Category: Blog

Day 51: Monday February 25th. Latitude: 27,22,54S; Longitude: 153,9,48E.
Because Arcadia was so large we were moored up in a commercial docking area. On arrival into Brisbane it was absolutely pouring with rain! I passed through the Customs area with no difficulties, having been sniffed at a couple of times by trained dogs who were on the lookout for banned substances. All of us passengers had been warned to not bring foodstuffs of any kind whatsoever from the ship, nor anything made of wood, etc. Bottled water was allowed, they really were very strict! The visit to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was so lovely, I saw koalas, kangaroos, various birds and a baby crocodile, but the duck-billed platypus was asleep and therefore did not show itself. It didn’t stop raining, and I was utterly soaked through by the time I returned to the ship. It was all well worth the visit though! After an extremely wet day in Brisbane, we were then heading south towards Sydney, where we would stay for two days. I was hopeful that it would be a little dryer there! On the map it doesn’t seem that far to Sydney, but it is around 475 miles and Arcadia has an average cruising speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour. Add docking time, manoeuvring in and out of berths, often assisted by tugs, the time soon mounted up. It was also fascinating to watch.

Day 53.
Wednesday February 27th. Latitude: 33,51,30S; Longitude: 151,12,36E.
Our arrival into Sydney was utterly breathtaking, especially as we were moored up immediately across from the Opera House, with a completely clear view of it. I had a tour of the city, as well as a visit to Bondi beach, which I walked on! It wasn’t as large a beach as I had imagined though. Following a return journey via other sights, I had a tour of the Sydney Opera house. That was much, much larger than I had imagined, with several different concert halls! After lunch I walked along George Street, where many major shops were to be found, including the Apple Store. You know me! I used their free WiFi to upgrade the software in both my iPad and iPhone. It really was a great help having the ship berthed so close to the city centre. My evening meal was in the Orchid restaurant on board ship, it made a pleasant change. Staying in Sydney for two days meant I was able to take a leisurely stroll into town. I was not booked on any tours, I simply wanted to stroll around the place and do a bit of shopping. So after breakfast I did just that. As I left the ship there were a great many people queuing up to get on board, I was told later there were around 700 new passengers! I had coffee and a doughnut in a McDonalds, but sadly the coffee wasn’t as good as I had rather expected. I returned to the ship for lunch and had a chance to review the photos I had taken. My timing was good, as the rain then started in the afternoon. This time every passenger on board had to attend an emergency drill, including putting on a life jacket, but I could do that easily by then! We were towed off our mooring by a tug at around 6.30pm and set sail for New Zealand. The following day was of course St David’s Day, but not many on board recognised it as I did. After leaving Sydney the weather was not at all wonderful, with rough seas and force 9 winds. It did start to calm down a little, though the ship still rocked at times! It was not a problem. Temperatures were down a little too, only 21C, 70F the next morning!!! We also changed time zones once again and were now twelve hours ahead of UK time. Temperatures continued to fall as we were of course heading south, it was only 18C, 64F, though that was considerably warmer than back in the UK just then! Some open deck areas of the ship had been closed off for safety reasons, but it would all calm down once we reached New Zealand. Our clocks went forward again at mid-day the next day, making us thirteen hours ahead of UK time.

Day 57. Sunday March 3rd. Latitude: 44,36,24S; Longitude: 167,50,6E.
My first sight of New Zealand was as we arrived in Milford Sound. We only had time to cruise around for a short while there before leaving and continuing our journey around the base of South Island towards Dunedin, where we would arrive the following day. The weather was not particularly good just then, with stronger winds and rougher seas forecast, especially overnight!

Day 58. Monday March 4th. Latitude: 45,48,30S; Longitude: 170,37,48E.
The following day we were docked at Port Chalmers, a sheltered port near to Dunedin. The weather was changeable with showers, the temperature was lower than we’d had for a while, only around 13C, 55F. This meant wearing a jumper and a coat whilst on our tour of Dunedin! Physically, I had now been the furthest away on this planet from the folks at home that I would probably ever be. From now on, I moved closer.

Day 59. Tuesday March 5th. Latitude: 43,49,24S; Longitude: 172,55,18E.
We made several stops in New Zealand, the next one was a lovely day with blue skies, sunshine and friendly people in Akaroa. I was on a walking tour of the town which was extremely interesting and informative. Though a few of us chuckled when one passenger asked where the bus was! They were politely informed that the town was so small it did not need one in order to see it. I did chat to the local guide, who informed me that the earthquake that had occurred two years before in Christchurch was a mixed blessing. It meant that cruise ships could not call in their usual place, so they now called at Akaroa instead. The guide pointed out that the population of Akaroa was just over six hundred, so compare that to there being around two thousand five hundred passengers on board our cruise ship, every visiting cruise ship was a welcome sight for the trade in that town!

Day 60.
Wednesday March 6th. Latitude: 41,16,19S; Longitude: 174,47,18E.
Until now we had been seeing some of the sights of South Island, but now we moved up to North Island and our first stop was a view of Wellington. The locals call this place ‘windy city’ and I can understand why, as it really was very windy there, but I thought a certain place in North America was also given that title! I visited a sheep farm, we had a drive along a private coast road in order to get there. The views were amazing and the coach stopped a few times to allow photographs to be taken by those passengers who wished to. It was decidedly windier there than in town!

Day 61. Thursday March 7th. Latitude: 39,28,30S; Longitude: 176,55,18E.
The day was lovely and sunny and by 10:00am the temperatures were up to 18C,64F. The ship was docked in an area of Napier surrounded by huge containers and tree logs – there were hundreds of logs there, just as there were in Wellington. It was a short stay though, as we departed for Auckland that afternoon. On the map it didn’t look all that far, and by road it probably wasn’t, but by sea we had to go a fair way round, out of Hawkes Bay, then through an area called the Sea of Plenty.

Day 62. Friday March 8th. Latitude: 36,50,30S; Longitude: 174,45,54E.
I spent a lovely day out in the sunshine, first on a bus tour around Auckland which included a guided tour around a local museum by a knowledgeable guide, then lunch back on board ship followed by a short walk to the Sky Tower. This is, I was told, the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and the views from the top were spectacular! After that I met up with old friends and had a lovely pizza with them. But I was very mindful of the time, as I was on a trip of my own. The ship will not depart until all passengers on organised tours are back on board, but those who go off on their own must be back by a specified time. Those who do not manage to, must make their own way to the ship’s next docking point that they could organise, no matter how far away. But port and other authorities were available for guidance and assistance, also the cruise line, P&O, had their own set of contacts. At each port of call, our onboard newspaper had relevant details. I knew I had to be back on board Arcadia by 7.30pm and I managed it – with just five minutes to spare… That evening the seas were rather brisk, in fact they were described as ‘a rough sea state and average to heavy swell’, which meant the ship was rocking around a bit more. It did calm down overnight though. Not a problem to me either way.

Day 64. Sunday March 10th. Latitude: 27,38,0S; Longitude: 178,30,54W.
It was amazing how the weather could change overnight, although we had travelled a bit of a distance north since yesterday. The sea had calmed down, with sunshine and blue skies now! You may notice that longitude is now West, not East, though officially we had not crossed the International Dateline just yet. However we would do, meaning that Sunday March 10th would occur all over again for us. So instead of being thirteen hours ahead of UK time, we were suddenly eleven hours behind…for now, anyway!

International Dateline
Because we crossed the International Dateline, this day occurred twice!

Day 65. Sunday March 10th. Latitude: 20,32,0S; Longitude: 174,3,12W.
It felt strange to live the same date more than once, but it did all balance out over the next few days. It was such a beautiful day with sunshine, the temperature was up to 28C, 82F and last night when I walked out onto the open deck it was so hot and humid compared to inside the ship that my glasses steamed up again! The hot weather tired me out though, I’d had a later start this morning and took things easy throughout the day.

Day 66. Monday March 11th. Latitude: 14,16,36S; Longitude: 170,41,18W.
We arrived in Pago Pago and I had a look around. There was some cloud, but bright sunshine and at 10.00am temperatures were about 28C, 82F. Despite there being a few organised tours of the island taking place many people were looking around on their own. The ship was securely docked opposite the entrance to the port and around a dozen stalls had been set up there by the locals to sell their wares. This meant that everyone had to walk past these stalls in order to exit the port! At around 10.00am an exercise drill was carried out by the crew, including the sounding of ship alarms, but I knew there was only one alarm signal that passengers had to respond to – the rest we could ignore. This was a working port, so adjacent to the passenger exit there were a great many containers. It still fascinates me to see how the containers are lifted on and off lorries so easily and so accurately. I also knew this must be American Samoa, as I found McDonalds on the waterfront!

International Dateline
Tuesday March 12th
Because we crossed the International Dateline, this day did not exist for us!

Day 67.
Wednesday March 13th. Latitude: 13,49,36S; Longitude: 171,45,42W.
Arcadia was now docked in Apia, Samoa. As you can clearly see from the latitude and longitude numbers, we were not far from Pago Pago. However, we had leapt forward in time again! We were now fourteen hours ahead of UK time, instead of eleven hours behind. This would change again – very soon. It was extremely hot there, for me, anyway, but I am used to living in a temperate zone, not equatorial. At around 11.30am local time today the temperature was 29C,84F.

Day 68
Thursday March 14th. Latitude: 9,2,6S; Longitude: 169,51,12W.
Still at sea, it was a bright, sunny day with relatively calm seas. Even at 7.30am the temperature was 27C, 81F but that was not surprising, as we were almost on the equator itself! Tonight Arcadia crossed the International Dateline again, going back in time so we would live March 14th again. This aligned us with Hawaii and we would not have any further date adjustments to make during the journey back to Southampton, just the appropriate time zone changes – one hour every fifteen degrees of longitude. This morning, as I watched the news, a new Pope was elected – Pope Francis.

