Posted 10 October 2014

written by Sophie Potter

Bedazzled by Dazzle Ship

Last week I was invited to visit Dazzle Ship at Victoria Embankment, London. I had no idea what a 'Dazzle Ship' was but it sounded interesting so I went along!

'Dazzle Ship' is usually known as HMS President (1918), formerly HMS Saxifrage, and is a Flower-class anti-submarine Q-ship. One of the very first types of warship built specifically for anti-submarine warfare, with her pointed bow and unique arrangement of propellers, HMS President (1918) was designed to turn and ram First World War German submarines, slicing them in half. In 1922 she was moored permanently on the River Thames. As a London resident I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of or noticed this extraordinary ship on the river before. It was a joy and a privilege to attend the 29th September event, meet the ship's Captain and learn her fascinating story.

As part of the 14-18 NOW celebrations commemorating the centenary of the First World War, leading German artist Tobias Rehberger was commissioned to 'Dazzle' HMS President (1918). She is now "an unmissable homage to artists' contribution to wartime heritage":

What is 'dazzling'?

'Dazzle camouflage' has an ironically deceptive name. The dazzle designs applied to ships during WW1, as seen below, did not camouflage them in the way that we usually interpret the word 'camouflage' – it did not make them blend into the blue of the waves or the sky, it did not make them look like aeroplanes or submarines or something else that they were not. If anything, it drew attention to them. It is worth noting that not all dazzle paint designs were monochrome – colours featured regularly but were not able to be captured by the black-and-white photography of the day.

The geometric patterns, deceptive angles, stark colour contrasts and distortion of perspective created by dazzle paint, which can only really be appreciated by looking at examples such as these, were designed to hinder a U-boat captain's ability to understand in which direction, and at what speed, ships were travelling... crucial pieces of information in order to launch a successful missile attack against them.

Dazzle paint undoubtedly saved numerous British vessels and the lives of numerous British servicemen during the conflict.

Dazzling HMS President (1918)

The creation of HMS President's modern dazzle design and its application to the ship proved an immense technical challenge. The ship is moored on a section of the River Thames which rises and falls with the tides by over 7 metres each day. She is a medley of portholes, protruding rivets, sharp edges and awkward angles. She is also a privately-owned conference and function venue hosting regular weddings.

Tobias Rehberger created HMS President's dazzle design in his studio in Germany. The designs were sent over to a company in London who printed the design onto 98 vinyl panels. Thanks to a team of 6 people working (usually mid-air) on the application of the vinyl at any one time, plus a safety crew on hand in the Thames below, the completed dazzle was achieved in just 6 months.

Officially unveiled on 14th July 2014, Dazzle Ship in her present form is only a 6-month installation. However there are tentative plans, subject to funding, to have the ship's original 1918 dazzle design re-applied in 2018, marking 100 years since she originally wore it.

14–18 NOW

Dazzle Ship forms only one of a number of events and art installations taking place across the UK between 2014 and 2018 in commemoration of the centenary of the First World War. 14-18 NOW aims to engage the largest possible cross-section of the public in meaningful reflection on the First World War through free artworks which reflect the achievements of contemporary artists of that era.

One other 'dazzle ship', the Edmund Gardner, whose dazzle design was created by artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, has been moored in Liverpool since 12th June 2014: http://www.1418now.org.uk/whats-on/dazzle-ships

Another particularly high-profile art installation in London commemorating the centenary is 'Tower of London Remembers' – the installation of 888,246 ceramic poppies in the dry moat of the Tower of London, one for every British military fatality of the brutal conflict: http://poppies.hrp.org.uk/about-the-installation

For more information on the 14-18NOW commemorations, visit:
- http://www.1418now.org.uk/
- http://www.1914.org/
- http://www.greatwar.co.uk/events/2014-2018-ww1-centenary-events.htm

Live Travel and Tours - Battlefields Tours

If you are an educational travel professional inspired by this article to organise a First or Second World War-themed tour, Live Travel and Tours would be delighted to help you. We have extensive experience of arranging tailor-made tours of battle-related locations and attractions in London, France, Belgium and the rest of Europe. Contact us now for a sample package:

- First World War London
- Second World War London and Normandy
- French/Belgian Battlefields
- Cemetery tours
- First/Second World War tours by nationality

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Posted 05 September 2014

Written by Adele Youngs

Shooting in the dark – why a budget is so important

ADVISORY - THIS ARTICLE TALKS ABOUT THE "BUDGET" MONSTER.

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED...

William Tell had a tough job. Blindfolded, he had to shoot an apple off his son's head. Missing the apple in any way would lead to a very bad situation, especially for his son. But, to be honest, compared to the situation many of us find ourselves in as peak quoting season hits, sometimes I do envy him! He knew two crucial bits of information – the “what” he was shooting at (the apple) and the “where” it was (on his son's head). Sometimes this is two crucial bits of information more than we have available to us!

We all know that it pays to shop around. The other day our boiler at home stopped working. It needed a new fan. The heating engineer who diagnosed the problem told us the cost of the new fan and the labour needed to fit it would be £320. Obviously we wanted to get more quotes. The second we got (for the fan and labour) was for £275. The third, again for the fan and labour, was for £175. Guess which one we confirmed!

However, again, this is a simple situation – we needed a fan and it needed to be fitted – a job that took 35 minutes, a screwdriver and enough knowledge of how a boiler works to put it in the right place. We took a judgement based on how complicated we thought that the job was, and the required skill of the engineer.

Now, return to the situation of a group quotation. Some of the requests we put together for our partners have over 50 components to them – hotels, meals, concerts, visits, guides, transportation etc. The price of any of these components, as we slot them in to the pricing matrix, can dramatically affect the overall price. So, sometimes we need to ask the dreaded question... “What is the group's budget?”

Sometimes we get an answer - great! But often, the reply is:

“Oh, just give us your best price!”

It's the budget monster - run for your lives!

OH NO! This is our worst nightmare - the "budget" monster. Unlike some companies that just put together the same tour for everyone, we tailor our tours to match what the group wants. But, everything in the quotation has a value, and what a group might want in theory might become something very different when they see the price for it...

The group might want a centrally located 4 star hotel next to the Metro, but their actual budget might be better suited to a 3 star hotel in the outskirts. If we are not given this crucial piece of information, then we will quote on WHAT THEY ASKED FOR, which may or may not be what they can ACTUALLY afford. The result can be a huge waste of time for everyone concerned, our partners and the group included.

We realise that it may not be something that the group themselves are willing to divulge. And sometimes, people do fear that disclosing a budget can lead to a supplier pricing to that budget by inflating their margin, when the costs are actually quite a lot lower.

BUT, none of us are replacing boiler fans – we are creating tour experiences which last a lifetime and therefore we all need to be candid with each other about getting the very best experience that the group can afford. Otherwise, the quest for getting "the best price" could become counter-productive for the group, who ultimately are the ones paying for the trip.

It's a bit like William Tell being told there is a "piece of fruit" he has to shoot at and that it's "somewhere" around him... And then expecting him to hit an apple that he has no idea he is aiming for...

So, as we enter what is, for many, the peak quoting season, we have but one plea: if the group has a budget, please do let us know! Then we can stop the budget monster in his tracks and get back to creating the best tours each group can afford.