twotravellersLondon

Five˚C Hope all are well and looking forward to the promise of warmer weather, Pimms or a beer on the lawn and those lazy, hazy days of summer to come. We're recovering this morning after a busy touristy day in London yesterday... we used a new route and were in Sloan Square only an hour or so after leaving home... rather than the two hours that it used to take us. We had a very light lunch of BLTs and a coffee outside Partridges just off St John Square and spent most of the day in the Saatchi Gallery. It's currently showing the largest ever exhibition of works by the world-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky... large-scale photographs, murals, film installation and augmented reality... really impressive stuff. Some of the exhibits were awesomely amazing. (No... we didn't mean Banksy!) In the early evening we went back to our favourite pub/restaurant in that area for a pre-theatre meal. Probably the most "mature" folks there last night... by about three-four decades!!! At least! Then went to a benefit evening with Michael Palin to raise funds for the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering... packed house... nearly 1,000 people... sold out months ago and so we hope that lots of good came out of it. Some of the young folk being supported very, very bravely took part in an interview session on stage with Michael... the hall was just filled with admiration as how courageous they were. One other thing that does stick in the minds from earlier in the day is one of the other exhibitions in the Saatchi Gallery. It's Rong Bao’s debut solo show that, "pays testament to her playful transformations of familiar objects through sculptural practice, prompting us to question our perception of the physical world." Well it did! It was great fun... but... what if... just what if... the Daleks went woke? IMG_3844.mov High Art at it's best!!!

Another cool night. Only 5˚C and lightly overcast this morning but, according to the forecast, we can look forward to rain later. Virtually all of South London and Surrey within the M25 is on flood alert at the moment and has been for ages... we're on chalk here and there's been so much rain recently that the local water table is 100 m higher than normal... so it's emergent springs that's the potential problem... water naturally rising out of the ground under pressure... not exactly like an Icelandic geyser but it can be dramatic to see a 6' high fountain of water appearing out of a village green. We've a nearby stretch of road that often had water coming out of the drains and flooding down the hill until they built huge soak-a-ways to prevent flooding. No doubt that the powers-that-be have emergency plans in mind. Not quite sure just how an ark would cope with our local Surrey woodpeckers though! Best Wishes to all... especially those cruising, recovering from cruising or just dreaming of cruising!

In Praia da Vitória, there's a great wine shop in the Forum shopping centre. It's called "Wine Expert & Gourmet." Not inexpensive but some pretty good stuff. If you get into Porto, Touriga Vinhos de Portugal is a wine shop in the heart of the town that does lots of local wines. It's possible to book a wine tasting in advance. If you're going to take something home, it's always best to get something just that little bit more special that folk just can't buy in the local off-licence or supermarket at home. Hope you have a good time.

It's a good morning today! We have 6˚C, cloudy conditions and a little wind... and bright sun. Lots of field-mouse activity this morning... so no wonder there's no Elephants in the garden today! Hope all have a good day.

We were in a very similar presentation by Sir Roger de Haan in March 2023 when he also confirmed that a third ship was hight on the company's priorities. Sir Roger said at that time that before plans were put in place the two current ships had to be full... the last results gave a loading/occupancy rate of about 88%... so that's now more or less been achieved. The idea of a partner may well resolve the problem of finance. Certainly agree that a third ship would be a good move to enable Saga to extend its range of itineraries.

A c🥶ld night for the time of the year but a bright day with blue skies and a shiveringly invigorating "feels like 3˚C!" Our local Squirrel (We official call him Michael... as in Michael Bentine... because he carries his own flea circus with him everywhere he goes.)... busy nibbling the buds off our favourite grape vine... a gently jet of water from the garden hose ... misses as usual... results in him ambling just out of range and giving us a "look" that's hard to define. The morning garden's full of adolescent birds doing their thing... learning the right twigs to use in the light breeze, working out how best to use the feeders, discovering how to poop on our newly cleaned garden chairs and practicing the look of utter disdain anytime we dare to open the patio doors. The "baby" Bluetits dash through the branches like a school infant-class class released from a lesson... and have already learned how to mimic their parents by discarding five bird-seeds for every one that they eventually choose to take... such fussy eaters! Our newly fledged Robins are strutting their stuff in fresh plumage. Fidgety little Dunlins are still just yards away from their hatch-place in the hedge. The tiniest of tiny-weeny little Wrens is clumsily darting from bush to bush and a very, very laid back Nuthatch (nicknamed him "Kevin"... those who know why... know why) has decided that a place on the vine two feet away from the patio table is just ideal to keep an eye on his nuts in his birdfeeder in his garden. Our Kevin Meanwhile Mrs Robin is playing hard to get... delicately pirouetting on tip-claws on top of a tiny garden solar-lamp demanding that her suiter feeds her... not just any worms... but only the tastiest very finest morsels of the best worms that the garden can provide. So... nothing to report... just another boring morning on the fringes of suburbia... next job... wash the "summer-seat!" 😇🥶 Hope all are well!

And perhaps add some pressure to the waistband by debarkation time. 😇😊

The World Record for cooking up bacon rolls is held by Primo Food in Australia... 2,091 rolls weighing well over 13 kg cooked up at the same time in 2014... Not a lot of people want to know that! Gregg’s, Victoria, will need an advanced order if anyone needs that many early one morning! Better add an extra cup of coffee as well... 😱🥵

Reasons to be cheerful... 1, Sun Shining✔️ 2, Birds singing✔️ 3, Sky blue✔️ 4, Not a cloud sight✔️ 5, Blood Pressure perfect✔️ 6, Blood Sugar superb✔️ 7, Weight on target✔️ 8, Complete Grocery Delivery confirmed✔️ 9, Nuthatch on bird feeder✔️ 10, Bluebells beautiful✔️ Hope everyone has their own very special list!

OOOps! Never considered a career as a Governor's supply of ink!

In that case you're the person to tell us... if a shepherd spy is caught... would s/he be a bit sheepish! And... in answer to the interrogation, would the replies be a bit wooly? And finally... is a meeting of shepherd spies called a flock?

It's 10˚C and overcast here today. (For the wiser readers that's 50˚F and dull!) Been awake since 6.00 am wondering... just wondering... do shepherds have a good night's sleep? Hope that all are well...

But the ships are beautiful, well organised, clean. tidy and well managed! That's some of the reasons why more and more people are booking and are will to pay more for the privilege! We have three cruises booked with SAGA while there is still space on the ships... there have always been those who've cast doubts about SAGA for whatever reason... but the fact is that more and more people are booking with the company, the ships are fuller and fuller, advance bookings are surging ahead and those folk who like SAGA's offer are willing to pay more for it. After all... we buying holidays... not trying to play the stock market. So, like most folk, we're far more interested in ports of call, food, entertainment and quality of service.

We currently have 5˚C and partially cloudy... off out to pick up some seaweed so we have a more accurate weather forecast. Hope all are well.

That unattributed gossip is all a bit eclipsed now by the new thread..."Cruise boosts Saga’s profit, search continues for strategic partner." 🙃😇