Where were you on your 21st birthday

[luke Horwat]

Hi, I have just seen the list and one said "Where were you on your 21st Birthday", I recall that on my 19th Birthday 12 August 1969 I was joining on that day, The Tucarinca, a Fifes Banana boat. The Bursar reminded me as I handed in my joining docs that it was my Birthday. I gained my starring cert. going through the Straights of Gib. I bet some of those monkeys ate some of our bananas Also, I was on the Northern Star and apparently, it had the largest swimming pool mural of any passenger ship at that time, It was beautiful. You felt like you were on a beach. I was a swimming pool attendant for a while, a lovely job as you can imagine. I wonder if the mural was saved before the Northern Star was sent to be turned into other things, very sad, it only had 4 years as the engines were breaking down a lot I believe.
I am not sure if this was on the Northern Star or SA Vall, but one day they had a clay pigeon shooting off the stern, I was helping and there was a massive crowd behind us, I was so embarrassed, every time the gun went off, I jumped out of my skin. Great memories, at least I entertained the passengers, a double whammy, they enjoyed the shooting and me.
The Captain of the SA Vall was nicknamed Swivel-eyed Lloyd, he was a terror. I had to clean the toilets ready for inspection. I was nervous. He came in and rubbed his finger around the top edge of a toilet bowl and there was a lot of cleaning gunk on his finger and he gave me a serious look and a wink. He wasn't that bad.
Oh yes, on the Tucarinca the Chief Engineer died and he was buried at sea. I was on Edinborough Castle, Pendiniss Castle, Northern Star, Tucarinca, and SA Vall.

Kind regards
Lucian aka Luke Horwat

[Austin Carl Largan]

#9
Hello Doc

if you were in the FFL you were either very brave, very desperate or on the run. How's your French? I had a Belgian girl friend once and I laid my schoolboy "oł est le plume de ma tante?"on her. She laughed and said "All the French schoolkids know that one and they have their own response....dans le cul"

Austin

[Anthony Bradley]

My 21st was in April 67. I was on the Turakina in Kobe Japan. I went ashore with a crowd and one of the guys had a set of bagpipes so he was very
popular in the Bars so we got the Drinks a bit cheaper. I ended up with a skin full and my mates got me on a bus and told the Driver to throw me off
at the end Station. I woke up the next morning in some little village Where of course no one understood English. Everyone I asked how to gut back to
the Port just bowed to me. I was chuffed when sometime later a Young student arranged a Taxi for me.