Our Queen Mary 2 cruise was wonderful despite the harsh weather. We viewed the bumpy seas as an opportunity to read and to watch videos to our hearts' content. The food kept flowing, the entertainment kept being presented, and the on-board lecturers kept lecturing.
We docked in New York on May 23rd (6 nights at sea) and proceeded to the nunnery we had selected for our two-day stay in The Big Apple. Yes, a nunnery. It's called Leo House and it's very central, clean, and reasonably priced.
Our time in New York was filled with sightseeing and theatre-going. As we got our tickets for the theatre through a last-minute kiosk, we had to take what was available. Our first play was an Irish satire on the IRA. The cast was the original Dublin group and the play took us both by surprise. There was blood and gore on the stage to the extent that we actually got used to it! They were sawing through body parts, killing each other, torturing each other. The play has won all kinds of awards and, I would say, is unique in its genre. So that was an adventure. The play is entitled The Lieutenant of Inishmore. I found myself wishing they had subtitles for the fast-paced repartee as it was difficult to be so rivetted to the bloodbath and follow the script!
The following night's play was a feel-good musical entitled The Wedding Singer. It was also excellent. The cast were exceptionally talented and the set was great. And not a drop of blood was spilled :-).
We left New York for Syracuse by train. The train was delayed by a couple of hours because of a power failure but other than that, the trip was pleasant. We were in business class - always a thrill. Barb and Harry Lawson met our train in Syracuse. It's a two-hour drive to Kingston. Little Mary was happily reunited with her family and I'm happily ensconced on the farm.

AVAST YA SWABBIES! Well, Little Mary Dunbar and I have made it out to sea ... this is our second day out on the rolling main and the gale force 9 - 10 winds are causing this massive ship to heave from side to side quite a bit. Walking around the labyrinth of corridors and alleyways, in fact, is a challenge.
We're thoroughly enjoying this luxurious mode of transportation - there's too much delicious food for our own good but we are not complaining! There are Oxford lecturers, entertainers, musicians, a library, several shops, a cinema on board. Our stateroom has a television, complete with e-mailing capability and videos on order.
Tonight, we'll go to the cinema and see Capote, a film we've both been looking forward to seeing. Oh, and that's after the Captain's cocktail party and our formal dinner. Life is tough on the high seas, alas and alack.
More later. I don't know if I'll be able to download a photo or two until we return to land, but I'll attempt it.
Portez-vous bien les copains.

Little Mary Dunbar does dishes on her holiday. She's our kitchen elf and we love her for it.
In the lower photo, we're in front of the Aga (stove) in Gill's kitchen. We're playing with my new toy, a digital camera bought especially so that I might feed the blog with photos :-). The self-timer works well as you can see.

GILL AND SAM RIDE AGAIN!
This is Gill on her scooter, a wonderful contraption that allows her to terrorize the pedestrians and motorists of Somerton as she careens around town getting up to no good. If you look closely, you'll see little Sam at her feet. He loves riding on the scooter ... he's her accomplice.

NEPHEW VISITS
My nephew is here with us. He arrived on the same day as Jessica and has been managing quite well with all these women around. He and I attended the memorial service of Tanya, his great-niece, in Bristol yesterday. Tanya died at age 27 of breast cancer. The memorial was an excellent tribute to her short life and was held at a picturesque country estate on a beautifully sunny day. Although it was a sad event, I think her parents and brother were pleased with their efforts to have her remembered in such a positive way.
By the way, my nephew is twee.

JESSICA ARRIVES - This is Jessica on her arrival, jetlagged and weary from her long flight. Little Mary Dunbar and I picked her up at Cardiff airport on May 4th ... that's two days ago already!!
Jessica, Mary and I will be going to Newcastle to visit Kate and Sean in their new digs. We leave tomorrow and return on Saturday - minus Jessica who will stay on with Kate and Sean in Newcastle. She's going to do a work placement in physiotherapy at a local hospital in Newcastle and then tootle on to Ireland with Kate and Sean. So far, she's adapting very well to life with the 'Geries' and seems to not mind hanging out with the old fogies. We're actually pretty wild and irreverend at times ... and not at all well behaved ... especially when we get into our antics with Chaos League. But that's a story for another day as Hammy Hampster would have said.

LITTLE MARY DUNBAR VISITS SOMERTON
Yes, my friend Little Mary is here in Somerton and Gill and I are enjoying her visit. So far, she has met some friends, walked around Somerton, had a pub lunch, been invited to tea at Nicky and John Baulkwill's, and walked around neighbouring Langport. Here, you see her with her newest trainee, Sam. She's very good at teaching him to behave properly as she broaches no arguments. If she stays at Linden Lea long enough, he will be the best trained puppy in Somerton!
In the evenings, Gill, Mary, and I like to sit around the computer and try to master Chaos League, a wicked new (to us) computer game. It requires a lot of strategic moves and helps us develop our sense of logic ... while providing us with hours of good clean fun.