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The storm on a tea cup on how one of Gullivers mates did sewing bought back memories of my darling father who went to sea on sailing ships. He sewed canvas by hand AND was a dab hand at smocking, I have a photo of me as a baby wearing one of the dresses he made, beautifully smocked . There were so many things, crafts they would call them now days, that they took up to keep themselves from going mad on those long ardious trips. I still have his palm and needle set that I treasure
Ooops i did try to post on lin's postings , thought my own personal experience of spending six months of every year of my childhood aboard ship along with my mother and brother(dad was the skipper) would have been usefull to her, but it was obviously removed as not allowed , ah well
As Gulliver pointed out not ALL stewards were gay or girlie. My experience on the Lavender ladies was that most of the gay ones worked first class, either as BR or wingers. the males may not have been so keen on them but the ladies loved them. They were so precise and diligent in their work. many of the ladies would swap perfumes with them and even heard of one swapping a wig. They were great fun to be with and would never bother any one who was not 'fruit' as they put it.
As for officers, captain North of NZSC was an expert with needle point, and was a gentleman to boot.
As for an officer of the rank of second officer being a professional, were there any other kind Micheal?
As I understand it a professional 2nd Mate,3rd Engineer etc is a person that would never rise above that rank.They were happy with their lot or not clever enough to climb further up the ladder.
Regards.
Jim.B.
To sail 2nd Mate you had to have a 1st Mates` Certificate, The Masters` Cert was fairly easy after that.
Promotion depended on if there was a vacancy or not.
In the later days with decreasing fleets, everyone had a Masters` Certificate. Many Third Mates had Masters` Certs. Shipping Companies were getting rid of ships faster than Nitty Norah got rid of Nits.
There was nowhere else to go.
This is a great thread.
The memories are all flooding back now. Berthed in Civitavecchia and taking the train to Rome. As a 20 year old Kiwi girl I was beside myself with excitement at the thought of all the sights of the eternal city. First thing spotted by my husband and the other "officers" was a pub selling Watney's Red Barrel. So what did I see in Rome? The inside of a pub and a brief glimpse of something in the distance which may or may not have been the Colosseum.
In the meantime the crew had hired jaunting cart type of affairs and were off touring. They got to see the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and all of the other sights. I would have been far better going with them.
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.
Seeing my very first sex shop and standing opened mouthed in astonishment in front of the window while my husband tried to draq me away. Trying fruitlessly to get one of the guys to go into the shop with me so I could get a closer look at some of the bizarre objects on sale.
What I'd give to turn the clock back for just a short time and live some of those memories again.
Oops, sorry to interrupt with my reminiscing. I somehow missed the intervening posts. Sorry fellows.
Hi Glennys
thanks for the lovely post,nice you are joining in!
Always nice to see and hear new Stories and people !
Yes indeed i agree with RE!
What I'd give to turn the clock back for just a short time and live some of those memories again
Cheers
You should also join in at the Ladies Only Thread!
Well hopefully it will now stay as that!??:)
http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/f...t-touch-11070/
I'll give it a whirl but I never got on quite so well with Ladies Only. I don't think I'm quite enough of a lady for that. ;)Quote:
You should also join in at the Ladies Only Thread!
Well hopefully it will now stay as that!?
Now that i cannot believe!
Cheers:)