Day 28 and the morning of Day 29 of 102.

Today is another, far too good to be inside at lectures, which, actually, are well worth attending.  Despite yet another fine day as we head evermore in the direction of southern India, I felt that the broadcaster and journalist Jane Corbin would be well worth listening to on the subject of events leading eventually to the war in Ukraine and its possible wider effects.

I was on board Queen Mary 2 on 24th February 2022, as the sun rose magnificently over the calm waters off the Florida coast while we headed for islands in the Caribbean.  Unusually for me, I was awake at sunrise, and I have the photos to prove it!  Sometime around 6.30 am, I switched from witnessring that glorious sunrise to turning on the TV news channel only to see the ubiquitous image of a grim-faced Boris Johnson announcing how ( if i remember correctly) Russia was going to really regret the invasion of its peaceful neighbour, Ukraine.  It would be almost lunchtime in the U.K.  For months, maybe even years, the Russian military were gathering at or near the borders for what the rest of us were assured, were merely military exercises.  I took little notice but hoped those reassurances were justified.  My heart sank on the early morning of 24th February 2022.

I now wish that I had attended Jane Corbin’s first talk Bin Laden and Beyond. This morning, I gained a far better understanding of the events leading up to the current situation in the Ukraine and beyond,  I don’t see my Carnival shares going up anytime soon!

Back to today.  We are just 10° north of the Equator, and for the first time, it’s noticeably humid.  I should not have sneaked up to the midnight buffet last night for a small sandwich and camomile tea.  I did, actually, sleep far better, but I went to bed far too late to wake up feeling rejuvenated this morning.  

Yesterday, I walked 18,313 steps, and I am almost 6 days ahead of schedule, especially if I can maintain 11,000 steps/day.  It’s not going to cool down. However, I shall continue walking after sunset.  Inadvertently, I had some kind of breaded fish last night, mistaking it for onion rings and am, once again, reminded of my continued intolerance to fish!  Nevertheless, it was delicious!

I have taken to having breakfast and lunch in the Britannia Restaurant.  No longer does a full English feature in my a la carte choice.  But, as I have written before, I don’t have to search for a vacant table to eat my chosen food in the now always crowded Kings Court Buffet, which I still enjoy from time to time. 

Last night, I didn’t take much persuasion to opt for a quick one course dinner in the Kings Court Buffet and then go to that night’s movie in the splendid cinema, Illuminations, Deck 3 forward.  Sigourney Weaver plays an alcoholic estate agent extremely well in this, at times, hard to follow movie.  My mistake was not to retire for the night but to go on to the nightly show featuring an easy-on-the-eye, highly talented, and powerful French singer.  Like many such entertainers, she interacts far too much with the audience and a high-pitched voice through an aggressive P.A. system can grate somewhat.  The 8 piece Royal Court Theatre Orchestra was on amazing form, backing this very capable and confident singer.

Then, I should have gone to bed, but I didn’t!

Apart from attending the lecture this morning, I have merely relaxed all day, struggled to walk very far, and rested in my darkened stateroom for much of this afternoon. This evening, Jo chose to watch the 2022 movie Death on The Nile; I chose not to, in the hopes of doing some nocturnal walking after dinner.

Continued writing 09.45 8/2/23. I was determined, despite accumulative fatigue and its being very humid, to walk at least 11,000 steps and this, I achieved with some difficulty in short sessions, with lots of stopping, including after dining alone in the Britannia Restaurant. It felt no cooler at 10 pm than in the day. But of course, we were, by now, only around 8° north of the Equator, or thereabouts. We entered a new strange time zone yesterday; Kerala in southern India is 5.5 hours ahead of G.M.T. Ship’s time had been advanced the full hour, and was again at 2 am this morning.

Before finally getting my head down, I took a brief wander inside the ship to various public areas, availing myself of some refreshing air-conditioning.

This morning, after a much needed excellent night’s sleep, I just made it in time for breakfast in the Britannia Restaurant. As they say in the adverts for P & O Cruises, “This is the Life.”

Last night, after returning to my room, a message on my phone informed me that my Laconia portfolio was waiting to be collected from the Purser’s Office. I picked it up, duly signed with best wishes from the new Captain, Capt. Andrew Hall. Had he had a look at its contents? It’s hard to tell. At least this carefully assembled portfolio of relevant images from the first round-the-world cruise by one passenger ship has, itself, travelled on the official Centenary World Voyage and is now signed by both captains.

Many thanks for reading, David, 10.43 hrs, 8th February 2023.