International Dateline
Because we crossed the International Dateline, this day occurred twice!

Day 69
Date: Thursday March 14th. Latitude: 1,31,6S; Longitude: 166,55,30W.
Our clocks went back by twenty-four hours this morning, as we had crossed the International Dateline. At 1:00pm we crossed over the equator into the northern hemisphere, on our way to Hawaii, our next port of call. Naturally it was hot, in fact at 8.00am it was 26C, 79F.

Coming up… A special day for me.

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Day 24. Monday January 28th. Latitude: 54,49,0S; Longitude: 71,4,0W.
As it turned out, we did not go round Cape Horn itself. We went through the Beagle Channel, a strait in an archipelago on the southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. This channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from various smaller islands, its eastern area forms part of the border between Chile and Argentina whilst the western area is entirely within Chile. We saw some amazing sights such as glaciers and waterfalls and the views were just breathtaking, utterly indescribable, they were also changing by the minute. We then carried on to Punta Arenas, but we could not dock there because Arcadia was far too big. So those passengers booked on trips were ferried ashore using the ships tenders, which are also used as lifeboats if needed. When there is very little else to say we often to talk about the weather, but on this occasion it is totally appropriate as we had passed by a weather station a short while before. We learned that it is manned by two families and their nearest shops are a 50-mile boat trip away!!! The following day around 9:00am the sea state was very rough, meaning that the wave height was between 4 and 6 metres (13.1 to 19.7ft), with the swell reported as average and heavy. All in all it was a bit rough, but then Arcadia was designed to cope extremely well in such conditions and it did. The wind was still quite strong, around force 7, so some of the uppermost decks were closed off for safety reasons, but things soon calmed down. Later in the day we sailed up to and stopped for a while at the Amalia glacier – that really was a spectacular sight. Then it was on to Pio Decimo, also known as Pio X. For me personally this wasn’t as spectacular as the Amalia glacier, but it was still an amazing sight to see! It also rained, quite heavily at times, so by the time the ship started to turn away I was very wet! This meant that a compete change into dry clothes as well as careful checking and drying off of my camera equipment was needed! We were now on our way out to the Pacific Ocean, turning north for a while then winding in and out between various islands, before heading north again up to Chacabuco. I have sorted out three photos from all the ones I had taken of this spectacular area but I cannot decide which one to share. So here are all of them. I even managed to include a fun one which I like, a photo of others taking photos where you can see the view that they too are capturing!

Day 28. Friday February 1st. Latitude: 45,28,18S; Longitude: 72,49,42W.
The following day we anchored in the bay near to Chacabuco. The views were amazing, the hills all around, ice & snow on the mountains, with the clouds and sunshine changing the light all the time. Then there were rain showers and we could see them appearing from over the mountains! I didn’t go ashore though. Once all the passengers were back on board, the tenders were stowed away and after pulling up the anchor from its position at fifty metres down, we sailed away and were treated, around 7.00pm, to seeing a partial rainbow – it was a lovely sight. It meant that I could see the end of the rainbow as it disappeared into the water, but sadly the pot of gold is still at the bottom of that fjord…

Day 29. Saturday February 2nd. Latitude: 41,28,48S; Longitude: 72,56,12W.
The following morning I was awakened by the sound of a boat being lowered, ready for transporting people ashore to Puerto Montt. After my usual breakfast I did go ashore and have a good look around, taking a few photos of course! There was a small shopping area in what I discovered was the local bus station – this was all near the sea and there were some good views as the sun was out, the clouds were almost gone and it was beginning to warm up again. In the afternoon we were treated to a surprise air display from members of the Chilean Air Force – it was stunning! They used our cruise ship as a centre-point for their display, making really good use of the white smoke trails they created, ending with a heart shape with an arrow through it, finally creating a perfect 5-point star! The following morning the sun was shining, the outside temperature was 15C, or 59F if you prefer that scale. I discovered that I had caught the sun more than I realised yesterday, I should have worn my hat! My sunglasses would have been an idea too. I had my hair cut and some oil was put on my scalp as it really was very red! I knew it would settle down over the next day or two though. I had a busy day, what with the regular 10.00am ‘singles’ get-together, then I attended a coffee morning at the photo gallery, followed by lunch and various things in the afternoon, including the sorting out of photographs taken over the last few days. There was a good sunset, too.

Day 32. Tuesday February 5th. Latitude: 33,1,54S; Longitude: 71,37,36W.
The driving distance between Puerto Montt and Valparaiso is around 587 miles (944 kilometres), but by sea it is slightly further. We proceeded at a steady pace on board Arcadia and so it was that a couple of days later we arrived in Valparaiso. This was the end of another cruise ‘sector’ and the beginning of the next, so 250 passengers left to go home and the same number of new passengers joined. We were required to take part in the standard ‘lifeboat exercise’ drill, where we go to our designated muster stations throughout the ship and this was set for 5.30pm, but those of us still away from the ship on shore excursions had already done this drill when we first went on board. After this visit, we were at sea for a full nine days. At 2.00am that morning the clocks went back one hour and more time adjustments were to come. We would pass by Easter Island and Pitcairn Island before reaching Papeete and this would give me time to simply relax and enjoy a few days at sea. I was beginning to understand why my maternal grandfather loved being at sea, it was constantly changing, sometimes calm, sometimes rough, with glorious sunrises and sunsets. There were some on board who wanted to be always doing things, whilst I was content to sit near the stern of the ship, watching and listening to the waves. But it was amazing how the ocean could be so calm at times…

We were now heading west, as you can see from the changing latitude and longitude details. There was a good sunset one night – not spectacular, but still lovely to watch. There was as much or as little to do on board as each individual wished, just what I needed. I had been neglecting my music though, so as I wrote my daily log I listened to some lovely music via my headphones – that way I could listen whilst walking around the ship, sitting outside or working inside in the ‘computer room’. I also had a few choices as to where to get refreshments, either free ones or purchased. The free coffee in the cafeteria was basic, made with hot water along with sugar sachets and the individual ‘long life’ milk cartons – basic Americano style. For latte or other speciality coffees there were several different places, there was a charge made for those, but I would treat myself! The clocks continued to go back in time, but it gave me extra sleep which I did take advantage of when it was needed. We were reminded about crossing the International Dateline a total of four times, so as a result 20th February and 12th March would not occur for us, but 10th March and 14th March would occur twice! Meanwhile the sea remained calm, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and I was enjoying my holiday. The following day we were due to sail by Easter Island, but there was a 25 knot wind which meant that with our relative speed we had winds of around 40 knots (around 45mph) over the deck – as a result we were warned to take good care when opening doors to the deck areas. These doors were quite heavy, so in very windy conditions needed some effort to open them. We continued westwards at a steady pace but for the next few days there was little to report on. Apart from relaxing out on deck in the sunshine though, there was always a great deal on board to keep us fed, fit and entertained. A wide range of eating places with varied foods, different deck sports, swimming pools, theatres, a night club, pubs, shops, a cinema and a gym to name but a few. There is so much that goes on. You might like to look at the P&O website Arcadia, Cruise Ship Exclusively for Adults | P&O Cruises for more detail! I also found the library. I guess my favourite place was The Crows Nest lounge, located just forward of deck 10. That is because it gave spectacular panoramic views and by day we could sit back, relax with perhaps a book as well as a coffee to just enjoy the view, whilst at night we had the chance to sip our favourite drink, at times accompanied by the sound of quiet piano music. But with this area located just forward of deck 10, I would have expected it to be called ‘Ten Forward’ – many of you will know why!

Day 39. Tuesday February 12th. Latitude: 25,3,18S; Longitude: 130,8,0W.
The Pitcairn Islands, officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are four volcanic islands which form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. These islands are scattered across several hundred kilometres of ocean and have a combined land area of about 18 square miles (47 square kilometres). Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The nearest islands are Mangareva (of French Polynesia) to the west and Easter Island to the east. Actually, Pitcairn is the least populous national jurisdiction in the world. The Pitcairn Islanders are a bi-racial ethnic group descended mostly from nine HMS Bounty mutineers and a handful of Tahitian captives, as is still apparent from the surnames of many of the islanders. As of January 2020, there were just 43 permanent inhabitants. So a few days later we were quite close to Pitcairn Island and circling whilst locals came aboard to sell some of their locally-made goods. After noon we headed towards our next port of call, Papeete, which I was advised is in fact pronounced Pah-pee-tay. We would arrive there in three days time. Our clocks kept on going back, we were now in the same time zone as San Francisco and this time change would occur again the next day. But as the old saying goes, times change… It was now that I managed to photograph the amazing cloud which looked to me like a howling dog. I thought it was so good that I used it later on my business cards. A couple of days later it was St Valentine’s Day. A dear lady friend said I was excused not getting her a card and a present – this time – as I was so far away, like 9,100 miles (14,645 kilometres)…

Day 42. Friday February 15th. Latitude: 17,32,18S; Longitude: 149,34,18W.
On our arrival into Papeete, the sky was a glorious blue – well, most of it, anyway! The sun was shining and it was a lovely day. At around 9.30am here it was 7.30pm UK time, so I did not see the asteroid that was passing by Earth. I was booked on a tour around Papeete that afternoon and as I have mentioned before, I do prefer to go on the ‘organised’ trips. If I had known my way around, it might have been a bit different. We had to be back on board ship by 5.30pm so we could sail away to our next port of call, Bora Bora.

