I NAME THIS SHIP...

As I got back to Southampton`s Town Quay on Saturday evening, where I had parked my car before seeing Saints 2-0 win over Tranmere Rovers, I took this photo of the new Queen Elizabeth as she was being lit up when the light began to fade over the Ocean Terminal.

Today, of course, the real Queen Elizabeth is performing the naming ceremony amid much pomp and circumstance coreographed by Cunard. They`re pulling out all the stops to ram home the fact that this is a British ship run by a British company operating out of Britain`s premier passenger port - the Coldstream Guards, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Lesley Garrett will all be taking part in this very British ceremony, never mind the fact that the ship was built in an Italian yard.

I just wonder how much influence Her Majesty might have had over the ship`s name, for it must be a bit difficult to "name this ship Queen Elizabeth. May God bless her and all who sail in her." Harping back to my harpie friend Ann Widdecombe, it occurred to me that, as the ship is more akin to a bulk carrier than a traditional cruising vessel - more block of flats than elegant ocean going edifice - maybe Her Majesty might be more at ease naming "this ship the Ann Widdecombe. May God bless her and all who sail in her." Bet she won`t though.