finally found the “lost songs of St Kilda” shettie will be pleased!
A story of prodigal returns and more fond farewells!
We returned from HK to sad old blighty back in the glorious summer of 1980 with mixed feelings. We were dollars rich and capital power and didn’t know what our next move would be. BUT we still had good friends.
We had wanted to claim another ‘term of service’ in good old honkers but had been refused. The dreaded ‘localization policy’ reared its ugly head. My cockney compatriot who served with me for two and a half years had left a few months earlier and I had bade a fond farewell to him at our last of numerous HK farewells. We winkled out the one and only mid- eastern restaurant in the whole of honkers and ate sheeps eyes to the sounds of banging tambourines and whirling dervishers!
Oh wot heady days of yore? My own numerous HK farewell parties were to come six months later!
And so it was that we arrived back to the glorious summer of ’80’s. The summer rays seemed to soften the pain of return – or was that the whiskey and brandy snaps?
My MIL still remained close by so the kids elected to stay with her a while and I and the young wifie stayed with close friends and their toddler daughter No 1. We taught them the art of outdoor barbecuing, a HK past-time we had grown accustomed to? And so with our meagre assortment of belongings on the high seas we sat on deck-chairs and dreamed of fonder things! Tbc.
My last day in Gibraltar.
I will post some more photos on my photo thread. I will post what I got up to on my return.
I love your stories Gummy. X
Boys oh boys, those were the days alright. Nice recollections there Gummy.
Meanwhile back in 1980 there was a whole new generation of greed induced young people emerging, the dreaded Yuppies.
I suppose all the Yuppie bright young things will be in their late 50’s and early sixties now, cranky old shites most of them turned out to be, having fecked up the world with their filofax’s and their “greed is good” philosophy, stamping on heads to get to the top, they found out to their dismay that the ones already at the tip of the heap didn’t want a belt of them, yes there are quite a few disillusioned old yuppies around today, so wrapped up in themselves back in their heydays that they missed all the good stuff of being young and carefree.
God love them, me heart bleeds to think of the poor unfortunates. Strange how they don’t hold reunions for old Yuppies, they all keep very quiet about their Yuppie days.
Could you imagine the horror of having to admit to your grandkids that you were once a Yuppie?:shock:
Imagine looking into their innocent young eyes and saying with tears in your eyes “Kids, I have an awful shameful dark secret to tell you before I pass away, God forgive me, but I was a murderer all the time”
“There there now grandad, don’t cry, it could have been worse, you could have been a Yuppie”
must have missed the yuppies as I entered OZ in their summer of 1981 - jan- march - roasting hot weather. left UK snowbound and iced up and hit a burning tarmac in OZ! - never really met yuppie everyone out here were in shorts; thongs and sometimes a tee shirt - and that was to church!!
I did chance upon some yuppies later in the aircon offices but once out off came the ties and jackets!
YAWWWNN…I mean,Oh,REALLY? Cor,HOW jolly interesting!
Such things happen, it is up to the individual to decode if the yawn is due to tiredness or disrespect.
in shetties case it’s something called ‘lock jaw’ - he’s totally dis-jointed; disillusioned and dis-membered! otherwise he’s doing fine - BUT we’ll probably get a full medical report soon which could take hrs and hrs and ow ow ow!!
Ok, just noted that in my Filofax.
fillo fax - its that a bit like a scrambled egg?
Anybody feel like moving to Auckland? When I was a teenager, I used to sail my little yacht over to Rangitoto Island. (10 min video)
nah - cyclones will do me! - that girl in the video has got a fenny accent hay?
have you got ya emergency kit ready CM? and I hear that you have the largest beaching of whales in the world and the highest success rate of re- floating them out to sea?
I have Gummy! With 20 litres of water, a mobile toilet and dog food! Amongst other stuff!
Yes whales keep running aground and when they do hundreds of volunteers turn out. I haven’t done it myself but I would if it were my part of the island.
