The old Ryde Queen, or PS Ryde as she deserves to be known, rusting away at Binfield.
THIS ISLAND LIFEI'M not what you might call an aficionado of all things mechanical. Indeed, my ignorance is legendary among friends, the vast majority of whom are on intimate terms with everything from a crankshaft to a cam sprocket.
You can imagine, therefore, the strength of their derision when I was once forced to ring my father for help, having been unable to locate the spare wheel on a Morris 1100 which had sustained a puncture in Wootton.
This embarrassment occurred well over 40 years ago but still has a disconcerting habit of cropping up in conversation.
The fact is when I found out big ends, two strokes and connecting rods were not half as interesting as they sounded, my interest soon began to wane.
All the more peculiar, then, I should have harboured a life-long fondness for steam-driven apparatus of all kinds.
There is something about the smell, sound and sight of steam engines which satisfies a strange need in many of us, because their appeal is certainly widespread.
Everyone concerned with the IW Steam Railway at Havenstreet (especially Jim Loe, who has been there since Stephenson invented The Rocket) is to be congratulated on the work they have done to salvage a piece of Island history and turn it into one of our most popular attractions.
Unfortunately, other components of our birthright are not quite as fortunate, as I discovered during a stroll along the River Medina.
It was one of those fascinating walks hosted by Adrian Searle, who has come a long way since succeeding me as editor of the old IW Weekly Post almost 30 years ago.
He is now one of the foremost authorities on various aspects of Island history, including the part it played in the last war and the unforgivable way in which so much of its heritage has been squandered.
On this particular walk, Adrian (with 50 of us in tow) reached Island Harbour where he stopped and spoke with commendable contempt of the two great blots on the Island landscape. On the west of the Medina there is the new Vestas factory, as bland and ugly a blob of unapologetic functionality as you will ever see, which becomes more offensive on the eye the closer you get to it.
Why that design never got booted out at the planning stage, with the scornful laughter of our council 'experts’ ringing in the ears of those responsible for it, is a mystery to anyone with a semblance of aesthetic appreciation.
On the east bank is the forlorn hulk of a grand old vessel which eventually became known as the Ryde Queen but which, in her final years as she rusts away to nothing, deserves to be referred to by her original name — the PS Ryde.
This was how this old paddle steamer was known when she served her country so conspicuously during the last war — on D-Day, as a mine-sweeper and as an anti-aircraft ship in the Thames estuary.
She returned to her cross-Solent role after the war, before her conversion to a nightclub in the late 60s.
She then bec-ame the victim of a fire and commercial failure, before being left to rot at Binfield for the past 20 years.
Attempts have been made to rescue her but the decline in her condition has been remorseless to the point where she is now considered beyond redemption.
Adrian, always an affable cove, found it difficult to suppress his anger while expressing disgust and despair at the fate of the Ryde.
If he used the word 'shameful’ once he must have used it eight times as he gazed despondently at the disintegrating shell of a craft which deserved so much better.
Be grumpy and help St Mary’s baby unit
THE Grumpy badge is back — and before anyone starts moaning, it’s bigger than the old one.
Island author Brian Greening has had 500 made. They are £2 each and can be obtained from the County Press shop or by ringing Brian on 528438.
All proceeds will be going towards the £1,500 needed to acquire a special twin cot for the baby unit at St Mary’s Hospital.
Brian and his pal, Bill Shepard, have produced a book about the history of the old workhouse at St Mary’s, profits from which will also go towards the fund-raising effort.
The two men will be giving a talk about this notorious institution on Wednesday, November 16, entitled 'Sex, crime and extreme cruelty’.
It will be held at Newclose and is part of the winter season of fish and chip supper talks at the ground.
Tickets are £10 and can be booked via Ken and Jackie Hamblin on 524267or by e-mailing kenneth.hamblin1@btinternet.com