ONLY one of the Royal Navy's ships involved in the Falklands conflict has survived and she was in Leith at the weekend on a courtesy call. Thrilled to bits, so I was, to mingle on HMS Exeter with the captain and the destroyer's company when they hosted a reception.
One of those unforgettable they-didn't-like-it-up-'em occasions. Commander Paul Brown, who briefly ran HMS Edinburgh, delivered his welcoming speech standing on the very same Sea Dart system that destroyed two Argentine Skyhawk bombers. Ideally I'd h
ave made a DVD of all this and sent it to Buenos Aires.
There have been five Exeters, the most illustrious of the others participated in the sinking of the Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate in 1939.
This latest incarnation was launched in 1979 and is still well capable of inflicting harm. She'd just come down from exercising, at 32 knots, off the Shetlands and was headed for home port Portsmouth via Leith. She has a crew of 280, her eventual technology-enriched replacement will accommodate 145.
The bonus for privileged guests (if they'd sold tickets for this, they'd have fetched a fortune) was the band of HM Royal Marines in Scotland Beating the Retreat on the quayside.
I Vow to Thee My Country, Hearts of Oak and Rule Britannia, along with the lowering of the Navy ensign on the 'copter deck, brought a tear to an ex-serviceman's eye.
Capping it all, thanks to a personal introduction by Steve Walsh of the Edinburgh Tattoo's production staff, a few wets with the lads in the warrant officers and chief petty officers' mess in the tradition of the Royal Navy.
You've been privy here to information from a Top Secret file I found lying on a seat on 22 bus. Lothian Buses have passed the file to Lost Property at the Ministry of Defence.
Quiet night inLife's not the bowl of cherries for a Holyrood hack that some of you might imagine. There can be complications. Like what to do on Tuesday nights?
Heel for heel and toe for toe at the Ross Bandstand? (och aye, country dancing's back in the Gardens). My bladder training class? The scrabble club? Pilates? Stay over with my Mandarin tutor? Or do I just stay home and plump the cushions?
None of that. A quiet night in with France and Italy, if my bladder can stand it.
The full article contains 413 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
