Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[LewiLewi]

We don’t seem to have any rules in Florida as issued by our government. People more or less do as they please. I wish that there were strict regulations in place; maybe that would help to alleviate the pandemic sometime in the near future. As things are now, our  Governor is once again talking about opening bars and tattoo parlors, even though our positivity rate is above 5%. 
I would love to have a place in the UK far away from what is happening here, but even if I were brave enough to get on a plane, I don’t think Floridians would be welcome there.

[Bigmike911]

Well, as we awaken this Saturday morning, we are told that two hurricanes are headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Laura is expected to pass between the Florida Keys and Havana, while Marco is expected to cross the Yucatan into the Gulf. If Laura heads west and Marco north west they could interact in the 'Fujiwhara" effect where they appear to dance around each other. This could be very interesting, and dangerous. I just want rain, not wind, and not storm surge. Since Harvey, the local Pols. have done next to nothing to prevent the kind of flooding we had then. But they talked about it ad nausea-um got money to do 'something' and did nothing. This could be very damaging and with covid dangerous if mass evacuations are required. News at Eleven, as they say on TV. Ten in the Central Daylight time zone. 

[LewiLewi]

2 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

Well, as we awaken this Saturday morning, we are told that two hurricanes are headed into the Gulf of Mexico. Laura is expected to pass between the Florida Keys and Havana, while Marco is expected to cross the Yucatan into the Gulf. If Laura heads west and Marco north west they could interact in the 'Fujiwhara" effect where they appear to dance around each other. This could be very interesting, and dangerous. I just want rain, not wind, and not storm surge. Since Harvey, the local Pols. have done next to nothing to prevent the kind of flooding we had then. But they talked about it ad nausea-um got money to do 'something' and did nothing. This could be very damaging and with covid dangerous if mass evacuations are required. News at Eleven, as they say on TV. Ten in the Central Daylight time zone. 

Good luck Big Mike. We are told that Florida will be out of the cone for these two, you never know. We have a long hurricane season ahead of us. I hope that we will all be OK. We all have enough problems to deal with right now.

[Host Hattie]

On 8/21/2020 at 12:10 AM, Ray66 said:

They've all departed now Lanky Lad due to the high winds. QV on her way to Margate apparently.

 

Glad we went to North Wales last week and not this. Trees have been blown over and crushed cars in Portmeirion!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53854801

 

 

 

Wow, that looks bad, how was your trip @Ray66 ?

 

[Lanky Lad]

2 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

 If Laura heads west and Marco north west they could interact in the 'Fujiwhara" effect where they appear to dance around each other. This could be very interesting, and dangerous.

I am sure you can do without that kind of interesting.  Hopefully, you will get some much needed rain.

 

The weather here is now cool and wet so I picked the right week to go on my trip.

[Lanky Lad]

I was so impressed with  my Southampton hotel, I have booked it for next May when I am due to be on QM2.  Just Hamburg and back, but that could be my next cruise.

[Host Hattie]

Sounds good, where did you stay ?

[Camgirl]

We took advantage of the eat out to help out to have our first visit inside a cafe. We chose to have afternoon tea at a cafe in Cambridge. 

 

As it happened, we were very glad we only paid half price as it really wasn't worth more than that!! A case of a place riding on its name and not actually delivering on quality. 

 

To be honest, we struggled a bit with being inside. I would probably avoid going inside again, short term. We are much happier sticking with places where we can sit outside, even though numbers are low here.

[Camgirl]

Lanky lad, I'm glad your trip went well.

 

Hopefully, you will get to visit Cambridge sometime. It is much smaller than Oxford and the buildings every bit as beautiful.

 

Which hotel were you staying at in Southampton? We have tried many of them. Chilworth Manor is our current choice but we are always interested to try somewhere new, especially when it has been recommended.

[Colin_Cameron]

1 hour ago, Camgirl said:

To be honest, we struggled a bit with being inside.

Getting £10 off your meal is all very well. But it doesn’t make it safer.

