Sunday 24^th December 2017 – Christmas Eve

Got up. Got dressed. Went to lunch.

Sea: Greeny-blue

Sky: blue

Air temp: 13-14 degrees centigrade.

Sea state: Ripples but no swell.

Location: Somewhere off the coast of northern Portugal.

Sheila joined us. She and her man, John, are here with his son, Neil, and being two lone adult children with two parents in tow, we have collided several times. We also seem to eat at about the same time, so we have chatted quite a lot. Neil and John went off to Passenger Choir rehearsal, so Sheila joined us, as did Ben, for lunch.

Then mum went for a siesta while dad and I caught up on the daily newspaper, Sudoku and crossword.

Then a lady called Janet came and sat down and I gave her some legal advice about a leak from the flat above hers, just before she came away! She was very grateful. I then also fixed her email on her phone, so she could text her son and daughter-in-law/ladyfriend, to say she was still alive and wish them a happy Christmas tomorrow.

It doesn’t take much to fill in the time between lunch and dinner when lunch starts at about 1 and dinner is at 6.30! By the time you’ve queued up, made your choices, waited for any special orders (coeliacs… tsk), and so on, it’s nearly 3. Then it’s four and then five and then you have to go back to the cabin and plan your dinner outfit and evening plans! How people find the time for gemstone lectures, port talks, art classes, bridge, and classical concerts, I have no idea! I couldn’t fit it all in with a shoehorn and a Timeturner.

Wore my new crushed velvet Santa dress to dinner. Wow, it moults! Then up to the top deck to greet Santa, who was at the top of the funnel. He waved and chatted for a bit on the microphone and then came down for hugs and photos. The mulled wine was sadly not free, but was very enjoyable nonetheless, although it was so hot that I didn’t get it all drunk until seconds before the Christmas song compilation show in the theatre started. This group of Headliners (same as October) are very good – although the lead females seem to have changed and are less so. In fact, one of them produced the most sexless performance of ‘Santa, baby’ anyone will ever have the misfortune to witness. Other than that, a very enjoyable 45 minutes.

Had an early night so that Santa would visit before he disembarked.