PLYMOUTH - THE NATIVES ARE FRIENDLY
But back to my search for the God of my youth in the
churches of to-day. Why can I not find
the Christians to-day that I found in my youth. Have I changed? Of course,
I am not the wet behind the ears
youth I was then but is that it?. Has
God changed?. Is the message of the
gospel different from what it was back then.
Or has the people changed? I’m
back in Plymouth, so is it
Plymouth. Is it something in the water
that we drink down here.
It wasn't when I first came here, My early days in the Navy, even later when I came back to work for
Toshiba. I first came to Plymouth in
1965 to do my basic training in HMS Raleigh.
6 weeks later I was off to Chatham to do my profession training as a
Stores Accountant. The first few weeks
here I wasn't allowed out in case I ran back to mummy or those nasty ganners get you. The last couple of weeks at Raleigh though we were
let out at the weekends and I made my way to Plymouth Congress hall on a Sunday. A couple of years later I returned to join
HMS Salisbury and then came a posting to FMB (Fleet Maintenance Base) in the dockyard. As I was here now for a while I started
going to Devenport Morice Town Salvation Army. There I was welcomed with open arms. I told them I was a Salvationist and
played in the band and no one questioned it or suggested I had to attend the
meetings regularly for several months before being accepted or allowed to play in the band. They maybe should have done as soon as they
heard me play the baritone. At least
they had the sense to get me to play 2nd baritone. Good job there wasn't music for 3rd
or even 4th baritone. There
were 3 main families there at the time,
the Serles, Ponesfords and Cliffs plus a number of others whose names now
escape me. Everyone was warm friendly
and accepting. Of course as a young
man I threw myself with enthusiasm into everything that was happening and
there was a lot happening. Maybe that
is the difference, then a lot was happening and we were all encouraged to join
in. Now there seems little life to
throw oneself into. Most Saturdays the
lads seemed to find something to do together and almost always ended up back at
the Ponefords or Serles to watch Match of the Day. Sundays likewise there were three meeting
(Morning Holiness meeting, Afternoon Praise
meeting and then in the evening Salvation meeting) plus a couple of open
airs thrown in. After the evening meeting we would inevitably end up at the Ponefords or Serles for a bite to eat before
going home, me back to my ship. I did though notice that on my second or
third posting to the dockyard, Sunday
evenings suddenly had gone very quite.
Most if not all the gang were now married and some now had children, so
as soon as the evening meeting finished everyone rushed home to their
beloved ones and I was left hanging around asking myself "Do I really want to go
back to my ship this early in the evening." Apart from that nothing changed and I as usual was taken back to someone’s
home for lunch and again in the afternoon for tea. Alas there was no bite to eat at the end of
the day. Was getting too fat anyway.
Then there was Weymouth. Every Royal Navy ship after being ”re-commissioned” had to go to Portland for “Work-up” Training
and breaking in a new crew. This lasted for 6 weeks before it was deployed back into the Fleet. Whenever I could whilst there I’d spend Sunday at the Salvation Army in Weymouth. Being in the UK, we never wore uniform when
ashore on leave, so people wouldn't have known,
apart of course from the hair cut and the swaying from side to side
because the land wouldn't keep still.
Or was it because the land wouldn't keep moving up and down? The first Sunday I went to Weymouth Corp, the warmth and friendliness was overwhelming almost to embarrassment. First the almost ubiquitous question “Are you a Salvationist” followed as
quickly if the answer was yes “Do you play in the band?” Followed by "What instrument do you play" and before you
knew it an instrument is thrust in your hands and you are sitting in the
band. They never asked me to sing
though. Funny that, I can’t think why. I wonder if had anything to do with when I
opened my mouth. One this
occasion though not only did I get the usual questions, everyone or at least it seemed everyone
asked me back for lunch. I had made a
rule quite a while back, if asked I'd always accept the first person who asked and so I did. A sweet little old lady maybe but she didn't
look as if she had much going for her but it was kind of her, so I graciously
accepted. Then like I said, it seemed
as if everyone else either before or after the morning meeting also invited
me. I was sorely tempted to ungallantly
find the old dear and make some excuse so that I could accept what looked much
better offers. I resisted
the temptation and the day with her was much better than I could have imagined.
Similarly in Chatham,
like Plymouth there was also great hospitality and a keenness to draw me
into whatever was happening at the Army there. One little thing that always even now makes
me smile. At the youth club on a
Friday night, the leader was over 6 foot tall and just as broad. The first time I saw him leave the club, he
had put on a great big leather jacket,
trousers boots, and gloves
and carrying a large motor-bike helmet.
He must be a real hell’s angel I thought, you don’t want to mess with him. He then went round the corner mounted a
small 50cc moped and drove off down the land like the reverse of a pea on a big
bass drum. Then there was
Dundee. By this time I was married and
hospitality ceased. People those days
expected your wife to feed you. But
again the are you a Salvationist? Can
you play an instrument? Good, you are in
the band. This time though they needed a
band sergeant . A person who led the
devotionals at the end of the practice and who looked after the spiritual and
pastoral needs of the band members.
Would you like to take the job on.
Errrrr. I've only just arrived
and anyway I’ll be off again in a year or so. "So. What’s that got to do with
it. Will you take the job on or not?" So I did,
for 10 months until the Navy posted me back to Plymouth. I wonder what it would have been like if
the church then was like it is to-day.
Come and sit in the congregation for 6 or 9 months and show you are
committed to us. You are reliable, respectable and good character etc. I never was based anywhere in the
Navy for more than 18 months before Drafty sent me somewhere else. Nowadays I would hardly have got my feet
under the table before I was having to think of moving on. Sorry guys I know I've now proved I am
reliable etc but I’ll be moving on in a couple of months now.
Oh by the way, it
turned out I wasn't a Salvationist after all.
Shortly after I left Worksop to join the Navy,
someone thought it was a good idea to cancel my membership and
took me off the role. Didn’t find out
until someone had the bright idea of transferring my membership from
Worksop to Devonport . But that’s another
story in my quest to find out the difference between then and now.
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