More pictures

St Petersburg Day 2

It was a ‘gird one’s loins for another mammoth history lesson’ day today. We left even earlier, having assembled at 7.45am; we went through the passport control and were on the bus and away along the Moscow Prospect by 8.15 am. Phew.....................

It was another blazing summer day, very unusual for August so Elena our guide told us. St Petersburg is the northernmost capital city in the world, so, a little like Paradise summer is short, and by June 22nd the festival of the ‘White Nights’ happens, when darkness never falls, and winters consist of a bare 4 or 5 hours of daylight.

We were travelling south from the city today on the road to Moscow, which is around 1300kms ‘down the road’, but we were only going about 28 kms to Tsarkoe Selo, or the Tsars Village, as it was called prior to 1918, and now Pushkin in honour of the Russian poet who loved it there.

As it was so early when we arrived at the Catherine Palace it was empty – we were the first tour, infact it was not yet open and the band had only just arrived, and were still lipping their trumpets and horns! Being a musician by trade I always put money in the hat, and these guys were fab. They played the Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake, and tripped a little balletic cygnet dance as they played. Who could not tip them! NB The Tuba player was also the percussionist, versatile and very jolly with it, I have never seen a band player who could blow, tap and smile all at the same time!

It was brilliant that we were the first, and meant one really felt free to wander a little and take in the incredible building fully, in the quietness, and entirely jostle free.

The overshoes were truly awful, shiny blue plastic and so slippery on the ballroom floors that I felt unable to give it my best pirouette and jetee, what a disappointment! The magnitude and magnificence of these buildings is awe inspiring, and after awhile I felt as if I was swimming in a bath of golden honey.
One lovely restoration was of the coronation gown of Catherine the Great, which you can see on a model, and just behind this, is the portrait of that moment in time. The reconstruction was almost perfect to a stitch.

One of the highlights of this wondrous place is the Amber Room, which was only completed in 2007. I cannot remember statistics, and would not bore you with them if I could, but suffice to say this room, where one cannot take photos as it is too damaging for the amber, was so beautiful and so magical that I was rendered speechless. (Yes really). Standing in the centre, with relatively few other folk I felt submerged in a flaming sunset which never dimmed. My strongest memory of this palace is that moment. I took a photo from the next room, looking into the Amber Room, well a small corner of it, and the Babushka who was guarding that room almost had an apoplectic fit, so I moved on as rapidly as my plastic clad feet would allow me to slip and slide.

Restoration still goes on, and note the photo where the work was happening under miles of beautifully painted plastic sheeting – now how long did that take, before it was even erected to protect the craftsmen and women?

We went on to Pavlovsk Palace which simply means Paul’s Palace, only 6 kms away from the Catherine Palace and still part of the Tsar’s Village.........and I think that finally I found a home, still grand, still majestic, but in proportions which I could understand, and where I could see Imperial children playing in the corridors and rooms.

The chandelier in the entrance was smaller than, but just as exquisite as any I have seen thus far, with filigree crystal feathers around the edges, and the chapel was small but homely in a fairy like white and gold sort of way! There is a photo of a really personal moment. All the statues and carvings were, like at Peterhof, buried or hidden as the Nazis were approaching the city in 1941, some very quickly and roughly, but no matter how swift the historians had to be, each had a hand written number on it so that when the liberation finally came, presumably from Nazis and Communists, the recorded number, written in code and kept by those brave people could tell them the hiding place. One felt clearly that these people knew it would be many years before the Nazis left, and a government came to power that cared about the Imperial history. They were right, and their courage and tenacity saved thousands of priceless works of art for the delectation of the culture loving wider world. One of these brave souls is now 87 years old and still works on restoration pieces at the Institute of Restoration Trades in St Petersburg.

We had a splendid lunch, and first taste of Russian Borscht as our soup, and good it was! Once again I had to run the gauntlet of incredulous Russian waiters when I asked for more water – at this restaurant the bottled water was strictly ‘von for two person Madam’! A kind gentleman who preferred to take my champagne and vodka gave me the whole bottle of water in return! Chivalry is not yet gone.

We got back to the ship at 4pm, and for the final time we were suspiciously scrutinised through passport control, and stepped off Russian soil onto the Boudicca. I needed intravenous tea and my feet soaked in precious restorative oils, and I seriously wondered if I would have the ability to walk further than kitchen to music room, ever again.

