There were two occasions at the Jolly Sailor which stand out in my memory and both, at the time, seemed to epitomise the whole reason for the existence of the English Pub and were a tremendous contrast to the drinking ethos of Belfast at that time, where drinking had seemed to be a serious business… Continue reading The JollySailor – A Pub
Author: jp
Royal Navy, Hypnotism
Since my Naval days I have never been remotely interested in hypnotism as entertainment. I would go so far as to say that I disapprove of the practice. When my daughters were young and we were on holiday, on more than one occasion they and Sophie went to the theatre to see a hypnotist and,… Continue reading Royal Navy, Hypnotism
Royal Navy, Teaching Navy Style
I have always thought the examination techniques we adopted at the Royal Naval Signal School should have been the norm for the Country’s education system in general. Education is not a case of knowing information, but knowing where to find it and how to apply it. The Leydene examination organisers had obviously taken this theory… Continue reading Royal Navy, Teaching Navy Style
Royal Navy, Living Ashore
I don’t think I ever entirely accepted the Navy philosophy of calling any accommodation, be it a house or a concrete bottomed wreck, a ship. I could never think of myself as being ashore when I went out the gate. In fact I thought the whole concept childish and foolish, but it was surprising how… Continue reading Royal Navy, Living Ashore
Royal Navy, The Chiefs’ course and after
Isle Of Man, Two – A careless death The second visit to the Isle of Man was an entirely different experience, we were now Petty Officers with the privileges that entailed. The work if anything was harder, and the sets we were learning much more sophisticated and in some cases as big as a small… Continue reading Royal Navy, The Chiefs’ course and after
The Irish question, Coincidences
The Irish Question Take the Irish Question, for an instance, not THE Irish question, from where I stand I find nothing amusing in that. No! Just an amusing Irish question. I don’t remember my friend Bunny’s rate of assimilation, certainly I didn’t really find my own feet for about a week and then he and… Continue reading The Irish question, Coincidences
Royal Navy, A stupid ritual,near disaster
It was just before the Italian landings that several Landing Craft Tanks (LCTs) were brought into Belfast to be fitted out as Landing Craft Guns (LCG’S). They were in several of the dry-docks, and the work was so urgent all the trades were working together, so there was controlled chaos, which meant that I had… Continue reading Royal Navy, A stupid ritual,near disaster
A Real Rant
A young married woman complained to me the other day that for a long time she and her husband had been trying to obtain a mortgage, and now the mortgage rates were going up yet again their target was vanishing over the horizon. They are a hard-working couple, he with a university degree in Media… Continue reading A Real Rant
Royal Navy, Belfast Shipyard Part 2
Shipbuilding is probably the most complicated and detailed engineering exercise, outside aeroplane design. The size of a ship, various hull designs, its use, all give multitudes of options from the thickness of the plates, to the design of door handles. All the equipment has to be installed which involves designing the positioning, the fixings and… Continue reading Royal Navy, Belfast Shipyard Part 2
Royal Navy, Belfast Shipyard Part 1.
To those who hate technicalities I apologise for this entry, For me it records something gone and lost never to be recovered. Whether that is good is debateable. In ’43, I was drafted to Belfast to supervise the radio installations on the warships being built there. The shipyard was vast, there were at least six… Continue reading Royal Navy, Belfast Shipyard Part 1.