Good Luck to the Cutty Sark
I was going to post about my trip to Leed’s Castle yesterday, but then there’s newz we can usez today. This morning, probably shortly before I passed through Greenwich on my way to work (well, North Greenwich at least), a piece of British history went up in flames. The Cutty Sark, while sitting around being restored, caught on fire. It is one of the only remaining boats intact from the era before steam-engines took over the waters and this particular boat was one of the fastest ships from that era. This article from the BBC goes into good detail and has some pictures and diagrams of what happened. They’re investigating arson at the moment. Hopefully, the parts that caught on fire will be salvageable. The photos I’ve seen show a horrible fire.
Anyway, part of the reason I’m writing about it is that Morningstar recently bought the Funds division of Standard and Poor’s and, my first assignment in London is to get those newly bought people and technology out of their existing office. This is a multi-month affair which means i’m essentially doing a double-commute between offices. The plus side is that the S&P office is in one of those snazzy buildings in Canary Wharf (they took part of the run-down London docklands and created another financial center in London out of nothing). I don’t particularly like it down there (it’s like living in glass or underground), but the views are nice. So, while the Cutty Sark burned 2 miles from my office, here would be a typical view:
Greenwich would be to the right. It looks pretty. But it’s doubtful I’ll ever get to see the Cutty Sark while living in London.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:01 am
Good website to learn all about the Cutty Sark – prior to the fire. They also have a “Support Us” section, which takes on greater urgency now.
http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/
It’s sad when we lose things so grand!
Matt, I envy your commute and all of the new things you’re seeing and experiencing every day. Lucky you!!
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:29 am
FYI – if you want to donate to the restoration of the Cutty Sark, forget going to the site for US donations…just follow the main link and proceed from there (the US group has a minimum and an administration fee). It will still go through if you’re in the US.
May 26th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Such helpful info mother! Thanks! 🙂
I didn’t even realize it was under restoration until I heard about the fire. I do hope they can salvage what didn’t get badly burned.