Voyage of the Spammed - Part 7: "Strangers on a Train"

 Previously in Part 6, we were just docking in Montreal.  The long sea voyage is now officially over, and it is time to get back on to dry land.  But there is still one more mode of transport to get to our destination of Kitchener, Ontario from Montreal, Quebec.  We will be taking the train!

Not my first train trip by far.  Back in Lichfield, we would take the steam train many times (yes, steam!), to visit relatives in the city of Walsall.  Actually the main line ran very close to the old bungalow and I remember just watching them from my bedroom window.  (This will affect me in later years which will be addressed in future posts...).

Three hours previous before we docked, Dad had a telegram sent from the ship to his sister in Kitchener.  We would be bunking at their home for a few weeks until we got a place of our own.  If you don't know what a (traditional) telegram was, Google it.  Very basic message; no filler and just the facts:

There is the 6"x8" very well aged (and slightly redacted) telegram my Auntie would have received that day.  It would have been personally delivered to her doorstep.  Not like this mind you, but in an inconspicuous 3.5"x6" envelope of the same paper.

The address would have been in that window; I have no idea what the "phoned" stamp means.  And of course, the back of same.  (Too bad we never got the hat-trick for this trip...  Oh well, two out of three ain't bad).

 So as the message read, we will be departing on the 4:30 train.  There won't be much down time as we will have to disembark the ship, get our luggage, and make way to the station.  Dad had planned the journey well as he had already purchased the tickets in Birmingham before we left.  There were three tickets still intact.  As none had specific names, I suspect it was one for each adult, plus Angie, who was 10 years old.  Guess my younger sister and I travelled for free, or were smuggled in one of the suitcases...  The train ticket came in these very bright and graphic 3.5"x7" envelopes.

This is not the train we will be taking.  Too bad; would have liked to see the mountains.  Back of the envelope shows Canadian Pacific's then World Wide Web.

  

The train ticket itself is 2.75"x6".  Done in the same bright yellow and using the same graphics as the envelope, but more monochromatic.

The black border is the binding edge.  It opens up to this first page:

Got the official stamp from ship and a few other details plus other does & don'ts.  Opposite has more specific information as it pertains to this trip.  This page also has carbon underneath so there are two copies of this page on the ticket.

So Dad had purchased these tickets two months ahead of departure, costing him 8 pounds and 40 per ticket.  Times three would have been 25 pounds and 20 in total for the rail journey.  The same today would be 438 pounds ($755.00 CAD).  

As you can see, we will be changing trains in Toronto.  The last part of the trip will be not will CP, but now Canadian National.  All this running around; must have been very stressful for Mum and Dad managing all this; the itinerary, the baggage, and three kids who are probably very confused and sleep deprived by now.  But before "All Aboard", the back of the ticket.

More on the Canadian Pacific empire that was.  I have no idea what time we finally arrived in Kitchener.  Today it is roughly eight to nine hours, but I suspect it took a little longer as this was 57 years ago.  Either way it would have been sometime after midnight on June 10.  Was Auntie there to meet us?  I have vague recollections of the train trip, but since it was mostly dark, not much to remember.  I guess I woke up in a strange house in a new country.  What's for breakfast?  Got any Weetabix...?

Now temporarily settled, we bunked with my Auntie, her husband and two kids close to our ages.  I reckon it was not long and acquired an apartment in the area.  Dad was a UK trained (by apprenticeship) fine woodworker, and had sent ahead CVs to various plants in the area; he had a job within the week.  It was only a few weeks before we moved to our own 2 bedroom apartment, not far from Auntie.  Lucky me I got to start school that first September!  But it was only temporary yet again.  A few months later the family now had a house nearby in a new subdivision, but a different school district, so Kindergarten was split that year.

My parents worked their assess off to give us all a good life.  Dad actually had three jobs going, and Mum would work part time as well as caring for the kiddies.  School for the rest of us and dealing with this new thing called "snow" for about half a year.  

The only evidence of our crossing in later years (besides the period slide shows with the good ole Carousel projector), was the only actual souvenir purchased on the trip.  This banner hung on the rec room wall for many years, near the bar with the awesome cedar shingled roof.

Made of some plastic canvas, it is 5" wide and 11" long.  I think it originally had a dowel through the upper sleeve and then some tassels or ornate twine to hang it.  Perhaps one of the cats took care of that...  