Day 43.
Saturday February 16th. Latitude: 16,30,30S; Longitude 151,45,30W.
Sure enough, the following morning we were anchored in a lagoon at Vaitape, Bora Bora. At 8.00am the sun was shining, but dark clouds were visible. I immediately grabbed my camera! A member of the bridge crew had made an announcement regarding the possibility of rain showers later in the day and she was right about that! The view from the ship was lovely, what with Mount Otemanu rising up above us into the clouds, but with clear blue skies out above the lagoon. There was another cruise ship visiting Bora Bora, the Statendam from Rotterdam. Those going ashore had been reminded to make sure they boarded the correct tender and return to the right ship! This would have been highly unlikely, as each passenger had to show their cruise card to staff before leaving the ship, also boarding the tender for the return trip, and before returning on board. There had been quite heavy rain showers, but they had passed by quickly. It had been possible to see the rain bands approaching! The locals did have fun in their canoes though, trying to hold on to the tenders as they approached the ship, or use the wake from them to go faster.

International Dateline
Wednesday February 20th.
Because we crossed the International Dateline, this day did not exist for us.

Day 47. Thursday February 21st. Latitude: 18,8,5S; Longitude: 178,25,25E.
We arrived in Suva, Fiji. It was a very warm day but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was on a tour which included men walking on hot stones, a mock tribal conflict as well as some traditional music & dance. The journey to where we saw all this was done via a local bus which had nothing like the features we had enjoyed on other coaches in other places as there were simply sliding windows, standard cushioned seating and no air-conditioning, but I really enjoyed it! The roads were a bit bumpy though. Sadly some people were complaining afterwards, but to me it was all part of being there! The following day we were steadily on course towards Noumea and it started out like being a cloudy day. But the skies cleared and it started to warm up, more than it already was! Most days that we were at sea, those of us who were on our own had the option to attend a ‘singles’ get-together, which I often did. However, there were other events on which we were clearly expected – or at least invited – to attend, so one day the singles event was cancelled! A few of us still met up at the usual place, but there was no sign of any free tea or coffee like there usually was. Not a problem, we still sat and chatted! A weekly ‘computer help’ group had been set up, so after lunch I met up with a few other passengers who had been designated as ‘mentors’ to help those with iPads and iPhones to use them better. The other mentors all felt that I knew the most on the subject, so I was doing one-to-one training with those who needed specific help, rather than just general assistance! It was kind of them to think so highly of me. I did my best.

Day 49.
Saturday February 23rd. Latitude: 22,15,54S; Longitude: 166,26,12E
The morning visit to Noumea was over quite quickly, I went on a tour which included a visit to a local aquarium, although it contained larger and more exotic fishes than I had ever seen before! I was able to take some photos, but using flash was not allowed. The time went very quickly, but we were able to see a bit of the main town as we drove back to Arcadia. We left at 1.00pm so that we could get to Brisbane on time. Because we were visiting Australia, we had to fill in forms for their Customs and Immigration checks and in other countries these checks had been done for us by staff from our ship, but this time we already had Immigration staff from Australia who had been brought on board. We had to present ourselves, along with our our entry & exit cards all filled in, to the immigration staff. We had designated times to attend these checks, starting from 9.00am, but we were also told we could attend early, from 7.30am, if we wished to do so. I decided to go early and discovered that a great many others had done the same! It didn’t take too long to be seen though. The staff checked all my passport details to ensure that I was who I said I was. My passport was then returned to the ship’s staff for safe-keeping. Job done.

Our next stop? Australia!

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26 March 2021

Day 11: Tuesday January 15th. Latitude: 8,2,52S; Longitude: 34,52,4W.
Recife is the fifth-largest urban area in Brazil, with 4,054,866 inhabitants. It is the second largest urban area of the North/North-East Regions, also the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco in the north-east corner of South America. We had arrived around 6.30am local time, 9.30am London time. I was up early, so I watched and took some photos, it was fascinating to see. I had not planned any official shore excursions and anyway they were all full. So I stayed on board, watching events in and around the ship. These included some crew members swinging out the lifeboats, checking and testing systems. In the meantime, local dancers and a small band entertained the many passengers who were going ashore and walking the short distance to the string of coaches lined up, all ready to take them on a range of tours! Temperatures soon rose and just after lunch it was 28C, or 82F! It felt even hotter on the top sun deck… That night I attended a party on the aft area of deck 9, it didn’t start until 9.30pm. There was music, dancing, bright lights, the lot! After breakfast the following day I attended what was now our regular ‘singles get-together’ and ended up giving an impromptu training session on the use of the iPad and a Canon camera. I had not seen that particular model of camera before, but I soon worked out the controls. I also attended an official luncheon at mid-day given by the Captain and crew – I met new people. However, it meant that I could not possibly manage another main meal in the evening, so I cancelled that and went to the cafeteria on Deck 9 instead. It also meant I missed choir practice… I returned to my cabin and fell asleep! Not surprising though, as it really was getting hot now. Busy day tomorrow, too.

Day 13. Thursday January 17th. Latitude: 12,58,7S; Longitude: 38,30,43W.
Our next port of call was Salvador, Brazil. Even at 7.30am it was already around 79F, 26C. After breakfast I went ashore for an hour or so. It just happened to be a bank holiday there, with a street carnival going on. So many people, so much noise! I walked around, took photos, watched life in the place and returned to the ship for lunch and a chance to cool down. My arms caught some sunburn, but not too much. As rather expected, the following day it was still very warm – but humidity levels were also up. I believe that the cricket practice on the top deck was rained off! Now we had 7/8ths cloud cover, wind northerly force 5, temperature still 79F or 26C. Our clocks went forward one hour at mid-day too – yes, I did say forward! It was because some countries do not alter their clocks between summer and winter times. So I was almost late for choir practice! I had been watching the news and could see that back home there was snow and ice to contend with – I’m sorry, but you will understand if I say that I was happy to be where I was just then…

Day 15. Saturday January 19th. Latitude: 22,51,13S; Longitude: 43,13,44W.
Our next stop was Rio de Janeiro and there was a view I really wanted to capture if I possibly could. As it was, I woke just before 7.00am local time, 9.00am UK time, to watch as the ship was sailing in. I saw a truly amazing sunrise and I managed to get quite a few decent photos. But it became a bit cloudy, so from the ship there was no clear view of either Sugarloaf Mountain or the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. I took a stroll along the upper deck around 10.30am and I could feel the sun burning my neck! I had been warned to make sure I put on sun-screen and wear my hat in the afternoon, I also had two bottles of water to take with me. We were not allowed to go ashore with food items such as sandwiches, fruit etc, but just bottled water and a sealed packet of biscuits were fine. I’d had my lunch beforehand anyway! I was booked on a coach tour in the afternoon that included a visit to the local Cathedral and then to Sugarloaf, which was brilliant. I took the cable-car ride up the Sugarloaf Mountain and was able to capture the view that to me was amazing and at the same time was so memorable, as it featured in the James Bond film ‘Moonraker’. Sadly the clouds were still heavy over the statue of the Redeemer, but we saw it for a brief instant whilst travelling back to the ship. I learned later that the fellow travellers who went specifically to see the Redeemer found it was shrouded in mist all the time they were there! It was dark by the time we were leaving Rio and there was a thunderstorm in the distance. I couldn’t see the statue, but I could make out the floodlit shape of a cross. That was an amazing sight. After a busy time in Rio, the next day I took it fairly easy. The sea was such a glorious shade of blue, we’d had rain showers so the air was fresh. I did my walking exercise for the day. Starting from aft starboard, up to the bow, along the port side of the deck back to the stern was a third of a mile. As some of you know, I have to regulate the exercise I do but I am also a fan of Formula One (F1) motor racing, so I treated the walk around the deck like a racing circuit on a practice day. I did an ‘out lap’ and two, timed ‘racing’ laps, all walking but at different speeds. After that was a ‘slow down’ lap, and finally an ‘in’ lap!!! The connection to F1 made it a bit of fun for me, but in fact this was the proper way to exercise my heart, as I had been warned not to over-exercise it and also not to simply stop – I must start, gradually build up speed, then gradually slow down again. Gentle, regular walking.

Day 18. Tuesday January 22nd. Latitude: 34,54,6S; Longitude: 50,25,36W.
A couple of days later we arrived in Montevideo harbour and were here for two days. I was booked on the ‘Steam Train’ excursion. Any excuse to ride on a train! Having learned my lesson from a previous excursion, I ignored the advice given in the daily newspaper and was ready to board the bus earlier than recommended. It was the right move as everyone else had done the same! The tour was a good one, starting off by visiting the local cathedral. I was surprised to find we were allowed to take photographs inside! After that it was back onto the coach and on to the train station. We arrived in good time, but then had to wait, first for the train to arrive and then for all the ‘passengers’ to take photos and then get on board. This was a steam train but oil-fired, not coal-fired. In addition, there were quite a few tours from our ship that included the train ride, so we had to wait for everyone to arrive and be settled. The journey went through various areas of Montevideo, finally stopping at a place called Penarol. I walked to a point in front of the train to take photographs, and found the weeds growing there had small, ball-shaped seeds that had very short, sharp spines that clung to my socks, even to my trainers! Removing them wasn’t easy, but I did eventually get rid of them all. After the two busy days in Montevideo it was time for a couple of days taking things a bit steady before we reached the Falkland Islands. Already the weather was changing, it was becoming cooler and the winds a little fresher! Just a walk around the deck now required a light jumper or thin coat and I knew we would have to see what things were like as we continued south. It was becoming distinctly cooler, whilst the sea was nothing like as calm as it had been. Officially, the sea state was moderate to rough, the swell was short and moderate and to take a phrase from the UK shipping forecast, we had ‘precipitation in sight’! The sun was shining on us though – well, at times, anyway. In addition, some of the upper, more open deck areas had been closed off for our safety, which I can really understand and appreciate as it was quite windy. It made me smile when one Australian pointed out that we were already further south than any part of his country!

