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Thanks for these posts. I too have done much more reminiscing since joining this website and the memories come clearer to me as I do. What luck we had to be there and what extra bonus for being there in that period of time. And what luck to be able to read and send these posts.
Richard Q
I do know it was not until I ended up ashore that I found this strange object that I had to carry around with me all the time. Do not know how many I lost before I realised that you have to remember to put it on a ring with many others. It is called a "key". I have been trying to recall if I ever had one on board and if I did then dementia is setting in.
The only time I ever remember anything being physically locked up was going through Suez. I don't really remember it being an issue but its an interesting thought Les.
As Tony has already said, Les, you raise an interesting point. Apart from the bond locker or food store, when the vessel was at sea there was little use for a key. As seamen we enjoyed the benefits of an inherent trust in one another and a respect for the property of other crew members. This feeling of trust was such that a seaman locking his cabin door whilst at sea might be regarded with suspicion. Oh! what a different world we lived in.
.....Roger
Cannot recall ever having a key apart from the time as officers steward. All the officers used to lock their cabins when away on watch, obviously a distrusting lot. Even the senior second engineer and 2nd mate did so, funny lot. But do recall pulling into a Chinese port for a couple of days and we had to put away anything Western such as girly phtos or calenders. guards on all gangways and no one ashore.
All of these posts ring many bells. To this very day all my close friends are men I went to sea with. They are scattered around the Commonwealth and the UK. Most of them go back 50 years or more. I have made new friends here on this forum, many I have never met, however I know they are, to use a tired old axiom, " tarred with the same brush", as are all of us. Life in retirement and, dare I say old age, can become tiresome , irksome. and bloody boring.At those times I turn to this band of old seamen who speak in the language of my daydreams and youth.
On the golf course that I use (public) I met a couple of ex Aussie customs men (rummagers), both ex Uk seamen, one of them a Vindi boy and at the Returned Services Club a couple of ex MN guys. We created no bond because they were not of the "happy Jack ashore" variety. If you study the respondees (if that's a word) to Den's sun deck reverie you will no doubt find men who know the true meaning of comradeship and shared good times and bad as previously described.
I was at sea for 10 short years and can number a dozen good men with whom I still have almost daily contact. I have worked ashore for 47 years and can only count two good friends made during that time. As previously stated the back stabbers and social climbers leave a very nasty taste in this old camudgeons throat.
No doubt a shrink would have a wonderful time with my head Ha Ha !:pat_head:
John cannot recall any officer I sailed with locking their doors when going on watch, normally they were not even closed, just put on the cabin hook which stopped them rattling to engine vibrations. Locking all doors and ports a common occurence for everyone whilst in port.Quote:
Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz
You must have sailed with some funny people, or they had had a previous bad experience.
When we were in Chinese ports in 50's and 60's we were not allowed to lock our doors whilst in port, as the Chinese Commandant stated his soldiers had full access to all parts of the ship at all times and you didn't argue with gun toting guards who had no respect for anything with a round eye.
I can only say that many of these Posts revive the memories of the past,and as all of you i too feel that way many a time!
As most know although i was not at sea for a long time like most here,it still seems to hold something really special for me,and a site such as this truly brings back all those fond days and things we all got up to!
I know for sure that come 3rd September (MN Day) i will be Flying out of of Sydney for yet another Journey i know i will never forget!
I will also be doing a lot of reminicing,in a few places such as Paris,London (have to go and see what the old quaters look like) bet i will be most surprised!
Then of course its the Meet with George and Co in Southampton,that will be a good memory recall,the old Juniper Berry, Bargate and a few other places as well! Dock Area (yes i know also changed so much,more's the pity)
Its a great pity that the old Checkpoint Cafe that was downstairs almost opposite the JB Pub has also gone,as there were many days and Nights spent there with some lovely Ladies!!
Yes Lads how time has changed so many things,and as said here there certainly isnt that old feeling that we had so many Years ago,the Buying of a Pint for a Mate,pulling out the packet of 20 Senior Service in a crowd,and not geting the packet back with any fags in it,nut who the hell cared,we are all so free and easy and Money then meant very little to us,of that i am sure!
But unfortunately no matter how long we sit and reminice (although at times it is great) those times will never be seen again!
Take care all of you,as we are a special band of Brothers here on this great site,and really i feel that i have known most of you
all my life,funny isnt it!
Cheers
the old Crock Doc!:D
Keys?? What are they haha!
You never know who you might bump into on your travels Vernon ~ maybe an offspring or 2 even:cripes::banana_dance02:Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Vernon
Love this thread, but I'm going to get into a lot of trouble....Here goes! My father was the cheapest man I ever knew, my step-mother was even worse plus my half brother and the rest of her brood. Due to my job, at least three times a year I would visit G.B.. One, a company in Scotland shared our company name and I would perform marketing services for them. Two I would call on major Brit. companies in London that we did business with in third world countries, to sort of show our appreciation to them (dinner and drinks etc.). I would always stopover first in the Sh..h..e I was born in...Walthamstow...beats Boltonistan...Walthamstow breeds terrorists...i.e. underground bombers. Back to the story... The taxi dropped me off at the door and peeled rubber away to the safety of the West End (where as fast as I could after I completed filial responsibility, I would scurry to). The door opens.... "What did you bring us from duty free?" "A carton of cigarettes and a bottle of scotch."..."We don't drink scotch now do we? We drink brandy now"...."OK mom, I can use it...I'll take it with me back to my hotel. The duty free bag is ripped out of my hand. Now I didn't smoke, but my dad could pull a lighted cigarette out of his pocket. No way could this happen with shipmates. Not to say they were all perfect. On my first trip to sea, the Port Jackson, my cabin mate stunk. He should have been a lands man...once a week a shower, whether he needed it or not. A few days before we crossed the equator I walked into our cabin and damn near threw-up. As any good M.N.er knows, one does not sail into the tropics without a sprinkle can of Johnson's Baby Powder. The fan was on and aimed at him, lolling like some sweating Buddha in his bunk. I grabbed my can of Johnson's, yanked it open and threw a sprinkle at the fan...in my pissed off state I had pulled the whole top off and a pound of bum-powder hit the fan...I am not somehow thinking this is going to make a translate across the pond, but Buddha looked like the Pillsbury Dough boy, scented and snow white from head to toe....Two days later it was resolved, a couple of wingers and grown-up cooks came into the cabin, took one sniff, came back with a crew, dragged Buddha out on deck and hosed him down and scrubbed him with a deck brush and galley soap and asked him if he wanted that every day for the rest of the trip...problem solved M.N. style.
I paid for my dad and step-mom to visit us in Connecticut, I had also done the same thing for them in L.A.. I had five bedrooms,one for my wife and me, three for our three sons and a guest room...great right? Wrong! I picked them up at J.F.K in New York and they have someone with them...HER bloody brother. Which means he sleeps on a couch, we take a taxi to see the sites in N.Y.C.? With them and us it makes seven, which means two cabs everywhere, I'm paying, cabs,train to N.Y.C. , lunch, food you name it for some bum I didn't even know! What makes it worse, if you can stand me venting about non M.N. people, I'm back a few months later in the U.K., once more in Walthamstowistan and knock on the door...the bloody brother opens the door and says "Who are you?" and slams the door in my face. I knock again, the step-mom answers and says "Don't worry about Alf, he has Alzheimer's.... What did you bring us from duty free?" Shore-folk!
Cheers, Rodney