Traditions and travel

Liked the Morris Minor! The same engine went into my "bug eye" Austin Healey Sprite, but with one more carburetor.
Now I don`t have a photo,it may be may be pure urban myth, but,there is the story of a sign,with no obvious purpose,in Ireland, perhaps near the Cliffs of Moher, which read: "Do Not Lean Bicycles Against This Sign".

Hi Bruce.
I remember them well, I had the van type first and put the twin carbs on with a copper tail pipe, I was a real boy racer
When I was in the army I'd a Triumph Mayflower, it had the same engine as a Ferguson 20, I changed the carb to the TVO/Paraffin system (the army used gallons of paraffin for cleaning and it made a ready fuel supply) but the exhaust smell was 'distinctive'
Later I had a saloon I bought for tenner and a shooting brake version with the ash woodwork down the sides. I sold them both to rake up the deposit for my first truck. Great 'oul yoke
Your memory doesn't fail you the sign is still there, probably one of the most photographed in Ireland, if we pass on our travels I'll post a snap for you.
Next up is a quick trip to England to pick up a bath, its a long story .
Apologies for rambling on and digressing.

You need to share the story of Faith, Hope and Charity - which were accidentally left behind!

OK Menzies, no sooner said than done.

GO, GO, GO, GRAB YOUR RIFLE, AMMO,TIN HAT AND WATER BOTTLE ! ! !

Photo.
1,2, Self explanatory.

3,4,5,6 & 7,
At the outbreak of WW 2 there were 3 old biplanes stationed at RAF LUQA (its now the main airport). These planes were nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity and they took up the defence against the German and Italian fighters and bombers. They all took terrible punishment but each time they landed the ground crews worked miracles and got them patched up and rearmed and back into the fight again. Because of the distance the Germans and Italians had to travel they only got 20 minutes over Malta before they had to return to their base.
Against all odds these 3 old planes hung on until they could be reinforced by Spitfires and later some Hurricanes. Hope and Charity finally succumbed to enemy fire and Faith was recovered after the war, refurbished and can be seen in the Malta siege museum.

8, WW2 Pilots flying uniform.

9,My uncle's contribution. Photo of a Barchino in the next blog.

A few more photo's from the war museum for you old soldiers.

Photo's,
1,2, as explained in previous post.

3,4, damaged engines cannibalised for spares.

5,Malta's flag with George cross.

6,7,8, Both civilian Merchant and Royal Naval seamen performed miracles under heavy fire to keep the inhabitants of Malta alive and protected..

9, Finally its over.

10, And after all that you need a cold beer.

Irish Rambler said:

Next up is a quick trip to England to pick up a bath, its a long story .

Click to expand...

Well, if there is any truth to English bathing habits,picking up a bath there may not be so easy.

BruceK said:

Liked the Morris Minor! The same engine went into my "bug eye" Austin Healey Sprite, but with one more carburetor.
Now I don`t have a photo,it may be may be pure urban myth, but,there is the story of a sign,with no obvious purpose,in Ireland, perhaps near the Cliffs of Moher, which read: "Do Not Lean Bicycles Against This Sign".

Click to expand...

I have a pic of a sign I saw in Gibraltar .... "Keep Gibraltar Tidy"

Depends on your origins and upbringing Bruce, we had a tin bath hanging on a nail.
Was that the bomb squad Dan ? Seriously though it's very clean and tidy a real pleasure to visit.

Anyway back to the touristy thing.
Photo's.
1, The origin of this type of boat dates back to Phoenician times and thousands can still be seen around the Mediterranean islands. Over time they've grown a little larger than the originals which sported a Lateen sail and oars, now small diesels have replaced sail and oars but the hull shape has remained virtually the same. In Malta these are handed down from generation to generation and known as a Maltese Luzza, the eye painted on the front is to ward off evil spirits, in some places its called the eye of Osiris.
This boat has just been refurbished and you can see the results of the hours loving workmanship. She's a real beaut.

