# What goes on in the Galley.



## Macphail

The Captain complained many times about his tough steak, sent it back, the cook threw it on the galley floor, stamped on it a lot, brushed it down, heated it up, applied a nice sauce, happy Captain.
Chief Engineer treated his steward like S**it, chicken curry, he had only bones, the rest had meat.
We have all had the half cockie in the stew, where is the other half.
How many bogies in the soup.
The Captain and Chief Engineer had an extended lunch time G &T, came down for late lunch, all gone, the cook had thrown everything overboard including his pots and pans.

Tell us about the Galley.


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## kevjacko

Depending on peoples honesty there should be some good un's to come here. Never a true'r saying at sea than "Don't upset the cook". 
I once had a lecky who kept nicking my dinner out the hot press. I knew it was him coz he was caught red handed on more than one occassion. So I made a special gravy up one day consisting of mainly corn flour, and the day after, and the day after. Yep you guessed it his bowel movements slowly became less regular to the point where he went to the chief steward for laxatives. "Just stop nicking the cooks dinner" said the chief steward and you'll be fine.

LOL KEV


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## hughesy

"Rule Number one, make friends with The Cook"
Mind you just about every one of em , was a raging "bevvie merchant"
Not suprised really, its hard graft in the "Patrick O"Malley", getting the grub
ready for the Herbs.
Not to mention the other mob in the Saloon lol.
I guess they needed a few bevvies to take the edge off like??
They never had many days off, full on every day, getting it on the table.
Yeah, got a lot of respect for the "Old Babbling Brook"

all the best
Huighesy


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## jaydeeare

At RAF Henlow one dinner time I had the last piece of pie. As I was helping myself to the veggies, one of the cooks took the empty pie tray, and as he entered the kitchen he shouted out, "They've eaten it! They've bloody well eaten it!!" I looked down at my plate, and said to myself, "Aw what the hell!" then carried on. Dunno what it was, but I survived!


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## Pompeyfan

Who called the cook a clot. Who called the clot a cook?. Well something like that (Jester) 

It was my job to walk around the Galley making sure that food was not picked up off the deck and put back on the plate after falling on it, or gobbed on. No wonder so many got the runs if these things happened (EEK) 

But one day, on Arcadia I did witness something, and very naughtily did nothing. There was a real swine of a passenger, treating all crew like dirt in the aft restaurant, especially his Goanese steward who like all Goan crew, was a lovely man. The Section Waiter, or wine steward as they usually are today was European. He came back into the Galley fuming, swearing like a trooper, calling this passenger every bastard in the book. The passenger had turned the wine down, saying it was too warm. In between calling him a bastard, and goodness know what else, he had time between the foul words to spit into the bottle. He put the top back on and took the same bottle back. Not long after he came back, smiling from ear to ear. The passenger had accepted it. All he was doing was being a swine and trying to impress others on his table that he understood wine.

I did warn the Section Steward that if I saw that again he would be logged, and I reported quite a few for bad hygiene, including seeing similar to what the Section Waiter did.

So yes, this went on all the time, and more out of the gaze of others I would imagine. They all usually went quiet when one of us in the medical department wandered through the Galley, being on their best behaviour. That is why I always picked my own grub up on Arcadia (Jester) 

The bottom line is if we saw half that went on, we would not eat anything :sweat: 

David


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## kevhogg

Saw the mates dinner get passed around the galley on an RFA tanker and the 4 cooks all adding there own special ingredients,before serving it to him.Wasn't a nice thing to do but then again he wasn't a very nice man!
Kev


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## Macphail

Your right Kev and Huighesy

Always keep on the good side of Cookie, is everything OK in the galley, do you have any problems in your cabin, are you happy with the shower.

John.


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## macca57

We had one Purser on the Clan Ranald, who served nut burger rings two or three times a week, his wife travelling with him complained about the fare he servd up, his response keep quiet.
The Chief Nooky Nichols was becoming fed up with the fare provided, so he instigated a nightly midnigh raid on the ships fridges.
He cooked excellent food on the baby Belling in the Engineers mess.
One day the Captain at breakfast said to the remarked to the Chief, two things, firstly he expressed concern that the engineeers didn't appear for breakfast, and that it wasn't good for us, how could we after having a meal at midnight.
Secondly, at midnight a strange smell permeates the ship (she was A/C), it was the captains way of telling us to back off.
Strangely enough the food quaility and menus improved after that.


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## Steve

Test 123


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## Klaatu83

Lykes Lines were the second worst feeders I ever sailed on. We once had 22 cases of food poisoning during a single voyage. That's not counting a Peruvian beggar. One of the crew took pity on him and gave him some of our night lunch to eat. A few minutes later we saw him vomiting on the dock.

Bad as "Leaky Brothers" were, however, The Military Sealift Command (the U.S. equivalent of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary) were even worse. There it was still common practice to strain the flour though a sieve to remove the weevils, which didn't always work. The cockroaches, which were everywhere, were euphemistically known as "land-shrimp". Once we were given pork fried rice for lunch. Mine came with a great big bay leaf in it. I turned the bay leaf over, and it had legs! When I showed it to the Old Man he simply said, "What are you complaining about? That's the only fresh meat you're likely to get on this ship".


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## Old Janner

Macphail said:


> The Captain complained many times about his tough steak, sent it back, the cook threw it on the galley floor, stamped on it a lot, brushed it down, heated it up, applied a nice sauce, happy Captain.
> Chief Engineer treated his steward like S**it, chicken curry, he had only bones, the rest had meat.
> We have all had the half cockie in the stew, where is the other half.
> How many bogies in the soup.
> The Captain and Chief Engineer had an extended lunch time G &T, came down for late lunch, all gone, the cook had thrown everything overboard including his pots and pans.
> 
> Tell us about the Galley.


