As we approach Christmas, my thoughts often turn to the normal stuff we do at Christmas, what did we do last year? What did we do in 2010? 1984? What did our forebears do in 1876 .. family traditions .. love ‘em. I guess you all have some …
The Royal Navy is rammed full of traditions, most of which have their roots in something Nelson did, even the way the RN salute is different to the Army and RAF as (apparently) the senior officers / big wigs did not want to see filthy hands so the palm was turned towards the fore-head .. no idea if its true but its certainly a tradition that has become the norm.
One of the traditions that is still practised is the daily ceremonies of Colours and Sunset. This is basically where we raise the Ensign in the morning and lower it again at sunset (or as we used to say lets go and say good night to the Queen). There is a whole ceremony involving marching / saluting / specific commands etc. When alongside in a port this is overseen and conducted by the Officer Of The Day (OOD). Very often the Captain will come to the flight deck and stand behind the OOD and it better be done correctly, spot on time or the OOD will be summoned to the Captains cabin on completion! Its taken very seriously.
One day in Plymouth I was OOD. All was ready, the rest of the team were in their correct places, I was stood at ease facing the empty ensign staff, flag ready to be hoisted. I felt rather than heard the Captain come onto the Flight Deck and stand behind me. Part of the ceremony is to ring the ships bell 8 times with a slight pause between each pair ‘ding ding … ding ding … ding ding … ding ding’ . The Leading Seaman who was to the ring the bell marched out to me and said ‘Sir, we have a problem’ ‘What?’ ‘Someone’s nicked the clapper out of the bell’. ‘Just sort it Leader’ replies I. A minute later after the Command ‘Make it so’ from me I heard the Leading Seaman shout in a gruff voice ‘dinger dinger … dinger dinger … ‘ I thought he may use a screwdriver or something. No. He said dinger dinger 4 times. Lets just say I was summoned to the Captains Cabin.
Thing with traditions is that they can actually become the main thing, the tradition itself becomes so important that we lose sight of what we are actually doing it for. It’s like that at Christmas isn’t it ? We always open our presents before church .. we always have a turkey .. Grandad always has a whisky before dinner … Aunt Mabel always has a sherry whilst cooking lunch .. we always watch the Queens Speech. There is nothing wrong with these things per se, but when they become more important than the whole story of Christmas, the message of hope come to earth in the form of a baby, then somethings come wrong somewhere!
So with a few weeks to go before Christmas (its called ‘advent’ of course) it’s the perfect time to look again at traditions and routines that we may have and put them into a right perspective with the whole message of the Christmas story … Jesus born that he may save us from our selves. Did it really matter that the Leading Seamen said ‘dnger dinger’? No, it didn’t, the ship still functioned that day, it did not effect our capability in any way … it was just a tradition.

Image Credit: Nikola Jelenkovic

I am remembering Ian. Ian was a mate who I served with in the Royal Navy. Ian died on 25 May 1982 when HMS Coventry was bombed and sunk during the Falklands conflict. Ian was 21, Ian and I had been ‘run ashore oppos’ for a couple of years going to rock gigs in Portsmouth and Southampton on his motorbike. I was 6 months ahead of him in my RN career, so I had left my ship by the time the Falklands conflict happened, but he was still at sea, and ‘is still on patrol’. Subsequently I have twice laid wreaths over the wreck of the Coventry and yes there was a sense of guilt that his body lay at the bottom of the sea and I was continuing my life (the last time I laid a wreath was some 26 years after his death, but it was no easier … I’m not convinced that ‘time is a healer’). I will be remembering Ian.
Maybe it’s a grandfather, or great uncle killed in the 2nd WW, or Korea or any one of the dozens of conflicts and wars that the British military have been involved in since the end of WW2. Some of these conflicts have been controversial (Iraq, Ireland, and Afghanistan for example), and that brings different challenges thinking about why it happened at all. Who are you remembering?
Or maybe you don’t actually know anyone personally who has been killed in conflict. Then how about friends who have served and are suffering with PTSD? We recently watched the Invictus games and were proud to see an ex RN Medic competing, who had been part of our housegroup. Whilst serving in Afghanistan with the Royal Marines she had been called to treat two Commandos who had been involved in an IED explosion. Neither survived. She was wracked with guilt and Invictus is helping her on the road to recovery. Who are you remembering? I will be remembering Ian … and Faith.
Or maybe it’s a wife or children of someone serving today who is left on their own for months at a time … that too is sacrifice. A widow or child left orphaned … that too is sacrifice. Who are you remembering?
Maybe it’s a member of your church, or the old fella who nurses a pint in the pub who served and has nothing but memories. Maybe it’s a doctor who has served in Afghanistan and now works in your GP surgery. Maybe it’s the homeless guy who sells the Big Issue, torn apart with survivor guilt after his patrol was blown up in Afghanistan. Who are you remembering?
Maybe it’s the policeman who suffers from flashbacks, or the paramedic who saw horrific things at an RTA … one of my shipmates Barry was killed in an RTA on the way home from the ship one evening, that does not make his sacrifice any less than others. I will be remembering Ian, and Faith and Barry …
Remembrance day is about remembering those who have made sacrifices for their country, in times of war and peace. Yes the focus is on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice but I am sure we all know someone who has made or is still making sacrifices for others. Who will you be remembering?
If you just can’t think of anyone personally … then remember Jesus. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice … for all of us when he died on the cross.
Greater love has no one than this – than to lay down his life for his friends.
Who will you be remembering? I am remembering Ian, Faith, Barry and …
Image Credit: James Harris

