Fog again today. Sigh! Jean may never get her ocean picture. Met Jackie from dinner table at breakfast. Poor woman, she is not enjoying her cruise as she is in a difference of opinion with the Purser's Office about a bill. (Never a winning proposition.)
Speaking of Jean, I thought of her as I had my first massage!! Okay, not a whole body one, but, at least I tried it. Here's the story - I attended a demonstration of Thai Massage, just for the heck of it. I couldn't find the room because I could not find an elevator or stairs that went to deck 1, by the time I did, I was late and Tommi had finished her introductory remarks. I tried to slip into the back, but she called me out, asking how much massage experience I'd had. When I answered' "None,'" she directed me to the chair at the front of the room. Then she proceeded to use my upper back, shoulders and neck in her demonstration. (Jean, what ever you are doing now, I owe you an apology for taking this experience lightly.) The demonstration lasted only a few minutes, but was enervating. I felt like a semi-limp noodle, relaxed and my neck didn't creak! I can't afford any on board, but I will definitely be investigating massage opportunities in The Burg area.
I heard a lecture by Jim Jarvie, OBE, former inspector in the British version of the DEA, on some of the lengths to which drug traffickers go to smuggle in their product, including in the aprons of prayer tables, within the soles of shoes, in cat litter and in storage "peanuts." A lot of it I already knew, but his entertaining style and personal stories made the lecture well worth attending.
Lunch was Pan-Asian. My mouth was still tingly more than an hour later. Excellent but almost too much for me. I should have taken some pictures of the food, because this was one of those "try it even if you have no idea what it is" experiences. I did learn that a bit of salt hugely improves the taste of fresh pineapple (a Malaysian habit) and that just a hint of pepper does the same for strawberries.
I sat next to a table where a woman made a fabulous remark to her companion, "She was a woman who would always think of herself as a girl." It took me aback how apt that was for some women I know, but applied to men, how many more men I know who still consider themselves boys.
Another lecturer was Riaan Manser, a South African who in 2004-2006 rode a bicycle around the perimeter of the African continent. Why? He had a put-up-or-shut-up moment and decided to take on his own challenge. Not my idea of an adventure, but despite being imprisoned by blood diamond criminals in Liberia and nearly perishing in the Sahara, he came through able to write a book about it. Later he circumnavigated Madagascar in a solo kayak. Then with a friend who has Muscular Dystrophy dual-kayaked around Iceland. When his wife-to-be asked to go to New York for their honeymoon, they rowed a boat across the Atlantic from Durban. I believe his initial experience has made him a kind of risk-taker junkie. His talk was entertaining but not well organized.
Knitting went quickly as I was there for only part of the time since I had made arrangements to meet Gordon and Patricia at the Afternoon Tea. I did learn that Winnie (an 87 year old from McLean, VA) used to be a semi-professional rollerskating dancer! I am continually enchanted by my fellow passengers. I'm working on my fourth baby hat...just in case you think all I'm doing is talking.
I never saw Gordon and Patricia at afternoon Tea, but Sheila came over to sit and brought a surprise - Oliver Lau!! Oliver gives great hugs! When he left, she leaned over to remark, "You have no idea! He left his post in the Grills when I told him I was coming to meet you, so he could say 'Hi"". WOW!! Oliver has been with QM2 since her launch in 2004 when he was a waiter and now is in charge of Britannia Club and The Grills!! Plus he makes superb Bananas Foster!!
During the Tea Dance, I snapped a couple of shots of Dianne and Scott. First time I've seen her without her cane. When I shared them, offering them if she wanted a "few more for her dance album," she gave a huge hug saying that it had been more than a decade since they danced and she had almost no pictures. I felt a rush!
After Tea, I went to watch Rouge One in 3D. I've seen the film before, of course, but I like it and, hey, why not? It was a different experience. 3D on a ship buffeting swells caused by Force 7 winds is not for the faint of stomach. The theater is in the bow so was constantly moving up and down as QM2 plowed on toward Southampton. Cool aspect of the theater, it doubles as the Planetarium, so we watched the film with the stars twinkling overhead!
Dinner turned out to be just Sheila and me. We enjoyed the rush of a table for two with the room to spread out. At dinner, I discovered The Glaswegians had actually come to Sheila's line dance class looking for me. How cute. I went to their table to report in and we arranged to meet after dinner to hear the dance band and have a drink.
Purple Haze is very, very good. Their repertoire includes a lots of 60's-80's stuff so the dance floor was never empty. I declined to participate as it has been so long since I wore high heels I was unsure how I'd manage. I did promise to wear flats for the next time. Sheila and Donald got down for a few tunes.
Over the course of the evening, we discovered the guys are coming to NYC the middle of March next year. When they mentioned the issues they had with booking.com, I suggested they try the Salisbury and gave them Ilona's contact information. The 4 of us made tentative arrangements to celebrate St. Patrick's Day together. Wearing the Green with two Scots and a New York Jew, this should be worth a flight!!!
We closed the dance after midnight and headed off to respective cabins and the Land of Nod. An excellent day!
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