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Thread: Mutiny on the high seas

  1. #21
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    Default Re: Mutiny on the high seas

    Got to be circumspect Des, maybe women and children reading this , don’t want there impression of us as God fearing Good Samaritan’s altered. JS
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  2. #22
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    Default Re: Mutiny on the high seas

    The only time I remember being God fearing was on the way to the bridge for a logging.

    Apart from that I lead a pure Christian life style, bit like the one on the bounty.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Mutiny on the high seas

    I was at sea from 63 -75. made ab. Got logged MANY times but escaped the dreaded "G" or "DR" Sometimes it was a quick. "2ays 2days forefiture. Sometimes the skipper made a big deal of it. Union Jack .Panel,Chief Steward, Mate ,Engineer. Captain as Chief executioner. Does any body out there remember some of the better exchanges" Captain, can you get fined for thinking?" NO."" Captain, i think youré a C___t! "2 days, "keep yourthoughts to"yourself"" You got logged if you said something. :insolence". You got logged if you Didn't say something. Dumb Insolence. We Couldn't win. But we learnt not to break the rules but to severely bend them.Happys day indeed'Bob Rowson. R 785766.

  5. #24
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    Default Re: Mutiny on the high seas

    A word on the drinking. Firstly, I have to start with an explanation of the standard issue beer mug, it was a heavy glass, straight sided mug with a handle. The sides were fluted and so designed that several glasses could be gripped by the handle at the one time, and the fluting of the sides ensured that all glasses were locked into position with each other and clung together rather than trying to separate. According to the size of the hand of the carrier it was quite common to see ten to twelve pints being carried (in both hands of course) by the beer trimmers. These being galley boys who trimmed ale to the kitchen staff and catering boys, who trimmed ale for the stewards. There was a constant chain of them traversing backwards and forwards between the midships pig and the galley. No cash was changed hands, the pig barkeep kept tally of the quantity served to which individual in his accounts book and all debts were settled at the end of the trip.
    Now a couple of stories, the barkeepers would blatantly water down the beer with the rule being that the drunker the drinker became, the more water was added to his pot. I know this happened, not from hearsay but from actually witnessing them doing it, (the barkeeper was unaware of my presence behind him as this happened)
    The writers had their beer dispensed not by the midships pig but by the main bar outlet in the galley which dispensed drinks of all types to the passengers and of course to select individuals with privileges, such as writers. Hence our beer was always 100%.
    There was a cook in the galley with whom I was on friendly terms and I used to chat with him frequently. His position was that of soup cook and that was all he did, make soup. Quite an interesting process making soup and it was all prepared from scratch in Cunard. In the soup corner (as it was called) there were several huge vats ( I think they were called "doggies") into which was thrown all the egg shells, turkey frames and large meat bones this being to make the stock for the various soup types, with the egg shells being in there to clarify the mix, which was deemed to be ready by the chef when he drew a sample, let it cool, and if it turned to a gel; then it was ready for being used as a stock. So, getting back to my friend the soup cook, who was a very large man, I am guessing he must have been around 350 to 400 pounds, I asked him how much beer he drank in a day, as I would see him (and plenty of others) down a pint in a single quaff as soon as the galley boy delivered it. He went into pensive thought for a moment and then sheepishly replied, "I don't know really, between thirty and forty I suppose, possibly more."
    I was astonished, If I could get to five pints without throwing it back up, it was a good day. Still, practice makes perfect I suppose.
    He, and al the other cooks started preparation of the food upon receipt of a copy of the menu for the forthcoming week. So I asked my friend (his name was Tommy) what he would do if he prepared the wrong soup for the day. He replied "Hide" . We both had a good laugh about this, imagining just how a person of his size was going to achieve this.
    A word about the midships (catering department) pig. Every evening after wipe down of the hot press, the place would be packed with galley hands and stewards and without any form of air conditioning the smell was overpowering to say the least. I have seen, after closing time, drunken seamen rolling around in slopped beer and vomit as the ship heaved and others who were still "alive" rooting around among the slop for a dry section of sandwich, (every man carried with him to the pig a pack of sandwiches which had been prepared earlier, all part of the routine.
    Those who eventually came alive lurched off to the gloryhole where they would crash out fully dressed to sleep it off. As the gloryholes and the midships pig surrounded the engine room casing and was roasting hot when the ship was at sea, you can imagine the smell. I would have to traverse these quarters regularly and it was not unusual to see guys laying in their bunks with three or four pints of beer secured on the deck alongside them, to be slugged back in desperation upon being woken the next morning. There were doors on the cabins but these were never closed and not even the curtain was drawn across in an effort to reduce the stifling heat.
    Well, enough for now....
    All the best
    Austin

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