On  Monday, June 24, 2002 4:09 PM, Bjorn wrote:

> > Mate!  I may have mentioned this ten or so times before, but KK - when
it
> > was still called Jesseleton - is where I once tried to smuggle a baby
> > elephant back on board ship!  (It's a true story that actually
happened!)

> I realize this sound difficult to believe, but that is a story I don't
> recall hering before! Pray tell, my good man!

Mate!  It happened in 1965 - after scoring an 'own goal' and blowing up our
own 4.5 inch guns, (skillfully replaced with insitutional sized cans of
baked beans painted to resemble twin gun barrels) - while we were on our way
back to Singapore from the Tawau region.  The ship pulled in for a couple of
days R&R in Jessleton.  A place that, in those days, was very, very small -
but with a number of bars.

After quenching out thirst in every establishment that we could find, Sam
and myself made our wavery way back to the jetty and the ship.   The circus
had come to town and had set up camp on a grassy area close to the end of
the jetty.  We strolled past the stalls and then discovered the elephants!
They were obviously well-trained.  A number of them were lined up behind
bambboo poles laid on the ground in front of them.  The elephant's
owner/trainer was capitalising on the interest shown in them by folks
visiting the circus.  He'd set up a stall at the beginning of the line,
selling hands of bananas to feed to the elephants.  We slowly passed them by
until, right at the end of the line and the point closest to the jetty, we
discovered a tiny baby elephant.  Being at the tail-end of the line, he
seemed to be missing out on the banana feast.  Sam and I pooled the last of
our money, went back to the stall and bought a large bunch of bananas that
we took back to the baby elephant.  He seemed very gratefull for our
interest and stepped across the bamboo pole to get at the fruit. :-)

Being tender-hearted souls we decided that he needed a more caring home and
began enticing him to follow us by laying a banana trail back towards the
ship.  The little elephant followed us, hardly even pausing to pick up each
carefully placed banana.  Alas!  In our befuddled state we hadn't made
allowance for the narrow gangway up to the ship - nor the
officer-of-the-watch standing at the top of it peering down at us!  :-)

"Just what the bloody hell are you pair doing with a f........ elephant?" He
said.

Quick as a flash came the truthful reply.  "It followed us 'ome, sir.  Can
we keep it?"

Unfortunately the trainer, seeing one of his prize charges being kidnapped,
came running up the jetty.  He was not happy!  Nor were the mob trailing
behind him!  We scuttled up the gang-way like rats up a rope, leaving the
officer-of-the-watch to work out a diplomatic solution.  Needless to say we
were both hauled up in front of the skipper on the following day to receive
light punishment of extra duties.  (The pity of it is that I can't recall
what the charge-sheet read!)  :-)

So if we have a 2004 NEDFest on Layang-Layang -  and the circus happens to
be in town, in KK - I'm not going to it!  (They say that elephants never
forget, and that baby elephant will, by now, be fully grown and too big too
fit on the 'plane!)  :-)))

Strike