Day 34 - A squeaky night and a pleasant day at sea

(1^st Photograph from last night)

We have been in the same cabin for 12 nights now, so quite why both of us got up during the night, being woken and kept awake by an annoying squeak, is a mystery.  We shuffled the coat-hangers; turned them through 45 degrees; moved the plastic bag of unwashed laundry; put our ears to separate sections of the furniture, but to no avail, then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

There was a little bit of ship movement whereas up until then, it had been mill pond smooth, so maybe that is what it was.  For the second day running, we sat with John and Glenys.  All three cups of tea/coffee from the server (maybe using pots rather than the spigots) were hardly even lukewarm.  Fortunately, I opted for a barista coffee, so mine was scalding hot.

Our last morning quiz didn’t produce a win, even though we had Alan and Sheila, Bob and Elaine.  We fare welled Bob and Elaine who have been great company, and even though Bob’s contribution wasn’t enough to get us a win, (heh-heh, take that Bob!), he at least taught me that Ikea is in fact pronounced Eekea (like the French ‘i’ – as it refers to the initial of the founder, Ingmar (sp?).

It was packing day of course, but for us, the simple task of leaving the hanging garments on the rail, then just scooping up all the non-hanging bits and pieces and just throwing them into the suitcases.  It took about 5 minutes, rather than the 5 weeks it took to assemble everything.

Late lunch about 2pm was another nice piece of fish (crumbed tilapia this time), more spinach and quite the largest slice of meat I have ever seen. The slice was from what I believe is called a Chicago round, but appears to be about half a cow’s rear end.  It wouldn’t fit in our domestic oven or even the BBQ.  It was surprisingly tender too.

We joined the same English couple as yesterday for the quiz, with Robert and Alan, but once again, no win.  Ditto, the pre-dinner, 7pm trivia with Alan and Sheila but I did get a photograph of Lydia from Mapperley, another graduate of Mapperley Plains junior school!  The evening meal was far from the best menu we have had, so I had two mains – clam fettucine followed by a lamb hotpot. Paula managed just a consommé as she needed a light session.  Nice enough, but not exactly 4 star restaurant.

We trooped off to the theatre for the ‘Royal Variety Show’ and luckily, we arrived early enough to move down from the balcony, where the slope is insufficient to get a clear view past the people in front, to central seats two rows from the front.  Not perfect as we couldn’t see Duke’s shoes(!), but close enough to get a good view.  Standing room only later.

They featured guest entertainers, including Mike McClean, the Crooner’s pianist, a lady singer with a fine voice who we wouldn’t normally go and see anyway and of course, the entertainment staff doing their classic, but updated, ‘If I Were not Upon The Sea’.   Updated, as they had Andy Murray and Angela Merkel!  Very well done as always. The singers and dancers, all wearing smart union jack tops, did a song and dance.

An enjoyable show and a fitting end as always.  People everywhere were wrapping themselves around each other saying their farewells and we crashed 11:45 but the clocks go back again tonight, ready for our return to the UK – although very briefly for us.  Frustratingly, the new watch I bought in the UK in September, keeps stopping and restarting, reverting to January 1^st 2005.  It has now done it 4 times whilst we have been away, so a trip to Staines before leaving the UK is on the cards, where I’ll leave it for repair or replacement.

The forecast is for a warm day tomorrow, which we’ll enjoy, not having had many over 20 degrees recently.  No rush, as we don’t have to vacate the cabin until 9am and the staff will move the luggage for us, up one deck and across to the port side.  That is going to confuse us, as we have only just adapted to being on the starboard side.