Dinner
’
s at midday
,
followed by tobacco time
—
smoked or chewed. Then I put out the fires.
In the evening
,
the grog comes out and the men
eat leftovers.
Each man has brought a bowl
,
spoon and mug on
board. I give him a good square meal on his own
square plate. If he
’
s still hungry
,
I tell him to eat
wind pudding!
The captain has a supply of fine china
,
glassware
,
silver cutlery and linen tablecloths
,
in case of visitors. The gentlemen have brought
their own extras
—
special meats
,
wines and
cheese. It
’
s all right for some.
After breakfast
,
one man from each table helps
me out. I give him his table
’
s ration of flour
,
suet
and raisins for him to mix the puddings. Then he
labels the pudding bags and drops them in the
boiler alongside the meat
—
all in together. Come
dinnertime
,
he serves up for his messmates.
