News
Progress of events
Telling the Story
14th October 2009
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The time has come to tell the story so over the next 12 weeks, this site will aim to tell the story of The Funship in serialized form. Once serialized, the complete book will be made available. (please click on the options)
1. John and Pat's Background
2. Early Trading Laws and the idea for the ship
3. Finding the ship and preparing it in Barrow
4. The Epic Journey to Mostyn
5. Early Trading and Popularity
6. The Legal Battles with local Government
7. Continental Adventures building a business
8. The birth of Solitaire
9. The Failed Re-launch
10. The Titanic Struggle against Flintshire Council
11. The Current position
12. The Future of the Ship
Yet throughout all this, one thing remained static, the hard work and determination to succeed against all the odds.
- We are ready to tell the Story
11th September - The idea behind the Funship
17th August 2009
Over the past six months we have worked alongside
the owners of the ship, John Rowley and Patricia
Scott to bring to public attention The Story of The
Funship
Even we couldn't of imagined a story quite like it,
the old majestic hull that currently seems forgotten
about on the banks of the River Dee hides a story
that everyone deserves the chance to hear.
Is Truth really stranger than fiction?
Over the next fourteen weeks we will detail the
various stages of the ships history. From the
original idea through to the ship as she currently
stands.
The story takes us from Birmingham to Barrow,
Glastonbury to Turkey, County Court to High Court,
booming business to rusting wreck.
Yet throughout all this, one thing remained static,
the hard work and determination to succeed against
all the odds.
Finding a dock and a ship
Grants, planning permission and promises
Bringing the ship in and preparation for opening
Constant council enforcement notices against the project
Closure of The Funship in 1985 and the birth of Solitaire
Building a European clothing empire
The Funship re-opened to the public in 1993
What happened then?
- Sheer Brilliance
23rd July 2009
I saw The Duke of Lancaster for the first time in the autumn of 2007 although I have known about her all my life. My uncle Captain John Irwin was the ships first master from her launch in 1956.
Like the many hundreds of
other people who every year walk down to the tiny
dock at Llanerch-y-Mor
to gaze at this once proud but now very rusty old
lady, a far cry from the early years when she was one of the finest
vessel afloat with first class accommodation and silver service
restaurants,
I wondered how and why she came to be here. Why put a
large ship in a tiny dock, in a relatively remote area.
To
- Flintshire County Council
9th June 2009Local Government is plagued with substantiated allegations of abuse, cover-ups, frauds and backhanders up and down the country. Central government has also been accused of similar wrongs, cash for questions, illegal party donations and MP’s expenses scandals.
Flintshire County Council has been highlighted recently for a number of mal-practices from their handling of a child abuse scandal to the recent Andy Sutton Whistle-Blower case. Some of these have been place on our links page.
There is much damning evidence available in the public domain that has raised serious questions over the running of Flintshire County Council.It is on this backdrop that The Funship Story is set and many of the people involved in recent FCC scandals were also directly involved The Funship Story.
- The Duke of Lancaster
3rd June 2009Work on the story is proceeding with the owners providing a detailed account of The Funship on a daily basis.Many of the stories are extremely funny, some heart-wrenching but what comes off every page is the owners enthusiasm, hard work and dedication Work is also happening on making pictures available for the website. The story is incredible, from the pure grit and determination of John and his partners to make the venture happen, equally parried by blocks and obstructions thrown in their way.
It is a remarkable story which will shock many people when the truth is finally revealed
- The First Day
22nd May 2009To quote John directly,
"On The Dukes final journey from Barrow-in-Furness to Llanerch-y-mor the insurance company got cold feet and cancelled out insurance while the ship was within eye shot riding out a storm in The Dee Estuary/Liverpool Bay. The insurance company said we had to return to Barrow. If we have had we would have missed the high tides and the ship probably could not have been berthed until spring in the following year. In those days it cost £1,200 per week to berth in Barrow"
- The Duke - An Update
19th May 2009The authors of this site have, over the past two months, been in regular contact with the owners of the ship. They believe that after many years of silence on their part, the story of The Duke of Lancaster and The Funship Years should finally be told from their perspective.
The owners have already provided us with a great deal of information over the history of the ship, the trials and tribulations of the final journey into North Wales and also an insight into both the financial and emotional expense the ship has cost them and their families.
The authors have information, previously unpublished which sheds a whole new light on the story and in many respects has much further reaching connotations than you could possibly imagine.
At last the story of the ship will be published from the people who know the story best, John Rowley and Patricia Scott
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Time to set the record straight
14th May 2009
After many, many years of silence the owners of the ship have agreed to work with this web site to set the record straight over the history of the ship and the issues encountered along the way.