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Thread: Wives please get in touch.

  1. #21
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    Quote from Glennys on the Merchant Navy Forum

    Running aground leaving Ijmuiden and being towed up to dry dock in Amsterdam for repairs. Since we were there for several weeks many of the other guys brought their wives over and we had a grand old time exploring and shopping while the men worked. One memory that has stayed with me forever is of a visit to the Windows area (along with all of the other tourists). At the end, the cook's wife, a delightful but very naive young woman, turned to me and said "I don't feel any different, do you"? I think she thought we'd all become totally corrupted by the sights.

    Lin's post ...
    I find this rather amusing because I now live close to Ijmuiden! Hubby works near there. I did all those things as well. You guys are like ghosts when I go down the port to catch the ferry to Newcastle. I will always now think of you more than ever. Your memories are very dear to me.

    I remember standing outside a brothel in the far east and have never seen anything like it since! Talk about a gang bang! Cushions on the floor and a multitude of naked bodies lying there. I couldn't stop giggling. I grew up that day! I was only 23 at the time.

    There is a red light district in Alkmaar. It's quite amusing watching the guys window shopping. Sometimes I used to cycle down there as a short cut. Everyone here just accepts it. I went down the Zeedijk area a few years ago just out of curiosity to see what all the fuss was about. I had to leave, not because of the nature of the street, but I saw images of my shipmates laughing and making silly jokes as we strode down the street taking one step forward and three back. I think what we did in those days was unlike any other. Call me a romantic but it happened it was true. I swear I could hear the voices of our guys from the ship. The remarks and the girls - nothing has changed in that respect.

    Lin
    Last edited by Lin Treadgold; 2nd June 2011 at 06:36 PM.

  2. #22
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    Jean, I'm so glad you posted here. It doesn't matter that you didn't sail with your husband. I'd love to hear you tell us some of his stories.

    The guys my husband sailed with in Shaw Savill called themselves "The Playboys of the South Pacific". These days they'd be The Geriatrics of the South Pacific. Still, they really were good old days. I had such fun back then, both before I was married and after I was married.

    I'll never forget some of the characters I met. I often think of them and wonder what happened to them. My husband was never one for keeping in touch with shipmates. Once he left a ship that was it, as far as he was concerned, no matter how friendly he'd been with the guys while they were away. That's a real shame in my opinion. I'd really love to have kept in touch with some of them.

    I mentioned the cook's wife in my earlier post. They were a darling couple. Jack was huge - a real advertisement for his own cooking. I remember being anchored off Palermo waiting for a berth and spending a lot of time swimming. Jack is the only person I've ever met who could float sitting up! Florence, his wife, was so sweet but so naive that it was hard not to laugh sometimes. Jack once told her he liked women in black stockings so out she went and bought a pair. She couldn't understand why the girls in her office laughed when she showed them to her. It was because far from being sexy sheers they were the black lisle type that schoolgirls of the day were forced to wear. I felt obliged to take her aside and enlighten her, although I don't know if she ever bought the sexy black sheers

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    Lin, I'm laughing at your story of the brothel in the far east. There were so many things to open a young girl's eyes in those days. During our visit to the Windows one of the ladies had forgotten, or deliberately, left her curtain open while she and her client were at it, seemingly oblivious to the crowds peering in.

    I could hardly believe my eyes. I dearly wanted to stay and watch, but I got dragged away by the guys, who were much more concerned about my moral wellbeing than I was!

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    This one is a bit rude... Well nothing shocks here does it?

    So here goes

    One evening I had come back from being ashore. We were slightly worse for wear and cockroach crunching along the quay in Singapore. Two steps forward five back, you know the sort of thing.

    It was hot hot hot. No airco, sweaty bodies climbing the stairs back to our cabins for a well earned sleep. The nightwatchman bid us good night and told us to look out for 'stray tiefman on ship.'

    I opened the window and shut the curtains on arrival in our cabin. There was no breeze and the heat was almost unbearable. We had all the fans going on high. So I stripped off completely naked and lay on the bed with a cold wet flannel on my face, wrapped inside were ice cubes.

    My cabin window was at the bottom of the bed and to my shock horror a face appeared through the window and saw me in the nuddy. Oh my God, all hell let loose. I screamed, the tiefman ran away and the guys on the ship were out looking for him. They caught him but I was left in my cabin nursing a bruised pride. We had a laugh about it afterwards, but I have to say since that day I have had reservations about stripping off without checking first.

    Tee hee

    Lin x
    Last edited by Lin Treadgold; 9th June 2011 at 06:44 PM.

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    If anyone would like to write a story about their experiences, I can recommend a web site of which I have been a member for the last seven years. If you are just starting out and thinking of writing down your story, the members on the site will provide you with the critique you need and help you make more sense of it.

    I look forward to seeing you there

    www.mywriterscircle.com

    Lin

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    Default Arrested in Nigeria (well almost)

    Okay here is another story for you in the seventies in Apapa.

    I honestly can't remember the name of the ship but during a voyage to Lagos I happened to have invitation ashore at Apapa. The Padre had been on board and asked me if I would give a small talk to some teenagers visiting the Mission to Seamen. They wanted to know about life in England and would I bring some pictures with me.

    I told the guys on board where I was going and as the Mission was only around the corner from where the ship was berthed I walked it. I felt quite proud as I stepped off the gangway with a folder of pictures and information under my arm.

