NEWS!!!
This page will show you news about Lightship Therapies and our website. If you want to follow the conversion and restoration of the lightship at the shipyard, please follow the link to the blog by clicking HERE.
20 April 2009: Today we received the official Planning Application Approval from the Gloucester City Council for mooring our lightship at the proposed site. This is a significant step forward since this was the final hurdle to have the lightship in Gloucester. Our thanks go to Mike Gethin who helped us through the planning process!
Nothing to stop us now; we just need to get the ship ready. This might still take some time, but we are working hard to get us to that point. Click on the Gloucester City Council logo to see a part of the Planning Permission document, and click here to see a map of the exact location where we will be moored.
26 Feb 2009: More media attention here!
OFFICIAL PLANNING APPLICATION SUBMITTED
23 Feb 2009: As part of the planning permission process, a note was posted close to the site where the lightship is to be moored. Here we are, pointing to the sign! If you click on the close-up picture, you will get a bigger picture to look at ;-)
16 Feb 2009: We have finally submitted the formal planning permission for the mooring in Gloucester. Although there have been many meetings with several parties and council members, we obviously have to formalize it officially! So fingers crossed. We have all the confidence that Mike (from the local Planning Group) will do a good job guiding us through it all.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
29-1 Our lightship has reached the big 50!
She was launched in 1959 as Yard No. 937 "SPURN No 14" at the Cook, Welton &Gemmell shipyard in Beverley near Hull. Note that the launch was for the hull only: it took several more months of construction on the quay-side to complete the ship. She was registered later on that year on May the 15'th as LV14. May she be around with us all for another 50 years to come!
20 Nov 2008: We were visited once again by Peter Williams who lived on our lightship when she was moored in Milford Haven. As the keeper of the ship in those days, he has a lot of information about her and it is always a pleasure to meet Peter. We even solved the mystery of the ladies underwear we found in the 1'st-Mate's cabin a while ago! (see blog pages) Sorry.. can't tell you who they belonged to, but I know now.. Peter is not only a very nice man, but an expert on light-houses and light-ships (vessels). He just co-wrote a brand new book called "Lighthouses, The Race To Illuminate The World". A fascinating book indeed! This time not the regular book full of light-house pictures, but a very detailed historical treasure about these structures and their magical light. A MUST-have for every light-house-ship-vessel enthusiasts! Go get your copy: ISBN 978-1-84773-174-6 Here is a picture of Peter and me in front of the light-tower.
19 Nov 2008: Today, the light in the light-tower was switched on once again. Only a 60-Watts bulb was installed to test the power of the Fresnel lens, and the effect was just fantastic.. See more pictures on the Blog page!
25 Sept 2008: It was about time to fly some flags on our ship! Since the installation of the masts we never got to buy some flags, but we finally raised them today. On top the UK Merchant Shipping "Red Duster" and below that one of course a Dutch flag. All in style.. the first time we raised them another boater on the shipyard blew the Captain's whistle!
17 Sept 2008: The planning permission is well underway now. We had a meeting with the local Planning Officer Mike Gethin to go over the application and he provided excellent tips. The biggest challenge is the parking space: the light-ship is on a part of the quay side that has no public access by car so we can't have parking right next to the ship. We have provisionally agreed with British Waterways to have some parking spaces about 200 meters away. More paperwork to be gathered for the next step of this process. We also had a visit at the light-ship from one of the Gloucester City Council members who expressed his support to the project.
Forum
30 Aug 2008: We now have a Forum online where you can discuss / ask / comment about everything we do at Lightship Therapies. Enjoy! Click here to get to the forum.
13 Aug 2008: Over the past couple of days, the two chicks have taken flying lessons inside the new shop area. Today, they flew out into the typical UK summer rain and had the shock of their life! This picture was taken about an hour prior to them leaving. I suspect they will "hang around" the lightship for a while before they leave for good.
6 Aug 2008: When the extension for the shop was built, the front bit was open and was accessible for the elements AND swallows! Two of them decided it was a perfect spot to built a nest and so they did. We counted four eggs at some stage. Since the past week or so we noticed increased activity in the nest and discovered 2 chicks! The parents faced a problem though with the extension fitted and they now have to use the open holes in the walls for the future portholes to fly in and out to feed their offspring. So we stopped all work in that area to allow the birds to grow. Today, I took this picture; it shows the two chicks who are growing very fast! Too fast in fact: the nest becomes too small for them! ;-)
15 July 2008: During a meeting with British Waterways, the exact spot of the mooring has been agreed so that we can now go-ahead with the planning permission. We also discussed the connections to the ship like water, electricity, telecoms, etc.