2,3, As you can see there are hundreds in the harbour. If you click on the photo in the background left you will see the crane from the container terminal. Malta is heavily reliant on imports, milk for example is evaporated, shipped here from as far away as Australia and Germany then reconstituted.

4, No problem topping up with fuel here.

5,Self explanatory.

6,8. This is a slightly larger double ended Luzza used for fishing. In photo 8 look at the little arm hanging out to the left, see the black circle ? Because of the sunlight and its opacity you may just be able to pick out a clear bulb. This is passed off as a working light but in fact they use it to attract fish to their nets. Around Italy, Spain and a small region of France they use acetylene lights to attract anchovies and are known as Lampara.

7,This is an ex English Ford Transit enjoying a profitable retirement in the sun. We of course sampled its wares of deliciously creamy ice cream.

9,Self explanatory but note the grooves in the wooden runners for the keel of the Luzza's to run up the slip in a straight line.

10, Another beauty, this is a Royal Enfield single cylinder 350cc with bullet sidecar. This is a late model with disc brakes on the front.
The emblem of Royal Enfield is 3 stacked rifles in a vertical triangle, why ?
During WW1 and 2 there was a Royal armaments factory in Enfield in Middlesex England, after the war with so much machinery available they started making motorcycles instead of guns.
My first bike was a maroon coloured 125 with a Villiers 2 stroke engine with 3 speed hand change gears.
After the war very few working people could afford cars and bikes were the answer to mobility.

Before we leave Malta after our holiday we promised ourselves we'd go over to the island of Gozo which lies just off the Northern tip of Malta. Naturally its a carbon copy of Malta in an even more laid back way. If your into old architecture there are even more churches and castles and the people are so pleasant and friendly you can't help but love it.

Photo's.
1, The ferry from Malta to Gozo takes 20 minutes and costs 8 Euro 50 cents return.

2, I can't keep away from boats and wanted a ride on a Maltese Luzzo boat, here taking a trip along the coast looking into caves and studying the rock strata.

3, The main town on Gozo is called Rabat and this is their lovely old fashioned intimate theatre.

4,5, Waste collection and delivery trucks here are what's known as 'cabovers', and are necessary for their enhanced manoeuvrability which is required for the small roads in villages and around the island which aren't suitable for long nose trucks.

6, This is the steep access street giving access to the main fort, known as the Citadelle, don't worry guys there's a pub halfway up !

7,8, Self explanatory.

9, Narrow streets within the fort reveal surprising large rooms, in fact there's virtually a small village beneath the surface all connected by tunnels.

10, Gozo lace parasol, beautiful craftsmanship.

Come and let take a final look around the Citadelle.

Photo's
1, The Citadelle main church facing into the square.

2,3, Beautiful painted ceiling and ornate altar. The people may have been poor but the Catholic church wasn't.

5, The main square, and the Citadel's governors would address the people gathered in the square below from the balcony.

5,6, Self explanatory.

7, This carriage was used to transport the Catholic Bishop in style.

8,Not everybody was a God fearing Catholic, anyone caught in anti-social behaviour was locked into these stocks in the main square, ridiculed and pelted with rotten eggs and vegetables with the accompanying hordes of flies and mosquito's.
I personally think they should be brought back, it would certainly make some of our present day undesirables think twice before stepping out of line.

9, Not all 'visitors' were made welcome either !

A quick peek around a special little valley not normally shown to visitors.
This little valley on Gozo is blessed with little natural water springs and it was to this tiny place that the Grand Master of the Templars came with his entourage from his mansion in Valetta to have what we would call today a picnic to enjoy some peace and quiet to escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Photo's
1,Terracing dating back to BC.

2,This was once the gatekeepers house guarding the Lunzjata Valley.

3,Overview of the valley.

4,5,Self explanatory.

6, These old caves were used as bomb shelters during WW2.

7,Irrigation channels shaped from stone to prevent leakage.

8,One of the sweet water fountains.

9.These irrigation channels date back before the late JC, to irrigate a section a stone if lifted from its slot and replaced as each section is watered. slabs of stone on the top prevent evaporation.

