Shelley the Lifeboat Labrador (17 page)

On Christmas Eve I decided I wanted to go to the midnight service in the local church and took Shelley with me. I don’t know why, perhaps it was that I had had a good evening and wanted to be a bit different.  To my surprise they let her into the church and she was well behaved falling asleep most of the time.  When it was time for Communion one of the congregation’s regular church goers held onto Shelley.  It was a lovely service and I was most surprised when the vicar blessed us at the end of the service he included his special guest ‘The Golden Labrador’.  On the way out I thanked him and told him I was a visitor for Christmas and staying at the Crown and Castle hotel. I was to see him over the next three years on what was to become a regular trip.                 

The three days soon went and during that time I took Brenda to Southwold and for a drink in The Swan and Harbour Inn introducing her to some of my old friends.  This was not the idea of the visit but as it was so close it was well worth it.  Joan and Eric also invited us to have drinks with them at the local pub in Aldeburgh.  I was also to find out later that Eric had an outstanding war record flying Lancaster’s and had been awarded several medals.  He was very modest and kept them in a drawer and I would not have known had Joan not mentioned it.

Several years later I was to take my good friend Harry Richardson (whom I met in the Sovereign pub) from Shoreham to show him the area giving him an opportunity to meet Eric. He was stunned by the variety and quality of his awards telling a few of our RAF friends back in Shoreham on his return.  Harry was himself a very modest man and liked to keep things very much to himself unlike a few others in Shoreham who went over the top regarding their war records.

Shelley and Danny really had a wonderful time and on the visit to Southwold Shelley showed off her skills to Danny (whilst meeting many of her old friends) in getting the maximum attention from all and sundry with her crisp packet routine.

One morning I took them both for a long walk along the estuary joining the footpath along by the river.  You have guessed it Shelley decided to jump into the water to retrieve a large stick she had seen.  Danny being so small had enough common sense and stayed out of the water barking non stop whilst running into muddy puddles.  There was no problem when Shelley got wet as she soon dried out but Danny was a white bundle of fluff that had been specially groomed for the festive break at a vast expense in a posh grooming parlour in Hove. 

I had not thought about this and an hour our so later when we got back to the hotel Brenda was far from pleased.  It was a bath then a blow dry with the hotel hair dryer before he came back to any normality.  Shelley and I felt it best we keep our distance so retired to the bar for an early lunch time drink to be joined by Brenda with a dishevelled Danny.  A few G and T’s later all was forgiven and when Joan and Eric joined us they made even more fun out of the situation.                                                                                          

On our last day we popped into the pub by the harbour and met a couple of locals. One had lived in Orford all his life and had been no further than Ipswich and was now in his 80’s.  This was often the case with some Suffolk folk.  He had never married and lived with his two sisters.  He did cycle to the pub every day and it had been known in the past for him to fall off his bike and sleep in the hedge until found.  He kept all amused with his stories in return for several pints of Adnam’s Bitter. On reflection I don’t think he ever purchased a drink!

We also met the local gamekeeper or should I say poacher.  Now here was a man steeped in local history who knew more about gun dogs and Labradors than anyone I had met in the past.  Looking at Shelley he said she was a wonderful looking dog and to our surprise guessed where she had come from even naming the breeders.  Taking her outside onto the grass he put her through her paces asking her to sit – stay – heel etc.  He gave her 8 out of 10 saying had she been given the opportunity she would have been a first class gun dog that he would have been proud to own.  I asked him the best place to get some pheasant and he asked where I was staying.  To our surprise next morning he turned up at the hotel looking for us.  He drove his van down to my car and deposited four brace of pheasant in the car boot with his compliments. “Had it not been for your dog Shelley you would have had to pay for these,” he said with a broad smile. He kept to the same routine every year and I never asked where they came from! 

We enjoyed it so much that both of us were to return to Orford for three more years meeting up with the same local people and becoming part of the family. We stopped the visits when the hotel was sold and the Christmas rates doubled in price with it becoming more of an up market bistro establishment.  It was interesting to note most of the others guests did the same. Sadly sometimes changes are not always the best thing when it comes to running a well established hotel.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It was like this in both Shoreham and Southwold as often was the case the influx of a new type of resident resulted in publicans and shop owners catering for a different type of clientele resulting in the locals using other venues and when the winter months returned they wondered why their trade had dropped.  Many of these wonderful resorts are now lived in by people who have second homes there. The cost of property has gone up and the children of the families who were born and bred there can no longer afford a residence.  It is a sign of the times that has sadly put an increased price tag on properties giving a sense of false inflation. 

Also a new influx of people what locals often call grockels have resulted in some of the pubs where a dog like Shelley had always been welcome now deciding to ban them altogether.  Somehow I have a feeling we have lived through the times when people were real people with an understanding of life.  It is such a great pity as the many characters that were around will be a thing of the past only to be written about in books.

