Blue Star Quilt and other things

The quilt made by Susan as a raffle prize to raise funds for the CF Trust is currently receiving much attention and praise whilst it is on display at Angie's in Cheadle. You can see it also at: http://www.angiequilts.blogspot.co.uk/
The draw for the raffle will be made on 19 December, so if you need to buy some more tickets you'd better get your skates on! Good luck!

We had another meeting of SCCC this week. Chris and Viv Shelley and their friend Mike gave a great talk about sailing the Beneteau Oceanis, Big Blue, around the Western Isles of Scotland, and I realised immediately that Roger and I had sailed Blue Star right past their front door earlier this year, off Bute! Tom Cunliffe also starred in their presentation! They came across Tom whilst in Lochaline and went aboard his boat Constance and discussed Antares charts. The presentation included a photo of them all aboard Constance!

Jokes:
Quilting is where you take a number of pieces of lovely fabric and then cut them into pieces, and then sew them back together again. Susan makes a marvellous job of it.

Tom Cunliffe at the Gatehouse

We had a great evening last night when Tom Cunliffe gave a presentation to Stafford Coastal Crusing Club at the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford. This must have been Tom at his best, as we heard about the sailing pilot cutters and their crew of long ago, how they sailed their boats, how they lived and how they earned their crust! We also heard about some of Tom's tales in his life of sailing. After the talk many guests bought one of Tom's books, had it signed by the man himself, and had their photograph taken with Tom! Later, Tom and his wife Ros came to stay with Diane and I before driving home this morning to the New Forest.

Joke:
From a sailing cruise ship, everyone onboard spots a long bearded old man a way away who is yelling and wildly waving his curved arms like a crazy fool. “Who is that there?” one of the passengers asks the captain. The cruise ship captain replied, “Sorry, I never figured that out. For the past 10 years when we pass that tiny island, he seems to show off more and more.”

Tom in discussion with a member of SCCC

Tom and Ros before leaving this morning

Stafford Coastal Crusing Club

SCCC are hosting a visit of Yachting Monthly columnist and TV presenter Tom Cunliffe next week on the evening of 10 November. Tom's YM column to be hugely entertaining, witty and informative, so I'm expecting his presentation to SCCC to be equally enjoyable. His talk, 'what ship, where bound?', is partly a look back at the history of sailing craft and partly a recollection by Tom of his own sailing adventures. The event is being hosted at Stafford's Gatehouse Theatre which will comfortably accommodate more guests than SCCC's usual venue at Stafford Boat Club. Tickets for the event are available to the general public from the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford at £10 each, so do buy one! You won't be disappointed!

(....and if you would like to know more about SCCC just visit our website at www.staffordcoastalcruisingclub.org)

Joke:
Why did the motor boat sink when it was moored against the pontoon?
It gave in to pier pressure!