Flag of Wales The Eisteddfod can be traced back to Cardigan Castle in 1176, when the House of Dinefwr, which was a royal house of Wales, supported the eisteddfod. The House of Dinefwr can be traced back to King of Gwynedd in 844. The above is the flag of Dinefwr. The Eisteddfod had it ups […]
It’s Always You Bing Crosby sang it to Dorothy Lamour, in Zanzibar of course . . . Christmas Day 1964 – we arrived off Mombasa and berthed alongside the Chakla, another Company ship. Also, in port was a BI passenger ship named ‘Karanja’ and this name had a family link for me. My father was […]
You can sail the Danube or the Mekong or even the Amazon for pleasure, and not have a worry, but I doubt that you would choose to sail up or down the Shatt Al Arab for your annual holiday. The map will give you an idea of where we were heading – we bunkered (refuelled) […]
From the beginning the ship attracted a certain type of boy. 1860 Mathew Webb went on to be the first man to swim the English Channel. 1861 Warrington Baden Powell later in life was the founder of the Sea Scouts. 1868 Admiral Sir Sackville Carden Carden KCMG RN was asked by Churchill, who was First Lord of the Admiralty, […]
About an hour and a half from Cowra is Parkes, so name after Henry Parkes in 1873 later Sir Henry Parkes. Sir Henry in the town centre of Parkes. Parkes is now famous for the radio telescope that is located just outside of the town. It was built in 1961, but only the basic structure […]
The old and the new – Golden Princess can be seen with a sailing ship along side. We berthed close to the town, which allowed for a short walk to many places of interest. A touch of yesteryear where ever we looked. Many of the streets and homes reminded me of New Zealand, quiet and […]
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, […]
MV Pundua – ordered by the M.O.W.T (Ministry of War for Transport) in 1945, but was delivered to British India Steam Navigation Co. when launched. The Company had 105 ships at the outbreak of WW2, and during the war they lost 51 vessels due to enemy action. They also managed 72 other vessels, and of […]
There were eight of us (four couples) and we’d visited Malaysia & Sri Lanka so where next. Because I was responsible for arranging the two previous holidays the question was aimed at me. I was reading ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Green, so I thought why not Vietnam to see the Continental Hotel in Saigon (now […]
Never mind clocks & watches and all that accurate stuff, when in Fiji one must get used to Fiji time . . . Just after sunrise we approached our berth at Suva, Fiji. Abel Tasman was the first European to sight Fiji in 1643, and this was followed by Captain Cook in 1770. It was […]
In the late 1980’s I used to visit various Pacific Islands on business (someone had to do it!). On one trip I flew Sydney, Nauru, Tarawa (in Kiribati), Funafuti (Tuvalu), Suva (Fiji). Kiribati – pronounced Kir-i-bahss – which is the Gilbertese for Gilbert Island, and Tuvalu is the new name of the Ellis Islands, as […]
Two years ago, when we sailed in the Diamond Princess from Sydney to Singapore we celebrated Easter during the cruise. In that year Good Friday was the 25 th March and Easter Day 27th March. History repeated itself and once again we celebrated Easter during a cruise, on the same ship. In 2016 we were […]
We sailed from Southampton the day after we’d arrived with a fresh group of students. This voyage was to Vigo, again, and later Cadiz, where according to Sir Francis Drake he ‘Singed the King’s Beard’ . Sir Francis Drake Singed a King’s Beard in 1587. Drake’s original map, the pink arrow shows how he approached Cadiz harbour. Spain […]
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; Landaura – 9,750 dwt Launched in 1946 and was named after a very small village in Chandigarh in northern India. As much as I enjoyed my leave, I found that I had changed, whereas my Birkenhead friends had not, other […]
