Tombo mary, in apapa side

[Austin Carl Largan]

I used to sloop down Kai-Kai and warm beer in a place called Mama Lulu's somewhere in the Escravos delta, no idea where exactly. One time during an extra long session there I went out back to relieve myself and drunkenly fell over backwards in the mud taking down a wicker fence around the hog pen as I went. First all the little ones ran over the top of me and then came the big ones. The combined quantity of trotters which ran over the top of me ran into the hundreds.......well, it sure felt like it.

Austin

Austin

[j.sabourn]

Did you experience the annual Carnival in P. O.S lasts for 3 days, steel band after steel band
Costumes out of this world their owners making them themselves, big prizes for the winners. Everyone shuffling around the streets with a bottle of Old Oak rum glued to their lips. Have never been to the Rio one but don’t think would surpass the Trinidad one. JS

[corrientes]

If she was related to "Pepel Mary" then she was best given a wide berth!!

[Austin Carl Largan]

'Morning J.S.
Yes I did experience carnival there, but it's not really my thing although I tried to join in. While I was in the crowd a female arm lunged out and tried to claw my wristwatch from my arm. Fortunately for me it had a very sturdy stainless steel strap and I was all sweaty so her fingers slipped off and she vanished into the press. I did notice that she was accompanied by a large man who's job no doubt was to deter me from pursuing her should she have been successful. It finished off what little enjoyment I got out of being there and I went back to my apartment for a scotch.
A word on that apartment; shortly after I moved in there I arrived back late one night and most of the car park was full and I had to park in the outer perimeter. As I was closing the door there was a rustling behind me in the bushes and I turned round to come face to face with a man all dressed in black, holding an automatic weapon. I assure you sir, I like to foul my trousers. But he spoke up and said "It's all right, I'm one of the security guards. There were four of them, one on each corner. It was a very nice apartment building and several diplomats lived there, hence the security.
Another time, one morning, I was walking across my lounge with a coffee when I started staggering and I dropped the coffee. My first thought was tht I was suffering from a brain hemorrhage or something but it turned out to be an earthquake. I was on the top floor and I think I made the decent via the emergency stairs in about 12 seconds. As I streaked through the back exit gasping for breath into the parking lot I passed the janitor who was kicked back in a lounge chair with his feet up on the trash dumpster. When he saw me in my panic he started laughing and said in his inimitable Trini drawl "Give you a fright Mr. Largan??" I replied " A fright??? A fright??? Let me check my drawers here first and I'll let you know". He said "Oooooh, don't worry about dat, it happen aaaall de time" I got chatting to him and it turned out that one of his perks was to root through the trash dumpster and salvage whatever stuff came down down the chute from the apartments. He laughed and said "I always know when its your trash coming down Mr. Largan, it make a loud noise as it's only ever bottles and cans"
I don't believe I had a very good reputation with the diplomatic circle as I think I offended one of the Indian diplomat's wives in the elevator. I had just come back from dinner at the upside down Hilton and was pretty loaded. As I got into the elevator this immaculately dressed Indian lady got in with me and on the way up she politely inquired "And what is it that you do?" Thinking of nothing better to say and trying to be amusing I laughed and blurted out "As little as possible" breathing whiskey fumes over her. She visibly shrank back and for all the time I lived there none of the diplomatic residents ever said another word to me. Oh well, I thought, something for my resume.....'Shunned by diplomats'.

Have a good one

Austin

p.s. I have been in Rio during carnival too, wild and also dangerous, as is all of Rio. Before I went there a friend of mine warned me with the sage comment "Rio 'aint for beginners". He was right.

[Johnny Kieran]

Seen both, I thought the Rio one was bigger and better. Mind you, Port of Spain was a bit tense, due to some troubles going on with those islands. I can't remember what it was about. I used to love Rio, especially when they won the world cup.

[Austin Carl Largan]

If you were there in the 60’s the trouble in the islands was the Brits , they hated us there . Still do in my opinion.

[j.sabourn]

Re . Port of Spain , it was a vessel with no air conditioning so myself and a couple of others had rooms booked permanently at the Turf Hotel opposite the Racecourse , supposedly to get a nights Kip. But it usually turned out that the others had various girlfriends so usually finished in the early hours doing the Limbo I could manage going under 2 feet in those days. And they
weren’t digital feet. Chagaramus as you say was our last port where we loaded bauxite for port Alfred up the Saguenay River an offshoot of the St. Lawrence. The ship itself was owned by ALCOA ( Alumina Company of America) and not Australia as most think , but managed by Saguenay Shipping of 1060 University Street, Montreal, always remember the good things in life as well as the bad. cheers JS.

[Austin Carl Largan]

I have another Trini story for you J.S.
I met this guy at the bar in the Upside down Hilton and we swung the lamp a while and I saw him several times there after, he was as retired 727 pilot and he told aviation yarns and I told sea stories. One day he said "I'm going to take you to my own private bar". We took a cab to (can't remember where now) somewhere in the center of P.O.S.but there was a square with buildings all round it, one of them being a very well known hooker pick up club and I thought he was taking us there, when I commented that I knew the place he just smiled and said "No you don't" We stopped at a building on the opposite side of the square and knocked on the door of what appeared to be a private large old house. A hatch was opened and my friend said "He's with me" It turned out to be the accommodation apartments for all the girls who worked in the club opposite and they had a small bar with about six chairs and tables on the ground floor. It was very relaxed and pleasant and a great little hidey-hole. It was where the girls went when they were off duty and wanted a drink. They were all definitely off duty and the atmosphere was very relaxed and pleasant. I got to see life on the other side. Also, you had to be known, introduced and accepted before they let you in. You could just not walk in from the street. I spent many happy hours hiding in there knowing that my companies joint venture spies could not find me, ( I was followed everywhere by them and they reported my every movement to him, to be used as evidence in sh*t slinging contests later.) It was one of those places where the members all had there own bottles on the shelf at the bar, and no one ever took anything from them. Not something I would have done in the Hilton bar.

Austin

[j.sabourn]

The nearest I can come to that but was not a home for hookers , was in Milwaukee. Was ashore one night and followed a group of party goers into what looked like a warehouse. On getting inside there was no one there except one bloke sitting at a desk. I asked him where the party had disappeared to. His reply this is a private club sir and you have to know the password. On asking him what the password was he said “ is this a safe house” , so I repeated and an electric controlled door slid open behind his desk. Inside the place was decorated like the Berlin Wall , with bar stools that went up and down at frequent times and other quirky things , the place was jumping with both sexes letting their hair down and I met quite a few interesting people. I kept the knowledge of the safe house to myself and if ever wanted to get free of the maddening crowd used to disappear into. It was a mystery to
most on the ship where I got to . Cheers JS.

[corrientes]

Somebody tell me how we got here from Apapa??