Genius Ahoy!

Looking again at my photos of Thames sailing barges this week I am reminded of a brief moment of time on Ipswich waterfront in the presence of Stephen Hawking, arguably the most famous scientist of our age.

The Cambridge professor, author of the internationally renowned A Brief History of Time, who suffers from motor neurone disease and is unable to move or speak without his specially equipped electronic wheelchair, had been invited on a river cruise on the sailing barge Kitty, which I was waiting to board.

Unfortunately though, despite the best efforts of the crew to get him and his machine aboard the historic craft safely, he was left on the quayside with his carers as we sailed away to enjoy a pleasant afternoon afloat.