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Isle of Wight paddle steamers late 50s early 60s, coalburners, working the summer season as a shoreside job. Shift work rather than watchkeeping, two firemen in the stokehold. The old salt I worked with was an expert, placing each shovelful exactly where he wanted it. If we were going to spend any length of time alongside he would bank the fire and we would spend a couple of hours topside and when we went back below he would slice his beautifully laid heap and it would immediately blaze away. Two lessons he taught me. Turn your belt buckle round to the back of your strides or you'll burn your wrists as you swing the shovel and inspect the plates in front of the boiler fronts to make sure they're not buckled- nothing worse than your shovel hitting a raised plate edge. Kia ora!
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