Many years ago on the British Industry, Falmouth Dry Dock, pantry staff were late finishing every evening due to Chief officer, Ch Engineer and second, being late always had a drink before the meal and used to arrive after we had finished. most times we had some left overs plated off and this was served.
One evening they came in late evryting was in the gash bucket, on the menu we had poached haddock and poached egg on top. both were lying in the gash buckets covered in gravy, custard and other left overs, we managed to drag out three pieces of fish and wash them off and found three hard poched eggs which looked like big orange eyes as the whites had got lost. We served it and they never complained. Must have been good beer they were drinking.

I remember when I was first cook, crew used to call me Doc, as most ships cooks were called, like evrything else the name faded away with the years.

Moral to the story dont ---k with the catering staff.

Spence.


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## Basil

Yup! When I first went to sea I was an arrogant little sh1t with the galley stewards. I guess my immune system had a lot to work on (EEK)


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## ALAN TYLER

As a "Doc" from years gone by I always wondered why certain crew used to take a delight in coming in late for meals. Did it somehow make them think they were more important than others? I don,t like to admit it but many a meal came from the "gash/rosy bucket,for these types. I always remember a cooks saying " I don,t know who sh.. in my shoe but I know who ate it" Would we really go that far!! Bon Appetit.
P.S. Latecomers excused when docking or breakdowns.


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## Ray Mac

Must add to this later(Thumb) (Jester) (Smoke)


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## joebuckham

*revenge is sweet or maybe savoury*

i can't see much point in all this revenge, by the addition of various body fluids to the meals and serving straight from the gash bucket, if the victims did'nt know they had been paid back.


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## trucker

*mince*

marvelous what some cooks ,(A) could do with a leg of mince.i see this thread is called what goes on in the galley.a couple of ships i sailed on,not much went on. by the state of the food that was served.ooooooo-that pan just missed me.


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## David W

Pompeyfan said:


> Who called the cook a clot. Who called the clot a cook?. Well something like that (Jester)
> 
> It was my job to walk around the Galley making sure that food was not picked up off the deck and put back on the plate after falling on it, or gobbed on. No wonder so many got the runs if these things happened
> 
> But one day, on Arcadia I did witness something, and very naughtily did nothing. There was a real swine of a passenger, treating all crew like dirt in the aft restaurant, especially his Goanese steward who like all Goan crew, was a lovely man. The Section Waiter, or wine steward as they usually are today was European. He came back into the Galley fuming, swearing like a trooper, calling this passenger every bastard in the book. The passenger had turned the wine down, saying it was too warm. In between calling him a bastard, and goodness know what else, he had time between the foul words to spit into the bottle. He put the top back on and took the same bottle back. Not long after he came back, smiling from ear to ear. The passenger had accepted it. All he was doing was being a swine and trying to impress others on his table that he understood wine.
> 
> I did warn the Section Steward that if I saw that again he would be logged, and I reported quite a few for bad hygiene, including seeing similar to what the Section Waiter did.
> 
> So yes, this went on all the time, and more out of the gaze of others I would imagine. They all usually went quiet when one of us in the medical department wandered through the Galley, being on their best behaviour. That is why I always picked my own grub up on Arcadia (Jester)
> 
> The bottom line is if we saw half that went on, we would not eat anything :sweat:
> 
> David


 Who called that nurse a nugget, who called that nugget a nurse, well something like that.(Jester)

I never sailed in liners so I didnt know that nurses carried out galley inspections, so I have 2 queries,
a. Was this usual in all big ship company's, or just P&O.
b. I am sure that the big ship galleys worked more or less 24 hours a day, did that mean the nursing staff working a 3 watch system.

With regard to cargo ships, a good galley staff usually produced good food, within the constraints of the company provided stores, and it was usually appreciated by most of the crew. There were, of course, one or two dissenting voices, these were quite often owned by people whose espicurean expertise, and discerning palate, had been honed to perfection, in such notable eateries as dock yard canteens, chip shops and Stan Waters. But, never the less, when such less than complimentary remarks reached the ears of the galley brigade they took it to heart, and usually turned to and by combining their multi talents produced something really special for consumption by those Egons Ronays of the seven seas. Quite often the recipient of such special diets recognised the thought that had gone into their treat and rapidly joined the rest of the crew in appreciating the efforts of the galley staff.

By the way, does anyone remember Goddards Plate Powder. ?


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## Steve Woodward

Burned Toast said:


> Must add to this later(Thumb) (Jester) (Smoke)


Im not sure I want to know the answer to this (Jester)


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## paisleymerchant

Sailed on one ship where the main meal was Braised Steak 5 minutes befoe a very hungry crew were due to come in the ship bounced and the braised steaks went everywhere under the hotpress fridges so the cook had us chase them all down he knocked up a quick gravy and just as the crew came in the steak went down well and luckily no one got poisoned ! What you dont know cant hurt you !!!!


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## eldersuk

Hey, what's this? Someone criticising Stan Waters. 
I'll have you know their bacon butties were second to none. Especially when served up by a pretty girl with a snotty nose and a sore finger.

Derek


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## degsy

eldersuk said:


> Hey, what's this? Someone criticising Stan Waters.
> I'll have you know their bacon butties were second to none. Especially when served up by a pretty girl with a snotty nose and a sore finger.
> 
> Derek


As a Liverpool lad my epicurean expertise was honed by the likes of Stan Waters and Laytons opposite the Brunswick. Hence I never complained, the finest meal any man will have is the next one, and the finest sauce is hunger.


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## Basil

> I always wondered why certain crew used to take a delight in coming in late for meals.


Cannot tell a lie - 2/E and I used to have an end of watch rum (or two) and stagger into breakfast - sorry  
I guess it was thoughtless rudeness rather than intentional arrogance.


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## billyboy

I came up off watch one day as the Cook/steward was leaving the galley with a tray. A couple of seamen asked where are you going with that?. the cook replied "The Captain wants his meal on the bridge" the seaman replied "favoritism eh! whats he got that we dont get?. he then uncovered the plate, lifted the buttered cabbage and spat on it. the cook carried on with his mission to the bridge with the contaminated meal. The thought of the Skipper eating that (and he did and enjoyed it) made me feel queasy.


