HMS Puma's second voyage across and around the South Atlantic was a young man’s dream. Of course, to show you any more faded black and white pictures, (if I had any that is,) would certainly not give you the beauty of the places and the people. Remember, I was 18 and everything was in hyperactive drive. Therefore, what would you think a young heterosexual male would look at on his travel, walking along Ipanema and Cochabamba beaches? Museums. So here you can look at the commissioning book. Some African countries have hardly changed since we won that cup at Wembley all those years ago.

On the ship she was strangely a well-thought-out design, with its long range and shallow draft, it would have fitted well in the Falklands campaign especially in naval bombardment. It was also where I became not accustomed but more lived with what amounted to lower deck slum conditions. This I didn't know at the time would be the state of all the warships I would serve in, on my 11 years in the Andrew.

The crew you could write a book about - maybe I should? Just change the names to protect a couple of us who would always be innocent. She was a great ship with a crew of piss-heads. Some from the lower deck, would later go on to become the Captain of Bulk carrier, a Concert Pianist, a steel multimillionaire, a well-respected economist, author, artist and even a Porn Star.

Postscript. I suppose every sailor in the Andrew will have his favourite ship. For me, HMS Puma was like watching the sunset on the empire, and a crew of diverse misfits who you would want to be with in any conflict. Something in truth all these years later, I was glad to have seen and experienced.