----- Original Message ----- From: "Will Chapman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 7:08 PM Subject: [canals-list] Re: Mailing Lists
>>> Is IWA a boaters' association? > Chuckle. I certainly wouldn't be a member if I wasn't a > canal-boat owner..... > > > Will Chapman > Save Our Waterways > www.SaveOurWaterways.org.uk I am intrigued by this statement, Will. For a start, I can't think of anything the IWA does that is specifically for boat owners, as opposed to the good of the canals in general. I consider myself fortunate to own a boat (although the circumstances of becoming the owner are unfortunate), but I was member of IWA long before that happened, and many - even most - of the members of my branch are not boat owners. I have met IWA members who have never set foot on a boat, but still have the interests of the canals at heart. I know this is supposed to be a light-hearted discussion, even a pop at certain people, but your statement seems at odds with your commitment to the Save Our Waterways Campaign. If you really mean what you say, then NABO would be a more appropriate organisation for you than the IWA - ? I am not always in agreement with the IWA official stand on things, and as far as I can make out the 'Head Office' as it is called is a shambles, but the aim is to preserve, etc etc canals and inland waterways - they don't say FOR BOATERS, it is for everyone. Although I have been ambivalent about IWA for some time, largely due to the incompetence exhibited by the central management, I stick with it BECAUSE it is not just for boat owners. Dorothy