    I had been warned not to talk to anyone. I was also informed I had to be careful due to the soldiers on the quay. Some of the guys had said they if they wore a red sash they could shoot to kill without question. Now whether or not this was true I wasn't going to hang around to find out. I almost ran across the quay and could see the building I was supposed to visit.

    Pushing through a multitude of black faces I heard a voice behind me but took no notice because it couldn't possibly be for me.

    'Hey YOU Madam' called the voice.

    I kept on walking.

    'Hey MADAM, why you no speak to me when I speak to you?'

    I ignored the voice, it wasn't directed at me and then it happened...

    A big black hand came on my shoulder.

    'I speak to you and you no answer me you white trash woman.'

    It was a soldier in uniform - with a red sash.

    Politely I apologised and said I was sorry I hadn't realised he was speaking to me.

    He didn't believe me and the conversation that followed was rather frightening.

    'I take you to police station, you no answer an officer of de law and and dat is an offence.'

    Fortunately one of the officers on our ship was passing on the deck and saw what happened (thank you Peter) he called to his colleagues who came running down to rescue me.

    As soon as the soldier saw them coming he released me from his grip saying 'You go you white trash woman, you go.' He looked at me as if I was a piece of rubbish.

    They managed to persuade the soldier I belonged on the ship -' She be Officer's wife, you no right to touch her.'

    With some bargaining we all went back to the ship and within half an hour one of the guys offered to take me to the mission to avoid disappointment. I mean the Mission was only about 100 steps from the gangway. So I almost got arrested - just imagine if I had, I might never have been writing this story.

    Lin

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    Default Holidays

    Hi Everyone

    Just to let you know I will be on holiday soon on the Isles of Scilly so if I don't post here you will know why but I do hope our wives will continue to post in my absence.

    Have a great summer everyone and thanks to Brian et al for helping me put this subject on the forum.

    Will write more when I return in a month. (yes a longer holiday than usual) hubby has been working shifts for the first time in 35 years! Scientific experiment!

    Keep up the good work and dying to read all when I get back

    Toodle pip

    Lin x

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    Have a great holiday, Lin.

    I enjoyed your story of your experience with the law. I'm glad to hear it all ended happily.


    My most frightening experience during my travels was entirely my own fault. The ship we were on was a tiny thing. There were only 12 in the entire crew, plus me as supernumery making 13. Not a particularly auspicious number and we certainly had our fair share of bad luck.

    Anyway, because there were so few of us we all got to know each other very well, and there were none of the class distinctions they had on the bigger ships we were on.

    We had all gone ashore in Taranto on a stinking hot summer's day. The rum and coke kept flowing and I proceeded to get horribly drunk. Next thing I was engrossed in an intense political discussion with a couple of the ABs. Unfortunately, as these discussions often do when fueled by alcohol it degenerated into a real shouting match with me losing my temper (and senses) totally, and walking off in a huff.

    By this time it was dark. I had no money and no way of getting back to the ship. I didn't even know the direction to take. Taranto is full of tiny alleys where you can touch houses on both sides with your arms outstretched. I wandered back and forth, trying to find my way back to the pub without any success. In the meantime I heard a bit of a noise behind me, looked back and found I'd gathered a collection of disreputable looking young Italian men, who continued to follow me while I searched desperately for a way back.

    I came across a large square filled with American sailors. I think the 5th Fleet was in port. There were dozens of MPs around so I approached one, told him of my plight, pointed to my followers and asked for help. "Sorry, Ma'am, we can't get involved in civilian matters", came the reply.

    By this time I was at my wit's end. My mind was working overtime, imagining myself being gang-raped, murdered and thrown onto the rocks. The only thing I could think of doing was remaining exactly where I was, in the hope that the MPs and sailors would be there all night, and that when daylight came I'd be able to find my way back to the ship.

    Suddenly I heard someone shouting "there she is", and looked up to see one of the guys off our ship jumping out of a taxi. They'd organised themselves into a search party and gone off in different directions looking for me.

    It was a very relieved and much chastened young woman who went back on board. Next morning I went down to apologise to the ABs I'd been shouting at. They were sweet enough to tell me to forget it, then one said "you're pregnant". "I don't think so", I replied. "Oh yes you are", he said. "I've got kids and I know how irrational my wife gets when she's expecting".

    Well, he was right as I soon found out. And about 8 months later I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

  9. #29
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    Wow Glenys, I loved that story. Not gone away yet but will keep posting if I have time.

    It is so easy to do something silly you regret afterwards.

    Fancy that - men aren't so daft after all! Tee hee! ROFL.

    Lin x

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    Glad you enjoyed it, Lin. I've got plenty of stories from my daft days. It's probably just as well they didn't last all that long, although my family think I'm still daft. At least I'm a bit long in the tooth now to go endangering myself.

    We're off on holiday ourselves in a few days. Our kids are scattered all around the globe, and as we had/have a number of important family occasions to celebrate from last year and this year we're having a family get-together in Cairns to celebrate them all. I'm really looking forward to it, especially to seeing the grandkids again. We have a couple who live in Australia so we see them quite regularly, but the two oldest grandkids are in Sweden and we only manage to see them every 2 years or so. It's just a bit too far away from New Zealand for regular trips.

    I've already told our own kids that they can arrange to do whatever they want, and leave the grandkids with us. I relish the chance of spoiling them without disapproving glances from their parents!!

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