The Mudmen Code,a potty history of Garston

I well remember that horrific voyage on the steam ship `Garstonia`.
The engines operated by steam from the boilers. I was engaged as Fireman watertender,. I am a decendent of Michael de Aspin, despatched in a horrible manner by one Jeffery de Glasse in the 17th century, I had fallen on hard times and the other distant relative, Julian, a decendent of Baron de Aspin, who ordered the termination of Michael , felt sorry for me and offered me a position on the `Garstonia`.
I was shovelling coal into fearsome furnaces, running back and forth to the coal bunkers, filling the barrow and running back to the plates then feed the ever hungry fires. I was working four hours on and four hours off with little sleep in the off periods. To make matters worse, the Second Engineer, a bully with a big iron fist, was driving us continously without a break.
One day in mid Atlantic, one of us Firemen broke down with the constant harrassment and bullying, and then he snapped. He swung his banjo, [shovel ], and smashed in the head of the bullying Second Engineer. We were shocked at this happening, and had to decide what we were going to do.
If the Master had found out we would all have been charged with murder on the High Seas and then would be dancing on the end of a rope.
It was decided to feed him into the furnace that he wanted feeding, we picked him up and fed him feet first into the fires and there he was quickly consumed.
We all swore that we had never seen him during the watch and it was presumed that he may have fallen overboard.
At the end of the watch we raked and sliced to make sure the bones were broken up and then discharged overboard in the Ash Can.
That voyage gave me nightmares for many years after.
Michael Aspin

Oh yes, what a voyage that was! Little did you know that I was privvy to you and your fellow engine room cohorts' terrible deed concerning the demise of that scurrilous swine of a second engineer. You should be aware that a good steward always knows of gossip doing the rounds, and if none was known, could be sure to make some up!
Captain Julian was first alerted to something being amiss, when the 'Garstonia' surged ahead to a bulkhead splitting speed of three knots. Calls where made immediately to the engine room as to where the sudden increase in power could have come from, The Chief engineer being on duty, could offer no explanation, but I, lurking in the shadows of the bridge with cocoa for his Sirness, knew that it was at the very same moment that the second engineers lifeless body was fed into the ravenous glowing maw of the furnace. I guessed that the 2nd Engineer's body was, as usual, 95% rum. It would have been this that caused the awesome burst of energy.
As you say, it was presumed that he had fallen overboard whilst under the influence of that which the Captain hated most, the dreaded alchohol.
Captain Julian never persued the matter, feeling that the drunken swine had got his come uppence, and I felt it best kept to myself to be used later as some form of blackmail.

After the disposal of the Second Engineer the Third took over the running of the stoke hold. He tried to be as bad and as tough as The Second. He ddid not know the fate of the Second, so after a few bad watches under his bullying, Coalhouse Kelly got a grip of him and lashed him to a stantion facing the furnaces and left him for the complete four hours of the watch, He was screaming for the heat was too much for him, he wanted water, no chance, he would never give us time off for water, let him know what it was like in front of the furnaces for four hours. At the end of the watch we released him and he collapsed, we carried him up on deck and he died due to the dehydration, The Captain not knowing what had happened, thought he must have had a heart attack or something. and logged it as such , The Captain praised us for our efforts to get him up from down below. He was given over to the Sailors and they stitched him up in canvas with a couple of fire bars in to keep him company and to weigh him down in the sea, so he would not return.
We had a mournful service on the poop, read by the Captain, Julian Aspinall, and then he was slid over the stern and disappeared in a trail of bubbles. Two down.
The Chief Steward, Mr. Kinghorn, could be next if he did`nt come up with some proper victuals, After three days at sea we were on our Pound and Pint, as per Merchant Shipping Act 1844, All we got was 6 ounces of salt junk, per man, per day, perhaps, and 6 ounces of brackish water, per man, per day, perhaps.
We had to call in at the Azores, to get fresh water, stores and more coalbunkers.
The crowd went ashore and found a tavern with some old wenches who were long past the bloom of youth, they were made use of as a way of relieving the tension of the voyage so far.

Look,what does it take to stop the characters writing their own story?
Now if you bits of fiction don't stop jigging around with this tale ,I'm gonna have to get a big rubber and............................................... ...........
I have to pick up where I left off and I ain't about to be side tracked so step aside or be erased.
The Author


P.S. Did you read that tale where the characters come in search of the author to wreak their revenge on being written so badly.I forget the title but it was quite a spooky tale. Hmmmmm, could write one about the author bumping off his characters.Now there's an idea!!

Tried erasing it for you, Brian, but I've now got so much tipex on my screen I can't see a feckin thing!

Now I believe a certain Mr Twize Daley is Third Mate on this `ere vessel,
I think he had better look over his shoulder on this voyage, its not over yet

New Garston

22nd July 1607
We were awakened by the sound birdsong ,so loud and tuneful that it seemed to be unworldly. This truly was a heaven sent morn, as the families emerged from their makeshift shelters we found a bounteous array of fruits and fowl that lay upon great bark sheets. A further gift from our new neighbours?
Our leader ,Jonathan Heald , summoned us together and called for us to give thanks to our maker for delivering us into a land so friendly and full of welcome.
After we broke our fast the Elders sat in council and made plans for the building of our new town , our trade goods would enable us to negotiate with the Catawba for food and timber, we were conversant enough with the propriety of the customs of these people for our Portugese pilot had versed us in all such matters on our voyage here. These people were not a warlike race ,they were farmers and lived in settlements of great age. The name they give themselves is Yeh-Wah h?reh ,the People of the River.
We have so much in common, the shore of their river is rich in clay and they are traders in that very commodity. Like our shore at home ,they have kilns upon it and there they fire pottery of such consummate artistry that it would grace the tableboard of any gentlemans home.
Strange to relate ,they do not build their houses of brick, but of wood which is plentiful.The houses are round and have bark roofs extended families live in each dwelling and a palisade fence encloses the settlement.
At the centre of the settlement is a large plaza and this is used for tribal celebrations and the games that the men play,a kind of stickball.
The ideas of savages are dispelled with each passing hour ,these people are clothed and shod in wonderful manner. The men in breeches and jerkins of colourfully patterned hide,their feet are enclosed in hardy leathern shoes. The womenfolk are similarly attired and nary a beggar nor starvling was to be seen. We have a lot to learn here..
Those of us Brethren who are here as settlers are determined to to marry our knowledge with theirs to the enrichment of both our peoples.

