Why Not Give Us A Little Personal Info

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Originally posted by arthurarnell@Mar 8 2004, 04:08 AM
For me I was born bred and raised in Portsmouth Hampshire UK in 1943 and have recently retired after working forty five years as a rigger, the last eleven of them as a Master Rigger. (If your'e interested in old fighting ships take a look at HMS Victory Admiral Nelson's flag ship at the battle of Trafalger in 1805) It knocks the Constitution into a cocked hat).

I know that Portsmouth is a major seaport of England and therefore presumably has a lot of ships but sailing vessels? Hard to believe in this day and age that you could find full-time work as a ship's rigger (if that's the kind of rigger to which you're referring.)

Hi Stumpy.

I worked in Portsmouth Naval Base yes as a ships Rigger but we were also responsible for refitting our modern ships with Rigging and my duties also included tying ships up and sailing them from their berths, and putting ships into docks.

HMS Victory is the oldest commissioned ship in the world and still has a serving naval captain and crew. In total she has twenty seven miles of Rigging and in her fighting condition was a first line Battle ship with a crew of eight hundred men.

The interesting and sometimes annoying thing was that with all the modern technology sometimes it was necessary to remove masts and spars in the same maner as the did in the eighteenth century i.e by capstan.

Regards

Arthur

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Originally posted by arthurarnell@Mar 10 2004, 12:43 PM
Hi Stumpy.

I worked in Portsmouth Naval Base yes as a ships Rigger but we were also responsible for refitting our modern ships with Rigging and my duties also included tying ships up and sailing them from their berths, and putting ships into docks.

HMS Victory is the oldest commissioned ship in the world and still has a serving naval captain and crew. In total she has twenty seven miles of Rigging and in her fighting condition was a first line Battle ship with a crew of eight hundred men.

The interesting and sometimes annoying thing was that with all the modern technology sometimes it was necessary to remove masts and spars in the same maner as the did in the eighteenth century i.e by capstan.

Regards

Arthur

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I've always been an Anglophile and as a kid, thrilled to the exploits of Cecil S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy kicked butts and took names.

During my last tour of duty in Puerto Rico, the wife and I hosted several Royal Marines for dinner and drinks one evening. (They were training on an island somewhere off Puerto Rico - probably Vieques.)

We were drinking 151 proof rum and a couple of them really got fired up. Well, the fact of the matter is, we were all pretty well three sheets to the wind. :lol:

Anyway, one of them, who was a Scotsman called Jock (naturally), decided he wanted to go into downtown San Juan to a house of ill repute. So I loaded several of them into my car and we took off for San Juan. To this day, I don't know how I managed to drive that 20 or 30 miles without having a wreck and killing all of us.

I think one of them was from around Portsmouth. I still have their names, addresses and phone numbers somewhere among my papers. I'll see if I can't locate that paper and will give you the particulars on the guy. Hell, who knows; you might even know him. :lol:

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Originally posted by Stumpy@Mar 10 2004, 11:47 AM
During my last tour of duty in Puerto Rico, the wife and I hosted several Royal Marines for dinner and drinks one evening. (They were training on an island somewhere off Puerto Rico - probably Vieques.)

Wow, Stumpy, now you're bringing up some Naval memories of my own. Back in 1968, as a Navy diver aboard our ship, the USS Epping Forest, a minesweeper tender, we were down in Thailand doing a joint minesweeping exercise with the Thai and British navies. I was temporarily assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team during this exercise. We were transferred to work aboard a British minesweeper for over a week. It was quite a different experience compared to living aboard a US Navy vessel. Instead of everything being painted haze gray and being made out of steel, most of the ship had a lot of well-varnished mahogany and was quite comfortable, more like living aboard the Wild Goose. And then there were the tot of rum and two cans of beer every day, which would never have happened aboard a US military vessel (I'm not complaining, just commenting ). One thing that I remember as being very interesting was the fact that the toilet paper had the consistency of wax paper (very uncomfortable ), yet on every square of this paper was very neatly printed "Property of the British Government." I still have a roll of that paper around here someplace !

Chester

Hi Chester and Stumpy,

The toilet paper like most government stores also had a broad arrow on it the same sort you would see on convict uniforms in the early British comedy pictures.

As a civil servant we were graded and each of our ranks had an appropriate naval rank and privileges my rank was equivelant to a Royal Naval Commander.

In my time as Master Rigger in charge of fifty men I had some fantastic experences and met some great people. As I related in a previous post i've seen Bill Clinton and all of the heads of state who attended the 'D' Day Celebrations held at Portsmouth in 1994. Been presented to the Queen. Both Prince Charles and Prince Andrew were in command of minesweepers at one time before going on to other ships

When ever a foreign naval ship visited Portsmouth they used to hold a large cocktail party and I have enjoyed great nights on many American vessels, the first American ship I looked over was the USS Iowa, the last being the USS Enterprise which was awesome and my first visit to an American carrier since the Nimitz. In between the Winston S Churchill's first visit after being commissioned was to Portsmouth.

2005 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and to celebrate Portsmouth is holding the third International Festival of the Sea which will be attended by representatives of nearly every major navies. All of the big sailing ships from Russia, Holland, and South American countries will be here, and including small ships a total of almost a thousand vessel from the newest carrier to the earliest replicas will cram into Portsmouth Harbour or out in the Solent.

If you want to find out more there is a website International Festival of the Sea which might give you a flavour.

If your a sea going type, next June July Portsmouth is the place to be.

Chester if your son is interested in knot tying there is in being an organisation called the International Guild of Knot Tiers Association which are an incredible bunch of people and welcome new members world wide.