I sat by the rails until I was the last person on deck and watched us sail up the Neva, receiving warm waving’s from other boats, large and small, until us at last we entered the Gulf of Finland and I watched a beautiful silhouette of the last Russian dome, fade into memory.

An astonishing two days.

Now I need R&R.

St Petersburg Day 1

St Petersburg Day 1

I woke up at 6.30am hearing the slow grind of the reversing engines. I looked out of my windows and there was the most wonderful vista of yellow Baroque buildings, sparkling gold church domes and spires, and the slow drift of the waterway boats on the river Neva.
Once again because we are a smaller ship we could dock right in the heart of this most heavenly city. The last time I was here was 24 years ago when it was still Leningrad, and everywhere we went a KGB ‘regulator’ was at our sides. How different it is now. There is still a small element of being herded and ‘guided’ with military precision, but, with a visa, one can now seemingly do exactly as one wants. So, through passport control by 8.45am, and on the coach to Peterhof, the Palace which is most famous for its spectacular fountains. These fountains work entirely from the level of spring water flow, no pumps, no electricity and no energy other than their own. At 11am each morning in summer, loud speakers play rousing orchestral music as they are turned on and spurt upwards of 50 feet or more.
One of the main features of all the palaces which I visited is the sad fact that they were almost all turned into primary schools or workers playgrounds during the Soviet Era, and then trashed and even bombed by the Nazis during the siege of Leningrad. After their lives as homes to the Imperial Russian families, and the Tsar until the Romanov murders in 1918, their fall in grace was rapid and could have been final except for a few dedicated and loyal curators and historians, who spent many years hiding away much of the art, statues, porcelain, amber and precious stones, quietly and discreetly in places that first the Bolsheviks, and then the Nazis would not find.
After WW2, there were some moves to restore, but little money, so the vast proportion of the amazing, and often total renovations were done between the late 1970’s and today.......it is still going on, and there is still much to do.
Enough history! The opulence, the pure gold, the Rembrandts, the Rastrelli designs are almost too much to take in. I found myself wandering (illegally you understand!) to try to find some humanity in the buildings; some sign of a home. In Peterhof, the home Peter the Great built as his Summer Palace, I found no sign of real life. That said, I adored the place! Sorry guys! I even designed in my head, the set for the next Gilbert and Sullivan show ‘Patience’. Oh how Baroque it will be, and such summer colours! We may even have to sing it all in Russian!
I did sneakily photograph one of the guards having a shifty smoke however, totally unfazed by the opulent surroundings. We had lunch in a building which would have passed for a slightly small palace belonging to the Tsarina’s music teacher possibly, which was not a great success as after salad and mushroom soup (not together) it was a nameless white fish in sauce, which I thought was very nice, and chips which were on the chilly side of tepid, and some of my fellow cruisers complained bitterly, to a largely unmoved bunch of waiters and waitresses who spoke no English at all, and smiled and said ‘Dos vadanya’, if that is how one spells it! I think it means ‘Cheers!’ After the free champagne and shots of vodka however, a convivial peace spread over the restaurant like a warm blanket. As I do not drink, I found it far trickier to ask for a second bottle of mineral water.
‘Madam not vant wodka?’ were the words. What he actually meant was ‘Madam vant vater? Is Madam raving lunatic?’
After lunch we hopped back into the coach and drove back to St Petersburg to visit the Hermitage, or the Winter Palace, which is part residence and part Art Collection without compare. There are Eagles everywhere, even in the public toilets, the amazing long, long arched corridors painted with fabulous scenes from myths and history, and stunning ballrooms. On entering all the palaces one has to put on overshoes which protect all the wooden floors. They are various degrees of horrific, but as everyone wears them there is some comfort in a common enemy! You can see the Winter Palace ones in the photograph, something to rib me about when I get home no doubt – see I’m not proud!
There is a picture of the entrance to the palace with a tree almost blocking it out, but remember we were herded and taking photographs was of secondary import to the headcount. Anyway, that is the entrance that the Bolsheviks broke through to take the Tsarina Alexandra and the five Romanov children into house arrest just after Tsar Nicholas abdicated. The children all had measles and were very ill. Much as the Tsar and his advisors made mistakes, I shuddered to think what that must have been like. They were so wealthy, and the poor were so poor, I can only imagine the feelings of the peasants at seeing how they lived, were inflamed to such hot hatred. It also brings home to me so sharply Sr Francis, and her life knowing those children, and knowing the palace. I felt she might have been there.
There was so much to see, to glory at and to admire, I almost stopped taking pictures. The final hall however had two sets of the vases in the photos. Each is around 4 feet high, two in the glistening midnight blue Lapis Lazuli, and two in the gorgeous rhododendron green of Malachite.
A totally exhausting day, and when we got back to the ship I lay on my bed and slept for 2 hours, went for some food, managed to stay awake for 20 minutes then came back to bed....zzzzzzzzz
Day 2 of St Petersburg will be next time.

