Hogan plus Vowles

These were my thoughts on Tuesday, 6th October, 2015 Jack died last night in a room overlooking the sea. Gilly was there and had told him that she loved him. Tina and I are so sad but we rejoice in that he was our friend and that he made such a wonderful life. He came from hardship, the Black Country, where money was scarce but the love of family and country abundant. He joined the Royal Navy as a boy and went on to serve Queen and Country in destroyers, aircraft-carriers, and submarines. He married his childhood sweetheart Gilly, they raised children, loved and helped each other, and were together in marriage always. When he left the Royal Navy he served at Hinkley Point Atomic Power Station until retirement. But he continued to serve Queen and Country even more, with the help of Gilly, in the Royal Naval Association and so became its leading Officer in the West Country. Over the years he has helped countless young lads and lasses find purpose, dignity, pos...

9th August 1945 - the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing more than 70,000 people 1st February 1955 - I am a 17 year old lad sailing into Nagasaki Harbour on a British tramp ship serving as an apprentice deck officer. I have already visited Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Tokyo in the previous year, 1954, on my first deep-sea voyage. I was deeply aware of the terrible event that had taken place just over 9 years earlier but to me it looked little different to those other places in Tokyo Bay. The Bay area had been massively firebombed. Widespread reconstruction, bomb sites, horrible roads, paper shacks, the smell of human excreta overridden by the familiar aroma of hair oil everywhere, loads of neons lights at night, the glare of furnaces, and brief sights of old Japan. It was hard to find any sign of death and injury in the populace. Now the Second Mate’s name was Dai Jones,I have never forgotten that, he came from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, in Anglesey. He was in his twenties and...

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 ...