A Shipyard Poem Options

[Rab-oldname]

Heres a nice wee poem about working in The Yard.

The Journeyman by Brian Whittingham

Wurkin piecework in the funnel shoap,
building quick
but no quick enuff,
cursin an liftin an swerrin
cause it takes too long
tae wait oan the crane-man who
is lookin efter his mate
who stands him a few dinner time bevies
at the Seven Seas public bar
an you know cause
that's wherr you get yir three pint chaser
fur yir ashet pie supper
that yi eat wi yir rusty fingers,
then yi fa oot wi the timekeeper
cause o the stupit time he pit oan the joab
an you kid oan the boey
who wiz daft enuff tae
let yi pit a brush handle
through the arms of his ovoies
an you play
spin the hammer
like it wiz yir prize six shooter
an you laugh when the boey tries it
an it nearly brekks his toes,
an yi go tao the burner
an patter him up
so he'll burn yir joab
an yi momentarily watch
his torch ignitin
and you watch
the gas yi couldnae see
exploding
like a bomb,
an the cloud of rusty dust
an bodies hidin behind
guillotines an
flangers an
scrap-buckets an
yi squint thru the haze
at the guy that's no therr
cause he's been blown down the passage
wi a hole in his side
that he didnae huv
before yi pattered hin up,
an yi stoat ower tae the first aider
who pits a dod o cotton-wool stuck oan
wi sellotape, ower yir eye,
an yi realise how lucky yi wur
an how lucky the burner wisnae
then again,
he could huv been the guy
that fell in the furnace,
the first-aider wisnae much use tae him
neither he wiz.

[lindamac]

My husband enjoyed that poem Rab,he related to it well as he was once a plater in Yarrows shipyard.

[boots]

Hi Rab, Enjoyed reading the poem. I liked the way you drew your characters and showed how they related tae wan another. I even felt hostile to your main man - mean SOB that he was coulda had em all kilt.. Mostly I lovedyour closing lines. They showed your hero's detachment and utter disregard for others. And left me wonderin "WHY" Was he just a mean bastard or was it a kind of traditional hazing th at one did because it was expected of you?

Could you tell me what "pattered him up" means...maybe pm me?

[Gallusbisom]

It kinda means "schmoozed" him. That may not help at all, sorry. LOL

[wellfield]

Enjoyed it too talented man!!....I was a plater/welder or as they call us here 'Shipfitters'

Just for your info Rab,the plater here does his own rigging/fitting/cutting/welding/grinding and yes they are union jobs.

[A Mackinnon]

Enjoyed it too talented man!!....I was a plater/welder or as they call us here 'Shipfitters'

Just for your info Rab,the plater here does his own rigging/fitting/cutting/welding/grinding and yes they are union jobs.

Well now I know why my old trade of "Shipwright" is all but extinct.

[lindamac]

Enjoyed it too talented man!!....I was a plater/welder or as they call us here 'Shipfitters'

Just for your info Rab,the plater here does his own rigging/fitting/cutting/welding/grinding and yes they are union jobs.

My Husband is the very same here in Australia he certainly got his eyes opened when he first worked in the steele industry here in Australia now he actualy enjoys doing it all a sort of seeing the piece through so to speak but he was anxious when 1st working wondering if the union were going to give him trouble lol.cheers from Lindamac

[lindamac]

Hi Rab, Enjoyed reading the poem. I liked the way you drew your characters and showed how they related tae wan another. I even felt hostile to your main man - mean SOB that he was coulda had em all kilt.. Mostly I lovedyour closing lines. They showed your hero's detachment and utter disregard for others. And left me wonderin "WHY" Was he just a mean bastard or was it a kind of traditional hazing th at one did because it was expected of you?

Could you tell me what "pattered him up" means...maybe pm me?

Hello Boots Lindamac here ,the words pattered him up means to sweet talk and chatter him up to feel very favourablethus helping him out sort of like chatting someone up to get your own way from them. regards Linda

[boots]

Damn good poem, isn't it? I can't get this particular "journeyman" out of my head and I think I've answered my own question. Thanks in part to your help Gallusbisom. I say "part" because by itself, I didn't "get" schmoozed" either but then I began to play with both words, interchanging them in the poem, I knew I was familiar with the word schmooze, I just couldn't remember in what context, then I thought of "patter" away from the ship yard and in to Locarno and presto, I had it! The poor wee laudie was being made tae feel the journeyman was treatin' him like an equal or as we might say here, he was being buttered up, for the final indignity.

Couldn't he just have been sent for a pail of elbowgrease or a skyhook or something? but then I suppose, there wouldn't be a poem.

[wellfield]

Well now I know why my old trade of "Shipwright" is all but extinct.

Not to worry A. Mack'...Shipwright here is still a trade on its own....

[DavidT]

Hello Rab, that's a fantastic piece of writing. I recognise the characters immediately as being a wee boy from Govan I'm used to hearing yardtalk. I must admit I have never set foot in a shipyard. I can see the tops of the cranes at Faifield's (now BAE Systems) right now from my front window. It's a sight I personally love, but is sadly threatened these days.
I think I recognise the actual place as there used to be a Seven Seas pub in Clydebank. So Brown's yard it would be. Sadly gone. The new Clydebank College stands in the grounds now. All that's left of that yard is the Titan crane which seems to be a bit of a curiosity. It's used for charity zipslides and abseils. At least it's still standing. It's like a huge monument to itself.

[Dave Grieve]

Enjoyed it too talented man!!....I was a plater/welder or as they call us here 'Shipfitters'

Just for your info Rab,the plater here does his own rigging/fitting/cutting/welding/grinding and yes they are union jobs.

Same over here and include drilling and pipe fitting, I even operated a tower crane on one job

[wellfield]

Same over here and include drilling and pipe fitting, I even operated a tower crane on one job

Yea' Dave I forgot to mention many other trades amalguated into one...it was done here to try and save the shipyards 'fraid it didn't do much good mind ye'

[wellfield]

There were 24 giant cranes all told in this project..this is a brand new dock in L.A. Harbour....President Clinton at the time gave a speech and officially opend the new project..a big dat for this wee fellow from Glasgow!

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[wellfield]

David T mentioned cranes....I think I mentioned on here before that I had a marine welding & fabrication compant in Los Angeles harbour...these container cranes in the post above was one of my projects,this is the completion picture 12 cranes in a row.