The Chinese Laundry
In the 1960s, ships of the Royal Navy, deployed onto the far east station, carried Hong Kong Chinese nationals as tailors, cobblers and laundry men. Chinese were a crucial part of life at sea as they made life on-board for the British sailors a little more comfortable.
It was understood by all that the Chinese laundry on a ship had a special machine called a "Button Crusher" for how else did every shirt come back from the laundry with all its buttons crushed, leaving half a button where there was once a complete one.
An acquaintance of mine, a petty officer, was on his very first far-east deployment and was therefore something of a virgin when it came to Chinese laundry experience. He decided that his number 1 uniform could do with a "Spruce-Up" and left instructions with the Chinese laundry that it needed dry cleaning.
Later that day the petty officer passing the Chinese laundry was horrified to see his best uniform hanging up and dripping with water. Angrily the petty officer demanded to see the head laundry boy and remonstrated that his very expensive uniform was now ruined.
The head laundry boy appeared confused and bewildered at the concern about this suit and agreed that the suit was there for "dry-cleaning". But the petty officer pointed out that the suit was now dripping wet.
"No problem" said the head laundry boy, "today wet, tomorrow dry and clean"
Needless to say the suit was ruined and the petty officer learned a lesson the hard way.
Simply Steve