18 June 2008: Today I had an interesting conversation with someone close to the shipyard who questioned me about the progress with the project and he said "doesn't seem like a lot has happened over the past months; the ship looks exactly the same" His remarks were right to some extend: not a lot has happened on the outside of the lightship, but inside HUGE progress was made! Indeed, not a lot of visible progress, but I'm sure you all check the Shipyard Blog Page to see the progress, including all the internal alterations! ;-)
Awesome Peruvian Whistling Vessels arrived
One of the most awesome sound tools, Peruvian Whistling Vessels arrived this week. These four vessels, played together, have a direct effect on your state of mind. Although the sound is not loud, it is very intense, clears your head completely and gets you in a meditative state almost immediately. The vessels originate from ancient Peru where Shaman used it for healing. Don Wright (USA) is reproducing them. The process is very ceremonial and it took more than a year for our vessels to be completed. There are very few of these vessels in Europe. The sound, and its effect, is incomparable to anything else and we will use the vessels in our Sound Healing Workshops and Sound-Bath sessions later on this year. Something NOT to be missed!!!
Photo shooting on our lightship!
22 May 2008: Today our ship was the back-ground for a professional fashion photo-shoot of Superdry gear! They spent almost all day taking stunning pictures of a male and female model. The first picture shows Denise (yes, again..) with the Bench and Superdry founder Jim. He proved to be a very nice guy, as was the whole crew. We had a blast! Keep an eye on the Superdry website: the pictures will be on there at some stage soon. You can find them by clicking here.
16 May 2008: Our daughter Denise had the honours of celebrating the first birthday on the lightship. She turned 20 today (time flies..) and we presented her with a part of the old anchor chain so that when she goes to university later this year, she can still carry a part of the ship with her. Denise, who helps us out with the project just now, considers the lightship "hers". Here are some pictures of the party girl!!
12 April 2008: I have updated the "our light-ship" web page to include more historical background since I received various questions about it. See the updates here.
22 March 2008: We are starting to fear we will not be finished with the lightship conversion and restoration in June, and even July seems doubtful now. This would be a real shame since we will not be able to have the new tourist attraction in place for the 2008 summer tourist season. We will work with the shipyard to recover some of the lost time.
12 March 2008: We decided to purchase our very own professional High Definition camera to capture all the activities on the lightship, especially during the conversion time on the shipyard. Both the BBC and ITV expressed interest but haven't got a camera on site every day of course. Now we film ourselves so that they can use it later on. And of course it is great to "document" the whole project!
7 March 2008: Even more media attention! BBC TV filmed during the day and put it on the news the same evening. You can have a look here, courtesy of the BBC.
4 March 2008: We get a lot of questions about the differences between Complementary, Alternative, and Holistic healthcare. Many people want to understand the differences. So have a look here to give you some guidance. Light-ship Therapies is providing holistic, complementary healthcare and training in these areas and sells products that compliment traditional medication and treatments.
10 Feb 2008: The ITV and BBC media coverage certainly triggered a wave of day-tourists to the shipyard. The shipyard had some trouble keeping people off. For those of you who are planning a trip to the shipyard, please note that nobody is allowed onto the shipyard and we do not allow anybody on board!! Due to the work on the shipyard and our ship, it is simply not safe for the general public to wander around. You all have to be patient.. Another spin-off of the media coverage is the interest of various local practitioners who want to work on the ship with us once we are up and running. We have met some lovely people and I'm sure we can all work together on this exiting adventure!
6 Feb 2008: Today we had a lot of media attention! BBC Radio Gloucestershire aired an interview that was recorded the week before. It certainly triggered immediate reactions and an ITV television crew filmed for more than 2 hours during that same afternoon. Below some pictures of the TV recording: reporter Ken Goodwin in the light tower, us walking around the lightship, and the proud Sharpness Shipyard crew being interviewed. Steve, the shipyard's manager (with the yellow safety vest) was thinking about a film career after the interview. I would stick with ships Steve if I were you...
The video clip from ITV can be seen by clicking here. (courtesy of ITV West)
3 Feb 2008: Until the lightship is permanently moored, we have a mobile contact number only for Lightship Therapies: 07929359399 This should provide our future customers with a better chance to get in touch with us.
24 Jan 2008: A very interesting day it turned out to be! We had a visit from Peter Williams, the man that was in charge of the lightship when she was moored in Milford Haven. For him it was 12 years ago since he last was on board and considers it a bit as "his ship" since he lived on it for a couple of years and knows it inside-out. He brought a file with all sorts of old documents and pictures of the lightship and proved to be a very valuable source of info, but over and above an extremely nice guy. He even offered to clean the optics in the tower! I am sure we will see him often and feel we have a new friend with Peter!
6 Jan 2008: A nice couple, Stan & Margret who own a website dedicated to lighthouses and ships www.Lighthouse-Duo.net came to Sharpness to see our ship. Unfortunately we weren't around at the time, but they took some nice pictures from our ship:
2008: HAPPY NEW-YEAR TO ALL!!!! 2008 will be a year to remember! The light-ship will be finished and open for the public. We will be able to help people on board of our new complementary health center and run workshops to move people on their own path. Exiting times indeed! My lovely Sound Healing Partner Lesley wrote me a txt message on new-years day that captures all the wishes I have for all of you. Remember: life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile!