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## Pat Thompson

Greetings,

I sort of half remember a 1950/60's B/W movie set on some American war canoe. The point of my story was that on the dinner menu was Mince, Hungarian Goulash and Chicken Fricasee. The first wardroom steward goes into the galley and asks for "1 Mince on toast", the second steward goes into the galley and asks for "1 Hungarian Goulash" which was duly plated up from the same pot as the Mince and the third steward asks for "1 Chicken Fricasee". At this point the cook explodes shouting, "Nobody told me that Chicken Fricasee was on the menu". He then broke an egg into the mince, stirred it around, dispensed a ladleful onto a plate and said, "One Chicken Fricasee". I suspect there is an awful ring of truth in that salutory tale.


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## E.Martin

*Captains Tiger.*



billyboy said:


> I came up off watch one day as the Cook/steward was leaving the galley with a tray. A couple of seamen asked where are you going with that?. the cook replied "The Captain wants his meal on the bridge" the seaman replied "favoritism eh! whats he got that we dont get?. he then uncovered the plate, lifted the buttered cabbage and spat on it. the cook carried on with his mission to the bridge with the contaminated meal. The thought of the Skipper eating that (and he did and enjoyed it) made me feel queasy.


I did see a captains tiger flange the rim of the captains coffee cup prior to pouring the coffee mumbling, I'll teach that bastard for getting on to me.


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## Pompeyfan

David W said:


> Who called that nurse a nugget, who called that nugget a nurse, well something like that.(Jester)
> 
> I never sailed in liners so I didnt know that nurses carried out galley inspections, so I have 2 queries,
> a. Was this usual in all big ship company's, or just P&O.
> b. I am sure that the big ship galleys worked more or less 24 hours a day, did that mean the nursing staff working a 3 watch system.
> 
> With regard to cargo ships, a good galley staff usually produced good food, within the constraints of the company provided stores, and it was usually appreciated by most of the crew. There were, of course, one or two dissenting voices, these were quite often owned by people whose espicurean expertise, and discerning palate, had been honed to perfection, in such notable eateries as dock yard canteens, chip shops and Stan Waters. But, never the less, when such less than complimentary remarks reached the ears of the galley brigade they took it to heart, and usually turned to and by combining their multi talents produced something really special for consumption by those Egons Ronays of the seven seas. Quite often the recipient of such special diets recognised the thought that had gone into their treat and rapidly joined the rest of the crew in appreciating the efforts of the galley staff.
> 
> By the way, does anyone remember Goddards Plate Powder. ?



a. I am not sure if other companies, but we certainly did on P&O. 

b. We all took our turns. The medical department worked as a team, just as shore. I was in the galley the most, especially on Arcadia often getting my own grub and taking it back to my cabin, but also my patients if the passenger hospital steward was too busy. I Canberra, I had my own steward, but shared one on Arcadia. That was in addition to my Peak Boy and Laundry Steward, the same as Canberra. 

We wandered in the Galley at any time especially after a bout of food poisoning which was just as often then, as today, if not more so. We were on call 24 hours a day, all of us. The Surgeon and Baby Doc took turns at night etc, but the rest of us were always on call. 

David


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## David W

Thanks for the reply David, the world of the big ships was, and thankfully remained, a complete mystery to me, but it is nice to know how, some, of the other half lived.(Thumb) 

With regard to food poisoning, I reckon that is another big ships "thing", as I have never heard of mass illness breaking out amongst the crews of cargo ships or tankers, although I have no doubt I will be rapidly informed if it has happened. 
PS; I dont count the occasional, self inflicted, bouts of delhi belly, brought about by over indulgence in Guinness and curry.(Pint)


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## Old Janner

David W said:


> Thanks for the reply David, the world of the big ships was, and thankfully remained, a complete mystery to me, but it is nice to know how, some, of the other half lived.(Thumb)
> 
> With regard to food poisoning, I reckon that is another big ships "thing", as I have never heard of mass illness breaking out amongst the crews of cargo ships or tankers, although I have no doubt I will be rapidly informed if it has happened.
> PS; I dont count the occasional, self inflicted bouts, of delhi belly, brought about by over indulgence in Guinness and curry.(Pint)


Yes David I remeber Goddards Plate powder, we used to use it every saturday night to clean up the EPNS silver ware ready for inspection, or if there was no Plate powder, we used a couple of Aluminium plate stacking rings with boiling water and soda, also used to take the tarnish off.
Right enough in all the years I have been involved with the Galley, have never seen a outbreak of food poisioning, only upset stomachs brought on by over indulging with beer and a curry from shore side.

Spence.


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## kevjacko

E.Martin said:


> I did see a captains tiger flange the rim of the captains coffee cup prior to pouring the coffee mumbling, I'll teach that bastard for getting on to me.


Used to frequently put plates under the salamander for people who got on my ****. Then would instruct the saloon steward to leave the plate half hanging off the edge of the table when he served it, meaning the halfwit who upset me would invariably singe his fingers pushing it on.

Had a second mate once bit of a pompous git who would'nt make do with a nice bacon and egg toastie on the poop deck like the rest of the lads when tying up in Montreal, he insisted on a poached egg sarnie, after breakfast had been wiped down. So put the egg in the pan for all of ooh ten seconds, put the barely cooked egg on a slice of toast and balanced another slice on top. When he squashed it down , squish it went all over his nice new boiler suit. Petty? maybes, but it was bloody funny.

