Dinner and random thoughts

We had a lovely sit down dinner tonight of fruit salad, a delicious vegetable soup, steak and grilled veg., and a light sponge with raspberry sauce...plus free wine! Not high cuisine I suppose but very much appreciated by all of us. We had a 'fun' table: Sue and Gus (South African), Pam (American), Sergio (Italian) John Mueller (Canadian/American....Theresa is in Beijing) and us.
Sergio is married to my name sake Maggie. who was only on board for a very short time but we enjoyed her company very much. She is Scottish of course which might explain it!

Apparently this dinner is being repeated, without the free wine, tomorrow night so there are definite advantages to staying on board between ports when the majority have taken off for China proper. I missed being with Nilo, Nasim, Ted and Sylvia who had also saved seats for us. It was one of those awkward moments which occur in the dining room when people invite you to join them you from different directions. (George and I sitting down to dinner on our own at home is certainly going to lack spice.)

This blog is probaby boring but gives you an idea of the relationships which form over time on any ship but also what fun it is to be part of such a diverse group of people on this one. Gus happened to mention travelling from the UK to South Africa on the Athlone Castle years ago and I realised that the Athlone was the ship which had carried me back to the UK from Cape Town to meet my parents after WW2! We compared notes on the tiny cabins with bunks that were the norm in those days and are the reason that I find our cabin so overwhelmingly luxurious. He told me that on her farewell departure from Cape Town she sailed right along the coast past Sea Point and Camps Bay and that people were standing cheering her on the shore and waving good bye...what a lovely, nostalgic picture. I have always found ships to be almost 'human' with character s and oersonalities of their own and that crews and passengers retain a huge loyalty to any ship they have worked or travelled on....food for thought.

Once again I have to report that George is fast asleep although we are listening to Mozart on this computer and it's only 9 pm. He hasn't even managed to climb into bed...obviously too much exercise today. I do often wonder if all this obsession with exercise is healthy! my mother and grandmother who both lived into their nineties never had a work-out in their lives but both walked alot. In her final years my Gran used to go for long walks in her imagination all around the countryside near Haddington in East Lothian, not far from Edinburgh. My mother didn't imagine it, she did it, almost up to the last week of her life. So is it conceivable that walking is the answer to longevity?!......More food for thought?

Coordinates again for Liam and Katie:
Time: 21.13
Speed; 17.5 knots (very slow!)
Course: 35 degrees
Lat: 25 degrees 0.52 N
Long. 119 degrees 43.4 E

Judging by the map on the TV screen we are between Taiwan and the mainland China coast and are sailing through the Straits of Taiwan.

Good night and enjoy your day....we are exactly 12 hours ahead of you now.