I'd been trying to get some time to make recordings on the SS Shieldhall and finally a window opened up when I was available and she was available and it coincided with the arrival of the QE2 for the last time at Southampton. I could only make the morning sailing, rather than the more boisterous evening send-off, but it was better than nothing, so I took that last train out of London to Southampton and then, on the advice of a friendly cab-driver, spent a couple of hours in the Red Funnel terminal until the main dock gates were open and then walked down to the Shieldhall's berth. For those of you who don't know her, she's a beautifully preserved cargo and passenger steamship, crewed and looked after by a team of volunteers: well worth a visit if you're down that way next year in the summer. You can read about her here:
http://www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk/Anyway, on board at 4 am, with coffee and a bacon sandwich, I wandered around with my little recorders (saving the big kit for the QE2's arrival) making recordings of assorted machinery and waiting for the off so that we could sail out to greet the QE2 as she made her way into Southampton. Then the wind got up: you probably read about the QE2 getting stuck on a sandbank, but it also meant that the Shieldhall couldn't get away from her berth safely.
The decision was made to wait for the QE2 to come into her berth, as she would be turned right by where we were moored, and then to enjoy a gentle cruise down the river and back. In the event, the QE2 made a quiet and dignified entry, although she responded to the Shieldhall's welcome with a nice clean set of siren blasts which will grace the effects library. That was the moment that I discovered that although I'd packed all the necessary recording kit, I'd forgotten the spare battery for the camera and the one in use was almost flat. With a last gasp from the camera, I managed to get off a couple of shots of the liner as she arrived and turned.
Then we had a very pleasant cruise for an hour and a half, getting back to berth just as a Tiger Moth did a poppy drop at 11 am. I'm afraid our two minutes silence was rather noisy as the Shieldhall manoeuvred into position with the aid of a lot of juggling and telegraph bell ringing.
Not quite as dramatic a day as I'd hoped for, but probably better, actually, as I managed to get some very nice recordings of steam engines at work and of course, the sound of the QE2's rather dramatic siren. Also rather a rather chilly day, made bearable by the Grace Spitfire range of clothing, in particular the baseball cap, which is clamped in place on my lumpy old bonce by my trusty headphones.
Already looking forward to next year's shows and making some new recordings. I'm rather hoping to spend some time in the USA, including the Oshkosh AirVenture show, but we'll have to see how the year pans out. Not a great time to be freelance just now...
Best wishes to all,
John
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