[AT] old expressions "Brass Monkey"

Wed Aug 2 15:19:21 PDT 2006

I was in England 7 years ago, helping the RAF's maintenance provider (DARA).
One of the folks I worked closely with had a long-time friend who was the 
Naval officer responsible for Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory,
It is the oldest  commissioned  warship in the world, and is still manned by 
Officers and sailors of the Royal Navy. HMS Victory is the only surviving 
warship that fought in the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the 
Napoleonic Wars and is now the flagship of "the Second sea Lord and Commander in 
Chief Naval Home Command".
Since I was nearby, and it has a permanent berth (no. 2 Dry Dock at 
Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire UK) my friend pulled some strings to get he and I an 
after hours guided tour.
During that tour, we were shown the brass monkeys, and the tale of freezing 
the balls off during extreme cold was told to us by our very official and 
practiced guide.
Although I was aware of conflicting data, I did not insult the very dedicated 
and distinguished gentleman who so graciously showed us both the 
extraordinarily harsh working conditions and also the remarkable technology of the era.

-Bruce Thompson

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<DIV><FONT size=3D2>I was in England 7 years ago, helping the RAF's maintena=
nce provider (DARA).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>One of the folks I worked closely with had a long-time f=
riend who was the Naval officer responsible for Admiral Lord Nelson's f=
lagship HMS Victory,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>It is the oldest  commissioned  wars=
hip in the world, and is still manned by Officers and sailors of the Royal N=
avy. HMS <SPAN class=3Ddesc><FONT size=3D3><FONT size=3D2>Victory is the onl=
y surviving warship that fought in the American Revolution, the French=20=
Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars and is</FONT> </FONT></SPAN>now the=
 flagship of "the Second sea Lord and Commander in Chief Naval Home Command"=
.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Since I was nearby, and it has a permanent ber=
th (no. 2 Dry Dock at Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire UK) my friend pulle=
d some strings to get he and I an after hours guided tour.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>During that tour, we were shown the brass monkeys, and t=
he tale of freezing the balls off during extreme cold was told to us by&nbsp=
;our very official and practiced guide.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Although I was aware of conflicting data, I did not insu=
lt the very dedicated and distinguished gentleman who so graciously sho=
wed us both the extraordinarily harsh working conditions and also the remark=
able technology of the era.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>-Bruce Thompson</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>