Our Trip To The Caribbean 2018

Trip to Caribbean June 2018

Well folks its been a long time since I lasted posted, my apologies for this, so trying to get this done whilst still a recent memory. I must apologize if it seems a little dry, but its already taken ages to write,I should of asked Jane to check it before posting but felt it would be okay. Instead I am adding a little more detail to help it as a read, plus very important is that Janes company made so much of it as fun and her enthusiasm and personality left me with some lovely memories but I felt some were personal and others sadly given I am more of a Mr Grump these days make it hard to express myself sometimes lol, so lets help after this its a more fun read

After disposing of my caravan I decided would have a good holiday this year and found a cruise in The Caribbean, the price seemed reasonable and included 3 nights in Barbados so I could get away from cold damp UK and spend birthday in a beautiful setting, my friend Jane was eager to go with me as she had never been on a cruise or travelled to the Caribbean before.
Usually I do lots of research on this sort of holiday but as I had been on a cruise before to the same places saw no issues, until I spoke to friends who are frequent cruisers.

The first question was why was I flying from Gatwick when there were flights locally, uuum first mistake and as the tale unfolds how I have regretted not investigated this option. Then they informed me that in actual fact there is little of interest in Barbados rather is just a popular port for cruises, I did inform them that we were staying in a hotel just across from a beach so they said that sounded ok. They had said to beware of cruises from American ports full of US citizens as they are quite different to the English ones, so I said, it did not seem an issue (funny how our words come back to us at time)

Well we had our dollars, all the paperwork, cases packed, car checked over, hotel with car parking in Gatwick sorted out, had checked no US visa required, had checked in for flight and cruise in advance and taxis arranged in Barbados what could go wrong, also took my new microphone and receiver to assist with my hearing, plus had asked for assistance at airports due to poor mobility.
Trip to Gatwick went well, nice hotel and room, had very pleasant meal to celebrate good sleep, shuttle to airport on time so off we set. At this point maybe I should mention how excited Jane was that at long last she going to go to the Caribbean, No problems at airport or boarding plane, seats were a little close together so we were due to arrive at 5pm their time. Initially all was well, but we all know that situation where child is sat behind us and for reasons I still do not understand decides to push feet into seat in front and parents seem oblivious to this, well that’s what happened to me, I did consider asking parents if they would like to swap seats with me, but resisted the temptation. Eventually they seemed to settle so watched a couple of films and had a doze.

On arrival at Barbados, was quickly sorted out through immigration, off to taxi and hotel, weather much as home but more humid, hotel seemed pleasant staff friendly, room ok, only issue was their restaurant was closed, we had been looking forward to not have to go out rather to just sunbath and read with the odd walk. So it was a shame to have to go to supermarket first to obtain some food and fruit and drinks. But the area was sunny, the people in cars stopped so we could cross the road, the beach was lovely and white, with beautiful views. I found despite my hearing issues in the evening it seemed noisy even with hearing aids out, it took a couple of days to realize we were near to a busy main road and bus stop, but decided to ignore it and just relax, We went to the beach a few times in a little bay which was pleasant, but the slope was quite steep so we did not venture in other than Jane to have a paddle. The hotel provided a breakfast that was ok in the open by the swimming pool, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, we had some time sunbathing there.
The following day, it was very windy and poured down all day, so apart from a brief walk we stayed in, the third day was my birthday and we had brought cards and presents with us, we decided to go to local nice restaurant to celebrate that evening, but as a contrast went to other beach area to sample local food, the beach was a beautiful white one spoilt only by rather odd looking seaweed that affected the view. That night we dressed up and the meal was very good in a beautiful setting with the moon shining down as we were sat outside, only problem was the flying insects attracted by the light for a while. we both really enjoyed this first extra special time, one of the best birthdays I have had. We had an early night in anticipation of the start of our holiday the next day on the ship.

Woke up, had breakfast, finished packing, then relaxed by the pool until taxi arrived,what a much better start to a holiday than from our local airport, it was short drive to port and the ship, which was huge must have been something like a quarter of a mile long, with about 15 decks. We quickly boarded, had our photos taken for ID cards that we were to use to purchase anything on board the ship. Then went to immigration, to have bad news, seemed despite my checking that we needed an American Visa otherwise could not stay on the ship, obviously the ship was used to this, so they assisted us to apply for this on their computers, luckily all went well and we went off to our cabin.

The cabin was an inside one, but with enough space and a bathroom, there were two bottles of water, which we thought was a nice touch apart from the fact they were over 3 dollars each and the tap water was not drinkable, but it was still great to be unpacking on board ship with a cruise in front of us, we went to the self service dining room for something to eat, there was a range of choices of food but it was aimed at an American appetite, luckily I can cope with this, the range of free soft drinks were very limited and rather odd tasting, there was little selection of salads or good eating, but looking at the size of some of the other people and how much they put on their plates, I did worry about the effects on their health.

In the evening there was an option to eat in the dining room more formally, with waiter service, the choice and quality of food was good as was the service plus at certain times in the night, the waiters stopped serving and treated us to a dance, it made the time better, it was lovely that Jane and I could be dressed up and enjoy delicious food well cooked and presented. We decided to see the show. I am not sure quite what I expected but definitely not what we got. The room was huge, but had lots of pillar so hard to get a good view of the stage in many places, the entertainment manager came on, I struggled to hear him both due to his accent but because of how fast he spoke. Then the music started it was deafening and nothing like the sort of entertainment I would of hoped for. but the audience did. At the end I went to guest services and explained that I had hearing loss so they were very good and loaned me for the duration equipment to assist. Over the period on the ship we did find small areas that were quiet such as the library and piano bar, plus the bedrooms, but for the rest there seemed to be most of the time pounding music throughout the ship.I think its fair to say if I did not have my problems it would of sounded much better Jane seemed happy with the sound.

