Wednesday – Fibonacci and The Golden Section
Having workshops at the latter end of the afternoon has given us lots of time to enjoy the sea (and reduced the need to get up too early). Standing at the pointy-end of the ship and watching the world go by is a very relaxing thing to do, and surprisingly absorbing; The Mediterranean is a busy place, so there are always ships to spot (apparently, there are a couple of very dedicated ship-spotters on board ship, who carry a little notebook around with them whenever they are on deck, and can presumably be identified by the flasks of tea in the pockets of their anoraks); in a morning, I like to have the binoculars with me, along with my video camera, ready for that one time when something really extraordinary happens (except, of course, it won’t, because those sort of things only ever happen when I haven’t got a camera with me).
This morning, we actually saw life. It was fleeting, though; whatever it was broke the surface several times, but it wasn’t clear whether it was jumping, just coming up for a breather, or being chased – it was travelling in the opposite direction to us, so we didn’t have long to identify it. It could have been a dolphin, or a large fish, or something even larger, but what it actually was remains an absolute mystery… hardly a marine biologist’s report, but it’s a start.
At lunchtime, we found ourselves sat in the poolside cafe with a couple who live in none other than Darlington, only a few miles from our home in Richmond. It’s a small world; he was telling us that, apparently, there are three other couples that they know of who also come from there.
Did you know that dolphins sleep with one eye open? That was today’s little nugget of trivia from the Captain in his noontide address, along with the fact that the average person consumes approximately 60,000 tons of food during the course of their lifetime… he told us how many elephants that would be the equivalent of, but I can’t remember what that figure was to be sure.
Today’s workshop was on Composition, so they got the old Golden Section / Fibonacci treament, and a painting subject that is totally new and has never been wheeled out and inflicted on any group, anywhere, before – so it was a bit of a World Premiere – a Tripoli street scene, from my first ever cruise assignment, on the Saga Ruby. It seemed to go well, so it stays in.
Last night, we were asked to advance our watches and clocks by another hour, meaning we are now 2 hours ahead of the UK. Tonight, is a formal night, which means best bib n’ tucker; I hate formal nights – can’t be doing with all that glamming-up – as a tutor, though, I’m expected to set an example… urgghhhhh…….. (shivers).
Tomorrow, we are due to arrive in Paraeaus, from where we will be able to travel into Athens. This is a place I’ve never been to before, featuring some iconic architectural greats…. I can’t wait!….
