maritime

  First Really foreign port – Port Said Now, said Colin, watch out after the gangway was lowered in Port Said! The first thing that happened was that we were surrounded by people in colourful clothes trying to sell us stuff. The problem was we did not know what they were saying as they spoke a sort of pidgin English with words that had no meaning like “gulli gulli man” and those that were more explicit “feelthy pictures”! They crowded around us, so it was difficult to get away. One guy cornered me with his gulli gulli shout. He squatted on the deck and produced 3 coloured balls. Rapidly hiding and showing the balls as he moved them around, he covered them all and asked us where the red ball was. Piece of cake, I thought, but no it was not and then began the betting. £5 if you can guess where the red ball is. £5 lost and I realised that I was been duped and on a salary of £10 per month I had just lost 2 weeks’ pay! Enough. I told you so said Colin with a big grin. But it w...

  I puzzled over what Colin had told us last night. Whites tomorrow! Well, as we neared the eastern end of the Mediterranean and Port Said, it was certainly warmer. Grandpa had helped me with my uniform shopping as Dad was at sea, so I had some white clothes. Time to dig them out and get ready for tomorrow. First there was the short sleeve shirt with holes for epaulets on both shoulders. Attaching the epaulets was relatively simple, the laces go through the holes and are tied on the inside of the shirt. Quite grand with a single gold bar along the length of the epaulet much better than the lapel flashes of the blue winter jacket. Then there were the shorts. Seemed to be a little long as they came to my knees but apparently that was the style.   Fastened with two buckles at the front, “Empire builders” Colin said. Especially important that they were not too short but also that they were not too wide. He told us that once as the ship came into port, the Captain with his wide...

 So, this is Gibraltar, that large rock at the entrance to the Mediterranean that I have heard so much about lately and here it is right in front of my eyes, my very first foreign port. I'm really looking forward to it. As a 16-year-old grammar schoolboy I learnt very little history being more led through English literature and languages which did not excite me at the time. Only later did I learn of the British Empire and its tentacles around the globe. Gibraltar was an outpost of the British Empire but has had an interesting and varied history. Not only is there evidence of prehistoric cave dwellers on “The Rock” as it is affectionately called but it was of religious and symbolic importance from around 950 BC. For the Greeks and Romans, it was called “The Pillars of Hercules” after the Greek legend on the creation of the Straits of Gibraltar. The Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 covered the occupation of Gibraltar until the Spanish recaptured it in 1462. ...

 We sailed out of the Irish Sea and left coastal Britain behind. As we steered South South West (SSW) we crossed over the continental shelf and truly could say we were “deep sea” sailing. For the first time I was at sea going towards foreign countries, in this case the North West coast of Spain. To reach their we must cross the Bay of Biscay, notorious for its gales and enormous swell driven by the South Westerly prevailing winds coming all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, we today were truly in an ocean, no longer a sea. There are several “markers” that tell you that you have left coastal waters and entered an ocean regime. Birds that wheel around the ship zigzagging around the wake looking for food are completely absent. Both land and seabirds are gone. They are not true ocean birds like the albatross and need to return to land. Maritime traffic also changes. There is much less recreational boats and local fishermen. They too have their land-based bases to return...

Through my sleep I dreamt of eating fish and chips. Probably because my stomach was so empty, and I was hungry after my miserable first watch on the monkey island. However, that dreamy state of half-awake and half asleep was rudely interrupted by a sound in my ear” Sahib, Sahib, one bell”. This cannot be right; I had just gotten off to sleep but no there he was waiting for to get out of my bunk. “It is quarter to eight in the morning, Sahib, breakfast time”. Well I was certainly hungry and thoughts of an English breakfast with all the trimmings did not seem a bad idea. But how did I get it and where did I go to get it? That’s the question. Colin, the senior apprentice, popped his head around the door still puffing on his pipe and in his soft Welsh lilt said: “Wakey, wakey, breakfast at 08:30 in the officer’s saloon. Make sure you have your uniform on and it is tidy”! Okay, quick shower, teeth cleaned and dressed in my new uniform with stains from last night’s debacle on the mon...

For pensioners As pensioners we constantly adapt to keep up with daily life. Such is the case with supermarkets. No longer is it easy to find a friendly local butcher, greengrocer, or baker. We shop in a giant warehouse, often out of town, that they call either a shopping centre or a supermarket. This requires different strategies to successfully complete our purchases that fit our needs and pocket. Timing is also important. Avoid the commuter rush and especially the “after work” peak to the supermarket. Late morning, early afternoon is best, there is more parking space! Parking is the next challenge. Do I need to find an automat, have I got the right app or is it all done automatically by cameras. Getting it right is important to avoid a heavy fine. Is this a big shop requiring a trolley or a small shop where a basket is enough. The result of the decision determines whether you can use the “self-checkout” or not. No trollies in self-checkout. Today it is a basket shop. The o...