Fake news everything is fake news … been reflecting on this a bit recently and thinking about the subject of ‘dits’ .. a ‘dit’ is naval parlance for a ‘story’ all of which are based on fact … some of course more so than others, but that’s what a good dit should be … in fact Jesus spun dits (you civvies call them parables) and these were not actually true … they were stories made up to make a point.
When in the Royal Navy I used to love the pipes (or broadcasts) that were often made from the gangway when the ship arrived in a foreign port … ‘Jack Blair, naval tailor, is now in attendance on the jetty’. (Jack Blair was the approved tailors where you got your Number 1 uniform fitted, medals sewn on and you could buy terrible run ashore civvies as well – they had shops in all main UK base ports and vans that visited the ships when alongside). Anyway the pipe would be made when arriving alongside in downtown Dar Es Salam or somewhere and of course some young lad would appear at the gangway to pick up his Number 1 uniform that he forget to get before he left UK …. not a true pipe … Jack Blair’s van was not on the jetty, fake news!
As a Divisional Officer (DO) all I ever wanted was for the lads and lasses in my care to tell the truth. Like the lad who was up in front of the skipper after a mass raid on the Junior Rates messes resulted in about 40 bottles of illicit Pussers Rum bought in Antigua being confiscated. There was no mitigation. They were all guilty. Simple. However at the Captains table (where the Captain ‘tried’ sailors who were on a charge and dealt out punishments etc), after they were marched in in groups of 4 (there were so many of them up on the same charge!), when asked if anyone had anything to say, this young lad said ‘Yes Sir’. As his DO my heart sunk … what is he going to say? He will drop himself in it even more! He then spun this ‘dit’ about his Dad being ex RN and the rum was for him. The skipper called his bluff and said that he would keep a bottle back for his dad. When we got back into Guzz (Plymouth) after the deployment the skipper actually presented dad with this bottle of rum … Dad was indeed ex RN and thought this whole thing was brilliant! It was the truth … his dad was expecting the rum … great ending to this dit (and completely true!!!!!!)!
Truth is very much in the public eye at the moment with the constant claims about lies and ‘fake news’. Very often one man (or womans!) word against another, slightly ambiguous evidence, dodgy character references etc etc … who do we believe? Going back a bit further there were the recent tragic revelations about Jimmy Saville … who lived a lie all his life … and no-one believed the true allegations from the victims … all is not what it seems on the surface.
So how are you at presenting the truth to those around you? Does your outward appearance show the real you? Are you living some kind of lie to those around you? Pretending to be something you know deep down isn’t who you really are or want to be? Sometimes we can even keep this stuff from those closest to us and when asked ‘how are you?’ reply ‘fine’ … when actually that is fake news and we are not fine at all.
So what does the Bible have to say about truth? What is it challenging us to do?
In Matthew Ch 5 v 38 Jesus is recorded as saying this: ‘You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.’
Well that’s easy isn’t it? If you are struggling with ‘living a lie’ do try and find someone you can trust to open up to and begin to reveal the real you … where your yes means yes and your no means no. When deployed away from home there were always guys who did not want to go on a traditional ‘run ashore’ but pretended they did due to peer pressure .. not being true to themselves. If someone presented an alternative run ashore (ie bit of sightseeing, meal, back on board) they were happy because that was really what they wanted to do .. but often needed someone to give them ‘permission’ to be true to themselves. Jesus gives us all that opportunity to be true to who we were created to be …

