Page 168 - Michael Frost-Voyages to Maturity-23531.indd

which is to say that when it rolled, it was reluctant to return to the vertical (this
is the opposite of ‘stiff’, when excess bottom weight made for an uncomfortable
‘righting’ lever, a jerky and disconcerting feeling for those on board). Thus, when
I came onto the bridge at 8am, David Miller advised me that he had ordered the
engineers to empty the pool so that we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with
stability until we bunkered in Aden. This instruction, given as the sun was rising
in the hottest and calmest part of the voyage, was obviously not going to be too
popular with passengers – but we didn’t want to tell them that this was needed
just in case the ship decided to roll over!

We proceeded with some grumbling passengers, but before long we berthed
in Aden … only for the whole ship’s company and passengers to be prohibited
from going ashore (of course, they weren’t missing much, but they didn’t all know
that) because the British army had been obliged to take over the administration
of the whole city.

Seven days later we were in Naples and all flooded ashore (at least, most
did so, not having left the ship since Singapore, twenty days before), an exodus
that I did not join. Overriding the schedule and cargo issues was the threat of
a UK seamen’s strike, and the possibility not only of Britain’s ports going out
in sympathy, but of there being in addition some civil unrest or even a general
strike. There was no question that British seamen had a raw deal (a mandated 56-
hour week was proposed as a law) but how this would affect P&O was unknown;
the company had NUS British seamen, but they were very much in a minority,
and more practically, the vast majority of the NUS members were at any time
away at sea, thus rendering their vote fractured, uninformed and subject to very
real employer pressures. (In the final event, in 1965 the strike was a damp squib,
but it was a lingering problem that eventually had to be resolved.)

The leave on this occasion was short, but not uneventful. I found out that
Susan’s home was in Waveney (a few miles from Somerleyton), went to an excellent
Prom with Louise, enjoyed steak and kidney pudding at home (Mother’s was
undoubtedly the best!) and overdone roast beef (not Mother’s best), and received
letters from all and sundry, Sandra included, from whom I had expected nothing
… and to my relief got the MGA to start (being away for so long revealed another
problem with this, and indeed any, car).
By the time I re-joined Chitral in London I was therefore almost entirely
broke, but this did not much matter as cargo had been loaded, and embarkation
of passengers took place in Southampton, from where the next destination was
Naples – I could therefore only spend my funds on board, which is to say, on
beer and wine.

A mid-voyage change of route occurred, however. Because the situation in

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