Right hi folks! Where was I? Oh yes down the smoke!

Next we trained it to Portsmouth where amongst other things we managed to get lost trying to find HMS Nelson which is where I did my dental nurse and dental hygienist training at the Royal Naval Dental Training school which isn't there any more! We managed to find it eventually after walking all round Southsea and Portsmouth We couldn't go in obviously but the entrance with the gate house hadn't changed a bit and it brought back so many memories.

We took a tour ound HMS Victory which was about my 4th time, Gray had been wanting to do it for years and he thoughrely enjoyed it. He was fasinated. Years ago there you to be naval matelots showing you round but now it's civilians I suspect volunteers. They used to say Admiral Nelson died on the ship but they don't think so. He certainly was fatally injured on the ship during the battle of Trafalger.  

http://www.hms-victory.com/index.php This wesite tells you all about kit and it's history.

We also wet around HMS Warrior which I hadn't done before.

http://www.hmswarrior.org/

It was the first ship to be made of iron and was the pride of Queen Victoria's fleet.t

Another highlight for me was seeing my old friend Jayne. I lived in Plymouth for 6 years after leaving the navy and Jayne was a really good friend while I was there. I was very sad to leave Plymouth, I love the place. I t was my first draft in the Navy. When I was 15 I went on a Youth Hosteling holiday and saw Plymouth for the first time and fell in love with it then. I promised myself I'd live there one day and hey presto I did! I had to move eventually as it was in the time of Maggie Thatcher the destroyer! My work days were dwindling and I live in a slummy awful flat in West Hoe which was in a lovely location but was the pits and cheap! I wanted to buy my own little place but property prices there were prohibitive. My mum told me there was a full time job going near them in Birmingham and I could live with them while I got back on my feet. I very reluctantly arranged for the removals and dragged myself to Plymouth rail station to catch the train to Brum. http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/leisureandtourism/tourismandvisitors.htm

Jayne and I kept in touch for a while, I was even her Cheif Bridesmade when she married her husband Ian who was a Naval officer at the time ( a pig as we used to call them!) and he wore his ceremonial uniform with his sword! I visited Jayne in Plymouth and she visited me in Brum. After a few years or so they moved and she sent me her new address and phone number which eventually got lost and sadly we lost touch for years. Then about a year ago while I was recovering from my brast cancer treatment I had a phone call out of the blue and it was my old friend! She had found my phone number on a piece of paper! I've been trying to get her to use facebook to keep in touch and so has her son Tim but Jayne isn't very computer literate but she managed to video skype me! 

Gray and myself met Jayne off the train from Portchester after she'd finished work and we went to a pub at the gun wharf for drinks, meal and lots of talking! It was so good to see my old friend again!

I'm going to publish this for now until later as I have a load to do. It's my day off and we've got a friend coming to lay a wood floor in one room and the hall on Monday and Tuesday and the room has very full book shelves in it so it's got to be emptied!

HMS Victory

                                   HMS Warrior

                                          With my good friend Jayne.

                   Nice Real Ale!

Shivering down the Smoke!