Harry from Shoreham said of his first visit “If only I had known of this beautiful county before I would have made sure my family had seen it as I am seeing it with you”.   Harry had a distinguished flying record during the Second World War and to meet Eric made his initial trip.  Not only that he found the people very endearing and caring and this was to be the first of several visits I took him on to get him out of his Shoreham routine.  It was also nice to stay with my good friend Chris Fox from the lifeboat who had now moved to Acle and was working at a boatyard at Reedham on the Norfolk Broads.  It was like a family reunion!                                                                                            

End of Chapter 23

LIFEBOAT CHARITY WALK AND MORE ACTION – CHAPTER 24

One of the other duties of being a Lifeboat crew member is getting involved in charity fund raising.  Some is good fun and other times it is more a call of duty.  There are many fund raising branches in the U.K and surprisingly there are inland ones that collect more than those that are by the coast or near a station.  People that live inland admire what the RNLI do and when a particular story makes the national news funds do increase. Many pubs have collecting boxes and a lot of people also have boats they take to the coast or on rivers near to their homes. 

A big thank you comes from all the crews to these branches that do so much to raise funds; ‘we can’t do it without you.’ On one occasion the fundraisers for the lifeboat which is situated in Brighton Marina decided to have a sponsored walk towing a small fishing boat from the marina to Hove lagoon and back; a total of about 10 miles in all.  It was agreed that the Mayor of Brighton would start the event and we would tow him in the boat along with some Brighton and Hove Albion football players and other well known guests that would join in as we went along the coast.  Shelley had no intention of missing out on this.

The idea was to attach ropes around the hull of the boat that was situated on a trailer and we would tow in two teams of six people either side with a little assistance from behind when we had to negotiate a slope. The weather was excellent as we set off from the marina. There would also be collectors walking on either side of the road with their collecting buckets so no one would be missed out and other funds would be thrown into the boat.

The Mayor loved it and as he owned a hotel on the seafront decided to stay on board until we got there arranging for some liquid refreshments to be available for us as we went past.  Needless to say once opening time arrived more refreshments were added. It is surprising what one can get when one wears a crew jumper!

I recall a story I heard about a crew in Cornwall who had a regular local they used. In the summer the resort was a popular place for tourists so they decided to wear their jumpers back to front.   It seemed that this was an ideal way to get the odd drink as the original jumpers were long dark blue with the logo R.N.L.I written across the front.  By putting the jumper on back to front the logo was visible to those that came into the bar.  The opportunity often arose that people liked to find out about the local lifeboat so in seeing a jumper approached the person wearing it with an offer of a drink and an opportunity to chat.  Of course an offer not to be refused!  Several of us tried this for a while but sadly it did not work as well. Perhaps Shoreham did not have the same attractions as one of the Cornish fishing villages.

Shelley in the meantime had her work load increased when someone thought of the bright idea of making a harness out of rope with a collecting box placed each side of her and a few stickers that adorned her head and collar.  She loved it but had to be kept on the lead due to the traffic and the knowledge that the sea was a few feet away. Can you image her last being seen swimming out to sea with two collecting boxes attached to her.  She was very popular and there was no shortage of walkers for her.  The Mayor invited her into the boat so that was a real bonus.   A little later she was presented with several packets of crisps by him to keep her amused.

The football players turned up and I have to admit I did not know any of them although there was a lot of interest from the spectators and there was no doubt that their attendance did increase the funds.  We all got invited to a football match later and were given the opportunity to collect funds at the ground which was a great success. It was the first and last time I ever visited a football ground. We cant all like the same thing!                                                                                                                                                            

When we reached Hove Lagoon we had a short break and Shelley went for her swim (some memories must have come back from when she lived in Hove). There were some refreshments laid on by the local branch for us and another pub had provided some drinks.  It became one of those situations where looking forward to the return journey it seemed as though it would be a lot longer.  Not deterred by this we set off having lost one or two of our supporters en route.

The weather by now had become very hot and the footballers had departed to their favourite wine bar in Hove and the Mayor back to his hotel so it was the staunch supporters that carried on.  I have to admit that the decision to do a return journey was a little foolhardy and it did take a lot longer than we thought.  There was one advantage though, more holiday makers along the prom which meant more funds for the RNLI.  Shelley was doing a great job still carrying her two collection boxes which had been emptied twice and she did not seem tired.  It must be remembered that she had now reached the age of 9.  She had a few grey hairs around her mouth and a few more bumps and lumps but nothing seemed to deter her much. 

We managed to get back to the marina by about 3-30pm. The next day we did get some nice publicity in the newspapers, though I have to say that most centred on the Mayor. There were more pictures of the football team members than the hard working RNLI crews and supporters; sadly a sign of the times.  We had done very well, it seemed, and raised a lot of funds for the New Brighton lifeboat station that was going to be situated at the marina entrance.

Fund raising did sometimes have its advantages as was the case when the crew was invited to visit a pub to help open a large bottle full of money.  A couple of drivers were elected to take the other members along so some could at least have a drink, or the wives assisted.  Most of these evenings ran along the same lines, a drink when one arrived then the elected senior crew member gave a short chat to the gathered locals and guests. This was followed by more drinks and a general dispersal amongst those present.  Then the bottle was placed on its side and the head knocked off with a hammer and the contents emptied out onto a cloth.  Counting then commenced and it always amazed me just how much money a large whiskey bottle contained.  Counting was followed by a raffle where the prize went to the person who had guessed closest to the amount raised. The raffle money also goes to the RNLI and without fail there is always one person who says that he would like to round the amount off to the nearest hundred with a personal donation and yet another round of drinks for the crew.  We did not even have to wear our jumpers back to front!