THERE’S a once-upon-a-time tale told about Billy Connolly taking a stroll with a girl on a summer’s eve – through Glasgow’s Gallowgate perhaps, a place where they could swap sweet bon mots as they admired the local hoi polloi.
The Big Yin’s companion suddenly points out a dapper chap dressed in ensemble leather jacket, snakeskin boots and a jaunty cap, explaining: “Why, if that isn’t Alex Campbell, the folk singer.”
At this, our Billy at once says to himself (and it’s a miracle we know this, after all, as no-one could have heard him): “Nobody ever says there’s Billy Connolly, the welder.”
Without dally or delay, our hero had soon clocked out for one last time from the Clyde shipyards and embarked on a new career on the global folk and joke circuit. The rest, as they say, ladies and gentlemen, is history.
Thankfully, welding isn’t.
In fact, is it possible we’re about to see a return to Scotland’s halcyon days of shipbuilding?
Well, in an encouraging move, the UK government, in conjunction with BAE Systems, has agreed to move forward on an £859 million frigate-building programme, which is set to create long-term investments and onshore test facilities in the UK.
The plan for Type-26 frigates will see 30 supply chain companies involved in the process, covering Rolls-Royce gas turbines, diesel generators and steering equipment for the first three ships in what is anticipated to be a fleet of 13.
The Type-26 frigate
As yet, a production contract has yet to signed off, due to ongoing negotiations surrounding the associated risk factors.
The current agreement is in the form of a demonstration contract, and will take effect from the 1st of April. No, they’re not messing around for April Fools: this is for real and a precursor to the initial stages of manufacturing, which is due to commence in Glasgow in 2016.
The news is certainly a welcome boost for the Scottish economy and will build upon the £348 million government/BAE investment in Glasgow shipyards last year, which saw contracts awarded for the construction of three offshore patrol vessels.
The UK government is keen to develop a new national shipbuilding strategy, which they hope will involve the construction of a new state-of-the-art warship every two years.
The Type-26 frigates are due to replace the outgoing Type-23 warships, with the first of the new 6500-ton vessels scheduled for completion in 2022.
In spite of concerns raised by experts over the ramifications of substantial defence spending cuts on a contract of such magnitude, BAE systems remains optimistic that the program is viable.
In a statement, BAE said the agreement “confirmed the UK Government’s continued commitment to sustaining national sovereign capability to deliver complex warships to the Royal Navy”.
It is expected this initial demonstration contract will safeguard around 600 jobs in Scotland, and more across the UK as a whole.
So if the pointy boots hurt, the cowboy hat keeps slipping into your eyes and you’ve realised folks and jokes are not your forte, this could be an opportunity to get on board and steer your career back on course.