Well its been a hectic couple of days here in Portsmouth, with 6,000+ US Sailors in town. I’ve collected some of the media coverage for you all, whether you be families stateside or just general ship nerds such as myself!
BBC News – USS George HW Bush anchors off Portsmouth (inc video)
BBC News – USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier crew in Portsmouth
Portsmouth News – It’s party time as 6,000 US sailors descend on the city
Portsmouth News – US invasion of the city begins
And I’ve found some youtube clips from people who managed to get out on the boat trips. As you can see, it was a rough one!
The guys and girls from the Bush have made a lot of friends in Portsmouth, its been a great PR exercise for the US Navy. There’s been no hint of trouble, and all of the shop and barworkers are amazed at being called ‘sir’ and ‘maam’ all the time! Me and Sarah had a couple of drinks at Tiger Tiger at Gunwharf Quays, and one of the sailors showed us a new cocktail – black vodka, monster and coke – looks foul but tastes pretty good!
Oh, and lets not forget the Spaniards – they’ve been walking around in full uniform, including bobbles on hats and Hornblower style boat cloaks!
Hmm. No more “overpaid, oversexed, and over here”?
Seriously, glad to hear the crew were well-behaved. Maybe we need to run ALL our college kids through basic – might cut down on the number of idiots who celebrate various sports wins by trashing major portions of downtown shopping areas!
I should’ve sent you on a personal quest, to find a few of the airplane mechanics, and give ‘em my EMail. I’ve always felt the pilots were over-praised and the mechanics under-valued. Might just be my petrol-head tendencies, but I’ve always loved the ground crews. More so when I was re-enacting, ’cause I managed to embarrass a couple of guys who were strutting their pilots’/officers’ uniforms for potential girlfriends!
Honestly, it’s been a great time by all accounts. It’s blown away a lot of stereotypes for me – on local tv they showed two senior rates who wanted to go sightseeing, drink some real ale and eat Indian! The problem with the tight security etc the US military surrounds itself with is that it puts a barrier between the service and the world. Port visits do the world of good. Navies need to get better at getting the public onside. But all in all, the special relationship is all good!
In WW2 it was the ‘mechanics’ who kept everyone in the air, working round the clock to do so, especially on the Russian convoys- how do I know? My brother was there.
Edna
Ho ! A trip round the harbour on the Jenny M ! Those were the days, my friend, those were the days !
Edna
Happy Days!