Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bids the mighty ocean deep, It’s own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. The Navy Hymn, William Whitting, 1860. Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants […]
Category: culture
Sex Re-Education Campaigns, Pride, Harm, Norms and Sailors. It’s hard to know where the time goes. I’ve been home for 1.5 weeks. Five days were spent doing ‘ultra-parenting’, taking the kids away from the wife to compensate her for my absence. This week I’ve been enjoying the greatly enhanced energy that comes with a combination […]
We rushed up to Aberdeen and demobilised the diving and mooring spread in record time. I’m glad we did because we’ve been sat here for eleven days off-hire, with another few days to go before it looks like we’ll sail. The Shetland job is cancelled now, so it looks like we’ll be ‘rock-bagging’ out of […]
Promotor Fidei, Punk. It has been one week since the anointing of King Charles III. King Charles the sausage-fingered. Sadly, William did not turn up in an Apache helicopter seeking trial by combat in a challenge to the throne, as I had hoped he might. The changing of robes, crowns and carriages was televised with […]
Conclusion. Happy Saint George’s Day, fellow dragon slayers! We have plenty of dragons to slay today. The borders are open. The pound and the dollar have nearly lost 100% of their value. The media actively avoid real information. The warmongers dress in sheep’s clothing. Consensus is manufactured, then called truth. Our city buildings fly the […]
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The Bite of the Age
Whitby is an amazing place. Its scars and memories are on display. Its heroes remain alive. We sailed past Lindisfarne to get here, but this is Northumberland. The kingdom of Vikings, where peoples are known by their distinct identities, changing tribal monicker as you progress down the coast. Geordies, Sand-dancers, Makems, Smoggies, Monkey-Hangers and Ringers. […]
Well, my friends. I’ve been on board my new ship now for twelve days as Master, and for about six of those I’ve been alone. The first week, I had the previous skipper to give me an induction and show me the ropes, both literally and figuratively. An invaluable assistance for a few days, until […]
I forget where I read this factoid, but if you make any absurdly unreasonable request of a stranger, like cutting in line at the supermarket, your odds of a successful request increase from 1% to 90%, if you provide a ‘because’ justification. E.g., Saying, ‘Can I skip ahead of you’ on its own is less […]
Well. Where to begin? Tonight, in Vlissingen the Dutch begin to celebrate Carnival. A crazy celebration involving costumes and role reversal, that will last until Ash Wednesday. Carnival celebrations traditionally involve masks, cross-dressing, jesters acting like the king, and lords and ladies waiting on their servants. Linked to Purim, it indicates how the proper order […]
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Twits and Titans
Very little of what passes for ‘culture’ today, is anything more than a cult or a sub-culture. The political movements of our time have more in common with a bowel movement than any of the guiding principles they use as camouflage. The focus on the outcast, the downtrodden or the marginal has become so fetishised […]