THE EASTERN FLEET 135- 



mattresses outside the bridge parted and the mattresses flew up 

 and inboard on the bridge Uke leaves of a calendar, narrowly 

 missing those huddled on the bridge, and making a noise like a 

 clap of thunder. 



The mattresses were pushed outboard but flew in again with 

 renewed ferocity, first one side and then the other. The anemo- 

 meter, which normally emits buzzes at diminishing intervals as 

 the wind rises, was now making a continual noise indicating that 

 the winds were not far short of loo knots. But the ship came 

 through unscathed, and reached Cape Town in good order. 



The hospitality of the good people of the Cape is too well 

 known by every serviceman who passed that way during the war 

 for a further description to be given here. No better place could 

 have been found for the ship's company to relax while their ship 

 was being repaired. Miss Lucy Bean was in charge of the hospit- 

 ality, and she had a delightful home planned for every member of 

 the crew when his leave became due. Men were asked whether 

 they preferred rural or city life and their hosts were chosen 

 accordingly. 



Information was already coming in from the Kilindini Survey 

 Unit about new buoys and navigational beacons and many other 

 changes taking place at Mombasa, which meant correcting the 

 plates of the E.F. charts and printing new editions to be packed 

 and sent off to the Chart Depot at Kilindini. So the Royal 

 Marines could not take their leave until all this work was behind 

 them. But daytime printing was possible in this cooler climate 

 and they were able to spend many a long night in the famous Del 

 Monico, drinking beer and listening to the orchestra under the 

 domed and star-studded ceiling. 



The zinc plates were now getting worn smooth and the im- 

 portant moisture-retaining grain had to be re-imposed. This is 

 done by putting the zinc in a trough full of marbles which is then 

 agitated mechanically. The constant rolling of the marbles this 

 way and that imposes the grained surface. No apparatus of this 

 nature was carried in the ship but the Marines found one in the 

 printing offices of the Cape Times and approached the Manager. 

 He was delighted to help them in this matter, more particularly 

 as his anibition at that time was to be invited onboard a naval 



