After some fairly incredible sleeps up to now the real world has started to interfere with my dozing over the past couple of mornings; thoughts of being back in Stone, returning to work and possible interviews ahead have invaded that half-awake / half-asleep time when it could go either way.
This morning it appears that normal service really has resumed waking at the traditional around eight o'clock just as I would when in Stone. The sea has been more erratic overnight, I seem to have been increasingly aware of my environment and all the noises associated with a cruise liner (What's that knocking? Has someone left their door open? That television is loud, etc)
It feels that at any moment the Captains voice will boom over the tanhoy and that really does wake you up. Knowing it's approaching and is unavoidable is in itself disturbing ...
"Hello this is your Captain speaking, I would like to wish you a very good morning. We are currently travelling (on a ship in the sea) in a Westerly direction at 32 Knots and expect to arrive in Kristansand at approximetly 8.19 tomorrow morning. May I also remind you I am opening the Russian bizarre at 9 o'clock and will be picking my Desert Island Discs at 11.15am. This morning for my breakfast I had weetabix"
Of course Liz continues to stock up her sleep bank all in preparation for the demands of the new school year. I can't resent her sleeping, it is as much part of her holiday as eating & drinking well, seeing sites and spending time together. Perhaps the most important part for Mrs. Todd.
We are three days away from returning to Southampton, the break does seem to have passed quickly. I've never been the sort of person who says they are ready for a holiday to end or are even looking forward to returning home; whilst I am very content in my home life I much prefer being in that vacation bubble and wish it could last longer. Maybe if I have an extended break beyond a fortnight I would hanker for home and normality, but after only two weeks I could quite readily continue. I could even regulate my dietary and alcohol intake accordingly, prior to this point something had to give anyway, so some naturel omissions occurred. Obviously they'll go out of the porthole now as an end is very clearly in sight, although I doubt we'll have the four or five meals a day that some of our cruise companions partake in!
Matters aren't helped by not knowing when I'm actually back in work, I requested Monday off to get sorted and avoid the shock of one day being at sea the next being at hospital, but realistically I could be on anything from then onwards. The prospect of returning to work is also made harder knowing Liz has a further couple of weeks off, although I know she'll be up to her neck in preparation for the new school term and all the demands being a head of department will bring. Still rather jealous of the flexibility those two weeks provide.
Liz is still dead to the world following my shower which I'm sure would disturb her as I crashed & banged around the little bathroom, so I pop up for breakfast, returning with a little picnic for Mrs. T for when she eventually wakes.
She'll want to get up soon'ish or she'll miss craft class, I'll give her another 30mins. I make my way to the rear of the boat not far from our cabin, already the sun deck is starting to fill, but by a piece of spectacular timing & luck I manage to secure our premium loungers once again. Although Baltic weather can change very rapidly I realise it's going to be an utter scorcher and I'm completely unprepared. I really need to apply some sun cream, grab my hat & a towel, change into some lighter weight shorts and lighter coloured top; black is certainly not the colour for today and a paperback & iPad provide little protection from the sun rays or the heat. But I don't want to lose our spot, it's unavoidable, but for the moment ... ... ... endure Toddy!
I'm fearful of saying it might be too bloody hot, but it might be too bloody hot! I don't think I'll be able to sit out for long.
It doesn't seem to be causing many problems to other people, perhaps it's true "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"
I expect a leisurely morning and a game filled afternoon; there's a roulette completion at mid-day, I have the third round of my at sea quiz at 3.30 and a pop quiz at 4.30. I'll happily forgo the pop quiz and roulette, but I feel committed to my quiz team, even though I am surely our weakest link by some margin. I like to think my relative youth fills some knowledge gaps, these gaps could be broadly described as trivia & frivolity and there is little pride in that.
I realise all these events take place inside away from the sun which seems rather sad; I've never played shuffleboard or coits and it's a little intimidating to start today, I fearvitbwould be competitive. No todays outside activity will be limited to short bursts with my book or writing here (writing about what, I'm not sure, no doubt circumstance will dictate and inspiration will eventually strike) at least this will ensure I don't burn.
When we look back on our cruise today it will be remembered as Winning Wednesday.
After the roulette heats Liz was positioned fourth (176) and I was positioned fifth (175), it was all very tense as only the top five would go into the afternoon final to play for the pot (like it actually matters?) Each player had to pay £5 to enter the tournement and this provided the prize pot, for the final who ever had the largest amount of chips after five spins would be declared the winner. Thankfully no one beat my low'ish score despite some people making some very bold gambles to secure their place.
In a game of chance there can be no real game playing strategy; Liz went for the cover as many numbers as possible option and I went for the pick four numbers and stick with them (retain any winnings and do not bet 'em) option. Luckily my strategy won out, number 32 came up on game two and 18 in game five. At game five I knew that it would take a bold play to catch me as no one else had bet on the actual number to come up, only neighbours. To confirm my win 18 came up and it cemented my victory and I walked away with £75, a free bingo card and a little gold P&O sticker (and the promise of a free drink)
This means we now have £115 in casino chips locked away in our safe, waiting to be cashed for sterling.
Not being bingo players, in the same way we're not gamblers, we gave away the bingo card to one of Liz's friends from Craft Class and wished her luck.
We weren't aware of the shiny stickers until this point; if we were I fear we'd have had a very different holiday as Liz is very motivated by the receipt of shiny rewards. Apparently for every win at an official quiz, game or event you receive a sticker, at the end of the cruise each sticker gets you a prize (one sticker gets a key ring, etc)
I don't think I'll ever see that free drink though?!?
Liz went to her second craft class of the day and bolstered by my win of utter chance I met up with my At Sea quiz mates; not such a good day today with a score of 16/20. We are hoping that our commitment and consistency will win out and this way we may secure further shinys by playing the long game. We felt many of our rivals had opted to stay in the sun, their lounging could allow us to win via the backdoor.
In the mood for quizzing we made our way to the Lords bar for a Pop Quiz, where we secured another decisive victory (38/40) and a further shiny gold sticker. It looks like we'll be getting more than a P&O keyring, but probably not much more?
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