Me playing table tennis
Dulcie playing table tennis
Action shot
Saturday - Sea Day
You'll be pleased to know that I whupped Dulcie 2 games of table tennis to 1. Not only that, in the evening quiz, out team came joint winners, so it was very much a day of victories. Another table tennis session is planned today, with John, Dulcie and whoever we can rope into making up a doubles match.
After so many days of arriving at port and setting sail in the evening, it feels quite weird having a sea-day, although I've heard several people say that they were ready for a sea-day, where they don't have to set the alarm and can enjoy a leisurely day. For me, of course, it means I'm doing a workshop later, and today I've planned to give them the perspective talk and paint up a scene from Tripoli, which also includes figures - they'll like that!
Last night was the entertainment guaranteed to pull in a full house - The Crew Show. This event is so popular that people fight for the best seats in the Ballroom, many getting there early just to make sure of getting a seat. A few interesting statistics here; there are approximately 500 passengers on board and 390 crew and officers. The Chief Engineer, who introduced the show explained that the crew is made up of people from no fewer than 24 countries, 309 of them from the Philippines (which raised an almighty cheer because these people are so popular on board - and made up the bulk of the show). He regaled us with funny stories and anecdotes from previous cruises. The lady who became distressed to see water running down the stairs from a water leak and asked the engineer if he was worried. "Madam", he replied, "the time I worry is when water is coming UP the stairs."
The show was terrific. Dancers, singers, a rock band and even a drag act - all from people that cook our meals, serve the wine, clean the cabins and fix the toilets! These people work so hard to keep the ship running it's amazing that they have any energy left for putting a show together, most rehearsals taking place at 2 o'clock in the morning.
It's raining up on deck at the moment, and the sea is choppy, but from the daily blurb we get shoved under our cabin door each morning, it seems the weather in good old blighty isn't much better, with high gales forcast for the weekend for much of the country.
Tomorrow we dock in Palermo, Sicily, and I'm down for tour escorting on a trip to Cefalu, which is by all accounts a beautiful Sicilian village - I'm looking forward to that. Being a big fan of 'The Godfather', Sicily conjures up lots of images for me - Al Pacino wandering through the streets of Corleone with his two bodyguards and meeting Apollonia, and that music - fantastic stuff!
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