Medical history

[j.sabourn]

Heard she had scabies. JS

[Doc Vernon]

The Criterion!! No wonder what a joint that was!
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

Home from home Vernon. One thing one learned at sea was the ability to mix with all manner of people. Earlier on in life I used to take all the waifs and strays home with me, some cases they were disasters , took this 2 mate and his wife home with me one time as they had just left Belfast and had no where to stay. He was an elderly ex public school boy son of a family well known Yorkshire brewer he used to carry his wife with him to sea due to lack of accomodation ashore , he finally finished up in South Shields and finally lived in Berwick on Tweed before passing away many years ago. Unbeknown to me however she was an alcoholic and was an ex Windmill girl, they both loved ballroom dancing and were semi professionals. Turned out she wasn’t his wife but someone else’s . Try explaining that one to your wife , that the lady living with her that came staggering home every afternoon after being thrown out of the pub , was only this shipmates paramour. The world is full of people with different slants on life . You either mix or you keep your distance. Cheers JS

[Doc Vernon]

Funny that JS as i too was one like you, trying to look after the Outies as we called them then, this came about as a result of me being helped by someone special when i was one of the Outies, a loss and a Drunk not proud of it but thats as it was. After that i came good and then tried to help, but also had many like your experiences with Total disaster. Shame really but thats life!
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

Probably because of the old wartime traits of people being more sociable during the war years and always helping those more worse off than yourself. Even after the war we lived in furnished rooms and people were still active in helping each other. Today there is no such feelings in the community , it is grab grab grab while you can. We as a family give a lot to charity but the private ones I donate to will not let it leave this country. Other countries all have their wealthier citizens who should be supporting their own. If not tuff tatty. Your own always have and always will come first in my book. The pictures of babes in arms and flies crawling up their noses does nothing to me apart from wondering how the person taking the film for public demonstration can Stand there without at least brushing the flies away. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Vernon, the Criterion in Durban where the Atrium acted as the customs post for all going ashore.
I did three voyages to Durban before I ever got into town.
So many of the lads would go into the Criterion for a couple before going on and ended up spending the day there.
Later the berth was moved closer to the town, pity you could get a great meal in the Criterion, great curries.

[j.sabourn]

There used to be one beggar outside the seaman’s club in Bombay and I saw him as a young boy and later in life as a grown man. He used to walk on his hands and bottom , his legs had been physically distorted purposefully at birth and hung over his shoulders from being bent up his back and feet and heels hanging over his back to the front. This was done by certain sections of the Indian community just for begging purposes . I saw him years later and someone maybe the seaman’s club had been kind to him as he had been cleaned up and to some extent some of his man made physical disability’s had been corrected by re breaking his legs and putting back into place by traction . I hope he finished up able to walk upright before he died , as can’t imagine him still being alive today. Who. would have parents like his. And this was quite common in India. He had a job in the Mission the last time I saw him as a shoe shine boy. He was one of the lucky ones ... Today people rave over India , they only see the parts that they are supposed to see. JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

My father was the same, as kids my sister and myself would come down to breakfast to find some stranger sitting in our chairs, mother never complained, even during rationing. Even later in life when he left the sea for medical reasons and became a bus driver, he was still bringing seamen home for bed and breakfast. There have been a couple of postings on here in the past from those who have been recipients of his trait. Never had a bad guest, always apologised to mother and offered to do the washing up, but she was used to it. As kids we'd say whose that and she'd say a friend of Dad's whom Dad had only met the night before. We had quite a few from Trinder Andersons as I recall. One of his bus runs took him passed the Hull docks so he was never short of fellow seamen, nor was our house!

[j.sabourn]

#18 ref. To this beggar , must have been about 1954/55 I first saw him ,as was the same time met Capt. Carlsen of flying enterprise reknown. He at that time was on a ship called Flying Enterprise 2. The beggar was about 12 years old , the next time saw him was about 1969 , so would have been in his middle 20s. Same place . seaman’s club although think by then the beer was off the ration. JS