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The Golden Fleece (or ‘the Fleece’ as we called it) was a grungy drinking establishment in the heart of Portsmouth and a favourite watering hole of visiting Canadian sailors as well as those of the Royal Navy. Besides naval patrons, the Fleece was also frequented by a lower class of female; Ok, let’s call them shameless hussies or tarts. On the other side of the coin, this is not to say that we sailors weren’t their male equivalents.
On the Saturday afternoon in May of 1969 about ten of us young fellows from HMCS Fraser went ashore and ended up at Fleece. To our delight there was a wedding reception in progress. A young Royal Navy Able Seaman had just married one of the tarts. It wasn’t a closed affair as all patrons were welcome, provided they paid for their own drinks – a wedding reception ‘on the cheap’ if you will.
It was a great afternoon; everybody was happy; the bride’s maids passed out sausage rolls while guys and gals danced to tunes blaring out of the jukebox; everyone was guzzling down the pints – great fun indeed! At one point, the drunken bride began dancing on a table top. That was when J.P. Leblanc asked the groom if he could kiss the bride.*
The groom said, “Sure Mate.” With that, J.P. lifted the brides wedding gown – she was still on the table top – and kissed her on the ‘V’ where the legs meet the torso! Ok, on the panty-clad pussy!
Did this start a brawl? On the contrary! The drunken groom burst into hearty laughter and did the same, much to the delight of all onlookers. At one point during the afternoon, as the celebration continued, all patrons exited to the sidewalk to cheer on their favourite of two bride’s maids engaged in a drunken fistfight as one British sailor took bets on the outcome.
The Fleece is gone now, having been torn down to make way for a modern city centre. Memories of the Golden Fleece and happenings therein will remain in the hearts of many sailors.
* Name changed to protect the privacy of the comedian. |