12 Dec 2007: We have agreed with British Waterways the exact location for the mooring! It means we can now proceed with the planning permissions. Mooring is going to be on the West side of the canal. This means we are well clear from the construction work of the new exciting development on the East side, and can make this a permanent location. The lightship at this location would be a real focal point that could result in attracting people to the other side of the canal. This could help the tourist industry, and English heritage in particular to attract tourists to the Priory. Since the lightship is in full view of the new restaurants and bars of the new development across the canal, it will attract people to the waterfront. The higher visibility might also work better for the Council, providing them with a more prominent landmark that again will promote tourism for Gloucester. Many thanks to British Waterways for their support so far!
3 Dec 2007: We had a good meeting with British Waterways to "home in" to the mooring place in Gloucester once the shipyard work is completed. Although the mooring point has not been agreed to the exact point due to some uncertainties that needs checking, it looks like we will be mooring at a permanent site, rather than a temp site due to the re-development activities at the Quays and have to move again once that is completed. It will also mean we can make the permanent connections for the utilities for the ship like electricity, sewage and telecoms.
I have added a page where you can follow progress with the work on the shipyard. Have a look HERE
SHIP ARRIVED AT SHARPNESS SHIPYARD!!
16 Nov 2007: Our lightship was picked-up by the tug Sea Trojan in Waterford Ireland and left the harbour Wednesday Nov-14 around 16:00 to start the journey. They were able to get across the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel in no time! They picked up the Pilot at Barry at 05:00am on the 16th in dense fog. Due to the rising water, they arrived at Sharpness locks just before 10:00am. The fog had just lifted and the sun peeked through, allowing us to take stunning pictures. The tug left our lightship in the lock, and moved back out to use the high-tide to get back out. The lightship was pulled out by pure manpower (!!!) and moved around the corner to the shipyard. She will stay there for 5-6 months for restoration and conversion work. The real work starts as from today! You can find pictures of the day HERE.
6 Nov 2007: After weeks of intensive talking with various parties to find a solution for the paperwork needed for the towing, a successful inspection by the MCA (Marine Coastguard Agency) has resulted in the required "Load-line Exemption Certificate" So all systems go for the towing! We are now WOW: Waiting On Weather. Storm depressions over the Irish sea are battering the area. But if Mother Nature helps, we might be towing soon. I am invited to travel on the tug from Ireland to the UK and can bring our ship "home". Can't wait..
18 Oct 2007: The light-ship is ready for towing for a while now, but we have problems with the paperwork. If a ship is fully registered and classified, it will have a so called "Load Line Certificate". If the ship is not classified, you need a Load Line Exemption form for the tow. Since a light-ship by law is not a ship as such (it's a floating navigational aid) there is confusion about what is needed now. Although the maritime legislation is aligned internationally, we have different interpretation from the Irish and English authorities. Hope to get this resolved soon.
Meeting with the Gloucester Sharpness Canal & River Severn Users Forum
11 Oct 2007: We were invited to do a presentation about our project with the Gloucester Sharpness Canal & River Severn Users Forum. This group proved to be very active and had an inspiring mixture of stakeholders. We certainly enjoyed the evening and made many new contacts, and hope we can participate with this forum in the future. We truly believe cooperation with all people who have something to do with the canal and river is essential and we couldn't have met a nicer group of people..
Early Oct 2007: We have had another trip to Ireland to see our Lightship, since she is now "boxed-up" and made ready for the towing. We are now dealing with the paper-work to get the towing done and are in progress registering the ship. We certainly hope to get it all done soon so that we can finally start the restoration work!
August 2007: We have selected the Sharpness Shipyard & Docks to do the work on the light-ship. This shipyard lies directly after the locks of the Sharpness to Gloucester Canal and so it will be easy to tow the light-ship to her final mooring spot once the work is completed. We anticipate that the work will take several months and currently aiming at a completion date around March-April. Next step is to get a towing company to tow the light-ship from Ireland to Sharpness.
June 2007: We have finally committed to the lightship. With the mooring agreed, we were comfortable to take that next step. We are now out for tender for the conversion and restoration of the ship. Two shipyards are competing for the best proposal!
Location for the light-ship agreed!
May 2007: We have agreed mooring at Gloucester! Negotiations with British Waterways resulted in a mooring location at the Quays once the redevelopment has been completed. In the mean time we are still negotiating a temporary mooring place. Gloucester is a perfect location: the Docks area has seen a major re-development and is a major attraction for people from the UK and abroad. The next phase is to re-develop the Quays. This will take about 2 years to complete and work has been started.
May 2007: Lesley and Jan produced their first CD: Homecoming! This CD is the result of spontaneous one-take channelled recordings which took place in West Somerset in November 2006. Have a look here to get more details about this very unique CD.
May 2006: We identified the light-ship. She is the 2'nd steel vessel that was designed for the Spurn sandbank in the Humber estuary on the East side of the UK. The ship has a rich history and is currently moored in Ireland. We spend the most of 2006 looking at the way the ship can be converted to suit our mission. The next critical path was to identify a proper mooring place.