Tallinn, Estonia, and free coffee

The vibrant red sun is setting before my eyes as we slowly sail towards Russia and the port of St Petersburg. It is gloriously warm and there is a faint breeze which takes the bite of the heat away. It is almost 9pm and the gold streaks are just dusting the sea. A flat calm and a perfect evening on a cruise ship. There is hardly a soul around as passengers are either dining or watching the first of the evening shows.

Tallinn was such an interesting city. Obviously it was much more up to date, and more fast paced than our island stop yesterday, but none the less a unique place with much Baltic flavour.

It is a small city, and the old quarter walkable in an hour. We stopped first at what seemed on the surface to be a great big uninteresting boulder about 3 m high and 4 m wide. Our guide Allys told us that this boulder was very significant as it was used in 1991 to block the road to the old town, so the Soviet tanks could not reach the buildings and destroy them. Independence was to come only hours after that act, and together with the Tallinn cross of peace, in the city square, made deliberately of glass because Estonians know how fragile freedom is, these monuments fill the people with hope and remembrance.

We walked next to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built by the said man and saint for the Russian Orthodox Church in the late 1700’s. We went in around 9.30am, and were told that a service would be happening. How lucky we were! The wondrous male Orthodox choir was singing for all they were worth, and the deep dark harmonies rang around the building like a sweet earthquake. It was in 4 parts, Basso Profundo, then 3 lots of various Baritone parts and not a Tenor in sight – or hearing!
The iconography was so colourful, and the place was very grand but in a different way to the Catholic Baroque churches of Western Europe. An almost simplistic decoration, gold and red everywhere – just like my sunset!

I was moved to light a candle which would stay lit for a day, to wish my parents happiness in their new home at a kind and caring house in Portree for the elderly. I know they are moved in now, and will soon settle. My Dad would have loved the cathedral and the singing; he would also have suggested I gave them a mark, if not an adjudication !

Coffee.....................Well today it was free! Well, it came as part of the tour to the Kadriorg Palace, along with a croissant, so probably that does not count! The palace itself was a kind of warm up act for those we will see in St Petersburg, a delightful pink confection, now the National Art Gallery of Estonia, with bits restored and bits still quite derelict and tired looking. There is a great deal of hope amongst the young folk, but I heard a 60 year old lady say how afraid she was of the ‘return of the bear’. Our young guide told us that her grandmother has seen 8 currencies in her lifetime with all the times the country had been occupied!

We passed a beautiful statue of an angelic Russalka, of the opera character who is a folk tale heroine, but this was a memorial to a Russian ship called Russalka, which went down in the bay sometime before WW1.

Of interest to singers everywhere, Estonia has a great choral tradition and a wonderful outdoor concert venue where many huge concerts are held, the biggest choir recorded singing there was a mere 34.000 choristers! Blimey, I wondered, who was the man brave enough to conduct, and try to keep control of that lot!! There is a bench in the audience which gives the sitter a big surprise. I did not find it; well we did only have 8 minutes to look! When it has a posterior placed upon it, selections of choral music blast from speakers built into the frame!

Now there is a thought, hey ho for the bottom parts!

Pics later when downloaded, away to my bed – 8 hour tour in St Petersburg tomorrow – Can’t wait!

Rescue !

Update
I am watching the captain who is waiting for the coastguard to come and rescue the boat, which unbelievably belongs to them!!
Our jovial captain was hard pressed not to make a merry quip and gag about that one!

