Photos from the Doors Open Day

Below we have some photos from the Doors Open Day and a short 10 minutes film which was shown at the exhibition.

Piper Lyle Templeton welcoming the arrivals.

To find out information about Piper Lyle Templeton you can visit his website:

www.westcoastpiper.co.uk

P.S. Comet short film

New Team of Men

Niall Ptomoley, our Heritage Assistant and Comet Rebuilt blogger for the last six months has now taken up his place as a student at University studying history. (All the best to Niall from all at 7 and a half John Wood Street and our Comet Rebuilt bloggers).

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Scott Grant, and I will be taking over from where Niall has left off.

Also, in August 2010, the Comet team downed tools as their future jobs placement, which lasted six months came to an end, however two men from the team have been employed by Inverclyde Community Development Trust to continue working on the Comet and to join a new team.

They kindly posed for these photographs so all of you bloggers can meet the new team.

The new team (missing from picture- Darren Connaghan).

Darren Connaghan

Ian Cochrane

James Campbell

Jamie Phillips

John Gallacher

Richard McCartney

Stuart McIntyre

William Kelly

200 Visitors on Doors Open Day

Over 200 people turned out to visit The Comet at Fergusons this weekend...absolutely brilliant.

We've some footage and photos from the day which we'll post soon...including some video of Lyle Templeton...our piper who welcomed everyone over the doors during the morning session.

You can hear a new radio interview about the project at 6.15 this evening on Bute FM (96.5fm) or online at www.butefm.com.

Loads of folk had questions for us about when the boat was going to be completed and what was happening next, particularly around protecting The Comet from the elements when she returns. But we were really interested to hear a particular idea over and over again...keep The Comet out of sight in 2011, then bring her back with much more of a bang for the bicentennial in 2012.

Hmmmm.

Visit Comet Rebuilt!

On Saturday September 11, as part of Doors Open Day you can come along to Fergusons Shipbuilders Port Glasgow and visit the Comet Rebuilt Project. We'll be open from 10-4.

We've had loads of requests for site visits since the start of the project and so we're delighted that folk will be able to come along and see what's been going on.

There will be the opportunity to chat to some of the staff involved, have a look at the restortation undertaken so far and also to see a small exhibition on the history of The Comet. As a special treat, we'll be premiering 10 minutes of the Comet Rebuilt documentary which has been getting produced since the project began in January.

We hope to see you along on the day.

We're just one of many interesting venues that can be visited on the weekend of September 11/12...for details of many more go to Doors Open Days

Photographs July 2010...

BBC Scotland's L.A.B and Culture Café Broadcast...

Last month, BBC Scotland's L.A.B (Learn at BBC Scotland) visited 7 and a half John Wood Street and Ferguson's Shipyard in order to give the Comet Rebuilt team the BBC experience of creating an audio package for the L.A.B website. Most of the interviews were also used for a radio broadcast on the Comet Rebuilt Project as part of the BBC's Culture Café . The broadcast featured some of the workers talking about their memories of the Comet from when it sat in Port Glasgow's Civic Square, and also featured them discussing their current experience with the restoration. Kay Clark the heritage co-ordinator here at 7 and a half John Wood street was also interviewed; along with the Senior Productions manager from Ferguson's Shipyard - Raymond Brown. Hopefully what they had to say sheds some more light on the Comet Rebuilt Project and outlines what the project is trying to achieve. A recording of the Culture Café broadcast can be heard below.

However, it should be highlighted that most of what was used in the broadcast can also be found on the BBC L.A.B website (link also below) along with additional interviews conducted by the Comet Rebuilt team themselves. This collection of interviews has been put over a slideshow of photographs that were taken by myself while the interview process was underway at Ferguson's Shipyard. The video, or slideshow with audio rather, also features a couple of interviews with members of the public who were keen to express their opinions on the Comet restoration. These interviews took place in the busy Port Glasgow Town Centre - not far from the Comet space in the Civic Square where the Comet used to lie.

BBC L.A.B
(Culture Café recording coming soon.)

Buckie...

Recently, some of the staff from 7 and a half John Wood Street went on a trip to Buckie in the North East of Scotland to talk to some of the workers who were involved with building the Comet replica hull back in 1962.

It is a little known fact around Port Glasgow that the hull of the Comet replica was actually built in George Thompson's shipyard in Buckie and only transported down to Lithgow's yard in Port Glasgow once it was finished.

We allowed some of the workers involved with the building of the Comet replica hull to tell their story on camera in order to see how they got involved with not only the Comet replica, but also the shipbuilding industry as a whole.

The interview mainly focuses on the men from Buckie reminiscing about their experiences with the Comet replica and discussing their methods and techniques with Colin, who is in charge of the current operation.

However, they also went on to discuss the decline of the shipbuilding industry in Buckie - a discussion we were able to conclude the interview with by drawing parallels and similarities with the situation concerning shipbuilding in Inverclyde; driving home the unfortuneate truth that shipbuilding is indeed a dying trade and a tradition lost.

A 2 part 20 minute edit of the interview can be viewed below.