Tha Passing Out Parade

By the time you have read this you will appreciate that there is more than one meaning to ‘passing out’ and the one in a military sense is not intended. We had suffered more than our fair share of bad weather and our convoy duty had not been so much dangerous as stressful as well… Continue reading Tha Passing Out Parade

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The Charade of ‘Defaulters’

I believe that the Service was suspended in the aspic of time, almost ever since the days of Nelson – until the war, with the sudden alterations in thought and deed which that emergency and the introduction of civilians forced upon it. In turn the Nelson syndrome was thrust upon us at every opportunity by… Continue reading The Charade of ‘Defaulters’

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Illogical Hypocricy

I take exception to the illogicality of our Government’s Climate Change Bill,when presented with the fact that we are now using the very outlets that we are complaining of, concerning climate change, to create carbon emissions on our behalf to supply us with the goods we purchase. This is fatuous! As a nation, with only… Continue reading Illogical Hypocricy

Charactera 1

I assume there are as many characters today as there were in the 40’s, but the streets seem more crowded and they don’t stand out like they used to. There was a man with a military style to him, I used to see in front of the Belfast City Hall. Smartly dressed, wearing a trilby… Continue reading Charactera 1

Caravans and Second Homes

There is, rightly, concern for the loss of land to spec and council building. In the 30’s, in any industrial town, like |Newcastle on Tyne, the Black Country, Belfast, et al, you would have found street after street of ‘two up two down’ houses, bulging at the seams with people and children, at 75 to… Continue reading Caravans and Second Homes

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The Soldiers In Belfast

Any right thinking person had to be sympathetic to the young men who were sent over here, whether they wanted to come or not, to become potential targets for hidden snipers. That was not all, their living conditions were apparently appalling and they were not permitted to mix with the Town’s people, for obvious reason… Continue reading The Soldiers In Belfast

Life On A Small Ship

Previously Posted in August 2006 In my time in the Navy, the people most respected as groups, were the Submariners and the Divers. Not totally because of the risk, but because the conditions of their training and work were the toughest. Subs were merely lethal weapons first and last, and the comfort of the men… Continue reading Life On A Small Ship

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Stealing Stone

A little Belfast history! On the outskirts of Belfast is a range of hills in which is a layer of limestone. In Victorian times this was quarried to grind and send to the Mainland to be fed to chickens to improve the egg shells. From the quarry, right down to the docks was a bogy… Continue reading Stealing Stone

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Stealing Stone

A little Belfast history! On the outskirts of Belfast is a range of hills in which is a layer of limestone. In Victorian times this was quarried to grind and send to the Mainland to be fed to chickens to improve the egg shells. From the quarry, right down to the docks was a bogy… Continue reading Stealing Stone

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Categorized as General