| Oronsay November 74-Feb 1975 I had just got home and enjoyed a month at home after an exciting time on the Arcadia as cinema attendant visiting quite a few places I had always dreamed of seeing. About 3 weeks in I rang P&O up to see what jobs they had going and I was told they required a PRS job on Oronsay in Sydney Australia, the weather was getting cold and miserable as it does in October November 1974 and I was ready to ship out again. I knew what the job was which was in the bars, which was a good job, and tips were good and once you reached topside you job conditions were a little better. The next week once again I received a telegram from the office with my details join SS Oronsay in Sydney Australia 20 November 1974 at 9.00am for a period of approx 4 months flying to Sydney from Heathrow Airport. I looked to check where Oronsay visited and was excited that she visited Fiji and Pacific Islands returning to Sydney every 2 weeks and then into Sydney overnight and back out the next day. The voyage was to finish in Durban in South Africa as the ship was doing some Indian Ocean cruising. It sounded all very exciting so I relaxed and visited my local pub every night in Kenilworth bragging a little as one does when you are only 21 to your mates. The day came to join the ship and I travelled by train to London and then on to Heathrow airport with 2 suitcases, I still had not got down pat taking minimum luggage, as I still was new at the game. I met a group of guys at one of the gates and was issued with our tickets some I knew from Arcadia, I was still a little nervous, as I had never done real bar work and stewarding. I remember boarding the plane and thinking this is a long haul trip 36 hours in total stopping in Bahrain Singapore and onto Sydney, the plane was full and I sat next to a guy from Bath and another from Liverpool who were both PRS and I felt really relaxed as we all got on well. The bar opened just after take off and I had never seen so much beer and spirits consumed, these guys could drink especially when it was free. The trip went well stopping in Bahrain which was really hot as a gush of hot air hit you as they loaded you into a bus to take you to the terminal for a 2 hour break which ended in about 3 as there was a slight problem with the plane. The rest of the trip went well finally landing in Sydney in November to a really hot day as it was into the spring summer period in Australia. We were a little early as Oronsay was running late so we were first taken to Bondi beach for a little sightseeing. I could not believe I was actually in Australia standing looking at Bondi beaches with the surf crashing into the beach and all the good looking women! We all loaded onto the buses and arrived at Pyrmont 13 which was situated under the harbour bridge, the Oronsay was an old ship nearly 28000 tons with approx 622 crew with approx 1500 passengers and launched in 1950 so she was over 24 years old and in ship life was on the tail end of her career. It was busy around the ship as she had just arrived and passengers were leaving after a 2-week cruise. The sign on was in the ballroom again as it was a big crew change, there were chefs, officers, waiting staff, engine room, deck staff. I now knew the routine and got the old discharge book ready with joining instructions. It was good I had made some good friends on the flight so we managed to get a cabin together as we were all doing the same job. I remember looking into the cabin it had pipes running along the top of the bulkhead lagged in probably asbestos no sinks, as you had to go down the alleyway for toilets and showers. The cabin slept 8 people and was really old and situated at the front of the ship near the crew mess, I was allocated a bar called the Pipe and Drums Bar with my friends and we were told to report at 5.00pm, I was a little nervous as what to expect but would soon find out. We found the bar it was situated on Veranda deck between stadium deck and a deck the area ran into a ballroom called The Caledonian Room and the bar looked down onto the Tam O’Shanter Bar, which was the pool bar on the deck below. We walked around on the Promenade deck to find our way around so we had an idea how to get to work. We all got something to eat in the mess, which was long and narrow, and hot as I don’t think air con worked, the same in our cabin, I scored top bunk, which was good as you were out of the way as most sat on your bunk. I was lucky I had time to go ashore for a couple of hours before sign on We walked to Sydney Opera House which was not far and the harbour bridge which was spectacular and just to stand next to the harbour looking out was perfect. When we got back we all got dressed into our red jackets and black bow ties and reported to our bar, we met our barman