Have arrived on board and are in our cabin. Am still awaiting one item on luggage. Typically it is my suitcase. I joked to Claire that maybe it had fallen into the sea. I was told not to joke about such a thing.
The journey from Bath to Southampton was pretty straightforward. After parking, we had to catch a minibus, which took us and all our luggage to the ship’s terminal.
Getting through security was relatively painless. As I have mobility issues, we were able to skip the huge queue of fellow cruisers.
I was hot, sweaty and worn out my time we finally found our cabin. It probably didn’t help the fact I missed breakfast. I’ve so far had a complimentary ginger nut biscuit and Maoam sweets, which I brought from home. The ship won’t be setting sail for almost three hours, so my evening meal is long way off. I have my eyes on a packet of chocolate bourbon.
A couple of hours after writing the above, chocolate biscuits eaten and back from a tutorial on how to fit a life jacket. I think it would have been easier to learn how to operate the ship, than get into thing which is supposed to save my life, should be have to abandon ship. I failed to get into mine, but the steward teaching us told me I had passed. To be quite frank, if my ship is recreating the Titanic, how I would get into a bit of flimsy foam would be the last of my worries.
We have now left the port and are sailing out of Southampton. Industrial estates and factories with tall chimneys bellowing smoke and fire, line the coastline. The crewe deck is beneath ours. One crewe member is making a lengthy telephone call. We’ll be at sea for four days now, with no means of contacting loved ones back home (unless you want to pay the extortionate rates to connect to the ship’s network). Off to find some dinner now…
It’s almost 11 O’clock. I am in bed, having been fed, watered and right royaly entertained. Two years ago, on our honeymoon, Claire and I visited the buffet for the vast majority of our meals. This was often a free for all, with every man, woman and child fighting for the most amount of chips, sausages and the occasional bit of lettuce. This time, Claire’s parents took us to a restaurant, where we were served a delicious three course meal – all included in the price of our cruise.
After the visit to the restaurant, we headed to the theatre. Sitting almost on the front row, we were entertained by a group of four performers, who sung and danced to famous songs, although I had only heard of a couple of them. Apparently, Peter Andre will be visiting the ship at some point. He will certainly be worth watching, if only to see him perform the 90’s classic Mysterious Girl live. I don’t have a bucket list, but if I did, watching him live, singing that song would be on it. No idea if Bubba Ranks will be joining him.
Off to bed now. Sleep will be easy. It’s been a long day, so I am naturally tired. The bed is luxuriously comfortable and the sound of the ocean outside is enough to calm anyone.
It is hard to believe, as time seems to have gone so fast, but today is Claire and my second wedding anniversary.
Two years on, we are very happily married.
If you would like to send us a gift, please leave your email address in the comments below, and I’ll send you my postal address. I also accept cash, cheques, bank transfer and PayPal 🙂
I had a bad start to the week. After arriving at work, I headed to the kitchen to put my lunch in the fridge. Upon opening the fridge door, a large bottle of milk literally flew out, as if it was trying to escape.
I looked down at the bottle on the floor, wondering what on earth had happened. Moments later, the lid of the bottle fell off and the entire contents of a previously full bottle proceeded to spill onto the carpet and under the fridge.
Hot weather + spilt milk = a smelly office.
With help from a colleague, the spillage was covered in tissues, which were of no use at all. Our office cleaner kindly did his best to clean up the remainder of the mess.
I sent an email round the department – partly moaning at whoever had placed the milk in the fridge in such a way that it would jump out at whoever had the audacity to open the door, and partly to apologise for having the audacity for opening the door and spilling their milk for the week.
I received this in the post today from Amazon…
Given the size of the box, what would you expect to find in it? A games console? A small television? A pile of bricks?
No. In this massive cardboard box, there was this… a packet of small water funnels.
Like everyone else in the country, I have been left feeling very saddened by the fire in London, which destroyed an entire block of flats and killed potentially hundreds.
It is now a few days since the catastrophe, and like many, I have had time to reflect and ask “why did this happen?”. While there is yet to be an investigation into the cause of the tragedy, it has been widely reported that the block of flats were refurbished on the cheap, with flammable material and no obvious signs of fire alarms, extinguishers or sprinklers.
It has since emerged that the Tories voted against introducing a law, which would force landlords to ensure the safety of the properties they rent to tenants. Coincidentally, many Conservative MPs are landlords themselves…
The unnecessary loss of life caused by the fire is simply devastating. Hundreds of people would have gone to bed, only to wake up with a room full of toxic smoke and fire, with no means of escape. The reports of parents throwing their children from upper floors of the flat shows just how horrific it must have been to be trapped in a burning flat.
This was all avoidable. Had the Tories voted with the wellbeing of tenants in mind, instead of for personal and selfish financial gain, the tragedy could have been avoided. A placard being carried by a protestor summed it up perfectly – “CORPORATE GREED”.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, attended the scene of the disaster within hours. The Queen and Prince William were not far behind; all giving support to the victims. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, only managed to meet some of the brave firefighters. The photos of her with the unsung heroes, which have been circulated on social media, show her with a look boredom on her face, suggesting that she would rather be somewhere else. I will credit Mrs May – she eventually did visit a hospital, to meet some of the poor people injured in the fire. This was only after a national outcry at her lack of activity.
I have never known the country to be in this much of a mess. It reminds me of the Margaret Thatcher era, although I only know about what happened from books and television. I remember being a child and my parents being very upset by the Baroness. Sadly, I am now experiencing what they felt all those years ago. Thatcher and May are cut from the same cloth.
Finally, I send my best wishes to all those affected by the devastation. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
