Abstract | Cliff Brand, a member of a well known Island family, was skipper of THOMA II, a beautiful white barge
yacht. He looked stunning in his uniform of navy blue with gold buttons, he was very nice looking with red
hair and had a personality to match. His owner thought the world of him and I think his salary must have been
higher than the rest as he was so generous to those less paid. I think his brain gave birth to the legendary
Mrs Hart, the lady who was so good to the poor, as he always did the ordering and always paid the bill, some of
which were quite considerable, as on one occasion I had to go to Colchester to buy presents for a school treat
on the beach. This illusive lady Mrs Hart never arrived, there was alway some excuse for her absense, but
on this occasion we really thought she was going to present the prizes, but as usual at the last minute she was
prevented from doing so.
This leg pull fooled everybody for several years, but this time Cliff was no longer skipper
of THOMA II as Lloyds would no longer insure the yacht owing to an accident to the yacht, which as skipper
who had no ticket he had to take the blame for. He loved the sea and could positively smell the thoughts of sea
wind and clouds, and any boat was safe if he was at the helm. Without the possession of a ticket, by this time
Cliff's generosity was on the wane and so was the generosity of Mrs Hart and I think by 1924 she became only a
memory out of nowhere into nowhere. Cliff's wit never left him, he told you things which you took with a grain
of salt which was exactly the way he wanted it in spite of changed circumstances.
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