HBG

Thank you for correcting me, I had no idea.

Domino

its only once a year so they have plenty of time to build up stamina before the feria comes round again.

ours has just finished, the BH and I took the dog out for a walk yesterday morning and ended up passing by the back end of the feria, where the rides were still running at 0900, and there were guys peeing up a wall. There were people leaving in cars at great speed. Luckily our walk took us out into the campo so we ended up well away.

Domino

well our "village" is reputed to have 50 bars and a population of 5,000.
but I have only found about 25 of those and some have never seen open, although I am not wandering around in the evenings too often to double check (well not in the current high temps)

it may be the 50 are in the group of villages that make up the local district, so that would be about 8-9,000 people.

HBG

I think that even as long-term expats we are only scratching on the surface of real Spanish life. You can try and integrate until you're blue in the face, and you won't get much further.

There's me, big boots, observing some Spanish youngsters sat under a tree passing round drinks and smokes and I think it's only a bit of harmless fun, until I'm suitably corrected and pointed to horrible stories where the harmless fun has led to brutal and mindless murders.

I'm about to put on my big boots again and wander forth, to the bank, the bakers and a suitable Spanish bar for refreshments. I'm bound to speak to several, mostly Spanish people, but I'm just the stranger passing through town, who knows very little about what goes on behind closed doors.

bobd22

I knew there had to be a reason other than the sun and sea why I enjoyed my posting to Cyprus so much in 1978

Domino

it was the same in Singapore, after a longish walk from the ship berths to the Nee Soon gate it all became worth it when you stepped out into all the bars right in front of you, the street restaurants - Indians one side Chinese the other, the line of mercedes taxi's waiting to take you further afield.

nogard

Do you recall the walk back ,form Nee Soon gate to the dockyard at the end of one's run ashore and all the half eaten Bangos in the monsoon ditch on the right hand side? Sweet memories!

Domino

yes, remember some of the walks back, but not all
usually depended on whether we had started off in the Dockyard Canteen first or gone straight ashore

used to be a restaurant just outside the gate where you could get a huge T-bone steak, served on a red hot griddle plate shaped like a bull

then there was the bar owned by a local guy who was heavily into motor racing, did F3 I think, or perhaps it was just a lower level, bar walls covered in framed photo's of him being presented with cups. had a couple of bouncers on hand, always removed trouble makers before the Shore Patrol got there.

remember one guy was beaten up by locals and left for dead in the monsoon ditch just outside the gates - think it was over a taxi bill.

nogard

Dockyard Canteen, where one ordered a tray of pints of Tiger!

Domino

How does Malta come out on the scale of pubs/population ??

I would presume that now the RN and its compatriots are long gone from Malta that Straight St is just full of little houses with a population living quiet Catholic lives
Closing all those bars would cut the number in Malta by about 50%

Domino

and by the time you got to a table the tray was overflowing with slops

preferred a bottle of Castle meself, also spent alot of time in Kranji where it was something like a 2 mile walk or taxi down to the nearest bar in the village so spent most time in the camp bar

nogard

Never got to Kranji? Spent more time in Hong Kong where one started one's run ashore in the China Fleet Club. Reason for doing so; get loaded on cheap pop! As at the Dockyard Canteen. Then last ferry to Koo Loon 2359; no tunnel in thoes days.