[BITList] ab's

[HUGH]

Colin,

Clan Line was/were a severe culture shock to me.  The Glasgow office were
nice - I wanted steam time for a combined ticket - no problem, they said, no
problem at all, just sign here.  I sailed on the Clan Macintyre for a wee
while without leaving home, so said my wages account, then I joined the Clan
Maclay as Junior 2nd at King George V Dock in Govan.  Apart from the
el-driven pumps and diesel gennies, she could have been one of the Cs down
below - 6-cyl Doxford.  At get togethers in a cabin, I noted a lack
of bottles, compared with what I'd been used to, and the talk was of mundane
things, as if nobody present had any sort of history with Clan Line.  There
was no tit to press for beers - I recall the Chief Steward looking askance
at me when I tried to open the subject of beers prior to a couple of friends
coming aboard.  "Beers?  You had beers yesterday." sort of thing.  As for
sandwiches with which to entertain them - forget it.

I was down below for the "getting everything" ready routine prior to Glasgow
departure.  As per my usual, I put steam on the cooling water tank. Along
came the Chief - a rare sight that would have been in BI, certainly at that
point in the proceedings.  He came straight for me, so he must have been
primed by a colleague appalled at my heresy.  "What are doing?" the Chief
asked, not in a friendly tone.  I explained, not understanding why I was
being asked.  "We don't do that," he said. He added that I wasn't in the BI
now.  So I was obliged to shut off the steam, and every joint pissed water
when the circ pump was started, but I didn't give a shit about that, not
being in the BI any longer, officially.  As I mentioned in my last, I
haven't a scooby how the main engine was induced to start on heavy, though I
was on standy, though not on watch, when we went down the Clyde.  So the
people in white boiler suits Janet waved to weren't me.

I went down below en-route to Birkenhead for my watch, and the 3rd pointed
out what he'd been doing, obviously thinking I'd carry on with it - various
bits of a gennie were strewn about. They were still strewn about 4 hours
later.  During my watch the Chief came down and announced the engine would
be stopped.  So at the time appointed the bridge were phoned, etc, and I
stopped the engine.  He said there had been problems with bottom end bolts
on the previous trip, and he wished a hammer test to be carried out on them.
Hearing this, and gathering I had been appointed to do the job, I made to
put the turning gear in.  But, once again I heard the refrain, "We don't do
that."  "But I effing do it," I said, "Otherwise I don't effing well enter
that crankcase."  "Are you refusing?" he demanded to know.  "You're effing
right I'm refusing," I said.  So the idiot grabbed the hammer and did it
himself.  None of this endeared me to him, or him to me.  Fortunately for my
peace of mind, we were no sooner in Birkenhead than I was transferred to
Clan Maclaren.  On arrival at RA Docks with my gear (and I broke my bloody
guitar travelling), I introduced myself to the Chief, and inquired after the
Senior 2nd.  "You're him," he said.  My predecessor had absconded - taking
all the batteries with him, as I later found out.   I remember little of
life on the Clan Maclaren, but my letters to Janet describe it in great
detail, and on that evidence I enjoyed it.  We went round the continent, and
did all the things I'd done while with BI.  One interesting procedure was
running a gennie in drydock using the aft peak for cooling water by means of
a Heath Robinson arrangement of hoses.  Later vessels, post MN, had this
facility built in.  I tied a thermometer to a rope and dangled it into the
aft peak via the filling pipe, and the daywork junior (they didn't have
fivers in Clan Line) had to keep checking the aft peak temperature.  At
intervals, the hot water was decanted into the bilge or drydock and fresh
water run in.  It worked.  We got ejected from a gay pub in Antwerp.  It was
only after we'd had a couple of drinks or so that it dawned on us where we
were.  One of the shore squad we recognised was dancing round in the arms of
a chap, and the 3rd was starting to fancy one of those seated near us. One
thing led to another and we were thrown out.

But one day I was chatting to the Chief, and my plans came up - combined
ticket, etc.  He told me I hadn't a hope - as far as he'd heard I would be
on relieving duties for a long time.  So when the London office confirmed
this I jacked it it forthwith.  When I mentioned what they'd said in
Glasgow, they laughed.  That, more than anything, made up my mind.

Denholms I've covered before.

Hugh.