Thursday, September 20th .....

Our Rotary meeting on Tuesday evening was a little different.  Instead of our usual get-together at the Bush Inn, we took up an invitation to join local kids at a camp organised by the Edmund Rice association.  These camps are set up for children who might be ‘at-risk’ (a dreadful phrase) or vulnerable or having some social or behavioural difficulties at school.  The camps are funded by groups such as ours, businesses or church committees.  There were about 25 primary-aged children at the camp, each one with a mentor.  Mentors are all volunteers, mostly from high schools.

We met in the hall for dinner, sitting elbow-to-elbow at long tables.  The noise was horrendous, encouraged by the mentors who led the kids in banging the tables and chanting, ‘We will, we will, rock you!’  And they certainly did.

I was impressed with the Prime Minister’s comments in Parliament about the death of her father.  The Dylan Thomas poem she mentioned is one of the great pieces of verse in our language. I found it very moving when she turned the poem around to say:

"The last thing my father taught me was, in the life of a man, there is a moment to go gentle into that good night, and so it was,"

Driving home from a meeting last night I was entertained by a radio show featuring the music of 1972.  Why 1972?  I think it was just that year’s turn.  The announcer was Michael Veitch who has been running the ABC evening show since the beginning of this year.  Sadly, he presents his last show tonight, leaving to join a travelling acting company.  I’m sure everyone who lived through the early 90s in Australia will remember Michael on the D-Generation and Fast Forward.

The top ten songs of 1972, based on record sales are an eclectic mix.  You won’t be surprised to hear that American Pie is on the list and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, but so is Popcorn, an early electronic tune, and The Rangers Waltz by the Mums and Dads (repetitive strict-tempo tune for Saturday night barn dances).  Do you remember Wayne Newton’s ‘Daddy, Don’t You Walk Too Fast’?  It’s on the list.  What were we thinking, buying this stuff?

It’s what’s not on the list which is more interesting.  Gilbert O’Sullivan’s ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’ missed out, as did Benny Hill’s classic, ‘Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West, and (shock, horror) John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.  We clearly had a confused sense of what is good in 1972.

Tuesday, September 18th .....

I love the internet. If something pops into my head, I can get information on it immediately.  The blue engine I saw the other night stuck in my mind and I couldn't rest until I looked it up.  It was the first of a series of diesel-electric locomotives built in Montreal for the NSW General Railways.  They were built in 1951-2 and the last was taken out of service in 1971.  Engine # 4001 was preserved at the Railway Museum at Tahmoor and restored.  It is now used for enthusiast tours such as the one I saw on Sunday.

It's interesting that early diesel engines are now over 60 years old and people can become as excited about them as they do about steam engines.

Sunday, September 16th .....

I’m sitting at Sydney’s Central Station waiting for Marilyn to arrive from Mudgee on the XPT. It doesn’t arrive until 8.49pm so I still have a couple of hours to waste. There was one little bit of excitement; a train pulled into platform 1, pulled by 2 ancient diesel engines and a horde of railway enthusiasts poured out of the nine carriages. What do you call a group of train-spotters? I’ll have to look it up. (I did look it up on a site devoted to collective nouns and found several suggestions: an anorak of trainspotters, a sadness of ... and an aspergers of ....  Not very imaginative and a bit cruel).

I find it extraordinary that people can become so fanatical about mechanical objects like trains, or cars, or planes, but they seem to get unending joy looking back at their photos and DVDs. It seems to be a father-son thing and I feel for the long-suffering wives who have to show some understanding of their bloke’s passion. I rang one of the Rotarians the other week and he told me he was watching a video he had just been given of old trains in Tasmania - at 9 o’clock in the morning. Each to his own, I suppose.

It’s been a good few days in Wollongong. Mum is not with us at the moment and I find it difficult to watch her deteriorate. She talks in the broad Scottish accent she would have used as a child and her words, although I can understand them, don’t have any context. As you can imagine, it’s very distressing.