I dunno about you but I think music is a great medium that unites people. I used to play in bands on nearly every RN ship I served in and whenever the band played on board, at a flight deck function or ashore in a local bar or hotel, the ships company always supported us (if only to extract the michael) but we were THEIR band and that is what was important, we were part of the community which was the ships company (much the same as non-rugby fans would go and watch the ships rugby team play).
Early on in my world wide touring schedule (which the RN kindly facilitated by frequent overseas deployments) I was the either the rhythm guitarist or the roadie! No real pressure, just help get the kit on and off the ship to the hotel or bar along with the other guys. Then get it all back on my own as the rest of the band went on the lash. You can’t beat trying to lower a PA, keyboard and drum kit over the side of a Type 22 frigate into a boat to get ashore whilst at anchor. And even better getting it back on board on your own with a boat load of ‘high spirited’ sailors at midnight … character building.
Anyway during the mid 1990s I was lucky enough to be on one of the last of the ‘old school’ deployments to the West Indies before they became all about chasing drug smugglers etc … we visited about 15 idyllic islands in 6 months and endured a two week stand off in Barbados in the middle. During this period one of our guys arranged for the ships band (called ‘The Bollards’ … what else … ) to play at a large nightclub venue on the Island. The place was packed out with ships company, tourists and locals. We were just an average ships band. With a limited set list. There was a local guy running the PA desk (I think he just turned the bass up and that was it!) and our mate who normally did the sound for us was stood by him. All was going OK, good reaction from the crowd. Now, as it was a West Indies tour we had obviously included a Bob Marley song (No woman no cry) this had gone down well on board, so we kept it to the end of the set. As our singer, a Brummy Leading hand, introduced it, the guy running the PA desk leant across to our mate and said ‘If they ‘muck’ this up, I will kill them’. Now obviously we did not know about this rather looming tragedy as we played and managed to pull it off .. but here’s the thing, we were not aware of the threat hanging over us … if we didn’t get it right there would be a consequence … and he was a big bloke!
As a Christian I believe that there is a consequence for going our own way and disregarding God – ie making a mess of this life that he has given us by doing our own thing. Much like the PA engineer, if we had disregarded the essence of the original song and turned it into a heavy metal song, rather than a reggae classic, there would have been a consequence! We all disregard God .. it’s in our nature … BUT the difference is that God has made the consequence clear to us rather than whisper it to someone once we have started making a mess of it all … Jesus is our example of the way God wants us to live, and that is recorded in the Bible. Jesus is not only our example but also our way back to God, so we can avoid the consequence of going our own way.
Room for one more little story from that night in Barbados … we played ‘Don’t look back in anger’ by Oasis. As I ended the solo, I had developed the routine of jumping up in the air … a bit ‘Pete Townshend-y’. So up I jumped, but I landed on one of my effects pedals, fell backwards, knocked my amplifier over and fell off the back of the stage … the rest of the band couldn’t play for laughing ..
Oh yeah .. sorry … nearly forgot to mention what the consequence is. The Barbadian guy actually had that right .. the consequence for us in disregarding God, is the same as messing up a Bob Marley song in his eyes .. … death ….. can’t really put it any other way .. death and eternal separation from God … but if we get it right and play the song correctly as it was meant to be played, then God will see us through into eternal life have a chat with a vicar / minister / pastor etc or your local friendly God squad member (you will recognise them from the sandals and socks we all wear).

