Wednesday 21 February 2007

A life on the Ocean Wave !

Image:Britann.jpg

The Royal Yacht"

There were always fresh flower arrangements to be seen in the rooms on the yacht, thanks to the chiller room on board, and freezer Lorries could be seen queuing along side before any voyage replenishing stocks of food for the meals or indeed banquets ,the queen played host ,on board when visiting foreign countries it was all carefully planned with the controller and the Queen ,they had to be mindful of the customs and ethnicity , The many beautiful place settings were also stored aboard ,the very best set was solid gold ,and was kept in the bullion room ,and had to be signed for every step of the way from the bullion room to the table , the next best setting was silver ,and the third ,to quote Charles was ‘common old Wedgwood ‘ When dining informally he told us the Queen preferred simple dishes ,much as we would eat at home ,and always small portions. If they were at sea for any length of time supplies would be flown to near the yacht and retrieved from the sea by the boats .Charles goes on to tell us about the head chef who had trained at the Savoy hotel, his name was Ron Aubrey, and weighed about twenty four stone and was six foot tall, he and his staff in the kitchens didn’t wear the traditional chefs hats because on board ship they would have swept the ceilings ,but wore cap like head gear ,with no peak ,Charles told us ,compared to Ron, Gordon Ramsey ,was like a Sunday school teacher !

There was always a Royal Marine band aboard, to entertain on foreign shores, and the crew had many social activities them selves not least the all-time favourite ‘Uckers ‘(Ludo)Charles can remember being able to phone his wife in Yorkshire  one Christmas day from the arctic circle               

Charles said, he so admired the pilot who navigated the yacht, across the seas throughout all conditions, amongst other crafts, in and out of harbours past harbour walls! With out a scratch, and when you consider the gold decorative line around the Yacht, is actually all gold leaf that is no mean feat.

He said, should you encounter any one of the Royals as you go about your duties aboard, you simply step to one side to let them pass, they often share a few words, and have an amazing capacity for remembering names .I think we all know how sad the royal family were when it was decided to retire Britannia which is now birthed at Leith in Edinburgh .

So there you are at last the rest of the talk from my WI meeting a week last Monday ,I got there in the end !

Thankyou all for your lovely messages yesterday for my Birthday yesterday,and thankyou to dear Kath and Lynne whose cards came today ,so my birthday continues..I like it !

File manager is playing up today ,so I am not going to risk losing this entry by trying any more to find a siggy ....so as ever.......... love to you all ....Jan xx

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well it's about bleeding time you finished that story anyone would think you'd been busy lol.
Love
Debbiexx

Anonymous said...

That was very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Helen

Anonymous said...

Thing is Jan, are the poor ladies from the W.I. still sitting there waiting for the last bit?? LOL!!!  No, seriously, that was good and I still say they should have refitted the Brittania as she was beautiful and something for our Queen to be transported on in true tradition!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan ,thanks that was interesting .The solid gold place settings must have been  a wondereful sight.That made me laugh ,about the chief and Gordon Ramsey!!!Well written ........Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

Happy belated Birthday, Jan!  I feel bad that I missed the actual day!

Well.. I learned more historical things from you today! :)  I always enjoy reading about all your adventures!  I always appreciate you sharing them with us!

Loved the pictures too!  Even if I didn't totally understand them.. :)

Hugs and love
jackie

Anonymous said...

very interesting to hear a bit of the Royal life. Sandra

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan - thanks for sharing that with us. Laine xxx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/elainey2465/art-degree/

Anonymous said...

That was interesting Jan ~ it was such a beautiful Yacht ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

The life of the royal ones is something I could never imagine, maybe that's why it is such fun to hear about.  What a wonderful story.  Thank you for sharing !  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

Very interesting Jan...thanks for sharing.  I'm sure the Royal Yacht is very luxurious.  Our president has Air Force One (a plane), but I don't think there's a presidential yacht. Glad to hear your birthday was a good one.   Linda in sunny but cold Washington

Anonymous said...

That is so interesting!  I loved reading this!  And happy belated birthday!  Love ya, Shelly

Anonymous said...

Loved it you are a star,very very interesting.I had no doubt whatsoever you would finish Charles story for us all to read..Well done Jan I loved the Quote "Common Old Wedgwood" LOL!! I wonder what name he would give to my place settings Haaaa!!!You are nmore than welcome to the card Jan It's my plesure,happy you had a lovely birthday.Take care God Bless.
Astoriasand http://journals.aol.co.uk/astoriasand/MYSIMPLERHYMES

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan...

