Photoblog

 

With the Beatles

Three Graces, Liverpool

Italian Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel

Tynemouth

Silver Spirit and the Swifties

Just a note to record that a certain pop star is appearing at Anfield (Liverpool stadium) tonight but thus far no Swifties have been spotted.

Grubby guests

Diva’s 3^rd tantrum was bigger, prolonged and entirely justified. She ran her morning bath and it was completely cold.  A phone call to Reception established that a pipe had broken and the whole ship was without hot water. TSH and Diva did their best with a cold wash-down but this is nightmare territory for clean-freak Diva. TSH had his own tantrum whilst shaving with cold water. Diva was further incensed by the usual cheery announcement from the Cruise Director with docking information and the instruction to ‘enjoy your day’. No mention of the cold water. So when she passed the Hotel Director’s office she popped in to ask about the lack of any apology. ‘The Cruise Director probably does not know’. ‘The pipe broke, caused a flood and we are working very hard’. ‘Apology comes later’. Diva’s (M.A.) linguistic analysis skills suggested that this narrative was coming from the perspective of the pipe and she pointed this out, saying that empathy with the guests would be useful. They agreed to leave it there and she stormed out. Half an hour later the Cruise Director was back on the PA system with a (lukewarm) apology. Result. TSH and Diva were shocked by many of the crew and many of the guests being unaware of the problem. Many people had not tried to access any hot  water that morning. Hot water was restored an hour or so later.

The rest of the morning  seemed more like the old normal. TSH left the suite alone to go to the top deck to take pictures and then he collected the daily puzzles from the other end of the ship and made it back safely. He then rushed around the Liverpool waterfront with his camera and Diva trailed along to keep an eye on things.

A  note from the previous night: In the bar, Diva ordered a limoncello and TSH a non-alcoholic cocktail. A different waitress brought the drinks and offered Diva the non-alcoholic one. Clearly not familiar with hard-drinking northern England women.

Mersey modification

Diva’s first tantrum of Day 1 was during the disorganised embarkation. The second was during dinner when an enthusiastic wine waiter at the next table continued loudly to explain options during the Captain’s announcement.  She missed most of it but eventually discovered that due to an impending storm, Plymouth and Fishguard were cancelled and the next port would be Liverpool. So if they had forgotten anything (which they haven’t) they could go home to collect it.

The Atlantide menu has changed completely (jury still out on that) but the filet mignon and lemon meringue pie are excellent as ever. Wine (Diva)and sparkling water (TSH) very palatable. At breakfast, TSH enjoyed his first Danish pastry of the voyage.