Waverley Cruise (4-10-09) ‘What is the OGA coming to? First we had a coach tour as part of the August Classics, then a pleasure cruise in October. But this was no ordinary cruise, or cruiser; on a beautiful autumn day, thirty gaffers and friends embarked at Harwich on the Waverley, the oldest sea-going paddle steamer in the world, for a memorable cruise to London’s tower pier. After a diversion to Roughs tower and an unscheduled visit by a RAF rescue helicopter, the Waverley called at Clacton pier and then turned into the Thames where many familiar sights were seen from a new perspective; the QE II bridge, Thames barrier, Millennium Dome, Greenwich and, as a final coupe de theatre, an illuminated Tower Bridge opened for their passage. The event was faultlessly organised by Lorna Hill, and she promises to do it again next year.’ Bernard Patrick