Shore Leave Lads

[John Arton]

The cadets that I teach at college are all required to wear white shirt, tie and blazer with company logo on.
None of them object to this and most of them seem proud to be seen around the college and town dressed so.
Obviously at night and weekends they are free to dress as they please, yet even though this is the hoodie generation something must have got to them as the ones I have seen out on the town at night are all smartly dressed.
This led me to thinking of going ashore gear when I was at sea.
As a cadet it washed washed and faded dungerees and a white tee shirt. You faded your dunerees by scrubbing them with a deck scrubber and that hard yellow laundry soap.
Later on it becames loons and a tie dyed tee shirt and then later Ben Sherman or Oxford button down coller shirts and slacks or american khakis if you ran to the states.
If you brought new kit in say Canada they all came in one length so you either had to pay extra to have them adjusted to your leg length and hemmed, or you did it youself with varying results.
The thing is, did you have a favourite going ashore rig and if so what. Perhaps it involved your "pulling" gear.
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

I always enjoyed wearing Khakis, until I went ashore in Jacksonville Florida, I was schooner rigged and called into JC Pennys Store,
They had US Army uniforms, Khaki shirt and trousers, complete with badges of the Regiment on,
I said Why the hadges the man said he had a lot of Vet customers who bought shirts of their old Regiment. So I bought a shirt and a pair of Keks. I went in town and into the Flamingo Bar, a beautiful Puerto Rican Barmaid, she poured real good Rum and Cokes, after a few hours I was drunk as a skunk, I fell out of the Bar and almost into arms of a Military Patrol. They chased me round the intersection , jumping over cars then I fell over and they both battered me with their night sticks. I`m a Limie I kept shouting, to no avail, Yeah we heard that before Mac.then another bang on the head, I was covered in blood, then a jeep turns up and I am thrown in and taken to a military base and thrown into a tank with another dozen fellows in a similar state. After an hour or so I am taken out for questioning and searched. Goddamn this guy really is a Limie, they found my pass off the Manchester Merchant.
So they cleaned me up sponging my shirt as well, and took me to a hospital for stitches in my head. They put me in the jeep and took me back to the Flaminigo Bar, the barmaid was still there, Give this guy anything he wants. me I want to go back to the ship my head is hurting, I just want to lie down. We are off duty in half an hour we will be back .
What for ?to beat me up again.
They came back, picked me up and took me to a Restaraunt and a big steak, All I wanted was to go to bed, Eventually the took me back to the ship.
I never wear Khaki Gear since then.
Cheers
Brian.

[happy daze john in oz]

All I ever recall going ashore in whilst with UCL was a suit and tie, we had to look good if we wanted to attract the local ladies. But with NZSC, BP and Blue Star we were not so fussy.

[Don Rafferty]

........ I fell out of the Bar and almost into arms of a Military Patrol. They chased me round the intersection , jumping over cars then I fell over and they both battered me with their night sticks.
Cheers
Brian.

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