The Daily Gaggle

The words for Wednesday. are Cooking. Football. Debonair. Electricity. Ballet. Radiator.      It was quite warm during the day yesterday but turned quite chilly during the evening creating the frequent power outage and the power for the electric* radiators, dotted around the house. .   This seems to always occur when cooking* the evening meal but luckily we have a gas cooking arrangement to supplement the electricity* supply.. The power cut also thankfully brought an abrupt end to a thugby football* game being watched by a visiting friend who had been listening and watching the ravings of the crowd screaming advice to the hardly debonair* bunch of tattooed overweight gormless muttonheads, the ballet*of hooliganism abruptly ending giving instant relief to one's ears.      The lighting of the candles was the next priority and a bright flashlight to search for the odd necessities being reminiscent of my childhood rur...

       On May 14, Midnight 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved the following proclamation, declaring the establishment of the State of Israel.      Yes, that is correct, I missed it by about sixteen hours and was mighty pleased. Overnight the British Royal Navy  HMS Mauritius 6,500 ton 6-inch gun Cruiser commanded by Captain Lord Ashbourne ( Yes a peer of the Realm) Had singled up to just a fore and aft mooring wire, having the good sense to realise our departure from Haifa was going to be unpleasant      The HMS Mauritius. commission in the Mediterranean was at an end, having been responsible for boarding many Illegal vessels trying to get into Palestine left Haifa under a hail of misc small arms fire leaving twanging ruptured berthing wires weavi...

      It would seem that the Australian climate and good living has been responsible for the longevity of the Wartime crew of the WW2 Battleship HMS KING GEORGE V.        By the end of WW2, the lowest age of any crew member was 19 approximately in 1945. and from information collected from archives in Britain and elsewhere only four of the wartime crew remained in circulation until yesterday when the eldest crew member. my dear friend and mentor George Haynes Passed away in a Sydney Nursing Home, aged 95, George leaves a wife Muriel 96 and an extended family,.        The remaining three crew members are  James (Jim), Page,  94. Of Warners Bay NSW AUS, Also Patrick (Pat) O'Shaughnessy 92 With his wife Betty also 92who lives  Near Melbourne in Victoria Australia.        And finally Yours truly the young one Myself  Aged 91 soon to be 92, living on the beautiful Central C...

       My Lovely Wife  Rosemary, passed away a year ago today, and I miss her with a great sadness.               Rosemary was not only beautiful but the love of my life and Best Friend.                                             LOVE  YOU ROSEMARY,

The following words are today's words on Wednesday. Heart. Meddling. Primary. Contrary. Mug. Kitchen.      Contrary* to popular belief, the British Royal Navy had it's own peculiar version of the terminology within the English Language called 'Jack Speak'. A book published some time ago. ISBN  O - 9514305 - 2 - 1 , in my possession. This book contains 520 pages of alternative naughty  sometimes Nautical Expressions.      Listening to a senior sailors conversation would confuse most civilians  and raw recruits. The Heart* of 'Jack Speak' was the chatter in a peculiar dialogue after downing a Mug* of   one eighth of a pint of rum mixed Two parts Water One Rum.. enough to send one dizzy very quickly..        Meddling* with the English language using alternative words and Primary* expressions such as Hammock being a Banana bedstead and the Kitchen* being the galley was some of the acceptable chatter, but there ...

     I had the stitches removed from my leg today , I feel more comfortable  but some pain remains. After leaving the Doc I did the weekly shopping, calling in the St George. Bank, then Woolies and last of all Aldl, then it was time for a box of chips from the Red Rooster where I sat on a bench watching the passing parade of the various types of humanity.      It wasn't long before I was recognised by a former Club Associate and we began chatting when his two teenage sons were introduced to me when I replied " A happy St Georges day" " whats that" said one , I replied, "It is like St Patrick's day sort of thing, only the English version and St David March 1, is for the Welsh people and st Andrew November30 for the Scottish". The younger of the two then say's we Aussies have St Anzac On Wednesday  I winced and replied I have a son named Andrew  guess what his birthday is, The father guessed correctly and then asked why do Brits when the...

