Although there were several Ulstermen serving in the Royal Australian Navy and more particuarly aboard the Aircraft Carrier HMAS Sydney it was in Hong Kong where we called on our way back from Korea that I met up with two other Lisburn men, one on the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Glory which was on its way back to Korea after a rest and relaxation spell in Australia and the other guy was stationed in Hong Kong on the Royal Navy gunboats which patrolled the river Yangstee at that time, I knew both of them personally so made contact and we arranged to meet ashore for a night out. We started off in the China Fleet Club then called at a couple of other bars on the way to the ferry boat to take us across the harbour to Kowloon where we finished up in the main bar of the Peninsular Hotel which at that time was the best hotel in the area. What an evening, my Glory shipmate passed out at the bar so we had to carry him out an put him in a rickshaw
while we also climbed in for the ride back to the ferry our drunken shipmate woke up just as we got to the ferry so at least he could stumble aboard. I never did see them again untill years later one in Lisburn and one in Canada. Mauri

Mauri Is there any place in the world were you could go were a Paddy won't turn up ?the craic when yous next meet would have made for another session !closer to home a resort on Costa Del Sol many years ago we were browsing the streets back from promenade and came across this small pub with a notice outside Best Irish Coffees On The Coast so even though the sweat was blinding us we thought it our duty to sample this claim and duly entered the premises were during the preparations of the coffee I learnt from the owner that he was the son of a shop owner in Lisburn Mauri the shop was a sweet shop situated below or beside Laverys Pub I think the name was Irvine but maybe Barney might remember the shop and the name ? Anyhow they were good Coffees and we stayed and I told him I had often bought sweets in his mother's shop etc on the way to and from school , so Mauri once again for your story and do keep them coming Regards Ted

Ted and Mauri. I told this story before but I'll tell it again. Dominic and I were in Malta and decided to go on a cruise to the Blue Lagoon. As we boarded the cruiser, a nice looking guy dressed in a white uniform with a matching cap heard our accents. He asked us where we were from. We told him Lisburn. He said that his mother had come from Lisburn and that her name was Nell. Her maiden name was Douglas. I told him I knew her and remembered her from school. He said she wasn't too well and asked if I would write to her. I did as he asked, but I never heard back from her. He was a lovely son to care so much about his mother, good looking as well. But, just goes to show, you can go nowhere.

Mauri & Ted,

Good stories & the drink seems to bring people together.

We went out last night to a hotel for a meal for our Wedding Anniversary & the Manager of the Dining-Room is a girl from a well-known family in Lisburn.

We met her before & had a catch-up on the family. She is married & living in the South now, her uncle & fashionable aunt still arouund the Lisburn area but retired from business now.

Small world,but as they say the Irish are everywhere, even here in Ireland.

Pat

Hi All, My funniest experience meeting up with a person from Northern Ireland was when I was in the United States Air Force and was driving from Tampa Florida to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, I was somewhere in Georgia when I saw a hitchiker so being on my own decided to give him a lift, I stopped the car and reversed back and he came running up and in a broad Northern Irish accent asked "Where you going" turned out he was from Belfast and had lost his job in Florida and being short of money decided to hitch hike to New York and try to get work in the Brooklyn Navy yard, so the crack was good untill I had to drop him off as I pulled in for the night. Mauri

Ann, When were you in Malta?, Joy and myself were on a Mediteranean cruise a few years ago when we called into Malta which for me was a real thrill having spent a lot of time there way back in my Royal Navy days. I was on the battleship HMS Vanguard when we were preparing for the world cruise with the Royal Family and were doing gunnery exercises off Malta around August 1948,when Action Stations were sounded a young Marine from Dublin was late in getting to his Gunnery station and took a short cut through the machinery space under one of the 5.25" gun turrets just as the turret was being trained outboard, he was crushed to death, when it was realized what had happened the rest of the exercise was cancelled and we returned to Malta and several days later he was buried with full Naval Honours in the local cemetary. When we returned to the UK and the world cruise was cancelled because of the King's illness we were sent back to the Mediteranean in January 1949 as Flagship of the mediteranean fleet where we spent the next six months cruisinig around the Med but always returning to Malta. Malta in those days was a sailor's paradise especially down what was called the "Gut" which was a very narrow cobblestoned street whose proper name was "Strait" or something like that. Just lined with bars and restaurants and all kinds of entertainement, when the fleet was in it used to be packed at night. That was the first thing I noticed when we entered Malta on the cruise ship not a navy ship in sight compared to my days when the Harbour was packed with Royal Navy Ships. "Those were the days My Boys" Mauri

Mauri, we were in Malta a long time ago, possibly the 80s. We went in July and it was unbearably hot, even for me. I would love to go back again as it is a beautiful island. However, I think we would go in September next time when the temp is a bit cooler.