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#151
26th March 2018, 10:58
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Changing tack again. I had a wonderful dinner in by Newcastle Harbour last Thursday evening and was fortunate enough to watch as the wonderful tugs escorted three empty ?colliers into safe harbour. I love watching tugs at work and from where I was eating you could feel the throb of their motors coming through the water and into the restaurant.
The last one came in just after night had set in and the lights on all the vessels were on. It made me think about the fact that in ports all around the world that sort of activity was happening and how much we depend on sea going vessels for so many things we use in our daily lives. I applaud all who have gone to the sea in ships. 
__________________
You may not be able to do anything about the wind but you can reset your sails Vicki D 
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#152
26th March 2018, 16:07
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There never was a more romantic part to any trip than coming into a large port at night, unless it was leaving one.
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Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#153
26th March 2018, 20:04
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I was fascinated by watching the tugs on the London River, (or Thames just to clarify.)
Tugs towing lighters and bringing them alongside in a tideway, tugs bringing ships in and out of the Royal Docks. I shall never forget watching a young skipper bringing his almost new Sun tug at full chat into the entrance to the Royals to take a stern line of a ship leaving. Seeing him turn his tug in its own length between the piers of the entrance, taking the hawser and then towing the vessel out into the tideway, all in a matter of minutes is still fresh in my memory. It would have been in about 1968, before all the traffic moved downriver with the introduction of the container terminals.
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#154
29th March 2018, 17:46
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Having paid off in Honolulu, and having to wait overnight before flying, one of the moments of my seagoing was sitting at one of the dockside bars near the Aloha Towers at midnight and watching the Statendam sail without me. All the stress and pressure just floated away ( or was that the beer?)
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#155
30th March 2018, 11:13
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Strangely for me the stress started after I'd paid off the Mobil Pegasus. Left the ship in Beaumont Texas and for some reason (it's still a mystery) I bought a baseball bat. An all aluminium Bombat. I couldn't fit it into a suitcase, so decided to carry it as hand luggage.
Alas at the airport the security staff were highly unimpressed and told me there was 'no way in hell' I could carry that onto the plane. So they gave me a label for it and sent it on the conveyor belt as luggage. "Goodbye baseball bat," I said to myself as I watched it disappear, thinking it will never be seen again. Guess what was the first thing that popped onto the carousel at Heathrow ?  I've still got it 40 plus years on. 
__________________
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Corporal Hicks (Actually Ripley said it first.)
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#156
30th March 2018, 20:52
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My daughter flew to Belize, transiting through America, with a machete in her luggage. No problems, the first time she has ever gone through customs there without problems.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#157
12th April 2018, 03:41
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It seem that U.S. Customs at Miami airport have been taking lessons from Heathrow. Last week I saw, for the first time, a handful of customs officers just standing around watching and a wide open corridor out of the hall with no desks or other impediments.
All part of the integrated 'border protection force' I suppose, with the emphasis on 'profiling'. So a slightly stooped old-looking white guy with a bushy white beard, even when accompanied by a much much younger black girl doesn't fit the profile of a ????? smuggler. Long may that continue. But it still takes two hours to get through immigration.
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#158
13th April 2018, 19:02
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But, but, but.... What if you had an apple in your hand baggage? You know, the American apple that you picked up on the American Airlines plane and thought you would save for later.
Next thing you are being given the full works interrogation and lecture about 'importing' vegetable matter into the USA. Yep, It happened. Does that mean I can 'import' a whole bunch of grapes to Florida next time? If I wanted to...
__________________
The Mad Landsman
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#159
19th April 2018, 19:17
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#155
To quote Kevin Bridges : JD Sports in Glasgow sold over a thousand baseball bats last year and not one baseball..... I was worried for a while that this thread was dying out, but it's still rolling along.
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#160
19th April 2018, 22:17
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I imagine a very nervous person leaving the house with a baseball in his hand...
Disguise it as an orange, lad. They'll never recognise fresh fruit.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#161
19th April 2018, 23:07
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Was in and out of the port o Newcastle dozens of times in the era 1953/56
when on the old Ropners Ocean boat "Firby" on charter on the Auzzie coast with coal and iron ore from Whyalla. Much has changed and I am considerably older!!! I when on Google earth recently and hardly recognised the place. Carrington where we loaded coal and the steel works no more. Nobby's baech where I used to go swimming looked very inviting especially when we got dumped on with snow and freezing rain etc this weekend. Its supposed to be spring and accumuations of 9" GLOBAL WARMING YEH !!!!!
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#162
20th April 2018, 06:03
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Quote:
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#163
20th April 2018, 18:33
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Quote:
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#164
21st April 2018, 05:50
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Quote:
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#165
28th April 2018, 18:03
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I do wish you fellows would stop mentioning Old Man Sol, he has hidden for a week or so now and it is really cold again.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#166
29th April 2018, 01:18
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That couple of days of sunshine we had last weekend ..... That was the summer ....
__________________
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Corporal Hicks (Actually Ripley said it first.)
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#167
29th April 2018, 05:42
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Quote:
I said "Yes, I believe last year it was on a Tuesday!"
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#168
7th May 2018, 22:43
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Records have been broken for heat, I confess I am still quite chilly.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#169
8th May 2018, 10:01
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Yesterday was the third day of glorious sunshine in the village. Drove down to Bude in the morning and they were all languishing under a thick sea mist (it's usually the other way round !!)
I gave them my sympathy and headed back into the sunshine. 
__________________
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Corporal Hicks (Actually Ripley said it first.)
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#170
8th May 2018, 12:14
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Now is the time of year when people take their tea into the garden and set fire to it, aka a barbecue.
Why do all these barbecues smell like an a/c tech tuning an old Meteor jet? To paraphrase an the famous Viet War movie: Don't you just love the smell of Avtur in the afternoon.... (I thought that I had put this post on last night but it must have fallen into on of Bob's Black holes, or otherwise gone off the edge.)
__________________
The Mad Landsman
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#171
8th May 2018, 13:17
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I never much liked barbecues. The definition of which is fighting flies for the privilege of eating burnt on the outside and filled with salmonella on the inside meat.
But as long as the beer is cold, I'll settle for a liquid lunch (and get some proper food later on.) 
__________________
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Corporal Hicks (Actually Ripley said it first.)
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#172
8th May 2018, 17:43
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The trick with a barbeque is to cook the stuff first and light the thing about an hour before it is needed. If that doesn't suit, paint the food with candle wax just before eating to get that authentic taste.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#173
8th May 2018, 23:03
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Talking of summer.
For over 15 years we have observed that humming birds return to our neighbourhood on 8th May each year. I thought there would be a delay after the massive snow storm we had in April but at noon today there it was at our feeder. I had only put it out hours before!. Know its not the same bird but it must have been born near here.
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#174
8th May 2018, 23:19
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Nature is tough, but I think we are finally subjugating it.
Unfortunately.
__________________
Buvez toujours, mourrez jamais. Rabelais
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#175
9th May 2018, 00:17
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If I wanted ant droppings, twigs, grass clippings and hedgehog turds in my food I would have them sent from Fortnum's.
__________________
David V Lord Finchley tried to mend the electric light Himself. It struck him dead and serve him right It is the duty of the wealthy man To give employment to the artisan
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