200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar was celebrated by her Majesty the Queen and all her children in various parts of the country on the 21st October, so the Maritime group of Maldon U3A did likewise at Maldon Little Ship Club with a dinner.
The five course meal was enjoyed by a large number of members and guests, including, the current Maldon Little Ship Club Commodore Trevor Holder and his wife Donna and the past Commodore (or should that be Commodoress?) Janice Frost and her husband John. The guest speaker, Roger Beckett spoke of the Nelson “touch” and his care of his crew, as he had come up through the ranks, and his responsibilities for the “Sea Fencibles” (Nautical home guard to you and me) and many other snippets of the time.
The dress code of lounge suits took on new meaning with a fair bit of gold braid and period costumes and there was even one of those damned Frenchies escorting someone who looked remarkably like the lovely Lady Hamilton. (I suspect he was a left-over POW and hope he has since been dispatched to his ancestors from the nearest yardarm).
Pictures of the celebration.
Various dishes had suitable names from that era to add a bit more atmosphere to the event. The evening flowed quite smoothly, just like the liquor, with confiscated champagne from the French, liberated Port from the Spanish, who took it from the Portuguese in the first place, and suitable sized tot of rum from the West Indies. There was also good old British beer available (some of which was brewed in Maldon). Drinking the loyal toast while sitting was a new experience for me and I suspect many others. Eating and drinking was orchestrated by pipe under the control of Frank Stokes so there was no doubt when to do things.
I look forward to doing it again soon. So, does Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh, Long John Silver, Captain Hook or any other nautical person who have an anniversary coming up in the near future? Watch out for further announcements.
Bryan Urry
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