Is proper name was the Gleason Hotel non existent last time I looked a few years ago. JS
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Is proper name was the Gleason Hotel non existent last time I looked a few years ago. JS
First time I went into Ma Gleason's, two blokes were beating the Sh% out of each other, I went to the toilet!!!and there two big Maori women squatting in the tray. Rough place but could always get in after hours for a beer, if you were prepared to shout the coppers.
When we say the good old days, they were, and I am glad I was at sea in those days.
Des
#11 You never saw Roberts like I had to nearly every morning about 0500 Cappy , he must have stayed up to see that the mate got on the bridge in time for his stars and assume he"d had a few snifters the night before with him. The mate used to try and keep me talking and then take his times for his sights. When I finally came sneaking down the inside stairs passed Roberts cabin on his deck which was taboo, a voice invariably came from behind his door curtain 2nd. mate is that you , instead of saying No its Santa Claus and carrying on , I said yes. An arm would shoot out the door with a glass in it and a voice would boom out Drink that tell me what it is and I"ll give you another one. If you were unfortuanate enough to catch a glimpse of the figure behind the glass you would have seen a very old man clad in his long Johns and vest, which was invariably his tropical gear, unless their were strangers like pilots on board when he would condescend to putting on his trilby hat. How he could instill fear into some I will never understand , but he did to many a sea lawyer. He was a tyrant if found drink on board as well , used to stand at the top of the Gangway in Japan every morning taking the bottles of Saki off all the stragglers and breaking them on the ships side. In Liverpool I had to show his family and future son in law around the ship and even the future son in law was terrified of him , so whether he ever consumated the marriage to the daughter of such a fiend will never know now. Cheers JS
In the Discharge Book was an area after each trip to record Copy of Character. For ability and For General conduct. Usually it was stamped Very Good in both places,
before being signed by the old man. If you received a DR instead it stood for Declined to Report. That is my simple explanation but some of the guys may have some
more comments.
Cheers
It is little wonder those who have never been to sea look at us sometimes when we talk of our life then.
Some of the oddest ones sailed, the weird, the nutters, the alchos, the drugies, cooks, coockos and wilfull bloody murders.
But some how we all survived and lived to tell the tale.
Some of the officers I knew as officers steward came up with some of the oddest actions even to the extent of drinking the Meths used in the compass gimble.
signing on my ist trip in the shipping office ....we all lined up it was quite a moment for the ist tripper .....old roberts stood at the top of the queue you passed your book over and he looked at it then said ok ...and you signed on ..in front of me was a older fellow who passed over his book ....old roberts opened it and said have you sailed with me before ...the man said no ...in one of the loudest voices old roberts shouted as he threw the book at him ....you a troublemaker and a drun k theres your book now bugger off ....my knees were knocking as a young boy....captain bligh came to mind ...i have a tale of later in the voyage but beloved ses breakfasts ready .....but hasnt threw the plate at me yet lol cappy
If corrientis now going through his Sea Breezes is going through them of about 8 years ago there is a story in one of them by Clive a friend in NZ of one of the masters and part of his history. Don’t think it was Roberts it was a capt.. Lamb another very similar, he served his time in Windjammers one of the last to do so. They are all now long dead but made their mark in a lot of younger men’s minds . The younger dressy up one and God’s gift to women Cappy was called Howlett by the way. The reason I christened him such he was successful in getting the ships stamp , stamped on the inside thigh of a female boarding custom officer. Official number the lot. JS
#24..Should be DR DR and not doctor doctor .Victoria.