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YOUR LETTERS
Your Letters...
Tony McGinnity (Shipbroker)
Newport, Isle of Wight
Dear Editor - I enjoyed the article entitled
"End of the Line for the Ryde Queen" by
June Elford in the February/March issue of
Island Life. However, the article was factually
incorrect in one respect.
The vessel was not taken out of service in
1968 and operated throughout the summer of
that year. The vessel was taken up on charter
at the end of the season by Gilbys Gin for
promotional purposes and operated for a
week on the Thames. 1 arranged the charter
to Gilbys and during the negotiations, there
were many moments of humour, particularly
when it came down to the amount of coal
which Gilbys would have to pay for during
the course of the charter. After much head
scratching, a figure was inserted in the charter
party document which then proved to be
remarkably accurate. It must be remembered
that normally the vessel, over many years, had
only been employed on short voyages between
the mainland and Ryde.
During the course of the charter, the vessel's
crew worked very hard to make it a success and
the old ship really came into its own. Apart
from being visited from many wellknown people
including several members of parliament,
a number of functions were held on board
including the Thames Lifeboat Ball.
There was also a reunion on board of no
less than 33 of the originally wartime crew
during the
time she was used as a
minesweeper
and
later on as
a flak-ship,
at the
Normany
landings.
Vanessa Churchman
Luccombe Village, Isle of Wight
Dear Editor:
Short socks, long socks: short pants, long
pants, even ¾ length pants: short, tall, fat
and thin; young and old – all Walking the
Wight. I have done this with my son for 10
years. He walks all 26 miles and I walk 14
½ from Carisbrooke to Alum Bay. This year
was by far the best because the weather was
superb and for the first time we had a tail
wind and when you are walking up Tennyson
Down on the last stretch what a difference it
makes to have the breeze in your back instead
of your face.
The real difference of course from my first
Walk is the amount of people. 9,000 people
this year as opposed to a mere 2,000 in 1998.
The removal of obstructions such as stiles
and closed gates which was introduced last
year has made a tremendous difference and
stopped most of the bottlenecks. Another
great improvement was being able