Each month we feature a selection of your letters
ChatSend your letters to simon @ scubamagazine. co. uk
Blythe spirit
I’ M RUNNING THE TCS LONDON Marathon for the RNLI! For as long as I can remember, my parents took me to Devon on holiday every year, starting 50 plus years ago. My dad, bless him, used to sail in Salcombe. So, every year we would visit the RNLI station there. So the RNLI holds a sentimental place in my heart.
With this in mind, it was my final year after 30 something years of seriously trying to get a London Marathon ballot place, then lo and behold it’ s the RNLI’ s 200th anniversary, so I applied for a charity place. What a charity to have the privilege to run for! So please sponsor me! And if it’ s not for me, you may never know when you will need the help of the RNLI – they run the fourth emergency service. So think the next time you’ re at the beach, you WILL have helped save a life! tinyurl. com / 3x4hse3y JUDITH BLYTHE, BSAC 955 Northampton
A tribute to Colin Lawson
IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS WE ANNOUNCE THAT COLIN LAWSON DIED peacefully in Scarborough Hospital, with his family around him, on Saturday, 8 February. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Christine, his family and close friends.
Colin was a stalwart member of Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club for many decades. The club was a very important part of his life and he worked tirelessly over the years, freely giving his time to support its endeavours and helping to drive it forward to become the success we all enjoy today. During his diving career he undertook key roles as Secretary and served as Chair seven times from 1980 into the mid-90s. Latterly, he continued his interest in the club’ s future by offering guidance as a Trustee.
In addition to all that, he thoroughly enjoyed his diving and took part in numerous expeditions to Dogger Bank and the far reaches of Scotland, where he would derive much enjoyment practising his culinary skills, producing gourmet meals from a small galley on a bucking trawler or an ill-equipped kitchen at
Lochaline!
Colin will be sadly missed, but there are so many stories to tell about this legendary character and his lifetime dedication to Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club. He will forever be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. PETE DENNISON Vice Chairman, SSAC Branch 83
Scan here
FIRSTLY, FANTASTIC WORK ON THE MAGAZINE as I know how difficult it can be to organise and arrange articles for a publication and for one that goes out to lots of members with printing deadlines it can be somewhat challenging.
I have a suggestion, for links to external sources of information( YouTube videos, for example), would it be worth adopting the QR Code format rather than the long address typed out? I find when I read the magazine and come across an article with a link to YouTube, it can be difficult to type it in in its long format to find the content. I know it’ s designed for viewing on the web but when reading from the magazine, sometimes I feel a QR code that can be easily scanned to access the content would make all the difference to members that like to read the paper copy, myself included. NATHAN MARRIOTT
Editor’ s response: You raise a good point, Nathan. We’ ve already been running QR codes with some of our BSAC-specific links, and with this issue you will also find some QR codes in our Travel Special on Maldives resorts. Moving forward, I’ d like to include more QR codes where feasible.
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