Image Credit: John Raptis

Well it’s the Easter season already, that annual celebration of chocolate and bunny rabbits … reminds me of once when the ship was deployed over Easter, so I decided to show the film ‘The Passion of The Christ’ (Mel Gibsons epic film, which was quite graphic in its portrayal of Jesus suffering). I thought I’d show it on Good Friday whilst we were at sea, seemed appropriate to me. Anyway I put some posters up around the ship, to let the lads know it was happening. One lad saw me in the passageway and said ‘Chief, why are you showing a horrible film like that on Good Friday ?” …. I was about to explain when another older Leading Hand who was with the lad cuffed him round the ear and said’ Don’t you worry Chief, I will sort him’ …
The ship had been taking part in a NATO operation called ‘Autumn Train’ where we exercised a major resupply of Norway, during the Cold War (this was in the mid 1980s). This entailed bringing a huge convoy over from America. In amongst all the troop carriers, merchant ships, frigates and destroyers etc was one of the American massive old second war battle ships, USS Iowa … we were all in line astern, with us directly behind Iowa when she fired a broadside … it was an amazing sight with her 16 inch guns firing together, and the ship actually travelled sideways through the water such was the power of the guns. We then fired our single 4.5 inch gun … not quite the same effect . Anyway after we had conducted all the landings in Norway we went alongside in Bergen, there was ice in the harbour … someone had a great idea to do a sponsored swim for Ships Charities. So we all mustered on the upperdeck in our speedos (it was the 1980s after all), the scrambling net was over the side and the ships boats in the water ready to get everyone out of the icy sea. No one wanted to be first. I had this flash of inspiration that if I jumped in first then the boat would get me out of the water very quickly. So in I went, and virtually straight into the boat … then everyone else followed and had a longer wait in the water before being pulled out.
Back to that Good Friday film … many folk don’t really know what Easter is all about, they seriously think its about bunnies and chocolate, but it’s the culmination of Gods plan to sort us out, through Jesus death for us … taking our place for all the bad stuff we have done and giving us opportunity to sort out our relationship with God. If that still makes you none the wiser, why not come along to Church this Easter and find out? I recounted the story of jumping into the sea at Bergen because someone had to go first. If you are worried that if you go to Church your mates and your family might think you are a bit weird, sometimes we just have to go for it. If you are curious, wondering what its all about, then there is only really one way to find out and that’s jump in and give it a go, ask all those awkward questions … so why not get along to Church, google the real meaning of Easter (or something) on line, chat to your local vicar or anyone who goes to Church or drop us an e mail … Try and find out what Easter is really about … bunnies and chocolate are good … but that is NOT why its called GOOD Friday … it’s because as terrible as that day was, and Jesus really went through it, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter.

Image Credit: Aaron Burden

So … what are you like at saying ‘sorry’? Most blokes are not very good really, we just tend to get all introspective and mull it over and over and over and then maybe give a garbled ‘Sorry’ and then add ‘But … ‘ and go into some pathetically feeble reason why it was not really our fault at all. Well, I do anyway.
When I was maintainer of the operations Room Command System on HMS Beaver (a type 22 Frigate) back in the late 1980s I had a bit of a run in with another Chief who was the guy who was in charge of the team who operated the kit that I maintained. He just kept winding me up …. he was just trying to provoke a reaction from ‘the Christian’ .. been there? When you just know someone is trying to get you to flash … well I held it together for quite a while and didn’t bite. But then one day he was right in my face saying that the kit was not working properly and how could he do his job when the kit was badly maintained etc etc. I lost it.
Stood in the middle of the Operations with the Captain sat in his chair, about 12 other operators working there and I just let rip at this guy. Was not good. As I shouted at him (without swearing I must say in my defence) I could see this wry little smile appear across his face … he was happy he had made me crack. I stormed off out of the Operations Room down the ladder into the computer room and just sat there seething. As I started to calm down a bit I started feeling a bit embarrassed and not sure what to do … when I felt this little voice saying ‘Go and apologise and ask him to forgive you’ … my instant reaction ? You’re having a laugh. But this thought would not go away … so that’s what I did. Back up to the Ops Rom, and in front of everyone apologised. I apologised for my reaction .. NOT for what I said because I had not said anything that I regretted, simply how I said (or shouted!) it all. This broke this other fella, he just did not know how to react .. he mumbled ‘OK’ or something and went and sat down. The Captain gave me a little nod of the head as I walked off .. he never said anything about it but that nod said it all to me – I had done the right thing and cleared the air.
Saying sorry is not always easy, asking for forgiveness is taking that a step further … it doesn’t have to be as dramatic as my scenario, but we all do stuff that is wrong and upsets those nearest and dearest to us. It is so important that we do not just stew on it and then it all comes out later, try and deal with it straight away and clear the air.
As a Christian, forgiveness is at the very centre of my faith. Forgiveness from God for going my own way against the way He wants me to live. That is called sin … and it’s only God who can forgive that sin. Just like I needed the Chief in the Ops Room to forgive me to clear the air, I need God to forgive me for when I get stuff wrong. And the only reason that can happen is because Jesus took all my ‘sins’ (bad stuff etc) when he had done nothing wrong. (That’s what we remember specifically next month at Easter) BUT even though he did that, I still have to recognise I foul up, say sorry and ask for forgiveness. Then and only then do I know that sense of peace that comes from God … just like I knew the Captain had seen and appreciated what had happened.
If you are reading this and not quite sure about it all and want to find out a bit more about what forgiveness, why not plan in a visit to a Church over Easter … hear the story of Jesus death and resurrection again and maybe even consider the place of Jesus and God in your life … what’s to lose?