10, As we explained earlier cats are the national pet and even in this little backwater on the island of Gozo the locals feed them.

So thats our visit to Malta and Gozo over now and its time to travel back to our boat 'Snow Mouse' in Narbonne.
We landed in Marseille and on our route back to our boat we stopped off in Aigues Mortes in Southern France to visit the departing port of the Knights Templar where they left by sailing ship to Valetta in Malta. Its also my personal favourite Knights Templar church where I go to give thanks, the Lord makes no distinction and WASP's are also made very welcome.

1, 2, These first 2 photo's show the interior of the last place of worship of the Knights Templar before they set sail on the crusades to fight the Muslim hordes.

3,4, Apologies but if you turn these photo they're self explanatory.

5,Rear of King Louis monument.


6, The Templars fort at Aigues Mortes, meaning dead water, or inlet with no river flow.

7,Many centuries ago the Mediterranean sea was enclosed by the movement of the earths tectonic plates and became a giant inland sea. Constant evaporation by the sun turned it into a highly saline inland body of water. The tectonic plates shifted again and the straights of Gibraltar were formed but the Mediterranean continued to be highly saline and it was the Romans who turned harvesting of sea salt onto an industrial scale a tradition still continued to this day as these mountains of sea salt testify. p.s The French own all the major salt producing companies in Europe, even as far away as Poland.

8,9 These Flamingo's thrive on these shallow inland salty lakes around Aigues Mortes.
Did you know that Flamingo's despite having a tiny brain choose to migrate with a following wind and have been know to travel up to 350 kilometres away in non-stop flight ?
Did you know that Flamingo's are one of the few birds to organise creche's for the young so their parents can feed ?
Did you know their colour comes not from the tiny crustaceans they eat but from the algae as they sift food through their beaks in a sideways sweeping motion ?

10, Our route from the South of France to Malta and back.

How many of you have a bath onboard ?
I don't want to bore you but is anyone interested in a saga about a bath ?
Don't listen to Bruce K winding you up the English and Irish HAVE been known to bathe, at least once a year

Not too sure about English/Irish bathing habits,but you certainly wetted my appetite to see Malta. Lots of history, well preserved, by the look of it. Maybe next year. Australia has quite a Maltese community.

G'day Bruce.
We found Malta very interesting because of WW2 connections I'd visited with the military which of course is a complete world away from being a tourist.
There are lovely beaches but I'm curious to look around and learn about the history and traditions etc.
I can highly recommend it for its laid back way of life with plenty to see.
I think the commonwealth connection would have been a way for any young Maltese to seek an attractive relatively new country with a common language etc. As you know there's a strong Irish connection too, in fact my own son's serving in the forces HQ in Canberra
There but for the grace of God I would've been a £10 Pom but ended up running away to sea and nearly ended up in jail but that's another story.

Irish Rambler said:

G'day Bruce.
We found Malta very interesting because of WW2 connections I'd visited with the military which of course is a complete world away from being a tourist.

Click to expand...

If you like history and WW2, visit Gibraltar. Take the tour of the hollowed out "Rock". Then take some time to learn the WW2 history and Spain.

I have been to Malta and realize the number of ships and men lost while trying to supply and support Malta and parts of Europe.

Sadly, if you are a minor student of history, you will see in current news the same names that were conquered during WW2. Read over the USMC song and see the same names.

Hi OldDan1943.
We've a full schedule this year but maybe next, its on my bucket list.
Been there got the 'T' shirt, your about my vintage so you probably know the PTI's used to make us run up and down the rock first thing in the morning.
It fairly straightened you out if you'd been on the beer the night before.
You want to try landing on the strip in an old fully loaded Argosy, teeth marks on the dash and a funny smell in the back
Did you get to see all the caves ? The engineers and artillery made a gun that could fire downhill, I think there's still a couple in there but its maybe closed to the public.
As I mentioned in an earlier post the Meds very salty and the German subs used to try and drift through, the big gun on the top was used to dissuade them.

