An innocent river cruise photo went viral and triggered a flood of cheeky offers for “pleasure cruises.”
By Our Norfolk Reporter: Ian Bred
RIVER ORWELL, SUFFOLK – A quiet Suffolk couple have found themselves at the centre of a social media storm after what was meant to be a wholesome photo from their river cruise on the Orwell appeared to show something altogether more scandalous.
Maureen Stock, 68, a retired primary school teacher from Woodbridge, shared the image online last weekend, proudly captioning it “Lovely day on the river with Reg 💕.” The photo showed Maureen at the helm of a small pleasure boat, hand on the steering handle, while her husband Reg, 71, stood directly behind her. Unfortunately, due to an unfortunate angle and optical illusion, the positioning made it appear that Maureen was enthusiastically clutching something that was most definitely not nautical equipment.
Within hours, the photo had gone viral, amassing thousands of shares under hashtags like #RiverOrwellScandal and #GripGate. Commenters described it as “the most British sex scandal since Profumo,” while others simply praised Reg for his “confidence at his age.”
Take the helmet
Speaking from her semi-detached home, an indignant Maureen said: “It’s absurd! I was holding the tiller. Reg was standing behind me. It was just the camera angle! People need to get their minds out of the gutter.”
Unfortunately, Maureen’s attempts to clarify only fuelled the fire. She claims to have received “over 300 messages from strange men”, many offering her “free pleasure cruises”, “private yacht tours”, and one particularly bold offer of “a weekend in my cabin, no strings attached.”
A red-faced Reg added, “We’ve learned our lesson — next time, I’ll grab the helm myself.”
