From sea to shore around the world
From Oceans to Embassies by Gillian Angrave
Gillian (Gill) Angrave's autobiography charts close to 40 years, starting out as a PA in an engineering company in Leicester before embarking on seven years with P&O as an assistant purser on its cruiseships Canberra and Oriana. She travelled theworld, met friends she still holds dear today, and thoroughly enjoyed the onboard entertainment – especially when she was a part of it.
Not content to stay in one place after such a thrilling start to her career, Angrave spent the next 29 years as an ambassador's PA. Postings took her to the Philippines, Peru, Guatemala, Chile, Mexico and Hungary. Retirement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at 60 clearly wasn’t going to cut the mustard, so Angrave then became Registrar of Marriages in West Sussex.
As you would expect from such a big life, Angrave's memoirs are filled with exciting adventures and fun experiences. Luckily for the reader, she was also a keen amateur photographer and there are many pictures of people and places, including some very famous faces along the way.
At just over 400 pages, From Oceans to Embassies might seem like a long read but each part of her story is broken down chronologically into separate chapters which the reader can whizz through. Or you pop in and out of sections of interest as the whim takes you.
The large font and generous spacing makes for enjoyable reading. Even the youngest and most web-hardened digital native can't fail to fail for its allure. Some might even follow in her footsteps.
From Oceans to Embassies
By Gillian Angrave
Self-published (available in the Nautilus Bookshop)
ISBN 978 19995 83866
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Spooky thriller dredges the demons of the deep
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart TurtonAuthor Stuart Turton crashed onto the scene in 2018 with his debut novel The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. That uniquely positioned 'manor house murder mystery' became an international bestseller, so his follow up novel was much anticipated.
All you need for an inland waterways adventure
The Canal Guide: Britain's 55 Best Canals By Stuart FisherFor those who fancy the inland waterways for a summer holiday this year, The Canal Guide from nautical imprint Adlard Coles is an attractive guidebook and resource showing off the richness of the UK's heritage.
Vessel views from a seasoned shipspotter
Ferry Good by Geoffrey WatsonFerry Good is also a personal collection of vessel photographs combined with supplementary technical and historical information. Ever ready with his camera, Watson has included more than 200 images of ferries taken in his travels
The Merchant Navy in vibrant verse
A Bucket of Steam by Captain Joe EarlA Bucket of Steam is both a memoir and a work of the imagination – a little gem of a book where the author reflects on his own seafaring life and tells other maritime stories, all through the medium of poetry.