venta

Not the school, just the teacher. A poor Lancashire woman who clearly did not feel quite at home, or had perhaps been accused of being canny by the locals in their welcoming way (see uitlander for character references regarding the friendliness of Geordies).

You're probably right that the definition was a bit harsh; ironically an example of a character that is consistent with both Northern definitions of canny is Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses (though not - originally at any rate - the Devon one).