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Napoleon City–23 June 2018

Posted on June 23, 2018July 2, 2018 by Zogman

Today we were in Ajacio, in Corsica.

Corsica is a little bit of France stuck in the middle of the Mediterranean, next to Italy. It’s where Napoleon was born. There are statues of him round every corner. We wandered through a market and then went to a Spar shop to get tonic for the G&Ts. I was also running low on coffee for the Oomph so I bought some Mexican coffee there. Next to the Spar was a wee bakers. We stopped there to share an apricot tart with our coffees which Scamp said were too strong. She always says the coffee is too strong. Walked through the town half looking for a restaurant we’d been in two years ago. We didn’t find it. Finally went back to the ship and got stopped twice at security. Not the coffee, me. I get fed up with all these security checks.

Went for a swim in the indoor pool which had its ceiling retracted so it was an outdoor, indoor pool today.

Dinner was in the sit down restaurant. It was also a ‘dress the dolly dinner’ (a black tie dinner.) You’ve seen ostriches? You know how their eyes are large and sort of stuck on the sides of their head? And they have long eyelashes? The woman sitting next to me must have ostrich genes in her DNA (that’s probably the wrong scientific description JIC.) She really looked like an ostrich. Even worse, the bloke sitting opposite her told her she had the most beautiful eyes of anyone he’d seen on the ship. Maybe he was an ostrich too. I think he’ll also be a dead ostrich now after his wife deals with him.

Show tonight was about musicals, but modern ones. The only bad one was That Bloody Lion King which I detest. Other than that, it was great. Headliners are a really good show company.

Tomorrow it’s Naples. Land of the Pizza.

Rambling around La Rambla–22 June 2018

Posted on June 22, 2018June 23, 2018 by Zogman

Got off the ship to the usual scramble for the free bus to take us in to Barcelona. Asked one of the guides how long it would take to get into town and he told us abouthe t half an hour. By the look of the snaking queue, it would take well over that to get in to town on the bus, so we walked. And walked. And walked. Down past three other cruise ships, past the heli-port and over the bridge to the town. At the top of arched bridge it became quite bouncy when buses or lorries were passing. A bit like the suspension bridge over the Clyde at The Green, but on a much bigger scale. It took us about half an hour, just as predicted.

Walked up La Rambla and watched the ‘Human Statues’ setting up, likewise the craft stall holders. For once we went in to the market and walked round amazed at the variety and colour of all the fruits, meats and fish that was being sold. Had a beer in a wee square just outside the market and then continued up La Rambla. There was a heavy police presence on the street and the now familiar army personnel carrying automatic weapons. I’d guess with the tensions in this area with Catalan extremists, this is inevitable. It didn’t seem to put off the hawkers and ‘lookie-lookie’ men selling fridge magnets and fans from their white bed sheets on the ground.

At the top of the street we went through the Place de Catalunia. I hope I spelled that correctly. Without any WiFi here that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, it’s difficult to do the normal Google checks! Out along a street, still heading in the same direction I got today’s PoD which is an old man sketching a lovely perspective view of the street. He was working on a full sheet of watercolour paper, drawing with a sharpened piece of bamboo cane, dipping it in to an ink bottle he held in his other hand. He seemed to be totally engrossed in his work and although he answered my questions, only gave short answers. Beautiful work.

I wanted to get back to La Ramba to find the famous Miro mosaic. It was just where we’d turned off Rambla to go in to the market. Found it and photographed it. Just before that I’d done a 15 minute sketch of a wee church in a side street. Not nearly as good as the old man’s sketch, not even in the park.

Crossed out of Rambla and past a flea market we’d visited when we got to the town, then Scamp found the place where we could get the bus back to the ship. Don’t think I could have faced another walk back!

Dinner tonight was with a young couple on their honeymoon, a doctor who had broken his neck while at college and was paralysed from the neck down and his carer who we presume was also a nurse. All great company.

Missed the show, so early bed.

Posh frock, Posh togs for posh dinner – 21 June 2018

Posted on June 21, 2018July 4, 2018 by Zogman

Today we had posh dinner booked in Epicurean.