I took Uncle Archie out in the wheelchair; we walked along the beach and popped into a little café for lunch. I know he enjoyed it and, on the way back to the home, he wanted to go into MacDonalds for coffee. We talked for more than an hour, about his family in Scotland, and the information I had dug out about Mum’s family, the Donachies, whom he knew well. He told me it was the most interesting conversation he had had for a long time. I was pleased about that but, as we moved off with him in the wheelchair, he called back over his shoulder, ‘John, I really enjoyed talking to that man.’ Oh, well!

I had a chance to read the Sydney papers this weekend and I was reminded of how much I enjoy Peter Fitzsimons. His open letter to the rioters in Sydney said it all. What were they thinking? If they wanted to harden the growing distrust of Muslims, they could not have chosen a better way. I despair of this problem ever being resolved.

Monday, September 10th .....

I often watch Q&A although I find myself becoming very frustrated with the views that some people cling to so firmly.  I am particularly irritated by people who display ignorance or intolerance of minorities and I am usually appalled by religious leaders who find it so hard to justify their views in front of an intelligent, critical audience rather than the ‘faithful’ who accept their every word.

Angry Anderson, last week, epitomised the ignorant loudmouth who will tell anyone who will listen that his point of view is as good as anyone else’s.  It’s not.  At least, he had the grace to say that he had changed his mind about refugees when he actually met some.  The trouble is that he shoots off his mouth before he finds out the facts, and we have enough of that sort in Australia already.  Mr Anderson is trying to launch a political career based, perhaps, on his rock ‘n’ roll credentials.  We’ve already got one ex-rocker in parliament; we certainly don’t want another one.

I still remember Archbishop Pell in his debate with arch-atheist Richard Dawkins, who made mine-meat of him.  Tonight was Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen’s turn.  At first, I thought he radiated a rather intelligent and kindly façade but, when the questions became a bit more pointed, he floundered.  Trying to justify asking women ‘to submit to their husbands’ was certainly beyond him, and his spin on homosexuality showed his true colours.  As the program unfolded, Archbishop Jensen showed more and more how isolated he is from the real world outside the walls of his cathedral.

Having taken a swipe at only some of the panel shouldn’t be taken to mean that I agreed with everything said by everyone else.  Sometimes it has been known for me to disagree with everyone.

Sunday, September 9th .....

It’s a sad time for us; Marilyn’s father died this morning.  He’s been ill for some time so, in many ways, it was a release for him, but it still leaves a gap which is hard to deal with.

I can remember writing about Bill Lofting in a previous blog so I won’t go over old ground.  He had a remarkable life and one to be celebrated.  I often say that my generation is the lucky one.  We were born after WW2 and grew up in a time of plenty.  We had unlimited freedom, as children and as young adults and we’ve lived through the greatest period of change that mankind has ever seen. 

However, Bill’s generation has seen all of that and more.  He grew up during the Great Depression and survived WW2.  Such experiences leave their mark on a person and Bill often talked about writing a book which he would have called ‘Making a Quid in the Great Depression’.  We even started collecting stories from him of his memories of that time.  He left school early, as most kids did at that time and ‘made a quid’ in various jobs around Sydney before becoming a jackeroo on properties ‘out west’. 

Happily, we managed to get some recordings of him telling his yarns and they will become a treasured family resource.

Saturday, September 8th .....

Marilyn and Jamie flew to Melbourne yesterday on the first leg of Jamie’s trip to the Philippines to meet Xenia, his new lady-love.  Marilyn won’t be going on to Manila but it was a shame to waste the domestic flight so she flew with Jamie to wave him off this morning, and will come back this afternoon).  Jamie’s very excited and we hope everything works out as he wishes.

While we were on the ship recently, we found that one of the issues with having a cabin deep down in the hull is that there are more ship-board noises than if you up on Deck 11, for example.  The engine room is close by, and the crew quarters, and the gangplank is just beside you.  So, arriving and leaving port brings a cacophony of sounds.