Update Update

Hurrah ! It was 2 intrepid Boudicca sailors who went out and brought it back onboard, riding like Romans in a chariot they brought home the beleagured boat and will store it as a trophy until they return to the island! Well done those men!

Saareema Island Estonia

Saareemaa Island, Estonia, August 25th

This was such a beautiful island, so unspoilt and untouristy. It reminded me of Paradise in so many ways. If one analysed the elements that make up a small island community, allowing for language differences and cultural variation, the essential heart would be the same. Actually this island was a good deal less set up for tourism at the moment, but clearly that is to come. Estonia only got the Euro in January of this year, so their economy is in something of turmoil, and I felt they needed our income, however modest that was.

Our guide, Kristyan spoke with fantastically colourful English, he told us how the national park on the island was swimming with 46 types of ‘Orchidies’ , and that the ‘Saareema people had ‘scriddled’ out the past Soviet difficulties and were now ready to say hello to happy travellers from the West’ ! I thought he was marvellous.
After arriving at Kussarrere, the capital, (as big as Portree but with half the shops!), we were let loose on the streets. It had such wonderfully mixed architecture, old Russia with Dacha’s and Onion topped Orthodox churches, painted in fading yellows and pinks, to large Soviet blocks of flats which have precisely 50 square meters of space per flat, and built when the island was closed to the public in the 50’s, to the modern eco houses which would be the pride of any young architect, complete with turf roofs and solar panels, built in strange shapes and all with lots of gigantic passive solar windows. Every one of the old houses had a woodpile stacked in exactly the same way - last year they had 7 feet of snow, so logs are essential to life. It puts my barnful of higgeldy piggeldy logs to shame!

Our guide told us that the island was academically self sufficient having 3 High Schools, 1 Trade School and a Tartar University, where a degree could be ‘earned’ (note the word ‘earned’ carefully, not taken for granted, or given away easily) in the local language, so our young do not need ‘to flee’. I was amused by the ‘our young’ – he cannot have been a day over 25!

I coffeed! Well it is part of the survey! This one was 1.20 Euros – the price falls with every port, and it was extremely good, complete with Estonian gipsy music played in the background, and my only companions being black haired locals smoking dark cheroots. A town with soul and depth as well as recent historical darkness.
I walked up to ‘the shiniest jewel of our fair city’, quote of guess who, the Kussarrere Fortress, and in amongst the clear signs for all the attractions there was one which read,

‘This way to the Communist Massacre of 1941 Memorial’.

Thank God that Armadale Castle does not have to display such a dreadful sign. Grateful for great mercies.

The main street had a pavement covered in bright daisies on which the local children skipped, like a sort of Hop Scotch, and the market was full of knitted goods of a vaguely Icelandic style (now where does that come from?!) and amber jewellery alongside lovely wood carvings. The food stuffs were largely home grown fruits and vegetables from the stall holders land, and I gorged myself on 6 fat, ripe plums, squishy to perfection and as sweet as full blooded honey. There were lots of mushrooms which looked almost artificial when I am used to the dull greys and browns of our common varieties, and looking as if they were collected in the dew of the morning.

It is a privilege to visit such small and hopeful communities, and I hope my modest purchases in some small way said a hearty thank you for letting me into their lives for an all too fleeting moment.

Now here is up to date news – I am sitting typing this by the pool and our young cruiser was, a moment ago, playing by the edge of the pool. Suddenly his young eyes spied something in the distance and he joyfully shouted ‘Whale, whale’, well as you can imagine, onboard that causes a huge amount of interest, infact his photographer father has a camera par excellence and took photos instantly. On viewing the close up it is infact an abandoned boat. The captain must be told, and we are, as I write, circling around to make sure there is nobody onboard, or injured, or worse!
Peter is the star of the moment and cock a hoop with childish delight at his glorious sighting.

Go Captain, save the ancient mariner, and make the Estonian Daily Mail front page!

