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Retired

14K views 44 replies 30 participants last post by  john fraser 
#1 ·
Retirement

After just over 44 years living out of either a Sea Bag or a Rig Bag it is time to clean the spanners one last time and lay them by.
It is hard to believe where the time has gone.
It only seems like yesterday That I completed serving my time as a Marine Engineer and set off to join the Merchant Navy, or the Ben Line to be exact.
Yesterday was actually the 10th. December 1970, that was the day I rolled up in a taxi to join the S.S. Benlomond at number 11 Royal Albert Dock in London. Little did I know at the time but this would be my home for the next two and a half years.

Standing at the bottom of the gangway I certainly did not feel like the Jack the Lad I had been when at home. Where do I go when I get to the top I asked myself, left or right?
I was soon to learn that the correct terminology was For'd or Aft.
I swear that if my Mother had stopped in a taxi and offered me a lift home I would have put my tail between my legs and taken the offered lift home..!!!
A new life was to begin, eight years of globe-trotting, working hard and partying even harder.
The best job I ever had.

This was followed by twelve years moving up a league in hard graft and getting a degree in it at the Seine Net fishing in the North Sea. At times this entailed a forty hour shift followed by two hours unconscious (you could hardly call it sleep) and then back up on a pitching rolling deck to do the same again. Yes, a forty hour shift, never mind a forty hour week.
I was not alone doing this, there were hundreds of other Fishermen doing the same.

By the time I was forty I decided to get a “real” job and go ashore.
This lasted for six months and it was back to sea again, on the Oil Rigs this time, working with a Drill-Crew. These guys are the grafters on any Oil Rig.
Started at the bottom as Motor-man and quickly worked my way up to Chief Mechanic which is what I have been for the last nineteen years.
Once again met some really great characters and got involved in the hard graft that Drilling entails.
Twenty four years later and the mind and body have slowed down more than a wee bit. With the down-turn in Drilling and the requirement to work three weeks on and three weeks off, it is time to hand over to the younger generation and let them get on with it.

So now it's time to chill out with the family and to thank all the shipmates and crew mates I have sailed with and worked with over the years, I have had a great time, thank you all.

Regards to all – Ali. Bain.
 
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#36 ·
Retiring to Florida

A friend received this from a contact in the States:

Hi

A few years ago, my wife and I moved into a retirement development on Florida 's southeast coast. We are living in the "Delray/Boca/Boynton Golf, Spa, Bath and Tennis Club on Lake Fake-a-Hachee". There are 3,000 lakes in Florida; only three of them are real.

Our biggest retirement concern was time management. What were we going to do all day? No longer! Let me assure you, passing the time is not a problem.

Our days are eaten up by simple, daily activities. Just getting out of our car takes 15 minutes. Trying to find where we parked takes 20 minutes. It takes a half-hour in the check-out line in Wal-Mart, and 1 hour to return the item the next day.

Let me take you through a typical day: We get up at 5:00 am, have a quick breakfast and join the early morning Walk-and-Fart Club. There are about 30 of us, and rain or shine, we walk around the streets, all talking at once. Every development has some late risers who stay in bed until 6:00 am. After a nimble walk, avoiding irate drivers out to make us road kill, we go back home, shower and change for the next activity.

My wife goes directly to the pool for her underwater Pilates class, followed by gasping for breath and CPR. I put on my 'Ask me about my Grandchildren' T-shirt, my plaid mid-calf shorts, my white socks and sandals and go to the clubhouse lobby for a nice nap. Before we know it, it's time for lunch.

We go to Costco to partake of the many tasty samples dispensed by ladies in white hair nets. All free! After a filling lunch, if we don't have any doctor appointments, we might go to the flea market to see if any new white belts have come in or to buy a Rolex watch for $2.00.

We're usually back home by 2:00 pm to get ready for dinner. People start lining up for the early bird about 3:00 pm, but we get there by 3:45 because we're late eaters.

The dinners are very popular because of the large portions they serve. We can take home enough food for the next day's lunch and dinner, including extra bread, crackers, packets of mustard, relish, ketchup and Splenda, along with mints.

At 5:30 pm we're home, ready to watch the 6 o'clock news. By 6:30 pm we're fast asleep. Then we get up and make five or six trips to the bathroom during the night, and it's time to get up and start a new day all over again.

Doctor-related activities eat up most of our retirement time. I enjoy reading old magazines in sub-zero temperatures in the waiting room, so I don't mind.

Calling for test results also helps the days fly by. It takes at least a half-hour just getting through the doctor's phone menu. Then there's the hold time until we're connected to the right party. Sometimes they forget we're holding, and the whole office goes off to lunch. (This particular activity is not limited to retirees!)

Should we find we still have time on our hands, volunteering provides a rewarding opportunity to help the less fortunate.

Florida has the largest concentration of seniors under five feet tall, and they need our help. I myself am a volunteer for 'The Vertically Challenged Over 80.' I coach their basketball team, The Arthritic Avengers. The hoop is only 4-1/2 feet from the floor. You should see the look of confidence on their faces when they make a slam dunk.

Food shopping is a problem for short seniors, or 'bottom feeders' as we call them, because they can't reach the items on the upper shelves. There are many foods they've never tasted. After shopping, most seniors can't remember where they parked their cars and wander the parking lot for hours while their food defrosts.

Lastly, it's important to choose a development with an impressive name. Italian names are very popular in Florida. They convey the notion of world travelers, uppity sophistication and wealth. Where would you rather live: Murray's Condos or The Lakes of Venice ? There's no difference -- they're both owned by Murray, who happens to be a cheap bastard.

I hope this material has been of help to you future retirees. If I can be of any further assistance, please look me up when you're in Florida. I live in the Leaning Condos of Pisa in Boynton Beach
 
#38 ·
Have a happy retirement Ali, you wont ken where all the hours have gone in a day.
Joined my first Ben Line Empire Athelstan /Benalbanach on a very cold wintry morning at Tilbury on 1st December 1947 and progressed through Sam boats Doran and Vrackie to Bencruachan and Vorlich and enjoyed every one of them
Regards Ern Barrett
 
#41 ·
Well gents I must congratulate you all in fulfilling your careers at sea and managing to retire, As for the last Ben line man to retire then this is a milestone and I am sure Ben Agency would love to use this in their history bites which they promote on their website.
Edward Thomson sent me a lot of photos of Ben Line Ships which are in model form doted around their Far East offices which I will try and get onto the site for all to see. In his email he asked if any odd or strange items in Men who served with Ben could be used on their website .
So who ever is the last man standing put yourself forward I am sure with a small history of your career they would love to use it .

On another matter just because we think the last man has retired this does not mean its all over, Please lets keep the momentum going and have lots more of the stories about time with Ben we may all be out to grass now but we are drifting a bit of course with a lack of input ,so the bell is ringing on the off course alarm lets get her back on line.
I am back off hols so will try and complete some of mine to make you laugh or cry.

Take care and keep her steady . Ian.
 
#42 ·
Having spoken on the subject of retirement ,I did not think that all the men of this site would take it for gospel and go on permanent retirement.
The Ben Line site seems to have gone to sleep its time for the 12-04 ,04-08 and the 8-12 so lets be having some crack we all must still have plenty of tales and yarns true or false .

I must admit i have been busy looking after my step son after a fall through a building floor and breaking four ribs in two places each ,so I have been a hospital orderly.

Stuart well done with your book and how did the Edinburgh boat show go ,was there many ex Ben men on the scene?
Keep her steady and lets have some head of steam. Ian.
 
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