Last Classes

Today, I’ve run my final two classes for this voyage; a roundup of ways to improve the design of people’s paintings – what I like to call my ‘Composition Checklist’. The scene I had them painting was from my first ever cruise ship assignment back in 2006, when I visited Egypt and Libya… the scene was a street in Tripoli, featuring some interesting textures and a smattering of simple figures.

The Bay of Biscay has been much kinder to us than on the outward bound journey. There has been a small swell, but nothing to upset folks too much or to prevent any of the activities. My biggest gripe with the swell that we have had has been that they’ve taken soup off the menu in the Bistro at lunchtime and dinner time, presumably to stop folks throwing it down themselves.

The good news is that everyone who has attended the classes has been bringing along their work to add to the pile, for tomorrow’s big exhibition.

The bad news is that it’s another formal night (which I hate).

Having got all dressed up, though, we decided to head along to the watch the show after dinner, which was an around-the-world celebration loosely based upon the travels of Ferdinand Magellan who led the first expedition to sail all the way around the world and was responsible for giving the Pacific Ocean its name in 1520. Magellan didn’t complete the voyage himself; he is credited with organising the route and negotiating the Treacherous South American strait and crossing the pacific, but the voyage suffered through two mutinies due to the mostly Spanish crew who deeply resented being led by a Portugese captain, and Ferdinand Magellan was killed in a battle with some indigenous islanders who refused to be converted to Christianity, before his ship reached the Spice Islands.

Clocks go forward one last time tonight, putting us in line with the UK. We’re nearly home….