A life on the Ocean Wave !

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