smart old sailors

[Doc Vernon]

Some very nice things to go and see may well be worth a we visit!
Would like to see the little Window! LOL
Cheers

However must say that Great Britain has so many lovely little places to see,it would take lots of time and Money to really enjoy all it has to offer!
Oh just to hit a good Jackpot! Then I could do all those places that I really want to see,and also of course possibly meet quite a few of the Lads here,and my far away Family again!

[cappy]

in buenos aries what can only be described as a tribe of inebriated seaman were coming back to the ship about 4 am......one fell through a shop window and came out with a female mannequin .....not a real one and started dancing around ...we all thought it was fun ...the ship was the other side of a basin which was a long way round .....how lucky we saw a small boat moored to our side and decided that would fit the bill......at that time round the corner comes two cops......they were shouting and bawling and waving there guns ........somebody said dont worry they wont shoot ....i wasnt so bloody sure ......the big gob in the party ses get in the boat.....we all got in the boat telling them what a set of wank..they were being 17 i wasnt sure about this but joined in making various gestures etc.......round the corner come 7 or 8 vigilantes........row like fu.k ses big gob ...the boat gets under way ...then comes to a dead stop as it is also chained.......silence rained as they pulled the boat back to the jetty and started hitting us with there night sticks .....it was very painfull to say the least the ist two or three were handcuffed ......i was very fleet of foot at that age and got through the gauntlet with 6 or 7 hard wacks .....and did i run the next morning we were a sad lot .....when i look back now i think what a set of r...soles when i see the yobs today i dont like it .....but cant get away from the fact ....i was once like that ....to some extent ...regards cappy

[Ivan Cloherty]

We had our moments and questionable escapades Cappy, but there was no malice in what we did and didn't deliberately smash things for fun nor did we knife or shoot someone because they 'din show no respect man!' so doubt if you were like they are today to any extent what so ever.

[Jim Brady]

As an aside here we have cappy telling us of taking a good few hard wacks on the head with a baton and I'm sure many more of us did,also we witnessed some real (clean) fights a couple of guys knocking seven bells out of each other and nobody died.What I am coming to, do you think we had thicker sculls in those days???The reason i ask is the amount of "One Punch Murders" we have here in Liverpool which never happened years ago in the days of the real hard case fights.Almost monthly headlines (well not even headlines now) man dies from one punch hit,many of the deaths are due to hitting the head on the floor.I bet many had a good bang on the head at sea accident wise it seems that todays people would be dead.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[John Gill]

Just reading Cappy's exploits in BA. I think most of us have been in or ,as Jim mentions, witnessed a rough house in some far flung locations, however, my experience was a bit nearer home.Docked in Gourock on the Salaverry, the galley boy and myself had a skinful and on the way back aboard started up a crane on the dockside and drove it into the side of a Ruski ship moored next to ours. Soon enough, Scotlands constabulary arrived and we were bundled into the 'hurry-up wagon' into the nick.No formal arrest was made, just thrown into the cells (separately). My oppo started shouting the odds and was paid a visit by two beefy cops who proceeded to give him a hiding, My cell door then opened, but a lesson learnt, kept shtum amd feigned sleep. they left me alone. Next day we were dragged out and were to be up before the magistrate that morning and were told to plead guilty, if not we'd be remanded and more beating. When i saw my mate alongside me in the dock, i refused to accept the full charge (malicious and wanton destruction) because he was in a state. the cops had made no pretence of hiding his injuries, his face was a mess.The police had suggested that we were not drunk at all, and commited the offence maliciously.They all went into a huddle, reduced the charge to damage whilst drunk. fined us both 30 shillings each and threw us out. Two Englishmen in a strange land paid the penalty for being foreign.
gilly

[Ivan Cloherty]

As an aside here we have cappy telling us of taking a good few hard wacks on the head with a baton and I'm sure many more of us did,also we witnessed some real (clean) fights a couple of guys knocking seven bells out of each other and nobody died.What I am coming to, do you think we had thicker sculls in those days???The reason i ask is the amount of "One Punch Murders" we have here in Liverpool which never happened years ago in the days of the real hard case fights.Almost monthly headlines (well not even headlines now) man dies from one punch hit,many of the deaths are due to hitting the head on the floor.I bet many had a good bang on the head at sea accident wise it seems that todays people would be dead.
Regards.
Jim.B.

I don't think we had thicker skulls Jim, but most in our time at sea were lightly built and fit compared to today's 'heavy' (notice the PC!) youths and older. The size of the brain doesn't increase proportionally to size of head and body (except in exceptional circumstances, so I'm told by my medical friends), so a punch thrown by a heavy barrel of lard of today would have greater impact on the head, rocking and upsetting the brain's vital functions than it had hitherto

[vic mcclymont]

Hi John, not wanting to cast aspersions on your memory, but are you sure it was Gourock?
Of the three towns that make up Inverclyde (Gourock, Greenock & Port Glasgow) Gourock is the refined gentile town, more like your old maiden auntie. Whereas Greenock is as rough as a badgers erse.
The only jetty in Gourock is for the ferries that used to ply the Firth, where as Greenock was the main Port of the three towns.
Now the Polis in Greenock had a reputation for being rough and ready. When the pubs used to close at ten o'clock they sat in their vans outside the pubs and threw everyone that came out of the pub in the vans whether they were drunk or sober. Next day the were all in front of the Sheriff for being drunk and disorderly.
Good story.
Vic

[gray_marian]

#15, Ahhh John, What can I say about my fellow countrymen......except that if you repeated that story now to a wee Glasga nyaff or polisman he would reply....... wit dae ye waant...a medal.

Seriously though 'They all went into a huddle,' changed days now eh?

[John Gill]

Hi John, not wanting to cast aspersions on your memory,--Good story.
Vic

You're probably correct Vic, memory not as sharp as it was,(well, it did start with the letter G and ended in K).

[gray_marian]

#19, Excellant John, I prefer this "K" though.........[an understanding between John & I]

Doris Day - Que Sera Sera - YouTube
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