Art class in the morning, and as we were at sea today, we were painting a rose. The view from the room on deck 18 showed only sea and sun. Unfortunately the sun disappeared about an hour after we started. It might have disappeared before that, but I was concentrating so much on the rose and the teacher’s method of painting the petals, I didn’t notice anything around me. The class swot’s voice droned on, but I managed to tune it out. That’s a skill Scamp has that I covet! The method for the red rose was, working petal by petal:

Paint on a strong wash of Cadmium Red.
Using a damp brush, remove any highlights while the red wash is still wet.
Allow the wash to dry slightly then add the shadow areas using Alizarin Crimson.
Continue using this method until all the petals are done.
With a damp brush blend the shadows were necessary.
Mix a dark using Alizarin Crimson and Intense Blue and paint in the small areas of deep shadow.

With the rose successfully painted I had just enough time to catch the end of Scamp’s line dance and got a short video of it for reference later. HER reference, not mine, I hasten to add.

After lunch we swam in the covered pool, because the sun wasn’t quite getting through the cloud cover. Lounged in the jacuzzi for a while too and my leg felt better. By the time we were finished, the sun was back in control.

We had booked a dinner in Epicurean and it was just as good as the last time, two years ago. We both had Lobster Thermidore as a main after Scamp’s starter of Trio of Tomatoes and mine of Two Types of Smoked Salmon. Pudding for Scamp was a White Chocolate Sphere with Popcorn served with Creme Brulee. I had Banana and Peanut Canneloni. Coffee and truffles to finish. Amuse Bouche at the start and end Start was Mexican Surprise which was baby tomato on a bed of white guacamole. At the end it was a delicious deconstructed G&T. Everything was photographed, of course. That was menu 2. We immediately booked for next week to get a taste of menu 1. We also went straight to Sindu to book a night there too. Food? It’s what we do!

Watched the sun go down over the sea!

All at sea – 20 June 2018

Posted on June 20, 2018June 22, 2018 by Zogman

There’s not a lot you can write about sea days other than you are at sea for a whole day.

It started off with some sun and a bit of haze on the horizon, but soon that sun was disappearing and the clouds were rolling in. One of the benefits of being on a P&O ship is the variety of things to do on a sea day. Today after breakfast I took a trip to Metropolis on Deck 18 for the Art class while Scamp went to the line dancing class. Today we were painting penguins. A strange subject given our position just off the south of Spain. As the last class, Easa had provided us with a wee photo of the subject. A mummy and baby penguin. After we sketched it, he took us through the process of painting it. I believe that each subject concentrates on a particular skill. Today’s was mixing a black. It’s fairly simple if you know your colour wheel and is usually a blue and a brown. That’s what he recommended and that’s what I used. Unfortunately, there were too many diddies in the class who couldn’t find the blue and then couldn’t find the brown, so a lot of time was wasted. As a result, the class over-ran and I had a salsa class to go to at 11am and had to give my apologies and make a run for it.

Salsa was a fun class. Great fun. The leader is as gay as a gay thing and is constantly encouraging everyone to “Get your hips moving.” It’s pretty basic stuff for us, but at least we get a chance to dance afterwards when everyone gets a bit of ‘practise time’. After lunch we sat and listened to frau Sturmbahnfuhrer screaming at the poor people whose only fault in life was a desire to learn Cha – Cha. We couldn’t help but compare and contrast our teacher with this demon. One making dancing fun, one making it a drudge and a competition.

Outside things were looking grim. Grey cloud and a very slight wind that wasn’t going to shift them very much. Never mind, there were things to do. There were brides to ooh and ahh at and lots of rubbish oops, bargains to be bought. Also, tonight was a Gala Captain’s Reception. We’d no intention of going to meet the captain who is apparently on the short leet for the most boring speaker on P&O. However, it was a chance to wear my kilt and cause a stir. As it happened, one of the people at our table was from Aberdeen. Maybe it was a long time ago, but at least he was Scottish and the accent was there. Like a lot of folk, the more we spoke to him, the stronger the accent became. Pleasant enough crowd. One woman was from the afternoon art class. She talked about going on P&O in the ‘60s when there was a severe demarcation between First class and Second class passengers accommodation. It still exists. There is an area cordoned off at the front of the ship for those who are willing to pay the subsidy. They have better sunbeds, their own pool and sauna. They don’t tell you that in their fancy brochure.

