Cooks and their employment.

[Red Lead Ted]

Bri, Like myself you obviously remember them paying off in Freetown, As they collected there few shillings and descended down a rope ladder to go ashore they had some junk alright paint tins, Plastic tubs, Bits of old rope, ETC.. Obviously junk to us but they put everything to good use.

[happy daze john in oz]

When in Durban with UCL as officers steward we had a local lad come on board to do all the cleaning of working alleyways, bulkheads and any other job the steward in charge could find for him.
Gave us a great break with more time ashore, in the bars of course looking for the local ladies.

[Red Lead Ted]

Brian when I was on Oguta Palm 1960s one of the crew ran a John Moors catalogue his credit must have been good because the van used to bring his large order down to the ship. He would then be flogging it all the way down the West coast. Rgds Den

Nothing wrong with a bit of enterprise Den, I just wonder whether the catalogue ever got there money

[Red Lead Ted]

Den, Many moons ago my old man was a L,Pool docker now we all know what the dockers at every port where like if something fell of the back of a wagon { Things like 2 cases of Salmon, or A dozen bottles of scotch E.T.C. They would obviously pick them up and take them home } He was forced to take redundancy in 1974 either that or loose your book and get nowt. While he was in between jobs I was at sea with him being out of work my old mam got herself a job with Vernon's football pools based locally in Bootle. He was still very much in touch with the dockers and decided if a wagon itself was to loose its way in L.pool then all the drivers new his address. Whenever I was home on leave you never knew what to expect or who knocked on the door, What he or myself never knew was my mam had arranged for him to do some what was called outwork for Vernon's pools a driver would pull up with sacksful of envelopes that had to be filled with some paper work sealed bundled together and picked up by Vernon's pools 3 days later I suppose she thought he is only sitting there at home its a chance for a bit more income coming in. {If she only new the truth } There would have been a divorce on the cards. I was sat out on the front step one afternoon topping up my bronzy reading a book almost naked lovely day and this bloody big van pulls p outside the house I new the driver as my old man did what my old man never knew was he was also redundant from the dock and now driving for Vernon's pools. Hiya Roy my old man said as he come to the door looking at the van he said what have you brought Roy who replied plumbs...…………….. Plumbs my old man said W.T.F. How many have you got 10.000 Roy said 10.000 Who the f**k is going to buy them and wont they go off before I can get shut and where am I suppose to put them without anyone seeing them. Roy shook his head and said there envelope's from Vernon's I was asked to drop them today and pick them up Friday. I was laughing my bloody head off I was suppose to give my old man the message something would show up from Vernon's pools today but forgot. I think my old man earned about £6 And was on pain killers for his back for about a month. Happy days Den, I wish I could bring it all back Terry.

[Denis O'Shea]

Ted, any port in a storm as the old saying went they are now all our yesterdays. Rgds Den