Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1955-04-05
u OUR
"a TOWN

OF SCOTLAND" MAR. 81 -
Life is full of wonderful sur
prises. AT Pier 95, New York,
TO see us off were my grand
American wife, Peggy; Mrs.
Cass Speasmaker; Mr.. and
Mrs. A. K. Frost of Hartford,
Conn; Bob and Clyone Den
yes; Jack Denyes and his wife;
and John Sisson, OF Columbus.
AS Jackie Gleason says, 1T
was a good group" Bob Den
yes presented us with box of
dramamine pills and a bottle
of stuff made by somebody's
old grandfather which is said
to cure anything from seven
year itch to water on the brain.
1t is an exciting thing to have
friends see you off and we are
very grateful. Too, we had
kilograms from many friends
plus a clever gift from the
Converse Girls" Maggie and
Francesi Yes, il was a fine
goodbye and both Sam and l
smile when we think about it.
And so, at the "All ashore
that's going ashore" the tugs
took charge of this 26,O0O ton
vessel bound for Liverpool via
Halifax. Standing at the rail-,
we waved to our friends until
they were out of sight - and
with lump in our throats. No
use kidding about it, you DO
get a lump in your throat!
This ship is as clean as a
hounds tooth. Although of Ca
madam registry, the crew is
primarily English. According
to my man, Whiteside, our
bedroom steward, the Scot
land" has been cruising in the
warm climes of the Caribbean
and Mediterranean since last
January 9Th. The crew MEM
bers are all excited over the
prospect of getting home for
the frs time in three months.
Our Accommodations are fine
and the food is great. A high
ball costs, as the English say,
two and three" meaning two
shillings and three pence, or
about 80 cents in our money.
Our Stateroom is more than
ample in size and has all the
conveniences of home-and a
couple of things not found at
home. These include one large
porthole and a bed you can't
fall out of!
The passenger list includes
people from New Zealand,
Australia, Canada, Great Brit
ain, France, Italy, Spain and
points east. All are friendly,
affable and gay. Much conver-
sation on all topics.
Rough weather today with a
35-mile gale blowing. Sam and
I. hale and hearty with nary
twinge of you-know-what.
This ship is a seaworthy one.
Before World War II she was
on the 'Vancouver-Japan run,
but since that time, has sailed
from Montreal and New York.
In 1851, she carried their Roy
al Highnesses, Princess Eliza
beth and the Duke OF Edln-
burgh from Newfoundland to
Liverpool. Captain Duggan and
his crew are very proud OF
this fact. There is a beautiful
framed testimonial. hanging IN
the main lounge which bears
this out.
Sam Robson and / have
been seated in the dining room
with two gentlemen OF wide
and unusual experience. Mr..
Paetow lives in Toronto, Can
ada. and is of German-Polish
parentage. Mr.. Paterson IS
from Arbroath in Scotland. He
is 100 percent Scot and eats
Haggis, which tastes like boil
ed cardboard. Haggis is lot
of stuff contained in the stom-
ach of a sheep. Haggis is ter
rible. but Mr.. Paterson is
grand. He has a sly wit when
we find most disarming. We
all like Mr.. Paterson very
much. Sam is learning as much
as possible about Scotland
since his mothers family, the
Riddles, came from Edinburgh
originally.
Money exchange is already a
problem, and now we nave
added Canadian money, whlch
has denominations like ours,
but is worth a little more.
Both American and Canadian
money values are based on the
decimal system. English money
denominations are based on
pure madness, it seems.
The Scotland" is a luxury
ship and has an inside swim
ming pool with warm water
and a lot of warm children
bobbing about in it. The food
is superb and we think oil jim
Murtaugh and Norman Jones
each time we take -senu IN
hand.
Like | already said, the
weather is rough, but the sun
is out and the running sea Is
loo,,tif,,l in the sunlight. Sam