Given the history of the last 50 years it was bound to be interesting.
When I first went to sea in 1965 as an engine room rating, Britain was one of the leading seafaring nations. I pretty much sailed through the demise of that. Even more so in some respects as the job I ended up doing (Sparky) got overwhelmed by technology. The irony of that has never failed to amuse me.
How we all coped after being dumped on land flapping like a fish must have generated many a fine story.