During our holiday in Chiang Mai in Thailand we decided to have a ride on an elephant – to be honest the tour that we paid for was a for water rafting, which included a ride on an elephant. Having ridden on an elephant at Chester zoo, when I was a child, I expected something […]
Chakdara We loaded tea in Trincomalee for five days before sailing to Madras. I stayed on board this time because I was not going to be accused of not being aware of our sailing time. Our next leg took us from Madras to Aden, which is across the harbour from Little Aden – at least we […]
Writing historical fiction is time consuming to say the least. Each scene that surrounds a character must be true for the reader, and the easiest way to make this scene true, is research and more research. You cannot afford to be wrong, unless of course you do it deliberately, because you are writing an ‘alternate […]
On our arrival in Lisbon I phoned the ‘greeter’ to let her know that we had arrived and that we were queuing for a taxi. As we reached the front of the queue I indicated that we required a large vehicle to accommodate four people and all our luggage. The vehicle assigned to us resulted in […]
Arriving at Sakaiminato on the west coast of Japan. We arrived at 7.30 am, after an over night cruise from Busan in S. Korea Maureen and I had booked a ship’s tour that included a walk around a garden. We didn’t have any idea what type of garden. But first we were taken by coach […]
Manchester Ship Canal in the early 1900’s. Over the years Manchester had a number airports, the first being built near the Manchester Ship Canal, and it was called Trafford Park Aerodrome. It opened in 1911 and closed in 1918. This was followed by Alexandra Park Aerodrome, which can be seen below. Manchester’s second airport 1918 […]
The food market – many foreigners come here, just to stroll around and perhaps taste some of the local food. Would you like a white strawberry – not sure of the weight, but the box will cost you about AUD $56.25 Pre-packed lunch boxes, which reminded me of bento, which is a Japanese packed lunch […]
B.H.S = Boredom – Heat – Sand (and for my British readers BHS is not British Home Stores!) We sailed from Muscat for Doha, but for some reason, which I can’t remember, we were diverted to Bahrain, which is 130 km ( 81 miles) as the crow flies from Doha, but a little longer by […]
How things have changed since my first trip to Hong Kong in 1963. Note the clock tower to the left of the picture, right on the waterfront, more about it later. I found this old advert, which also shows Hong Kong of the 60’s. We entered Hong Kong harbour via the Tathong Channel on the […]
” we had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security…” — Governor Arthur Phillip, 15 May 1788. Today we know it as Sydney Harbour – the above picture shows North Head as we sail in to the harbour […]
In mid 1962, after two years at HMS Conway, I graduated. British India Steam Navigation Company, also known simply as BI, accepted me in August, as an indentured cadet (apprentice). House flag and funnel Once I’d been accepted I applied for a British Seaman’s Card and a Discharge Book I had the paperwork to prove that I […]
Catherine’s Palace at Peterhof (Petergof is the Russian spelling) It was a warm day and I didn’t envy the staff in their period costumes. The picture shows the north side of the palace, or what was called the carriage courtyard. The palace originated in 1717 by command of Catherine 1 of Russia. If you like […]
Manchester Ship Canal in the early 1900’s. Over the years Manchester had a number airports, the first being built near the Manchester Ship Canal, and it was called Trafford Park Aerodrome. It opened in 1911 and closed in 1918. This was followed by Alexandra Park Aerodrome, which can be seen below. Manchester’s second airport 1918 […]
With a capacity of 800 you had to be seated at least 30 minutes before the show began. The Princess ships have their own dancers and singers, and their own musical backing – in addition, various outside entertainers are engaged for one or two nights. They would fly in – entertain the passengers and fly […]