A really quiet day. Back to painting this morning. I did a pen drawing of a mother and child that I then coloured with washes. I quite like it although I have to say, it looks a bit apish. 😊 On the other hand, so does the Picasso sketch which I was copying, so if it was good enough for Pablo, then it’s good enough for me.
We then had our traditional sushi lunch and then lay out on the back deck reading. It was hot but pretty windy. Had to keep one hand on my hat while I read.
We have a completely new set of expert speakers on board since Cape Town. The main celebrity speaker en route to Perth is Martin Bell, the TV journalist, war correspondant and newsman. He is an excellent speaker and we heard him today on various of his war campaigns and coverage over a long career, encompassing Vietnam, The Balkan War, Falklands, Cyprus. His main message was that we do not ever seem to learn the lessons of history.
We also heard a lecture from a woman who worked for Cunard during the last years of the glamour period i.e. 50s and 60s and she talked about life on board in the age of the ocean liner, when it was still the main way of crossing the Atlantic. Fascinating stuff and a glimpse of an age and a way of life that was already passing.
Formal night tonight and the Captain’s cocktail party. We went along and bagged some free Cunard champagne. Apparently on this leg between Capetown and Perth we have 2460 passengers aboard and 38 countries. The majority are still Brits with Australians being the next largest group and then Americans and Germans.
A nice dinner: springbok for me. I’d seen them running on the veldt and now have eaten them. Delicious. Very tender and less gamey than venison. Beginning to get to know our new tablemates now.
Didn’t go to the show tonight. Still quite tired and we were late out of dinner, so turned in.