So there we have it.  In closing I would like to dedicate and remember all the original family members from the trip who are no longer with us.

Dad passed away in 2014 from Alzheimer's after a seven year battle with the disease.  Not a very fair or honourable way to go after working so hard for many years.  I will be addressing his legacy in a future post.

We lost Mum four years later on (ironically) Father's Day in 2018, and then as mentioned previously, Angie in 2020 due to cancer.  

As for myself, I am still in Ontario rather close to the original "landing site".  But Sister "M" moved to the Bahamas Group of islands over twenty years ago, leaving me all alone in the Great White North.

And so ends the tale.  Next time, as hinted, the scars left by British Rail...

 

Voyage of the Spammed - Part 6: "Bienvenue Au Canada!"

Welcome back, readers!  We've been eight days at sea and we are almost at the end of the voyage.  This last day will be spent traversing the Saint Lawrence Seaway, with a brief stopover in Quebec and then on to the final docking in Montreal.  So now is the time to get everything packed, pay off some tabs and say good bye to the ship and crew.

But before we dock, here are some more fun facts.  There were other cards issued daily besides the Entertainment guides (see previous Part 5).  Unfortunately Mum only saved three days worth.  These cards contained important information, rules and regulations.  Not just what to do but to do it properly.  These 4.5" x 6" cards on heavy (pastel coloured) paper were folded with a very basic header.  The card opened up to a 9" x 6" page with such things as mealtimes and ship etiquette.  

This is the cover for the first card for June 2, 1964, the day of departure.  The interior is a little more informative...

All of it fairly self explanatory.  You will notice they make no allusion to the fact that we are Tourist Class (enhanced with bold type!) and to basically Keep off the Grass in First Class!  At least we have a window seat!  The second issue of "Today" is for June 3.

Meal times again, with the option of visiting the kitchen as health inspectors!  Try not to smoke in bed and keep it down after midnight!  The final card was for June 7, 1964; the Sunday.

First indication of a laundry service, time to pay the bar tab and you can call home if you want to.  It's a little late to turn back now...

So this being June 8, 1964, we have entered the Seaway.  But as per normal maritime procedure, the ship will be navigated by the harbour pilot.  Looks like he will be on board for almost a day!  The Pilot Boat is approaching...

Such calm water in the Seaway today!  Not like those early gut-wrenching waves at the beginning of the trip.  The Pilot boat is now coming alongside.

Surprised Dad didn't take more photos along the way.  Did I fall asleep...?  The next shot is an aft view; we have already sailed under the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  Lots of ships moored and other water traffic.  That red brick building on the left is Molson's Brewery.  Don't know who that fellow in the dark suit is, but the crew cut and ears belong to yours truly.

This ain't no fancy terminal!  We have at least one tug escorting us into the docks, and it is very industrial area, including some of the other ships.  Guess they just put us where there is room...

Almost there.  Not sure which side of the ship this is but now mooring lines are being anchored to the pier.  Mum is looking over her shoulder at Dad who is taking this final shot of the journey.  I wonder what she was thinking at the time...?  No matter, we have arrived and look, there are some locals to meet us!

The last card distributed to the passengers was not entertainment or regulations, but an 8 x 10 pastel coloured card "Abstract of Log".  It is the good-bye from Captain W. S. W. Main along with the data from the voyage.  Except for June 4 and 5, we had fairly good seas.  Good too if you want to go back and chart the ship's course.

According to the log we docked in Montreal at approximately 12:30 on June 9, 1964.  57 years ago today.  I reckon that was followed by several hours of disembarking, immigration, and retrieving luggage.  

But we are not settling here.  My Auntie is in Ontario, so next time it will be the last part of the journey.  Not on water this time but by rail.  CP runs trains too!

 

Voyage of the Spammed - Part 5: "It Was 57 Years Ago Today"

 Welcome back to the Atlantic Ocean, Readers.  It has been a few years since the last post in this series so I felt it was high time to get back on the boat!  And as the title suggests, today is the 57th anniversary of the departure from Liverpool way back on June 2, 1964!  

So this post will focus on the many varied activities to do during the 7 day voyage.  Of course this is not a luxury liner with the amenities of today.  It was back to basics, take it easy and relax.  Eating and dining was on a schedule, as were many of the activities.  

