The day of the Griffin

 

Diva forgot to mention that in Tallinn they passed an office labelled Malware Bytes. Turns out it is a perfectly respectable cyber security company but it is not a name she would have chosen.

Riga is a lively place with many local people around the city - not just shuffling Saga pensioners this time. Lots of cafes with loud music. TSH and Diva saw a group of young men on a large cycle with beer provided. Singing loudly and having a great time (the men, not TSH and Diva).

In TSH's world, there is no crisis that cannot be solved by use of half a box of tissues. So when an unfriendly bird made a deposit on Diva's sparkly shoes, he was ready for an instant clean-up. Diva has two pairs of sparkly shoes with her. Both receive many compliments from passing guests and crew.

As usual, TSH and Diva attempted the Saga morning crossword. One of the clues 'Great venture' evaded them until they traded solutions with other guests. Turns out there was a misprint, the clue should have been 'Great vulture' and the answer was 'Griffin' - a word that Diva had thought of but could not connect to 'venture'. 

Jeosh, their butler, read their mid-cruise questionnaire and came to enquire about Diva's well-being. More than the safety officer has bothered to do so far. 

Let there be light

In the morning, TSH and Diva were busy with the sudoku and the crossword in the Living Room when the lights were dimmed so that their aging eyes were struggling to read. Diva asked for them to be turned up again. It turns out that the 'system' can only provide a fixed amount of light (a quantum?)  and if the LR is bright, the jewellery shop is not sufficiently bright to sparkle the diamonds. Guest Services assured her that an electrician would be called but there was no apparent action that morning.

Diva has discovered the 'Slow Horses' novels. She is only on the first one but is impressed.

TSH had fish, chips and mushy peas for lunch. Followed by sticky toffee pudding. 

The weather is now grey but the North Sea is very smooth. 

A day at sea

Sea days are regarded as rest days but not by everyone.

Diva and TSH were up as usual around 6am and ready in good time to enjoy breakfast when it was available at 7am. A light breakfast was taken (noted by one of the waiters – do they really study what everybody eats?) - solely fruit, with the exception of TSH having an excellent cinnamon Danish pastry to accompany his coffee.

Then it was up to deck 8 to pick up the daily puzzles before climbing another flight of stairs to do Tai Chi. Doing Tai Chi at sea is usually a challenge due to the motion of the ship and the wind but fortunately the seas have been reasonably kind thus far. As Tai Chi is partly about balance, it is perhaps a good way to practice.

After physical exercise, Diva and TSH set about metal challenges with the crossword and Sudoku puzzles, which they both completed. The crossword has taken some time to tune into as it uses American words, spellings and phrases which they are not accustomed to.

The puzzles were followed by an educational session, as Diva and TSH attended a lecture on upcoming ports of call. This was the first one they had managed to attend (after three weeks on board) as Diva and TSH had previously been too busy to find the time for this activity.

Diva and TSH then allowed themselves a short relaxation break during which they read books on their kindles whilst seated on the pool deck. This rest could not continue though as it was soon lunch time.

At lunch Diva decided that it was time for another seafood pizza which she again enjoyed even though she could not manage to eat the whole of the base. TSH limited himself to a large salad and a lean piece of pork and some fruit for pudding. He did give in to the cookies to have with his coffee – three of them.

Whilst seated in a prime window seat in the restaurant, TSH spotted some dolphins beside the ship, causing a bit of excitement amongst guests and staff.

After lunch Diva and TSH decided it was too bright to use computers out on deck so they retired to the observation lounge to work on their projects. After spending some time doing this, Diva and TSH read from their kindles and moved outside to take the air whilst taking advantage of the shade from the strong sun.

Before returning to their cabin, Diva and TSH observed flying fish - they flew for considerable distances in order to escape from the approaching ship.

TSH had a minor panic after finding out it was formal night and discovering his frilly shirt was not to be found. He reasoned that it must be in the laundry that the Butler had taken away (Diva and TSH get free laundry as a result of doing more than 100 days with Silversea). The shirt was duly delivered whilst TSH was shaving in preparation for dinner. So he could dine suitably attired. Not only did he have a clean shirt but he also had freshly polished dress shoes to wear, as the Butler had polished them yet again – at this rate they will be worn out more by polishing than wearing.

Before dinner Diva and TSH relaxed whilst listening to the soothing tones of Leonard Cohen, played on a PC brought with them.

Dinner was excellent – Diva had lobster whilst TSH had bream as main courses. Diva enquired of the Restaurant Manager when filet mignon would next be available on the menu. He responded ‘for you madam it is available whenever you wish to ask for it’.