When we were leaving Noumea at close to midnight, we heard the noise of rushing water.  With thoughts of the Titanic in mind, I looked out the porthole and found that the whole side of the ship was lit up and that dozens of seagulls were flying around and diving into the water from time to time.  Clearly there had been some discharge from the ship.  I could still see the lights of Noumea so we were not far off shore.  Having been brought up on tales of maritime adventure, I dismissed it as the crew pumping out the bilges – not that I know what the bilges are or why they needed to be pumped out.

It happened again the next night, we would first hear clanking then the rush of water.  Maybe they pump out the swimming pools each night, I thought. It usually happened a couple of times and then everything was quiet.

The third time it happened, I suspected that the water was something else.  2000 passengers, 700 crew, going to the toilet an average of three times a day at, say, 1 litre of water per flush – that’s a lot of water.  Include all the showers, and hand washing , and washing-up in the kitchen and so on, multiply that by 7 days and I’m starting to wonder whether the ship had a tank big enough to hold it all, and was there enough time at each port to pump it out, and what happens if we anchor off-shore and get taken in by tender?  But, no, they couldn’t …..

On QI the other night, there was a question about the Pacific Trash Vortex, a Texas-size raft of rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean, north of Hawaii.  Mostly composed of plastics, the existence of this raft is blamed on the accumulated rubbish of thousands of ships disposing of their waste the easy way.  So, on to the internet and the first article I come across is headed ‘The cruise ship industry’s dirty secret’.

Yes, it’s true.  Until the first Clean Cruise Acts came into being in recent years, cruise ships were entitled to pump out grey water (from showers, etc) and black water (from toilets) directly into the ocean as long as they were 3 miles from land.  And the acts are state-based; there is no international covenant preventing ships from polluting international waters.  In reality, of course, the major cruise lines do their best.  Modern ships have sewage treatment processes but the outflow from these still find their way into the ocean.  Food waste and garbage is also treated.  Most garbage goes through a grinder before being dumped; glass and cans are crushed and stored for removal at the next port.

It’s not a pretty subject and those of us who enjoy cruising just have to ignore it in the hope that our cruise ship is a responsible-enough citizen to want to look after the environment it depends on for its future.

Thursday, September 6th .....

It’s my grand-daughter’s birthday next week, and it was my job to buy a birthday card which we could send to her in Brisbane, probably stuffed with bank notes.  I’m generally lucky in choosing cards and have a pretty good record of picking one with just the right balance of design and verse.  However, I found it particularly hard to select one for Madeleine.

First, every card for females from birth to 85 was pink!!!! Are we mad?  Do we really believe that females are so devoid of individuality that they all have the same favourite colour or is it that females are so conforming they are desperate to show that they ‘belong’ to the group?  Madeleine is not a ‘pink’ girl; she certainly does not fit the characteristics of a person obsessed with pink – twee, insipid, featureless, and so on.

Second most of the cards were illustrated with soft fluffy animals, teddy bear, rabbits, etc.  Or a horse!  Some had impossibly thin girls with short skirts, or umbrellas.  A big selection, obviously for mums or nans, had pictures of bunches of flowers.

Third, the verses were appalling.

There’s a niche available for some entrepreneur who can come up with a selection of birthday cards for females who are individual, strong and adventurous, with messages that are fitting and non-patronising.  Still, I know that Madeleine, like all 17-year olds, will chuck away the card and concentrate on the bank notes.

It makes me think of another pet peeve.  Among all the things that parents need to teach their children, why do they spend so much time on teaching the concept of ‘cute’?  Every time I hear a Mum saying the dreaded sound ‘A-a-a-w’, I cringe waiting for the follow-up, ‘Isn’t it cute!’  What does ‘cute’ mean?  It’s clearly somewhere in the realm of pretty, twee, cuddly, baby-like, vomit-making.  On the ship we’ve just left they had a big sale of stuff from the various shops on board.  One table was covered with little fluffy animals in pastel colours, wearing pyjamas, and funny hats, with big eyes and quizzical expressions.  The interesting thing is that kids were ignoring them until Mum called them back.  ‘Look at this teddy.  Isn’t it cute?’  The kids, who are not stupid, saw an opportunity to suck up to Mum and get her to open her purse, and immediately started to play the game.  ‘Oh, isn’t it precious.  Can I have one, M-u-u-m?  Pl-e-a-s-e!!’

