haircuts at sea

[happy daze john in oz]

The fact is men do not go bald, the hair just moves to another spot. Ever noticed as you get older it comes out of your nose and eras.

[leratty]

Happy adz John, you are so right there I ask my wife why she says as we are just one removed from animals... never too sure how to take it (: I worked with a Sikh some time ago & he truly had the most amazing hair coming from his ears. It mesmerised you, you could not look at his eyes rather at his ears it was quite disconcerting. We were R&D' íng-proving up a very specialist machine for reclaiming ore-coal etc from 'over burden' heaps to see if it could be viably recovered commercially. We made a video of it & he was the operator as well as doing part narrating, me the rest. Well everyone who saw it could only comment on this gentleman's ear hair ): rather than discuss the pros & cons of the machine & its possible usefulness.

[Richard Quartermaine]

And eyebrows too! What about that naughtical song of the lass from Mount Florida - apparently it hung down past her knees!!!

On my first trip in '47 we got to Halifax, NS and I realized that there was no way to get hair cuts. We had been at sea for two months from my joining in Newcastle NSW without much time in port. I got a sub and bought a pair of clippers, a long comb and pointed scissors and to get some brownie points let it be known that I would cut hair. At first I practiced on my mates but as it got around it was suggested I get paid. Sixpence, a shilling, maybe two bob if the job was extra hairy! One big, cheeky bu**er who hadn't coughed up after his hair cut some weeks earlier leaned over the rail as I was on the wharf at Cape Town about to go into town and shouted out "How much are your hair cuts"? "Two bob" I said. He threw the coin onto the wharf and I told him when he came to me a couple of weeks later for a trim to pi** off. I was only 16 and my Geordie cabin mates were close at hand, thank heavens.
Richard

[John Arton]

First trip to sea with a short fat, balding Captain and a third Mate who had been given the choice, Borstal or the Sea. He was well into the Beatles and the Stones and had the hairstyle to match. He was for all his run ins with the law prior to going to sea, very clever both academically and had a great wit. His biggest run ins with the captain always cantered on his dress sense. This Captain had been on the Empress's and used to want us to dress in rig of the day at all times, too which the third mate resolutely refused to comply with. The length of his hair was another sore point with the Captain.
One day as we were a week or so before entering the P.G. and the heat was building up the third mate got his hair cut very short by our on board Barbour (Spanish 2nd steward). That night on the bar was a paper bag all done up in ribbons with a note attached to it that said, "For the Captain, you need this more than me".
When the captain came in the bar that night he was very excited to find that a gift had been left for him and quickly tore the bag open expecting some nice pressy. What fell out was all the hair that had been cut from the third mates head. He had collected it and put it in the bag and made some fancy ribbons for it.
Most of us in the bar had to make a hasty exit to the toilet so as we could burst out laughing at the look on the captains face, who stormed out of the bar and did not appear there again for a week.
rgds
JA

[alf corbyn]

I once drove for a big furniture firm who had lots of lorries and a very stuck up transport manager who liked to show off in front of the bosses. he was talking to one, in the office one day when I came into the yard. Corbyn he said, go and get a haircut. I held out my hand and he was embarrassed and gave me half a crown. about three hours later I came back and he was again talking to the same boss. where have you been he said?. I said to get my hair cut. I didn't say in the firms time he said. I said it grows in the firms time. he said not all of it. so I replied, I didn't have it all cut off. he boss burst out laughing and said he got you that time.

[Stuart Henderson]

Remember an eleven month trip in 1950s on Esso Syracuse, Didnt get a haircut the whole trip ,only had about three runs ashore mostly in middle of nowhere, Left ship in Le Havre and had to go to London office to get wages, One young Yarpy shipmate didnt know London and asked me to at least keep him company the first night. Can you imangine eleven months payoff ,civilisation,pubs, lights, Soho. What a time we had me with hair like a beehave, tanned like leather and the city open to us...... Lot of explaing to do next day when I finally staggered home. Think there was a SACKFul of hair when I finally got to barbers,
Stuart

[Neil Morton]

I did several trips to the Caribbean on the Golfito. Prior to that I had paid off the Southern Cross in Port of Spain due to some very bad kharma. In Trinidad a barber, who wore a short crown top hat and carried in a custom made box ,a full set of barbers' implements , would come aboard up the crew gangway aft and do a lovely job for one yankee dollar,( about 5 bob ). He was also was a pimp for the local girls. He would talk, like all good barbers' do and when you turned up, under his guidance, at the Miramar night club he would present a cross section of African,Indian and Asian ladies for one's delectation. The flying fickle finger of fate bade me stay on that island in the sun for about 15 months. Horatio the barber and I became buddies as he introduced me to the laid back life style of the islands. Mmmmm happy days.

[cappy]

tell us more tell us more

[Ivan Cloherty]

tell us more tell us more

Cappy you will have to read Neil's entertaining book 'Sailing under the Red Duster' my copy currently in storage, so apologies Neil if I've got the title incorrect, old age you know!

[gray_marian]

Neil's book is one of several seafaring books on my Christmas list Cappy. If you can bare to wait till St Stephen's Day I'll lend it to you