 

We’ve used it a couple of times but only where we already knew the precautions they were taking. (my wife’s former employers)

[Blazza]

We have felt comfortable eating out in Singapore for a number of weeks now - both indoor and outdoor. Measures include tables being limited to no more than 5 people, masks must stay on until the food arrives, no live music, staff in masks and gloves, electronic menus (so your phone is a must), and increased distancing between tables. The lower density dining experience is very nice although I realise it’s not ideal from a profitability point of view. All the places we’ve visited have appeared to be thoroughly adhering to the measures - and have been well patronised (reservations are also a must). 
 

Friday saw a very small relaxation in some of the travel entry restrictions for specific countries. Even though the changes are minor, it seems to be a well considered incremental step on the long path to a degree of normality. 

 

The number of new daily cases here in the community has remained stable at an average of two cases per day over the past two weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

 

Out of 56,266 confirmed cases 53,905 patients have fully recovered from the disease. A total of 81 patients remain in hospital, with none in intensive care. A further 2,238 are isolated and recuperating in community facilities. Singapore has had 27 deaths from COVID complications while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

[majortom10]

We have taken advantage of "eat out to help out" scheme at local independent pubs and national chains and had some great meals at great price and felt very safe at all of them. As long as sensible we have to make the effort to try and get some normality back in life because if we dont there will be no pubs, restaurants or shops left open to go too. We cannot wait for a vaccine it could be a long way off or if we ever get one at all that is successful.

Edited August 23, 2020 by majortom10

[Bigmike911]

Storm Update. Sunday Noon, Hurricane Marco, is headed north to the mouth of the Mississippi River. It looks like Texas isn't even going to get any rain. Tropical storm Laura, is still over Hispaniola, and will cross over Cuba then into the Gulf. Destination still unknown. 

[Lanky Lad]

23 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Sounds good, where did you stay ?

 

21 hours ago, Camgirl said:

Lanky lad, I'm glad your trip went well.

 

Hopefully, you will get to visit Cambridge sometime. It is much smaller than Oxford and the buildings every bit as beautiful.

 

Which hotel were you staying at in Southampton? We have tried many of them. Chilworth Manor is our current choice but we are always interested to try somewhere new, especially when it has been recommended.

It was the Holiday Inn Express West (just off the M271). The room was a good size and very clean and the bed was very comfortable. Also breakfast is included. Due to Covid, we got a sausage or bacon sandwich as the hot option.  I had one of each, but I would have preferred to have been offered bacon and sausage as a third option. 

 

The best bit is that there is plenty of free parking and it is very handy for the motorway.  As my trip goes on Monday, I am going to travel down on Saturday and have Sunday to explore the area.  Maybe Portsmouth.

 

I have never been to Cambridge, so I will have to pay a visit when things get back to something like normal.

 

My first priority now is to find a job so that I can carry on cruising.

[Host Hattie]

Glad to hear things are going well in Singapore @Blazza 

Good luck with the job hunt @Lanky Lad & thanks for the hotel recommendation.

I have to actually go to work every day this week for the first time since mid-March. It might be a bit of a shock to the system !

Thanks for the weather report @Bigmike911, stay safe.

[Lanky Lad]

I have just had an email from Cunard.  No cruises now until 25 March 2021 for QE 18 April 2021 for QM2 and 16 May 2021 for QV. 

[alc13]

And QE Asia cruises canceled until 2022.  My Japan cruise hopes dashed again! 

 

We may have to request a refund and forego the 125% credit.

[Camgirl]

3 hours ago, Lanky Lad said:

I have just had an email from Cunard.  No cruises now until 25 March 2021 for QE 18 April 2021 for QM2 and 16 May 2021 for QV. 

Yes, and we only paid for ours on Sunday. We even asked the girl, tongue in cheek, when we would hear it was cancelled. Had really hoped it wouldn't be though. Oh well, better safe than sorry. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/23/2020 at 1:35 PM, Bigmike911 said:

Storm Update. Sunday Noon, Hurricane Marco, is headed north to the mouth of the Mississippi River. It looks like Texas isn't even going to get any rain. Tropical storm Laura, is still over Hispaniola, and will cross over Cuba then into the Gulf. Destination still unknown. 

Looks like Laura is gaining strength - and heading for Galveston/Houston area.  Our daughter in Houston is starting to think leaving CT all those years ago might not have been the ideal long term move.  Of course, just living in the heat/humidity May through October is challenge enough.

