The internet has been weak today. That may be as a result of us being at sea rather than in Lisbon. More people are writing their blogs or reading The Times on line! It means that many of my photos have not appeared. Here, with luck, 
are some more
No Lisbon on this Voyage
On Tuesday morning at 11.00am the Captain announced that it would not be possible for us to visit Lisbon. The lost 14 hours meant that there was insufficient time. Tuesday became the first of 4 days at sea.
A new speaker had boarded the ship in Las Palmas, Jonathan Haslam, John Major’s Director of .Communications. He was the ‘Celebrity Speaker’ (which means that he gets Queens Grill treatment).
Two speakers have been on the ship throughout, Dai Davies, a former Head of the Royal Protection Command and Mick Testoni a former RNLI Coxwain. So there were plenty of lectures to keep us out of mischief. If any of you have heard Dai in the past, I would love to hear your views!
Since leaving Lanzarote the weather has deteriorated. We have had some very lumpy seas and noisy winds. Wednesday night was probably the most violent night that Jane and I have had since we first started cruising. In the early days of cruising, I was pretty hopeless in rough sea conditions but a magic pill, Stugeron, has changed all that and I now don’t suffer queasiness at all.
Tonight is the last formal evening of the voyage – DJ,s and long dresses. Cunard always produce their best menu on these occasions. Lobster, fillet steak and the like. Earlier today was the Senior Officers Cocktail party. They are now held at 11.15am rather than in the evening, presumably on the basis that the punters drink less, making it a cheaper exercise for Cunard. Stupid really, because it overlaps with other activities around the ship.
We had arranged to meet Eamonn and Deena Kelly at the party. Eamonn is Brian Kelly’s elder brother. I had met up with Eamonn for a coffee earlier in the voyage and it was a delight to meet the two of them. Eamonn had celebrated a milestone birthday on 10 November. He was a little disappointed that Cunard didn’t celebrate it with him. What he didn’t know was that if you ask for (and pay for) a cake, a gang of waiters circle your table and sing Happy Birthday in a multitude of different accents and present you with the enormous cake which your companions are also meant to help you eat.
Mobility at Sea
I want to mention Mobility at Sea. We first came across them a few years ago when we decided that we needed a hoist on ships to carry out transfers from bed to wheelchair. We have an H track hoist at home fitted on the ceiling. Cruise ships are not yet sophisticated enough with their adapted rooms to have fitted hoists and mobile ones are required.
I investigated rentals and came across this company Mobility at Sea based in Waterlooville, Hampshire. I have to say they are terrific. They are reasonable in price. All their documentation is clear. As the date of your cruise gets nearer they contact you to check that you are still going and that your cabin number hasn’t changed.
When you arrive at your cabin the hoist is there with clear instructions and the battery fully charged. The company don’t just provide hoists. They supply cruise companies with both folding and electric wheelchairs and no doubt other mobility aids.
If you need any sort of mobility aid at sea I can recommend them.
Dinner companions
Despite gale force winds, lumpy seas and plenty of rock and roll, our dinner companions completed an almost 100% turnout for dinner. Just a small illness absence which is forgiven!
This is us. 
From the left – Bill and Judith, Doris, Ray and Leslie, Me, Jane and Kim. It is often the case that people retain the seats they happened to sit in on the first evening. We like to switch about as much as we can – in my case so that I can bore more people with my limited number of stories and jokes – but it sometimes upsets people when they find me next to them delving into their backgrounds and relationships.
It’s a shame that the Duke of York wasn’t on our table. I thought Emily Maitlis did a reasonable job interviewing him but there were so many questions she didn’t ask him, that I would have asked. That story will run and run!
This photo was taken by Faith, our assistant waiter from Kenya. She was delightful and looked after us very well.
We were home by 10.00am on Saturday. The house was immaculate. As usual Linda not only house sat but spring (autumn) cleaned. And she left us a home made cottage pie for dinner. Wonderful.
I will now cook it.