The Lap of Honour.

[Captain Kong]

The Lap of Honour.

I went to the VINDI when I was a lad,
where conditions were hard
and the food was bad,
but I walked through those gates
as tall as a man
off to my first ship bound for Japan

And now I`ve retired and saved up my cash
once more round the world I am going to dash
to Mombasa and Java and out to Cathay
to see all my old girl friends
once more on the way

Mimi`s still waiting for me, I`ve been told
I`d like to see her before she gets old
then on to see Dedeh in Tanjong Patak
then fly off on a Jumbo to Hong Kong`s Kai Tak

I`ll go back to Tahiti down in the South Seas
to see my Wahine in the warm sunny breeze
Then across to see Maggie in New Zealand`s Hawkes Bay
and have a beer in Ma Gleesons* back on the way

I`ll do the Lap of Honour round the Australian coast
to see all the girls who loved me the most,
from Thursday Island round to Sydney and Perth
they were the loveliest girls on earth

I`ll go to see Sheila and then Marylou
and call upon Sally in Woolloomooloo
then go up to Townsville to see Mary O`Keefe
where we walked hand in hand by the Great Barrier Reef

When I think of those nights by a blue lagoon
loving my girl under a tropical moon
and those happy times that we both shared..........
my Mary`s still waiting for me, so I've heard.

On then to Honolulu and then Frisco Bay
and up to Vancouver and down to L.A.
I`ll jump on a Greyhound across to Hoboken
to see my Jenny whose heart I had broken

In Manhattan`s Times Square and 42nd Street
there must be some girls that I used to meet
it would be sad if I looked around
and none of my girls were there to be found.

So off I would go to old Mexico
to see my Juanita down in Tampico.
then across to see Molly in Montego Bay
and go up the Blue Mountains where we used to play

On then to Rio, Montevideo and B.A.
To May Sullivan`s Bar, where I used to stay.
There was Rosita, Paquita and also Maria,
On then to Santos and round to Bahia
.
Then when I return home again
to England's cold and dismal rain
all my memories will always stay
they are something that no one can take away

I`ll be thinking now that I`ll get a shock
on my memory trip to turn back the clock.
things won`t be the same, time has moved on
the young girls I once loved have grown old and are gone.

and now that I am coming to the end of my time
I must put my memories down into rhyme.
`cos when you are young life is all magic
but as you get older life becomes tragic.

but there is still some life in the old dog yet
and there`s more adventures for me to get
so I`ll be heading off into the sun
to have more excitement and plenty of fun.

Its not for me to tend the garden and flowers
polishing the brasses , walking the dog for hours.
but to go back round the world in a blaze of glory
then I`ll come back home to write my story.

And then one day when I am old and grey
and my life`s been used up and it`s come time to pay
as I lie on my bed on my face will be a smile
I`ll just be a thinking “ it`s all been worthwhile”.
BRIAN

[Doc Vernon]

Good one Capt. Glad to see you online again. Hope things are a wee bit better mate!
Stay Strong and Positive Always!
Regards

Although i never was at the Vindi from what i have read reminds me so much of my Training as a Silver Service Steward with the SAR&H in Cape Town, where we were sent for a Six Monts duration locked up there no way out! LOL
But we had fun, although it was at times very hard, but one thing i can say that was different from what i read at the Vidi, was the Food , Boy did we get good Grub!
Cheers
Regards to Anne please!

[Fouro]

To Brian,
Forget about your old flames but please be grateful you have still got your good wife beside you.

Fouro

beside you.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Brian.
I followed your trail with a similar tale, with tears in my eyes and the wife on my tail.
That took me to places long forgot Brian, thanks mate, keep safe and enjoy what's left with Anne.
Cheers Des