Tonight’s show was the best we’ve seen by far. Brilliantly staged with a ‘roadie’ entertaining the crowd at the start. Then, near the end the lights went out and a message came over the system saying that there were technical difficulties and the program would proceed as soon as possible. After the spoof at the start, everyone thought this was just another joke. It wasn’t. Some folk left, but we waited for the finale. I think they sang every rock anthem that was written. Silly wee story, but nobody noticed because the production was so slick apart from that one problem.

That was it for the day at sea. Sat and finished my painting of the penguins and went to bed.

The port for Oporto – 19 June 2018

Posted on June 19, 2018July 11, 2018 by Zogman

After breakfast we joined the queue to exit the ship and get in another queue for the shuttle bus that would take us to Oporto. You see, we weren’t really at Oporto, we were at Leixões which is the port for Oporto which isn’t actually called Oporto when you’re in Portugal, it’s called Porto. Right, glad we’ve got that sorted out

The queue to exit the ship was long and twisting. Just as we were beginning to see daylight, we joined another queue, coming from the opposite direction. Twenty minutes after joining the queue, we exited on to the dock. Then we had to go out through the beautiful terminal building and saw the extent of the queue for the bus to Oporto and immediately decided to go to Leixões instead. I’d like to tell you it is a pretty little fishing village, but it’s not. Apart from the cruise terminal building, it’s an ugly sprawling concrete town with two things to recommend it. An enormous Lidl and a beautiful beach. We visited both.

Have you ever noticed that all Lidls smell the same. It’s not a bad smell, or even an unpleasant one, it’s just a smell. It might be something to do with the air freshener they use. This is the first time I’ve realised that it’s there, but it is, definitely. Check the next time you’re in a Lidl! Water on the ship costs £1.75 for 500ml. Water in Lidl is €0.11 for 330ml. It might not originate from Harrogate as the ship’s water allegedly does, but it’s still water and at roughly 15p for 500ml, it’s a lot cheaper than P&O H₂O. We bought a bottle, to see if we could get it past Gort the guard at the ship who scans everything you bring on board. Any alcohol you attempt to bring back is seized and held in the hold until you return to the UK.

After buying our budget water, a small bottle of orange juice, which might also be confiscated (they don’t tell you about that in the shiny brochures, do they?) and a bag of cherries which were never going to make it back to the ship, we went for a beer, because it was hot. Just over 30ºc hot. We had a beer in a beachside cafe, then a coffee and a Portuguese custard tart that was just as good as the ones we usually have in Lisbon. When we left I asked the waiter how to say “Thank You” and found out it is “Obrigado”.

Next we went for a walk along the prom. That’s one of the delights of a holiday for Scamp, a walk along the prom, in the sun. We walked right to the end of the prom, watching the surfers out catching the waves, then we turned round and had a paddle on the way back to the bus. Just got to the port gate as the bus was arriving and surprised the driver by saying “Obrigado” rather than “Thank You” when we got off at the terminal. The Terminal is an impressive building with swirls of white concrete covered in shiny tiles. It really has to be seen to be appreciated. Boarding was much easier and quicker than disembark and we grabbed the opportunity to do some sunbathing at the blunt end of the ship (technical term). We went swimming in the little kidney shaped pool at that end and then found out that there had been a medical emergency on board and our departure would be delayed by about 40minutes. Those 40 minutes expanded to just over two hours, but with the emergency ambulance driving slowly down the dockside, some poor couple’s holiday came to an end. Hope the woman was ok.

Dinner was with a talkative group at our table and after that, we played cards as the show was nothing to write home about, even in a blog.