Day 22. Saturday January 26th. Latitude: 51,38,12S; Longitude: 57,38,18W
We were due to visit the Falkland Islands, but sadly the wind conditions prevented all shore leave. Arcadia was too big to dock directly into Port Stanley, so going ashore had to be by tender, except it was unsafe to transport passengers that way in such windy weather. Our original itinerary had included a number of trips including Rockhopper penguins, a tour of Port Stanley and several other sights. But with force 8 winds and rough seas, the captain had no alternative but to cancel our visit. I had an idea it might be rougher yet as we approached Cape Horn! Still, it did give us an opportunity to take photographs as we passed by the various islands. As I was watching, a number of birds took off. I’m not allowed to say how many, but I counted them all out, and I counted them all back in again! So we carried on and despite travelling south again it warmed up slightly, the skies cleared and the sea was much calmer. In the distance we saw a yacht and we were advised by the bridge that this yachtsman was sailing around the world. He had apparently encountered some rough weather on his travels! At a coffee morning I met and chatted to a lady who also used to work for BT, as I had done. It was entertaining, because soon we were swapping memories in jargon that others at our table simply could not understand! We would reach Cape Horn soon and having looked at a map of the area I noticed that not too far from Ushuaia there is a place called Puerto Williams!

Temperatures were dropping again, which was appropriate as we were nearing Chile…

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19 March 2021

I have already mentioned that back in 2013 I treated myself to a holiday on a lovely cruise ship. This was to celebrate my improving health and my sixtieth birthday. I had let my mother know I would be away for a while, but I found out that sending her the full itinerary of where I would be each day gave both her and the other inmates in the Care Home where she was something to look forward to! I had to see my local doctor to get sufficient supplies of all the medication I needed to keep my epilepsy and asthma under control, as well as the relatively new set of tablets related to my heart condition. I also had jabs of things to keep me inoculated. All entertaining stuff, but necessary. This was all based on the countries I would be visiting and the cruise line, P&O, were really good in providing details as to what I would need. For some places I had to have a visa as well as my passport. I used a couple of suitcases and soon everything was all sorted, including train tickets down to Southampton and a hotel booking. I planned to go down the day before, just as I had done previously. I had been purchasing additional memory cards to use in my camera, I made sure they were all in good working order, my iPad was then set up, as that way I could download the photos using an adaptor, review them and send a few to folk back home when the ship’s WiFi or a shore-based service was available. I also had all the battery chargers!

The day before the ship sailed, a good friend took me to Leicester station and off I went. It was January 4th. I got help at Birmingham getting all my luggage over to the other train which would take me to Southampton and I got on board, found my reserved seat and sat back. It was a lovely day to travel. I stayed in the same hotel I’d previously been in, it was near to the train station and a local McDonalds, so that night I had a good sleep. All passengers had been given checking-in times, which was a good idea, so the following day, after an easy morning I went by taxi to the dock. It was clear that this service was well-known to the local taxi firms, and as before, all my suitcases with the proper labels (which had been supplied by P&O some weeks before) were quickly whisked away. No doubt they were both security checked before being taken to my cabin. Just as is found in an airport, I went through the security and I was given my ID card as before. I learned later that a few passengers had to get inoculation jabs before they could travel, so they would have to join the ship at its first port of call, Tenerife. This time I knew the layout of the ship as I was back on Arcadia! I will admit to deliberately choosing an ‘adults only’ cruise, I wasn’t terribly keen on having youngsters around. That was my choice. With all on board, at the appropriate time the mooring ropes were let go, the siren was sounded and off we sailed as a brass band played. Because I had been on that ‘taster’ cruise, I knew the routine on board and that did make it easier for me. I settled down after a wander round, I read the daily pamphlet about all the events planned for the following day and I made a mental note of a few. I had a quiet evening meal in the cafeteria, it meant I could have as much or as little as I wanted to eat. The time soon passed, I listened to some quiet music and then it was time to rest. It took a little while to get used to the new environment with the unusual sounds, but I slept.

The following morning I went down to the restaurant where passengers largely helped themselves. I saw many having a full cooked breakfast but I had my usual muesli. I began chatting to a few of the people sitting near me, it was pleasant and relaxing. I didn’t know how other passengers felt, but I was already settling in to this way of living. I was, after all, here for quite a while! With such a mix of passengers, it was clear we had couples as well as singles travelling. So a clever idea had been put into practice, where every day that we were at sea us ‘singles’ who wished to do so could meet together after breakfast for a cup of tea, some biscuits and a chat. A few members of the crew would join us, we would talk about anything and everything. There was no pressure, those who didn’t want to for any reason had that choice. There were odd occasions when I wouldn’t, if something else was on or I simply felt like I wanted to be on my own, just watching the sea. I began doing gentle walking round one of the open decks, in that way I was getting fresh air and exercise. The first evening in the main dining room was all formal dress, so I went along and was guided to my table. We were served excellent food, some had wine but I had juice as I preferred that. I was avoiding alcohol anyway, with all the tablets I was on. I found that music and the Arka Dhyana relaxation therapy was far more refreshing for me. After the meal, most of the other people at my table went down to the theatre, but I was tired so sat quietly in one of the lounges. I listened to the relaxing music, then returned to my cabin. The following day I joined the ‘Arcadia choir’ – I loved it! It was a little emotional for me to begin with as it had been so long since I sang in a lovely mixed-voice choir, but that feeling soon passed. Then in the afternoon I attended a talk about the Concorde aircraft. I also got to watch the ‘Star Trek’ film which was on television! Again that evening I was invited to the theatre with the others at my table, it would be a female singer. My reply was rather non-committal, even though they were saving a seat for me, which was good of them. I did go to the theatre and stood near the back, but when the singer began with an aria, I quietly walked away – opera singing isn’t my style! I returned to one of the bars for a quiet sit-down and coffee. It was really quiet too, with so many folk in the theatre and others in the dining areas for the second sitting.

Two days later we arrived in Tenerife. I was booked on the Northern tour of the island, but having never done this sort of thing before I followed exactly the detailed instructions printed in the daily pamphlet. So I was off the ship and on the dock-side just before the stated time. I saw my bus a bit further down the dock begin to move, but a member of the ship’s crew told me to stay put, as the bus was simply moving forward to where I was. Except it didn’t. It carried on past me. Crew were on their radios within seconds but this meant that the driver had to turn the bus round, come back, turn again and then collect me. My fellow passengers cheered as I climbed aboard, so I smiled and bowed! I did get the opportunity to explain to a few what had happened though, as it really wasn’t my error. The Northern tour was very good, we stopped at a few places, I took photos and really enjoyed the experience. But I hadn’t realised that the mountains were so high on that island so I was partially deaf by the time we returned to the ship, due to the changes in air pressure in such a short time. Happily my ears soon settled. I had a meal and then rested. I had no inclination to watch a show, so I walked around later, had a coffee, listened to some live piano music by John, the choir conductor, then returned to my cabin.

One aspect of this holiday was time travel, as after leaving Tenerife our
clocks went back an hour at 2.00am the following day. I found it easy to adjust, which was good as it would not be too long before the clocks went back yet again! For me it was far easier to cope with than travelling by air. But even more entertaining was learning that because we cross over the International Dateline several times, we would not see two particular days whilst other days would occur twice for us! Choir practice was brilliant – the depth to my voice was returning, as was an amount of power and control. I needed to take it steady though and not rush things too much or overstrain myself. I also needed to remember that this was a holiday. A few days later our clocks went back again, so we were now two hours behind London time. That morning was definitely warmer, more humid, with 5/8ths cloud cover, the wind was North-easterly force 4, temperature 26C, or 79F if you prefer! The sea state was reported to be ‘slight, with an average to low swell’. But at this latitude I guess warmer is what we should expect! The Arcadia Choir had its first public performance, first at 6:00pm and then another at 8:00pm. It all went really well. The timings were done that way so as to provide pre-dinner entertainment because with all the passengers on board there had to be two separate dinner sittings in the main Dining Room, one at 6:30pm and the other at 8:30pm. The only thing it did mean for those choir members on the first meal sitting was the need to finish our meal and then go back ready to sing again! I was in that category, so in my case I did not have a starter or pudding, just a main course which was a light meal as I cannot sing well on a full stomach. I did get myself a light snack after we finished the second event though! The following day we crossed the Equator at around 2.00am local time, which was 4.00am UK time. In keeping with an old tradition, there was an article in our daily newsletter saying that “Permission has been sought for Arcadia to cross the Equator. Word has been sent to King Neptune, Ruler of the Seven Seas. A message has been received that he will visit Arcadia and all passengers are required to attend to celebrate the crossing of the line.” I attended the celebratory event that was held later in the day – I did not wish to incur Neptune’s wrath, or see inside Davy Jones’s locker thank you very much!