Image Credit: Jan Erik Waider

I was enjoying a weeks ‘station leave’ whilst the ship was alongside in Mombasa in Kenya during a stand down from a busy ‘Armilla’ patrol in the Arabian Gulf during the Iran / Iraq war in the 1980s. We had spent a few months escorting tankers in convoys through the Straits of Hormuz. The SOH are a ‘chokepoint’ at the entrance to the Gulf from the Indian Ocean. All shipping has to transit the SOH and at that time had to pass within range of the Iranian ‘Silk Worm’ missile batteries on shore. There was an international operation in place to escort ships along this dangerous route. At this stage I was the maintainer for the ships’ (a type 22 frigate) main command system computer, which was the system that drove the Operations room and integrated weapons systems, so without it we were essentially not able to fulfil our role.
So, we were all very much ready for this down time in Mombasa, we had spent much of the previous three months in ‘Defence Watches’ – 6 hours on 6 hours off. There were two of us responsible for the Command System, and we each had a week off whilst in Mombasa – there was a lot of deep maintenance to be done that we could only conduct alongside.
So, I had the first week off, stayed ashore in a hotel, swam, chilled and headed back on board on the Friday evening ready for a weeks work before heading back up to the Gulf. I was met with a very stressed out opposite number, and an even more stressed out boss! The system had been fully working when I left … now it was completely dead. Nothing. It wouldn’t even power up let alone process data for the displays up in the Operations room! There were spares strewn everywhere in the computer room and as far as I could see no real logic as to what was being done, the problem had just grown too big, and without the basic things in place my opposite number had lost any real logical thinking.
Life can get like that can’t it? Problems seem massive and we lose all sense of proportion and don’t think straight, and it all just gets worse and worse and seems insurmountable. I sent my mate off on his weeks leave, put the system back together (it didn’t work!) and then started from scratch, looking for the root cause and chasing it through logically. After several long days and about 60 defective units I got it all up and running again (well most of it, some spares had to be flown out from the UK). But I had to go back to the very root problem (it was a series of fuses that had gone during a main power failure and blown numerous power supplies and printed circuits).
When life all closes in and you can’t see the root cause sometimes its best to step away for a bit and start with fresh eyes, the symptoms often mask the root problem! In this case my mate had to let someone else in to help … and that was yours truly. As a Christian I believe that the root cause of our challenges in life is down to the fact that we are not following Gods ways for us … we need to sort that out to get a fighting chance at life! And the person we have to bring in to help is Jesus. Of course it doesn’t mean that all the issues are suddenly sorted out. When I found the fuse problem I could then get power back up and start to look at all the other snags that had been caused as well, but my mate had tried to fix all those other snags before identifying the main cause.
If you are facing challenges in life, relationships, family, secret addictions, work, money etc etc, it may help to shift target away from the difficulty itself and look at your relationship with God. If you are a Christian, how is that relationship? Are you spending any time with Him? Are you meeting up with other Christians? Reading the Bible etc? If you are not a Christian, it would be worth investigating the claims of Christianity a bit more. From my experience once you get back to the root and sort that relationship with God out then you will be in a better place to begin to work through the symptoms … As for my fault-finding I still had some long days and head scratching in front of me after I had sorted those fuses … and had to get some bits flown out, so it was not an instant cure, but we got it sorted and were back up and operational by the time we got back to sea. Phew.