Salsa, Painting, but no’ Dancin’ – 18 June 2018

Posted on June 18, 2018June 19, 2018 by Zogman

There is a painting class, a salsa class and a ballroom class on sea days like today.

Woke at about our usual time of 8.30. I’d visions of still being in the land of nod well after breakfast was past and we were into lunch time, but it wasn’t like that. We were up and out before 9.15 and went to Smash ‘n’ grab for breakfast. Then it was time for me to head for the watercolour painting class in the Metropolitan lounge where the self-important singer had been last night. Scamp went to the ballroom class instead. Our tutor, a man from Kurdistan, was called Easa. He told us it was pronounced like Lisa, but not to call him Lisa. His style was more direct than that of the tutor two years ago and he didn’t come with the baggage of a published book he felt he had to publicise. Once the usual self proclaimed ‘artist’ had shown him her iPad full of her paintings (she did commissions, probably for blind friends.) we got started, but while we were waiting for the lady to get her complements, I did a quick Loomis sketch of her! I can’t say I agreed with all Easa’s colour choices, but on the whole the finished article did look like the tiny little photo he’d given us to copy. On the next sea day we are painting penguins (or so he says). We’ll have to wait and see. Scamp seemed to enjoy the ballroom which was the Social Foxtrot, but said that the teacher had a cutting voice. It was time for lunch.

We agreed that we’d have a light lunch and for once, I stuck to my promise. After that, it was time for the Salsa class and much to my surprise it was really good, although the men’s teacher was just a little bit camp. I really enjoyed the class although it was a bit basic for us, but perhaps, just perhaps if they’re teaching salsa during the day we might get some decent music to dance too tonight. Next up was the afternoon session of Social Foxtrot. It came as a bit of a surprise to me to discover that P&O are allowed to employ Nazis. I’d have thought in these days when you can hardly mention Hitler’s name that one of his high ranking officers is allowed to be a ballroom teacher. “Cutting voice” Scamp had said. Yes, it was certainly cutting and also hectoring. “Ladies, some of you are STILL facing the wrong way. If you’re looking at me, you CANNOT be facing forward.” I gave up after that. I came on this ship to enjoy myself, not to be shouted at. I apologised to Scamp and we went for afternoon tea. I saw a couple of dolphins, but Scamp just missed that experience. I’m sure there will be more.

Weather and sea was a bit heavy today, although the Bay of Biscay was not too choppy. Air temperature a bit cooler than we’d hoped for with a high of only 18c.

Last night, although I had steak for dinner, the lamb shank looked lovely too. Tonight I had Gammon Shank and it was gorgeous. Scamp’s starter of Seared Tuna was declared delicious too. Food appears to be much better here than Thompson’s and without the overhead for steak. An unnecessary addition to the cost of the cruise in my opinion.

Watched the sequence dancers for a while, also known as dancing for the already dead. I don’t see me ever stooping that low. They didn’t play any salsa, but then again it was the Nazi who was in charge, so I didn’t expect any.

Went to the show and enjoyed Reel To Reel for the second time, I’m sure. Late night coffee (decaf – Sorry Hazy, I know you expect better from me) and a slice of pizza. It’s much warmer outside tonight than at any time of the day.

Hoping to get up early for the bus to Oporto and our feet on dry land again. Land that doesn’t move!

The Dark Side – 18 June 2018

Posted on June 17, 2018June 19, 2018 by Zogman

Today started early, very early, around 2am early.

Up and a glass of OJ as breakfast, then a last scout around switching power off here and there until the phone rang twice to announce the arrival of the taxi. A quick drive to the bus station where the bus was waiting. Then we were off proper. First stop was services in the north of Engerland, near to where JIC and Sim would be out walking Vixen in a few hours time. Probably for the first time in her life, and maybe the first in mine too, we had breakfast in Macdonald’s. Who’d have thought it, the foodies in Micky D’s, but little did we know that more and worse indignity was to come.