Irish Rambler said:

Hi OldDan1943.
We've a full schedule this year but maybe next, its on my bucket list.
Been there got the 'T' shirt, your about my vintage so you probably know the PTI's used to make us run up and down the rock first thing in the morning.
It fairly straightened you out if you'd been on the beer the night before.
You want to try landing on the strip in an old fully loaded Argosy, teeth marks on the dash and a funny smell in the back
Did you get to see all the caves ? The engineers and artillery made a gun that could fire downhill, I think there's still a couple in there but its maybe closed to the public.
As I mentioned in an earlier post the Meds very salty and the German subs used to try and drift through, the big gun on the top was used to dissuade them.

Click to expand...

Oh yes, I did had a guided tour the caves and noticed some were still sealed off.
Spain really wants Gibraltar back, even today. Spain shut the water off so Gibraltar supplement the paved part of the rock and cisterns with desalination plants. Spain used to shut the border and discovered the Spanish people suffered the greatest by shutting off the Spanish labor who worked in Gibraltar.
Back when I was there in the 60s we (US Navy) walked across the border via the air strip. There were RR crossing gates that closed when a plane was landing.
I have a picture of me with an Gibraltar ape on my shoulder inspecting my white hat. After he inspected it to his satisfaction, he gave it back. LOL

Still the same on the strip but its got all modern now there are traffic lights !.If you were there in the navy I think its best for you and I to avoid talking about 'The Gut' and just keep those old memories to ourselves.
Your very lucky the ape gave it back as they've tourist baiting to a fine art and are the craftiest of thieves.

Some monkeys in Bali employ a pimp(well, something like that,it`s a kind of protection racket). The monkey steals your specs/camera/whatever, the pimp offers to get it from the monkey for you for a fee, the monkey hands it back, you pay the money, and all`s good.

BruceK said:

Some monkeys in Bali employ a pimp(well, something like that,it`s a kind of protection racket). The monkey steals your specs/camera/whatever, the pimp offers to get it from the monkey for you for a fee, the monkey hands it back, you pay the money, and all`s good.

Click to expand...

Yup, life is good. I could tell you about our cab driver and his history with the apes but, someone is going to have to buy me another drink.

Irish Rambler said:

Still the same on the strip but its got all modern now there are traffic lights !.If you were there in the navy I think its best for you and I to avoid talking about 'The Gut' and just keep those old memories to ourselves.
Your very lucky the ape gave it back as they've tourist baiting to a fine art and are the craftiest of thieves.

Click to expand...

Ah yes, barroom fight, my broken nose.....

Sounds like a normal night in the 'Gut' when those randy US sailors get off a dry ship and go looking for creature comforts.

I mentioned in an earlier post about a bath, ever since we bought this 9 berth second hand hire cruiser we've been modding it for a comfortable 2 berth with 2 for visitors and my admirals been mentioning having a bath. As we have a great shower with foot bath I thought we were doing OK but no, I kept getting reminders so I started measuring as did the admiral of course but no locally sourced bath would fit our peculiar shaped requirements.
Until I found one that did the job.
The reason I mention it is because its so unusual it may help someone who's thinking along similar lines.
The bath is made by a Turkish company and sold in England by a company called Bella bathrooms and they are based in Durham in the North of England.
The bath is called a Vitra neon space saving bath and is available in either left or right handed format.
Collection entailed a trip from the South of France to Brighton in England by car passing up through Normandy, we saw some old interesting buildings en route.

Nice write up of Malta. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit there as well.
I too heartily recommend.

Glad you enjoyed it.
We always try to be informative beforehand for anyone thinking of travelling, of course there are many who may be curious but unable to visit for various reasons, so we hope we're helping them too.

Following on the saga of the bath.
We live in the South of France and the distributors place was in the North of England, to halve the journey to collect the bath we had it delivered to a friends marina at Shoreham, beside Brighton in the South of England and we then drove up and caught a ferry over to England collect it.

Photo's.
1, The bath was delivered from the North of England 750 miles down to Shoreham, beside Brighton. (Shoreham is a commercial port beside the main town of Brighton)

2, We drove the 2,000 kilometre round trip from the South of France to collect it.