Next week – we arrive in South America…

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12 March 2021

For me, Thursday 11 November 2010 was a very memorable one. Apart from it being Remembrance Day, it was also when I had a heart attack. It came right out of the blue as the saying goes and with no warning that I was aware of. One minute I was walking away from my car in a multi-storey car park in Leicester and the next thing that I remember was waking up thirty-six hours later as I was being wheeled from Leicester Royal Infirmary’s A & E to a ward in the hospital. I had been found on the floor of the car park, I do not know by whom, but I am very grateful to them, whoever they were. I was also really thankful that the hospital was literally just around the corner from the car park. To begin with I was thought to be having just an epileptic fit as I always carry a medical card with my NHS number on. But tests showed an elevated item in my blood which only occurs with a heart attack and this was confirmed after further scans. I was given tablets to take, but I was already on medication for epilepsy so a few more were no problem to me. I still recall the look on that hospital doctor’s face when I asked him for how long I’d need to be taking these extra tablets and his smile as he replied “always”. He then went on to explain what these extra tablets were. In the meantime though, to the people who knew me it seemed like I had just disappeared, my car wasn’t in its usual place and I wasn’t answering my phone. A lady friend of mine was phoning everyone she could think of to find me, she just knew there was something wrong when I didn’t answer my phone as I usually did and she eventually persuaded the local police to check the hospitals to find me, which they kindly agreed to. My car was also located. So it was that a while later I was sitting up in a hospital bed when a policewoman appeared, asking me questions! I was able to assure her that nothing untoward had occurred and I’d be happy for my friend to be told where I was. She arrived a short while later and I was happy to see her. Much later it crossed my mind that other folk in that hospital ward must have wondered who I was, with the police visiting me there! I was monitored for a while but I had no problems with the extra medication and was able to return home quite a few days later. My mother was told at first that I’d only had an epileptic fit, which did not worry her too much as that was a known condition with me. It was only later that we told her the rest! She was, after all, eighty-nine at the time. For a while doctors kept a very close eye on me with regular tests and thankfully regular scans showed no degeneration of my heart. But a regular check is still made.

When I was told by a consultant that no further visits to see them were needed unless I had any problems, I decided to give myself a present. At that time I wasn’t all that far away from my sixtieth birthday so I looked at a few options. I saw an advertisement for a big event on at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, this being The Cruise Show. Realising I could look around at what was on offer, I went along and liked what I saw. To this day I don’t know what made me try it but I booked myself onto a four-day ‘taster’ cruise by P&O on the cruise ship Arcadia. The itinerary was simple, to go from Southampton, over to Dunkirk, then along to Le Havre and return to Southampton. So, a few months later I went. I have said how I really love travelling by train, so I used that mode of transport to get me to where I would be departing. I went from Leicester to Birmingham, with one change of train there taking me direct to Southampton. In that way I bypassed London. I stayed overnight in a hotel and the following morning used a local taxi to get to the nearby docks. As soon as I arrived, my suitcase was whisked away and I was booked in. I was given a boarding card showing my name, travel dates, the ship’s name and something called a Muster Station. I was escorted to my cabin, my suitcase was waiting for me and a bit later a steward appeared. My suitcase was unpacked for me and I studied the layout of the ship. I wasn’t used to this treatment at all, it was lovely! I soon learned the reason for the ‘muster station’. In a similar way when on board an aeroplane, prior to the journey all safety procedures are gone through. So, in the event of it being necessary to leave the ship in any kind of emergency, we were all shown how to put on lifejackets, with individual assistance given as required. We were also told what signal would be heard from the ship’s siren. Then I strolled around, getting to know where things were. It really was just like a floating high-class hotel. It was lovely and spacious, fully carpeted, I was impressed. Once we were all on board and everything set, we departed. I stood on one of the open decks before going in for a lovely evening meal. This was in the main restaurant, where every passenger was guided in to a specific table and a full waiter service was provided. Even though we were only on a short cruise, one or two nights had an evening dress code, with ladies in their best dresses and the gentlemen in dark suits and bow ties. This would be adhered to more on longer, regular cruises. There were several different restaurants on board, with one laid out like a cafeteria, where we helped ourselves, but staff were on hand to assist as much or as little as individuals wished. Other speciality restaurants were to be found, with a full waiter service, but an extra charge was made for using those. A mix of shops were on board too, with expensive items for sale like clothes and jewellery. There were bars, cafes, a library, even a games room. I found the computer room! The most impressive part was the theatre, with different live shows every night. It really was a floating hotel and more besides. However, I found on the first night that the weather in the English Channel was not good. Not good at all. In fact the captain had to forego docking at Dunkirk because, as he put it, ‘we might get in, but the weather is so bad we might not get out for a day or two’. This meant that we were simply trundling up and down the English Channel in a force nine gale for a day and a night. Not everyone enjoyed it, but I did. My maternal grandfather had been at sea for much of his life, both in the Royal and the Merchant navy, so it has been thought that perhaps I have some sea salt in my veins! Going up or coming down the Channel the prevailing wind was either directly for or against us. This meant that whenever Arcadia turned during the night it was side-on to the wind and we rocked just a little. I found out later that some passengers were disturbed by this, but for me the easy rocking motion sent me back to sleep! We called in to Le Havre, the weather was now much better and I used the shuttle bus provided to get into town. I had a look around, treated myself to lunch, then returned using the shuttle bus (we were given set-down and pickup points as well as times) back to Arcadia. We were advised not to be late. I did not want to be left behind! We were then returned to Southampton, I stayed in a hotel overnight and travelled back to Leicester by train the following day, using the same route as before.

All in all I had found life on board that cruise ship to be relaxing as well as enjoyable. As a result, as a treat, I booked myself on a world cruise lasting one hundred days, which was starting in early 2013. It meant that I would be celebrating my sixtieth birthday in Honolulu. Perhaps the hardest part was telling my dear Mum that I would be away for so long and why, because she and I were used to chatting regularly, usually once a week. So I sent her a copy of my itinerary and I learned later that she got to tell all the other inmates in the Care Home she was in exactly where I was each day. It gave them all something to talk about together and look forward to. Whilst on this hundred day holiday I kept a daily diary and it is my plan to write more about this lovely time in a series of future blog posts. Many days were spent at sea, so there may not be too much to write about at such times but I met some lovely people, I was very well looked after and I saw places that I never ever dreamed I would. I wanted to do this whilst my health allowed me to and I wanted to be able, if I could, to have memories to cherish. I hope I can share some of these with you in my future writings, as well as a few of the photos I took along the way! I also hope that you will enjoy reading about this adventure. With that in mind, you can see below a map of the route that we took, starting from Southampton to a few places in South America, round to Chile and across to Australia. Then it was down to New Zealand, then up to Hawaii, on to the west coast of the U.S.A., through the Panama Canal, returning to Southampton with stops at various and very varied places along the way. A coloured dot on the map represents each day, with blue ones at sea and green where we made landfall. For me it was a truly wonderful, one chance experience to see and enjoy so much of our really beautiful Earth.

This week, on the subject of cruising…
A magician worked on a cruise ship, performing the same tricks each week for the new passengers. The captain’s pet parrot came to all the shows and figured out how the tricks worked. It began to shout out during the shows, things like “It’s up his sleeve”, spoiling the illusions. The magician was rather annoyed but couldn’t do anything as the parrot belonged to the captain. Then one night, the ship sank and the magician found himself stranded on a desert island, along with the parrot. They stared at each other for days, neither uttering a word. Eventually the parrot couldn’t hold itself back any longer.

“Okay, I give up”, it said. “What did you do with the ship?”

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05 March 2021

We are constantly faced with decisions, many options are forced upon us as a result of circumstances, outside forces, like in the situation we are in now both in and around this beautiful world. A very long time ago our ancestors had to decide in what way they would feed their families, whether to go out with others or go out on their own. If we look at Nature, in Africa a single lion may not bring down a wildebeest but a pride together may manage to. Working together helps. Some have speculated that in life we might have multiple outcomes which are all dependent on the choices we and others make. I am of the opinion that even though we make choices, our lives are mapped out for us. A while ago I watched an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation involving ‘Q’, where Captain Picard was shown a younger version of himself. He was shown the consequences of a different choice which, if he had made it, would have meant him not getting recognised and not becoming captain.

But changes never cease, so when BT did yet another rearrange, my work transferred to Nottingham and I went too, with expenses for the move all provided. Not just a shift, more of a remove and re-site! I met new people and I learned many things. I am grateful for all the help and support I had through a few difficult times, as well as the chance to move to Birmingham a little while later when more changes occurred. Another one, a choice given to me that I was thankful to accept. Still learning, I was there for five years. I even struck up a friendship with a young lady there, but things did not work out. I was still travelling long distances to and from work and now my health was starting to suffer. With house prices falling I could not move. So it was to Sheffield I went, again with support from my manager and a new manager who took the decision to give me a try. I was and still am thankful to all concerned, as it meant that my health improved and I was later put forward to become a Trainer in BT. Then a further move over to Leicester came about through a friend who had introduced me to Srinivas Arka, the man who has taught me and many others about the Arka Dhyana relaxation therapy which I mentioned in an earlier blog post.

During my time with BT I became used to moving around every few years, so I wasn’t at all surprised when in 2007 a few of us were told that our work was moving to another place, down south somewhere. But this time not us. We were told the decision to do this had been made and there were now only a limited number of job opportunities for us in Leicester. It seemed the best option for me was to accept the ‘New Start’ option or what I saw it as, redundancy. I and a few others opted for that. I talked it over with a few folk, I made a decision and left. In truth it was a bit tough going for a while as I left all the things I knew, also training courses and the like were sadly not recognised outside of BT. So I went to Leicester college and obtained a teaching qualification which enabled me to start my own business. It was all hard work, but a good decision. As a result of that, when I finally reached retirement age I was able to do so. That word yet again. Decision.

