When men were men ....

.... and women wore dirndls. TSH and Diva were initially pleased when the evening show was to be given by a local folk group from Tallinn. In the event, hefty men pranced in macho style whilst women simpered and jostled for their attention. Diva is not prepared to record here what she was muttering about what should be done to the patriarchy.

TSH's walking tour in Tallinn might have ended in disaster if it was not for his presence of mind. During the tour, the guide rushed off without giving clear instructions about where she was going. He lost sight of her and his sound system went silent. So he was alone and adrift at a distance from the Silver Spirit that was too far to walk. He decided that the best plan was to go into a hotel and ask them to call him a taxi. The receptionist and the taxi driver are his new heroes. He thinks that all tour guides should be tall and wear bright colours. He is now grounded for solo visits for his own safety.

It was disappointing in Helsinki that the Silver Spirit was docked at a distance from the city centre, instead of at an inner harbour, as they experienced on a previous visit. So they did not go ashore, as it was not clear that the shuttle bus would go to the area they wanted.

The time again

 In Riga, TSH and Diva both walked along the riverside and into the old square but in Tallinn Diva stayed safely onboard the Silver Spirit whilst TSH went on an organised walking tour of the city. In the evening, TSH had banana foster for dessert whilst Diva - the banana fan - did not. A first. It was Formal Optional and, walking past Reception, they were greeted with 'super elegant as usual'. That will do.

The MacDonald brothers are back on the ship, impressing everybody with their energy. It is amazing how an international audience can sing and clap along with Wild Rover and Whiskey in the Jar. 

It seems that there is a new Silversea style, omitting the customary daily briefings about the location and the sea state. Certainly this captain is not very communicative, although in Gdansk he found time to chat with TSH and Diva and show them the Polish sausage he had bought ashore.  Do they not feed the captain on this ship?

Regular readers will know that Diva has struggled many times with technology and time changes. On this cruise, she has set the phones to automatically adjust to local time. Most of the time it has worked well. Sailing up the east side of the Baltic, the time is 2 hours ahead of UK time. But in the night the course of the Silver Spirit often swings to the west, returning to UK + 1 hour time. And does not revert until docking has been achieved. After the alarm should have gone off.

There are now 11 spare coat hangers.

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. 

Fizz

 Leaving Stockholm, TSH played ABBA music.

In Tallinn, TSH and Diva took the shuttle bus into town. Apart from the extremely hot weather - 28 degrees C - they had a very pleasant walk round the old town. They saw a Scottish pub as well as the compulsory 'Mad Murphy's'. 

They met a guest wearing a T-shirt with some of the words of 'Imagine'. '....all the people, living life in peace....' Whatever would John think of the world now?

And what would Paul think of being described as 'the Beatles' bass guitarist' in a news item in 'Britain Today'.

Regular readers may remember that on a previous visit to the East meets West restaurant, TSH gave the waiter instructions on how to pour beer. Clearly this knowledge was not passed on, as the waiter this time just tipped the beer into the glass, creating copious foam. TSH was, however, shocked when opening a bottle of English sparkling wine in the suite. Even though the bottle had been resting in the fridge for many days, the cork flew off immediately, hitting the ceiling with some force.