Back on the coach and down even deeper south for a short stop to change drivers and a chance to stretch our legs, then it was a longer run and a longer stop at the end of it near Warwick this time we were forced to join the Dark Side. The only option for coffee was That Whose Name Must Not be Spoken. So it was burnt water for drinking. Scamp wisely opted for peppermint tea. I must admit though that their Spiced Beef on a Bagel was quite excellent and the spicing on the beef successfully masked the taste of the burnt water they advertised as coffee. To prove that we did in fact visit TWNMNBM, I took a photo of Scamp sitting in front of their logo and it became PoD. The driver we’d picked up just outside Manchester was a PITA who thought he was a comedian and a fount of all knowledge. I think his name was Richard, because he sounded like a Dick. However he got us to Southampton in double quick time and the usual efficient P&O embarkation procedure took over from there. The cabin is small, but perfect for our needs. Just before we left Southampton with no fanfare or even a notification from the bridge, it started raining, then the mist came down and we settled inside after taking some photos of Britannia and the Queen Mary 2 to unpack.

Dinner was in the “Sit down and be served” restaurant and was sooo much better than Thompson last year. Later we went to the upstairs lounge on the top floor to listen to a pianist who was really just too far over the top to be comfortable. Impressive playing, but the singing was dire.

Early bed for us after a long day. Getting to bed at 10pm means we’ve been on our feet for almost 20 hours.

Recovery – 16 June 2018

Posted on June 16, 2018 by Zogman

I was exhausted today, it must have been that salsa dance last night.

So tired that I slept until almost 11am. Thankfully Scamp took pity on me and let me sleep on. Woke to the news that the GSA had burned down for the second time in four years. Such a pity after all the work that’s been put into it. Thankfully the new building wasn’t touched, but the old Mac building looks like a shell now. Perhaps that’s the way it should remain.

Didn’t do very much, didn’t even have to bring the car down from where I’d parked it last night. Scamp did the honours and drove down very carefully and parked it for me.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk to St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which is of a hover fly on a flowering weed. I just liked the shot. There’s a more arty one on Flickr if you care to visit it. It’s a leaf covered in water droplets from the torrential rain we had this morning.

Dinner was a frugal potatoes, fish fingers and spaghetti. Maybe frugal, but quite delicious. A house speciality.

That’s about it for today. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, but hopefully with a good outcome.

Waiting, waiting, waiting – 15 June 2018

Posted on June 15, 2018June 16, 2018 by Zogman

… for the party to begin. Going to a wedding reception tonight.

There wasn’t much else to do today apart from tidying up and getting organised. It was a much more relaxed day than yesterday. Spoke to Hazy in the morning and admired the views from JIC and Sim’s holiday cottage. That was about it.

Today’s PoD was taken in the garden. My delicate little yellow aquilegia that has withstood Storm Hector and is still smiling.

Finally the time came to get dressed and go to the reception in Bearsden. For once, a suit I’ve not worn for a year was too bit for me. I’ll say that again, TOO BIG. I had a kilt taken in yesterday and now may suit trousers need a belt to hold them up. What is happening to me? Don’t worry, I have the antidote to this strange malaise. I’m sure in a couple of weeks it will all seem like a slim dream and I’ll be back to reality. Just wait and see.

The reception was quite like the one we had for JIC and Sim four years ago. It was a Scottish reception for a friend who got married abroad. Only close family went to the wedding with the friends and in-laws attending the Scottish reception. It was the full rerun of the Italian reception with speeches and a cake. It was a good night. Got my birthday book signed by Jo, the author. As I was driving, and the bar only had Becks Blue on the ’no alcohol’ list, it was the Orange Fizz (Irn Bru) for me. We did do one salsa dance for half of a track at the insistence of Anju. I was being very careful of the ‘bad knee’ and so was Scamp. Still, we can now say we danced at Mhairi’s Wedding!

When we got home I had a bottle of Old Engine Oil to take away the synthetic taste of the Irn Bru and went to bed. So this blog entry is actually written after the event. I’m sure there will be a few sore heads among the Bearsden population on Saturday.

Tomorrow (well, today in reality) we won’t be going far.

In, Out, Shake it all about – 14 June 2018

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Zogman

A busy day, in fact, a very busy day.

