Wednesday 3rd July 2019
Today we are at sea, sailing north this time, towards our next port of call in Guernsey tomorrow. I had a chance to get a better deck plan picture of the ship.
I visited the big Library on board and was happy to find the wonderful book "Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising".
This was compiled by John Graves, a curator at the National Maritime Museum (https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum) in Greenwich, and published in 2005. When the book was in preparation I was invited to visit John and discuss my Union-Castle connections and memories of my wonderful job as a Purserette at sea. Many of these were quoted in his book and I was happy to be on his list of Contributors. It has so many wonderful photographs and is still available to order (and enjoy) from your favourite book supplier.
There are coloured and black and white photographs, some in a double-page spread, some on one page, and all with notes. It covers the years 1925 - 1970. Acquired from the Marine Photography Service (MPS) in 1996, The Waterline Collection is one of the Museum’s finest and most extensive collections of historic photographs. MPS was set up in the 1920s by Gilbert Morgan Morris, a self-employed photographer based in Colchester. Its many photographers captured scenes for a variety of shipping companies until the service closed in the 1990s.
A few years after the book was published, during the winter of 2010/2011, the National Maritime Museum put on an Exhibition of some of the Waterline photographs, and John invited me to write nine pieces about various pictures on display, and these were subsequently put on their website as blog pieces. You can see these by going to the NMM website (https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum) and in the Search box type in "Waterline Exhibition 1925 - 1970". This will bring up the page with various articles about the pictures.
There are eight of the pieces on the first page, and one on the second, with the relevant pictures. I'm sure that many of us have personal memories about the National Maritime Museum in London's Greenwich, and I felt very pleased to be asked to participate in a small way with the Waterline book and Exhibition.
Today at sea on the good ship ORIANA however, this is to be a relaxing day for our group, with many talks or other activities on board to enjoy, culminating tonight with a Black Tie dress code and dinner, when I note that medals may be worn. There was also to be a Chefs' Parade through the Restaurant, which is always enjoyable.
To be continued...