QE2: Her Memory Will Live On

Well, I have plenty of Caitlin news this week after taking her to her first ever wedding on Saturday! It was an interesting occasion. She was brilliantly behaved in front of everyone but after a whole day of good manners, over excitement, confetti and more chocolate than I can bear to think of, she threw the first Serious Tantrum that I've ever seen when we got some. Pure toddler RAGE. It was rather alarming! But also quite funny although I tried not to laugh as it increased the fury.

Anyway, no harm done and after a long night's sleep, I got my smiley, sunny little girl back!

Caitie also kept me on my toes by cutting her chin open at nursery this week. I got a call at work to say, could I collect her as she was bleeding very badly and they were concerned she'd need stitches. You can imagine the panic of the Mum on hearing these words ... I drove to the nursery in a state of fear, imagining my precious baby girl bleeding to death in someone's arms. When I arrived, a very bouncy Caitlin greeted me by jumping excitedly up and down, exclaiming, "Mummy! I've hurt my chin!" in a delighted way.

But of course, the real news of this week is that Queen of the Seas, QE2, is making her final voyages right now.. Like everyone, I've found this incredibly moving and also, hard to take in.

It was mad enough when Concorde retired and in the same way, collectors are calling us all the time, desperate to talk of QE2 and what she's meant to them.

Jules, from our Customer Services team, had an especially lovely chat with one of our collectors Malcolm McKechnie who went to see QE2 on her last trip to the Clyde. Mr McKechnie took some breathtaking photos and also wrote a memory of the day and when Jules showed me, I really wanted to share it with you. I think he's done a brilliant job of putting into words what so many of us are feeling.

Farewell to QE2 by Malcolm McKechnie
Over 50,000 people visited Inverclyde on Sunday 05th October to bid farewell to the Queen of the Clyde, the QE2. She was built and launched on this strip of water 41 years ago and it was a very emotional day for all those who acknowledge the shipbuilding history that the Clyde was renowned for. The weather was kind to us and as she approached at 12 noon, she shone in the glorious sunshine as the beauty that she has always been. Watching her turn and back in to position at the berth, enabling her to sail away without turning was more poignant as in previous visits she has turned on her departure. As well as those on the Esplanade, all advantage points on the hills and high roads were filled with people trying to gain a view of her as she sailed home. She also had an escort from HMS Manchester as the Royal Navy were doing training exercises on the River Clyde that weekend.

As the sun started to set and darkness came in, the reality started to hit home that it was nearing the time to bid a final farewell and at 21-45, after thre blasts from the ships horn, a firework display began with glorious colours in the sky above the great lady. Then the moment when nobody was looking forward to, commenced. With more blasts from the horn, she started to move from the berth and sail down the Clyde for the last time.

Next year we will be getting a visit from the Queen Mary 2 and although she has the beauty of the Cunard line, she does not have the history of being built from these shores. The QE2 will always hold a place in my heart and to quote the local paper "HER MEMORY WILL LIVE ON".

Massive thanks to Mr McKechnie for letting me use that and I hope you found it as moving as I did.

Tracey, our Production Manager, is probably the least moved and most stressed about QE2's final voyages as she has the happy job of making sure all our covers are onboard, get postmarked on the right day at New York and then put back onboard to come home again. It's a hellish job producing covers, I'm SO glad I don't do it anymore! Tracey does a much better job than I did and always looks fabulous without a hair out of place (I had a tendency to burst into tears when it all got too much!).

We are working with Cunard once again to create 2 covers for QE2 and both are being carried on her final transatlantic voyages. All being well, we'll have them back in late November ready to get out to everyone by Christmas, but as Tracey will tell you, you just never know until the covers are safe home! We're working on certificates to go with each one and a few are being signed by the Captain on board. Click here to learn more.

BLOG OFFER THIS WEEK:

I'm going to start putting in a secret blog offer each time I write to reward you faithful readers . . .

This week, you can save £2 off one of our classic Cunard covers, creating to mark QE2's last Blue Ribband voyage before she was overtaken in prestige by their new flagship, QM2.

It is a fabulous cover, carried on board, double postmarked and stunning to look at. The signed editions are SOLD OUT and at the time of writing, we only have 13 (lucky for some?) of these unsigned versions left.

Click here to find out more and buy!