It is my birthday today dear folks. I’m eighty-five years and still as fit as a fiddle. I do tend to spend more time these days thinking about the past, the future is hard to mull over when tomorrow I could drop dead, so I am prone to living the past these days.
I recall one time when I used to live for the future. I was in my cabin supping on a light malt whilst dreaming of buying a bar for my retirement, a nice little local pub where I could tend bar, when the Chief Officer called down to say that there was ‘land ahoy’. Everybody was excited about getting ashore; a recent win on the football pools had ensured that a large meal with drinks would be comfortably accounted for. As banker for the enterprise I kept the money in the ships safe. I would also go ashore with them to ensure that all partook equally in the handout but first we had to get the ship alongside, complete the paperwork and to wait for sundown before hitting the road for a night to remember. I recall the day clearly and I allowed myself to join in their excitement, their vivid enthusiasm taking root.
Kids eh?
We were berthing in Taichung in Taiwan with a cargo of coal to discharge, a decent enough place if there ever is one, with pretty woman, reasonably priced alcohol and food to enjoy, all in plentiful amounts. The ship itself was an intact tin-can, not old but no spring chicken either and perhaps I could say the same about the crew. They were a haphazard bunch, not a uniform amongst them to my chagrin but the chief engineer maintained a good engine room and the chief officer had good control of the bridge and his crew so I could not complain. Not much can be said for the cook, an erstwhile rogue who ate half the provisions himself but he produced meals on time and the cockroaches were kept at bay so we tolerated each other for the most part. As we berthed the excitement was palpable; some of the crew already dolled-up in their best shorts and T-shirts with still three hours or more before .........
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