Think it was said earlier 'Don't f**k with cookie'


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## stequantum

I was a gally boy on a small ship going to canada name escapes me any way one day went to wake up the cook he was out of it, not wanting to drop him in the proverbial decided to cook breakfast, somehow got away with that lunch came around still no cook menu said roast or boiled chicken so i put the chicken in the steamer for a bit then stuck it in the oven to roast captain was not amused. Nieter was cookie when he woke up


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## trotterdotpom

Rumour had it that all meat was cooked like that on Australian ships, Steq. The theory was that nothing burned in the steamer and it could be left there overnight and finished off in the deep fryer to give a "roasted" appearance.

This practice was supposed to stop when it was realised that the steamers received their heat from poisonous funnel gas or something like that.

The above story is all hearsay as I never worked in the galley, but the meat often lost its rubberiness when the steamer conked out, and repairs were often put on the back burner - is that a Freudian slip? 

I'm open to contradiction from any Aussie ships' cooks.

John T.


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## stequantum

Hi John,

Sorry maybe i did not put it right. On the menu there was supposed to be 2 options, steamed or roast chicken in my innocence i did not understand and steamed then roasted them, so if someone asked for steamed or roast they got the same chicken. 

Steq


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## trotterdotpom

Thanks Steq, I did get that. Actually the cook had a bit of a cheek if he got up you, you were only trying to cover for him.

The practice I was referring to was a short cut with which Jamie Oliver would be most impressed - maybe.

John T.


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## stequantum

Hi John,

Thanks for that. Met some good cooks who worked hard to make sure every one was happy, so one thing you dont do with a man who has worked hard in sweltering heat is upset him, BECAUSE IF YOU DID i would not like to say what i saw them do !ooh


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## mcgurggle

I was Cook/Steward on the 'Alfred Everard' up in Gothenborg. It was mid winter & as no-one had any 'dhobi dust' aboard and it was too cold to go ashore for some, I decided to make my own! I grated a bar of that old 'carbolic' soap which was a yellow colour. The dhobi room was just off the mess room, (we had an old 'wishy washy, paddle action Hotpoint washing machine) so I headed for it. As I passed through the mess room with the grated soap on a plate , a greedy AB shouted 'Oh look! CHEESE ! He had a handfull down his throat and was going for a second one when he realised his mistake.
He never got off the 'pan' for 2 days & his stomach cramps were terrible.
Moral ?? 'Always ASK the Cook before helping yourself ' !
Serves the ba***rd right(MAD) LOL
McG


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## benjidog

I can believe this McG. A traditional home remedy for constipation was a D.I.Y suppository made of a small piece of hard green soap. Certainly gave you a run for your money! (EEK)


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## surfaceblow

One ship I was on the cook would use the steam table to cook the canned vegetables. At the evening meal I asked the Steward if the steam table was broken since the vegetables were cold. The Stewards reply was no the steam table was working fine the cook didn't empty the tins into the steam table trays before getting stewed.(Pint)


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## Old Janner

Cooks stewed / Pissed !! They certainly gave me a lot of experience the hard way. As Galley Boy I covered for the cook and 2nd cook when they were in bed or ashore while in Port.
When 2nd cook I covered for the Ch cook when he was unable to turn to in port and some times at sea, When I became ch / Stwd was still having to fill in for the Ch cook when he was astray or pissed.
I like a good drink but have always been able to do my job, no matter how bad I felt.
Different story, while working bye BP ships in dry dock on the Tyne (Wallsend Slipway) we were always strapped for cash, so on darts nights, 2nd stwd and myself used to make up a big tray of sarnies on board and take them up to the pub, and drink all night without paying. Went home with the barmaid one night forgot to give the galley keys to the 2nd steward, as I was anticipating a long lie in the morning, came out of her house ran down to the pub, came back and could'nt find the house, all the doors looked the same and about 20 doors in the street to embarrasing to knock on them all. Back to the ship no Nookie!!
Spence.


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## kevjacko

Old Janner said:


> Cooks stewed / Pissed !! They certainly gave me a lot of experience the hard way. As Galley Boy I covered for the cook and 2nd cook when they were in bed or ashore while in Port.
> When 2nd cook I covered for the Ch cook when he was unable to turn to in port and some times at sea, When I became ch / Stwd was still having to fill in for the Ch cook when he was astray or pissed.
> I like a good drink but have always been able to do my job, no matter how bad I felt.
> Different story, while working bye BP ships in dry dock on the Tyne (Wallsend Slipway) we were always strapped for cash, so on darts nights, 2nd stwd and myself used to make up a big tray of sarnies on board and take them up to the pub, and drink all night without paying. Went home with the barmaid one night forgot to give the galley keys to the 2nd steward, as I was anticipating a long lie in the morning, came out of her house ran down to the pub, came back and could'nt find the house, all the doors looked the same and about 20 doors in the street to embarrasing to knock on them all. Back to the ship no Nookie!!
> Spence.


I can relate to this Old Janner,
First trip away galley boy the cook was a proper piss head, I was constantly covering for him and others as I progressed. I vowed I would never ever fall through with the drink. And never did in twelve years at sea. Went ashore in Gibraltar once when I was 2nd cook didn't come back on board till 5am. I was still in the galley at 5.30, albeit standing with my head propped leaning against the top of the Hobart as the dough went round, fast asleep. Chief cook coud'nt believe it.
Those were the days of liveners at smokoe to pull you round. Aah would'nt happen now would it? LOL
JACKO


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## Ray Mac

Steve Woodward said:


> Im not sure I want to know the answer to this (Jester)


No Worry Steve (egg) [=D]


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## gorach

once had a right snooty punter on a research boat, every day one of the galley crew rimmed his cup ,he was giving us blow job by proxy, when he was drinking his coffee,made us feel better


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## ALAN TYLER

Ian Haldane said:


> Cannot tell a lie - 2/E and I used to have an end of watch rum (or two) and stagger into breakfast - sorry
> I guess it was thoughtless rudeness rather than intentional arrogance.


Apology accepted, times a great healer. Airline pilot, wonder if any food tampering goes on up in the sky?