[Bigmike911]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Looks like Laura is gaining strength - and heading for Galveston/Houston area.  Our daughter in Houston is starting to think leaving CT all those years ago might not have been the ideal long term move.  Of course, just living in the heat/humidity May through October is challenge enough.

At this point we are on the southern side of the cone, so wind, rain and storm surge will be north east of Houston. That of course could change. I think tomorrow we will gain clarity tomorrow. Yes, the heat and humidity are a challenge, but having a long summer growing season has yielded me large trees from plantings only eight years ago. And, planting trees is my contribution to fighting global warming as trees take in CO2 and emit O. To date, I have planted fifty oak, hickory, sweet gum, pecan and pine trees, along with 20 citrus either in ground or in pots. As well as a couple of figs and plums. Watching them grow year over year gives me great joy. And Texas has been home to my family for two centuries this year. 

[alc13]

39 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

At this point we are on the southern side of the cone, so wind, rain and storm surge will be north east of Houston. That of course could change. I think tomorrow we will gain clarity tomorrow. Yes, the heat and humidity are a challenge, but having a long summer growing season has yielded me large trees from plantings only eight years ago. And, planting trees is my contribution to fighting global warming as trees take in CO2 and emit O. To date, I have planted fifty oak, hickory, sweet gum, pecan and pine trees, along with 20 citrus either in ground or in pots. As well as a couple of figs and plums. Watching them grow year over year gives me great joy. And Texas has been home to my family for two centuries this year. 

Hey BigMike, your trees sound glorious.  Would love to see a pic!

[Kynance]

The summer seems to have come to a halt and autumn feels like it is about to come crashing in with the high winds and heavy rains which have been in evidence today - a glance at the weather forecast for the next few days suggests daytime temperatures won’t be reaching above 20C. I do like the autumn though and am certainly much relieved that we seem to have seen the end of the very hot weather. 
 

I’ve posted on here about my gardening activities on and off, particularly with regard to growing agapanthus. Despite some plants failing to flower, it has generally been a good summer with some plants producing blooms for the first time in several years, so I thought I would share a few more photos. I’m especially pleased with the one with variegated leaves which I persuaded to flower after a few years in which it has done nothing - a change of over-wintering regime seems to have done the trick. 
 

 

 

 

 

[alc13]

1 hour ago, Kynance said:

I’ve posted on here about my gardening activities on and off, particularly with regard to growing agapanthus. Despite some plants failing to flower, it has generally been a good summer with some plants producing blooms for the first time in several years, so I thought I would share a few more photos. I’m especially pleased with the one with variegated leaves which I persuaded to flower after a few years in which it has done nothing - a change of over-wintering regime seems to have done the trick.

 

Gorgeous!  Those colors...  what is your new over-wintering trick?  It certainly seems to have worked.

 

Our growing season is coming to an end here, too.  We've had hot weather and not enough rain, so things are looking a bit tired.  Hand watering just isn't enough.  We're thinking about installing some irrigation, since dry summers appear to be the norm now.  And/or start planting heat and drought tolerant plants.  It will be like being back in California.

 

My poor former state is being socked by excessive heat, wildfires, and now lightning storms.  So-called "fire season" typically happens in October, so that is still ahead of them.  What a world we live in, and what a year. 

[navybankerteacher]

Woke up at two this morning - the temperature had dropped from yesterday’s 90 to 55 - the humidity was gone.  Now brilliant sun and 75 — but heat and humidity due to return tomorrow so we will have to seal up and put the A/C back on.  I did get my hair cut yesterday - holding my mask on by hand as the undergrowth on the sides got lopped off.  I think I lost about 5 pounds.

 

This year is not as much fun as earlier ones.

[naturelovergirl]

All is fine here in Central Florida besides being hot as hades! 

 

We are watching the storm tracker for Hurricane Laura since we do have work in Tennessee at the end of the week... the planned route of the storm, as of now, includes a turn North and then East. It should be a tropical depression by then, but that can wreak some havoc too. Hopefully, we just get wet.

(It would have to be “Murphy’s Law” that the hurricane did not come to FL- but we are heading where it will be inland. Way to go, us!)

 

Best to all of you who are affected by the brunt of the storm.