Clevedon Pier

The nice people at the Pier dropped this site an e-mail to say:

"This weekend we will have the sailing ship 'Matthew' visiting us. She hopes to dock at the end of the pier Saturday around 12noon and again on Sunday.

Come and get the best view in town of the Fireworks on Marine Lake Saturday evening. Half price for Adults. Just 50p per person. All proceeds to the pier maintanence fund.

Can we make the Guiness Book of Records?
Come to our tombola Sunday 17th September 2pm-5pm.
Some wonderful prizes to be won. "

So why not pop along and give them your support?
If you are wondering what the Matthew is by the way, it’s a replica of John Cabot’s sailing ship. As Wikipedia puts it:

“The Matthew was a ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America, presumably Newfoundland. After a voyage which had got no further than Iceland, Cabot left again with only one vessel, the Matthew, a small ship (50 tons), but fast and able. The crew consisted of only 18 people. The Matthew departed either 2 May or 20 May 1497. She sailed to Dursey Head, Ireland, from where she sailed due west, expecting to reach Asia. However, landfall was reached in North America on 24 June 1497. His precise landing-place is a matter of much controversy, with Bonavista or St. John's in Newfoundland the most likely sites.
Cabot went ashore to take possession of the land, and explored the coast for some time, probably departing on 20 July. On the homeward voyage his sailors thought they were going too far north, so Cabot sailed a more southerly course, reaching Brittany instead of England. On 6 August he arrived back in Bristol.”

Clevedon, NZ

Following on from the post re Clevedon, New Zealand (named by a resident of our town settling in New Zealand - and, apparently, much to the annoyance of the locals who were mostly of Scottish descent), I have been getting some e-mails expressing interest in the story. I’ve got to admit it is also of personal interest, so I e-mailed the Clevedon, NZ information centre who were kind enough to e-mail back to say that they would confer with an “elder” and get back to use with any useful info. So when anything comes in, I’ll post it.
It’ll be interesting to see if the chap who named Clevedon, NZ still has relatives in our Clevedon….

Clevedon Seafront Festival

Don't forget (I'm sure you haven't - there are signs all over town!) that this weekend is the Clevedon Seafront Festival (see the events calendar for details).
The bbc website says the weather is going to be fine, so I'll be down there - hope you will be too!