Last night we watched "Deep Water", the documentary about Donald Crowhurst, the chap who in 1968 joined the Sunday Times round the world yacht race wearing a collar and tie. It's a story about male pride, I guess. The extras tell the stories of his fellow competitors: Chay Blyth, who set off despite having never been in a yacht before, Bernard Moitessier, who was a long way in front when he decided not to go to the finish line but instead to go round the world again, Robin Knox Johnston, who won the £5,000 prize and gave it to Crowhurst's widow and, most amazing, Commander Bill King, a 58 year old former submarine captain who built his own craft, read The Bible, the Koran and Tolstoy on his way round but had to give up and put into Cape Town. Forty years later here he is, all his own hair, smart as a whip, telling his story and apologising whenever the odd detail slips his mind. At the age of ninety-eight.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Last of the breed
Last night we watched "Deep Water", the documentary about Donald Crowhurst, the chap who in 1968 joined the Sunday Times round the world yacht race wearing a collar and tie. It's a story about male pride, I guess. The extras tell the stories of his fellow competitors: Chay Blyth, who set off despite having never been in a yacht before, Bernard Moitessier, who was a long way in front when he decided not to go to the finish line but instead to go round the world again, Robin Knox Johnston, who won the £5,000 prize and gave it to Crowhurst's widow and, most amazing, Commander Bill King, a 58 year old former submarine captain who built his own craft, read The Bible, the Koran and Tolstoy on his way round but had to give up and put into Cape Town. Forty years later here he is, all his own hair, smart as a whip, telling his story and apologising whenever the odd detail slips his mind. At the age of ninety-eight.
On a similar tone read a great book at the weekend: A Computer Called Leo. The amazing true story of the people who ran Lyons Tea Shops who in 1951 became the first people to use a computer in business. Built it themselves with valves and wires and in switched it on to tabulate the cost and ingredients of all the cakes being ordered. When they weren't doing that they would hire it out to calculte things for the MoD and the cencus office. Then they set up their own subsiduary of Lyons Foods building computers for other companies, before losing the good fight to IBM and the rest. Have a link
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