With the aid of our Catawban speaking pilot ,we made arrangement for a meeting of our Elders and their Elders to draw up a treaty to mark out our settlement. I was not privy to this meeting and worked with the rest of our menfolk at unloading those stores necessary to commence work at building structures of a permanent nature. Our shipmen were to bide with us the while until we had made quarters for all of the families. When that outcome would be depended upon any agreements that could be struck with the Catawba.
The council lasted many hours and night had fallen before Bro,Heald brought the Elders back into our midst. The tidings they brought were joyful, the Catawba granted us land from the seashore to 10 miles in radius from our point of landing. This was more than we could ever have hoped for and the morrow would be spent in surveying our new land so that it could be parcelled out into equitable plots for living and farming.
As we went our slumbers we were filled with such dreams , what futures our children would have in this land of milk and honey!

21st July 1612.
We had our craftsmen in our number,carpenters ,wainwrights , wheelwrights , potters , bakers, brickmakers , and all manner of handicraftsmen. As soon as the allotments of land had been made we would set to in a communal spirit ,all would labour at the building of our homes. We would be building to designs that that had been drawn up by the master builders in our hometown. There would be no hovels in this Eden, there was space a plenty for us to house ourselves so that each family could grow enough for provender to meet family needs and that of the community.. We had our seeds but there was also the native provender that would meet our needs and then some.
The parcels of land were allotted to families according to their ability to manage them . Large families were given bigger tracts and so on .None were disappointed. Industry would be our watchword and Mistress Heald designed a coat of arms which was a beehive resting on a stack of bricks under which was the legend Industria . This was to be our watchword, we would earn our bread by the sweat of brow for many years to come.

We had many people in our settlement now, families had rapidly multiplied and many of our kinfolk from home had joined us now. The Catawba were still our friends but had engaged themselves in war with fierce peoples called Cherokee,Iriquois and Shawnee. We were glad that they were our friends for we heard from travellers of how those other tribes made war on our compatriots in other parts of this great continent.
We had built a harbour at the river front, it was a poor rude affair ,but as the years have passed we have made constant improvements so that we can now accommodate two large vessels at the same time for the shipment of imports and exports. We have warehouses along the embankment and we have been trading in tobacco and furs as well as the rich timber in which this land abounds.
As you stroll up from the waterfront you pass the ships chandlers,the sail lofts, the block and tackle manufacturer ,and all those allied craft shops that are needed to keep our merchantmen in good repair and our fishing fleet fit for he worst of weathers. We have the occasional Dutchman or Frenchie come asheltering from the hurricanes that sometimes blow, but ,for the most part our sojourn has been placid.
We have our own grouping of the Brethren here, our Master is of the Keegan blood and is of very great age, how old is not known,but he has seen many years more than is mans natural span. The medicinal properties of the Oglet clay are said to be his saving . This knowledge is known only to very few. The Catawba view him as one with ages, a man of no time, they venerate him.
I must cease my scribing for I hear horsemen approaching and the hour is late.

Sorry about nicking your story space Brian, but alehouse and I get bored if you do'nt continue the tale quick enough!


See what happens when you take your eye off the ball. I have little sympathy, for it was brought on, by your own admission, due to your pigging out over the New Year.
Anyway, alehouse started it!

What a tell tale tit you are.Jeff. I will see you off on that voyage, done two engineers already. your next. Or maybe you`ll hang.

Eh kid ,I'm still pigging it ,had another two invitation today and then next week I've got the 40th celebrations to look for ward to. But,but ,but , I an still continuing with my tale, the plot will get deeper and there will many Byzantian twists.Bear with me ,any way you and the Cap'n have got a wonderful rapport going and I think you could create a tale of your own capers between you. "The Captain and the Tiger" A libidinous tale of Debauchery on the High Seas..................................go on you can do it!!!

We were carousing in the Tavern, letting off steam, if that is the correct word to use, being Firemen, on St Migual Island in the Azores, when we noticed a man sat quivering and shaking with a bottle of grog in his hand. We went to him, ?What`s up Mate? we asked.
He was as drunk as a monkey, he said his name was Kay Evin, an Engineer, he was the only survivor of a Harrison boat that had sunk and he had drifted for six days before being found by the local fishermen. He wanted to go home, we told him there would be a job on the Garstonian as we had somehow lost two engineers.
In the early hours we all staggered back to our ship and told Captain Julian what we had found. He signed him on immediately, The first thing that Kay Evin said was, ?Can I have a sub?. "No chance, now sober up, we are away in the morning.? Said our Captain.
In the early hours we completed bunkering, the native labour going ashore, the fresh water tanks full, and the Chief Steward had loaded fresh stores. Then we fed the furnaces and got up steam, 180 psi. and sailed again.
Things didn?t seem any better in the victuals department. We heard that as fast as stores came on board, our Assistant Steward, a shifty character, called Geof Glasse, was passing it over the other side to a bum boat and collected a quite a few pounds for it. No one liked him, he was always lurking and listening at cabin doors, and had a very untrustworthy manner. He was always telling tales to the Captain if he heard any thing the lads were talking about in the mess room.
On making enquiries about the amount of stores in the store rooms, The Captain summoned the Chief Steward, Mr Kinghorn and the ship`s Cook, Ernest Norris Green. They told him the stores were loaded in St. Migual and checked as it came up the gangway, Mr Glasse was in charge of stowing it in the Store rooms. So it must have been him who knew the where abouts of the said stores.
Mr Glasse was summoned to the Master`s cabin and in front of the Chief Officer, Chief Steward, and the Cook he finally confessed to selling the stores to the bum boat.The Captain logged him and he was told he would have to pay for all the missing stores and then face prosecution on arrival in Liverpool.
One day the Third Mate, Mr Twize Daley, went to the Captain`s cabin, just after breakfast and found him on his hands and knees vomiting into a bucket. The Assistant Steward was lurking in the pantry, doing nothing to help the Captain.
He went to the Chief Officer`s cabin for assistance and Mr Brewer was in a collapsed state having vomited all over his carpet. He gave them a tot of brandy to revive them but to no avail. They both expired. Both bodies were transferred to the refridgerated hold to be kept until arrival in Buenos Aires.
Mr Twyze Daley and Mr Wilfred Liverbob did a superb job of navigating the Garstonia to Buenos Aires, The British Consul was immediately summoned to the vessel and all the details given to him.
Our stay in the Argentine was not a jolly one, a funeral had to be arranged through the agent, and all hands assembled at the gravesides. Then after loading a cargo of frozen Argentine Beef and made ready for sea, the Consul arrived with a British Sea Captain who had been living ashore in Buenos Aires, to help to take the ship on its long voyage back to Liverpool.