Understanding ‘cute’ is something you learn, and there is no survival value in knowing about it.  Focus on what’s important, parents.  Today’s kids need to know more than we ever did and there’s no room for ‘cuteness’.

Friday, August 31st .....

There’s a show on every night in what they call the Marquee Theatre. Some are called production shows and feature the resident singers and dancers – a troupe of 8. Don’t Stop the Music and Pirates of the Pacific have been terrific but last night we were treated to the first performance of a new show, Life As We Know It. Until now, I have in my mind the best show we have seen on a cruise ship has been British Invasion which we saw on the Diamond Princess. Until now …. Life As We Know It was something else again. It set itself up as a comment on aspects of life, tied together by quotes, visuals and singing and dancing. The costumes were interesting but bore no relationship to what we were seeing and there were brief interludes where acrobats swing from ropes attached to the ceiling. But, it was brilliant!

We spoke to the Cruise Director after the show and congratulated him. He commented they were trying to bring the shows up to date and used the phrase ‘cutting edge’. They were looking at what could be done with modern music and attitudes and trying to bury some of the old clichés which appear too often in these shows. One section stood out for me as typical of the show – the song was Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know and the two lead singers took the roles as a couple whose love had died and they were breaking up. They were joined by a rope, which they used as a weapon. They were vicious to each other and spat out the words of the song. It’s a fabulous song and it came to life in a very dramatic performance.

On the other hand, tonight’s show was Motor City based on the music of Motown. It was slick, professional and energetic but in comparison with Life As We Know It, it was tired, dated and clichéd. This show is one they have done for quite a long time and while they maintained its freshness and the costumes and music were great, it was yesterday’s show. We’ve certainly moved on from there.

These production shows are only an hour long but this little troupe of 8 people presented four shows in the 7 day cruise, and danced and sang twice each night. And that’s not all they do. During the day you will see them working in one of the shops or running dance classes or the Morning Trivia. We’ll go home tomorrow exhausted and they’ll be welcoming on board another 2000 people who all want their pound of flesh. What a life!

Thursday, August 30th .....

I mentioned before that there were several groups on board but I hadn't realised that one group of fifty was a wedding party. I assume that all the guests paid their own way; otherwise some poor father would have been faced with a big bill.  The happy couple were married on the beach at Port Vila and they turned up on deck while we were watching an ice carver.  What fantastic memories they will have.

This ship is so unlike the Legend of the Seas. There’s an energy here which was certainly missing on the Legend. Of course, there’s still the emphasis on squeezing as much money out of the customers as possible and much of the daily happenings are based around opportunities for the Spa to advertise its wares or the Art Director to flog more of her stuff. But, P&O don’t push it with the same fervor as others, and there’s a lot to do without opening yourself to some impulse buying.

Today’s ‘What’s On’ listed three sets of trivia, a Martini Masterclass and a Whisky Tasting, Earring Making, Quilling, T-Shirt Colouring, three or four dance classes, Yoga, ‘Walk-a-Mile’ on the deck, a Marriage Match Gameshow, Bingo, and so on and so on. It’s not hard to keep busy.

We’ve met a couple of couples and made up a Quiz Team. Murphy and Lisa are from some island north of Brisbane and cruise a lot. Their philosophy is to take the cheapest cabin available and no frills. This way they can travel more often. Graham and Janet are from Brisbane and are travelling with their 26 year-old son Rowan who has severe health issues and isn’t able to work. Rowan and I went to the Whisky Tasting today and it was terrific. The presenter was a Scot who certainly knew his stuff. We tasted four single malts and learnt about the history of whisky and the modern processes of making it. He made a few particularly interesting points:

He’s not a fan of Johnny Walker although he quite likes their Blue. He would always choose a single malt over a blend but, if pressed to choose a blend he quite likes Chivas Regal and Famous Grouse, which happens to be my favourite. He says that Australian whisky is getting better, especially the Tasmanian brands and showed off bottles of Sullivan’s Cove and Lark. To put it in context, he pointed out that, if you could choose a Glenfiddich 12 yo in a standard bottle or a bottle of Lark with the label marked with the Batch # and the signature of the Master Distiller, many people would choose the one with the more personal touch. And with that personalization, it is more likely to increase in value.

