Book review coming soon…
One of the funniest parts of the book comes near the beginning:
“Micky Mayhew, Petty Officer of theWatch, has just been round to see that everyone is properly closed up.
‘…Funny thing happened just now,’ he said. ‘Florrie Ford and Scouce Brown told me. Old Scouce was forward starboard lookout on the bridge during the First, and it was just on the end of the watch and he was thinking about getting his head down when he heard someone come up and stand behind him. It was as black as … out there then, and the thought it was Florrie come up to relieve him. So he didn’t look round, but just passed the glasses over his should and said, ” ‘Ere you are, mate, there’s [nothing] to report,’ and then he want down below.
Well, a couple of minutes later Florrie comes up to relieve Scouce, and when he arrives the bloke in the lookout’s chair passes up the glasses over his shoulder and says, ” ‘Ere you are, mate, there’s [nothing] to report,”and it [was] the Captain himself!” ‘ “