An uncomfortable milestone passed by this evening. The QE II has just gone into retirement after a distinguished service mainly on the Atlantic route. Well, ships are pensioned off every day, so what's the big deal?
A lot, as it happens. To start with, I was at the launch of the QE II on Clydebank over 41 years ago!! I had some Naval Architecture friends and they pulled strings to get invitations to the launch. They received one more than they needed and I was the lucky recipient. So, it was off to Scotland for the day and my vantage point was spectacular. I stood next to the drag chains attached to the hull about mid-ships and under the towering vessel.
I can remember the launch in great detail ... wouldn't you? It was also accompanied by a considerable degree of official falsification!!! The Queen said "I name this ship the QE II" and there was a large groan from the crowd because "Winston Churchill" was the pre-race favourite. The groan was edited out of the TV replay. Then ... nothing happened. As if in protest, the ship refused to go down the slipway for 10 minutes whilst workers near me desperately tried to free her. Then, slowly she acclerated down the slipway until the drag chains halted her progress towards the opposite bank of the river Clyde. Strangely, the news clippage showed the bottle of champagne hitting the bow followed immediately by the ship sailing!!!
Anyway, I followed the QE II's career with some interest and I'm mollified by her new career in the Gulf as a floating (?) hotel. The downside of all this is that it reminds me of my age. Ugh! Forty-two years is a long time.
AS
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