The murder of the Captain and Chief Officer of the S.S. GARSTONIA.
Daily Telegrph, Monday April 13th 1850
The Murder of Captain Julian Aspinall and Chief Officer Mr R. Brewer on the high seas
In accordance with the instructions of the Board of Trade, Geoffrey Glasse, Assistant Steward on board the ship Garstonia, was examined before the Sefton Borough Magistrates charged with the wilful murder of Capt Julian Aspinall, and Mr R. Brewer, Chief Officer of the ship, by poison.
The Garstonian was on the way to, the Argentine port of Buenos Aires, with some five passengers and a cargo of `Gerston Mud` in barrels, on the voyage the Captain and Chief Officer died from the effects of poison.
The ship put into Buenos Aires and Her Majesty?s Consul decided to send Glasse back to England, on board the Garstonia, in irons, to be charged with the wilful murder of the Captain and Chief Officer
First witness called was Mr, Twize Daley, the Third Mate,of the ship, who said that during the voyage the Captain was very good to the men and frequently saw to their conditions and victuals.. The Captain and Chief Officer died on Thursday 21st of December 1849
He told the Court that on the Saturday previous to the deaths, a pig died in an unusual manner, and on that day I saw the prisoner Mr Glasse the steward in the pig-sty feeding the pig
Mr Daley said he went to the Chief Officer?s cabin and he was sat at the head of the bed vomiting, Mr Glasse was lurking the pantry next door to the cabin. I asked the him what was wrong with the Chief Officer.
He said, ?I do not know, but you will hear about it in time.?
I went for a bottle of brandy and when I returned I saw the Chief officer on the floor of the closet, he looked very ill. I assisted to get him back to his cabin and laid him on his bed, he did not speak.. I administered a tot of brandy to him.
Mr Brewer then seemed well enough, but soon after he was laid down again. . He also started to vomit to some extent again and then he expired.
I went to the Captains cabin and he was on his knees vomiting into a bucket. He was exceedingly ill and weak I tried to get him into his bunk but he fell back and was dead.

On Wednesday 14th Nov, the ships Cook, Mr Ernest Norris Green, said he cooked the breakfast, a pan of Scouse. and laid some out for the Captain?s cabin, and said, he gave the prisoner, Mr Glasse, the breakfast to take to the Captain`s cabin.about 8.00 am. I was called away and when I returned I found the prisoner there.in the galley again. He was going to take a breakfast to Mr Brewer`s cabin.
I noticed nothing particular in his manner. When breakfast was ready the prisoner took it to the Chief Officer`s cabin.
The ?Scouse? was in a saucepan, and could easily be got at.
The prisoner, Mr Glasse, came to me about 10am and appeared rather confused.
I said, ?What is the matter?
He said, ?No, it is all right.?
That afternoon after the deaths of the Captain and the Chief Officer, Mr Glasse was placed under arrest by Mr Twyce Daley, the Third Officer and charged with poisoning them. The poison had been tested first on the pig in the pig sty.
On the following investigation, it was shown that Mr Glasse had been accused by the Captain and the Chief Officer of selling the ship`s stores to the Bum boats in St Migual in the Azores. He was severely reprimanded and the moneys for the stores were to be deducted from his wages and a prosecution to be made on arrival at Liverpool.
Other witnesses were called and confirmed the above facts
Witnesses, ship?s crew
Joe Finnegan of Liverpool AB
Martin Quinne of Liverpool AB
Tom Black apprentice
Ernest Taylor of Wigan quartermaster
Harry Brown.Boatswain


The case then proceeded
April 14th 1850
The Jury brought in a verdict of guilty, to the murder of Captain Julian Aspinall and the Chief Officer, Mr R, Brewer, by poisoning, to cover up his accusations of stealing the said Stores.
The Judge, Mr Justice Fairley, donned his black cap and said to the prisoner .?You will be taken to a place of execution and will be hanged by the neck until you are dead?.
On the 21st of April, Mr Glasse was taken out of his cell in the Bridewell and taken to the holding cell by the scaffold in the street outside of Kirkdale Prison,,a crowd of some 50,000 people had assembled to watch the demise of this man. A carnival atmosphere was in the air, women and children were there, a popular song was heard by the condemned man as he shivered in the holding cell at 1130.
As the hour of twelve noon struck, oathes of d*mnation were shouted from the assembled crowd as he was brought out in between two priests, his face twitching, his lips moving but not a sound was uttered. He was pushed up the steps and he screamed ?Innocent I am Innocent, Holy Mother help me?. The Executioner, Mr Howard, placed the noose over his head and a white cloth over his face. The lever is pulled and Geoffery Glasse drops to his death. He twitches for a moment and then hangs limp, the cloth had been pulled away and his tongue hangs loosely from his mouth. The crowd slowly drift away, the carnival is over. Justice was seen to be done.

By a strange twist of fate, Geoffrey Glasse was a decendant of Jeffery de Glasse who was hired by the ancester of Julian Apinall, the Baron de Aspin, to take the life of my ancester, Michael de Aspin, exactly two hundred years ago.
Revenge at last.
Michael Aspinall.

