Autumn Visitors

As the autumn fast approaches, what with the extraordinary lunar eclipse, the earlier evenings have been ablaze with illuminations, the O2 canopy bearing images of the English Rose logo which must have kept airline passengers on their toes as they came over to support their national rugby teams.

The Dome is certainly a major landmark by air and sea.

The Clyde-based paddle steamer Waverley visited our shoreline after busy cruises around the UK, finishing the season with outings on the Thames and East Coast as a finale.

The ‘Hebridean Princess’, which also operates in the Northern Isles sometimes with HM Queen and family on board, made a courtesy visit to the Thames too; and from the Far East a Chinese-flagged ocean going yacht came by too!!

Press releases from the Visit Greenwich Tourism Company forecast 55 cruise ships a year visiting the forthcoming new cruise ship terminal at Enderby Wharf. 500 new jobs, a skills academy, restaurant, cafes and bars – however a grim forecast for traffic through East Greenwich, never mind the arrival of a giant IKEA store…. Oh, I forgot the new hotel (450 bedrooms and a massive conference centre) linked to the ever-popular O2.

The impact of 30,000 new residents on the Peninsula will create a real Trafalgar Road Battle twice a day as cruise ship coaches fight their way to and fro into town!! Along the already congested commuter snarl-ups and school runs too!! Oh dear me!