Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sunday, February 10th .....

Today is my 70th birthday. It’s extraordinary to think of all that has transpired in those three score years and ten, especially when we are currently in Wollongong where I spent so much of my childhood. I made my bookings yesterday for my trip to Scotland and I know I’m going to be bombarded by more memories when I arrive there more than 60 years after I left.

I’m not one for parties and always feel uncomfortable when I’m the ‘birthday boy’ but there will be a little get-together around lunchtime to mark the occasion. Marilyn made it clear that there were to be no gifts when she invited people because I am just going to enjoy the food and the company. We met a couple of the train down from Sydney on Friday and he was telling us about his surprise birthday party. There were 200 there and he said he had received 39 bottles of Scotch, Bunnings vouchers and so on. When I heard that I wondered whether we had been a bit hasty in insisting on no gifts. 39 bottles of scotch?

The last couple of days on the ship were great. The highlight of Thursday was the first, and only, performance of the Princess Pop Choir. Somehow a crowd had gathered in the Atrium to hear us and we seemed to go over very well. The Eye of the Tiger brought the house down and the Bee Gees medley was a triumph.

This cruise was probably the most enjoyable we have had. We certainly had nothing to complain about. The crew were delightful, the passengers behaved themselves and the whole experience was positive. We’ve now been upgraded to Platinum status with Princess which will give us some extra benefits on future cruises, including free internet access.

We had no problem in getting off the ship at Circular Quay. By 9.30 we had disembarked, got the train to Central and were on the train to Wollongong. There’s nothing worse than hanging around at the end of a voyage when you’re keen to get on to the next stage. We’ll be back in Launceston mid-week and into the familiar routine.

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