   Sorry Anon Face book Ghoul.. Your comment  has been deleted due to its obscene content , Have a thoughtful day.. Leaves me thinking no one is that bad.      It is a sad indictment of the negative impact of social media on most people; particularly the young people in our midst, who lead a vacuous existence, seeking 'LIKES' for self worth; wanting to be the envy of others.      Envy is the catalyst of most criminal activity, Anon.  Get off of your fat ass and find your self a job. Vest... Daily gaggle Back soon.

CHAPTER 32 Korea      In 1952, the Korean War was in full swing. I was drafted to HMS Ceylon, an 8,000-ton cruiser with nine 6-inch and eight 4-inch guns, etc. Before I left, my beautiful Mary and I had a very romantic day in London where I promised to love her forever and write often. Mary gave me a letter from Alice, Mary’s sister, to deliver by hand to William, her boyfriend stationed in Hong Kong..               On 11 March 1952, I left Portsmouth and sailed to Hong Kong on the troop ship Empire Fowey, an ex-German liner. My journey to Hong Kong was pleasant. The many activities on board kept me free from boredom. By the time the ship had arrived in Hong Kong, I had written several letters to Mary, who I missed terribly. I hand delivered the letter to Mary’s sister’s fiancée and received my first letter from Mary. It was the first of many letters that kept me in touch and satisfied me that our romance was progressing favourab...

Sorry - No words this week.. Several things have cropped up for attention; such as the Auto garage door malfunction( age related) the gardener coming earlier: hedge cutting mowing and spraying grass.. My carer son busy on voluntary work at Camp Breakaway. and myself having a fall in the garden and injured my Right leg ( a large chunk being removed) requiring  a minor operation; pain killers lots of  stitches and tetanus shots and  the loss of half a legfull of blood. so that is about all, apart from I am recovering well. see you next week Vest .. Back soon..

Doing it quietly is not always the case arriving at that pinnacle of bliss, but there are somethings you just cant change and one of them is that human beings like making babies, so it is nice to know the majority of us are quietly going about the business of keeping the human race going, and it seems those who are leading the charge are women in western Sydney the city's true heartland. Now this is good for the economy and-more importantly-good for brothers and sisters. It's not scandalous or outrageous but behind closed doors across Sydney little miracles are being made every day. Unfortunately some women are making headlines for the wrong reasons, I suppose you might say this is a spin off from a former post of mine "Kiss a non smoker and taste the difference"(Archives March 23-05). Most intelligent people who smoke are probably aware that smoking for the first thirty years of your adult life will reduce your life expectancy by up to ten years and also reduc...

     I was totally distressed when reading your report regarding the dwindling numbers of patrons visiting the Sydney cricket ground but what surprised me most of all was the terrible news that due to last week when the Australian men's cricket team was thrashed by the under 15 Bangladesh 2nd eleven( ladies) there was much dissension within the small crowd . reports are now coming in saying if the situation worsens the Sydney cricket ground  may have to be demolished to make way for the New housing development for retired Politicians..      " Oh No" please. not that. or if so my family will dwindle too - due to starvation ,  and despite what you say about visiting crowds my family and heaps of friends are regular visitors whatever the format rain or shine and provided the people return and overspend on KFC and Maccas ; my family will always be there.  Signed  A SEAGULL.   

                                Cry baby penniless Cricketer will seek solace in England      It is now donkey's years since England first allowed overseas players to infiltrate their County Cricket teams, The only team to steadfastly refuse foreign players was the Yorkshire cricket club who after four decades of going it alone and due to their lowly championship ratings joined the foreign players club in 1992 when in July  that year the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulker joined the club ( A great choice). Now it would seem our embattled Ex cricket Skipper will be skipping the country to play for a undisclosed English County Team ; one not too disturbed regarding the Oz defectors dodgy history.     .Have you ever attended a cricket game? I did when I was a twelve year old during my summer holiday from  my dreadful Nautical school. It was the 5th test in Aug 1938 One ...

