[BITList] Fwd: The Good Old Days

[michael J Feltham]

> 
> “Stories from The Good Old Days” or “Tales from the Mess”
> 
> Freddy and the Baby - As related by Dave Quensell, Carpenter on ‘British Hero” As promised Malcolm here is the story of Freddy as far as I remember it.
> 
> Those of you who remember the tanker berth at Lourenco Marques in Mozambique, may see it as a jetty stuck out into the river a few miles above the port proper with jungle behind it and nothing else. Well that's how I remember it to be when the tanker British Hero berthed there one Saturday towards the end of March 1963.
> 
> There was a village a few hundred yards into the jungle with a few huts and a shop-cum-bar where you could buy the local rot gut. The locals were very poor but very friendly even though they couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak the local language but the beer was strong and could be paid for with cigarettes, a universal currency then. Eventually, after many beers and a very enjoyable few hours we started to wend our way happily back along the jungle path back to the ship.
> 
> Next morning, being a Sunday at about eleven-o-clock Captain Pearson and his august entourage, Chief Engineer, Mate, Second Engineer and Chief Steward (Weekly Inspection) sailed majestically into the PO's alleyway looked into the cabins, went down the companionway into the firemen's alleyway, a few more cabins, came back aft and into the cross alleyway to the sailors alleyway. Peered into a few more cabins and then he came to a dead stop.
> 
> It was Freddy's cabin (a Maltese A/B), and there was Freddy sitting nursing a very small black baby, feeding her from a bent enamel mug with milk mixed up from the powdered stuff from the mess room.
> 
> Captain Pearson's face turned many colours and he visibly grew taller as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
> "What the hell have you got there?" He spluttered.
> "It's a baby captain" said Freddy innocently, "I bought her last night from a woman in the village".
> 
> "Well you can bloody well take her back" yelled the captain his face glowing bright red.
> "I can't" says Freddy "She's paid for".
> "Take her back right now" screamed the captain dancing in fury. "And see me when you've done it".
> 
> Some time later a disconsolate Freddy was observed disappearing into the jungle with his purchase. He returned a little later without the baby looking even more fed up. "The mother wouldn't even give me my ciggies back" he explained sadly. Not only did he lose his cigarettes but I believe he was logged a day's pay under some obscure part of the 1897 Mercantile Marine Act. Happy days and a happy ship.
> 
> I can personally substantiate this story as I was the Mate. It’s one of the many things I’d forgotten about until Dave reminded me. Dave was our Carpenter, and a good one too. Dave has got the ball rolling, so come on shipmates tell us your tales.
> "Jack Ashore & Afloat"
> 
> __________________________________

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