I was employed once again and Sophie was teaching so we decided we would have a holiday on the Continent. We would fly to Paris and let the train take the strain to a place called Hendaye, in the Basque country, on the Spanish Border. Sophie was helped in her teaching by a French assistante… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, Hendaye, France.
Category: post WW2
Belfast 1951 to 60 in order, Smoke tests
Smoke Test No 1. Today inspection and testing has become remote, highly technical, and mostly computer driven. In my Dark Ages every thing was hands on, mucky and tediously prolonged. Pipes are now checked with robots and cameras. I have always found it strange that smoke really does issue from a sewer up through the… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to 60 in order, Smoke tests
Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, Memories of France
PARIS, on the way south we had stayed for a couple of days in Paris. Sophie’s friend had told us of an hotel in the Rue Du Caire, the red-light district, which was closer to our budget than most. Being on a B&B basis we had to take our meals elsewhere. We tended to buy… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, Memories of France
Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order,The Ancient Art of Helmet Diving Part 2
The Diving Course, taught by serving Petty and Chief Petty Officer Divers, was mostly practical, and had hairy moments. In fact they taught at such a rate one tended to forget all but the frightening bits. We were taught to signal with the air-line and lifeline, how to inflate the suit by reducing the escape… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order,The Ancient Art of Helmet Diving Part 2
Belfast 1952 to ’60 in order, The Ancient Art of Helmet Diving Part 1
Today professional diving is sophisticated and technical. My training by comparison is like that with halberds compared to AK47 assault rifles. From what I read, it would seem I am one of the very few left who have been a professional helmet diver. I thought the experience might be of interest. Part 2 deals with… Continue reading Belfast 1952 to ’60 in order, The Ancient Art of Helmet Diving Part 1
Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, Characters 3.
DAN and other Chauffeurs Dan was a Chainman, someone on a survey team who is essential, but bottom of the pecking order. He runs the errands, stand in water, snow, burning sun, holding whatever he is asked to hold without complaint. Dan was sandy haired, short, tough and generally smiling. He dressed like a country… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, Characters 3.
Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, What Goes On Beneath Our Feet.
I write to draw attention to those men taken too much for granted., working underground, in risky and filthy conditions. I include a short story based upon one occasion when I really thought I might drown. Under Ground Going up pipes, down manholes, through tunnels, into dark dank corners, beneath the sea, beneath roads and… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60 in order, What Goes On Beneath Our Feet.
Belfast 1951 to 60 in order, Characters 2
I assume there are as many characters today as there were in the 40’s, but the streets seem more crowded and they don’t stand out like they used to. There was a man with a military style to him, I used to see in front of the Belfast City Hall. Smartly dressed, wearing a trilby… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to 60 in order, Characters 2
Belfast 1951 to ’60, in order, City Airport, Hokers and Lethal Weapons.
The words ‘Hoke, hoker or hoaker’ do not appear in Chambers Dictionary, but are common in Ulster for the act of or the person acting, in digging with the fingers, hands or a tool in small areas ranging from a rotten tooth to the Town Tip. In ‘Digging For Coal’ the construction of the berms… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60, in order, City Airport, Hokers and Lethal Weapons.
Belfast 1951 to ’60, in order, Belfasr Cuty Airport, Coal Diggers
George Best, Belfast City Airport in 1951,was merely Sydenham Airport, occupied by the Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm, and Short Bros & Harlands as a landing place for planes needing repairs and also testing new aircraft. During WW2 it was the test-bed and the home of the Sunderland Sea Recognisance Plane. It was about 1950… Continue reading Belfast 1951 to ’60, in order, Belfasr Cuty Airport, Coal Diggers