I had a short visit to Tattershall Castle yesterday and while enjoying a couple of (alrmingly priced!) pints of John Smiths extra cold, and watching the boats cruising past I was reminded of something I'd read a while back...
(from http://www.heritagesteamers.co.uk/psps-origins-new.htm) -
"At the end of the 1950s, several individuals were becoming alarmed at the number of well-loved paddle steamers that were being withdrawn around the UK. Professor Alan Robinson famously wrote a letter to the the Telegraph highlighting the fact and encouraging the formation of a preservation group to try and ensure that some of these vessels survived..."
I couldn't help noticing that something similar seems to be happening here too, not quite the same as losing all the paddlesteamers but I thought, similar in that they seem to be being replaced by a quite 'space-age' looking craft and that many of the boats I used to take sightseeing trips on are no longer there...