Sea Day

Sea Day August 24th
This was a slow and easy day, the weather was glorious and so the pools were in great use ! There was all the usual stuff happening which, to be honest is not generally what I come for, and the staff work so hard on these sea days, I think they are grateful when the ports come zooming around !
As the weather has got better and better with each day the layers of clothes that the guests are wearing has reduced. The ‘British, and barely used’ summer tops and shorts are suddenly brought out of dark cupboards and given a brisk airing for the first time in years! Even summer hats covered in sixties daisies and whirls are back in fashion, and for one time only, wives seem not to be embarrassed by sandels and socks !
There a few children on the cruise and one young man of about 10 is the son of the official photographer. He has been proudly wearing his father’s peak cap and sporting his silver rank badge. The crew are so jolly with him, and he swans into lunch and dinner for all the world like an undersized, but overly important captain’s assistant !
The Baltic Sea has been very kind to us so far, and another memorable quote from Captain Jan is worth another airing. He told us the ‘Although the sea is calm, the ship may still list from side to side, and even’ vice versa’ !!!’ He has missed his calling as a Gilbert and Sullivan patter song hero, I feel sure. He would, without doubt make a splendid Major General, albeit sporting a slightly off the wall Nordic undulation in the dialogue sections!
‘The Pirates of Oslo’ possibly !

Arriving at Travemunde in the township of Lubeck in Germany, was fascinating. We sailed up the harbour entrance and reached the pier at around 8.30am and there we were, tight into the town and so close to the promenade that I could have stepped off the ship and be in a coffee house in 3 steps. Once in the old town the ship was like a living presence. The Boudicca is a smaller ship than any of the American liners I have been on, so it can get into smaller ports than they. This was a maiden dock for Boudicca, and it was clear to see that the townsfolk were so excited to have us here, and that we were going to be good for their businesses ! I think we doubled the number of holiday makers in one fell swoop!
The town had such a warm and inviting feel, it seemed untouched and unspoilt, even though it is a favourite German seaside resort. The promenade was full of families, as well as staid and very well dressed elderly couples wearing Loden ! The magnificent beach huts are one of the signature sights of Travemunde, and when I found a superb and entirely local coffee house I sat in one to eat my Kleines Fruhstuck (Little Breakfast !) I was surrounded by the true ambience of German traditional life.
Now if we are talking coffee, it has to be said that Travemunde prices were a planet away from Aarhus. You can see from the picture how fine my platter was, fresh peach slices, grapes, cheese, preserves, roll and butterball, not to mention the fine coffee – and, wait for it, all for 3 Euros 90 cents, around £3 sterling. Now never let it be said that I am obsessed with the price of coffee, but I feel as if I am doing a Europe wide survey on the price and quality control of the said beverage !
Germany is winning hands down at the moment!
I found the ‘Demel’ of this area. Lubeck’s most famous confection is marzipan, and the shop was a treasure trove of everything marzipanish ! All handmade in the shop, and such creations that would make even the greatest marzipan hater be converted on the spot. Needless to say I purchased enough to sink a small paddle boat!
There were a few places where handmade artefacts were a joy to behold, especially the wrought iron man who had produced the gorgeous music stand in the photograph. I ummd and ahhd ( how do you spell that?), walked away, then post Fruhstuck, walked back. Took a photo, walked away...............etc. etc, and eventually I realised ‘discretion was the better part of valour’, and resisted the temptation to buy. I had to make, at this point a brisk re entry to the ship, before ‘discretion’ turned rapidly to ‘ desperation’ and I found myself explaining to a puzzled petty officer, what the hell I was doing bringing what looked like a weapon of mass destruction onto his ship ! Thank goodness we are now waving goodbye to Travemunde or I may have cracked. Would have looked great in my music room, and it would have doubled as a novelty BBQ.
We finally left late this evening and I decided to go up to Deck 10, the top of the ship, and watch the sail away. I was above even the captain’s ‘eerie’ and could see him on his lookout deck enjoying the singing from the pier, the sad waving goodbye from land to ship and vice versa, and general partying. He left the outside bridge, and in my innocence I assumed he had gone for his navel mug of late night cocoa and hard tack biscuit, and I relaxed, leaning on the rails as close to the top of the ship as one can go. A moment later I almost jumped overboard when clearly the musical captain pulled the lever and blew the ship’s horn. I was 2 steps away from it and the decibels were so loud my body vibrated and it pinned me to the rails. This happened three times as we left the harbour, and each time I felt as if I had been aurally x rayed !
Thanks Cap!