There was a strange twist to this tale, which was hushed up by the authorities of the time, due to the possibility of great embaressment to those responsible with the security arrangements in Kirkdale prison.
It seems that the ever resourseful Glasser had, whilst having a last sup of grog with his jailer, slipped a potion made from Garston mud that he had secreted about himself, into the guards pot this would normally have done no harm to the unfortunate jailer, but Glasser knew that if mixed with rat droppings and a drop of the poor quality grog, it would induce a hypnotic trance like state.
As soon as the poor fellow became incapacitated, Glasser slipped onto his face a mask fashioned skillfully in his own image from a mixture of straw,three day old gruel, and chewed newspaper cuttings. By vomiting over the jailers new face, Glasser new no one would wish to check too closely the identity of the wearer underneath.
As the time of his execution was only minutes away, Glasser,snatched the keys, unlocked the door of his cell, and made his escape, though not before callousely merging with the crowd outside to see the poor jailer hang in his place.
Only when the body was taken to the morgue was the terrible deed revealed.
Once again, the devious Jeffrey Glasser had outwitted those who had seeked to destroy him.
Having had time to reflect whilst in prison, he realised he had met a clever adversary in this Aspinall fellow, and decided that he would approach him with a plan that if they worked together, the world was their oyster!

Ba*t*rd

Well, maybe not!

Drat and double Drat, I am going to have to find some more of Michaels Journals from way back. He will get you in the end. You have no chance.

Curses alehouse, you may have foiled my plans for World domination today, but don't under estimate we Glassers, for as you are aware, over the centuries we've managed, through devious and double dealing ways, survived to this day. There is still time to join forces but if you choose to stay an adversary, then beware. We will turn up at the most inoppurtune moments in all your tales. So there!

Beware of Plagiarists and Lousy Imitators

New Hayes Hospital 1999

Mr Keegan took a turn for the worse a little after sunrise, I called the duty doctor and he ordered that he be removed to the special care unit. Fortunately ,I was given the task of taking care of his few belongings and so packed away his brass bound casket into a locker in the staff quarters . I removed all the papers ,including the crumpled items ,which were old letters and news cuttings.
I determined that I would sort everything into date order so that I could understand more clearly that which I had been reading. I had three days leave due and would use them to discover what secrets might lie within those pages. And those pages were in a really sorry state.. Fire and age had caused most damage, there were great gaps in the chronology and some papers had been badly charred so that big pieces were missing from them. I made my first task that of sorting out the news clippings. Most of them dated from the August of 1898, there were reports of the Garston Fruit Companys? new vessel The Garstonia , photographs of her entering the new dock at Garston and of the Captain on the wing of the bridge were shown alongside the story of her building and of her intended purpose in extending the GFC?s service on the South American continent. Other reports detailed the unrest that was being fomented by troublemakers from Liverpool, the dockers of that port were in dispute with their employers and had withdrawn their labour. Attempts were made to bring out the dockers in Garston to join them in their strike but the men of Garston declared that they had no cause to withdraw their labour. Successive reports showed the growth of unrest around the dock entrances as troublemakers sought to intimidate the local men from going about their labours.
More men were brought down from Liverpool and major fighting broke out between the strikers and the loyal dockers .On the night of the fourteenth of August a great conflagration was started in the north dock and this rapidly spread throughout the whole dock complex. The militia were called out to assist the Police in fighting the Liverpool hooligans as the fire took a hold on the riverside.. Only two ships managed to escape the holocaust, a small collier and a yardarm. ketch . Three vessel were so badly damaged that they would never put to sea again , they were the Mudskipper, the Alfreton, a square rigger ,and the new wonder ship ,the Garstonia.
Most of the warehouses were destroyed and a great many lives were lost in the attempt to stem the blaze. There were some reports of the funerals of those who were lost in the fire and of the memorial service that was held for the mariners who had lost their lives whilst trying to save their vessels. The newly commissioned Captain of the Garstonia , Julian Aspinall and his faithful servant Mr Glasser were given special mention by the Bishop of Garston as being ?Heroes, the very best of British blood, they died in the battle against the dark forces??.?
Upon a closer reading of these items I found that the striking dockers were being held to blame for the inferno; the Chief Constable of Garston , Mr Ballack, was of the opinion that the whole dispute was engineered by Liverpool shipowners who sought to destroy the port of Garston because of the threat she presented to them.
There was great ill feeling in the borough towards their, now , larger neighbour.
There were letters to the editor lamenting the loss of such a fine vessel as the Garstonia and of what fine tales cold have been told by the men who would have sailed in her had she made it to sea..
After sorting these clippings I then gave my attention to the Journal of Kerrigan J Keegan , from the scattered information in the torn and tattered pages I was able to ascertain that he was initiated into the Order of Mudmen in the January of 1899, within a short while he had graduated into one of the senior degrees and was thus made privy to some of their innermost secrets.
The initiation ceremonies and induction into the senior degrees were undertaken in the hidden cellars of the old Cathedral , a site that had long disappeared beneath the mighty new gasworks.
He writes of a secret gate in the perimeter wall of the Gasworks and trap door that was artfully disguised within the plant, steps led down to the old Lodge rooms and therein still stood the Golem.
The Grand Master of the Mudmen ,a man of unknown age , lived down there permanently and never ascended to the surface. He lived in an inner chamber and never appeared with his face unmasked. He never spoke in their presence and an Orator conveyed all messages and communications from him to the Brethren. But his word was Law. The great chemical works in Garston now manufactured the medicines and cosmetics that were obtained from our mud and Garston was now predominant in that field.. By the turn of the 19th century ,both Garston and the Brethren were at their peak, the Liberal Arts and Sciences , Music , Drama and Terpsichorean endeavours were pursued by all and sundry within our great Borough. The Dockers Ballet Corps was drawing great plaudits from the cognescenti, the Mary Ellens dance troupe was now on its third tour of England and the Woodcutters Orchestra was drawing up a programme to draw all the different strands of music and dance together for the celebration of Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee.
The documents have become easier to read now that I have put them in proper chronological order and I will pick up the journal from where Kerrigan was copying from the earlier writings of the first settlers in the New World.
Summer 1999.
!

:)
That "Garston Mud"!, seems to getting more "Potent" with every new batch that is being "brewe(r)d" !!!!

Bob F :002: :PDT_Aliboronz_24: :PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Veeery clever, Brian, Ha! but you don't get rid of us that easy. It was mentioned later after the enquiry, that one of the dock workers helping to extinguish the inferno that the 'Garstonian' had become, noticed what appeared to be two crew members, one wearing a distinctive striped waistcoat and spectacles, the other dressed in the attire of a ships fireman, diving over the stern into the dock, surfacing a short distance later and swimming towards the opposite side of the dock, whereupon they dissappeared into the darkness.

