I believe I do have a timeline of events that you might find informative.
Vanessa and Queenie are aboard the narrowboat in which they are serving during the war. They are stuck behind a horse drawn barge because the horse will not move.
The horse driver is indignant that there is nothing he can do to move the horse if it doesn’t want to move, but Vanessa is able to get it moving by first blindfolding it.
Vanessa and Queenie prepare to sleep aboard their narrowboat, which they are crewing as part of the war effort.
They debate whether or not to wash beforehand, knowing that they haven’t washed for some time. Vanessa claims that it has got to the stage that she can pick out Queenie’s “note” from the other end of the boat.
Queenie asks what sort of note she means, but Vanessa points out that no possible answer to the question would not cause offence. Queenie suggests that “violets” would be an acceptable answer and Vanessa scoffs at her friend’s optimism.
They resolve to wash.
Jerry visits his mother, Vanessa, in hospital. She is wrapped in bandages. She informs Jerry that she sustained her injuries when she was hit by a bridge.
Vanessa tells Jerry that, once she is discharged from hospital, she will be returning home from her service on the narrowboat.
Jerry is partly disappointed by this news. This means he will stop living with Uncle Newt, who has been teaching him to write poetry.
Deborah tells her parents, Jerry and Hilla, that she got engaged during a trip away. Her father is delighted at the news, but her mother is more sceptical.
Deborah explains that she met her fiancé on a ferry crossing to France. He was working onboard and looked after her during a storm.
Jerry is amused to discover that the man comes from Dover and is named Cliff.
Deborah is filling out a passport application for her husband, Cliff, in preparation for a holiday.
Cliff has never been abroad. Even though he works on a ferry and goes to France four times a day, he has never disembarked from the boat.
The two bicker about Cliff’s unhelpful answers and about what counts as a ‘distinguishing mark’.
While working as a travel agent, Deborah uses her talent for understanding people to suggest that a couple book a holiday in Jersey. The destination perfectly matches their opposing needs, such as liking France but not French food.
She tells them that one option for travelling there would be to go by ferry. She describes it as a “proper ferry … not a silly one like the Isle of Wight”.