Miss Ella

[John Neary]

I was with Royal Mail between 1958 and 1972.
I served on Essequibo Feb 58 to Nov58
Brittany Nov 58 to Sept 59
Deseado Oct 59 to Mar 60
Parima Mar 60 to June 61
Andes12 61 to3 62
Pardo may62 Ht only
Eden Jun62 to Jan 64
Albany April 64 to April 65
Picardy May 65 to Nov 65
Deseado Dec 65 to Feb 66
Essequibo Mar 66 to Mar 67
Escalante April 67 to Sept 67
Supercargo Feb 68 to Jun 68
Var vsls Ht Jun 68 to Nov 68
Eleuthera Dec68 to Feb 69
Var Ht runs Feb 69 to May 69
Albany May 69 to Oct 69
Thessaly Nov 69 to May 70
Supercargo Jun70 to Nov 71
Docking Master Shaw Savill Nov 71 to Mid 72
Great Furness Withy Shake up - redundant!
I will always have great memories of The Caribbean and especially Jamaica and I wonder if anyone remebers miss Ella sitting at the foot of the gangway selling fruit and making pickled chillies. You gave her a bottle and some vinegar and for a few bob she'd fill it with chillies which would mature nicely by the time you paid off and then would blow your head off!!!
John Nearyhttp://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[E.Martin]

I was Bosun on the Eden 56-57 spent alot of time in the Caribbean mainly Jamaica.
I can remember a fruit lady who came onboard selling fruit the out standing thing about her was when she smoked the lighted end of the cigarette was in her mouth.

[Willie Saunders]

John, I was A.B. on the Albany 24th April to 6th August 1964, looks like we were shipmates then ?

[Richard Masson]

Looks like everybody was on the Albany. I was Third Mate from Sept 1964 until August 1965

[Malcolm S]

Greetings,
Those were the days! Ella selling her fruit, Snow White doing the laundry "One Shillin a shirt sah!"
Down the road for a Case of coke, bucket of ice and a bottle of Appleton Estate!
John, I think you were the 2/O and I was the 3/O on the Essiquibo together?

Malcolm

[kurutai]

Hello John I was ab in the Eden same time as you for one voyage down the west coast of South America in 1963 ,Polly Perkins was the old man most of the deck crowd bought parrots also the ship had a couple of cats aboard one I remember one was called shagger, I had to move into the cattlemans cabin down aft with my parrot because of the noise because my cabin mate Pat Price had a parrot as well I also bought a three toed sloth I ended up giving it to Polly Perkins [ hard to beleive I know but true ] I still had my parrot up to may 2006 , I dont know if you will recall this but the galley boy had a white mouse and he bought another one you can guess what happened again unbeleivable but true I can remember being on look out next thing a cat would come up on the fo,csle rubbing up against my leg , I have a few photos of that trip one of the lampy it shows him holding one of the cats he was an Irish man wonderful fella one of lifes real characters , the bosun I recall was a big man another real nice fella ,about a year later I joined the old Durango and Polly Perkins was the old man he walked in the wheelhouse when he saw me on the wheel he told me that the bosun of the Eden had crossed the bar [ he could have only have been in his late forties ] I remember when we arrived in Liverpool on the Eden it would have been in the August of 63 to pay off we where on the fore deck topping derricks next thing Polly Perkins walks out on deck shouting "parrot permits parrot permits that,s all ive got parrot permits " I can still see him in my minds eye I did hear that he had spent time as a prisoner of war again another of lifes great characters best regards Dave Smith .

[John Neary]

Was that the voyage we paid off the 4th eng in Paita with appendicitis? I think it was. The west coast always was a Jonah voyage for me one voyage it was the 4th and the other was the third mate going to a reception in Callao and picking up some weird stomach complaint which apparently came from eating dodgy cheese. Both survived despite my administrations.

[John Neary]

That was Miss Ella!!

[Malcolm S]

Greetings - the third mate was me ! I remember it well.
Your last words to me before being landed to a local hospital in Callao were "In your condition you should be dead!" Thanks John!!

Rgds
Malcolm:

[John Neary]

From what the 4th told me next voyage about hygiene conditions in the hospital in Paita I'm surprised any one survived. Royal Mail must have bred a tough lot!.
I was told that the bug you had was called Malta fever due to it killing off a whole load of British soldiers garrisoned in Malta during the Napoleonic wars. Actually thinking about it those voyages did have one happy consequence - they introduced me to Chilean wine. Does any one remember the correct name for a very palatable red that came in a bottle similar to a Mateus Rose bottle? I think it was called underagga or some such. I never been able to find it in the UK
Regards
Jphn Neary