Days4-5

Day 4 (Wet & Windy) Wednesday Jan 9th
Enjoyed last evening, the Captain is very friendly but it must be hard meeting all of us & thinking of something to say. I told him I wasn’t enjoying the cruise much so far, which probably wasn’t quite the right thing! It’s just the weather, and what should I have expected in the Atlantic in January? The Tuesday evening show was good, an Irish soprano who was lovely to listen to. This morning the weather was a little better, but by the evening I needed to take another sea-sick tablet, so much for my ‘sea-legs’. I did manage a dance class, on the waltz at lunchtime, my partner was 80+ and did his best, bless him, but I think I got a little bit cross with him by the end which was wrong of me, cos I hope I’m still dancing at his age! I met some other ladies for a ‘Knit & Stitch’ session, took a jumper I have strated knitting for Elisha, it might be finished by the time I leave the ship.
The big event of the day was Alan slipping over in the Lido restaurant at breakfast, thanks to some spilt milk not being cleaned up properly, and he then needed 5 stitches. If he was American he’d probably sue, since the staff were at fault. He and Sylvia came to dinner and he said he felt fine, the medical staff were excellent. After the show (a comedian who was a better singer) I was persuaded by Trisha & Hilary to play on the slot machines, and since I won the princely sum of $14.90 I wasn’t too disappointed! Then we went dancing, & I managed a waltz & a quickstep with 2 of the ‘hosts’, luckily lots of other ladies hadn’t got a clue what they were doing either!
Day 5 (Tatty?) Thursday Jan 10th
Some general comments r e QE2:
The public areas are not a bit ‘tatty’ but are lovely, sort of Art Deco in style in quite a few areas and very well looked after. The staff are very friendly and courteous, there are 1015 of them to almost 1800 passengers, so a very good ratio. My cabin is a little bit ‘tired’, but I discover new bits every day, today it was the bathroom cupboard behind the mirror. I thought it looked as though there ought to be one there, but obviously pulled on the wrong side when I tried on Monday! Made a bit more room in my chest of drawers at least. By the time we reach New York I should be properly organised, there is such a lot to do I don’t spend a lot of time in my cabin.
Went to a lecture this morning called ‘Kiss, Bow, Wink’ which was about various gestures used in different ways around the world. Good speaker called William Sinanu (I think!) but self-promotional, which was a little annoying, pushed his books and his company.
Learnt the cha-cha today, which I really enjoyed, my lessons at school are coming back! Partner was one of the hosts, Chris, which helped a lot compared with yesterday.
Intended to do more in the afternoon, but had to take up the skirt I intended to wear for the Red, White & Blue ball this evening. It only arrived on Saturday 5th (one of my eBay purchases) and I hadn’t had time to try it on before! Made afternoon tea in the Queen’s Room, a daily event which is lovely, white-gloved waiters, tiny sandwiches and cakes, not a help to the weight problem. I bought my pictures taken on Tuesday, they are good, but I can now see I have a double chin! Resolved to use the stairs more rather than the lifts.
The ball was very crowded, apparently the special events always are, so didn’t get to dance at all, too daunting with lots of people watching. Very colourful though. I should have heard about the other special events before I left, but of course I didn’t, I believe there is a Black & White ball and I don’t have anything for that! Had to buy a white top for this evening’s do, and I’ve got enough clothes already. Fortunately the clothes shop on board is very reasonable.