April, not quite the cruellest month!
In my last blog, I anticipated a pretty grotty Easter break but the reality exceeded even the worst expectations! Least said, soonest mended on the weather front, I think, and now that Spring does appear to have sprung it may seem churlish to complain about a "white Easter" of which I certainly did not dream!
To Devonport in Plymouth on 10 April to take up an auction prize that Melanie and I won at last Year’s Gala Auction to take part in the Royal Navy’s “Thursday Way” – not as a combatant but strictly an observer! Wednesday evening saw a very agreeable dinner hosted by “FOST” – Flag Officer Sea Training, Rear Admiral Clive Johnstone – and overnight accommodation in the Georgian Admiralty House overlooking the historic dockyard.
5.30 the next morning saw us on the Admiral’s barge in Plymouth Sound alongside HMS Daring, one of the newest Type 45 destroyers, negotiating a very wobbly gangplank to get on board and be greeted by the Captain who made us as welcome as could possibly be imagined - especially in view of the fact that the Admiral was there for the serious business of putting the ship and its small flotilla through some very serious paces!
By 1100 hours we had seen an astonishing array of high tech equipment and been buzzed by Hawk jets simulating bombing runs as the ship turned on a sixpence and manoeuvred to keep up its guard on a transport ship that was the key "asset" in the flotilla.
Altogether an Action Man morning with touches of Patrick O’Brien and George Lucas, rounded off with a helicopter lift from the deck of the ship back to dry land, looking for all the world like a “telly-tubby” in a bright orange one-piece immersion suit as shown in the photo to the right! The Father of the Livery, Calvert Markham suggested, perhaps unkindly, a caption competition – and I’m delighted to offer a bottle of Navy Rum for the caption judged best by the First Warden! Closing date for entries 3 May.
An unforgettable insight into the professionalism, dedication and courtesy of the Royal Navy!