IN RESPONSE to Julian Powell’s letter I would say I hope the long running banter between us about the Newport Ship is “good humoured”. Believe it or not I often ponder your comments. I must admit that reading your letters I have the impression you have a concern for the city’s cultural involvement and heritage, so I find it bewildering that you are opposed to support for the Newport Ship.
Your last letter referred to the ship’s “dubious provenance”. We now know she was built in the Basque Region in 1450. That is the same year that Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama were born. Our ship would have been afloat when they first went to sea and would have traded along routes that they would have known. It would have been on vessels like the Newport Ship that these explorers would have learnt their trade.
So in Newport we have found the only ship in the world that is a contemporary of Columbus so I ask what would you do with it?
Our next open day is on April 26 at Unit 22 on the Maesglas Industrial Estate. I’d like your opinion of the project.
Charles Ferris Fields Park Avenue Newport
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