Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Dinner Menu on British India passenger / cargo liner KENYA

Front cover of the 13th March 1963 Dinner Menu of British India

Steam Navigation Company passenger - cargo liner KENYA (1951-1969).

the painting depicting a Clyde Puffer vessel arriving at the small town of

Port Askaig, on the Isle of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland..

 "Puffers" were 66 feet (20m) general cargo steam coasters which carried

all sorts of cargo from, generally Clyde ports, to every island and

settlement and croft in the West of Scotland. 

 The crews of 4 men, were tough and hardy and as well as sailing these

small slow ships actually discharged the cargoes by hand at the

destination.

 Talking about Port Askaig on Islay a well known old story is :

      A puffer arrived at Port Askaig with a cargo of bags of malt for the

local whisky distillery.    The master, a gruff and experienced and

thoroughly competent man, went to the distillery office to telephone

to the puffer owners in Glasgow to report his arrival in Port Askaig.

   The Shipping Manager was not pleased.   "Why are you at

Port Askaig ?   I distinctly told you to go to Port Ellen.   The

Lagavulin Distillery there is waiting for your cargo." 

.... (Port Ellen is another small township in Islay, quite a distance

along the coast from Port Askaig)  

"There's no need to be annoyed" replied the master, "at least

Port Askaig and Port Ellen are on the same island and I didn't

go to Port Said in Egypt"