At Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire for the swansong of of the GQRP Club...think Amateur Radio using minimum power. After setting up all required for tomorrow's convention, Richard, Ted and I went for a walk along the bridle path towards the Guillotine Lock. I believe there are only 2 or 3 still in service.
When I saw this man, with a large mug of tea, I asked if I could take his photograph. He was most accommodating, totally unruffled and smiling benignly as I moved around him, asking him to look this way or that.
Whilst R & T waited, John asked what we were doing in this neck of the woods. Having explained that we here for the GQRP Club Convention...he said so was he! I called R & T so that they could share their mutual interest.
It transpired that John is something of a canal expert and we asked him about the Guillltine Lock and had he seen it working. We-ll, Yes! John the put his hand in his pocket, producing a bunch of keys of which any medieval gaoler would have been proud. With zero hesitation, he chose a key and inserted it into the control post for the lock. The blade lifted, water flowed through the sluice. We watched, spellbound. In due course, John lowered the blade and the sluice stopped.
Fascinating...and all this came out of asking to take John's photo!