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## Dickyboy

Was anyone ever a ships cook on the passenger boats?
As I recall the Andes and the Capetown Castle had Crews Galleys. On one of them at least, it was under the Focstle. One was open onto the well deck. Pretty exposed when collecting the grub for the mess. Pretty chilly for the cooks, hot on one side, and cold due the exposed position of the galley, on the other. Don't remember the food being too bad though. But compared with what the passengers were getting............


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## vasco

joebuckham said:


> i can't see much point in all this revenge, by the addition of various body fluids to the meals and serving straight from the gash bucket, if the victims did'nt know they had been paid back.


*Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold * 


Old Klingon proverb by Khaless the unforgettable. 
(and various others)


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## Steve Woodward

Burned Toast said:


> No Worry Steve (egg) [=D]


Once we lost most of the catering staff and the old man had to balance the books he found out what the problems were in trying to balance the budget and meet the feeding rate
But what was it like in the '70's when we actually had a catering department as against a cook and a messman, were things as tight ? 
Steve


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## Bill Davies

Only ever recall this type of 'carry on' once and that was on one of the NBC 'Ore' Class (Puerto Ordaz -Baton Rouge). Full Cayman crew (Crew List read as a British ship). Cook had a difference with one of the crowd who was eventually hospitalized due some unspeakable illness. I called the police in whilst in BR. Cook arrested, jailed (two years) and worse than that he was struck off the NBC pool. Never worked again, and rightly so.


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## johnb42

Can't personally vouch for this one, but a bosun I sailed with swears it is true.

Cook on a supertanker, Gulf to Bantry Bay run. Not much of a cook, pretty poor in fact, but high on hygeine and likes to live in a clean cabin. Each night after work, leaves his galley shoes on the mat outside his cabin and slips on a pair of flip-flops for indoors.
One of the crew, who is more into food than hygeine has a couple of beers one night and decides to leave a turd in one of the cooks boots.
The next morning he checks out the galley once or twice, only to find the cook going about his business with a smile on his face. He does the same in the afternoon and again for the next two days - no change whatsoever in the cooks demeanour.
It plays on his mind continuously but he keeps quiet right up until they are al paying off in Bantry Bay. By now he knows he can't leave the ship without a response. 
As they walk away from the pay-off table, he turns to the cook and asks him outright. "Hey, cookie, did you ever find out who left the turd in your galley boots"?
No. says the cook. . . . . .























But I know who ate it. (Jester) 

I'll get me coat.


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## Jim Brady

*Ships Food.*

Somebody mentioned Plate Powder.I was sitting in my cabin one night having a beer(Iron Ore boat Oregis)2nd Stwd appeared with a plate of sandwiches here you are "scouse" I made to many for the skipper.A nice plate of salmon sarnies garnished with lettuce and tomato.I could'nt understand the fuss, him and I just did'nt get on.The next day was I ill!!! I had to carry on working of course but the captain did'nt come out of his cabin for about three days.
I then realised if you want to poison someone with plate powder the best thing to do it with is tinned salmon.For those of you that have used plate powder you will know it turns reddy/pink when wet.Mixed with salmon it just blends in and its such a fine abrassive that you would'nt notice it.
The next time I came across this guy I joined the BP Distributer in Preston,as I approached the gangway he was standing at the top in cooks gear!!!I certainly watched what I ate on her.
Regards.
Jim Brady.


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## tsell

mcgurggle said:


> I was Cook/Steward on the 'Alfred Everard' up in Gothenborg. It was mid winter & as no-one had any 'dhobi dust' aboard and it was too cold to go ashore for some, I decided to make my own! I grated a bar of that old 'carbolic' soap which was a yellow colour. The dhobi room was just off the mess room, (we had an old 'wishy washy, paddle action Hotpoint washing machine) so I headed for it. As I passed through the mess room with the grated soap on a plate , a greedy AB shouted 'Oh look! CHEESE ! He had a handfull down his throat and was going for a second one when he realised his mistake.
> He never got off the 'pan' for 2 days & his stomach cramps were terrible.
> Moral ?? 'Always ASK the Cook before helping yourself ' !
> Serves the ba***rd right(MAD) LOL
> McG


AH YES! The old 'Carbolic Soap' trick!

Sailed with a 3rd mate on his first trip as such. He was a six foot redhead. After a week or so he started to throw his weight around, with the deck crew at first, then the catering boys. He became a fair dinkum b*stard!
What to do about him?
Over a few beers we discussed this growing problem amongst what was otherwise a great crew.
The cook was an easy going Cornishman who, as with the rest of us, was heartily sick of his carryings on.
'Doc' was renowned for his curries and Macaroni Cheese, the latter being a favourite of the 3rd. So a plan was hatched!
For the next few weeks he took a potato peeler to a bar of Carbolic and with just a couple of shavings at first, added them to the Macaroni on the 3rd's plate. He always liked extra cheese with the plate two minutes under the grill.
The 'dose' was gradually increased - not enough to be noticed by the recipient - but the effect was marvelous!
While it did not completely cure him of his arrogance, the time he spent on the bog certainly subdued him to a great extent.
The 'medicine' did not appear to have any lasting effect although we heard that the Mate was not too happy with his performance!!