On the Empress there were 8 decks that was accessible for the tourist class.  (First Class had their exclusive areas which were off limits, mostly in dining and a few activities).  The best way to illustrate this is with the following cut-away image found on the internet.  (It was posted on several sites with no indications of copyright.  Please don't sue me; it is only for reference and I do not make any money on this blog...)

I have augmented some areas as well as indicated the areas of dining and leisure.  The coloured ellipses will make more sense when you refer to the Entertainment Cards which were made available to all passengers.  There was a specific card for each day.  The cards measured 5"x7" on a heavy stock with a colour illustration.  

This is the first card of the trip from June 2, 1964.  It opens up to 10" x 7" to reveal the text inside.

Now this being the day of departure it is of course not a full day schedule.  The ship is set to leave Liverpool docks at 1630 hours; I have no idea what time we boarded but I am sure it was early.  Giving people time to find their berth, unpack and get settled was the priority, but there is always time for Tea, being served at 4:00pm in the Carleton Restaurant.  

Now as you can see from the cutaway,  this is located in the lower deck of the ship, actually the Restaurant deck, which is Deck 7.  (light green ellipse)  At least it is two decks high, but except for a few portholes, no exterior views.  This is where Tourist Class will eat all meals for the next 7 days.

Now with the ship underway, there is an event in the Windsor Lounge.  This room is located on the Empress Deck.  (middle red ellipse)  A casual room with seats, sofas, tables and a piano.  I believe people came here to socialize, read and play board games, which were available upon request.  At 6:00pm there is a radio News Broadcast.  I think it was possibly the BBC.

And now it is dinner time.  Since the Carleton had to accommodate all the Tourist Class, there were two sittings.  One at 6:30 and the second at 7:45.  You only get an hour and a quarter for dinner so more than likely no seconds!  Besides, who wants to spend time in the "basement"?  (If you would like to know more about what the food choices were, please refer to the previous post in this series from September 26, 2018 - "There's no spam!?")

Back to the Windsor Lounge now for some bingo at 8:00pm.  If that is too much excitement for you, you can take in a movie!  The cinema is located on the Main Deck.  (green ellipse).   It is two decks high and seats 212 from what I can gather.  Tonight's film is "The Great Escape".  Is that a metaphor?  Nice that it's a fairly recent film, only one year old.  Surprisingly there is no smoking in the theatre.  I find that very unusual for the time.

The film is over at 12:00am as it is a 3 hour movie; I believe the ship shuts down by then.  No all night parties or carrying on past midnight.  Silent running...?  The last bit on the June 2 card is a land lubber's guide to ship terminology.  So ends day one at sea.  I am sure most were exhausted to attend many events, but the big surprise was yet to come!

That was the cover for Wednesday, June 3, 1963.  This is going to be our first full day at sea.  For many of us, it will be hell for the next 24 to 48 hours.  Before I go into more detail on that statement, I would like to describe other activities which I was not able to indicate on the cutaway.

Starting from the topmost deck, the Sun Deck, you could play deck games such as shuffleboard and tennis.  You just had to ask the sailors on duty for the game pieces.  Here is a previously posted pic of Mum on the Sun Deck where you can clearly see the playing areas.  

There were also some areas on the next deck down, the Sports Deck.  Deck 3 was the Promenade Deck, and only walking was allowed for Tourist Class.  Amenities on this level was First Class only, the cheek, but there was this little niche called The Den... 

The Empress Deck was the main gathering place of the Tourist Class.  Besides the afore mentioned Windsor Lounge, there was the Banff Club (a casual gathering place and bar), and the Canada Room.  This was a large expansive area; the main Ballroom.  There was a large dance floor and small stage for an orchestra and grand piano.  Also on this level was a Beauty Salon, Barber Shop, and Gift Shop.  

The Upper Deck was mostly cabins, but there was a Library and Writing Room.  The upper void level for the Cinema was also on this deck.

The Main Deck was again all cabins (including our berth), and the Cinema.  The Restaurant Deck is self explanatory with the good ole Carleton Restaurant.  There was another smaller restaurant on this deck known as the Salle Frontenac, which was used for other events.  

And lastly, deep in the bowels of the Lower Deck, was the Coral Pool.  Not your usual outdoor luxury pool with sunbathing spaces and waterslides.  This was more institutional with no windows for natural light.  This deck was right on the waterline so, please, don't pull the plug!

