NorbertsNiece

Captain just updated. Hurricane Fiona may affect our future itinerary after St John's. They saw me coming right?

I've made an appt to see the hotel manager. As well as asking the burning question as to when the lift decorations were installed (not been able to get a definitive answer elsewhere) I'm happy to ask questions on your behalf. Let me know please .

Captain's noon update. 346nm since Qaqortoq. 465nm to St John's. Heading 194⁰ Atlantic Ocean. WSW winds Force 6 Beaufort

I'm the big blue arrow!

Day 10 / 34 sea day Good morning and thanks for following 😀 Beautiful sunrise. Not sure if either of the blue passenger ships on the tracker is us as they're satellite pickups as opposed to ship transmissions. P & O Aurora is due in St John's the same day as us. Edit: still struggling with uploading....

Cut my nails to play the uke better! That's how serious I am about it 😭 Big thanks to Janette who not only recognised me but gave me some emery boards!!.... not sold in the shop....

Went to a super 'talk' on the history of comedic song presented by my uke teacher Steve. A Band on Ship Here's one of the songs he sang 💙 MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW I’M ON THE STAGE (T. W. Connor) Billy Bennett I'm cherishing a secret in my bosom About this dreadful stage-life that I lead I've heard it said that Pro's are decent people But according to the papers that I read Both actresses and actors are dead 'wrong-uns' Whether from the 'Palace' or the 'Hippodrome' The chaps I meet outside know I'm an actor But I never breathe a word of it at home. So, my mother doesn't know I’m on the stage It would break her poor old heart if she found out She knows I'm a deserter, >From the Scottish Fusiliers She knows I stole a blind-man's can, That got me seven years! She knows I've been connected With a gang of West-End Pests And the police have had me twice inside the cage And she knows I mix with ladies that have got a shady past But my mother doesn't know I'm on the stage. Sometimes she sees the powder on my clothing And then it's such a nuisance to explain If she thought that it was powder she'd go crazy Of course, I have to tell her it's cocaine. The day she met me out with Gladys Cooper She started screaming, "Murder!" and "Police!" And would have caused a dreadful scene in public So I told her that the girl was 'Crippen's' niece. 'Cos', my mother doesn't know I'm on the stage And when I draw six hundred pounds each week If she knew where it came from She’d shoot me like a dog So I told her I'd stole the moneybox From an Irish Synagogue She can think that I'm a murderer Before she'll know the truth I have to have respect for her old age And she knows that I'm a bigamist, a blackguard and a crook But thank Heaven she don't know I'm on the stage.

Captain's noon update. Safety first, fog was too dense to tender. 762nm to St John's. We're in the Labrador Sea. Force 7 Beaufort. Yesterday they screened 'The Queen' (Helen Mirren) and today will be screening 'The King's Speech'. Much juggling behind the scenes to put activities in place. They're doing great 👍

I've not asked anyone what kind of cabin they're in. Sorry.

0800 Captain's announcement. Qaqortoq port of call cancelled due to the fog which isn't expected to lift until the afternoon making tendering impossible. We're heading for St John's, Newfoundland. Our cooperation was thanked. So we never actually set foot on Greenland 😥. Right call though.

Day 9 / 34 Qaqortoq, Greenland Good morning and thanks for following 😀 Current status still at sea. Should have arrived 0500. Now 0745. Very foggy out. Tender port but we're still not close enough.

We sailed away early and very quietly. Didn't get to grab a pic of the sunset on that small mountain opposite us in the bay. There was another 2 minutes silence at 6pm for HM The Queen. There's a memorial service being held in her name in the Palladium tonight followed by a screening of 'The King's Speech'.