I always helped to peel spuds as you really had be friendly with the cooks for obvious reasons! (A) 

Taffy R556959


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## JamesM

Similar story about Catering Staff, but not involving food, thank goodness.
One day,whilst serving on British Severn, the Cat/Off asks me if the Engineers have much crockery/cutlery in the control room that has'nt been returned after they've had a meal.His reason for asking is that he's running very low on said items and he can't find out where they've gone. I tell him I don't think so, but I'll check. That afternoon I mention the topic to the 3/E only to be told that he think he has the answer. Apparently a couple of mornings ago after coming off the 12-4 he was making a cup of coffee in the pantry when the 2nd Stwd came in, took one look at the sink which had a pile of used crockery/cutlery soaking in soapy water, pulled out the plug, got a tray and lifted the contents of the sink onto it, stepped out onto the deck and chucked the lot over the wall, muttering " If they think I'm going to wash that lot they can get stuffed".(When interviewed later he admitted to doing this on a regular basis.)
So there you have it, the mystery of the vanishing crockery has been solved ---- it's all in Davy Jones' Locker!!(or on his table more like)(Jester)


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## jim morris

JamesM said:


> Similar story about Catering Staff, but not involving food, thank goodness.
> One day,whilst serving on British Severn, the Cat/Off asks me if the Engineers have much crockery/cutlery in the control room that has'nt been returned after they've had a meal.His reason for asking is that he's running very low on said items and he can't find out where they've gone. I tell him I don't think so, but I'll check. That afternoon I mention the topic to the 3/E only to be told that he think he has the answer. Apparently a couple of mornings ago after coming off the 12-4 he was making a cup of coffee in the pantry when the 2nd Stwd came in, took one look at the sink which had a pile of used crockery/cutlery soaking in soapy water, pulled out the plug, got a tray and lifted the contents of the sink onto it, stepped out onto the deck and chucked the lot over the wall, muttering " If they think I'm going to wash that lot they can get stuffed".(When interviewed later he admitted to doing this on a regular basis.)
> So there you have it, the mystery of the vanishing crockery has been solved ---- it's all in Davy Jones' Locker!!(or on his table more like)(Jester)


I done my first trip to sea as a boy rating on the Oronsay in 1956. 6 youngsters in the cabin. Any crockery or silverware that found it's way into the cabin always went through the porthole. Someone did say "if you drained the sea you could walk from England to Australia on crockery and silverware without getting your feet muddy"


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## edcasey

i used to see lykes vessels in glasgow in late fifties,i always thought they would have better food than british ships, similar to u.s. army "eat as much as you want" etc. i am surprised about quality of food considering lykes were food importers, and that the sealift command food was bad. another myth exposed. how was the accomadation?wages? compered to british ships.was booze and tobacco dirt cheap? look forward to your reply..... edcasey


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## surfaceblow

I sailed on the Shirley Lykes in the mid 70's and on Sealift Vessels in the mid 80's. On the accommodations the Lykes Brother ships complied with the regulations of 120 square feet of space and I had my own head since I was put in the spare Third Assistant Engineer's Room. On the Sealift vessels the rooms were on the small side you could not open the drawers under the bunk with the desk chair at the desk and you shared the head with the adjoining room. 

The wages were union scale for both Lykes and MSC. While I was on the Lykes ship I was paid $ 6.67 a day for being a Apprentice Engineer. On the MSC vessels I was 1 Assistant Engineer and was paid $ 178 - 214 per day which was based on a power tonnage of the vessel. MSC was short on vacation. The vacation at the time I was working for them was based on how many years you worked for them. At the start it was two weeks vacation and then time off for weekends at sea. 

The tobacco was cheap $ 2.50 a carton. No booze. 

The 12 passengers seem to enjoy the food on the Lykes Brothers ship but I found that the food was far to greasy for me and I did not like the Southern Style cooking. Every day there was red beans and rice. The MSC ships the food was void of any spices while being cooked. But you could add all of the disguises you wanted. (A1, HP, etc).


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## Jim Yates

Goddards Plate Powder. Tin Foil from Tea Chests and Soda for Silver cleaning 
Galley inspections.Make sure you cage all the cockroaches first. Many a Late arriving Pasenger/Officer/Cadet has enjoyed a special meal from ships i have sailed on 
Jim


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## bluestar boy stiff

*Egon Ronies The lot of Em*



Macphail said:


> The Captain complained many times about his tough steak, sent it back, the cook threw it on the galley floor, stamped on it a lot, brushed it down, heated it up, applied a nice sauce, happy Captain.
> Chief Engineer treated his steward like S**it, chicken curry, he had only bones, the rest had meat.
> We have all had the half cockie in the stew, where is the other half.
> How many bogies in the soup.
> The Captain and Chief Engineer had an extended lunch time G &T, came down for late lunch, all gone, the cook had thrown everything overboard including his pots and pans.
> 
> Tell us about the Galley.


Who do they think they are Captains & Chief Engineers. They think they can do better cept moaning all the time. It's not the Chief Cooks fault if the meat he got from the chandler is tough, i bet they don't moan when the MRS serves em up some thing ropey.Have some thought for the poor old chief cook taking crap all day,sweating his plums off to get some a--hole moaning my mum dont make it like that (the chief cooks Quote ON HERE I'M YOUR MUVVA DEAR NOW PEE OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE I GOT A HANG OVER)(Jester)


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## Union Jack

It was always said in the Royal Navy that there was no bodily fluid that unpopular officers had not ingested .....!

Jack


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## Ray Mac

Same in the MERCH I bet(Jester)


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## stevie wonder

if you all think that playing around with peoples food is funny then I can only feel sorry for you, I trained as a chef and went to sea as a cook,cook/steward, ass. cook and after 12 years left to buy my first pub, sold that for three times what I paid and repeated that another three times.
I never allowed any stupid pranks in my kitchen or galley, and the name I got was stevie wonder, as a compliment and not as an insult


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## trotterdotpom

Well said, Stevie, I don't agree with applauding infantile behaviour either. From time to time we all had to put up with bumptious superiors - that's life. 

John T.


