We're
half-way through our voyage home – where has the time gone? We've
got ourselves into a pattern of doing very little. We enjoy going to
the Britannia Restaurant for breakfast rather than the Kings Court
Buffet – it's lovely to be waited on! The choice of food is
amazing. You can have breakfast in bed if you want to, but we've
never opted for that.
Probably
because there's no land excursions between New York and Southampton,
the days are gradually blending into each other and it's hard to
remember what happened the previous day! At the breakfast table
there are 2 men who we think are gay; one of them is celebrating his
50th birthday on this trip. We talk about the church we
went to in Boston which was so inclusive of everyone, and which was
one of the first churches to perform a gay marriage ceremony.
“You
certainly have packed a lot into your trip,” says
one of the men.
At 11
am, Reg decides to take part in the “Beat the Keeper” football
activity on deck 13. Half way through I go up to watch – deck 13
is the very top deck of the ship. The football court (smaller than a
5-a-side court) is netted up the sides and overhead for obvious
reasons. The activity is being run by a man and a woman in their
20's or early 30's, obviously part of the sports activity organising
team on the ship. All sorts of people are taking part in “Beat the
Keeper”; a couple of women who are probably in their 70's, a few
men like Reg in their 60's, teenage boys, and three young children, a
girl and 2 boys. It's nice to see that the activity is for anyone
and everyone. The emphasis is on having fun though I think there's a
competitive spirit among the older men – and the teenage boys!
Afterwards
Reg says that's his exercise for the day. We have coffee/green tea
and cake, which serves as lunch, as really we're still full up from
breakfast. Then we relax in the shade on the deck loungers, enjoying
the view of the sea. I'm engrossed in my book; Reg decides to go
back to our cabin for a sleep, and a bit later on I join him! And
this is the sum total of what we do during the day on the Queen Mary.
Some seasoned passengers, who've been on lots of cruises, say that
they quite enjoy this particular trip because
there are several days without having to get off the boat. I guess
others would find it boring; but for us it's just right. It's as if
you have permission to relax and do nothing, simply because there's
nothing you need to do – unless you want to. I like the fact that
we socialize at breakfast time, and after that, don't need to talk
much to anyone else until dinner, unless we want to. This many sound
anti-social, but it actually can be quite tiring talking and
listening to people for long periods of time. We feel we have the
right balance of integrating and spending time alone (and, sometimes,
time apart from each other!) This is the perfect way to unwind after
our hectic 2 months.
I
think we are really lucky with the people with whom we share our
table at dinner. There are 6 of us, and I feel we've developed a
real connection between us. Later that evening, I meet an elderly
lady who isn't enamoured with the people on her dinner table. I sit
next to her while waiting in the Winter Gardens (lots of trees in
tubs and various other foliage in here) for actors/actresses from the
Royal Academy of Drama and Arts to perform a one hour adaptation of
“Pride and Prejudice” -
one of my favourite stories!!
Reg
has gone off to see a 3D film “Captain America – The
Winter Soldier”. The elderly
lady is travelling alone, and has been on the Queen Mary many times -
she is obviously “old school”.
“I
enjoy the formality of the ship,” she
says firmly. She lives in America but has a strong English accent.
“You see all kinds of sights on this ship,” she
adds, nodding towards 2 young woman who've come into the Winter
Gardens bar, dressed very casually indeed, in sleeveless tea shirts
and shorts. The Winter Gardens bar, and the Kings Court Buffet, are
the only 2 areas on the ship (apart from corridors and cabins) where
a man can go after 6 pm without wearing a jacket.
“What's
it like, travelling alone on this ship?” I
ask the elderly lady. “At least there's plenty of
opportunity for company, if you want it.”
“That's
why I come,” replies the
lady. “I'm very much alone at home – I rarely go out.
This is a whole different world, I love cruising. But the other
guests on my dinner table aren't really my cup of tea. There's one
man, and 4 ladies; the man's alright, but all the women talked about
tonight was their tattoos, and where they are on their bodies. A bit
too much information for me!”
I'm
reminded of the day in Los Angeles when Reg and I sat on a bus
opposite an extremely beautiful young woman. She was wearing shorts,
and the whole of the exposed skin on both legs were absolutely
covered in tattoos. I remember feeling inexplicably sad about this.
It wasn't about judging the young woman for the way she looked; it
was that her natural beauty, in our eyes, was camouflaged by navy
blue tattoos all over her legs. Just an honest reflection of how we
felt.
I
absolutely love the RADA adaptation/presentation of “Pride and
Prejudice”. It's brilliant, one of the highlights of the trip
for me. The actress who plays Mrs Bennett is superb. The Winter
Gardens is packed; I'm sure it helps that probably most people there
know the story really well.
Back
in the cabin, Reg is reading in bed; he enjoyed the 3D film he went
to see. Another day over on the Queen Mary 2!
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