So back to the Wednesday, June 3,1964 itinerary.  Pools open early for an early morning swim, two times for breakfast, the film from last night is playing again.  The Orchestra is playing in the Windsor Lounge and we can get a nice hot cup of Bovril if we want one.  Over luncheon we are making a short stopover in Greenock, Scotland, departing 90 minutes later for a view of the Firth of Clyde on the starboard side.  

The big event today is at 3:30.  The Boat Muster.  Actually life boat drills; this little event I remember.  Horns and whistles and everyone running about with bright orange life vests on.  No first class distinction here!

A few more afternoon events, dinner, the same movie (three showings today), and then the first dance in the Canada Room.  A few other activities as you can see but then it all shuts down at midnight.

 

Its Thursday, June 4, and this is when it got interesting.  Now we are officially in the Atlantic Ocean and based on the tales my parents told me, most of the boat was down with sea sickness.  Our lot was incapacitated except for youngest sister "M".  Getting a table at the Carleton would have been no problem; I am sure it was pretty empty most of the time that day.  

New film today, "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.  A nice little romantic mystery from (again) 1963.  The cinema runs the film four times a day from now on.  Dance classes are available, if you can stand,  more music venues, bingo and later more dancing.  This Record Rendezvous in The Den is a mystery.  Just listening to vinyl records before bed?  

Now it's Friday, June 5 and it appears most of us are finally getting our sea legs and keeping food down.  Maybe we can all do something today...?

Hey!  Cartoons in the cinema!  Can I go, Mum?  New film "Zulu" today, and only 5 months old.  but this ain't you family film, it's a war epic.  Playing four times today too!  

I saw them advertising for something called the Atlantic Derby.  I cannot find any info on what this event was.  I think it was basically a race for woman?  I doubt that would not go over too well these days.  The usual routine with meals, bingo, dancing and music.  

It's Saturday and everyone by now has adjusted to life aboard ship.  No more evidence of sea sickness in the family; all is well.  Even though we were all sick, the weather up to this point has been great.  Mostly sunny; the rain stopped once we were clear of the British Isles.  No more land in sight and if you look very carefully you can see the curvature of the Earth.  Freaky!  Another memory.

This was the only schedule that was marked up.  Looks we we went for an early swim and a later breakfast.  Cartoons too but looks like no deck games today.  New film for the weekend.  "Running Man" (no not that one...) from 1963 about a man who fakes his own death.  Doesn't look like a family movie either.  Thank goodness for the cartoons!

Dinner tonight is the Gala Event.  Guess we got dressed up for this, but I fear we had dinner and then the kiddies were banished to the cabin.  

Sunday, June 7, 1964.  Since these days are still treated with some respect and tradition, it will no doubt be a quieter day.  As you can see from the itinerary, there are less scheduled activities.

You may have noticed I am not describing every event on the cards; I will let you use your imagination as to what was going on.  At last a family film, and it's animated!  Disney movie from 1963 so the kids could get dumped at the cinema while Mum and Dad have a break.  Church service in the Canada Room, and no dancing tonight.  Looks like we will be turning in early...

The card illustration for Monday, June 8, 1964 is the same as Thursday's; must have been a limited pool of art.  This is our official last day at sea.  Newfoundland is looming in the distance, and we have been passing by many icebergs (unfortunately the photos taken of that subject have been forever lost).  

Same routine as before.  Swimming, eating, listening to music and dancing.  Final film for the cinema for this trip is "The Thrill of it All".  It's a Rom-Com from 1963; think I will give that one a miss.  No cartoons today either.  Maybe this is the captain's way of weaning us off the ship and back to dry land?  And it doesn't appear to be another late night.  Oh well, tomorrow we arrive!

If there was a card for Tuesday, June 9, 1964, Mum either never got one or did not save it. Breakfast would have been served surely.  As we are expected to dock in Montreal around 12:30pm, most I'm sure are packing, buying souvenirs, having a last walk around decks and watching the fast approaching Canadian cityscape as we cruise down the St. Lawrence Seaway.  

I'll document the events of June 9, 1964 in the next post.  Still more schedules and ships rules to post, the Captain's final message to the ship, and the last pictures of the arrival in Montreal.

