Having read with great interest the article published in your newspaper on Thursday 24 April I felt that you had left out what in my opinion was an important element concerning the construction of the Weighbridge mast – basically, whose idea it was.
It was in fact the creative team at local marketing services group Wallace Barnaby.
Commerce and Employment issued a brief that would promote Seaguernsey 2005 which included a request to consider ideas that might involve the Weighbridge roundabout in some way.
Wallace Barnaby’s submission was successful, which included the idea of a nautical mast of the type that we have ended up with.
The concept of a nautical mast is not new, with versions that had been discovered by the WB creative team in southern Ireland and New Zealand. The idea to attempt to replicate the mizzen mast of Lord de Saumarez’s ship, HMS Orion, was the brainchild of Paul Staples, working as a creative consultant with the team at WB. Paul worked with the team during the construction and erection of the mast.
However, in my opinion, much of the credit must go to Stuart Falla and his team at Commerce and Employment for spotting the merit of the concept and battling for permission with the Planning Authority – with special mention going to the late Nigel Lewis.
As is usual in these type of promotions the range of options to promote Seaguernsey 2005 exceeded the budget available.
The mast was seen as a desirable option if the money could be found – Nigel believed strongly in the merit of the project and eventually was able to raise the necessary funding to cover the construction costs – and as the say, the rest is history!
Wallacegsy@gmail.com
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