Page 103 - Michael Frost-Voyages to Maturity-23531.indd

no security concerns and no inspection of boarding cards or similar documents.
In fact, it was rather to the contrary, visitors (potential future passengers) actually
being ‘greeted’. Today those days seem to have been the days of innocence.

The evening was more enlivening. I decided that it was time to see a bit of the
city, and I thought to combine two forms of leisure by taking Jayne ashore for a
more exotic drink than one partaken in the tourist bar. We hailed a taxi and were
taken to a hotel in central Athens where, the driver indicated, one had a view
and plenty of ‘life’. We ascended to the roof, only five or six floors up, and found
ourselves with a wonderful view of the Acropolis. Each armed with a drink, we
enjoyed the conviviality and the sheer romantic glamour of it all. There were
many reasons to go to sea on passenger ships, but I could discern none better
than such an evening! But it did not last. When the bill came, I found that the
drinks were about thirty shillings each (together, 30% of my monthly stipend!).
To my lasting shame, we crept out without paying. The evening ended thus.

Much less ambitiously, the following day the Staff Captain, the mate and most
of the deck officers invited Stuart and me out of a lifeboat trip to a local beach.
The Purser laid on an excellent lunch, accompanied by a very good supply of
liquid refreshment, and we sped off to a carefully selected location where the
great heat (it was over one hundred degrees) was somewhat alleviated. To me,
again a good reason for going to sea. Memories of a stifling engine room recede
quickly. Such a scenario would cost most people a goodly sum. But pleasure is
tiring – I was in my bunk before 10 pm.

The next morning saw us heading for Naples (I had actually seen very little
of Athens, but as it was one of the most popular of ports, I anticipated having
many more future opportunities to explore at greater leisure). The day was spent
in the usual tedious way (entertaining young and lonely female passengers) but
the evening was more sybaritic, the nursing staff deciding to throw a party for
the junior officers (the nurses were all youthful and comely, so senior officers
were notably absent), an occasion to which I was glad to invite Jayne. And a
good time was had by all, though I declined to adjourn to her cabin afterwards,
as I knew that it was likely that I would again make an ass of myself. Even then,
I knew that, though it was frustrating, time was on my side. But there was no
point in inviting humiliation.
Furthermore, a bit of luck came my way. The mate, obviously liking my
previous work, asked me to join the following day’s tour to Pompeii and Mount
Vesuvius and to submit a report on the most popular excursion. This was good;
but it was made great by the fact that I found that Jayne was also going on the
tour. And although I did not know much about the subject, I discovered from a
book (probably not the Pilot volume) that Pompeii was world-renowned for its
erotic frescoes and statuary. While I knew little or nothing of such things (the

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