But, to show that it all about marketing, the Duty Free shop on the ship sells 2 bottles of Famous Grouse for $25 but it costs $35 for two bottles of Johnny Walker Red. You can imagine which ones I bought.

This evening’s dinner was at Salt, which is part of the Luke Mangan empire. It’s tucked away on Deck 12 but, when you enter, it is like a 5-star restaurant in Sydney or Melbourne. Blinds and screens keep out the rest of the world so you can forget that you are afloat and enjoy the ambience. It’s a Grill, of course, so steak is king. I wasn’t particularly happy with my 300g Wagyu Scotch Fillet; there was too thick a rim of fat, although it was cooked beautifully. Marilyn had Barramundi and the entrees and sides were terrific. We ran out of appetite so took a takeaway plate of cheese and petit fours to have for supper. It cost us $40 each extra for the meal and we had a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc for $49 but we thought it was worth every penny.

Wednesday, August 29th .....

Well, we did get off in Lifou. The colour of the sea around Lifou is spectacular. The deep water is indigo and the closer you get to the beach, the greener it becomes. And it is as clear as crystal. On the way back to the ship, we walked along the jetty to the tender and I noticed a movement in the water. A few feet down was a sea turtle, nosing around the rocks.

The people of Lifou had gone to a great deal of trouble to welcome their visitors. The children from the school, all dressed in native costume, sang for us, and their parents set up stalls to sell the sorts of things that tourists love. Marilyn and I walked along to a little beach and were very disappointed to see rubbish all along the foreshore. Somebody had made an attempt to pile up the beer cans but there was paper rubbish strewn about everywhere. Not a good look and it wouldn’t have been much trouble to tidy it up a bit and make a better impression.

It was Port Vila this morning. There were plenty of shore tours available but we didn’t take advantage of any of them. We lost our enthusiasm for a walk into the town when we saw the crowd of burly taxi drivers harassing people ahead of us and were just as happy to spend the day on the ship. We’re not great tourists and don’t get switched on by Cultural Shows or Taste the Local Food extravaganzas.

Trivia success continues. We were second in both the Morning and Afternoon competitions but won the Pub Quiz in the evening which gave us each a P&O cap with the word Winner embroidered on it.

We had dinner this evening at La Luna, the specialty Asian restaurant for which they charge an extra $20 per head. The food was outstanding so we’ve booked again for Friday night. It will be that same menu but that’s not a problem.

Last night’s entertainment was Pirates of the Pacific, an energetic song and dance spectacular, great for kids but with enough entertainment value for adults as well. Tonight was the juggler back but we think we have had enough of him for one cruise so we spent an hour or two after dinner in the Orient Bar with a duo called The View. They won me by playing Money for Nothing, followed soon after by Just Another Brick in the Wall. Good stuff!

Tuesday, August 28th .....

We’re a bit odd in that we prefer to have our meals at a table for two rather than sit with strangers. It’s not a problem on some ships but, on others, it can be a difficult. On the Volendam, with all its good points, we finally gave up and ate more often at the buffet because there never seemed to be a table for two available at the time we wanted it. The Pacific Dawn is shaping up to be just as difficult.

On the advice of the waiter at the first lunch, we requested Table 82 at 6.15pm. We were assured that there would be no problem, that it would be booked for us at the same time each evening and, if we didn’t want it, just let them know and they would give it to someone else. To be sure, just confirm after each meal that we would like the same table he next night. OK, we can cope with that.