Interesting that one of the theories as to why they strand suggests DNA memories that tell them that the coast is clear because it was a few million years ago.
got their whale wire crossed then or spake wid a fenny accent?
heh been visiting that myrgatroid thingy but it’s pretty quiet atm - maybe needs a NZ volcano up it’s jacket? or some of ya NZ poetry?
I tried Gummy but it’s not inspiring!I’ll give it a whirl and see if anything happens.
Now I’m going to afflict you with my U3A contribution for next week! The topic was health and wellness.
Health
I have been very lucky in terms of illness as almost all of my medical issues have been as a result of something violent, so I never had any claim against my mother’s 50 year manufacturing guarantee.
At the age of 9 I travelled to New York with my mother and naval officer father after 2 years in Bermuda. Two years of idyllic playing in the warm water , chasing fish and crabs with great success but now Dad must move on to 3 months in New York as Royal Naval attache. I was schooled by my mother during this time but I had visits to schools as a guest/visitor and picked up the Bronx accent very easily, in fact when we got home to England nobody could understand me! When we were only a couple of weeks from returning to England via the Queen Mary, a strange event occurred. One day I woke up , got out of bed and fell over when my legs did not work. My mother helped me onto the bed but nothing below the waist worked. A doctor was called and after an examination and some tests, he sadly told my mother that I had all the symptoms of Polio. My mother and father were shattered! Medical services were doubtful without huge costs but we were a long way from the British system. For three days I had to be carried to the toilet and bathroom, and the stress on my parents was enormous. On the third day I woke up and stepped out of bed! I ran to my parents room and as they had heard the footsteps they were sitting up in bed. It was gone! The doctor was amazed. My parents were so happy and I must confess so was I. Never again did I experience this strange event.
While in my 5th form year at Takapuna Grammar School, I developed appendicitis and was sent to Auckland hospital for this rather minor operation. The resident doctor came to examine me before the operation and as he poked my stomach and asked if it was painful I said no, not now, it was yesterday. As a result of this I was sent home. Only to repeat the procedure 3 months later but during the pre-op examination I put on a show of extreme pain, even though it had gone quiet again. So they went ahead .
When I returned from my 3 years working in England, I had a short term job at Morrison’s. At first my job consisted of putting the crank handle in bicycles but later I rose to operating a huge press that cut and moulded and shaped lawnmower bodies. We were equipped with thick leather gloves as the bodies came out with very sharp edges. My jovial work mate tossed me a stack of 4 or 5 bodies for me to shelve on a fork lift pallet. As I walked back to the press I noticed a trail of what I thought was oil on the floor until someone pointed out that it was coming out of my glove. A quick look showed a large hole in my wrist. Fortunately it had missed the artery but it got me 4 weeks off on workers compensation!
While winemaker at Te Mata Estate I had been working at the winery late at night and was driving home at about 10:30pm. As I rounded a corner a car came around on my side of the road and there was nowhere else to go but to cut across in front of him and hit the bank. Before the days of seat belts caused me to hit the dash with my nose and the next thing I knew I was in an ambulance travelling to hospital in Hastings. When I was awake enough to make sense, I asked that they take a blood sample for an alcohol check as I had been covered in red wine that I had in the back seat of the ute. However it was not needed as no one queried my state. I still have a vision of a white or light coloured Ford Zephyr and resolved that if that ever happened again , I must clip the other car for evidence!
In later years I have broken my thumb, to the point of having an operation to put screws put in it, by hitting something with the front wheel of a tractor which spun the steering wheel in a rather alarming manner. I have broken my right wrist twice and also twice broken ribs but never any of my walking gear. Bob Stephens, my doctor in Waipukurau had a lovely sense of humour. During a visit for the most recent broken rib his comments after the examination were “Any blood coming from any orifices?” I answer “No” so he said “Well just take it easy and you have to tell your brain that it is in charge of outdated machinery badly in need of maintenance”.
Heavens to Murgatroyd!!!
yes just mention the word murgatroyd and he goes off at a tangent - ever increasing one! thanks CM you can retire now!
Good Morning Possums.
I am home.
I have some photos for Gummy.