The Osprey

12th April 2012

Here is a broadside picture of the Osprey, taken from the south side of the river.

The Norman church in the background is St Peter’s, AD 664; the Venerable Bede was brought up and educated here, and inspired by the industry and loquaciousness of Wearsiders, went on to write the Eccleisiastical History of the English People.  If St Bede were alive today, he’d be fighting with us to bring back the Adelaide to Sunderland.  He would want his home town to prosper.  When you are working, you can go to church and slip a note onto the collection plate; when you’re on the dole, you do not want to be further humiliated by the copper that falls from your filthy hand.  You stay in bed, and may or may not think of Christ.

You can also see part of the St Peter’s, Sunderland University complex.   This is the very site of William Pile’s shipyard.  Shipmate David Inglesby once gave a talk on the Adelaide here.  The lecture theatre was crammed with over 200 people.  I was lucky enough to get in.   There are many hundreds of people in Sunderland who will flock down to the river to climb on board Adelaide; I think St Peter’s church will see a big increase in numbers too.  The Clipper will be sustainable in Sunderland…