Conscious decisions surround us and as we all know, time does fly. Failing health has meant I don’t get around like I used to and I’m in a Care Home now. So I write. I do a daily personal diary, I also do a weekly blog and I’m working on learning a language. I am involved with a local u3a, short for university of the third age, which is nothing whatsoever like a university, but where there are so very many different groups to join. They are all on what we like to do, what our hobbies and interests are. I enjoy being a part of u3a. Besides that, I do as much or as little as I wish or sometimes can do. I keep in touch with old friends, my former BT colleagues and outside. I am thankful to be as I am, I know of many folk who are much worse off than me.

There are some who look back at all of the decisions they’ve made in their lives and wonder if they always made the right choices. Some may even consider that they themselves are at fault. But I remember the words of my Dad about helping others and giving advice. He said that advice is just that. Always give it freely, expecting nothing back. If they take it then all well and good. If they don’t take it then you have done your best. You are not at fault if they don’t listen to you, even though they might try and make out that you’re the one in the wrong if things don’t go the way they might want. They have made the choice to listen or ignore your advice to them. They have decided to live their life their way. Sadly many are no longer with us in this life, but we all live by our own decisions. I am not perfect in any way, I get it wrong and no doubt will continue to do so. Naturally I don’t have the same decisions to make now that I did twenty years ago, but the big wide world keeps turning. Changes, chances, opportunities and decisions will be with us and we must make the very best of them in this beautiful world. As the world changes then we, as our ancestors did, must also adapt, must change with it. St. David’s Day has just passed by, daffodils are in bloom, birds are singing and before too long fresh leaves will appear on trees. Nature has made the decision to bring on a new year. It too may get caught out with a bit of cold weather yet, but new life is already appearing and it will continue to do so.

This week, a quote.
“Sometimes God allows us to make mistakes, because we can’t recognise the sweet without the bitter; we cannot recognise the good without the bad.”

~ Donny Osmond, 30 November 2014.

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26 February 2021

Quite a few of the inmates here will have a laugh, but it is both fascinating and at the same time sad how dementia can affect different people in different ways. For example there are times when an inmate might need gently enticing into trying to eat at least some food. Nothing is ever done to force them, but as with children a firm, kindly positive tone of voice can obtain the necessary result. We always have excellent food with varying choices, it is properly cooked too – well, just one time when the carrots were tougher than I could manage, but then I noticed my fellow inmates felt the same! The message was received, apologies were given and that hasn’t been a problem since. In fact the other day a couple of us were chatting about a Bernard Matthew’s Turkey advert on television from a good few years ago and I remembered a Mackeson advert: “It looks good, it tastes good and by golly it does you good!” After a while of being here and seeing the behaviour of some inmates, it got me wondering. I recalled my Godmother so many years ago changing from a bright, alert lady who was the local district nurse turn into someone whose memory was clearly going. One day I visited Aunty Helen when she was in a Care Home and she shouted at me, she told me to leave, as strangers weren’t allowed in. She did not recognise me at all and me being around thirteen years of age at the time, this upset me. My father told me a bit about this dementia and on Dad’s advice I went back a few days later to see this same lady. This time she saw me, recognised me and promptly scolded me for not going to see her very often! She had no memory of my visit a few days earlier. I see unusual behaviours where I am now, and it does not upset me, as I know it is what can happen.

So what is dementia? Apparently it can occur when the brain is damaged by disease. This can cause progressive impairments to memory, thinking, and behaviour which affect the ability to perform everyday activities. Other common symptoms include emotional problems, difficulties with language, and a decrease in motivation. It is not a consciousness disorder and this is not usually affected. Dementia can be recognised by a change from a person’s usual mental functioning, and a greater cognitive decline than that seen in normal ageing. Several diseases and injuries to the brain, such as a stroke, can give rise to dementia and this has a significant effect on the individual, relationships and their Carers. I learned this with my dear mother, as whilst she never ever had dementia, after her stroke it was difficult for her to make multiple choice decisions. Offer her a choice of A or B, that was no problem. Offer a choice of A, B or C etc and she could not decide. But Mum would rather go without than say anything. Yet her long-term memory was unaffected, so I guess it depends which part(s) of the brain are affected.

Something I have noticed and recalled from when I was young is that as we get older, most of us feel the cold more. Some do naturally, but for some folk like me, who are on blood-thinning medication, it can get a bit chilly when temperatures start dropping and stay low, along with a bit of a cold wind like we have had recently! A good friend of mine used to be part of a ground crew at an RAF station for many years, so he was used to working outdoors in all weathers. Even now, in the depths of winter, he has very little heating on in his house. It is what he’s used to. So any time I visit, I wear a warm jumper, whilst if he visits me he’s in a t-shirt! I generally worked in an office, where at that time heating had to be maintained to those laws in the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963. I was soon informed by the local Health & Safety Officer that the office should be 60.8F (16C) when starting work and 65F (18C) after one hour. Yet I saw some of my  former colleagues still wearing coats when it was almost 70F (21C)… I don’t have a thermometer in this room, but I’m sitting here quite comfortably and with a window open to let fresh air in. I have been here a while now, so I am well used to the sound of the tea trolley, I recognise the voices of a few of the Carers and I have a bit of a laugh with them sometimes. I cannot go around as quickly as they can, so I move to one side for them to pass by me. At one time I could move that quickly, but I cannot do so now! There are things that we must all accept as age passes, but I say yet again how humbled and truly thankful I am to still be here to write this. I have more to learn yet and maybe more to share with you. To me, the most important thing to recognise is that we are all humans, no matter what our race, colour, creed, age or ability and we should always be treated as humans. This is especially true relating to how we are all having to deal with life right now, with little or no access to family or friends.

For me though, one thing which has and still is helping me with all that is occurring in this beautiful world is the relaxation therapy that I was taught a number of years ago and which is called Arka Dhyana. It involves finding a quiet place and a quiet time and sitting down in a comfortable position. Some folk can sit cross-legged on a floor mat to do this, but I must sit in a chair. It does not matter. I then breathe gently, easily and regularly, the deeper the better, placing a thumb and forefinger together on my chest as I do so, focussing my mind at that point. This allows the mind to clear and relax. To begin with this is done for a minute or two, continuing for longer periods of time according to what feels natural and comfortable. It is amazing how calm I feel afterwards, by just taking a few minutes to be calm, not thinking, not worrying, just breathing. There is more to this, involving a quiet sound, but in this Care Home I just sit quietly and hum the sound mentally. I do this both night and morning, as it sets me up for the day as well as calm me for sleep. During the day I do have a screensaver on my laptop computer, either of waves breaking on the sea shore, of the bubbles in a fish tank or of the crackling logs on a fire. The Carers here have said how peaceful the atmosphere is in my room and I like it that way. Reducing our stress whilst all these difficulties are going on helps us in so many ways both physically, mentally as well as spiritually. Right now we are spending much of our time inside, but in time we will get out and about more. We may need to be a little more careful, but that might be good for us all.

This week, a memory from years ago.
I was at a snooker hall some years ago and learning to play the game when another player saw that the replaceable tip on his cue had broken. Needing a new one so he could continue playing, in desperation he called out to us all there “Does anyone have any tips?” A friend of mine instantly replied, a bit cheekily, “Yes – chalk your cue before every shot!”

19 February 2021

The year was 1952. The place, London, England. That December the Great Smog occurred, a severe air pollution event which affected the city. A period of unusually cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants – mostly arising from the use of coal – to form a thick layer of smoke and fog, known as smog, over the city. It lasted from Friday December 5th to Tuesday December 9th, and it had quite an adverse effect on people’s health. But then the weather changed, the air cleared and the smog dispersed.

Next came 1953 and a major event which has been officially recorded, rather unsurprisingly, as The 1953 North Sea Flood. It was caused by a heavy storm at the end of Saturday January 31st, which continued into the morning of the following day. It was a combination of a high spring tide along with a severe European windstorm over the North Sea that created a storm tide. The mixture of wind, high tide and low pressure caused the sea to flood land up to 18.4 feet (5.6 metres) above mean sea level. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, causing extensive flooding. The storm surge struck low-lying parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland. Sadly there were 2,551 deaths attributed to this event, it caused much property damage with 9% of total Dutch farmland flooded, 30,000 animals drowned and 47,300 buildings damaged, of which 10,000 were destroyed.

About six weeks after this event, I was born. I have mentioned in an earlier post how that Great Smog adversely affected my mother’s health and that a move was made to Whittlesey. This English town is about six miles (ten kilometres) east of Peterborough in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, although years ago it was classed as in the Isle of Ely, an administrative county between 1889 and 1965. At the 2011 Census, the population of Whittlesey, (including the nearby villages of Coates, Eastrea, Pondersbridge and Turves) was 16,058. As with so many places, the spelling of its name has been modified over the years, though even now the local railway station still bears the name Whittlesea. It has been suggested that the name may have come from the Old English, meaning “Wittel’s island”. Excavations of nearby Flag Fen indicate thriving local settlements as far back as 1,000 BC and at Must Farm quarry, a nearby Bronze Age settlement there is described as “Britain‘s Pompeii”, due to its relatively good condition. In 2016 it was being excavated by the University of Cambridge’s Archaeological Unit and at the site, which is situated just over a mile south of Flag Fen, at least five homes have been found which are around 3,000 years old, along with Britain’s most complete prehistoric wooden wheel dating back to the late Bronze Age. It is known that the Market Place in Whittlesey is on high ground, about six feet (1.8 metres) above sea level, but there hasn’t been flooding in the town or surrounding area for quite a while.

