Strictly Done Dancing..........

To pick up where I left off, I got my Saturday night in in front of the telly. My good friends Natalie (Deputy Cruise Director) and Jane (Project Co-ordinator) gathered with fluffy slippers and sweatshirts to watch the compulsive viewing of Strictly Come Dancing followed by The X Factor. Well, there were tears and tantrums aplenty - and I don't just mean on the screen! Not from me you understand - stiff upper lip and all that - but seeing dreams shattered and vulnerable lives fractured (in this case not Jane or Natalie)..... you couldn't make it up. It's amazing how both a singing and a dancing competition can seize the imagination. But then I do know how they feel. During my last tour of duty on Arcadia I took part in our very own version of Strictly Come Dancing in the Palladium - it was packed. My 'Cha' had never been so 'charred' as my wrap-around cummerbund came undone due to my gyrating hip movement and bound my legs 'mummy fashion'. Everyone thought it was planned and it was hilarious - unfortunately it wasn't and I felt ever so sorry for my passenger partner, Pam. No 'ten's for us and needless to say we didn't win - but it's all about the taking part of course.

And what news of refit progress? Well, there is a lot of re-upholstery going on around the ship and the company that is doing it have set up a workshop in the Palladium Theatre, since we are talking about there. It's a huge operation - with the Palladium itself getting a nice blue makeover.

And the aft end? An exclusive look at the work in progress.........



Sorry about that! 'Best I can do under the circumstances! It's snowing again and there's an ice-cold wind. Those of you who have tried to lay some ordinary decking in your back garden will appreciate that it's not a job you want to be doing in such weather and these are not ideal conditions for laying teak decking that needs to be stuck down! Hence we have the huge canopies...... I am assured that there will be a 'grand unveiling' and I know that, unlike The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing, there will be no tears and tantrums when the covers come off!

'Hope you are having a fabulous build-up to Christmas and I'll keep you posted!

Ian

Current Thought: He who does not read www.bestblogsatsea.com is not well-informed of events in the cruising community. Ian Wynne-Smythe (1966 - )