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## Mike S

The food on the Rangitane was pretty good most of the time. However I dread to think what really went on down there in the galley. Looking back I suffered at the hands of the catering staff a couple of times. I still reckon that some of them were better off back on the back streets of the East End.
However........
During my days on Durham there was a serious incident. On my first voyage in 1957 a lot of apprentices suffered from boils. In fact the whole crew were often sick.
The next voyage after a severe storm in the Atlantic we finished up in Galveston Texas with two broken crankshafts in the main engines. The story is on the Rakaia site.
A new Capt took over.......Capt Keith Barnett one of the best Masters I ever had the honour of sailing with....and he was doing his rounds in Galveston. In the galley he noticed a large pipe crossing the galley stove with a dark mark on a flange. As he watched as a drip fell into the stew pot that was bubbling on the stove. Turning to the C/E who had been on the ship for many years he asked what the pipeline was.
On checking it was found to be the officers sewer line.
The infections stopped promptly.
On Northumberland shortly after joining the cook was seen boiling eggs in the soup.
A quick flight home and the 2nd Cook was promoted. Never had a sick day on her from then on. I still have very reserved opinions of some of the people that were hired as "stewards" in those days. By no means the majority however there were some who really were beyond reason. We even had a murder on the way out to New Zealand on one voyage. Never proven however some of us up "top" had our suspicions. 
It was all a very long time ago however the vast majority were great folk and wonderful characters. I never want to sail on passenger ships again however.........even as a passenger.


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## tunatownshipwreck

I have a photo of the Rangitane galley some years later (1973) as the Oriental Esmerelda:
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/50804


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## Mike S

Phew!
It was a lot cleaner than that I can tell you!!!! It gleamed when they had finished burnishing all the pots.
It was what happened after it left the cooks that used to worry me.


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## spongebob

Rangitane's Galley looks a bit overcrowded there but it's the same galley that I used to pass through on my way from the refrigeration engine room to the engineers pantry at the end of the 12 to 4 am watch.arming myself with a big basket of hot freshly baked "Crescent" bread rolls straight out of the baker's oven as I went.
It was my job to make sure that our after watch beer was super cold from the brine room after storing it there to avoid the previous 8 to 12 watch from over imbibing.
These rolls went down well with the watch-end beer and cheese and the bridge watch keepers used to come down for a snack and a tipple as well.

Bob


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## ALAN TYLER

*Hard Soap*

Changing the thread a bit here but can any other old galley boys remember the hard soap, for doing the "strap-up". We used to cut it up into pieces and put it in a tin with holes cut in the bottom and hang it from the taps so as to let the water run through it. This would  provide you with a good "sudsy" water for about 10 seconds, after that the grease levels would appear round your elbows!!! Happy Days...


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## Ray Mac

ALAN TYLER said:


> Changing the thread a bit here but can any other old galley boys remember the hard soap, for doing the "strap-up". We used to cut it up into pieces and put it in a tin with holes cut in the bottom and hang it from the taps so as to let the water run through it. This would provide you with a good "sudsy" water for about 10 seconds, after that the grease levels would appear round your elbows!!! Happy Days...


Was it not:-

Yellow Block - fairy
Red Block - Carbolic


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## ALAN TYLER

Burned Toast said:


> Was it not:-
> 
> Yellow Block - fairy
> Red Block - Carbolic


Then came Teepol if you were lucky....measured out by the thimble full and probably watered down!!!! Happy days


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## David W

The soap melted quicker, as did your hands, if your galley had a "live steam" pipe, instead of a hot water tap. 

Teepol !!, wasnt that an empty can, that appeared just prior to the Captain's inspection. 

What about Board of Trade lime juice, it seared the throat and bought tears to the eyes of anyone daft enough to try it, except old time firemen and trimmers, but what a lovely job it did on the galley bench.


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## john fraser

ALAN TYLER said:


> Then came Teepol if you were lucky....measured out by the thimble full and probably watered down!!!! Happy days


Then there was the 5 gallon drum of Carbolacene,which was a thick gooey liquid .The drum just sat in the store and never seemed to get used.Supposed to be a type of disinfectant.


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## spongebob

Talking about harsh soaps, does anyone recall Solvol soap.
This abrasive hand soap was first produced in 1905 by a Melbourne Company and is still marketed by the WD-40 Co,
More for engineers than the galley crew I guess.

Bob


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## Jim Sutton

It is rather amusing that any of us from the US who have posted anything on this forum have groused about Lykes food. From my "pet weevil farm" (a package of saltines that had a weevils living in it not unlike an ant farm) on the Mayo Lykes to other atrocities such as freezer burned dixie cups of ice cream to tripe,tripe and more tripe! On the CHARLOTTE LYKES (the ex WESER EXPRESS) the Chief and I decided to make a box raid late one night. The horsecock for the night lunch was indeed Lykes and came in the same tins that Lincoln put their welding rods! The Chief exclaimed "Hey Jim I found the olive loaf" to which my reply was "Bad news Chief I have the olive loaf which has some red pimento in it!" Turns out the Chief had found some ham with a bit of "age" out it. Soom some splashing noises were heard in the dark!
I was on one Lykes ship which was a really good feeder and that was the LYRA perhaps because she had a west coast steward's departmentalso,the messman(woman) made homemade salad dressings and we ate pretty well! AND she had the lowest feeding budget in the fleet. . .go figure.
By the way Kraft Cheese Whiz makes an excellent substiture for Permatex!


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## KIWI

Had no complaints about P&O food on either liner or cargoe ship but dined exceptionally well on Stratheden.The chef was uncle of my mate & the 2nd chef a fellow NZer. KIWI


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## BarnacleGrim

An AB would, in a spell of mysophobia, cut several slices of cheese and putting them aside before daring to put one on the sandwich. The mate commented that he wished someone would just come along and bell-end the lot.


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## Pat Kennedy

Dickyboy said:


> Was anyone ever a ships cook on the passenger boats?
> As I recall the Andes and the Capetown Castle had Crews Galleys. On one of them at least, it was under the Focstle. One was open onto the well deck. Pretty exposed when collecting the grub for the mess. Pretty chilly for the cooks, hot on one side, and cold due the exposed position of the galley, on the other. Don't remember the food being too bad though. But compared with what the passengers were getting............