That evening, we fronted up, introduced ourselves and were taken to a large table where there were two spare seats. No, we said, we have a booking for Table 82. Sorry, there’s someone else sitting there. We stamped our foot and the Head Waiter had to be called. Reluctantly, we were given a table for four, with a guarantee that no one else would join us. At lunchtime, the next day, we were shown to a table with four young women. No, no, we said, we want to eat alone. No table was available. There’s one there, we said. Sorry, no waiter is allocated to that table. So we went to the buffet.

That night, after double-checking, we were shown to Table 82. Great, except that the two tables adjacent had groups of primary school-age children with no adults. Not a particularly peaceful meal! We know when we’re beaten so we’ve booked in to the specialty restaurants for two of the remaining nights and will use the buffet for the rest of the time.

We’ve been having a bit of a success at the Quizzes. After the debacle of the Music Quiz, we’ve focused on general topics and have surprised ourselves. We have been just one point off the winners a couple of times and actually won on Monday afternoon. Our prize was a P&O stubby holder each. We’ve formed a team with two other couples. The questions range from: what is the literal translation of karaoke? to what is the name of the monkey in the movie Aladdin? Today we tied with another team on 14 out of 20 points. In the tiebreaker, one member of each team was asked, into how many languages has Gone with the Wind been translated. Our representative said 46, the other said 15. The right answer was 26 and the other team won because they were under the correct figure. Go figure! Anyway, the prize was a P&O cap for everyone so not too disappointing.

Monday, August 27th .....

We arrived in New Caledonia this afternoon; the sky was a bit overcast but it was warm and almost everybody went off the ship. We decided that we weren’t tempted by the tourist attractions and Noumea didn’t look much different to other small cities we had seen, so we enjoyed the quietness of a deserted ship. We did see the dancers on the dock; in fact, they were just outside our porthole. There is something to be said for a cabin in the bowels of the ship.

The entertainment this evening was a Game Show where people had to remember the lyrics of a song. I think there was a TV show with the same format. Eight contestants were chosen but eventually only one was left. She had to give the lyrics of three different songs, which she did, and won a three-day cruise, a dinner at Salt restaurant and $150 to spend at the Spa. I had never even heard of the last song she was given.

It’s interesting travelling with an almost exclusively Australian passenger list. Bad manners seem to be acceptable now, or is this just part of our egalitarian nature (Great Australian Myth #6)? What else would make people leave their beer glass on the floor when they had finished drinking it (if someone kicks it over, that’s their problem)? Are five-year olds really as entitled to a seat as the old woman with the walking frame? Is there really nothing wrong with wearing a swimming costume and bare feet to the dining room? Challenging authority is one thing but if you are told that children should not sit in the front row in the theatre (for safety reasons), is it OK to wait until a security person comes to talk to you before you pay attention? Do you not feel embarrassment?

One bad habit I really dislike is the way in which some people pile their plates high at the buffet and then can’t eat it all. They say that Australia is the fifth most obese nation in the world. I had wondered about that, but I’ve noticed quite a few of my fellow-passengers are trying hard to lift us up the table. I know that lifts are only rated to carry a certain weight but this cruise is the first time I’ve heard a lift alarm, and it’s happened three times already in my hearing. The odd thing is that it’s often a skinny bloke who volunteers to get off and not the barrel on legs who has probably caused the problem. I heard a woman being interviewed on radio the other morning; she, apparently, started Oz Harvest which ‘rescues’ food and re-distributes it to the needy. She would have a field day on Pacific Dawn.

Tomorrow, we’re in Lifou and we hope this is a more traditional tropical island paradise so we’ll be tempted to get off the ship.

Sunday, August 26th .....

It was a great first day to the cruise. A quick lunch in the Waterfront Restaurant was followed by Lifeboat Drill and a lazy afternoon exploring the ship. My first positive impressions were confirmed. Pacific Dawn doesn’t have the glamour or the sheer size of more modern vessels but she has a certain grandeur. Because we booked so late, we have a cabin on Deck 4 and we weren’t able to swing an upgrade. No matter, we only sleep here and that’s never a problem.