However, until it was drained in 1851, the nearby Whittlesey Mere was a substantial lake surrounded by marsh. According to the traveller Celia Fiennes, who saw it in 1697, the mere was “3-mile broad and six-mile long. In the midst is a little island where a great store of Wildfowle breed…. The ground is all wett and marshy but there are severall little Channells runs into it which by boats people go up to this place; when you enter the mouth of the Mer it looks formidable and its often very dangerous by reason of sudden winds that will rise like Hurricanes….”

Even in earlier times, Whittlesey was linked to Peterborough in the west and March in the east by a Roman Fen Causeway, probably built in the 1st century AD. Roman artefacts have been recovered at nearby Eldernell, and a Roman skeleton was discovered in the nearby village of Eastrea during construction of its village hall in 2010. As I was growing up, there were a number of fields not far from Whittlesey and near to the river Nene which were deliberately flooded. So when this water froze, skating was a regular event. At such times the road from Whittlesey to Thorney, just under five miles to the north, was almost impassable – meaning there was only one route to Peterborough, along the A605, unless one went a very long way round! There were and often still are delays at various times on this main route at the Kings Dyke railway crossing, a vital rail line for the brickworks there and the main line from the Midlands to East Anglia. When I was young there was much talk about putting in some sort of diversion, such as a bridge or tunnel, in order to bypass this railway crossing yet only now, some fifty or so years later, is a bridge being built and the road diverted. 

Whittlesey is famous for a few things, for example there used to be fifty-two public houses in the town. One was named the ‘Letter A’ and another the ‘Letter B’. Exactly why I am unsure, I personally think it was because they ran out of names! But it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘going from A to B…’. The town is also remembered for a famous soldier, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith, 1st Baronet, GCB (28 June 1787 – 12 October 1860). He was born in Whittlesey and was the son of a surgeon, he became a Major in the Wisbech, Whittlesey and Thorney United Battalion and during a review of the unit by a General Stewart the two got into conversation. The General offered to procure him a commission and a short time later Major Harry Smith was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the 95th Rifle Regiment. He became a notable English soldier and military commander in the British Army of the early 19th century. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, he is also remembered for his role in the Battle of Aliwal in 1846, and until 2015 a public house in Whittlesey bore the name ‘Hero Of Aliwal’. Sir Harry was the husband of Lady Smith and a chapel in St Mary’s church, Whittlesey was restored in his memory in 1862. A local teaching establishment also bears his name, the Sir Harry Smith Community College. Though when I was being educated there it was ‘school’, rather than ‘community college’. The school was built on the site of an old workhouse and fairly recent excavations needed for a new building discovered old workhouse foundations which had long been forgotten about. Streets near to this college also commemorate this old soldier as well as his wife as they bear the names Victory Avenue and Lady Smith Avenue. With the town’s increase in population, both this Community College and the nearby Alderman Jacobs junior school (where my Dad taught for many years) have been enlarged and other schools built, I believe the latter are a mixture of infant and junior. 

Being on the edge of the Fens means it is possible to see quite a way across the flat lands towards the East. Close to the Market Place is St. Mary’s church, which has a clock tower with a tall steeple and weather vane on the very top of that. This tower and steeple has a total height of 186 feet (56.7 metres) and has the tallest steeple for the smallest base in the area. I have in the past climbed up the narrow, winding staircase and into the room containing the clock mechanism. At one time the verger had to regularly wind the clock by hand, using a huge long handle, but this task was finally automated. At times I would be allowed to go up past the bell chamber and out onto the battlements and enjoy the views from there. I have even stood outside on these same battlements whilst the church bells were being rung and if the bell-ringers got it right, I could feel the tower gently moving. But it was more than a little noisy! There is an old custom of ringing a bell prior to a service at church, calling the townspeople to the building for worship, or at least letting folk know that a service is about to begin. In some places, a bell is also rung when sacraments are being blessed. With a church altar always facing east, at the opposite end of the building is the tower and steeple. Here in this church is also the great West Door, often used at weddings so that the bride has a long straight walk to the altar. By this door is the choir vestry where the choir assembles both before and after services. In this vestry is a single rope, connected to one bell in the bell chamber. When I attended St Mary’s church the verger, who was at that time William ‘Bill’ Smith, would sometimes allow me to ring the bell. So far as I am aware though, this man was no relation to the soldier I have already mentioned. A few years ago I went back to Whittlesey to attend a concert given in that church by the Gildenburgh Choir, who I used to sing with a very long time ago. It was lovely but at the same time it felt a little peculiar to walk into that church, seeing and being in familiar surroundings yet also seeing just how much had changed.

I have said before that when I was at school, I didn’t find history interesting. It is, but clearly that wasn’t the right time for me. Now I look back and enjoy just seeing and reading about how things change. I know many of you reading this are aware that I am a Star Trek fan and there is an excellent conversation between two characters in one of the episodes which is as follows: “The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity…” “…and the ways our differences combine to create meaning and beauty.” Live long, and prosper.

This week, a composition of my own.

One Small Step

One small step
It doesn’t have to be a big one, take
One small step
In a forward direction.

It may change your life
But it’s one that you can cope with, take
One small step
Doing what you need to do.

It may have taken time for you, to
Reach this conclusion, but taking
One small step
Is all you need to do today.

© Andrew D Williams 2017

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12 February 2021

A few years ago now a good friend sent me an article about a daughter learning about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and then her mother telling her about the Sanskrit Avatars, which tell their version on the beginning of life here on Earth. I appreciated that, but to me there are other people, for example the Aborigines, also the American Indians who all have their traditions. Whatever way is right, however things occurred, I really do believe that this world, along with the rest of the Universe, didn’t just happen by accident. With looming discrepancies about the true age of the universe, scientists have taken a fresh look at the observable, expanding universe and have now estimated that it is almost 14 billion years old, plus or minus 40 million years. But who is counting? After all, it is only an estimate!

This Earth is infinitesimal, considering that as well as our sun, our star, there are around 100,000 million stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. As well as that, there are an estimated 500 billion galaxies. With all the fighting and killing that we humans have done in the (extremely relatively) short time that we have been around, it is perhaps a good thing that the nearest star system to our sun is Alpha Centauri, at 4.3 light-years away. That’s about 25 trillion miles (40 trillion kilometres) away from Earth – nearly 300,000 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. In time, about 5 billion years from now, our sun will run out of hydrogen. Our star is currently in the most stable phase of its life cycle and has been since the birth of our solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago. But once all the hydrogen gets used up, the sun will grow out of this stable phase. I won’t worry about that though… not today. Time for a few more mugs of tea yet!

Some years ago I began researching our family history. I chatted to various members of the family – Mum and Dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles, piecing things together, making notes along the way. But then work as well as other things meant that I didn’t concentrate quite as much on our past for a while. However, it came about that during my many years with British Telecom I was part of an Exhibition Team and one year some of us helped to staff a BT stand at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in London for a full four weeks. So I had a little bit of spare time down there and this gave me a really great chance of obtaining copies of various certificates of valuable births, marriages and deaths.

When I was at school, history was not a subject I found interesting. I’m afraid I saw no value in it and as I have said before, simply being told that I had to learn things didn’t help. Other teachers made their subjects interesting, but… ah well. Except as I got older I had more explained to me, history became much more of a fascination. Most especially was how a whole series of apparently unrelated events combined to bring various people and families together. I knew that my immediate family were from London, but that circumstances, mainly work-related, moved our various ancestors around. A part of the family tree were in Cornwall, but when work in the tin mines became scarce the move was made to Suffolk and then to South Wales. Further moves brought them down to London. As you can well imagine, with a surname like mine there is a link to Wales, but tracing that name back is taking some doing. It is being done, slowly but surely, along with a bit of help for which I am grateful. However I already believe that a few proverbial ‘skeletons in cupboards’ are now being located! These aren’t of any trouble to me, but I believe many years ago things were viewed a bit differently, the social stigma, all that kind of thing. I have said about how my grandparents survived, (see my blog post ‘A Brief History Of My Time’) but it also seems that at least some of my relations from earlier generations were not quite as fortunate. I learned recently that my 3 x great grandfather died as a result of the shipwreck of the SS Admella off the coast of Australia in 1859, whilst his son died as a result of a fall from the SS Scots Greys in dry dock at Newport, Wales in 1876.

Moving forward to more modern times, I learned that my parents met in the offices of WH Smiths in London, but after the war my Dad wanted to be a schoolteacher, so he did what was necessary to achieve that. My two elder brothers were born during World War II, but then the Great Smog of 1952 came along and that didn’t help my dear mother’s health. So after I arrived on the scene the following year, it was decided to move out of London. My Dad got a teaching job in Whittlesey, a few miles out from Peterborough, so we moved there. I have mentioned trains and seeing recently a picture on Facebook of a Whittlesey railway station building being pulled down (the station is still there though and working!) has brought back memories to me. Naturally I was taught in the local schools, my two elder brothers were taught by our Dad for a while at one of the schools, but I never was. I have been told that was to my advantage, as Dad felt he had to be stricter with us, so as not to show any favouritism. He was always firm but fair.

So, having left school I started work. I was a Civil Servant and am still bound by the Official Secrets Act, which I had to sign even before learning about what work I was to do. Years later my job meant contact with a nearby United States Air Force base and I was told much later that I had to be vetted and cleared before working with them, too. With my parents at work in or around Peterborough and me at work there too, we moved as a family to the outskirts of Peterborough. I still like Whittlesey and Peterborough, with their respective road layouts, their mix of shops. They hold many memories for me, but much has changed since I moved away from that area. After we moved to Peterborough, we continued visiting Whittlesey for a while, but other things took up my time. I was also seeing how some of the people I knew weren’t quite as I had at first believed, sadly their natures and ways were not quite to my liking. I was growing up, I guess! I have had occasion to look back and briefly wonder how different things might have been, but it wasn’t meant to be. As I sit and write this, I think of all the folk I have met and worked with, the many and various decisions made. It is easy to spend time thinking of the past, but that isn’t the right way to be. None of them were mistakes, they were all learning experiences. I was being taught. Even now, where I am now, I am still learning. I must still keep learning. To me, it really is important to accept what has already occurred and learn, moving on to new days and new ways, especially with what is occurring in this world right now.

