Cricket and pineapple

A couple of days ago I was watching on Eurosport a one day International cricket match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies and the commentator informed us viewers that the match was coming from Colombo. I immediately thought I have been there, not for many many years and the Country was then called Ceylon. This was back in 1956.
 I had been called up to do my National Service in October 1955, did my basic training then was posted out to Hong Kong. So off we fellow N.S men went. We left Southampton in early March 1956, it was snowing went we left. The first port of call was Port Suez. We stopped there to pick up water, then traveled through the Suez Canal to Aden, where we stopped I think for provisions. Then it was through the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean.
 After a few days I began to feel a little unwell but decided to carry on as usual. A few days later we reached Ceylon and for the first time was allowed to disembark for a few hours.
 By now I was feeling poorly but my friends coaxed me to go ashore as it might make me feel better. Unfortunately it didn't and I guess I held them back a little but we did go for a walk through a park with well kept gardens.
 Soon after boarding the ship my pals took me to see the M.O. He immediately admitted me to the Hospital on board ship. I was put on a course of penicillin which in those days was administered by injection in the rear which after administration left you feeling uncomfortable because it left a sort of bruise reaction. These I had 3 times a day for a week but after 3 or 4 days felt a lot better.
 While I was in Hospital  the next port of call was Singapore, quite a few had been posted to Singapore so they disembarked but also those who wished to go ashore for about 2 hours were free to do so.  Unfortunately for me I was not allowed as I was still in Hospital but my pals went ashore.
  They must have thought about me for when they called in to see me they produced about 4 pineapples. They said they were dirt cheap and they were also plentiful
 Now remember this was 1956 and exotic fruit, as we called it was almost non existent. We had tasted pineapples but in tins only and in general tinned fruit are nothing like fresh fruit but these pineapples tasted almost the same as tinned fruit.
 What I remember most was that I shared them with the other lads in Hospital, I think there were 5 altogether. We all suffered the same sort of reaction. What we found was that our lips felt as though they were chapped. I guess that was due to the acidity nature of fresh pineapples. Mind you, they were nice but I have never eaten a fresh pineapple since.
 Soon after I was discharged and about 5 days later reached Hong Kong my home for the next 17 months. More soon.