STRICTLY COME DANCING

Having had an enjoyable and productive ‘deck-day’ yesterday, it was back to work for me today. In this afternoon’s classes, I had them painting a dramatic sky, featuring crepuscular rays – always a good session, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

We were a little concerned, come late afternoon, to discover that we had no hot water in the cabin. This isn’t necessarily an unusual occurrence; having a shower on board a ship can be a bit hit and miss at the best of times, with the temperature usually fluctuating unpredictably between scorchingly hot and perishingly cold. A phone call to the reception to report the issue was received with a promise that they would inform the plummer right away. Some time later, the water actually seemed to be warming up enough to be able to stand under the shower, so, naturally, it was while Tracey was in the shower that the plummer called. I told him that it seemed to have warmed up, and he said that he would call later…

We haven’t been going to many of the shows in the evening, generally preferring to relax in the Captain’s Club, where the pianist and violinist play, reading and enjoying a drink. After that, it’s been down to the cabin for our daily dose of ‘Game of Thrones’ followed by a late-night cup of tea and a walk around the deck before turning in for the night.

One of the main reasons we haven’t been going to the shows is because we’ve seen most of them before. Tonight, however, there was something brand new on the agenda… ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

Needless to say, it was brilliantly done! Seven couples, each made of one of the dancers and the other a non-dancer from the entertainments team, strutted their stuff, as per the TV show. What made it all the more fun and authentic, though, was the fact that before each dance, they played a short video of the couples practising (‘Run the VT’), which was entertaining, and introduced their characters well. Simon Sands, the current guest comedian, did the compereing, and they had Sasha from Shorex, the Bar Manager and a lady from the audience, to be the judges, complete with numbered paddles.

As with the TV show, who won on the night is not really important. Slips of paper listing the seven couples were handed out to members of the audience, for them to vote for their favourite; the overall winners will be announced in a few days time.