Boaty McBoatface

Seeing this quite smart narrowboat moored in Saltaire made me laugh out loud at its name: Boaty McBoatface. The story behind this is interesting, as I'm sure many of my readers, certainly those of us in the UK, will remember. It goes back to 2016, when a public poll was held to name the new £200m polar scientific research ship being built in Birkenhead. The name 'Boaty McBoatface' was suggested by a radio presenter, and this quickly gained traction to receive 33% of the public vote and topped the poll. Sadly, in the end, those actually responsible for naming the ship decided to call it the 'Sir David Attenborough', in homage to the renowned zoologist and broadcaster. One of the battery-powered submersibles on the ship was, however, given the 'Boaty McBoatface' name, in recognition of the humour that this had caused among the general public. So I was delighted to see that someone has appropriated the name for their narrowboat too.  

Extra note: There was a strong showing of the Aurora or Northern Lights last week all over the UK. I even managed to photograph them from my new flat's balcony, rather unexpectedly. My photos were very poor compared with many I've seen but I've posted one HERE, on my other blog, if you would like to see it.