. Aickman's plan was quite simple, it can be encapsulated as "If the waterways had to remain open for the passage of boats. Then the waterway would remain there in perpetuity for boating and every other kind of waterways activity."

Many canals were threatened with closure which enthusiasts opposed whenever they could and conflict with officialdom was inevitable. One way to attract the people to the canals was through organised festivals. The IWA's flagship event was the 'National Waterways Festival'. The membership past and present of the Inland Waterways Association owes a great debt to Robert Aickman. Albeit not on the same scale as the public owed to Churchill. There are never the less volumes written by and about this enigmatic and visionary man of his times.

Now with the passing of the IWA's flagship event the 'National Waterways Festival'. I can't help but wonder if the passing is also marking the end of an era. Looking back over recent years there has been a steady decline in membership and quality of leadership. In a way the decline is mirroring the fall into disrepair of the waterways during and after the war. An act that would have relit the fire in the belly of Aickman and his compatriots.

Bringing the issues back to today. The parlous state of our waterways continues now with the deliberate underfunding of maintenance. The national treasure that are the Inland Waterways are once more slowly and inexorably being ushered towards the abyss. Where is Aickman's  association at a time when its needed more than ever. It would appear that the IWA's once fierce and hard won independence has been bought for a few places on council. The document of surrender and  capitulation signed with the 'memorandum of understanding'. A piece of paper that's as worthless as that of Churchill's predecessor Chamberlain.

What price now for Aickman's simple but visionary plan. If the waterways had to remain open for the passage of boats. Then the waterway would remain there in perpetuity for boating and every other kind of waterways activity.

Over the last few years, new waterways groups have either broken away or evolved. There to represent and protect what might on first sight, be considered as minority interests. Don't be fooled into thinking that small groups have no teeth. Times have changed and one single association cannot represent everything. However, I can see the day when there will be 'an association' for waterways groups. Where support and succour can be shared in a common interest. One where the waterways have to remain open for the passage of boats. That the waterway will remain there in perpetuity for boating and every other kind of waterways activity.

Parts of the Inland Waterways are now managed as a charity. There has been a huge change in how it it is funded. This change will dictate the way that it will have to operate in the future. Once under the remit of British Waterways as a quango it could ignore opinion and plough its own furrow. Now, it has to operate under very close scrutiny. This is very much the same as Aickman's plan of positive action. 

When the last of the dinosaurs of ex BW senior management have gone. When the era of a silo mentality and 'us and them' comes to an end. When secrecy surrounding issues finally comes to an end.  When accountability is acknowledged. When fresh ideas and practices are embraced and encouraged. When the hearts and minds of all waterways users are won over to a common challenge and shared future. Then the future of the Inland Waterways will prosper.

I pay quite happily around £50 a year supporting a number of small waterways groups who I think will help to make a difference. I don't want to be given the belittling title of 'friend'.  The first step towards a shared future is when the Canal and River Trust embraces a paid membership. When I and others like me see openness and transparency as the norm.

Ask yourself a few simple questions. Will the names of Robin Evans or Tony Hales ever be revered or held in the same public perception as Robert Aickman. Would the title 'visionary' apply to any of the ex BW directors. You could ask the very same questions of recent holders of the chairman's role at the IWA.

Taking and Giving Advice

Taking and Giving Advice

If a narrowboat hits a gate, on a lock, upon a river;

chips away, a bit of wood, then I begin to quiver;

angry words, to the boater, I shall deliver;

I hope their a taker, for my advice, I am a giver.

For each and every broken paddle, on a lock, upon a river;

there's another, a matching one, that causes me to shiver;

sharp words, to the trust, I shall again deliver;

I hope their a taker, for best advice, I am a giver.

For each water leak in a gate, on a lock, upon a river;

rotting away, a piece of wood, as CaRT begin to dither;

forceful words, to the engineer, I shall deliver;

I hope their a taker, for good advice, I am a giver.

Spend money on a broken gate, on a lock, upon a river;

seems to me, the only way, is not to let it wither;

sharp words, to the bean counter, I shall deliver;

I hope their a taker, for advice, I am a giver.

Other canal poems can be found here Click Me

Hales Pail

You may have seen information about the design project for the CaRT begging bowl. A group of design students were asked to produce a new collecting bucket that symbolised the canal and River Trust. Along the same lines as the Life Boat for the RNLI or the dog for the RSPCA. The design had to carry the idea of the inland waterways and its heritage. 

So as the weather has turned a bit chilly I decided to have a day aboard Rosie and come up with a suitable design of my own. My remit is broadly the same one as the design students. This is what I came up with.

The Hales Pail

My first thought was to work around the heritage aspect. Elaborate ceremonial or ritual buckets in bronze, copper or other materials such as pigs bladders and old goat skin are found in several ancient or medieval cultures.

My second thought was that the bucket has been used in many phrases and idioms in the English language. A 'drop in the bucket' for instance means a small, inadequate amount when given in terms of how much is requested or asked. This seemed to be quite an appropriate reason. 'Kick the bucket', is often used as a euphemism for someone's death. Not forgetting the 'Bucket List' being a list of the things you want to do before you die.

My third thought was carrying the message of water, when used to transport water the bucket often gets renamed to pail.  The pail is also used to bail out a sinking vessel hence the phrase 'grab the pail and start to bail' and this for me had the same sort of connotations as the collecting box. 

My fourth thought was that the leaks and holes in the pail were to represent the condition of the banks and locks around the system. Plus it needs a catchy name and I though that 'Hales Pail' was a good one. So that we would always have a reminder of the way that the canals have flourished under Chairman Hales.

My last thought was to appeal to children. 'There's a Hole in My Bucket' is a children's song. The song is based on a dialogue about a leaky bucket between two characters, called Henry and Liza. It could also in its own way describe the way that maintenance is carried out on the inland waterways.

The song describes a deadlock situation where Henry the CaRT worker has got a leaky bucket, and Liza the boater tells him to repair it. But to fix the leaky bucket, Henry thinks he needs straw. To cut the straw, he needs a knife. To sharpen the knife, he needs to wet the sharpening stone. To wet the stone, he needs water. However, when Henry asks Liza how to get the water, Liza's answer is "in a bucket". The only bucket available is the leaky one, which, if it could carry water, would not need repairing in the first place.

So there you go, heritage, water, maintenance and a children's song all encompassed in a single item that represents the inland waterways. The only other thing missing is the poetry carved into the handle. So I thought I should give it a go.

We need your money, so now dig deep;

with lots of expensive, directors to keep;

as if by magic, coins vanish in the slot;

you're going to like it, but not a lot.