My Very Best Regards

Arthur

Speaking of toilet paper, two or three Christmases ago my sister gave me a gag gift that's really funny, I thought. Aware of my keen interest in all things connected with the Duke, she gave me a roll of toilet paper. Imprinted on the outer wrapping in large letters are the words "John Wayne Toilet Tissue". Below that, in slightly smaller letters, are the words "It's Rough----It's Tough, And It Doesn't Take Crap Off Anybody". I'm still laughing over it.

Hey Stumpy, we've got one of those rolls, too, but we haven't used it because it obviously isn't very effective :lol: .

Actually, we noticed that this topic hasn't been "at the top" in over a year, and we have quite a few newer, active members who could post here, so in the way of one of our newer friends here on the board, Jay J Foraker, we will "resurrect" it .

We are looking forward to having folks chime in.

Chester

Stumpy and Chester;

The roll of John Wayne T.P. is one of the biggest sellers at the Gift Shops in Sedona and Monument Valley. :o It is the first thing that people look at when they come to visit me in my Den!

Chilibill

It is strange, as Chester and Hondo,and Arthur mentioned,
I too,(as one gets more confidence with the site,
and it's hopefully not full of "nutters", thanks to the moderators,)(apart from myself,that is!)
find that a little more on the personal profile
doesn't do any harm.
I thought you three, posted really nice profiles, and there is no doubt, that it helps you to know, who you are talking to.
Posting personal details, is of course, a matter of individual choice,
as but as Chester said, a little bit more would be better.
Especially where, you live!

Hi everyone,

Like myself, most of you must click on to the new members,
when viewing the board.
It is sad to see, 100% give no information
about themselves whatsoever !!

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Originally posted by ethanedwards@Jun 24 2005, 04:20 PM
Hi everyone,

Like myself, most of you must click on to the new members,
when viewing the board.
It is sad to see, 100% give no information
about themselves whatsoever !!

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Whether they give us information or not, the fact that they're here at all indicates an interest in John Wayne. Now we just need to further cultivate that interest , to keep them coming back time and time again.

Chester

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Originally posted by SaddleTramp@Feb 14 2004, 08:01 PM
Hi Duke Fans; ....I was just going through some of the members profiles and some of you guys are pretty tight lipped. I think it adds to the fun when you can give a little info such as age,location and occupation. Like I say it kind puts things straight when I am Talking to a 25 year old Aussie or a 80 year old Texan. I probably won't be able to tell the 80 year old Texan that he doesn't have a clue what happened in 1939.....Get My Drift (tongue in cheek). I just feel it makes this board a bit more interesting. Give what you want of course,look at mine,I am not real shy. It is up to you. Send a feedback good or bad,I can take it...Watch the Duke with a Friend...SaddleTramp....

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dsc,

Not quite understanding what you are trying to say here.

Hi Sxviper

She is saying that she is going to remain tight lipped on her own personal details.

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Originally posted by SaddleTramp@Feb 14 2004, 08:01 PM
Hi Duke Fans; ....I was just going through some of the members profiles and some of you guys are pretty tight lipped. I think it adds to the fun when you can give a little info such as age,location and occupation. Like I say it kind puts things straight when I am Talking to a 25 year old Aussie or a 80 year old Texan. I probably won't be able to tell the 80 year old Texan that he doesn't have a clue what happened in 1939.....Get My Drift (tongue in cheek). I just feel it makes this board a bit more interesting. Give what you want of course,look at mine,I am not real shy. It is up to you. Send a feedback good or bad,I can take it...Watch the Duke with a Friend...SaddleTramp....

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DSC here in Texas, I serve the public every day at my real job. I am 55 years of age and love it. I am a female. Have my dog, cat and stuff. One of my favorite Duke Movies is "Yellow Rose" and second is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". I like David Letterman better than Jan Leno, Rock more than Country and still developing my dreams. Not wealthy, single and still enjoy real food. I hope this paints a positive picture for all you Saddle Tramp Types, and I mean that in the most adoring positive way

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Originally posted by dsc@Jun 29 2005, 12:00 AM
DSC here in Texas, I serve the public every day at my real job. I am 55 years of age and love it. I am a female. Have my dog, cat and stuff. One of my favorite Duke Movies is "Yellow Rose" and second is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". I like David Letterman better than Jan Leno, Rock more than Country and still developing my dreams. Not wealthy, single and still enjoy real food. I hope this paints a positive picture for all you Saddle Tramp Types, and I mean that in the most adoring positive way

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Correction: "Yellow Ribbon" instead of "Yellow Rose" although I am sure that's a swell movie as well. I've just never seen it. Don't be too rough on me, please. dsc

hi dsc

welcome to this rooster house we cant call it a hen house just yet as they out number us shelias but we are making inroads. jump in wet your feet come join us in the real seniors post quick before baby sis and i get trampled in the rush :lol: mrs c has chester :lol:

cheers smokey

Welcome dsc to the John Wayne Message Board, where you will find a lot of information on the Duke and other subjects. You will also find a lot of friendly people here as well, although Smokey and Baby Sister might be exceptions to that description (just kidding!).
Cheers - Jay

Hi dsc,
May I also welcome you,
as smokey says, she and baby sis, need help,
out on the real seniors thread,
but watch out, there are two,
strange men,lurking around on there,
one is Jay, and the other is stumpy,
they come from your neck of the woods!!

You will be much better off, with someone,
sincere, truthful and passionate,
well perhaps, someone like........


Chester!!!!!!

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Originally posted by ethanedwards@Jun 29 2005, 05:48 PM
You will be much better off, with someone,
sincere, truthful and passionate,
well perhaps, someone like........

Chester!!!!!!

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Who-o-o-o-o-a nelly!

I think the little Mrs. might have something to say about that . . . like I AM sincere, truthful and passionate . . . and hers!

And while she is a most generous woman, she is definitely not into sharing me.

But thanks for all the kind words .

Chester