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Royal Double for Maid
YOUNGEST SUPPORTER TO PRESENT BOUQUET
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, will perform two separate sets of duties when she visits the Loch Lomond Steamship Company at Balloch, Loch Lomond, on Tuesday 14th November.
Firstly, she will commemorate the refurbishment of the Balloch Steam Slipway Complex, and then she will go on board the Maid of the Loch, Loch Lomond’s Paddle Steamer, and meet its loyal band of volunteers.
“We are both honoured and delighted that Her Royal Highness has agreed to pay us not one, but two visits”, said Colin Paterson CBE, Chairman of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company. “Honoured that she will commemorate the £620,000 refurbishment of the winchhouse and slipway, and delighted that she will then visit the Maid of the Loch and meet our dedicated volunteers”, he added.
Her Royal Highness will unveil a special plaque in the 1902 Grade A listed building. The engine has been restored to steam operation for slipping the Maid, and the facility will now be open to the public for the very first time, on Saturday 18th November. A visitor interpretation centre has been incorporated which has information panels to describe the machinery, and a DVD showing time-lapse sequences of the slipping of the Maid in June this year has been specially commissioned. The Princess Royal will then go on board the Maid to meet with many of the charity’s volunteers who give of their time every weekend to continue the restoration and preservation of the ship.
One of the Maid’s youngest supporters, Christopher Donnelly, from Dumbarton, has been chosen to present Her Royal Highness with a bouquet as she comes on board. Christopher was 7 years old yesterday, and attends Aitkenbar Primary School. His papa, Frank Banks, is a regular volunteer on the Maid helping with engineering works.
John Beveridge, a Director of LLSC said “The Princess Royal has actually sailed on the Maid – accompanying The Queen in 1971 – so we are really enthusiastic at the prospect of her visit”. He added, “When we achieve our aim of getting the Maid sailing again, Her Royal Highness may be persuaded to come back for a sail – and we hope that she will not have to wait another 35 years!”
The new slipway is a major step forward for LLSC as it means that the Maid can now be surveyed and overhauled, which is key to the charity’s aim of restoring her to steam operation once more. It is also a significant investment in the area, turning a derelict site into a new visitor attraction.
_________________________________________________________Ends 30.10.06