The Freindship Store Shangai

jochokuhle · Mar 25, 2005

Good Tsingtau Beer on the table,the red bible as free souvenir,drinks and food almost free,Mao watching ,but no girls.That time some of the red guards came onboard and "eliminated" Taiwan from the map,hanging in the messroom of the" Paul Rickmers".Once and now....Have a good eastertime all together

Billyg · May 3, 2005

Had some good times in the Friendship Store when running the blockade to Cuba on a Sinofrac charter. Shanghai to discharge then to Tsintoa or Daren or some other port to load grain and cotton goods for Cuba ( also political reading as The Little Red Book was called ) Down the coast to Hong Kong for bunkers and then to Alexandria to discharge part cargo and back load inferior grain and cotton then on to Havana dodging the yanks who used to shoot as us sometimes despite the Union Jack on the side. Disharge and backload sugar at one of the cuban ports and off to Panama where they wouldnt let us bunker but could have passage . We then used to discharge at Portland in Oregon and back load grain and timber for Shanghai. Dont ask me what it was all about I was just a ginger beer doing my job. Thing I liked about the Friendship Store was Gin was only 2/6d per bottle. Not a bad drop either.
Happy Days Billyg.

paul rennison · Mar 1, 2006

Spent New year 1966 in Shanghai as catering boy on Trevaylor, fantastic time at Seamans club on the Bund, I believe it used to be the colonial club in the 30's. Bit scary seeing show with little kids waving replica AK47's, saying "kill the agressors in Vietnam" went from there to Chingwangtao? in the north ,very cold, great time at chinese new year, everything laid on. Sailed from there to Conakry in Senegal via Singapore, Capetown, engine troubles, anybody who remembers that trip will recall breaking down off Port Elizabeth and coming "beam on" to Cape rollers evrything breaking loose VV scary!! The photo is an almost exact replica of one I have, different Guys of course, will ask wife to scan it in & post it for me (my pc skills still at formative stage) Swing that lamp!!. PR

John Briggs · Mar 1, 2006

Great memories! I was mate on "Thames Breeze" in 1965 on the China/Cuba sugar run. We loaded glassware in China , bunkered Singapore, then direct Havana and various smaller ports for discharge. Loaded sugar at a small port where we had to pass through Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to load sugar - Yanks gave us a hell of a time and kept us off the port for a couple of days. Returned through Panama Canal with pilot playing 'no talkies' and discharged Hainan Island. JB

Hugh Wilson · Mar 22, 2006

I was in the Shanghai Friendship Store a few weeks back. Downstairs is now a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, one of 13 in Shanghai. The bar upstairs is still there with lots of young (and not so young) ladies to encourage customers to buy more drinks. Most of the ladies are available as 'takeaways' if that's what the customer wants.

trotterdotpom · Mar 23, 2006

In China in the mid-70s they shot women for being prostitutes - times change!

John T.

BMW Simon · Jun 9, 2007

See also this link for photo of J.& C. Harrisons M.V. Harmattan,
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/66779/limit/recent
Regards,
Simon.

Jeff. J. · Mar 25, 2010

The bar in the Seamans club in Shanghai had at one stage in its life the notoriety of having the longest bar in the world.
Does anybody else remember this fact.
I was there on the Hains' tramp MV TREWIDDEN in 1964 and remember being told about it at the time.
Also remember the big white marble statue of Chairman Mao in the stairwell from the ground floor with the staircase wrapping around it, rising up at least three storeys high!!
Whilst ashore there we were only allowed to go to the seamans club, a duty free shop and a circus!
Every "cent" of local currency had to be accounted for and stamped by the shopkeeper on a special card when a transaction was made as local Chinese currency was not allowed out of the country.
Remember too the local "Tsingtao" beer as being very strong and inexpensive!!
Cheers
-----
Jeff

PHJ · Jun 24, 2012

Is the man at the back with the hat and the pipe Jimmy Johnson from Shetland.

john fraser · Jun 26, 2012

I remember the Harmattan being in the dockyard in Hamburg around that time.The crew complaining all the tinned food had Chinese labels.I think it was the 2nd.Steward,he had a limp.came on board our ship to see if we could give him a menu cardholder as someone from the office was visiting and he wanted the table to look good.!!The crew were bailing out regularly,I think one even broke his arm to get out

The Freindship Store Shangai

jochokuhle

Billyg

paul rennison

John Briggs

Hugh Wilson

trotterdotpom

BMW Simon

Jeff. J.

PHJ

john fraser

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