Welcome Aboard The Black Pig - Shipping & Freight Blog

The Captain’s Christmas Message

And Ho Ho Ho to one and all…….

…..But especially the drivers of Arrow Trucking in the US who found out two days before Christmas that they were losing their jobs – and their rigs – with immediate effect.

Others in the trucking community have set out to do what they can (see the Facebook link on the original Handy Shipping Guide story) and we wish all you guys a happy Christmas despite your getting dumped by a firm, which by all accounts, wasn’t up to much anyway. Let’s hope it’s a turning point for you all.

…..And to the drivers who use the only access point to get into Wales, namely the Severn Bridge, after the English and Welsh authorities colluded to increase the toll charges despite a deep recession and fair words saying how much they care for the .community with a strong desire to increase opportunities for trade in the area.

…..And to the management at Eurotunnel who, despite my excusing them for all delays by stating that at least they hadn’t used the old “wrong type of snow” argument, obviously read the latest Captains Blog and decided that, actually, that was a pretty damn good excuse for all their trains breaking down and immediately issued a press release that “cold fluffy snow of an unusual type” had actually caused all the problems. Shame it wasn’t the normal square, warm stuff we usually get then.

…..And of course the politicians who worked so hard at the Copenhagen conference that they managed all the objectives they had promised, or rather precisely none of them, which of course was exactly what the bulk of us thought they would achieve.

Thought it best to put that in as I seem to have slipped into sarcasm at some point there so it’s probably best just to thank all the regular readers of the Handy Shipping Guide and those who also find their way onto the blog site for all their support over the past few months.

The news readership now is reaching astonishing levels with thousands of people in 177 different countries using the site daily.

Not bad as we actually went fully on line in September.

Don’t forget that you can freely comment on any of the blog topics just by using the “comments” link.

So thanks to all and a very merry Christmas.

Here’s a final Christmas Video – Just Don’t watch it if you’re easily offended!!!

But I've BEEN to the Smallest Pub !

Yes I have, it's called the New Inn and it's near Cerne Abbas in Dorset.

Well that's all a misapprehension on my part apparently. The boozer that three of my mates and I used to sneak into for pints of Bulmers from the wood at the tender age of 14 (no I don't recommend it now)*** whilst we were on Summer camp it turns out isn't the smallest.

It's another pub in the Cerne Valley, the Smiths Arms at Godmanston so there.

No it's not. It's actually the Nutshell, Bury St Edmunds, no, no Wikipedia reliably informs us it's the Hole in the Wall, Brighton, apparently there's a certificate on the wall to prove it, so there.

Only problem is the same Wiki page also tells us the Nutshell is the smallest.

Go figure.

I Reckon this one's smaller

But then again who knows or cares?

If you're wondering what set me off on this particular track (apart from the usual insane random thoughts that come from getting up at five and working too hard all day) it was Ports.

Yes I did say Ports, plural.

Not the dark brown nectar from Brazils home town but the things we sail into. As AT would say the land/water interface for transfer of commerce,personnel and the extrapolation of a travel based undertaking.

Now the first Mate and I have taken a bit of an interest in the dockside agenda lately (what with it being our job and all).

In one of our more random chats on the subject of all water borne freight he happened across a site which claimed to show the smallest dock in Britain.

Having seen the photo's I'm pretty sure that's an accurate description.

That's it Folks. In its entirety.

Firstly many thanks to Bob Jones for his wonderful photo's.

Let's be honest, how would you feel about docking in there on a stormy night on the Berwick Coast?

A visit is definitely in order for this one, the sort of Ports we visit in the line of duty have a ring of rainbow coloured scum slopping in an oily ripple round some miscellaneous polystyrene bits.

I mean this place might not even be real.

It's been "blasted out of the Gegan Rock in the shadow of Tantillan Castle".

Who wrote this stuff? JRRT himself I reckon.

Perhaps Bob is really 18 inches tall with a pointy hat.

Seriously folks I just hope that the tiny Harbour at Seacliff IS the smallest Port in Britain.

Otherwise you lot are all going to post objections and send me pictures from your ruddy phones of some scummy little puddle of Barking Creek or the Lower Mersea.

But have no fear.

I won't publish them.

I shall sit here and dream of the tide getting up at the foot of the cliffs in Seacliff.

Many thanks to Bob for letting me use his shots, you won't see better.

You can see more of our British Ports (as people in 94 countries now visit the Handy Shipping Guide)at www.ports.org.uk

But they aren't all gonna be as pretty as this one.

*** Actually that's a fib.

Captains Blog - Stardate Number One

WELCOME Traveller - to the maiden voyage of the Black Pig. Her ongoing mission to provoke and inspire comment and debate across the width and depth of space and time. Here you will find informed opinions with a dash of bigotry and bias (let's make this clear - it's a blog, that's what they are).

Will the Pig sail onward for ever, thousands flocking to contribute? Or will she sink below the waves of flotsam and jetsam out in the murky seas of the Web Ocean? Nobody knows.

Mostly I shall try to stick to Freight related items (no matter how tenuous) but sometimes she will run before the wind of general interest. Set out your stalls early folks - post your comments and be damned!  

The Captain