A Submarine Weekend - kinda

Another weekend, another day acting as a guide on HMS ALLIANCE at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. The big turnout would seem to indicate that t was either a rainy day (it was), or that the summer holidays are almost here (they are); the 4 guides were taking a tour of 25 people through every 20 minutes.

This weekend I was able to cross the generations. It's always good to chat to the older, more experienced guides for it's always possible to learn something new about the boat (more in a later blog) but the tours often include other older submariners. This weekend I encountered a Chief Stoker from the modern day HMS VANGUARD,

HMS VANGUARD S28

HMS TAURUS P399

and an old salt who served on the previous T Class of submarines, and on X craft (Coincidentally, this article appears in today's Daily Mirror). Both were able to give me the benefit of their experience and that will enable me to give a better tour next time I'm there.

Then there's always the kids :) When you get the good ones, they are so curious and so well informed and they are a joy. Some do seem to have fairly gruesome ideas that involve either the destruction of the boat, or the world, or where is the dead body is kept if someone dies. Then you get the one who will cling to his mum with his cuddly toy and not even say hello. I'll take the former every time.

X24

Images from Wikipedia