It was noted and acted upon,the said pair went off in search of their lost crew mate Paddy and were last seen heading for South Georgia on the "Orca" an old Norwegian whaler.Only you, or your old captain can fill in the gaps. Did you find Paddy or was he taken by the flesh eaters of Bora Bora . Did captain Aspinall realise what his Tiger really meant to him and take him by the tail? Is there life on Cilla Black? Please tell us what happened afterwards!

I am thinking.
I am thinking
I am thinking.

Well would you mind not making so much noise while you're doing it,some of us have got to sleep you know!!!

I too have been thinking, but of course in a silent and sneaky underhand way!

Set us a bit of a poser there Brian, but do'nt worry, as soon as we can remember how the tale continues, you'll be the first to know.

There was'nt life on Cilla before, so I see no reason for there to be any now!

I too am thinking, there maybe a plan, or there may be not.
The only life on cilla maybe the sandys.

Not with those teeth

The Skull and Crossed Bones

I picked up the following document by Kerrigan J. Keegan and it carries on the transcription of the 17th century document written in New Garston; it would seem that there are several pages missing for this picks up the thread a month after the passage which mentions the horsemen approaching the house . The page is badly charred and I will set it down as written.

?????????the ships were seen to be flying the black ensigns which had skull and crossed bones in the centre. We had never seen the like of which before and knew not whence they came. They were sturdy ,two masted vessels which had gun ports along the sides, but they looked like no men of war that we had seen. Where were they from and what were they doing here, there were no storms that they needed shelter from and we were not expecting any cargoes just yet. Some thought they were merchant venturers come to seek to trade with us, others were puzzled as to why they had anchored off and not sought to make contact with us.
One of the Catawban elders who was in town with his furs looked out and said they were Buccan, when he was asked what Buccan was he cut his right hand across his throat and spat upon the ground. Almost simultaneously ,the gunports dropped open and a salvo was fired ,falling just short of the waterfront ,long boats appeared from around the bows of both ships and were pulling toward the shore at a rate of knots.
We were not warriors ,never in all our time here had we needed to fire our muskets excepting for hunting food. We never carried our arms , there was never the need and yet here we were, faced with mortal peril and unable to defend ourselves. Young John Savage ran toward his house to gather his musket and was cut down by a well aimed volley from one of the long boats as it neared the shore.
We stood defenceless as these Buccans came ashore. They were speaking some form of crude French which one of our fur traders recognised, they were ordering us to gather in the square by the waterfront , more boats came to the shore and there many men ,armed to the teeth with pistoles ,muskets and cutlasses .A more fearsome sight you would never wish to see. The Catawban had made haste from our midst before the first shot was fired and it transpired that he had given warning to the people at the further reaches of town to leave quickly and follow him. They were the lucky ones.
These roughnecks ranged through our town looting and taking that which struck their fancy; there was no more killing ,John Savage was the only casualty. But what happened was, perhaps e?en worse. They selected the flower of our women and took them to their boats, some young men too were taken, to labour as slaves ?
Their leader was a tall red haired man with plaited whiskers and a fearsome mien, who wore the finest brocaded frock coat and a silken ruffed shirt ,on his head was a tricorn hat with the finest boas . Were it not for his face you would take him for a fop. It was the medallion upon his satin weskit that attracted the attention of the Brethren, it was a Templar medallion, cast in gold ,it clearly showed the two poor knights astride the one horse. How could this be? Here ,three thousand miles from Scotland and Garston,the only two known refuges of the Templars, yet we were being subjected to looting ,pillage and kidnapping by some who wore this ancient badge of honour.
Their visitation lasted but the half day and soon they were gone with our young ladies , the future mothers of our settlement, and some of our young men. This was a grievous loss. It was but a few hours after the raiders had sailed that our Catawban friends rode into town ,ready to give battle on our behalf. They consoled us over our loss and urged us to make ready for any future such raids. Our life in Eden was at an end, we must make ourselves strong if we are to survive. Accordingly ,a rider was despatched to Jamestown to give news of what had befallen us and warning of what might happen to them. Intelligence was also to be sent to our home in Garston with as much information of the raiders as was known to us..

It was many months before we received any news back from Garston, more young ladies came out to join us on the next ship from home. They were undeterred by the intelligence of the raid and were only too willing to join us in our little commonweal. That ship also brought news that Letters of Marque had been granted to two of our Templar friends , Messrs Aspinall and Brewer. They were charged to seek out and destroy the Buccans who had made that dastardly raid upon our settlement and given leave to plunder all who were considered to be enemies of our Sovereign King..
In the meanwhile ,one of our Brethren conducted researches into the provenance of these Buccans. There was a colony of such persons on the Island of Santo Domingo and they had first settled there many centuries ago ,they were called the Boucans because of their cooking of meat upon spits above fires. They were wild rovers and were considered by all nations to be pariahs, but our Brother knew different. The flag they were flying was called by some, the Jolie Roger, a scholar would recognise it as the Templar Piebald, the flag flown on all Templar Merchant vessels .A flag that had not been seen in European waters for two centuries or more.
It is recorded in the annals of history that Templars were put to the fire and the sword when the Pope and the King of France deemed them to be too strong, it is known that De Molay and his brethren perished by the auto da fe and that Templardom was finished with his surcease.
What is little known, is that from La Rochelle ,the bastion of the Templars ,thirteen ships succeeded in escaping from the clutches of Pipin .Five vessels escaped to Lisbon where King Dinis gave sanctuary to them as long as they ceased calling themselves Templars ;they renamed themselves the Knights Of Christ and went on to sow the seeds of Portugals maritime dominance. Five vessels went to Scotland and were given sanctuary by the Bruces ,they provided the armed might that helped them beat Edward Ironsides ; some fled to Garston where they helped build up our merchant fleet and the others? They were those who called themselves The Brethren of the Coast, the Buccaneers!

The man on the dock shouted,"Where`s your Buccaneers?
and the messman, Jeff Glasse, shouted back, "They are on me Buccanhead."

fascinating potty tales.

