Email: What a day too

In response to 'What a day' by Geraldine Prescott, we had an unusual encounter a few weeks ago whilst descending a Midlands lock flight.

My wife was checking for boats coming up before filling the lock, whilst I secured the boat at the lock landing. We'd not seen any other boats that morning, so I was quite surprised when a gentleman bearing a striking resemblance to Captain Birdseye came striding down the towpath.

The general attire and windlass in the belt announced this person as a Proper Boatman and it rapidly became clear he Knew How Things Should Be Done. No greeting or pleasantries here—he hadn't come to offer help, he'd come to criticise! We were taking far too long, it was obvious nothing was coming up etc. etc. Most frustratingly, the windlass stayed firmly in his belt even though my wife was struggling with a very stiff paddle only a couple of yards away.

When he'd finished waving his arms around and grumbling I suggested that, since he was clearly in a hurry, and we were not, he might like to go through the lock before us. This was not what he was expecting at all—a mumbled refusal which may have included a 'thank you', and he stomped off back up the towpath to rejoin his Proper Boat (traditional décor, vintage engine, fake rivets). The prospect of another encounter with this ill-mannered individual was too awful to consider, so once through the lock we moored up for an hour to be sure we'd not see him again!

Paul Mitchell