Coincidence

[Vegaskip]

1956, I left school, joined Merchant Navy, trained as a Catering boy at the TS Dolphin in Leith. Joined my first ship Edenwood at Ellesmere Port. Ballast to Casablanca for Phosphate for Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth. On the return trip we stopped off to 'swing the Compass' off Inchkeith. The Compass Adjuster was T.C. Lauder of Leith. I was sent up to the bridge with tea and sandwiches for him. Not the last time I was to meet Tommy Lauder. Several ships, sea miles and years later, now in the RN, I met the girl who was eventually to be my wife. When I met her Family her Dad was the same TC Lauder Nautical Optician and Compass Adjuster I had met that day on Edenwood. It will be our 60th wedding anniversary this year.
The painting is Edenwood off Inchkeith with the Pilot Boat (as I remember it ) alongside and my future Father in Law climbing aboard.
W/c 16” X10”

85D4160F-F387-47D5-80ED-401C32192A80.jpeg

[jbryce1437]

Another lovely painting Jim. It is amazing that you should meet your future father in law before you met your wife. Fate has mysterious ways.

Jim

[Vegaskip]

You should have seen the cellar in his shop! Full of 'junk' from goodness knows when. Like a chandlers from the 19th century. Unfortunately when he gave up the business it was cleared out and most went into the skip!. Unfortunately I was working at Sullom Voe in the Shetlands at the time
. Jim

[jbryce1437]

You should have seen the cellar in his shop! Full of 'junk' from goodness knows when. Like a chandlers from the 19th century. Unfortunately when he gave up the business it was cleared out and most went into the skip!. Unfortunately I was working at Sullom Voe in the Shetlands at the time
. Jim

Did you ever come across Stuart Eley at Sullom Voe. We were on the same recruits course when we joined the Fire Brigade in 1974. We did our training at a fire station in Sunderland. Not sure if it was before, or after, the strike in 1977 that he left and went to work as a fire fighter at Sullom Voe.
On the coincidence theme. I was serving at the fire station in central Sunderland and was detached to another fire station for a set of shifts with our Turntable Ladder. We got a shout one afternoon and I slid down the pole from the top floor and, when I stepped off the mat at the bottom, I collided with someone who was making for the store room on the station. The guy looked familiar.
However, the shout wasn't for the turntable ladder so I went to the store room to see what the guy was up to. He was on the station to repair the Columbus Dixon floor scrubber, which was defective. It turned out that he was killick of my mess when I was doing my Part 2 training at Collingwood, and he later joined Ark Royal and was killick of my mess on there also. Such a small world

Jim

[Vegaskip]

Never knew that chap at Sullom Voe. I was there 1978 to 1982. We were employed by Foster Wheeler, during the construction phase, Two 'Green Godesses' a converted Bedford van and a Land Rover. We covered both construction camps and the various parts of the Terminal. We did Scatsta Airfield for a while as well until they re activated it. Dan Air flew us from Glasgow to Sumburgh , then about 2 hrs by road. Scatsta was almost part of the Terminal, so when it opened it made a big difference. We handed over to BP Who had their own setup, with 'proper' equipment, so he might have been part of that. After Shetland, I did a driving job delivering chemicals to farms around Fife. One night I got a phone call from one of the guys that was at Shetland went something like...” Hi Jim, got a bag packed.” Me “why?” .... “ Falkland Islands, similar set up as Shetland.” .... me to wife . “Ok if I go down to the Falklands? ... wife “ I suppose so!” So off I went. Unfortunately after about six weeks I was 'casevacced' back to uk with suspected ulcer. Turned out to be gall stones and over active acid ducts in my stomach ( I had been living on Rennies for the previous 20 years). Couple of days in Hospital fixed it. Delivered Plant Hire stuff for a while then in for a local Grounds Maintenance firm till I retired 2006jim

[jbryce1437]

Ok, thanks Jim, it could well have been with BP.

Jim

[Vegaskip]

[quote=Vegaskip post_id=18975 time=1609671546 user_id=56]
Never knew that chap at Sullom Voe. I was there 1978 to 1982. We were employed by Foster Wheeler, during the construction phase, Two 'Green Godesses' a converted Bedford van and a Land Rover. We covered both construction camps and the various parts of the Terminal. We did Scatsta Airfield for a while as well until they re activated it. Dan Air flew us from Glasgow to Sumburgh , then about 2 hrs by road. Scatsta was almost part of the Terminal, so when it opened it made a big difference. We handed over to BP Who had their own setup, with 'proper' equipment, so he might have been part of that. After Shetland, I did a driving job delivering chemicals to farms around Fife. One night I got a phone call from one of the guys that was at Shetland went something like...” Hi Jim, got a bag packed.” Me “why?” .... “ Falkland Islands, similar set up as Shetland.” .... me to wife . “Ok if I go down to the Falklands? ... wife “ I suppose so!” So off I went. Unfortunately after about six weeks I was 'casevacced' back to uk with suspected ulcer. Turned out to be gall stones and over active acid ducts in my stomach ( I had been living on Rennies for the previous 20 years). Couple of days in Hospital fixed it. Delivered Plant Hire stuff for a while then storeman for a local Grounds Maintenance firm till I retired 2006
Jim

[ivorthediver]

Nice to hear of your reminiscing lads ,so strange how they happen eh , but great when they do....... once you get over the shock that is