Missy Sixteen, Dick Van Dyke Ninety-Nine

I met Missy by the Old River Lea. She was filthy, her tummy was black with mud. I commented to her master about it and we got chatting. He asked me to guess how old she is and I said eight. He told me that she's twice that! She came to live with him on his narrowboat when his mother died. He then went on to tell me how she dances along happily.

It suddenly occurred to me that she's Dick Van Dyke's double. I read an article about his fitness regime in the paper recently. He goes to the gym three times a week and dances between the machines when he's there. He's ninety-nine. MrQ and my daughter love him. Her favourite film, in which he stars, is Mary Poppins. They also love the video of him singing and dancing with Chris Martin of Coldplay. With his white hair and beard and white seersucker suit, he and the venerable Missy look like twins.