What news of bosun gesunder?

from the diary of Mr Keegan
More men were brought down from Liverpool and major fighting broke out between the strikers and the loyal Dockers .On the night of the fourteenth of August a great conflagration was started in the north dock and this rapidly spread throughout the whole dock complex. The militia were called out to assist the Police in fighting the Liverpool hooligans as the fire took a hold on the riverside. Only two ships managed to escape the holocaust, a small collier and a yardarm. Ketch. Three vessel were so badly damaged that they would never put to sea again , they were the Mudskipper, the Alfreton, a square rigger ,and the new wonder ship ,the Garstonia.
Most of the warehouses were destroyed and a great many lives were lost in the attempt to stem the blaze. There were some reports of the funerals of those who were lost in the fire and of the memorial service that was held for the mariners who had lost their lives whilst trying to save their vessels. The newly commissioned Captain of the Garstonia , Julian Aspinall and his faithful servant Mr Glasser were given special mention by the Bishop of Garston as being ?Heroes, the very best of British blood, they died in the battle against the dark forces??.?

On the night of 14 August 1898, Captain Julian Aspinall had been watching his Steward, one Jef Glasse, a strange fellow of doubtful parentage.He was an usavoury type of person, always lurking in alleyways and store rooms. The good Captain investigated him and made a remarkable discovery.
This Jef Glasse was a son of a man also by the name of Jef Glasse who was executed by hanging for the murder of his own father, Captain Julian Aspinall in 1849, nearly forty years ago. Rumour had it, this scheming murderer had exchanged clothes with his prison guard, whilst under the influence of his last bottle of Rum and the poor prison guard was executed in his place. This event was covered up by HMP authorities to avoid embarrassment.
Just as he suspected, as Captain Julian Aspinall was following the said Glasse around the ship, Glasse ignited various incendary devices. The ship became a raging inferno, which spread to the adjoining cargo sheds and most of Garston Dock was burned down, and the new wonder ship, `Garstonia 2`, was destroyed. In the ensuing destruction Jeff Glasse dived overboard into the dock, he was observed by the good Captain who dived in after him. Glasse disappeared in all the confusion and Captain Julian swam around the dock for quite a while trying to find him but to no avail.
The Captain now had a dilemma, if it was known that the Captain had survived then Glasse would know he would be on his trail to avenge his father`s death and the destruction of his new ship, `Garstonia 2` But if he thought the Captain was dead then he could carry on with his nefarious ways.unhampered by the Captain.
The Captain decided on the latter and had to change his name. He became known as Captain King and vowed to search the seven seas for the Glasse.

Revenge

Near 12 month had passed since the raid by the Buccaneers, the sore pain of distress and anger was fading and was being replaced by sad acceptance that our loved ones may not be seen again. When our morale was at its lowest , two stately galleons came into port, large pennants at the fore and the flag of our old country the stern. First to dock was the St Mary ,a ship of war ,with gun ports the full length of her ,following came the twin of her, the Holy Trinity. Never was a sight more welcome for not only did they bring us news of home, they brought us soldier men and a veritable arsenal. This would help us to defend ourselves at some future incursion ;the real purpose of the visitation however was to seek as much intelligence from us about the nature of the raiders, the build of their ship ,and any other factors that might help our captains in the search for the villains that nigh on ruined our settlement.
Two captains were not only out for revenge, they were out to enrich their own estate by seeking what plunder they could whilst over in the Americas. Legend has it that there are many Spanish merchants that carry great treasures from the territories to the south. Messrs Aspinall and Brewer have come well prepared to put those legends to the test.
After many days of refitting and revictualling , the good ships set sail from New Garston in search of the Buccaneers. The quayside was thronged with the people of the town , wishing them God speed and prayers that they would bring the return of our loved ones .
When they had disappeared over the horizon our new militia went about setting up defences against any future raiders. Towers were built on the sea front ,there would be watches kept there day and night ,not a sail would pass unnoticed upon our horizons.
Manufacture of weaponry was instituted ; amongst our soldiery was a gunsmith with all the requisite paraphernalia for the making of pistols and muskets. A specialist metal worker was also among their number and he would oversee the training of our young men in the art of metallurgy . soon we would be self reliant in building up our own arsenal.
Our industry in the building of our defences began to restore our confidence, the Catawbans , witnessing such changes , became more closely allied with us and pledged to help us in defending us against any attack from the land ward side of our town.
Two harvests were reaped before we saw the return of the St Mary and Holy Trinity, they docked in 1620, just after the feast of Candlemas, they we bedecked in bunting and all manner of pennants and there ,at the top of their foremasts, flew the dreaded
Flag of the Skull and Crossed Bones.
We were anxious in the extreme of what this display could mean, but our anxieties were dispelled when we heard the cries of familiar voices and saw some of our loved ones waving from the taffrails. Oh ,there was such a jubilation at this wonderful sight and boys were despatched to the nether reaches of our town to spread the joyful tidings. The church bells were pealing out a tocsin of praise to the heavens and our wharfingers worked at speed to make those vessels fast to the quay.
Hearts were aflutter to watch our returnees step ashore, was our daughter ,our son or wife amongst them? Such trepidation there was at that moment, and then there were explosions of tumultuous joy as arms reached out and held those dear ones again.
Slowly ,as the crowds edged away from the waterfront to take their saved ones home again, the sad figures of those who would never see their kin again stood in lonely desolation, their worst fears now realised.
There were not words enough to express what we felt for them, such sorrow after so much joy.
I went aboard to meet the Captains and to extend the hand of grateful welcome, the Brethren were going to organise a feast of gratitude and we wished that whole crew would join in our celebration of their exploits. Mr Brewer and Mr Aspinall readily accepted my invitation for them to dwell under my roof for the duration of their stay. I was mightily pleased for I was eager to hear of what adventures they had undergone since last we saw them.
I arranged for them to brought to my house by carriage, my good wife Suzanne had laid stores in for such an occasion and I had saved a firkin of my finest Malmsey, and a moistened box of the finest Catawban tobacco,our churchwardens would smoke merrily this night.
After a meal of the finest provender that New Garston could offer,we retired to the inglenook in the withdrawing room and loosened our clothing , our pipes were filled and our glasses freshened with the sweet Malmsey . Captain Aspinall needed no prompting to open his tale ,he broached his glass and wiped his lips with the back of his hand and began a tale of such romance that I was rapt within moments.
I will attempt to paraphrase his tale for his own words were so bellicose that I fear they might cause offense to those of tender sensibilities.

