Suits

[happy daze john in oz]

Prescott ???? That great fat oaf couldn't look good in anything. Talk to some of the old hands off the Queen Mary. They'll tell you about him. Might have been the Queen Elizabeth but I'm sure it was the Mary.

If you cannot tell the ladies apart could end up in a lot of trouble.

[happy daze john in oz]

I never went to Burtone, no good at snooker then, prefered John Temple and at one time with UCL bought a new suit each voyage. ut now I doubt there are many bespoke tailors now and the quality of much of the ready to wear suits now.

[John Gill]

[QUOTE=Louis the fly;152757]Hi Rich, I think the fashion of wearing suits on leave only applied to Liverpool seamen. Another thing was we never drank pints, always halves but we got through the same amount.[/QUOTE

You're probably correct Louis in repect of drinking halves- I can recall supping in Rigbys on Dale St in Liverpool and ordering halves of Bass with the occasional rum & black chaser. Also, in those far off days women weren't allowed in that particular pub. All changed now. My wife and i called in there recently as part of our cultural tour of watering holes- asked for Bass and was met with a blank stare from what resembled a 14 year old barmaid with enough metal piercings on her anatomy to sink a small coaster. One should never go back.
gilly

[Jim Brady]

John the reason for only drinking halves of draught bass was you were'nt supposed to drink that much.I knew a couple of guys who's bulkheads carried away on the way home on the tram/bus.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[John Gill]

Agree Jim - the old Blackdraught certainly gave your anal phincter muscles some exercise.
gilly

[gray_marian]

#44/45, Blooming heck! Wonder if they disposed of their suits thereafter, surely wasn't left for the wifey to clean..............That's called "Care in the community" now!

[John Gill]

#46- Most of us, having experienced the effects of Draught Bass, would wisely order an extra pair of pants from Bespoke Manny's when presenting our 'inched' bolt of cloth, saving the wife complaining, on returning home- 'don't give me that s**t'

[Louis the fly]

When I first arrived in the location where I now reside there were contractors from all over the U.K. working in the area.
My girlfriend ( now wife ) and I would go for a drink at the local pubs which were always full, she would be standing looking around with a blank look on her face.
She said " I have been living here all my life and now I cannot understand a word anybody says. "
She still cannot understand Rab and Jamesy and wonders what I am laughing at.

[John Arton]

Draught Bass==ugh awful stuff.
None of the pubs in the Lakes where I grew up sold it, the only time I can recall drinking it was in the bar at Kings Cross whilst waiting for a train up north. Had to sink rather a large amount of McEwans export at British Rail temperature coupled with a number of British Rail pork pies to get rid of the taste.
By the time we got to Crewe we were all well nissed and the third Engineer literally fell out of the carriage into his wives arms who was waiting to take him home from the station. Last seen was the pair of them in a tangle on Crewe platform her legs in the air and him almost passed out on top of her being berated in terms that would make a soho lady blush.
Almost forgot to get off at Oxenholme and staggered up to mothers front door, could not get the key in the lock and fell face forward at her feet when she opened the door.
Certainly put me off Bass for the rest of my life.
rgds
JA

[leratty]

Ivan, I never "inched" anything from the holds ever but did from the lampys locker for selling ashore. I do recall on a B.A. Flyer we were so hungry for meat we went down into one of the freezer holds with a book of various meat cuts borrowed from a cook to carve off some steaks. That is another story (:
Moss Bros was the other suit maker we would go too.
Oh I recall we used to have some amazing colours in the inside lining of our jackets. Red, yellow, blue, always a bright colour.
Cappy, Oh B.A. leather & suede yes we all had some beauties & traded in them too. I should tell the story of my horrendously expensive below the knee unborn calfskin coat & a bad night in a Valpo bar, hilarious but very costly!