The day started with me dragging the brown bin and the grey bin into the teeth of a storm (Storm Hector) out to be emptied. I expected most of them to tumble and distribute their contents over the pavement, but they survived upright until the bin lorry appeared and emptied them.

Next was a bit of blood letting, the second in a fortnight. I didn’t know my blood was so interesting. When I returned with a little less blood in me than I’d gone out with, I picked up Scamp and we drove in to Glasgow to:

Look for a pair of trainers for me.
Have lunch in a new restaurant (to us) in the West End.
Find a belt to hold up my kilt now that my waist has reduced in diameter.

Task 1. Parked at Tiso and suspended my disbelief at the prices they were asking for a pair of nylon shoes. However, I buttoned my lip and tried a few pairs on. None of them were exactly what I was looking for but some were worth looking at again. May go back again.

Task 2. Not really a task, more a test, to see just how good it was. Drove in to the city centre and got the subway out to the West End then walked down through the storm and occasional showers to La Lanterna West End. La Lanterna in the city centre is quite a Glasgow institution, one of the first, and some would argue, one of the finest Italian restaurants. I’d spotted LLWE on Monday when I went for a walk, rather than risk my knee in the advanced salsa class. Snapped the menu on my phone and booked us for lunch when we got home. It was not very busy. Just three blokes obviously having a business lunch. One of them apparently had two mouths! They were behind us, so I couldn’t confirm my theory, but the only way he could talk, constantly while eating was if he had two mouths. Also, since his cerebral cortex would have to synchronise swallowing with breathing, that would explain why he was talking absolute shite. One of those people who are so important they have to talk about themselves all the time. Have you noticed that people like that rarely ask questions, and if they do, they never listen to the answer? That’s because they know everything and don’t need your opinion, especially if it contradicts theirs. Scamp says I’m a cruel man, sometimes. Sometimes? What do you mean, Sometimes?

The food was good. Scamp had Arancini for starter and I got a bite of one – it was superb. I had Rigatoni Amatriciana with braised pig cheek instead of bacon. Scamp’s main was Hake fillet in a light tomato broth served with potatoes. I had Risotto with roasted pumpkin and wild porcini covered in parmesan shavings. Now it was lovely, but I got greedy (who me?) and scoffed the lot, which was a shame because it lay a bit heavy in my stomach for the rest of the day. We’ll certainly go back DV.

Task 3. Subway back in to Glasgow. It was now about 3pm and the train was busy. Scamp got a seat but I chose to stand. I must have looked as if I was in a bit of pain because a girl sitting opposite Scamp offered me her seat. I smiled and thanked her but said I was OK. It thought that was very kind of her and thanked her again when we left at Cowcaddens. It’s nice to see that kind of attitude in young people today. I also thought as I was getting off the train, “Maybe I just look like an old man, an auld guy, which I suppose I am.” Walked up to Bath Street to see about a belt to hold up my kilt. The girl told me that a belt wouldn’t really help and suggested I get the kilt adjusted to fit. I told her I’d been told last year that it would take a month or so for the alteration. She seemed surprised and said she could do it today if I could bring it in by 6pm. It was now 3.30pm. Yes, we could go home, get the kilt and bring it in with time to spare and that’s what we did. Drove home, picked up our bin which was lying are un the kilt, drove back to Glasgow and handed it in. Got measured and told to go for a coffee and the kilt would be ready for us in an hour. AN HOUR, not a month! Did as we were told, went to JL and had a pot of tea each which is where today’s PoD came from. I liked the shot because it looked like a still life. Walked back to the shop and tried on the kilt and knew right away, just like Cinderella did, that it was a perfect fit. The girl, I didn’t even find out her name, wouldn’t take anything for the work, but I managed to get her to accept a few quid as a token of my heartfelt thanks. Walked out of that shop feeling better than I have for at least a week. Both the girl on the train and the girl in the shop will never know just what their individual gestures meant to me today.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a less frantic day. Still stuff to do. Still people to see. Just at a less frantic pace.