Lovely entry andvery interesting...Best Wishes and bye for now...we all love you too Jan.

Astra!
http://journals.aol.com/astra1547/astras-new-journal/

ASTRA1547@sky.com

Anonymous said...

A Belated and VERY "Happy Birthday"...
luv bella xx

Anonymous said...

Great entry Jan. And remember, birthdays are good for you, the more you have, the longer you live. B. x

Anonymous said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sorry I'm late with my wishes, I'm just not keeping up, am?! Hope you had a lovely day! xxx

Anonymous said...

what a grand boat:) have a good week

Deb

Anonymous said...

I saw the Britannia once at Portsmouth not long before she was decommissioned. Charles Pickering must have been so interesting to talk to, I bet he could entertain you for hours with his tales! Jeannette xx  http://journals.aol.co.uk/jlocorriere05/Welcometomytravels/  

Anonymous said...

Glad you had a nice birthday. This story was very interesting. Paula

Anonymous said...

Really enjoyed reading these entries Jan, I imagine that Charles must have a whole lot more to tell too!
Thanks for the pics too :o)
Sara   x

Anonymous said...

That was really interesting Jan, Stuart and I have been meaning to visit the Royal Yacht with it being so close over the firth of Forth at Leith Dock in Edinburgh will get around to it sometime.  Love Joan.

Anonymous said...

That was a really interesting entry Jan!  Loved the pictures as well!
Marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed hearing about life on Britannia having visited her up in Leith eighteen months ago.  It is well worth a visit as there is so much to see.  Eileenx

Anonymous said...

Very interesting.Hope you found a ciggy! Love Conniex

Anonymous said...

Sorry I missed your birthday hun,I meant to send a message before work last night but my aols going mad so.....HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY,I hope you had a great time hun,take care love zoe xxx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/zoepaul6968/DomesticAbuse/

Anonymous said...

This was so interesting!  I saw a special on her when I first arrived several years ago.  Beautiful yacht!

Love,
Susie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/susanebunn/ItAllStartsAfter50/

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan, sorry I missed your birthday,glad to hear you had a wonderful time and birthday wishes from your many friends and family.I haven't had chance to read much lately, but love your post about the Royal Yacht. Belated birthday wishes.
luv
Rach.xxxx

Anonymous said...

Those little details are so fascinating, Jan.  Nobody does it better than `we' do, do they ?  Bunny xx

Anonymous said...

It sounds quite an adventure aboard the royal yacht ~ thank you for sharing this tale with us :-)

Jenny

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jmoqueen/MyLife

Anonymous said...

hi Jan,
Dropping by to say "hi" and to thank you for dropping by my Blog. I know I know I have not posted in a while. I added 2 posts tonight for you to review! Maybe you can send a postcard to Maura if you have a few moments.

Hope that spring is on the way for you all over in the Fens. Mountain View, California is having mixed days with 22 degrees for a few days and then horrible rain.

We had a 3.5 earthquake today but I didn't feel it as I was too busy at work planing some new features for AOL Blogs!!

Hugs,
Leona

Anonymous said...

Wow, Jan, that is one beautiful yacht.  I can't even imagine traveling in such luxury.  Thanks for sharing...Love xx Chris

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, that's such a beautiful yacht. I can only imagine what it must be like to travel on something like that. Thank you for sharing this experience with us!

(I'm trying my best to get caught up with everyone... going down the sidebar since I STILL have no alerts, lol)

Have a nice weekend!
Morgan
xxx
http://journals.aol.com/Sneezy7125/RandomThoughts

Anonymous said...

Very interesting.  She was lovely.  It is a pity she is no longer used.

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/

Anonymous said...

I liked reading this.Charles is so interesting with his tales.What a yacht Jan. . .would love to have gone on it.

Anonymous said...

I've really enjoyed reading this,  It sounds like he has lead a very interesting life, the chef that I work with could give Gordon Ramsey a good run for his money when he starts aswell LOL
take care Lynne xx

Anonymous said...

I am behind with my journal reading Jan as I've had my granchildren staying for all of half term.  Happy Birthday (belated I know) I see you have been spoilt.  How lovely.  I'm glad to that Maurice's Aunty is feeling brighter.  She gave you all a bit of a scare. I will be back to read about life on the Ocena Wave later on today.  I have my writing classes this morning.  Happy First Day of March.  Jeanie xx

Anonymous said...

Jan, thankyou for finishing your story! he he! As usual I thoroughly enjoyed it! Linda xx