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At sea on our way to Thailand.

 

Sailing into the Gulf of Thailand

 

 

At sea
There is a navigation option on the TV in the room - like on an aircraft - that displays the route and gives latitude and longitude 
but Google Maps is (graphically) more informative.

 

There's seldom a dull moment on the ship for those who like to be entertained, be beautified, exercise or gamble.

Or, if you don't care about skin cancer, you could join the hundreds, many getting horribly sun-burnt, out on the upper deck.  One can also sit in a bar - with the semi-permanent inhabitants - but some can get a bit rowdy.

Alternatively, there are pleasantly quiet places, to read or to play games.

 

Mid-ships atrium and treeThe library is behind the (real) tree - a nice place to sit and read.
The games room is below it - Mahjong anybody?

 

The stateroom balcony

Of course there is always the 'stateroom' balcony - very pleasant - with the ocean swishing by

 

We like the trivia competitions. Yet, against teams of 8 or 9, we generally fall short, unless we join with a quiz grandmaster (rain man/woman), as happened occasionally on previous cruises.

It's seldom ignominious, except for sport (don't even bother) and that music quiz that featured Disney tunes and their matching animated movie and performer. I think we got 'Frozen' and 'Snow White', but who sang them?   And what were all those others? Where does one hear this muzak?  Obviously parents and grandparents get exposed to animated movies but how do they remember the music; or who sang the song?  Yet one of the LBGTQIA+ group, aced it!  Grandchildren??

 

The ship's full-time musicians and singers provide backing to guest entertainers.
There is a new guest performance in the theatre every night, repeated once the same night.
This guy could do a very plausible 
Roy Orbison, as well several others of that vintage.
But he moved a bit too much to be the real Roy.

 

 

 

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Travel

Berlin

 

 

 

I'm a bit daunted writing about Berlin.  

Somehow I'm happy to put down a couple of paragraphs about many other cities and towns I've visited but there are some that seem too complicated for a quick 'off the cuff' summary.  Sydney of course, my present home town, and past home towns like New York and London.  I know just too much about them for a glib first impression.

Although I've never lived there I've visited Berlin on several occasions for periods of up to a couple of weeks.  I also have family there and have been introduced to their circle of friends.

So I decided that I can't really sum Berlin up, any more that I can sum up London or New York, so instead I should pick some aspects of uniqueness to highlight. 

Read more: Berlin

Fiction, Recollections & News

Announcing Leander

 

(Born Wednesday 14 May 2014 at 5:23 AM, 3.3 kg 53 cm)

 

Marvellous.  Emily, my eldest daughter, has given birth to my first natural Grandchild (I have three step-grandchildren).  She and Guido have named him Leander.  Mother and child are well.

Read more: Announcing Leander

Opinions and Philosophy

Bertrand Russell

 

 

 

Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970)) has been a major influence on my life.  I asked for and was given a copy of his collected Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell for my 21st birthday and although I never agreed entirely with every one of his opinions I have always respected them.

In 1950 Russell won the Nobel Prize in literature but remained a controversial figure.  He was responsible for the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955. The signatories included Albert Einstein, just before his death, and ten other eminent intellectuals and scientists. They warned of the dangers of nuclear weapons and called on governments to find alternative ways of resolving conflict.   Russell went on to become the first president of the campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND) and subsequently organised opposition to the Vietnam War. He could be seen in 50's news-reels at the head of CND demonstrations with his long divorced second wife Dora, for which he was jailed again at the age of 89.  

In 1958 Gerald Holtom, created a logo for the movement by stylising, superimposing and circling the semaphore letters ND.

Some four years earlier I'd gained my semaphore badge in the Cubs, so like many children of my vintage, I already knew that:  = N(uclear)   = D(isarmament)

The logo soon became ubiquitous, graphitied onto walls and pavements, and widely used as a peace symbol in the 60s and 70s, particularly in hippie communes and crudely painted on VW camper-vans.

 

 (otherwise known as the phallic Mercedes).

 

Read more: Bertrand Russell

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