My mate walks into a pub.....

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My mate met this Bloke in a pub, he was 84 years old....

it happened this afternoon. he had finished work and gone for a drink. standing at the bar was a well dressed elderly gentlemen who had just ordered his 3rd drink which comprised a glass of red wine with a tea maria, some kind of brandy and a shot of vodka !!!! the drink itself cost about £10 a go. the landlord is a friend of ours.

they got talking, my friend and this old chap - who told him he didnt smoke anymore and had finished with sex "..its a bit like playing snooker with a rope.."

then he went on to tell him he had been working on a passenger liner around the outbreak of war in 39, travelling between New York and the Bahamas. at some point in the coming years the liner was commisioned by the US Military for a troop ship carrier. On its way to 'somewhere' it was torpedoed and went down with all hands. (..maybe the history buffs at subsim could 'clarify' this ?..)

the old boy joined the merchant navy, at some point, and on his way over to Liverpool he was torpedoed too - and all hands took to lifeboats. apparently....and i say this with caution because it is a contentious point, they all witnessed the sub rising to surface and the crew began to machine gun the survivers. alot of them were shot dead but the old boy and his lifeboat got away with a few others....(..possible late part of war - but Donitz did not issue this order from Hitler, said it would be bad for morale and the image of the Navy etc - i beleive...)

i was not there, in the pub, whish i had been though. even with my meagre knowledge i could have at least flushed him out with a few dates and names of boats - joined a few dots and weighed it all up.

my friend knows about my love all things U Boat - i drive him nuts with all the history and SH3, when we work together. he said he was cursing because i was not there to try and substantiate it all in some way.

any thoughts on these stories from this afternoon would be greatly appreciated.

now i'm off for a pint down The Albion...