ACTOR Timothy West has spoken of his affection for the Maid of the Loch, the historic paddle steamer which is now the subject of a £3.3 million appeal.
Mr West and his wife Prunella Scales yesterday boarded the 60-year-old vessel, which is moored at Balloch.
They met John Beveridge, director of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC), which is behind the appeal to equip the Maid with a new boiler and get the ship sailing again.
Mr West said: "An awful lot of work has been done on the ship and she is looking very smart.
"The accommodation is very good and it is used by people for dinners and parties. The engines are in very good repair. She feels like a greyhound straining at the slips. Given a new boiler and £3m she'll be away, and sailing around the loch."
Mr West said he had contributed to the appeal, "as much as I can." Asked if he and his wife would return to Balloch to sail on the Maid if the appeal were successful, he said: "Of course - we would sail on it at the first available moment. It's something that will happen - I just hope I live long enough."
Ten years ago, Mr West and Ms Scales visited the Maid of the Loch when it celebrated its golden jubilee, and cut a special cake made to mark the event.
The Maid, the last paddle steamer to have been built in Britain, is open every day until the end of this month as a venue for events and functions.
It was built at the Glasgow yard of A&J Inglis and launched in 1953. It sailed only until 1981 and by the time LLSC took it over in the mid-1990s it was in a sorry state but it has since been restored. Now the organisers hope for success with the £3.3m appeal.
Mr Beveridge said: "Timothy and Prunella have been supporters of the Maid since just after we took it over in 1996.
"They like paddle steamers and one of their hobbies in sailing on the Waverley. They are up here to sail on the Waverley but in the meantime, because they also support the Maid, they were delighted to come back and look it over. They have given their names to one or two of our campaigns in the past and we're delighted they were able to come here."
The Maid of the Loch appeal currently stands at £62,000. Publicity leaflets for the fundraising appeal have been printed and LLSC is approaching various companies and individuals.
Mr Beveridge said: "We have been very well received - although so far no-one has written us a cheque for the entire amount.
He added: "We want to try to raise the money within nine months.
"But there isn't a specific date, so we will keep on doing this for as long as we need to."
l Donations can be made through www.maidoftheloch.com, via Facebook or by sending cheques, made payable to The Maid of the Loch Appeal, to Loch Lomond Steamship Company, PO Box 9401, Gourock PA19 1NB.
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