THE steam powered narrowboat President, that represented Staffordshire in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant is returning to Staffordshire for a home-coming party.
President, her journey and her crew will be celebrated by a welcoming committee at a special party at Radford Bridge in Stafford at 4pm on this Wednesday 20th June. The picture shows President in the distance during the flotilla.
To help start the celebration, Andrew Slater from local brewery, Slater's Ales will be presenting President's crew with a barrel of its finest ale, with Andrew extolling:
"I am delighted to be able to offer the crew a barrel of our ale, President was a dry ship during the pageant, and I'm guessing powering a coal-fired steam boat was thirsty work, so they deserve it!"
The narrowboat's round trip to London and back, and its taking part in the 1,000 boat Pageant was exclusively funded by sponsorship from major Staffordshire businesses including JCB, Michelin, Waterford Wedgwood and St. Modwen. Waterway Images' photograph shows President passing by the London Eye.
Staffordshire County Councillor, Pat Corfield, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities enthused:
"We're really looking forward to welcoming President and her crew back to the county, they've done us proud. It was an absolute thrill and an honour for Staffordshire to be able to play such a significant part in the national celebrations and such a historic event as the Pageant.
"This is another great opportunity for people to come along and see her in her splendid glory. People will also be able to meet members of the crew and listen to their stories of her historic journey."
David Powell, President's Captain on the Pageant, also thanked people in Staffordshire for their support in helping make this happen, giving some details of the epic journey:
"Over the weeks we have been away we will have been in steam for 55 days and involved 32 volunteers including four from Staffordshire organisations. As you will have seen the weather on the day could have been better, but despite this we all had a great day and it was a great honour to represent The Lord Lieutenant and Staffordshire.
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