We’re somewhere at sea at the moment and have just had lunch. We’re supposed to be going to a Music Trivia but haven’t managed to harness enough energy so we’ll give that a miss. There’s one every day covering various decades. Yesterday was the Eighties, about which we know little. We were asked to name 20 tunes after hearing a snippet (we got 6 right, if you accept I Hate Mondays, rather I Don’t Like Mondays) but only 2 of the artists. The only couplet we answered correctly was ‘Africa’ by Toto. Unbelievable! The winner got 37.5 out of 40. Bring on the Sixties and we’ll show them.

The show last night was a juggler (yawn!) but he was fantastic. I won’t try to explain why he was so good but at one stage he was juggling a small child and 2 balls. I didn’t like his Tasmanian jokes but you do get used to it after a while.

The highlight of the morning was a Wine Tasting, of Australian wines between $49 and $125 on the wine list. It was great fun. Each wine was introduced by one of the wine waiters. They came from Indonesia or India or the Philippines, and each one was funnier than the one before. The star was a Filipino called Bernard who had his notes stuck to the end of the table so he wouldn’t forget what to say. He talked about looking at the wine, checking its nose, and taking a sip, all to gales of laughter from his colleagues. When it came to sipping it, he made a face and shuddered. It turned out that this was his first time to introduce a wine. I suspect it was his first time to taste as well.

Saturday, August 25th .....

It’s the first day of our cruise and we’re nearly four hours out of Brisbane. We left a little late but I’m sure the captain will make up the time. We had a good flight up from Launceston yesterday and it was great to see Madeleine, our grand-daughter, last night, looking so well and sounding so happy with life. It’s not easy being 16 but she seems much more settled since the last time we saw her.

Our flight from Launceston didn’t leave until 4pm but, of course, we were packed and ready to go by mid-morning. We decided a lunch at the Country Club would help fill in the time. As luck would have it, the Liberal Party Conference was being held there and we were delighted to see all the elegantly-dressed and immaculately-coiffured ladies arriving to exercise their right to rule, red-faced farmers in their RM Williams shirts and drizabone jackets, ever-smiling wannabees, eager for every opportunity to impress and the world-weary professional politicians, trying to hide their reluctance to give up another weekend for another conference at the ends of the earth. We even saw Tony Abbott at the airport, having just flown in from Brisbane.

I was invited to a Liberal Party Conference once, in tandem with one of my staff who was being touted as a success story from the old Work for the Dole scheme. Peter had duly completed his allotted hours and I gave him a permanent job. Our local Senator, Eric Abetz was so impressed, he paid for Peter to attend the conference to show him off and I was able to attend as well, but had to pay my own way. I don’t remember it as a highlight of my career but I did shake hands with John Howard, although I bet I’m only one of millions who’ve done that.

I’m very impressed with the Pacific Dawn. I had some misgivings about her age and the fact that she is a P&O ship which, in my mind, places her several steps below the Princess boats we’ve been on previously. In fact, she’s quite grand. She was built originally as the Regal Princess and designed by Renzo Piano. Her atrium is not as glitzy as some we’ve seen but there’s plenty of room with high ceilings and wide corridors. Deck 7 has several comfortable bars and a terrific dining room. I think we’ll have a good cruise.

Boarding was the usual shambles - hordes of people trying to work through the process with no instructions. Drop off the bags first, then get in line, only to discover you should have filled out a form first, finally reach the desk to a surprisingly cheerful young woman who completes the transaction, then wait to be called to the security check.

This is not unlike other boardings we’ve experienced, but with one subtle difference. There are certainly more groups travelling together than we’ve seen before, and they advertise the fact. There’s a gaggle of young women wearing T-shirts – ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Tour 2012’, two fortyish women in black and white skirts, accompanying a third one with a tiara and a sash – ‘Celebrating Kylie’s Fortieth’, and a large family with red and black shirts with a white ship on the back and the slogan, ‘Big Birthday Adventure’.

What have we let ourselves in for?