Denmark, Coffee and cruise professionals

The School Wind Band, The modern Organ, The Domkirche and the most expensive coffee in the western world !

It has been an interesting day so far! We docked on time in this small and delightful city of Aarhus in Denmark. It was a sunny mile walk into the centre of the old town, flat all the way but through some old architecture dating mostly from the 16th and 17th Centuries. The beamed and slightly wonky buildings were painted in those warm Hanseatic colours of yellow, gold, amber and cream, which give such a warm feeling to the locality

As we walked down the ramp to the dock there was a sweet surprise. A local children’s windband were playing to welcome us! In their smart blue uniforms they were disciplined, concentrating, and very appropriately playing a medley of national anthems! We were docked alongside the Emerald Princess, who in fact were behind us in coming into port, but had to overtake us as they were bigger, and leaving after us, the band were not playing for them! Fredrick Olson is a Norwegian line, so I expect the Scanda family had some influence here!

The ‘captain quote of the day’ was once again very worth repeating. He explained over the tannoy that we were’ all stopped’ to let the Emerald Princess go first, as indeed would any gentleman do !’

I can now truly beat the price of a coffee in Iceland! Given I was in Iceland in 2009, and even accounting for rampant inflation, today my very good double shot Americano came to the mammoth cost of £6.22....................now that’s expensive. It was a local coffee house, not a hotel and there were many locals, so it was a regular price! Wow! I almost felt like making an announcement that this was the priciest coffee ever encountered in the civilised world, but I thought they would think I was rather Uncivilised, so I kept quiet and drank my coffee with due reverence!

The Aarhus Domkirch was very beautiful, rather plain, painted white with some beautiful rescued frescos, yet it managed to retain a little of the Roman Catholic splendour. Of course it is now a Lutheran cathedral, but overtones of quiet gilding could still be seen! Much of the artwork was of rather strict looking Elizabethans (or the Danish equivalent!), resplendent in ruffs and doublet and hose. I really liked its simplicity.

It is still a working church and it was interesting that it had, slap bang in the middle of all the Renaissance splendour, an incredibly modern, and most definitely Scandinavian organ, housed in an organ loft redolent of an upmarket IKEA. ( Yep I know that is Swedish!!) The old and magnificent Baroque organ was also there fully intact and beautifully preserved.

I came back from the town by around 3pm and decided as it was such a beautiful day I would have a swim in one of the outdoor pools. As most folk were out on day tours or in the town still it was so peaceful, and for about half an hour I had the pool, the sun and the view all to myself!

Folk began to arrive back ready for their own swims around afternoon teatime. I had finished my dip and was enjoying a few minutes of people watching by this time. I watched and marvelled in a horrified kind of way, a true cruise pro, a lone lady of a certain age, determined and relentless in her conversation barging – she was like a bloodhound with a Ph D in hunting down innocent cruisers, whose only wish was to be left alone with their cream cake and Darjeeling.................she stalked, she stood over tables, she gesticulated with gay abandon, she held court on matters of no importance, worse even than that she loudly honked away with tales of family and friends unknown to her zombie like listeners, and the poor trapped (by politeness you understand!) victims were helpless. Resistance was futile.

Boy was I glad not to be a ‘chosen one’ – clearly I looked boring!

Three hearty cheers for BORING !

Lazy day

Throught the Round Window and into the Baltics.....


The sun has been shining almost all day today, and that is no mean feat when traversing the North Sea! We almost made up the lost hour and a half through the night by sailing fast and furious in calm seas. As it is we still will not dock until 12 noon tomorrow in Aarhus, Denmark.
At out 12 noon we have the lovely Captain Jan Thommasen daily update. (I say lovely, but I have not actually seen him, but have rather fallen in love with his dulcet tones over the ship's tannoy!) He was waxing lyrical about how glorious was the |North Sea, and how kind it was being to us today, and I must quote his actual words as they were not only poetic, but said with such feeling. He said ‘The North Sea is a wonderful friend, and today there is a gentle waltz between Boudicca and the waves’ - how’s that for a Captain!
I did read his biography today though, and guess what, his hobby is music and he plays the trumpet. At home in Oslo he teaches music to children – quite when I have no idea, as he must be away so much! Apparently he is known to bring his trumpet to the shows sometimes and play with the band! I wonder where he practises, and if it annoys a few tone deaf Minke whales? You can bet your life it would annoy a few passengers!
I had my Swedish Massage, and boy was it good. A very small Thai lady who looked as though a baby breeze would blow her over proved that size is deceptive. I was gently - ish pummelled for 60 minutes, using oils clearly designed to make one soporiphic and happy, (well it is cheaper that maruana, and not addictive, costly, but not addictive!), and I felt aches and pains roll away and fall in rivulets onto the floor, which was covered with orchids................................aaagh. The room was darkened, and there was a faint murmur of whale song which every so often metamorphosed into temple bells.
Suffice to say it was wonderful. Now all I need is a personal masseur to bring home!

