How lucky I am to spend my birthday on the Queen Mary II! If only the girls were with me, today would be perfect…… as it was, Bob woke me with coffee, a card and a lovely present this morning. Then, I was wished Happy Birthday on behalf of the Captain and crew on the ship’s breakfast tv programme 😊 and had a card delivered signed by the Captain and his senior officers. Switching on my laptop, I also had loads of greetings from friends and family via Facebook – thank you all!! It really is nice to be thought of!
We decided to have breakfast in the Britannia restaurant this morning as we were up a bit earlier than usual. I honestly prefer the buffet for breakfast but…. The restaurant was a nice change. From there it was a short step upstairs for our art class. Today we did an abstract winter scene using a particular technique that involved putting repeated watery washes on and allowing the water and the pigment to make the shapes. It was, as usual, quite scary as it feels very uncontrolled but I have to say I was very pleased with the result. Am really learning a lot from this woman. I wish we had longer with her.
Then it was lunch time! You know what I had! I am going to look like salmon sashimi by the time I get off…. The wind has dropped right away and so after lunch we went out for a turn around the promenade deck. The sea was much flatter and although the sky was largely cloudy, there were large patches of blue. We are apparently about 400 miles out from Ireland. There were patches of mist around but nothing serious. It was great to get some fresh air. As we came around the bow, we discovered an open area of the foredeck where the spare propellers were stored, displayed like modern sculptures. Although they appeared to be steel, they were still all greased up.
Caught a lecture from the astronomer about developments in astronomy and where he expects it to go over the next 10 years or so. I had no idea there were so many planets identified out there – literally thousands, and some of them with water and possibly comfortable atmospheres.
This afternoon we went to see the RADA group give a performance of The Importance of Being Ernest, a great favourite of mine. I can almost recite large sections of it and over the years I have either read or given quite a few of the parts. Anyway, this show was amusing but not stunning, although very enjoyable.
Well, that brought us to nap time so we retired to the cabin with our books and opened a Cunard bottle of champagne they had given us. Very enjoyable. Then down to dinner at 830. Had a really lovely dinner – in our formal finery again. We’ve been lucky with our table companions this week. All very good fun! After dinner we went to the musical show. It was song and dance routines based on shows from Broadway musicals. Very colourful and energetic. Not the best troupe we’ve seen by a long way but enjoyable.
Turned in about 1145. Thanks to all again for the good wishes. It’s been a lovely birthday!