? We had been at sea a week or more before we made sight of land again , ? twas but an eyot in the midst of nowheres, but that little speck contained an Englishman ;he had been marooned by a Dago who, he said, had taken him captive in New Garston ,that man was your very own Douglas Threlfall ,he had been such an argumentative captive that the Dago had marooned him there to rid himself of such of such a pestiferous body, and after having him aboard the St Mary all this time I concur with that Dago?s judgement. But I digress. John had measured his time on that isle by cutting marks on the bole of a tree. 64 marks recorded the days that he had been there ,and a week at sea before then. So our quarry was two and half months ahead of us. We set sail south again and had the good fortune to come across two Spanish Merchantmen homeward bound from Havana, they were laden to the gunnels and were wallowing in the Doldrums . We showed them all the respect and mercy that was their due, we turned them about and landed them on a golden beach which our pilot swore had fresh water and food aplenty. Some of the sailormen aboard them were pressed men from Scotland and The Dutch states and we gave them the offer of staying aboard the vessels so that we might get them back to English waters. They had no hesitation in accepting our offer and now our fleet was doubled..
We ranged the length and breadth of the Carib waters with nary a sighting of a Buccaneer, many a Portugee ship was sighted but we stayed well clear of these, our business was not with them. A time or two we spotted familiar vessels and could see that it was some of those other Englishmen who had come ?fishing ? in these rich seas.
It was about our seventh month abroad on these waters when we heard tell of a raid on Spanish settlement near Nombre de Dios, the story the old sailor man told us tallied in description of the raid on your town, fancy dude in flounces and a red beard, bemedalled and keen with a sword ,and a Frenchy to boot. His two ships near cleaned out that little town , of people and what wealth there was too.
This old salt heard from a ?friend ? that the Frenchy was from a Port in Santo Domingo, a place by the name of Azua. So now we had a place to search for .
Our pilots knew of Hispaniola , the island where Santo Domingo was situate, but they also knew that there were many well defended bays and ports for this was where Christopher Columbus had first settled. We had a tall order on our hands and a lot of reconnoitring to do before we could attempt to make our foray against this unmeasured enemy.
John Brewer undertook the job of reconnoitre, disguising his crew as Dagos they took the Spanish vessel and set a course for Hispaniola , they landed at the Northern end of the island and sent a small party of Spanish speakers to get the lay of the land, and ,with the dispensing of rum in the some of the shanty towns that they came upon ,they learned that Azua was on the southern most part of the island ,above Cabo Besta and nestled safely between the ports of Enriquillo and Bani. The Buccaneers had invested both ports with heavy armaments and they would prove nigh on impossible to approach from the sea. Those towns would have to be taken before we could attack Azua.

John and I studied his rude maps of the peninsula for ways of landing a force strong enough to take those two towns by surprise and taking them out of the equation. After many a survey we resolved to split our forces into three ,one party would land at beach to the south of Bani ,march inland and come at the back of the town from the landward side and put the town to the torch,the other party would land at Marahona across the peninsula from Enriquillo springing the same surprise on that township. Both raids would take place at the dead of night to cause the maximum panic and consternation.
The ships that lay alongside side in these ports would be taken and used a fire ships in the raid on Azua.
Such was our plan and it went as perfect as though the gods had designed it , there was much slaughter and bloodshed ,but we were doing it for a righteous cause. Many slaves were freed as we fought through those towns ,and some of your towns folk were among their number. Next morn we continued our momentum and attacked Azua from land and by sea. The element of surprise was our biggest weapon
and we fought our way through the streets in hand to hand combat with the toughest opponents it had been our misfortune to meet.. The cobbles were slick with blood of hundreds of men, this was too close for cannons and muskets, the tight little streets could not take more than three abreast and it was a day of cut and thrust as the blades sought to skewer and cut asunder the bodies of those hardfaced warriors.. Of a sudden we came to a square at the end of which stood a large palace. And there on the steps stood a redhaired villain dressed in the finest silks and brocades,the plumes of his tricorn billowing as he thrust and parried with his blade.
I fought my way toward him ,and when I was close enough to him I saw his features ,features that caused me to swallow with shock. It was as though I was staring into a mirror, excepting for the red hair and beard ,the man was like as a twin to me. John gasped as he saw him,?Tis you to the life ? he cried . Hearing this voice ,Red beard turned to face me, shock writ large upon his visage. ?Sacre Bleu? he shouted .crossing himself as though cursed by the sight of me, as he faltered ,my blade took him by the shoulder of his sword arm and he was rendered defenceless. As he lay bleeding the sound of steel upon steel lessened and stopped ,victory was ours.
But who was this red bearded rogue??

Jeff Glasse, realising Captain Julian was close behind him with only revenge on his mind for what he had done to the 'Garstonia 2', swam like never before and made good his escape into the many alleys and dark places around the old dock warehouses.
Realising he would have to lay low for a time to see what the good Captain Julians plans would be, he took cheap lodgings in one of the more dubious Inns close by, and settled in to wait. If the Captain was given command of another vessel, he would endeavor to join, disguised of course, the crew, and mayhaps find another way of dispatching Captain Julian!:unibrow:

One day.....................................KAPUT!

yeah, right, kong:unibrow:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by captain kong

One day.....................................KAPUT!

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Just don't climb any skyscrapers while Jeff is up in that glider!

A little bird tells me that we are about to see the birth of a totally new tale about Captain Julians search for his Tiger. Watch this space ,it will not be authored by me ,but by those reprobates Kong and Glasser. Should be a best seller by all accounts.It will have its own thread and promises to be gripping.(Can I go home now Kong or do you want more copy?)