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Marta Pawlik

The world seems to be getting more and more unsettled, so much conflict and distress right across the world. I don’t know about you but often I find myself thinking that it’s all spiralling out of control and that actually there is nothing I can do, and that puts me way out of my comfort zone. Most of us have experiences that take us out of our comfort zone, things that we just do not know how to handle or stuff that we have to do in life that we just do not feel comfortable with but has to be done … like flying in helicopters ….
For two years during my time in the Navy I was a member of the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) staff based in Plymouth. The closest I can think of in civilian terms would be OFSTED for ships! Ships would come to FOST for 4 to 6 weeks to get trained up in all basic aspects of running a warship, including fire fighting, damage control and of course all the various aspects of a ships operational tasking. So there were Air Defence exercises, anti submarine work, replenishment at sea, man overboard exercises, basically anything that a ship could ever be asked to do we were trained in and then of course inspected! I was a Weapons Engineer so used to look at the ships equipment and see that it was working properly and well maintained etc. We would join the ships normally in Plymouth Sound by a boat transfer, but quite often we would have to fly out to join the ship further out at sea. Now this is where I rapidly came out of my comfort zone.
We had to undergo the ‘Dunker’ training. This was basically a simulator where we had to learn and practice escape drills in case of an aircraft ditch at sea. The final run was in the dark and the simulator turned upside down as it entered the water. I did not enjoy this at all. Then came the routine flying. Mostly we would take off from a helo pad at Plymouth airport and land on the flight deck of whichever ship we were working on. Every time I got in the aircraft I did not feel comfortable, thinking back to my training I just felt that if we did crash it was the end – not a hope of getting out in my opinion! Now, occasionally we would require to be winched down to the ship.
We were working with a Norwegian ship, me and my mate had to go onboard overnight to cover an anti submarine exercise. This ship was basically a flat bottomed patrol craft designed for operating in the Norwegian fjords, not the choppy waters of the English channel; in any kind of swell she rolled like a pig and had no flight deck. As we approached I was first on the winch wire and sat on the edge of the open door waiting to be winched down. The air crewman who was supervising tapped me on the shoulder and pointed down at the ship … where I saw one of the guys waiting to be winched up being violently sea sick over the side … I really did not want to go, was way out of my comfort zone… the air-crewman smiled and started to winch me down. Lets just say it was not a pleasant night.
Life very often takes us out of our comfort zone… the Bible talks about God being there for us at all times, he doesn’t say that everything will be great and we will always feel comfortable. What he does say is that he will be there with us when we are dangling on the end of the winch wire, or whatever it may be that takes us into that uncomfortable or unknown place. Thing is God doesn’t want us to feel uncomfortable… the Bible tells the story of a guy called Joshua who God called to lead the people of Israel, but he really did not feel up to the task, felt totally inadequate… and questioned God… but God said this to him …
Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”
And he went on to lead his nation in amazing ways … so although he still had to continue in the task that he felt was beyond him, he trusted that God would be with him and give him the strength he needed for what lay ahead… give it a go … ask God to be with you in your journey… the well known Psalm 23 (which begins ‘The Lords my shepherd’) also says this…
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Until next time… Cheers and blessings

