HMS Victorious Association Web Community

   Good one Dave. I had heard about the Gib NAAFI club, but never saw it. The pictures are not stokers.
 The first visit  Cath and I went to Gib, we were there for a week, there did seem to be some army and RAF people about. We were out in a small boat, suppose to be looking for dolphins (or something), when a Vulcan bomber took off over our heads. It was a very noisy experience, and the "spiv" who promised to show us the whales and dolphins which we never saw, explained that the bomber scared all the wild life away.  Didn't get a refund either. We did get to the top of the rock however, we went up in dangling basket affair, Cath did not like it at all, and was insisting on going down by road in a taxi. Unfortunatly, there was taxi strike on so she had to go down in the basket, but was not at all happy !!
  Still worth a visit. Keep Gib British.

   I have often said, that visiting the great places we remember from our youth, later in life, too often is not a great idea. In the early seventies my wife and I visit Malta, had been a place of magic in my mind for years. However, Malta was going through much change at this time, and whilst it was a pleasant place, it wasn't very exciting. ! Blue skies still there, shiny blue Mediterranean, but oh so many tourist, and nice cafes, and in the words of the great Stanley Holloway," No wrecks and nobody drowneded, fact nothing to laugh at all".
  Gibraltar was much the same really, nice hotel, but no sailors on the street, and the Winter Garden Hotel, scene of many minor riots, if it was still there, i could not find it!
         However, trogging round Spain on a SAGA trip a couple of years ago, we were offered a chance to make a boat trip across the Vigo estuary, and a chance to have a look at the city of Vigo.
That's for me I said, great place Vigo, good wine anyway !
 The boat trip was made on a rather grubby ferry boat, and when we got off, I was positive it was where the jetty I had walked had been. The old fishing jetty from my last visit with the pub. Long gone. Vigo it seems is now one of the largest fishing ports in Europe. It has major Canning factories, and freezing facilities (E.U financed) everything handled in bulk. Factories everywhere !!
Never saw a fisherman, and when I complained about the destruction of my dreams, to the dragon of a guide we had, she just grunted that it had changed a bit in the past sixty years.

 March 1962, Victorious visited the Spanish port of Vigo. I cannot remember whether we anchored off or went alongside, but I do remember several of us stokers, pooling money for a drinks kitty, and I held the cash. There was a good sized jetty that we walked down, but it was evening, we had no idea of where friendly locals might be found. I remember that orders of the day had advised liberty men, not to get into any form of trouble, as the countries leader, General Franco, did not like Brits, did not like the Royal Navy, and wanted Gibraltar. I now wonder why we went there in the first place.
 We seemed to have walked the length of the jetty, and were about to walk back, when an elderly chap stopped us, and asked in reasonable English if we were Royal navy, we were all in the rig.
He seemed pleased, and told us he had served in the Merchant Navy during the war, sailing out of Liverpool, and seemed very excited to find one of us was a Scouse. He assured us that whilst Vigo was quite a big place, it no longer had anywhere exciting that we would find entertaining, there was a heavy police presence in the place, and a "shortage" of electricity ! no idea why. We cheered up
when the chap told us that he was off to his local bar, and we would be welcomed to join him, warning us, that it was not like the "Maggy Mays" Liverpool bars, but the host would make us welcome.
Nothing to lose, we followed our new found friend to a row of what looked like old cottages, and through a door into a smoke filled room. The place was lit by paraffin lamps hanging down from the ceiling,
and there was various bar games being played with some laughing and shouting. The room became silent as our presence was noticed, but things resumed as our guide made some sort of introduction to
 a little portly chap who we learned was the landlord,  had emerged from one of the card games. He spoke no English, but our guide advised us that we were welcome, six glasses of red wine, were set up for us on the bar. The bar was two big barrel stood on end with planks spanning them, a small barrel at one end contained (we were told) local red wine. and at the other end of the bar was a
biscuit tin half full of salt water and live squids.

  Just to let members know that I have quite given up guessing dates for the Reunion, but in no way have we given up on having the 2021/plus 2020 do. Rather the opposite, we are more than ever
committed to having the best reunion ever put together by anyone anywhere in the world !! (We have had a lot of time to plan). I am aware that at our time of life, waiting about is not something we
want to do, but rest assured everything is in place when the flag goes up, and we will out of the blocks like the proverbial greyhound.
 There has been a number of occasions recently on the television, when half wits have assure us that the light is at the end of a tunnel, and there has not even been a tunnel. However, when I learned
that Brian Tennick had been given his vaccine injection (in Doncaster), I felt that we may be starting to see the New Dawn Breaking. I have mentioned in the News letter, that our hotel booking still holds good, I have spoken to the manager, and he is positive that all will be good.
   I fear that one of the casualties of this pandemic will be the loss of veterans associations. I am aware of a couple of associations who have pulled down their flag. I suspect that depression created
by the lockdowns and miserable media coverage, has a grinding effect on many, but it is a real loss for veterans who will now lose contact with mates who speak the same language as them about events they all remember.
Well Victorious is alive and kicking, we will be there to watch the sun come out again.
        On a serious note  , I need to get out soon. I have re-read Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series, (21 volumes) and have obtained the 11 volumes of Foresters Hornblower series, and have only one and a half books to go.