Back from our train trip, the Captain was taking a constitutional, and we’d vaguely noticed a boat mooring up behind us. Somewhat surprised to hear a voice say “Hello, Biggles”, it turned out to be a couple of chaps on a narrowboat who we’d chatted for a while back in Elton, when we were both heading the other way. One was a cat lover, with a new British shorthair kitten at home and on his iPhone: probably why he remembered us. Since we’d pottered slowly down to Ely and back, they’d been all the way to Bedford and Cambridge, intent on covering serious mileage during their three week break.

It being a bit chilly, and well after whisky o’clock, we invited them in for a drink and a natter, as you do. Turned out the other chap was retired, but had worked for Raytheon and British Aerospace, and knew quite a lot about the Raytheon Premier I business jet that was for some years the bane of the bo’sun‘s life (in a past existence). Seems he was for some time an oppo and sidekick of another British Aerospace/Raytheon chap who we actually knew quite well. Over a couple of years the latter sold several Premier I jets to “Russian” outfits operating via a Jewish New York lawyer’s office, who wanted them put on the Bermudan or Cayman registry, and got the bo’sun to do some of the regulatory paperwork: a strange affair, but a mutually beneficial arrangement!

As they were catching the first train on the Sunday morning while we were merely going to watch it depart, we shuffled boats around and breasted up to allow room for the trip boat. Biggles decided that he might change boats for a while, but when we told him how much cruising time per day these chaps did, he decided to stay with Song & Dance.