Image Credit: NASA

In the course of our conversations with guys we come into contact with a lot of guys who have problems with addictions, normally alcohol or porn, but also drugs and other stuff too … including gambling. These things have an effect on a bloke of course, but not only on the individual also they have a massive knock on effect to family and friends. What you put into your life / body has an effect …
The ship had been deployed to the South Atlantic, and had come back via South America, the Panama canal and America, Boston to be precise … tough ay? As usual we took on fuel before we left to head back across the Atlantic to Plymouth. We were a couple of days out of America enjoying a reasonably calm crossing, just tidying up the final bits and pieces ready for the return to the UK and leave after a 7 month deployment. Thoughts were turning to home … when there was a loud bang and the ship stopped in the water. I was actually on the upper deck when this happened, and it had all the indications of a blown engine. Now, that was not a common occurrence but it did happen, at least we would not have to conduct an engine change in a foreign port, we had three other main engines to get us back to the UK. The normal routine was to start another then look at what had happened. The second engine flashed up .. then very quickly there was a second bang … the engineers started a third and … yup, another bang. By this time the Senior Engineer had reached the Machinery Control Room and ‘suggested’ (reasonably forcibly) not starting the fourth engine …
So, here we were in the middle of the Atlantic with three knackered engines and no desire to risk the fourth! The engineers started their investigations and quickly realised that the common denominator was fuel, and when tested it came up as contaminated. Contaminated with water, thus the engines would not run. The fuel system consisted of several tanks that could be cross connected to feed part or all of the system… as we were in cruising state, and not at action stations, most of the valves were open, thus all the system was contaminated with the exception of one tank which was able to supply a diesel generator so we could maintain electrical supplies. So began the very laborious and time consuming task of ‘cleaning’ the fuel. The engineers were able to ‘strip’ the water from the fuel and produce enough to get the engine back up and running and get us to the Azores where the contaminated fuel was pumped out and replaced with clean fuel to get us back to the UK. The engines were actually OK and suffered no lasting damage.
So what’s that all about I hear you ask? Have a think about what you are putting into your life .. into your body … does your drinking effect the family …do you have a hangover and grumble at the kids? Do you watch porn and then have expectations / desires that your wife / husband or partner does not like ?? Maybe it’s a quick flutter at the bookies or a few spins on a Fixed Odds Betting Terminal … Sometimes this stuff creeps up on us … we thought the fuel was OK until the full effect became apparent .. and we ended up adrift for about 12 hours before we began to get the situation back under control. Thankfully we just caught it al before we were in real difficulties, it could have been a very different story if the whole system had been contaminated .. we could have needed a tug … if you are concerned that what you are putting in is having an effect on those around you, or your health etc do think about getting it sorted before its too late … make sure you are only putting ‘clean fuel’ in … there are lots of passages in the bible about looking after your body, dangers of alcohol, etc etc but I’m gonna give you this one about what we look at … it’s often said that the eye is the window of the soul … what you put in does have an effect … don’t leave it too late to make changes!
 “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!”
(for those who are interested that is from what is called the Sermon on the Mount … Matthew Chapter 6 v 22/23).
To read more about keeping you body fit and free from any addictions, check out Code VI from The Code.

Image Credit: Christian Allard

New Year. Another one. 2017. Already. Any hopes? Dreams? Challenges? Resolutions? Plans?
Of course we have no idea what lies ahead, we can make plans we can prepare for stuff but no-one actually knows for sure whether any of it will actually happen ..
I am not sure how far ahead you all make plans, but one of the strong points in the Navy was planning (I know that will sound contradictory to any of you who served in the forces!). Now, I’m not talking about day to day planning really, more mid to long term planning. We always knew the ship’s outline programme for the next couple of years, and then increasing amounts of details down to the next day … and then there would be specific instructions detailing the actual exercise or visit or whatever it was. Generally the very long term plan stayed the same … ie when we would be deployed or on a certain exercise, but it was that actual day or the next that kept changing … the old saying ‘A plan is simply a basis for change’ springs to mind … we also used another saying as well … the 6 ‘P’s – Prior Planning Prevents ‘Pretty’ Poor Performance. There is nothing wrong with planning, but how tight do we hold onto our plans? How does it affect us when something changes and we have to alter or shelve our plans? How flexible are we?
I remember once we had been on an anti-submarine patrol and had been away from our base port for about 6 weeks, and every weekend the Captain had planned in a flight deck BBQ but we were either engaged on operations, or the helo was flying, weather was bad and the BBQ had been cancelled every weekend. The lads were getting a bit fed up of this change in plan every week! So on the final Saturday before we got back to our base port of Plymouth the Captain insisted that we have the BBQ whatever was going on. It was raining, it was blowing a gale and the ship was pitching and rolling. But would the Captain change his mind? No. We had the BBQ .. and it was .. er … interesting (had to lash the BBQ drums down to prevent them flying around, and the guys cooking were all in full foul weather clothing, and the lads basically ate in the hanger and just went straight back to their messes. It was a disaster). So sometimes we can stick to a plan when really we shouldn’t!
New Year is often when we start thinking about plans or resolutions, things that are going to happen or we are going to do (who has ever taken a gym membership out and not lasted beyond March???). The thing with being a Christian and what I would call ‘Gods plan’ is that it does not revolve around tomorrow … it is basically focussed on today! You can’t change what happened yesterday, and you don’t now what will happen tomorrow .. so it’s all about today .. there is a verse in the Bible that says this :

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
(Matthew 6 v 34 – the Message version).

I love that … I’m not saying that we shouldn’t think about stuff that we are planning, but how tight do we hold onto that plan? If we are journeying with God the second part of that quote is great … God will help you deal with the hard things that come up … the changes, the curved balls.
So, at the start of the New Year why not make a resolution to make plans, but hold them lightly … and when things happen that throws our plans out the window, allow God to help us through …
Until next time …. Cheers and blessings … and a very happy 2017!