Dickyboy, 
I was in that Andes and I recall the crew galley being right under the focsle. As you say, the food wasn't too bad. The big messroom at the forard end of the well deck doubled as a crew cinema a couple of nights a week. The problem was there was only one film... Goldfinger, and we had seen it that often we all knew the script, and the crowd would take it in turns to be characters in the movie. So you would have eight or nine ABs yelling out Sean Connery's lines, and twenty odd stewards pretending to be Pussy Galore!
Everyone seemed to be pissed 24/7 on that ship.
Some old characters had been in her since new, and had no intention of ever leaving.
Regards, 
Pat(Thumb)


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## cookietwo

it is alright complaining about mates engineers and deckies but woh betide any catering member who got up the cookies back when it came to eating


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## Trampshipman

AB pokes his head into galley and shouts "Ha Ha, who s--t in the cooks boot then"? Cook shouts after him "Ha Ha, and who had it in their soup then" ?


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## Pearl Diver

Macphail said:


> The Captain complained many times about his tough steak, sent it back, the cook threw it on the galley floor, stamped on it a lot, brushed it down, heated it up, applied a nice sauce, happy Captain.
> Chief Engineer treated his steward like S**it, chicken curry, he had only bones, the rest had meat.
> We have all had the half cockie in the stew, where is the other half.
> How many bogies in the soup.
> The Captain and Chief Engineer had an extended lunch time G &T, came down for late lunch, all gone, the cook had thrown everything overboard including his pots and pans.
> 
> Tell us about the Galley.


I can recall one morning on the ss Caronia (the Jolly Green Giant) at about 7.45am, The Head Chef walked into the galley and there was not a single soul there, the poor man almost had a seizure. It turned out that it was one of the comis chef's birthday and the midships Pig & Whistle barman had opened the bar for what was commonly called "early morning mass". They were having a ball down there. As it turned out breakfast was not delayed at all and as far as I know nothing more was said about it.
Pete Leonard


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## gwzm

Brocklebank ships were usually pretty good feeders but there were a few problems on one, which shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. Braised brisket of beef was a regular item on the dinner menu. It was usually so tough that you could sole your shoes with it. The remainder of the meat went through the bacon slicer and was put into the sandwiches in the supper boxes. On the night in question the brisket had been particularly tough and was all but inedible unless you had tungsten steel teeth. A junior officer (again nameless to protect the guilty) and I collected all the meat from the supper boxes and attached each piece with drawing pins to the Chief Steward's door until it looked like an armadillo hide. Needless to say there was a huge investigation but nobody grassed as everybody else was as fed up as we were. 

Happy days


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## Pearl Diver

Just to stir up an old thread, does anyone remember "Chemico" the best cleaning agent on the planet. I don't think I sailed on a ship that didn't have this cleaning paste. I thought that the company had gone bust because I couldn't buy it anywhere ashore. So I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the ironmongers Thorns in Norwich recently looking for something completely different and there right in front of the counter was a display of the very stuff. I was chuffed.(K)


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## chadburn

gwzm said:


> Brocklebank ships were usually pretty good feeders but there were a few problems on one, which shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. Braised brisket of beef was a regular item on the dinner menu. It was usually so tough that you could sole your shoes with it. The remainder of the meat went through the bacon slicer and was put into the sandwiches in the supper boxes. On the night in question the brisket had been particularly tough and was all but inedible unless you had tungsten steel teeth. A junior officer (again nameless to protect the guilty) and I collected all the meat from the supper boxes and attached each piece with drawing pins to the Chief Steward's door until it looked like an armadillo hide. Needless to say there was a huge investigation but nobody grassed as everybody else was as fed up as we were.
> 
> Happy days


I used my best oil groove cutting skill's and carved the word "s***e" in a piece of meat(I use the word meat loosely) and sent it back, I was reported of course but as I was only doing the one trip it was of no consquence to me but I enjoyed the look on their face's when it was offered up as evidence.(Jester)


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## sagalout

Oh the memories I was galley boy ships Peggy & 2nd cook & can vouch for nearly everything said on here When I was ships Peggy on The Lancastrian Prince we had the unluckiest 2nd cook in the world. 1 day he put the beans in soak for the next days breakfast. So next day he is finishing it off with a loud shout of 'I have cracked Heinz recipe'! By lunch a small queue had built up from all the toilets & over the next 12 hours the crew were leaving the toilet & rejoining the end of the queue! We could not work out what had gone wrong as every one was effected 'cept me & my mate who didn't have the beans. The look on his face was a gem as he remembered that after soaking the beans he didn't wash them off. The crew suffered the trots for about 2 days
Soft soap ....... Gave me dermatitis on my 1st trip all my hands were split couldn't get away with it nowdays. Teepol was a luxury


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## alan ward

macca57 said:


> We had one Purser on the Clan Ranald, who served nut burger rings two or three times a week, his wife travelling with him complained about the fare he servd up, his response keep quiet.
> The Chief Nooky Nichols was becoming fed up with the fare provided, so he instigated a nightly midnigh raid on the ships fridges.
> He cooked excellent food on the baby Belling in the Engineers mess.
> One day the Captain at breakfast said to the remarked to the Chief, two things, firstly he expressed concern that the engineeers didn't appear for breakfast, and that it wasn't good for us, how could we after having a meal at midnight.
> Secondly, at midnight a strange smell permeates the ship (she was A/C), it was the captains way of telling us to back off.
> Strangely enough the food quaility and menus improved after that.


When were you on the Ranald,were you sailing with Alec Mair?I remember Nicholls the C/E he gave me the best 21st.birthday present you can ever imagine.


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## alan ward

trotterdotpom said:


> Well said, Stevie, I don't agree with applauding infantile behaviour either. From time to time we all had to put up with bumptious superiors - that's life.
> 
> John T.



Each and every day I meet many pleasant,polite people and the odd ********.Running a pub is just like working on board ship and I have never deliberately poisoned anyone.Just keeping a victorian kichen safe and within EHO requirements is enough


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