A previously unpublished cartoon strip.
Fiddler’s Green was the seamens’ name for having a good time or an easy life, and the sentiments expressed by Abie just about cover what they hoped for. Often when in port, ‘ladies’ and ‘wives’ were allowed aboard, as it was unusual, on most ships, for the crewmen to be given shore leave, because of the risk of their desertion.
An unpublished cartoon, but recycled from December 2010.
In truth, not many seamen would sleep on deck in the cold weather – it was a tropical choice, usually – but at this time of year in England it seems more appropriate somehow.
Happy New Year to both my loyal fans (if you remember to come to this website) and to anyone else who stumbles in.
Cartoon strip first published in Warships IFR magazine in January 2012.
Even during the Napoleonic Wars ships often went into Arctic regions, usually to protect the whalers. And the North West Passage had still not been navigated (until Roald Amundsen in 1906). Nowadays, thanks to global warming, the NWP is open often enough for Canada to have decided to invest in an additional eight Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and another icebreaker, plus other support ships, just to protect her ‘new’ coastline.
Now, you may have missed the chance to buy some AB&OS merchandise for Christmas, but you could do it now. Remember it’s the only way Galf can recover some of the cost of this website, unless you choose to donate, of course.