Visited the last Ark when it was open to the public one day. My old man had asked for his ashes to be scattered at sea and I was hoping to ask somebody if they could hurl them over the side once they were out at sea. No ceremony, just 'gash may now be ditched and over you go'.
The place was absolutely heaving and it wasn't easy to speak to anybody, but when I did, it soon became apparent that this wasn't my Navy any more; I was an irrelevance to today's matelots. I could imagine that they'd spent all day listening to 'When I was in the Navy . . .'
The only answer I got was 'write to the Captain'.
Oddly enough, when I went to watch my lad pass out, within a minute of entering the first pub we came to, I was swapping dits with an ex-matelot and it was like we'd never left.
Today's Navy is for today's sailors and most ex need to stay ex.
I do know that my son works harder than I ever did.
Me? I've danced on down and I've walked the shore. And I'll sail the Grey Funnel Line no more.