who was a nice guy from South Africa and a Scots barman. I remember going onto deck as passengers friends gave their friends a big send off as streamers linked the ship to the railings of the terminal which was packed. It was a great atmosphere which was the start of a fun trip for me as well, the ships pa system announced we would be leaving Sydney in 15 minutes bound for Auckland New Zealand and the onto Suva in Fiji. The ship sailed out full that night and I was allocated with I think 8 guys one side of the room, the part of the room I got also serviced part of the ballroom and had lounge chairs and the bar I think may have been called the Veranda bar originally. It was busy and I could not believe how friendly the Aussies were as I had only dealt with Americans and English passengers but drink beer I had not seen anything like it. The beer of the day was Fosters, VB, and KB and was referred to as a tube or tinny and expressions like shooting the tube. The Aussies would puncture the can at the bottom and drink the whole can off in one go as it was under pressure. I think I finished the first night at midnight absolutely buggered after all the travelling and found my way to my cabin and had a few beers with the lads. The next day we had to tick on at 9.00am as in our bar we did coffee service from about 10.00am until 11.00am, it was a great day I had been up early and had breakfast in the crew mess and then went up on deck. The Oronsay pitched a little as we were on our way to New Zealand and the stretch of water is known to be a little rough The Tasman Sea. My hours of work varied but I did about 9.00am until 2.00pm and then back on at about 5.00pm till bar close that was about 1.00am so it wasn’t too bad. In the afternoon was naptime after lunch or I would go on crew deck that was at the forward end and sun bake and read, as this was a common thing to do. Getting used to Aussies was easy as they were a great laugh as any crew member will tell you after the Americans and good old Brits except they talked very fast and I had to listen real hard. During the trip I met some wonderful passengers and got to know all their drinking habits and who tipped, the only downfall of Aussie cruising they did not tip very well. I got to know the cocktail list well as at that time Brandy Alexander, Brandy Crusta, Crème de menthe frappe, and for the Aussies Cheery Advocaat was big and Fluffy Duck. I must admit beer was big on the menu and it had to be cold, coldie and they all brought with them an insulated beer can holder to keep it cold. Social life was good on Oronsay and we made our own fun as soon as I was settled, party in the cabin nearly every night was sometimes hard to keep up but I had learnt to sleep through anything especially on top bunk. The guys in the cabin worked in a few different bars and some finished really late so it was busy especially trying to get dressed sometimes you had to stay in your bunk until the next person changed but got it worked out perfectly after a few days. My first Christmas at sea I still could not believe it was great baking hot, in our bar they had all the cabarets and shows and there was a Christmas cabaret show which was really popular with passengers. We were busy at the bar as expected but I worked with a guy from Liverpool and we were extremely organised and had the room boxed off well. There were a lot of parties in our cabin, which was against all rules, and we smuggled passengers down very carefully. If you got caught it was a recorded warning and you had to go in front of the Purser and Staff Captain (all very Navy). We nearly got caught a few times but we were too smart and we knew the right people sometimes it cost in all sorts of ways. The first cruise we visited Auckland which was a beautiful harbour and we docked downtown so it was only a 10 min walk into town, I remember Auckland as it was like stepping back in time with all the old cars. One can never forget the accent of a New Zealander as it has a strange slang but I bet my accent was funny too at the time! I had a friend back home and their friend lived in NZ so I hopped on a bus and went to visit them in the countryside it was beautiful. As lots of people had told me I had never seen so many sheep. Well my voyage went on visiting Suva, which was in Fiji, drinking Fiji bitter in the local bars and staggering back to the ship as we spent some overnights and also late sailings midnight. My trip ended in South Africa as we did some trips to the Indian Ocean, which was really good, another crew change in the Feb 75. It had been a busy 4 months and I was now used to Oronsay and how hectic a life it had been especially how much a fun ship it had been with the Aussies and I was ready for a break but intended to return after my leave ended. | 
