Lochiel

At the tender age of 13 weeks my parents took me to see my grandparents who lived on the Isle of Islay. This was their first chance to see me - and by all accounts it was a good visit. Things turned a tad more challenging on the return jourtney to the mainland on 8th October 1960. The vessel Lochiel hit the rocks and sank. For the past 12 years this front page of the Daily Record for 9th October has hung on out hallway My one and only front page story - celebrity status for me peaked early. Over the last few months that I have felt compelled to learn more (big thanks to Almax - http://almax.wordpress.com/2006/09/16/the-sinking-ship-8th-october-1960/#comment-1675 ) for posting some pictures I never knew existed on his superb blog.

My parents have spoken about the sinking but they didn't know that this picture existed. More to follow on the chequered career of this boat.



It ended its days as floating bar/nightclub in Bristol docks in the 1980s and was scrapped in 1994. I stumbled accross the Lochiel in 1986 and had a couple of drinks on board.




Imagine my amazement when I browsed through Banksy's recent grafitti artsit book Banksy Wall and Piece (www.banksy.co.uk) and got to some of his work in Bristol. You've got it - he hit the Lochiel. And with a brooding dark grim reaper rowing silently past the hull. I've just emailed Banksy to tell him that the boat almost came to a sticky end - to get a reply from the master of grafitti..... would be ......

More to follow on things Lochiel.