At 3.05pm on Monday 3 February 1941 the S.S. Politician steamed gently out of the Mersey with a Liverpudlian Master (Captain Beaconsfield Worthington) heading for the north of Scotland to rendezvous with a convoy.
She was then to sail on to Jamaica and the USA, with a cargo of around 22,000 cases of Scotch whisky, until fate intervened.
She had been built in 1923 by the Furness Ship Building Company in County Durham, and was a good sound ship designed for the Pacific trade.
For years she crossed and recrossed the oceans, bearing the name of S.S. London Merchant, the largest and fastest ship in the Furness Withy Line.
In 1935 she was sold and renamed the Politician. She could cruise at seventeen knots, which was fast in those days, which is why in 1941 it was decided she could go north on her own. A slower ship could have been torpedoed in Britain’s coastal waters.
It all went tickety-boo until 4am the following morning when the Politician foundered on the rocks in Eriskay Sound in the Outer Hebrides. The crew got off safely but when the salvors got off the ship, the men of these remote Scottish islands knew their duty: save the cargo, for themselves.
The timing was perfect. Whisky had long held a special place in the lives of the remote islanders, and was one of the most difficult commodities to obtain in WW2.
While the ship was slowly breaking up, small boats were out at night rescuing as much of the precious golden amber as possible from the depths of the sea.
The story was turned into Whisky Galore!, a light-hearted popular novel by Sir Compton Mackenzie, who then co-wrote the screenplay for the classic 1949 Ealing comedy film. At that time the title of this familiar beverage was not permitted to adorn the marquees of America’s movie houses, and so it became known there as Tight Little Island.
In France the film was called Whisky a Go-Go and was so successful a night club opened bearing its name.
I watched this film again the other day and it got me thinking about the huge quantity of fine whisky carried on some 21st century cruise ships. Most notably, Silversea Cruises, Windstar Cruises, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises and Cunard Line.
There have long been rumours that many bottles from the Politician are still around, unopened. Any serious whisky lover would love to get his or her hands on one.
But bearing in mind the cost of many fine malts (£50+ a nip in some London hostelries and even more on some cruise ships) I dread to think what someone would charge for a wee dram from a rare bottle of Scotch rescued from the sea in 1941.
Personally I tend to avoid looking at the really expensive stuff in the bars of cruise ships because, quite frankly, I can’t afford the second mortgage it would cost to get the bar steward to serve me a snifter.
But maybe one of the more superior cruise ships (such as those in the short list of links below) could find and purchase a dusty bottle or two from the Politician and allow seriously interested passengers to have a sniff of the cork, for a small fee.
Which reminds me of a man sitting next to me in a cruise ship bar who shut his eyes every time he took a sip of his favourite whisky. He drank a lot of it, but didn’t seem remotely drunk.
“Why do you close your eyes when you drink?” I asked him.
“I love this whisky so much,” he replied. “Every time I look at it, my mouth waters, and that dilutes it.
”Besides, my doctor tells me alcohol is a slow poison, and I’m not in any hurry.”
Now, for next weeks blog, Politician on the rocks – now there would be an interesting blog!
Related posts:
- Service that rocks When I sign up for a cruise I don’t...
11 Comments
Oct 02 2009
16:39
If you’re new to the Net and YouTube there’s a real treat awaiting you after you’ve finished watching the above extract from Whisky Galore! So do keep your cursor on the lower part of the screen and you will see lots more whisky-related videos. One video leads to another and another. So curl up with a glass of your favourite Scottish amber liquid, sit back, and enjoy!
Oct 02 2009
19:17
interesting stuff!
Oct 03 2009
4:52
Another fascinating story of the ocean and whisky. I wouldn’t mind a bottle myself. I think I might just enjoy looking at the bottle. I don’t think I could ever open it.
Oct 03 2009
4:59
Another fascination story of whisky and the oceans. I wouldn’t mind owning a bottle of this myself. The only problem really would be that I would enjoy looking at it but, I don’t think I could ever open it.
Oct 03 2009
10:59
I once had a soft spot for this guy’s sister – she was called Pussy – I doubt that was her real name but she was in a film too!
Oct 05 2009
10:24
Is there an echo in here somewhere?
Oct 05 2009
10:48
Whenever anyone mentions the River Mersey I always think of that great Gerry and the Pacemakers song, “You’ll never walk alone”.
Oct 05 2009
12:41
Milton,
I don’t know what you’ve been drinking but could you send me a bottle?
Oct 05 2009
12:44
Graham,
Thank you for all three comments (do you have a twin brother somewhere who didn’t use his spell checker?). The duplicate comments remind me of the song, that goes: “New York New York…so great they named it twice.”
Oct 05 2009
12:48
Tony,
I just know you are itching for me to suggest the lady in question starred in a film called Pussy Galore! But I wouldn’t stoop so low…I’m sure you were really referring to Honor Blackman who co-starred in the film Goldfinger as a bisexual aviator. When she introduced herself to Sean Connery: “I’m Pussy Galore” he replied “Of course you are.”
Oct 05 2009
19:43
Congratulations James, at last you’ve done it – only a few have others have achieved this. You’ve actually found a Politican that can make a positive contribution to life. This Politican keeps you warm at night, makes you happy and does not answer back – even when the voters talk gibberish.