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| “The Pearl Of The Orient”
"Oh
island of Hong Kong, Hong Kong I suppose, for most sailors of the day, epitomised the orient, for it was still, until the early to mid 70's, a true 'British Colony'. Entering HK in the early hours of a foggy morning must have been extremely nerve racking for the Officer Of The Watch, sampans and junks littered the passage as you made your way through West Lamma and Lei Yu Mun Channel, rocky mountains and outcrops close on both port and starboard sides, huge radio dishes and arials looking down upon us, constantly monitoring communications traffic out of Red China. China still in the middle of her cultural revolution, The Years Of The Hungry Tiger' and also a backer of communist North Vietnam. Like a subway at rush hour. Illegal immigrants (refugees from China's 'Great Leap Forward'), flooding into the colony. Running the guantlet in the 'snake boats' across shark infested Mirs Bay, life in the colony was to these and many chinese extremely harsh. In most cases in HK if you didn't talk money then you kept your mouth shut. Hong Kong consisted of two main areas for the Sailors recreation - Lockhart Road, Wanchai and across the harbour, Nathan Road, Kowloon. Similar to Singapore, once berthed at HMS Tamar the RNers (personnel of the Royal Navy) would greet us and formally inform the Ship's Company of the latest 'Off Limits' areas and establishments, such as the infamous 'Roof Tops' of Wanchai and the 'Sampans' or 'Hoklo Boats' of Aberdeen. Often when visiting ports such as this the local Miltiary Police would arrive onboard and lecture the Ship's Company of all the 'Off Limits' bars and red light areas, then they would post a list of them, with their addresses on the main noticeboard - This just proved to be a handy ready reckoner for the sailors. The 'side party' are then contracted and have started work even before the screws have stopped turning and we are doubled up. Suzie brings her 'goffa' box aboard and Annie is in a head-to-head with the Jimmy and The Buffer discussing jobs, deadlines and the state of the 'paint shop'. Annie is the 'Buffer' of the Chinese 'all girl' Side Party and she runs it with an iron fist. I have seen her on more than one occasion give a few Buffers a thorough dressing down in her comical high pitched 'pidgin' english.
The Officers commence organising their cocktail parties. The sailors get ready to pace themselves for a lengthy visit. The ship alters its 'routine' from Daily Harbour to Daily Harbour Tropical Routine. Tropcial Routine means wakey wakey is a couple of hours earlier than the normal 0640 call, and all non-duty hands would secure earlier at 1300, supposedly to escape the tropical midday heat. Personally I hated this for I liked to 'live' ashore and this meant that one didn't get alot of sleep and ran the acute risk of being 'adrift' in the mornings.
Wanchai
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