I’ll never go abroad – which was a stupid comment that I made at thirteen, comes back to bite me. My first adventure abroad was just after I’d just turned sixteen in 1960. Billy Beedles, who was a family friend and a schoolteacher asked me to accompany him in August to help shepherd a […]
For whom the bell tolls – it tolled for me on this holiday – In 1961 I was invited once again to accompany my friendly schoolmaster for another trip to Europe, but this time it would be southern Spain, staying in a hotel rather than YHA. We’d moved up market. I was also asked if a […]
Ceylon did not become Sri Lanka until 1972. The country has had a chequered history, from the Portuguese arriving in 1505, followed by the Dutch, when the king of Sri Lanka signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company, in the hope that the Dutch would get rid of the Portuguese. It was during […]
In 1926 Aggie married Charles Grey When one reads the history of Samoa, particularly through the 1800s to the mid-1900s the list of characters that flowed in and around Apia, the capital of Samoa, would keep a Hollywood producer in work for years. Aggie grew up across the road from the International Hotel and one […]
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 […]
Remember Crab Key in Dr No, Ian Fleming’s sixth James Bond novel? Dr No was the first to be made in to a film. Eight of us (four couples) were staying in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of nights, and as we’d seen most of KL more than once, I thought that we should branch out. […]
Perhaps we should send # 4 & # 6 to the current PM of Australia! To be PC – No politician was hurt in the production of this message . . . 1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, […]
Floating Market outside Bangkok. Hire a boat and enjoy the experience. They cater for all tastes. Access to the market can be made from the landward side. We walked through the market to get to the boats. The locals also buy from the boat people. The young girl had just bought a hot meal. Most […]
Ceylon did not become Sri Lanka until 1972. The country has had a chequered history, from the Portuguese arriving in 1505, followed by the Dutch, when the king of Sri Lanka signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company, in the hope that the Dutch would get rid of the Portuguese. It was during […]
My next stop was to visit our agent in Apia, Western Samoa. Western Samoa consists of two main islands and several smaller islands. The island called Upolu is the main island where the capital Apia is located and Faleolo airport and the airline code for this airport is APW, if you plan to visit. The […]
1 Corinthians 16 : 13 – stand firm in the faith an apt moto. In a number of my blogs I have mentioned HMS Conway Nautical College, and some of my readers have asked various questions, so I thought I’d do a more detailed blog of ‘The Conway’. In the mid 1800’s Great Britain had the […]
I think that every bus in Cochin (Kochi) had been hired for our arrival. This time we didn’t take a ship’s tour because it is just as easy to DIY. Two of our friends had decided to join us for a tuk tuk tour of Cochin. Our other two friends where having no end of […]
Floating Market outside Bangkok. Hire a boat and enjoy the experience. They cater for all tastes. Access to the market can be made from the landward side. We walked through the market to get to the boats. The locals also buy from the boat people. The young girl had just bought a hot meal. Most […]
Picture taken of the Cross of St George the English flag, above Bargate, Southampton. Bargate – Southampton . . . but before we reached the Sceptered Isle, we had to leave Singapore We walked out of our hotel in to a very quiet terminus at 6.00 am, to check-in for our flight to London. Emigration […]