One year after the Great Disaster of Garston, The Great Garston Mud Company had another new Steamship built, at Cammel Llairds to replace the `Garstonia 2`, she was to be named `Garstonia 3`. The launch and naming ceremony was done by the Chairman of the Company`s wife, Lady Susannah T. Daley.V.N.C.
A lot of people said the name of the ship was unlucky as the other ships of that name were very unlucky indeed, The first Garstonia had four murders in one voyage and the second was involved in the creation of the Great Garston Disaster.
But Lord Twize Daley, V.N.C. D.R. said Third time lucky. she will OK we have an excellent, experienced Captain to take command, one Captain Julian King.
At last Sailing day arrived, a new crew had been signed on, Captain King was happy with them all, except two men who he had misgivings about. His Steward, was a strange fellow, shifty eyed a red beard and claiming to be a Swede, his name was Gleff Jasse. A strange name for a Swede, more of a Estonian name if his memory served him correctly. There was something odd about his appearance, something familiar, as if they had met in some far distant past. His accent wasn?t too good for a Swede, he sounded a little bit like Robert Newton in the film Treasure Island, which hadn?t come out yet, .mixed with a little Brum., A strange accent for Swedish person.
The other fellow he wasn?t too sure of was a Fireman, by the name of Michael Aspinall, who he learned was a far distant relative, sharing the same ancester, the Baron de Aspin of Aspin Hall in the woolyback town of Bolton in 1648,.
Michael Aspinall`s father was a Fireman on the `Garstonia` when the 2nd Engineer disappeared, rumour had it that he was fed into the furnace, and also he was there when the Third Engineer died in mysterious circumstances, on the same voyage that his Father Captain Julian Aspinall was murdered by one Jef Glasse who was later executed in Kirkdale prison. Rumour had it that he got away from there by being disguised as a Prison Warder and the poor man being hanged in his place.
Captain King was getting a little apprehensive about the voyage ahead.

The good captain King had every reason to be wary of both Gleff Jasse, and Michael Aspinall, both were up to no good, and were frequently seen muttering and whispering together.
The fireman Aspinall had recognised 'Jasse', only he knew him from the old 'Garstonia' as Jeff Glasse, even the bright orange false beard, tinted spectacles, eye shadow and large diamante' earrings could not hide the mans true identity, but Aspinall had remembered being asked to go 'in' with him regarding both their maritime future, so kept silent. It did not bode well for the 'Garstonia 3.:eek:

After the Maiden Voyage celebrations, the ship was loaded with a cargo of the celebrated Gerston Mud, in barrels, it was getting very popular in the Argentine. It was used in the making of Tiles, Bricks and the Pharmaceutical industry had discovered its many uses as it contained many nutrients and minerals, also the brewery trade used it as finings in the brewing of ale. It made beers compatible for Vegetarians, normal beer finings contain fish scales etc. [this is a fact] so the beer became very popular due to that fact.
Also the Aspinall Cambrinous Craft Brewery, had a large export order to the Argentine, a large number of British expatriates lived there building railroads and owning cattle ranches and the Aspinall ale was very popular as a link to home.
The Beer was condensed in casks, one cask made six casks when water was added, this was to save space when in transportation.
A crew had been signed on and the ship was made ready to sail on her long voyage to South America, Lord Twyze Daley, VNC.DR. was there to see them off on the maiden voyage.
At first the voyage seemed to be progressing quite normally, the good Captain was not too pleased with the Steward, who seemed to be completely incompetent, staggering around and lurking, where ever the Captain looked, there was the steward, one Gleff Jasse, who claimed to be a Swedish seafarer, A strange fellow.
He was in cahoots with a Fireman, Michael Aspinall, another strange, and rough sort of fellow. They had discovered the casks of beer in No3 hatch, it was accessible from the store rooms. One bucket of the condensate would make six buckets of ale. and from the day of leaving Garston they were at it every day.
Captain King did not know that Gleff Jasse drank until he found him sober one day.

The pantry boy, Tarquin Smythe-Nozewheel ( he was from good stock that had fallen on hard times through bad investments in the great snuff crash of 1862, when snuff had dropped from a 1d a ton, to less than a farthing virtually over night. His father had commited suicide by inhaling as much of his useless stock as was possible in one go, and sneezed himself to death. ) had the cabin next to Jasse, and would often spy on him through the 1" hole that had appeared mysteriously about three feet up from the deck in the bulkhead that seperated the two cabins, few days into the voyage .
One evening he heard the sound of muttering and muted laughter from Jasses' cabin, and peering through the hole saw that there was another crew member there. they were both swigging from large mugs of a foul looking liquid that were being replenished from a cask bearing the legend 'Garston mud Company' under which was a small circular logo that enclosed three triangles, its meaning lost to him.
Thinking this to be a normal crew leisure time pursuit, he was about to return to his bunk and the well thumbed pages of a 'Port Said Bible' he'd found pushed under his cabin door by some well meaning fellow mariner, when he saw the steward Jasse drag out from under his bunk a large wooden box. He could just discern the words 'Arms' stencilled onto the lid.
Jasse undid the padlock and lifted the lid to reveal several prosthetic arms in a neat row. "Kin'ell" ejaculated the other man, who Tarquin had recognised as the fireman Aspinall, a person he'd been warned to keep well away from.
"It once contained tractor parts" said Jasse, "that I were smuggling to Uraguay" " Each to his own," sneered Aspinall, staring at the contents of the box, " but is this what yer was goin' ter show me?"
Smiling through what was left of his rotting teeth, Jasse took out the dummy limbs. He then removed a false bottom, the straps of which were beginning to chafe his upper legs. He then leant forward into the box, and tore away a thin cardboard liner ( I think it was the Windsor Castle, sorry,sorry,sorry, I could'nt help it. Author ) ) to reveal two pistols, a rusty musket, and a Light Sabre. ( Jasse could'nt lift a heavy Sabre since damaging his wrist lifting an overloaded tea tray. ) " Us can use these when we take command of the ship" he said " " just a few more of the crew to persuade to come with us, and the 'Garstonia' and her cargo will be ours." " Oil drink to that me old Bucko' " roared Aspinall, and poured the last of the foaming brew down his throat.
Tarquin saw them shake hands, the box was refilled and hidden once again under Jasses' bunk. Aspinal, belching loudly, Left the cabin, and made his way to the 'Garstonias' engine room, no doubt to inwardly digest what had just been revealed to him.
I must warn the Captain immediately before they can act, thought young Tarquin. I might get a reward which I can use to get MaMa out of the work house.

Brilliant stuff Jeff,you do realise that this part of the story belongs to you and Alehouse don't you? I'm sticking to my original tale and this one of yours is a "sequel" . I can't wait to see what transpires now.
The ex Author