Henry Hollingway

During my trip with Keeping up I met some lovely boaters, some infuriating boaters and some rude boaters. The real joy was when I went down to set a lock and found Henry Hollingway and his wife in it. After a few hand signals I knew what to do and they let me lock them through which I did whilst chatting to them; what an interesting couple. As they left I knew I had experienced a rarity, that of 'real boaters'

The argument of 'real boaters' and 'maintaining tradition' is an argument often heard along the cut. Boaters get upset with each other about what is and isn't 'real' and there seems to be some sort of class system where everyone thinks they belong more than the next person. My interaction with the Hollingways demonstrated to me that the lot of us haven't got a clue. The real boaters are those who probably don't know about these ridiculous classifications, they are ones who move through the locks like birds through the air, and are at one with the waters, in a way only the fish know. Saying that I am a real boater in the sense people talk of it would be like someone in a council house buying a complete Georgian silver service, hosting a dinner party and declaring themselves aristocracy. we are all boaters who appreciate the canals, who have a way of life that is nothing short of beautiful, but lets not pretend we are something we are not, let us all embrace some reality of who we are. The canals are entering a new age (and have been for decades), and we are part of it. We should uphold it and not get submerged in looking down our noses. The history is part of who we are, but we aren't the history we are tomorrows history.

rant over.