BP Cheese Beano

[John Banfield]

Hi All,

I am fully aware that this will have a bit of a polarising effect, but I am trying to remember the loading order for a Cheese Beano as made on BP ships in the 70s and 80s.

A slice of bread, may have already been toasted, slice of spam, now I think it was some baked beans, a slice of a beef tomato, and topped off with some grated cheese, or the last two may have been reversed.

I think you either liked them, I did rather, or wouldn't touch them.

Thanks

John

[happy daze john in oz]

The only Beano I knew was a comic , but this sounds also a bit like one.
But odd mixtures have at times made the grade.
ASs for me it sounds YUK!!!!!

[j.sabourn]

Sounds about right. The cheese and baked beans anyway. A tin of condensed milk and a teaspoon for dessert to follow would of gone down well. Even though it was an old tin out of the lifeboats. I had a bit of finesse didn’t believe in opening the tin with a hole each side and sucking out as was a hiding place for cockroaches , take the top of tin off and use the spoon at least could see the cockroach before he probably got consumed as well. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Sounds about right. The cheese and baked beans anyway. A tin of condensed milk and a teaspoon for dessert to follow would of gone down well. Even though it was an old tin out of the lifeboats. I had a bit of finesse didn’t believe in opening game the tin with a hole each side and sucking out as was a hiding place for cockroaches , take the top of tin off and use the spoon at least could see the cockroach before he probably got consumed as well. JS

Which begs the question, how often was the food and water in lifeboats changed?
Now all life rafts have to be replaced every 12 months, not sure about the contents on life boats though.
All I do know is they must have enough fuel for 24 hours at 4 knots.

[j.sabourn]

Officially was every 6 months I think ? There again depended on the chief steward if he had enough to replace. The barley sugar may have been every year ? And the water all depended whenever you had on board. People today would not realise how important it was on older ships to conserve water , a dripping tap was the devil in disguise. Domestic water had to be pumped up to header tanks and if on water rationing sometimes was only pumped up once a day , maybe that’s why beards became fashionable amongst the seagoing fraternity.. The earrings maybe for different people on different ships with different outlooks on life. Anyhow soon caught on ashore. Anyhow as to this post title the Beano was Dandy with me. JS

[j.sabourn]

Anyhow this post should give one the Hotspur to catch the Eagle who chased The Tiny Tots. To stop the polarizing effect that the original. author was expecting. Guess what I am getting for tea, a pie, now if I asked the wife for a Beano she wouldn’t know what I was talking about , is amazing the lack of good cooking ashore. John Banfield in all seriousness if you were a cook or chief Steward at sea , bet you got less complaints than most. They could no way say they were still hungry . Cheers JS

[John Arton]

B.P.'s famous cheese Beano, if done correctly, is a very tasty snack.
As for lifeboat rations, the conny onny, barley sugar, have long been replaced by high protein concentrated food bars that come pre packed with any expiry date stamped on them, think at least 12 months. Water is now in sealed packs, again dated.
Rgds
J.A.

[John Banfield]

John, I have a feeling the Barley Sugar, Hard Biscuits and Condensed Milk were changed every three years, but I can not swear to that. We changed all four lifeboats rations and squirrelled away a great many jars of barley sugar. The biscuits were rock hard and they were ditched. As to the conny onnie, may have been turned into something . . .
Then the rations became Non Thirst Provoking "stuff". When we changed that on a later ship we were not impressed and did not squirrel any of that away. My best guess would be muesli turned into a smoothy and then dried in an ice cube tray.
All the best

John

[John Banfield]

J, I was not a cook, which is probably a good thing. I have developed a talent for adding a little of this and a pinch of that and a few drops of something else and while edible it tastes of absolutely nothing. I was quite good at scrambling eggs for the 12 - 4.

All the best

John

[happy daze john in oz]

Officially was every 6 months I think ? There again depended on the chief steward if he had enough to replace. The barley sugar may have been every year ? And the water all depended whenever you had on board. People today would not realise how important it was on older ships to conserve water , a dripping tap was the devil in disguise. Domestic water had to be pumped up to header tanks and if on water rationing sometimes was only pumped up once a day , maybe that’s why beards became fashionable amongst the seagoing fraternity.. The earrings maybe for different people on different ships with different outlooks on life. Anyhow soon caught on ashore. Anyhow as to this post title the Beano was Dandy with me. JS

Interesting about the water John.
On the Paparoa going across the Indian ocean something happened to the fresh water supply, there was a story some was pumped over the side by mistake.
But for over two weeks we were on two pints of fresh water a day and salt water showers.