So much has changed though, things are so different now. When I first started work at Post Office Telephones (as it was then) as a Clerical Assistant, we had in the office a calendar that worked on a paper roller. One of my jobs was to wind the roller forward each day. Then at the start of each month, I had to wind it back to the very beginning and roll the ‘month’ on by one. At the end of the year…you can imagine! No fancy bit of kit with digital displays, not then! My first manager was an ex-army major as I have said before and I learned much as I worked for and with him. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that something of a ‘culture change’ came about, until then we were not allowed to use first names towards managers! It took quite a while for the old ‘Civil Service’ culture to change. As I moved to better work in Leicester and in Nottingham, this world was changing. I continued to learn, to move around the Midlands, I saw my parents pass away, I also learned much about myself. My marriage and a divorce a while later also taught me. Finally I moved back to Leicester, finished my time with British Telecom and ran my own business for a while before retiring.

I have seen many things change, not all for the good in my view, but I have no doubt that previous generations will have said the same, just as future ones will say the same in their turn. I saw a quote the other day, saying how a hundred years ago the rich had cars and the rest had horses. But it is said that now only the rich have horses and the rest have cars… I still really like the old saying “the one constant in the Universe is that things change!”

This week… The Ant…
Every day, an Ant arrived at work very early and started work immediately. She produced a great deal and was very happy. The Chief, a Lion, was surprised to see the Ant working without any supervision. So the Lion thought that if the Ant produced so much without supervision, how much more would the Ant produce if supervised.

So he recruited a Cockroach, who had extensive experience as a supervisor and was excellent at writing reports. The first idea of the Cockroach was to set up a “clocking in” system. He also needed a secretary to assist him with writing and filing reports. He then recruited a Spider to manage the archives and monitor all of the phone conversations. The Lion was delighted with the work of the Cockroach and asked him to produce graphs of production rates and to analyse trends, so he could use them for presentations at Board meetings. This meant that the Cockroach had to buy a new computer, laser printer, etc, so he recruited a Fly to manage the I.T. department. But the Ant, who had once been so productive and relaxed, hated this new plethora of paperwork and meetings which now took up most of her time.

The Lion decided it was high time he nominated someone to take charge of the department where the Ant worked. The position was given to a Cicada who decided to buy a new carpet and an ergonomic chair for his office. Also the Cicada needed a new computer and a personal assistant who he brought from his previous department to help him prepare a Work and Budget Control Strategic Optimisation Plan. It was at this time that the Cicada convinced his boss, the Lion, of the absolute necessity to start a climatic study of the environment.

Having reviewed the charges for running the department where the Ant worked, the Lion found out that production was far less than before. So he recruited an Owl, a prestigious and renowned consultant who was tasked with carrying out an audit and putting forward suggestions. The Owl spent three months in the department and came up with an enormous report in several volumes, that concluded the department was over-staffed.

So the Lion fired the Ant, because it showed a lack of motivation as well as a negative attitude…

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05 February 2021

Sound is a wonderful thing. Yet it is such a simple thing, consisting as it does of vibrations through air or other media. We usually sense these vibrations, these pressure changes, which our ears then recognise and our brains convert them into what we call ‘sound’. Such sound waves need to travel through some medium, whether it be solid, liquid or gas. These waves move by vibrating the molecules in the matter. But molecules in solids are packed very tightly, so this enables the sound to travel much faster through a solid than through liquid or through a gas. That is why I smile when I watch the science fiction films such as Star Trek, where we ‘hear’ a sound when weapons are fired in space – but there is no medium for any sound to travel through, so no vibration and no ‘sound’ would be heard! Poetic licence…

But these vibrations are vital to life here on this beautiful Earth. Creatures create warning sound to alert others of danger nearby, or listen for potential food. A little while ago I was outside in the gardens here and I watched a blackbird feeding. It would stand, sometimes with its head on one side, to listen for earth movement by worms. I am sure it was also ‘feeling’ with its feet, to sense the worm movement. Then on YouTube I watched an item with Evelyn Glennie, who is deaf, where she was teaching a deaf person to ‘hear’ by them feeling vibrations in the way that she does. It was all about teaching their senses to learn this new language, this form of communication.

I have mentioned before about my love of music, but that sound is basically a series of vibrations in a rhythmical pattern that is pleasing to us. Not all of the patterns we sense are appealing to every one of us though. I have been asked on quite a few occasions to say what ‘kind’ of music do I like. I always reply that I like ‘good’ music. I have said about my dear mother’s love of music, I have said about how I was able to join the local church choir but one thing that I found inspiring was the sound of that church organ. But how could a single instrument create variations in tone, pitch and volume when played by just one person? Yes, there were several keyboards, quite a number of stops and pedals, but to manipulate them in such a way was, to me, pure artistry. All this in what seemed a small space. Then I soon found out that the space was far larger than I had imagined! That really is quite often the case as I have found out over the years, having seen and heard quite a few pipe organs in both churches and concert halls. There is much that exists ‘behind the scenes’ as you might say. It is still sound, a movement of air, but that is why, if I could, I would go and sit in the choir stalls in cathedrals when an organ recital was on. I could not just hear the sound, I could actually feel it!

Over in Philadelphia, U.S.A. there is the Wanamaker organ, or to give it its full title the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, which is the largest pipe organ in the world based on number of ranks and physical mass weight. It is located within a spacious 7-storey Grand Court at Macy’s Centre City (formerly the Wanamaker’s department store) and is usually played twice a day every day except Sundays. The organ is featured at several special concerts that are usually held throughout the year, including events featuring the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Festival Chorus and Brass Ensemble. From a technical aspect, this organ is a concert organ of the American Symphonic school of design, which combines traditional organ tone with those of a symphony orchestra. In its present configuration, this organ has 28,750 pipes in 464 ranks. The organ console consists of six manuals, with an array of stops and controls. Basically, it is big, and can make a loud sound! I know – I’ve been there and have heard it.

For me, something I was introduced to with music was the effect it can have on us. I was taught to read music at school, I learned to play first the harmonica and then the trumpet. Others were taught to play a recorder and the piano, but with my weak right hand I couldn’t work the relevant controls of those. Even playing a trumpet I used my left hand to press the valves, rather than the ‘proper’ way. But it wasn’t just playing the music, to me it was also about listening to it. I found the sounds created my own mental images, like when listening to Vltava, by Smetana. I could picture the water as it started its journey in the mountains, as it gradually moved faster, over rocks, waterfalls, as it widened out into a much bigger plain, then flowing through the towns and cities, finally reaching the sea. I have delighted in listening to performances of this work which has been truly described as a symphonic poem. I have watched some performances of this work and as often happens when I am listening to some music, I cannot sit still. Like me, neither could most of the orchestra. They were moving a little as they played, they were enjoying the sound so much. But there are some pieces that have a much more sombre tone, for example Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns. When I was a good bit younger I didn’t like the sound at all, even though I didn’t know what the piece was called. In fact for many years I couldn’t listen to it, as it conjured up images which made me unhappy. As I grew older, I found I could listen to it. So it seems our musical tastes as well as other tastes change as we get older.

Sound can affect not just us of course. I am aware that plants and animals react to positive and negative sound. You may not believe or agree with me, but it does happen. I watched on tv where an elephant with poor eyesight was being played piano music and the calming effect that sound had on the creature. Sound can be used for setting a mood, this has long been known and is why shopping centres will often play the appropriate music they think will entice customers to stay and shop. Imagine if they were playing overly loud, raucous sound so that we couldn’t talk to our friends and maybe have that extra mug of tea or coffee – oh, and that piece of cake… Sounds can affect our driving too of course, as some brash, harsh sounds can make us drive aggressively or not give way to others when we might have done so otherwise. There are various types of jazz, some I like more than others, but I have to be in the right mood to listen to that. Having played a trumpet and been part of a local brass band for a while, that sound can be invigorating, as a stirring march can brighten spirits. So I have found. But classical, especially Bach… That calms the mind, the body and the soul.

Most harmonies will be pleasant too, though we all have differing tastes. I have had the opportunity to listen to music played by musicians from India and talking to them later I learned that their basic structure of music is very different to that which I had been taught. But in most cases it is a pleasing sound. In my experience, music can be used to get a message across, even if no words are spoken. Having said that, if some words are sung but not pronounced too well, it can lead to some humorous responses! Overall though, good music can have a real, positive effect on us all and be a lovely language, a delightful form of communication.

It is winter here, so this week…
One autumn an Inuit tribe asked their family leader if the winter was going to be cold or not. Not really knowing an answer, the leader replied that the winter was going to be cold and that the members of the village were to collect wood and to be prepared.

Being a good leader, he then went to the nearby phone booth and called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is this winter to be cold?” The man on the phone responded, “This winter is going to be quite cold indeed.” So the leader went back to speed up his people to collect yet more wood in order to be prepared.

A week later he called the National Weather Service again, “Is it going to be a very cold winter?” “Yes”, the man replied, “it’s going to be a very cold winter.” So the leader went back to his people and ordered them to go and find every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again: “Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?”

“Absolutely,” the man replied, “the Eskimos are collecting wood like crazy!”

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