True story.

 

Mugs.

 

This is a part of the fore runners that put me on my road to becoming a Merchant seaman, Fisherman, Lifeboat Coxswain and Pilot Cutter Captain.

 

As a boy just after the war, life was something of a dream.The sun always seamed to shine when we were off school on our summer holiday, the sea was always warm (or we thought so), and there were always boats plying their trade of taking trips round the bay at a shilling (5p) per head.

 

I spent my entire holidays helping (as I thought) running at every command given by the fisherman, go get petrol, hold the boats head, go get my dinner and go get a jug of tea.At the end of the day you might just get sixpence (2 and a 1/2p) .

Life was great; my mother would scrub my neck sore thinking that the very deep tan was muck.It was always the same cry all day and every day, “Any more this time for a ride in a mora (motor) boat”.

 

One old fisherman by the name of Mark Baker had an old rowing boat called the ‘Elizabeth’; he did trips round the bay as well but he only charged sixpence (2 and a 1/2p)No fancy gangway for Mark so that the trippers could walk along and get in the boat like the others, No, It was shoes and socks off and wade in to get in the boat.

 

Now Mark was fussy where the passengers sat and he took his time in getting them where he wanted them, “That’s it honey thu (you) sit here, now then sir thu get sat on that thoft (thwart) there, until he had his boat full.Now Mark was a wise old fisherman, he didn’t do anything that was very strenuous, before he pushed his boat into deeper water he would give his passengers an oar each (for those who were sat in the right place, (hence the time taken to get them sat in the right place to start with)). Once clear of the beach, Mark would then ship his small rudder and tiller and get sat comfy in the stern sheets and sing out, “Now give way together”.

   

He would then put his arm over the tiller and start singing to himself, “Tee Hee Hee, Um Um Um, int it funny where the mugs come from”.

 

He also told his passengers that they were getting a longer ride than in a motor boat and at sixpence per head, half as cheap even though the passengers were paying for the privilege of rowing round the bay.

 

D. Buckworth.