A Story of the REINA DEL PACIFICO.

[thomas michael]

hi john sabourn#20
again good afternoon,
now you are not going to believe my answer, but here it is,
you have by now gathered that firstly i like many others liked a drink even though i tend to abstain now and again.
also i have a wicked or indeed a tormented sense of humour,
so about two or three one morning i was driving home from a city club, ( sobre ) and in those days the dock road run all the way down to seaforth, and a turn left at the bottom took me all the way home to crosby,anyway i just happened to be driving a beautiful jaguar when i run over a rat the size of a cat, myself being the way i am, jumped out just to see it, and i grabbed it by the tail and put it into the boot, ( for a surprise ) gift for somebody i knew the next day, anyway at the bottom of the dock road was a radar trap and being that time of the morning i would have had my foot to the floor, except the road was so badly pock marked i had to keep the speed down,when the police flagged me down, they gave me the usual nonsense about speeding which i was not, and wanted to see in the boot, which i agreed . so i got out and said there it is open it, well the policeman did and the rat which must have been unconcious shot around the boot and jumped out and terrified the policemen, it took about five mins for them to calm down, when they did they gave a ticket and told me to f******.
i never had a chance to give cappys name in.
tom

[Kathy Walker-Shaw]

Thank you for this interesting article. My father Walter Kenneth Walker (Ken) worked as a steward on several voyages on the Reina del Pacifico from 14 Oct 1950 until his last voyage on 7 July 1955. He joined the Merchant Navy in March 1939 aged 14 years and 5 months in Liverpool, his first voyage was on 25 Mar 1939 on the Duchess of Bedford as a Bellboy to Foreign Ports as listed in his seamen's books. He also served on Montrose, Duchess of Richmond, Duchess of Atholl and Ulysses.
In 1941 he had 2 trips on Llanstephan Castle and Orduna to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. In 1988 just a few months before he died he received a Russian medal for his services during WWII. He has since posthumously received the Arctic Star medal. This will join all his other medals - The 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star, The Africa Star, the Pacific Star, the Italy Star and the War Medal.
He sailed across the Atlantic 15 times during WWII and continued in the Merchant Navy after the war. Sailing to Montreal, Buenos Aires, New Zealand and Australia on his 30 other trips as a Steward. - Kathy Walker-Shaw

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[Keith at Tregenna]

Thank you indeed Kathy for your post/info.

Regards, Keith.

[j.sabourn]

# 22 Had you been in Mabel’s along the Dock Road , I reckon the beer was watered down that much you would of been safe enough. Why were you a sporadic drinker ? did you think it would save your liver. ? All you had to do if you thought you were about to lose was dress up as Dick Turpin and stand underneath the overhead railway and catch unwary travellers and say stand and deliver your liver. Keep clear of the likes of Cappy though he would probably insist on a fair swop. And you would probably come off worse on the swop. Cheers JS

[thomas michael]

hi john sabourn #25
good morning,
the story i retold yesterday happened over twenty years ago, and by then unless you where a local or regularly docked in liverpool the change you would see would be dramatic,
all those pubs are a distant memory, and i would use that particular route because there is not one set of traffic lights all the way to seaforth, as for the speeding because of the lies from the police that particular speeding ticket i had it thrown out of court, as there was no conclusive evidence except their opinion that i was speeding, case dismissed.
the tale i put up yesterday was the concise version, and the jaguar was only weeks old and that is what got the policemens back up, and because i was sobre, maybe the shock of the rat a little bit.
but to add even more mirth to the story, hours before i was stopped i had been to one of our jobs where i had two lads whom dug out a trench for a new water main, i went to make sure that it was ready for the water board the next day, the lads where finished but there was no where to leave the pick-axes and banjos or( shovels,) so i told them to put them in the boot, so never mind dick turpin the policemen couldnt believe that i the owner of a brand new jag would allow carrying building plant in the boot, but they didnt know i was a building contractor and of irish blood,
which would have explained everything, anyway it all ended well.
as for liver problems im pleased to say that i do not, but i over the years have drank more than my fill, and i get bored with it especially as i had graduated to only drinking wine,and im afraid even that became boring so for the moment im not drinking and this being the fourth year, will i drink again i dont know maybe if and when i get the taste for it again,
have a good day
tom

[cappy]

well tom that is interesting as i now only have a light beer or lager once a weeek or wine possibly two glasses a week ....dont miss it at all .....but i would have been a multi millionaire had i bought shares in grey goose if i had realised years ago .....dont even miss that at all .....regards cappy

[thomas michael]

hi cappy #27
good morning like you at the ,moment i dont crave or want a drink, that could change if i was to get a taste for it,
never drank grey goose, drank too much of everything else over the years ended up drinking only wine but before that remy martin brandy but thats another life ago.
tom
have a good day

[cappy]

hi cappy #27
good morning like you at the ,moment i dont crave or want a drink, that could change if i was to get a taste for it,
never drank grey goose, drank too much of everything else over the years ended up drinking only wine but before that remy martin brandy but thats another life ago.
tom
have a good day

Your comment tom ...thats another life ago.....i think i am on life 4 ......have enjoyed them all the rough the smooth the highs and the lows that life gives....but the reality is seeing a good family in good health battering against all thrown at them .....and feeling a good sense of pride in there endeavours regards cappy

[thomas michael]

hi cappy #29
good evening like you ive had more lives than the proverbial ships cat,and always loved the ride the rough and the smooth, like you i have at the moment my good health so i have been very lucky to say the least,
but as you say reality is only what you have around you at the end of the day, and your pride in your family is easily sensed so cappy stay safe and be lucky as those down in the big smoke say.
tom

[happy daze john in oz]

I still consider myself to be a professional drinker, at least two a day but mainly wine or beer though the Dr, Gordons elixier gets a using on Saturday.
But no where what I did many moons ago, Cape Smoke at $1 a bottle was too good to be true and loved it.
Now cannot stand Brandy though her in doors does