Tomorrow we are in Qaqortoq. Qaqortoq is a sub-arctic town in southern Greenland, at 60º North and approximately 670km south of the Arctic Circle. Qaqortoq means “white” in Kalaallisut (the Greenlandic language). A slightly ironic name, as South Greenland is actually one of the greenest areas of the world’s largest island. It is a great location from which to explore the Norse Viking history of the country, a highlight of the Qaqortoq area. The village of Qaqortoq spills over a hillside that curves around a sheltered bay. You’re never far from nature here, expect pristine, untouched outdoors, wildlife and authentic culture. A very social village with a friendly and hardworking ethos and an Evangelical Lutheran faith. What I am doing : Qaqortoq on foot : Your walk will start at the pier where you will meet your guide. On the walk you will pass the museum, the famous Mindebronden fountain and reach the old town area. You will pass the church, local shops, the school in Qaqortoq, and the fish market. During your walking tour you will gain an insight into daily Arctic life in the biggest town of South Greenland, currently with approximately 3,500 inhabitants, which is part of Kujalleq municipality. Qaqortoq is famous for its art around town called ‘Man and Stone’, which includes 31 engraved sculptures in the fields of the town. This is an open-air sculpture gallery, the work of local artist Aka Hoegh who endeavoured to transform her hometown into a permanent art gallery. The collection includes carvings of whales, human faces and traditional designs, which are carved into the boulders and lichen-covered rocks. Your walking route will pass a few of these sculptures. Another highlight is the Church of Our Saviour - a red, wooden Lutheran church built in the old, colonial harbour district of the town. Your guided walk will end at the museum, which you can explore independently. The museum was built in 1804 and is Qaqortoq’s oldest building. It contains the reconstructed ‘Blue Room’ and ‘Red Room’ where Knud Rasmussen, the Danish polar explorer and Charles Lindbergh, the American aviator and military officer, respectively stayed overnight. The museum also tells the story of the Norse settlers and Arctic life. When you are ready you can make your own way back to the tender point which is approximately 400m (1312ft) away. Please note this experience involves approximately 2h of walking/standing including uneven ground, steep inclines and cobblestones. The duration of the experience includes time at the end to visit the museum. Flat, comfortable footwear and appropriate outdoor clothing recommended. Please note that the museum contains clothes made from animal skins and references to hunting both seals and bears. Guests should bring a mosquito head net and wear mosquito repellent. I've only just read this last paragraph.... 🤦‍♀️ 🦟

Back from our excursion to the glacier. Wow. Amazing experience. Tip : hat and thermal gloves ARE required. I also had on thermal underwear and, trust me, very welcome! My hands hurt quite badly (Reynaud's) so spent last third in the cabin. 10/10 Many, many pics. The larger chunks of ice didn’t move so likely fixed to the bottom..... at one point 160m deep according to the navigation chart. I have videos to share but uploading proving difficult. For some reason there are pics which uploaded upside down. Have deleted them. Try again another time.

Waiting for our excursion.

We have come to anchor around 0800. Below us the boat we will be taking our ride on later. I take a walk up on deck and discover the access to the outside forward viewing area. Only taken me a week! A private plane has taken off from the airport. Registration M-OVIE.

In memory of our gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II whose funeral I will now be watching. R.I.P Ma'am. Was a pleasure and honour to have served you.

Short video around dawn here Forward and aft.

Day 8 / 34 Narsarsuaq, Greenland Good morning and thanks for following. Clocks went back an hour again last night. Put our phones back and set the alarm; forgot to put our watches back! No clock in the room! Lead to a few minutes of waking, getting brain into gear and sorting it out! Now 0532 lol. It's incredibly beautiful out. Chunks of ice driftng by. Dawn on the horizon. There's just the sound of us moving through the water. Quite mesmerising.

Greenland and icebergs ahoy!

From Ambassador's guide: According to the Icelandic Sagas, Greenland was given its name by the infamous Erik the Red, who, after being exiled from Iceland, made his way west and settled there. The name was an effort to try and encourage other settlers, the rationale being that “people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name”. 3 years later, 25 ships containing several hundred people set out from Iceland to follow him to this new promised land. The Norse Vikings settled in this vicinity many centuries ago giving Narsarsuaq a name that hints that an Arctic forest covered the large plain, hence the name Greenland. The name Narsarsuaq means “the large plain” and once you visit here you can see why. Today Narsarsuaq has just 160 residents. Narsarsuaq is one of the places in Greenland that is furthest from the ocean. The place is located in the valley of the Kiattuut Sermiat glacier on the Tunulliarfik fjord. HISTORY: It is one thing to read about medieval farms in the sagas but quite another to see them come alive by standing in the same spots where Erik the Red and Viking settlers stood over a millennium ago. Norse ruins from the 10th-15th centuries are spot ted in the hills around Narsarsuaq and on the opposite shores of the fjord is the settlement of Eric the Red. This is where the first Christian church in all of North America was erected. Bluie West One, later known as Narsarsuaq Air Base and Narsarsuaq Airport, was built on a glacial moraine. Construction by the United States Army began in June 1941. The first aircraft landed there in January 1942, as a link in the North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II. The base had a peak population of about 4,000 American servicemen, and it is estimated that some 10,000 aircraft landed there en route to the war in Europe and North Africa. Most of the current buildings date from this period, as does the airport. The hospital was enlarged during the Korean War (1950–1953), its number of beds rose from 250 to 1000.

We held a ship wide 2 minutes silence at 6pm our time together with the rest of the UK in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

We had a Code Mike during lunch time in the dining room. Sadly a gentleman suffered a head injury. It really was hard work to maintain balance.

Captain has been very forthcoming with updates. The weather was particularly bad at that moment and he was steering a course to keep us as steady as possible. We were certainly rocking and rolling earlier. Pic from the games room.