OUTGOING Canal & River Trust chief executive Richard Parry has hinted he will keep his ties with the waterways after a presentation at Braunston Marina in Northamptonshire.
Before the formal opening of this year’s Braunston Historic Boat Rally, Tim Coghlan of Braunston Marina asked Sir David and Lady Suchet to jointly present Richard with a special copy of the painting Barlow’s Yard – Braunston, which Tim had commissioned from the late Alan Firth in 1998 to mark the 10th anniversary of his acquisition of Braunston Marina Limited.
The presentation was made before a small gathering in front of the small garden by the Marina Point, with the restoration-in-progress Peter’s Bridge and the canal and village of Braunston beyond.
Tim said: “I would like to thank Richard for his 12 outstanding years as CEO of the CRT. Coming from the railways, Richard was thrown in at the deep end, having to deal with the forces of nature in terms of summer droughts and winter floods. The latter has resulted in major breaches to the canals and reservoirs – the 250-year-old network showing its age, with Richard and his team at the CRT constantly being challenged.
“Richard has also had to deal with the vagaries of obtaining government funding – still vital to the present and future of the inland waterways. In his 12 years as CEO, Richard has had to deal with five prime ministers and probably double that number of ministers responsible for the waterways: what the 17th century philosopher John Locke once referred to as ‘the unknown, inconstant, and arbitrary will of another man’. No wonder after 12 years of this, Richard wants to retire!
“But to me, Richard’s greatest achievement has been in widening the appeal of the inland waters, to people who are not boaters but whose lives have been enriched and made healthier by their taking to them in so many other ways, starting with towpath walking on the many improved towpaths, as we see here in Braunston.”
David and Sheila jointly presented Richard with the special copy of the Barlow’s Yard painting. Richard said: “Thank you for the wonderful gift and such generous words. It was lovely to have David and Sheila here too to make the presentation. It has been fantastic to have been involved in the past 12 years of Braunston boat rallies. I’ll happily return in the autumn once the bridge is complete if you want to have some sort of ceremony then.”
On behalf of his wife and himself, Sir David added their thanks and appreciation to Richard for his work for the CRT.
