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Starring with Bob HopeThe road to Milford HavenWhen you return home after a six month trip and your leave goes speedily by and you are down to the last two weeks you dread every ring of the telephone as I could be the London office personnel Dept requesting that you come back early or telling you your next ship is delayed and you have to go on a course. You learn to put up with that as well as your relations asking “when are you going back?” Thus one afternoon whilst doing the garden I had a phone call from Malcolm Corner in our Personnel Dept. He told me that Texaco needed a serving Master to evaluate a new ship handling simulator course to see if it was satisfactory for training Navigating Officers. LaGuardia NewYork Airport where the simulator was installed had a course lasting five days and by the way I would have to stay on to the following Monday as Bob Hope would be making a commercial involving this simulator so make sure you bring your uniform. When I got off the phone and told my family and friends their was great excitement and the story grew until you would have thought I was going to star in Bon Hope,s latest Movie.Ship handling simulators were already in use in Europe and I had attended two courses a couple years earlier at Arnhem, Holland. Almost all Nautical Colleges and seaports have them as they are an excellent training tool. The stranding of the tanker Exxon Valdez gave simulator training a great impetus. Texaco was keen to tell the American public about this safety item and what better place to do so than to get Bob Hope to include it in his weekly TV commercial on TV.I along with another Texaco Master, Ian Mc Vicar and two Italian Masters from Genoa turned up at the huge complex on the fringe of the huge airport . The training establishment, already were builders of aviation simulators thought they would turn their talents from planes to ships. They certainly did a great job of creating a ships bridge and all the equipment was there . Looking through the bridge windows you had all the panoply of Milford Haven or the terminal at Rastanura. You could go from bright sunshine to darkness or fog with the flick of a switch. They had introduced atmospheric sounds such as the throb of the engines and the cry of seagulls. The only thing that they did not get right was that the system was prone to malfunctioning and we spent more time for the thing to be repaired than doing any realistic training.The owners and technicians were under severe pressure as they had to pass our audit and Bob Hope was coming on Sunday. He would not be pleased if the apparatus failed to perform. Anyway we completed training on Friday and were told that we would have our certificates presented by Bob on Sunday.As they might use that in the Commercial Saturday saw us sightseeing in Manhattan and the environs of New York, The Owners ,since they cold not pay us for our part in the Commercial thought that the best they could do was lay on a car and a driver to show us the city. We did not waste the opportunity and we went from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building and it was a great day. We all had to sign a legal document which stated that we were never to claim any money for participating in tomorrow’s commercial or were we to use the film in any way to promote ourselves.They were taking no chances.Sunday morning saw us back at the Simulator for a briefing. We found there were a huge crowd gathered as anybody associated with the complex had taken a wife or family to get a glimpse of Bob Hope. It apparently always happened when ever events of a similar nature took place when movie stars were involvedWe four matelots in our uniforms had to watch as the lights ,sound booms and all the equipment for movie making was erected. Our voiced were endlessly tested . Our two Italians were pleased to be soon told they were no longer required and Capt McVicker and I had our voices balanced or whatever they do. As both of us came from the Scottish highlands our accents somehow gave then problemsWe were conscious that a conflict was going on about the script and the unreliability of the simulator. After a while we settled on a script and Bob Hope was to be on the bridge as I explained how it works. There was a hush and the great man was rumoured to be nearBefore he arrived we had a special briefing telling us how to behave when in the august presence of Mr Hope. No one must speak to him unless he spoke first. Photography was forbidden and no approaching for autographs . Americans we found out fawn upon mega stars and try to introduce family members in the hope of getting a foot of a ladder to stardom. They would laugh loudly ,at every utterance whether funny or not , made by Hope. We saw that this behaviour annoyed him and he was far from being a funny man when we saw him and he could certainly swear.He arrived accompanied by two huge black men like ubuilt like boxers and they were always in his immediate vicinity. He discussed the script with us and soon there was a dummy run, Bob either was unwilling or incapable of learning his “lines”. He used large “idiot”boards but I just had to memorise mine. Soon it became apparent that the time allocated to the movie would not fit the script. After several run through s with Bob clearly getting more angry they decided drastically rewrite the film and to my happiness to cut script so that Iain and I had no speaking parts. The best laid plans etc…..We got close to the Star and found him quite pleasant. He was heavily made up but quite fit. He had a remarkable resonant voice when he was acting. He was interested in what we did and had no knowledge of our trade whatsoever.The length of our voyages surprised him and he thought we had a dangerous tough job. Being borne in Hitchin, Herts. he said he was proud of his heritage. He had been in Scotland and liked the golf there.The most memorable thing was the arrival of the”Chuckwagon “ just about noon. It was a large bus like vehicle with drop sides. We all sat at trestle tables and enjoyed a huge lunch, I have seldom seen a display of food like it. The Italians were a tad disappointed when no wine was produced .no smoking either.This sort of thing I believe goes on when ever a movie was made in those daysThe script decided ,Bob did his piece and presented us each with our “course completion certificates “and we returned home. Much later we received a signed photograph of Bob and us four at the simulator.I have been at more such courses since then. Probably the best one was at Port Revel, Grenoble France. However none was so unforgettable as our trip to New York and meeting and making a movie with the great Bob Hope.If you want to see our efforts you can Google up TEXACO(Texaco)- Adviews-Dukelibraries at Track68 you will see one minutes worth of Bob Hope with Iain and I making a silent appearance. It was a long exciting day. Making movies is not my scene – I would rather take a VLCC in to Milford for real. ................
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