3,4, Brighton has been a seaside holiday favourite from Queen Victoria's reign and these grand hotels are always busy.

5, You can rent these bathing huts to change into your swimming costumes for a dip in the sea.

6,There are several of these bandstands along the seafront where holidaymakers enjoy brass band concerts during the summer months.

7, ooops ! Turned photo, this is the old Victorian Brighton pier. In Victorian times they built a steel framed pier out into the sea and had amusements on top with ice cream parlours, 'clairvoyants' and games of chance to catch the tourists.

8.This is the port of Newhaven at low tide. We caught the ferry from Dieppe in France to Newhaven on the South coast of England, its just a 40 minute drive from Brighton.

9, Pick-up carrying a building ? No it was an accidental shot from a moving car.

9,

On our way up through France we passed through the region of Normandy and here are some interesting photo's as we drove to the ferry port of Dieppe..

Photo's.
1,These old building were built with timber frames with mud and straw mix packed between the timbers, many are still inhabited today.

2 and 7, This old Chateau dominates this town and as you'll see from photo 7 this was the very first performance of an opera in France in 1660 at a wedding.

3,4,5, Interesting architecture.


6, When houses are renovated now small bricks replace the old mud and straw wall. The timber used in the construction is oak which is cut, seasoned and then fired which makes it really solid and virtually impervious to boring insects and can last hundreds of years as these photo's show.

8,9, This fine cathedral dominates the town square. In pic 9 you'll see slots in the wall, these are used on market days when timber is pushed in to form a framework for a market stall providing shade for produce and people.

10, This old Citroen truck will carry no more but makes an interesting exhibit in front of a Brasserie, a brasserie serve drinks and meals all day. Restaurants serve more formal meals, its not unusual in France to find a restaurant closed, for lunch !

I know we have many Canadian followers on TF and the name of Dieppe is infamous for a major planning disaster during WW2 where many Canadians lost their life in a calamitous attack against a strongly defended port.
We came to pay homage on your behalf.

On a lighter note.
You may ask what did we use on the journey to collect this bath !
A little Toyota Aygo which although tiny performed perfectly.

Y'know with us nothings simple right ?
When we were in Brighton collecting the bath the admiral saw some curtain material not available in France and I saw a poster for an old wrinklies rock show featuring 'The Troggs' The Fortunes' and 'The Animals' (you've gotta be a certain age to remember them).
To cut a long story short we planned to make a return journey to see them, collect the material and then go on over to Ireland for a re-union with some retired employees.
That's for a later post.

Photo's.
1, 2, Just arrived back from Britain.

3, The admirals infamous bath.

4, In a previous post I showed an old Citroen truck, this is a shot of the spartan cabin.

4, Finally resting after years of hard work.

5,It could only happen in France, on the 6th of Mai 2012 they held a fete and parade to honour potato's !
To be truthful I can't blame them as I love the humble spud and one of my favourite 'bachelor foods' when the admirals away is boiled spuds mashed with a big dollop of proper butter, a splash of milk, add finely chopped onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I mention earlier about going back to England to see the 'wrinklies' rock show, we then picked up a few bits and made our way to Ireland via Wales and then the Dublin ferry.
Our destination was Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland before returning back to Narbonne in the South of France.
Fancy coming with us on a trip ?

Photo's, apologies for the gremlins these photo's were taken from a phone.

1, Effigy's in a road island depicting a route of the pilgrims to St Jacques D' Compostela.

2, The old rock group the 'The Fortunes'.

3, Arundel castle on our route along the South coast of England.

4,5, Wales, lots of mountains, rocks and most of the slate for roofing comes from here.

6, Stena line ferry from Holyhead to Ireland, we took this photo from Irish Ferries M.V Epsilon ferry.

7, This is Irish ferries new ferry called the W.B Yeats we'll be travelling back to France on this ferry in 10 days time.

8, This ferry company 'Seatruck' only carry freight between Ireland, England, Ireland.