Birthday cake for King Charles

Back blipped December 3rd

Slept really well last night, the bed is so comfortable. Opted for breakfast in the main dining room which was lovely but the service was a bit hit and miss so we probably won’t go back.

Really enjoyed our first event which was a look at the headlines of the day with four of our speakers. We knew that there were a number of political journalists and commentators speaking over the week but given the recent result in the US, nearly every event had some political bias.

I then moved venues to hear Ruth Jones in conversation with Julia Wheeler. Ruth was very engaging and spoke about how she started her career as a screen writer before moving into acting and her recent first into writing novels.

After lunch I listened to the turner Us ambassador to the UK talk about what’s next for America along with 3 others. Some fascinating insights. I had to leave as the Q&A session started to make it to the nightclub to join the passenger choir. That was a really fun hour, it’s being run by the concert pianist and he’s a hoot. If we progress quickly we’ll pick up an extra song before our performance on the 19th.

Another quick walk across several decks and corridors to arrive in one of the lounges for Hobby corner. I’ve taken sone wool and a crochet hook to make some wee smoothie bottle hats. I struggled with the sombrero pattern but made a couple of normal ones. Met a lovely lady, Lydia, from North Carolina who is travelling with her mum. She’s doing a wonderful tapestry. Also neg one of the speakers, Daisy Goodwin(who wrote the screenplay for the TV show Victoria and other historical fiction books), who stopped to look at all of the ladies working in Hobby corner. She was very friendly.

Mr PHL joined the art class after lunch and joined us in time for the trivia quiz which was a little tricky.

Headed off to the cabin to get ready for the first of two formal nights with a black and white theme. Didn’t manage to get any photos but we enjoyed a shared table at dinner with a couple from Dorset and an American couple from
South Carolina who were great fun.

We were heading to bed after a nightcap when someone tapped me on the shoulder and I was surprised to see Daisy who stopped to compliment me on my outfit. She was looking ultra glamorous.