This is my original blog for all our non-caravanning trips since 2009 and more recently posts about coming to terms with being single again having been widowed in 2018. And anything else too really!

My caravanning blog is (Get Your) Legs Down and all our trips in the caravan are there. My grog blog is The Ale Archive where I list every beer I’ve ever tried.

Friday, 2 April 2010

Don't be Scilly

We are now on the last leg of our journey - along the English channel having left the Scilly Isles yesterday evening. We are due to arrive in Tilbury at 7.00am tomorrow.

Guernsey was ok though we didn't do a lot. Was here four years ago on a certain other cruise line when we done a museum and had a tour of the island. It was a nightmare getting the old dears on and off the tenders though and it was decided that they would stay on board the next day.

The Scilly Isles were great. It was tender service again though this time local ones were used, which were bigger if not any easier to get in and out of!

We had a whistle stop bus tour of the island of St Mary's which was very entertaining thanks to the drivers knowledge and ready wit, then refuelled in a quayside boozer before getting the ferry over to Tresco. Tresco is very pretty, no doubt helped by the fact that there are no cars or lorries on the island. The bus service is a cart pulled by a tractor. Golf type buggies take care the rest of the islands transportation needs. We did not get the chance to see any of the other islands, of which there are many, although only five are inhabited. It was sunny most of the day but the constant wind kept it quite chilly. There was a lot of wind on the ship too but that’s a different story!

We've only done one main show - a medley of songs from some of the Lloyd Webber musicals. It was ok though the sound quality wasn't great. Most of our times has been spent in Scott's Bar - the late night bar at the back of the ship. They have had a very good duo on keyboards and vocals early evening then a trio from the entertainment staff singing later on - followed even later by a disco. The choice of music suited us lot as well - Abba, Bee Gees, Gloria Gayner - you get the idea. Most of the 'late shift' in our crowd have had a dance or two, and yours truly even got a round of applause from not only the 'audience' but the bar staff too for doing my stuff to 'Tragedy'. Well, the beer was flowing well!

The early problems aside its been fun. You could pick holes in many aspects of the running of the ship all day long. Whilst being well maintained inside, the outside is a bit shabby. A small number of the crew have a 'rather not' than a 'can do' attitude but many have been excellent. I should add at this point that Eric & Nina were able to get their cabin changed too - and the new one was much better.

Originally named as 'Alexander Pushkin' when it was built in 1965, for many years she was the flagship of the Baltic Shipping Company. The current operators lease the ship now in what is undoubtedly the autumn of her years. Tighter regulations concerning safety and engine emissions make it harder and harder for these old ships to keep going which in a way is a shame as they have so much more character than their modern replacements.

Anyway, there it is. Home tomorrow  and I think a few days drying out might be in order - and a diet if I'm gonna continue with the John Travolta nonsense on the dance floor!

Until next time.....

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