Report to the People
24th September 2007
Life Begins at 40
It’s
wonderful when an iconic figure from the past returns, still holding all the
grace, majesty and power which you remember.
But
enough about Charlie Adam and his Champions’ League wonder-goal, the QE2 also
cut an impressive figure when she returned to the Clyde last Thursday.
Anyone
who went down to the waterfront to see this famous piece of Clyde-built
engineering would agree that she’s looking good for 40.
The
QE2 was born out of and symbolises change.
As you are reminded by her modernist styling, some remnants of which
remain, she was designed as Cunard’s response to the birth of the jet-age and
the impending demise of the transatlantic liner.
And she was built by an industry entering the decline which would leave
communities like ours changed forever.
During
the celebrations, the conversation inevitably turned to our own early memories
of the ship’s construction and finishing.
I
remember when she arrived here from Clydebank in 1968.
I was a young apprentice at the time and won tickets for a tour on board.
Having the typical 18-year-old’s sense of occasion, I wasn’t
interested and instead gave them to my parents, who, to be fair, appreciated it
far better than I ever would.
For
so many different reasons, the QE2 is more to us than just another very well
built Clydeside ship. She reminds
us of our proud history and of just how much has changed in the four decades and
5.6 million nautical miles since her launch.
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