Sunday – Sea Day – Doesn’t feel like a Sunday

It’s been a relatively unremarkable day (it certainly didn’t feel like a Sunday). The nice weather has drawn people out onto the open decks, and I even managed to grab a half hour myself, this morning, at the front of the ship – one of my favourite places – wave spotting.

One thing that did amaze me was how many people were in the Captain’s Club later in the morning when I went in there to use the wi-fi. One chap nearby, sitting with his wife, turned to her and shivered, moaning about how cold it was in there, and I’m thinking “then get up on deck, you moron! It’s beautiful outside – we should all be out there enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine!”

The watercolour lessons were hard work today. ‘Blues Afloat’ is a quiet boat scene, with simple reflections; I can never tell how well a session is going to go down – this one is particularly unpredictable; some groups breeze through it; today, lots of people really struggled with it, for no apparent reason. The final lesson was low on numbers on account of tonight being the first formal night of the cruise, and the Captain’s Cocktail Party (in other words; an opportunity for lots of free booze).

I hate formal nights at the best of times, but just couldn’t dredge up any enthusiasm for this one. I didn’t finish clearing up the craft room until gone 6pm, and when I went into Marcos for my regular chill-out cup of tea, Peter (the Wood) Counsell and his wife Jean were in there eating dinner (not dressed formally – but then, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them dressed formally). I accepted their invitation to dine wiith them, and finished up buying a couple of cans of beer from the waiter and some overpriced chocolate from the shop to take down to the cabin with me. I didn’t fancy the show tonight (Abba), and I have six seasons of the Sopranos to watch through, so slobbing in the cabin it is, then…..