On a sad note I would like to dedicate this post to my elder sister Angela, who was taken from us far too soon last August 2020 after a thirteen year battle with cancer.  She was 9 years old when we took the voyage.  She still had so much more to give.  Good-bye Angie, you are so missed....

Flammkuchen Freitag!

Yet another project is complete!  This one started out, with all good intentions, to build a mech based on a design from modeler/manga artist/anime creator Makoto Kobayashi.  Long time visitors to this site know of my admiration for this individual.  Check out his other work; there's lots of it out there!

One of his more bizarre designs is a mech first created for Z Gundam, the Baund Doc.  Not your regular anthropomorphic style, this one is almost bird-like with spindly arms all atop a saucer.  There are many variations, and the style evolved into another mech for his "Dragon's Heaven" OVA called a Gampf.

I have wanted to build one for quite some time; there were many false starts and delays over the years.  After the snow globe diversion, I resurrected the concept.  I just had to find the right parts.  Luckily I had in my possession a previously enjoyed Slave 1 model (thanks Joe!), which would make a suitable saucer.  The rest of the parts would be liberated mainly from two other Bandai Gundam kits, a Jamru-Fin (from ZZ Gundam), and a Hygogg (from War in the Pocket).  But I could not bring myself to pick and choose the parts, so instead I scavenged what I needed from the greeblies box; tank parts and other models from way back.  Copious amounts of dollar store bits also made it into the mix.  

So in this jumble of bits and pieces are acrylic shapes, and parts from several kits, mostly some old Dorvack suits and early Gundam models.  So no new models were harmed in this venture!  There are also toy parts and (very weathered) ping pong balls.  Those were used under the saucer.

I kept the underside detail to a minimum as it would only be seen from the sides.  An acrylic scoop was used to house all the upper parts.  (I was surprised to see that other modelers making variations of this mech also used the Slave 1 saucer as their base...)

One final test assembly.  The left forearm (with the claw) is actually a handle for a mini driver, and of course there is the customary Zaini egg. And now it's Prime Time!

The model went through many changes over the weeks.  The original intent was for it to have that massive bulk of tanks under the saucer as in the concept sketches, but after the attempt it looked like crap, so I went more Gampf than Baund-Doc.  First it was going to be spacey, then ground based, then spacey again.  Eventually I settled on a ground based unit, and decided to make it part of the "North Africa: 2042" scenario I started way back in 2015.  As the Tortoise was a British unit, I made this a German machine.  But it is much larger, the Gottesanbeterin!

The model is built to 1/72 scale, and the design has strayed quite far from the original Kobayashi concepts.  It is more Dieselpunk now, and ready for some future desert combat!

The "Gottesanbeterin", or Preying Mantis, is a mech from the fictional "Neues Deutchland".  It skims above the ground (using rediscovered 20th century technology from the "Haunebu" projects), and it rips and tears at enemy armours with the heavy claws.  

With a crew of three, and only the one main gun, this unit relies on other smaller support mechs for defense.  (Not built for this diorama unfortunately, but maybe soon...).  

Painting was done using primarily Krylon Ultra Camouflage rattlers, which are becoming hard to find these days.  Two basic colours for the base coats and then mostly Tamiya acrylics for the accents.  

  As before, I wanted to keep the weathering to a minimum as I doubt this monstrosity would have been (will be?) made using iron and other metals.  I used pastels to accent and put a fine layer of dust on the model.  After a few salvaged decals from other German kits, I layered on some camo netting to help hide it from the other guys...  

So the title of this posting, (Flammkuchen Freitag!), is roughly translated to "Pizza Friday".  End of the week is usually rewarded with pizza, especially around here.  And even in North Africa 21 years from now, nothing has changed.  But how do three hungry fighting men in an armoured mech get pizza way out in the desert?  You have it delivered of course!

I had this 1/72 Kettentrad kit from Hasegawa around for quite some time, so I thought this would make a good delivery van.  Now it takes awhile to get pizza out there; no thirty minutes it's free.  But in the near future the pies are shipped in thermal stasis boxes; as fresh as the day they were made!

My wife told me today, "That is the weirdest model you have ever built..."  And I agree!  So much that I plan to do a proper Baund-Doc someday.  This time the spacey version sporting the tank farm underside.  Here are some more nice blue sky beauty shots:

So remember, there is always time for pizza.  And don't forget the pineapple!  Have a better one, readers!