Heckle and Jeckle

I've mentionned that this summit canal and locks are closely controlled by the British waterways guys due to the shortage of water at the summit. Etiquette and the Rules of the Road (plus common sense) dictate that to conserve water you move two boats with each lock-full if at all possible and this tends to mean that you pair up with another boat and go up or down together.

As two boats were booked out of Sowerby Bridge on the same day, and both due to cross the summit on the same day, this made it inevitable that we were "stuck with" the other boat for at least 3 and a half days. Needless to say you want these to be "nice" people or it can ruin a holiday. We were lucky then to be paired up with a couple from Leeds with whom we could get on (ish).

Ish? She was an absolute diamond, ex vet, now accountant, rescue dog owner and a demon around the lock-wrangling. He was just a tad less "easy" - a bit of an un-reconstructed old boy with a high, nasal Leeds voice that had you reminded of George Formby and who our lot were soon making sly comments about Ukulele players.

Totally useless domestically, apparently (we blame the parents) and given to expressions like "t'Dragon" (every time he was talking about "t'wife", and while totally glued to the back deck and his tiller, very generous with his advice on what she should do differently, an all round "expert" on everything. We were all waiting for a proper "domestic" to break out, but it never did.

These two were secretly named "Heckle and Jeckle" and the name stuck.

Deefer