Hogan plus Vowles

I told Facebook that a cartoon depicting the Redeemer rising from the dead and looking silly saying "Where the f am I ?" was offensive and should be removed. It appeared on Easter Sunday. This is their response! Thank you for taking the time to report something that you feel may violate our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment. We reviewed the photo you reported for containing hate speech or symbols and found it doesn't violate our  Community Standards . My comment is - All I can say that if you found a depiction of Our Lord , Jesus Christ, using the f word on Easter Sunday alright then you have a double standard. If I had put a similar depiction of Mohammed the Prophet on Facebook then I would have been banned or reprimanded with justification. So by your actions you have displayed gross indifference to millions of Christians. I will put this comment on Twitter.

Chapter 5 1949 - 1954. St.Brendan’s, Bristol, Rugby, Violent Education, But above all the Sad Death of my Mum. The picture above is the School Badge for St.Brendan’s College, Clifton, that was worn on black school blazers and caps by boys attending that grammar school in Bristol. It was a school founded and operated by the Irish Christian Brothers. The Brothers in Bristol were a branch of a lay teaching order set up by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice in Waterford in 1806. The work by him was counter to the Penal Laws that existed until the 1820’s that denied an education and franchise to Irish Catholics. Many people were inspired by his dedication, piety, and his success in providing education where only “hedge schools” had previously existed. The lay order of Brothers gained approval and support from the hierarchy and expanded then with the passage of time the order extended to England, the Dominions, and the USA. For the next hundred years the Christian Brothers' S...

This morning a flyer hit the shag pile from one Mr Mike Bell who is, to quote himself :  Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Weston-super-Mare. Leader of Lib Dems on North Somerset Council. Views my own - who else would they belong to?  Now if like me you live in North Somerset you will be somewhat dismayed at how everything that you loved about living in Weston-super Mare and Somerset has declined, died, or become sullied. In our view, that is my Wife and I, you will undoubtedly be completely frustrated with those people to whom we given the stewardship and husbandry of this fair land. A plague upon the Conservatives, Labour, and indeed the most arrogant : the Liberal Democrats. They have not listened to the populace, none of them paid any attention, we are plebs. Here is a measure of how the population can be treated. My son returned home last year from away needing solace and help. He did not want any handouts from the Council but a place to live until everything s...

My Father went to sea in 1912 as a Boy on board a Sprits’l Barge owned and operated by the British Admiralty. He was 14 years of age. Three of his brothers were already sailing out of the Medway and William, the eldest Hogan, was already captain of the Sailing Barge “Egypt”. The vessels were all engaged in the carriage of high explosives and munitions to Royal Naval ships and Ports in Europe; Britain had a huge fleet in those days. My Grandfather, also William Hogan, served in H.M. Admiralty Dockyard in the Gun Wharf, Chatham as blacksmith. In 1914 at the dawn of the Great War, my Father was 16 years of age in September and by then he was sailing as seaman/cook. These hard working sailing vessels were manned by 4 men, a Master, a Mate, a Seaman/Cook, and a Boy. The Seaman/Cook worked the sails and cargo with the others and then cooked food for all hands. Hard work but hard work was the way of the world at the start of the twentieth century. This year, 1914, was a terrible ...

  Greg continued the family tradition set up by his Grandfather, Tina's Dad, Leslie Vowles, seen here in the old picture taken in 1932. Pomp, as he was known, is to be seen on the extreme right of the picture with his hands on his knees in the middle row by the chap in plus fours. Sad to think some of them died in the Second World War like many fine rugby players.   Anyway, Mike Charles, an old friend of Greg, sent this other picture  taken 1979. Greg is stood behind the Captain [holding the ball] on that guy's left. [he was a blond bombshell in those days!]    Gerard followed Greg and played with him and went on to play in Newfoundland. Gerard's son, Talan, continues the tradition in Havant. And Jack, Velia & Al's lad, plays in Ottawa. Velia never played but chased rugby balls from a very early age!

  When I completed the recent blog concerning the Dutch shipbuilder who sailed with us and fell in love with English puddings I went back on line to research his company. So I typed in IJesselwerf etc. and found this old friend.    The ship is now called the "Ocean Service" and now sailing under the flag of India and is registered in the port of Mumbai. At midnight yesterday the vessel moored in Sharjah in the Emirates. And, yes, it is the vessel "Ocean Shore" that I had the privilege to commission and command all those years ago.    She was a happy ship and performed all of her tasks well in those early days in the development of offshore oil and gas. She worked hard on the limits of the Norwegian Trench, a treacherous area to be anchor handling; Tina had a comfortable visit in Aberdeen - I had a nice day cabin, comfortable bedroom, and small neat shower-room, [she enjoyed the offerings from a superb cook/steward!]. The vessel went through ...

  This is a story about a new ship, a Dutch shipbuilder, and old fashioned English puddings.   In 1972 we had returned from Nova Scotia to Somerset. The Company [a subsidiary of Cunard] considered posting me to Norway and then decided to send me to Holland with the launch and commissioning of a new class of tug/supply ship. This coincided with the search for oil and gas offshore Norway and the Shetland Islands. And so I went to Capelle aan den IJessel, near Rotterdam, and stood by the commissioning of the "Ocean Shore". This ship was , and is, a really great ship and it was a privilege to be the fist master and see my name there in fine script on the Certificate of Registry. It will be there now. Anyway back to this tale of a man and food.   The crew were recruited in Hull, a tough but competent bunch of seafarers and former fishermen, that included the brothers, Bert and Frank. Bert was the Boatswain, a huge guy with a broken nose and cauliflower ears, who had a...