Embarkation

Leaving it all behind..............for a little while


I finally decided that I needed to get away and so I left Paradise yesterday and made the drive to Rosyth to cath the beautiful and very sleek cruise ship Boudicca. I have had this holiday booked for over a year, and although there is still a not insubstantial kernel of guilt at leaving my parents and friends still grappling with infirmity and dementia, all the medics told me that I would be no use to them at all if I became too exhausted, or fell foul of a bug because I was run down.

So I bit the bullet and left.

I was offered an upgrade, can you believe, to a cabin with porthole windows, and quite a bit larger than my original booked one - so I took it in a nanosecond ! Under the portholes there is a wide ledge, I am almost at the prow of the ship, so the ledge tapers from about 3 feet to 2 feet, but it is a perfect place to sit, daydream and watch the sea go by !

I felt quite an old hand at the life jacket drill ! I was next to a couple of couples (!) for whom it is a first cruise. I was a positive expert in fitting the most unbecoming orange float aid, complete with whistle and light, but unlike aircraft ones, NO pipe to blow in to refill ! Maybe that is because on a ship we have lifeboats. I don't think Flybe or BA have too many of them strung beneath the aeroplane!

Dinner was superb - all of you who know me well are aware of the fact that I hate the formal dining, actually being nice to people -aaggh - so I onboard this white and gleaming delight I use the Secret Garden Restaurant which is self serve, yet full of attentive waiters. I had poached cod in lemon sauce and fragrant Thai rice followed by fresh fruit salad and fresh peach sauce. Will I make the midnight buffet - oh the trials of cruising!

One small hitch - we were all loaded, engines rollong and at the ready to leave Rosyth when the wonderfully eloquent Norwegian Captain made an announcement saying that he was sorry to say that all the harbour men who 'unhook' us from the quay, had left and gone home! Were they all watching the rugby I ask myself?! Anyhow phone calls were made, clearly to some homes with chaps sitting down to their pie and chips, which were then abandoned I assume ! They returned and by 7.30pm we were away, and finally I began to feel as though, for 12 days at least, I can relax, recuperate and recharge my sadly depleted batteries.


Sea Day tomorrow, and my first ever Swedish Massage ??!!

Apologies

Many apologies, but I am afraid things are still in flux and I have not had either the time, or the wherewithal to be 'creative' !

I will try to get back into some sort of routine next week when things with my parents are more settled. It has been decided by the doctors and social care department of Paradise that my parents will not return home, they will both be moved to a care home here on the island.

Sad, but safe.

A short break - service will be resumed as soon as possible

The Mackinnon Hospital - many Thanks !

Many apologies, but there will be a small break in my blogging. Today my elderly father was taken to the local hospital after a couple of bad falls, which means that my poor Mum who has dementia had to be taken to the nearby rest home for specialist care.

I am away working from this thursday until next monday evening, so life has taken a convoluted turn and suddenly I am in a different universe. One of doctors, social workers, carers and district nurses. A planet which is as foreign to me as the Gobi desert !

I will return next week, and hopefully things will have returned to some sort of normality.

I tried to explain to the district nurse, who clearly seemed to think that I should be able to postpone my work, that the nature of my work is 'live performance', and the prospect of making a quick phone call and suggesting that this weeks' concert, wedding, competition needs to be put off for a few days, was not a possibility - she still looked at me in a slightly disapproving manner, over the top of her spectacles......................guilt or what?

Well, the reality is that I cannot postpone my work, so that is that!

Life's twists and turns.