Well folks it's another beautiful summer day in Peterborough, Ontario and I'm ready to unfurl a massive Dove of Hate!
For those of you not familiar with Peterborough (a.k.a. the patch) we're known for a couple of things. Recently we made headlines when Stats. Canada released information regarding which cities contained the largest concentration of senior citizens. We're number 2! 18.2% of Peterboroughs population is over 65. Kelowna B.C. weighs in at number one with 19%. We were sooooo close to being number 1!
They other thing we are known for is the Peterborough Liftlocks or Lock 21 as we know it locally. It is the highest hydraulic liftlock in the world. Let's face it, that's pretty cool! The picture above was taken from the top of our Liftlock.
Peterborough benefits from the tourism aspects of the Trent canal system and local tourist boats that take visitors up and down the liftlocks.
This morning my boyfriend, Jolene, his daughter, Jimmy-jack (the names have been changed to protect the innocent) and I were going to take his houseboat up the Trent Canal to Buckhorn before it goes into drydock for the summer.
We planned every detail. I laid in food and other necessities, we were gonna hammer through in one day so we were up to the challenge and ready to rock!
We were on the boat by 8:15am and heading for lock 19 by 8:30am when the locks would open for the day. As we chugged up to tie up below lock 19 a couple who were on a rental houseboat informed us that the Liftlock was closed. Apparently it has been closed since yesterday afternoon, maintenance workers are realigning the main cyclinders. The hope is that it will be up and running by tomorrow.
Okay, I'm not going to release the Dove of Hate on the workers or the fact that the Liftlock is closed. I certainly don't want to take a ride up the river in a giant bucket full of water if it's not calibrated properly. I want it functioning well for the safety of all involved.
The Dove of Hate is for the local media, city hall, Parks Canada and whoever else is asleep at the wheel! There has been no news coverage or alerts regarding the current status of the Liftlock and the progress of the work. I checked the Peterborough Examiner online in the morning and there was no news alert that the Locks were not functioning.
When Letdown Place (Lansdowne place - a local mall) was closed due to an industrial accident there was a newsflash on the Examiner website. Today there's a flash about local councillor Dean Pappas' family vacationing in Greece, apparently they've escaped fires that are occuring in Greece. I'm glad they're safe and I hope all those affected are safe and the damage is minimal, but come on! How about checking out the local scene and keeping your people informed?
Maybe I need to stress how Peterborough is known for it's Liftlock. If you stop any Peterboroughtonian on the street and ask them what we're known for they would most likely say The Liftlocks. They might say old people and posers, but most likely they would reference the Liftlocks in some way.
I'm going to release my Dove of Hate for all of those who are waiting patiently at local marina's or tethered up and down the lock system awaiting the re-opening of our beloved Liftlock. God bless you all!
Let the Dove fly and foul the air!
First Mate B signing off!