I ‘met’ Alan (@Spacexecadet) via Twitter, when I offered Twitterers the exciting opportunity of being part of #TheGreatTeaTowelSharing. On the first day of Lockdown Number 3, I was poorly, and flung out a Tweet asking people to send me pictures of their tea towels. And so #TheGreatTeaTowelSharing was born. This offer was accompanied by a promise that those photographed tea towels would find their way into the Virtual Tea Towel Museum. What I hadn’t expected was (a) there would be so many (b) they would virtually all be different, unique (c) some would have some great stories attached to them. Initially, I imagined they would be slotted into the existing ‘Collections’ in the Museum, but there were too many so I created #TheGreatTeaTowelSharing Collection. In addition, quite a number of people have been invited to be a Guest Tea Towel, as @Spacexecadet has. He submitted, amongst other tea towels, ‘Lifeboats Through the Ages’. Here is his story:
“This dates from around 1970, as the Arun Class, bottom right, has the prototype stern and hull. When I was in Orkney, during the period 1972-74, I met a lifeboat ‘Test Pilot’ who was putting the prototype in very challenging waters between Wick and Thurso at the top of Scotland and the Orkneys. This stretch is the roughest around the UK and is called the Pentland Firth.
The Arun Class, now retired from RNLI service, served very effectively and paved the way to the modern class of fast vessels. I had a trip lined up on my day off but the ‘Test Pilot’ bent the hull before our trip, and headed back south to Poole.”
It’s great story, but a sad end since you never got your trip. It’s good to hear from someone who knows about his tea towels. Thank you @Spacexecadet for sharing your tea towel.
Virtual Tea Towel Museum 
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