A real Love boat story

After what seems like a lifetime the Costa Concordia is set to depart the small Island of Giglio where she has rested for 1 ½ years. I should imagine this tragedy has bought a lot of heartache to the Island not only for the disaster to have happened in the first place but to have the wreck lay on its shore for such a lengthy time, a constant reminder of how traumatic that night must have been.

It was nice to read this week that due to the island accommodating many salvage workers it would seem Giglio has turned into a place for romance with many salvage workers striking up relationships with local girls, so much so that the locals have renamed Giglio ‘Love island’.

British welder Simon Jackson struck gold when he met his beauty Virginia D’Elia on the island whilst he has been working on the salvage mission. They have fallen head over heels and are expecting a baby boy next month. Virginia has now left the island and is setting up home in Kent with her handsome salvage worker to start a new life away from the tragedy that bought them together. It’s strange sometimes how the most surreal events bring people together.

The baby will be named Filippo, after his grandfather, who lived on Giglio and died around the time of the shipwreck.

The pair met in a bar and soon began taking romantic walks around the island together. At first they could barely communicate as she spoke only a little English and he only broken Italian, but as they say love itself is an international language.

Many of the girls of Giglio will be shedding tears as they bid their salvage workers farewell as the Costa Concordia prepares to leave Giglio today, I wonder if anymore relationships will stand the test of time…..