Words on Wednesday, Words used  are. Beach. Shadow. Orb. Chilly. Collision.  Desperate. Game.  Bag. Torch. Queen. Today's story....Hong Kong  Feb 13  1905.     The Naval Shore Establishment HMS Tamar in Hong Kong lay near the beach side suburb of Wanchai, its front gate fronted the esplanade of the Star Ferry terminal. The bridge of each ferry displayed on its  coat of arms a crossed sabre and orb design.  The desperate Chinese cook fleeing an irate mob of drunken sailors was without a shadow of doubt the root  of the riot which caused the  capsizing of the Star Ferry The sailors having chased 'Cookie Boy' as he was known onto the ferry after a disagreeable meeting in the mess  hall.      That Chilly February morning will bring into focus why the commotion started in the first place., when rampaging sailors caused the ferry to capsize after a high speed collision with the dock side wall where desperate pa...

       The Date you see in the header is one of rare occurrence. Many of us will not notice this triple phenomenon unless it has had some significant meaning during their lifespan.       The years on which this has happened during our lifetimes were in 1923 - 1945 -1964 - and now in 2018. Unless someone is fibbing about their age and remembers it happening in 1888 Or Tommy Turtle from the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific ocean.       My first experience of this date being significant happened in 1945 during WW2 and the second time when returning home on Easter day from the West Indies while with the Royal Navy on HMS Ceylon.  However, the time that I remember most of all and in 1945 was probably the most illuminating occasion. The second time was during a 'Cushy' two year shore posting in Hong Kong with my Family       April 1.  1945 Easter Sunday All fools day, 'Operation Iceberg 1...

     This song is dedicated to the trio of tricky ball picking cricketers. and goes to the tune of 'Everybody's Doing it Now' Every body's doing it - Doing it-doing it- doing it Picking the Ball and Chewy- ing it glueing it shoeing it We all know it's been done before Going back in time much before But getting caught you get shown the door.  So no body's doing it now.                                   --------------------- Dedicated. to the trio of tricky cricketers. Copyright.  dailygaggle.com

Words on Wednesday      Misstep.Ponder. Volume.Crib. Split.& Brilliant. The following is either a Fairy story or a concussed dream.     Fairies respond to kindness and will communicate with those who share their ideology and are willing to tolerate their existence. I never cease to wonder and ponder over the peculiar stories about fairies.      Fairies come in all shapes and sizes and callings; such as Elves Goblins Gnomes. However, it was a few years ago on mid summers day when I was putting away the garden tools back into the shed at the bottom of the garden and the Sun was going down when suddenly without warning  I misstep onto the garden rake 'Clonk, 'After the rake hit me I heard odd laughter of low volume coming from below the Gooseberry Bush where I saw an unbelievable sight of a baby Gnome in a crib being attended by several lady fairies each holding a small but brilliant light.      The remaining litt...

The following words are used for this dated story Configuration. Blame. Jaundiced. Spend. Destiny. Blank.                              Portsmouth England 1765.      It was to become an exciting day for young Jimmy Hornblower. The arrival of the famous captain Bastardo (Junior) and his Three mast frigate of forty guns the Santa da devil. Jimmy had his mind set on a seafaring career and was intent on securing a job on this famous ship a former Portuguese ship captured by the Infamous Capt Bastardo Senior a Spanish pirate of Murderous disposition.      Captain Barsrardo (junior) was the Illegitimate son of his father and lady Emily Dearborn of Barnwell in Hampshire Who Capt Bastardo had captured during a raid on Hamilton in Bermuda.some forty years ago. When lady Emily became with child the Captain Bastardo put ashore the wailing mother...