Mareblu

The younger and more active you are, the more you need travel insurance. Serious accidents aren't wallflowers loitering at the edge of holiday activity.

Kiwi to me is a term of endearment. My close friend, who hails from Central Otago, always says, "Kiwi here" when she rings. At the risk of making a sweeping statement myself (to which I normally have an aversion), Kiwis, like the fruit they're named after, are lovely. POMS may be another matter, and may not always be taken with affection. The original spelling was POHM, and is thought to refer to convicts in Australian historical times (Prisoner of His Majesty). In this day and age, some would consider that an ancestral badge of honour, because needing to fill "the colony🙄", the English sent mainly fit, young prisoners to a foreign hemisphere for the most trivial of matters, sometimes. One of my ancestors was a 14yo girl, arrested and convicted in Ross-on-Wye for "stealing a piece of cloth". She was immediately sentenced to death, commuted to penal servitude via Botany Bay. I weep. Her grandson became the largest landowner in New South Wales, and a Member of State Parliament for many years. He was also responsible for sinking the first artesion bore in either NSW or the Northern Territory. Maybe he was born of wonderful, courageous, stock.

Aussies is a much-loved moniker, feel free to call us that. Incidentally, having traced my ancestry to the 1200s, all documented amazingly, I feel a deep connection with Scotland, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Birmingham. I truly believe there is such a wondrous, elusive mystic element as genetic memory. I am totally at home in Britain. My husband was born in beautiful Friuli, the alpine region of northern Italy close to the Austrian border, and because I love and speak that lyrical, romantic language, I feel equally at home there. Language is culture, as one of my university lecturers was fond of saying. This world of ours is incredibly rich in diverse cultures.

Thanks, exlondoner. No different at all. Humans on our blue planet are a diverse lot, and that applies to each and every nationality. We have recently spent time in your lovely Bournemouth, and in Richard's beautiful Hampshire, I wouldn't dream of opining in a sweeping statement that Britain is populated by rampaging football hooligans, just as Australians don't all inhabit buffets and pubs. Educated people, fortunately, realise that we are all diverse, yet all the same.

Bass Strait may be rough...we're on that cruise too. Nothing could match the heaving North Sea we endured six weeks ago, but then again....

Thank you, Richard of Solent🙏🙂

Where did they find their formal wear then?

So you frequented the buffet and the Golden Lion?

Sigh.....please read my earlier post on formal wear in Australia.

You’re the patient, and after informed consideration, the decisions must be yours. I agree with Leigh; Sydney may reveal more options for you. As I keep saying, hang in there and know we’re all thinking of you.

So sorry you were caught in the net. It has no laws or rules. I'm so sorry for your rebound symptoms. I've found that aspect far worse than the few days of Covid itself. If it helps, my cough is slowly dimishing after six weeks. I've had no fatigue, but coughing itself can be exhausting. It eventually peters out. Good luck, and best wishes.

You do indeed💜

You've certainly been in the wars lately, Les. I know we're all so grateful you keep us in the loop. Fortunately you've had prompt medical attention, and I'm guessing diuretics now? My aunt had similar episodes, but lived a long time after. We're sending healing wishes for recovery, and the strength to cope with these setbacks. We know you're made of extraordinary courage and resolve. Hang in there. Linda and Mario

Just booked this train journey through Cunard for our January cruise. The offer includes lunch of some description aboard (sandwiches, etc. I think, which is fine by us). A close friend who did it a few years ago said it's spectacular. If we don't go, we'll never ever know...

Sorry for the double photos above, and enjoy your LA-LA cruise

Regatta is a sister ship to Sirena, on which we sailed this September, also, coincidentally, in a Vista Suite. Most mixed reviews concern the small spaces, particularly bathrooms, in smaller staterooms on this class of ship in Oceania’s fleet. Marina, Riviera, and the new Vista all offer much more spacious accommodation in each stateroom category. You will not regret your time in the Vista Suite. It’s a luxurious, flowing and functional space. The bathroom is a wonderfully reimagined, marble-clad space, and the powder room adjacent to the entry door is an added bonus. The huge, front-facing balcony over the bow is a marvellous vantage point. The one real drawback: because ours was a front-facing Vista Suite, the noise and motion in the heaving North Sea was incredible. Would we book it again? Certainly! We found Oceania’s cuisine, once again, to be superb. Attaching a sample of Ginger’s dishes, (specialty, free, restaurant) and a couple of the suite

We always take photos of all angles of a hire car when we collect it, particularly of any grazes, bumps, dents, etc., and staff are usually willing to pose beside such spots, if we ask nicely. We once returned a car in France that had a very noticeable graze when we collected it. We hadn't taken photos at that early stage of our travelling years, and when we returned the car at a different location, they tried to take a fortune from our CC for the damage. Fortunately, a phone call to the very honest staff member where we collected the car rectified the problem. He confirmed it was there when we collected it. We were just very lucky.

You just never know...

I knew that, hence the laughing moji

Thanks, Geoff. Good to know

I meant to add: Enjoy your Sept. 23 cruise. What's the itinerary?

Pleasure, techteach😊 I can't recall ever noticing anyone in a tux, but that doesn't mean they haven't, of course. Mario always wears a navy or black jacket over a collared shirt, sometimes with a tie, although not quite so much on the last two cruises, because like Cunard (from what I've read and observed on "My Cunard") ties are not so visible these days. Gala evenings on Cunard would, of course, be the opposite. We would always dress for dinner, just as we do when dining out in Australia (or anywhere for that matter), so we would notice if others weren't doing the same. I firmly believe that if you want to wear a tux, then wear a tux. It makes an elegant statement. And pretty dresses? Always 🥰

Sending the strongest possible wishes for your upcoming surgery and recovery. Macquarie has an excellent reputation, and robotic is far less invasive. Hope your present discomfort eases pronto. Hope we can catch up again in the new year. I’ll even share a pineapple pizza with you🫣

Oh, I could write a book😂.

Couldn’t agree more😊. Give me a tango, above all, any day