On return to the room it was a pleasant surprise to have a welcome card from our steward, plus a visitor namely an animal made out of towels sat on the bed, it made a good impression and was a lovely end to our first day. We had decided not to have Wi Fi and instead spent our time in the room and at times on deck reading the magazines and the novel I completed whilst away, there was also no service on our mobile phones, not sure if that was good or bad thing. But just to be able to relax was such a change from normal life

The next day we went down to self service restaurant for breakfast, the place was packed and the queues were long, think people were making sure they got their moneys worth, the only drink I found I could cope with was green tea which was very refreshing, but again think it was me and a health issue I have at present, Jane was happy with the range of food and drinks. I did feel sorry for the staff who had to keep clearing up the mess left and the food left on the plates by other people, but the staff were always very pleasant and helpful.

Today we were in St Lucia, the previous night we had looked at the tours run by the ship, due to my health issues some I would of liked to try were not available and the others seemed to be full, so we disembarked the ship eventually as I think many of the other 1000 or so others also decided to do. It was more than a little chaotic, with tour company and taxi drivers trying to get us to join them, instead we noticed there was a ferry to the town so had a relaxing trip there, we walked along the beach and had a paddle and a walk round the town, Jane said how nice relaxing and beautiful it was and it would be lovely to of had more time there, in the end we went back to the ship, more food, then a rest for me on the sun loungers and a swim for Jane, only issue was the pounding music, then back to the cabin for peace and quiet, that evening was a formal night for dressing up, so down we went in our finery, were quite surprised how many others had not made the effort, again food and service were excellent. After we tried the show, it was a mystery murder event, but all really odd, then good old BINGO, so we left and wandered round the ship hand in hand, both indoors and on the decks, it was a pleasant evening on deck, then back to the cabin and yet another different towel animal to greet us. I forgot to say each evening they also left a leaflet with what was happening the following day, so an interesting read but sadly most things did not appeal to us.

Today was the 21st and we had booked a tour round St Kitts, so we decided to try the waiter service in the dining room first, they had a huge menu with lots and lots of choices, but in what to us was an odd order, we eventually worked out what we wanted and to be served in peace and quiet was a pleasant change. We both really enjoyed the meal which was a good start to the day.
We had to meet in the theatre for our trip which was a road and rail exploration, then off we went to disembark and onto our coach, the information was interesting and we saw the beautiful countryside that was still recovering from the hurricanes last year, all the people seemed so positive and enthusiastic about life, then onto the train, it was a narrow gauge train, we were served a range of cold drinks as the guide explained about the island but also the effects of the hurricanes last year, it was a gentle trip through the countryside with beautiful views, then after another trip on the bus back to the ship for our dinner, what a shame the dining room was not open as today it seemed particularly busy and noisy with long waits for food and problems finding somewhere to sit,in the self service restaurant, then off for a lie on the sun loungers and later a swim for Jane, before retiring to the cabin for a cooling down and rest before our evening meal.

We had found out that at the evening meal we could order “Sides” which was nice to know as the food was good but not a lot of, so this time we tried and it seemed a normal thing for lots of the guests, I think it was the night we shared a table as the queue to get in was quite long, it seemed quite noisy for me, so I explained to the people at the table my poor hearing and Jane and they talked to each other. it Then off for a wander round the ship and to explore a little more before retiring to the cabin for a read and sleep ( I must say the bed was amongst the best I had ever slept on ) and yet another towel animal to greet us back.

I must say at this point all the staff were pleasant and helpful all over the ship despite some of the behaviour of a small number of passengers throughout the cruise

We were up early for breakfast before our trip round St Maarten, which is a mixture of French and Dutch, on the trip there were lots of photo opportunities and interesting information from our driver with stunning views of the island from lots of points of interest, a good day out again. On return we had another relaxing afternoon and a rest on the sunbeds, before going back to our room and later getting dressed up for the evening meal. At the lifts we got chatting to a family and in the queue whist waiting for a table they asked if we would like to join them, they were pleasant and it made the evening meal different for all of us I feel mixing with others enjoying good food and company.I think it was this evening we found the piano bar where we could listen to some of the standard= tunes in a pleasant atmosphere, it felt quite romantic, then the anticipation of what animal would be greeting us this evening

Well now the problems began, today we visited San Juan which is an American colony, so the day before we had paperwork from the ship, to explain that everybody had to go through immigration and passport control then leave the ship and that we were not let back on for a further 2 hours. We thought not a problem we will go on a trip, sadly as this port was the official one for the start of the cruise there were only a couple of short ones available.
So we decided to have a look round the port, when we had been processed and left the ship we went for a walk through the port then the promenade, another problem was that it was overcast and there were high winds, we walked for a while found the local tourist office, they provided us with a map and the advice was to get a taxi to the beach and back. We decided to wander back along the beach for a while and in the end got fed up had a drink then back to the ship, it was only later that on the ship we could see if directed well we could of walked through the town to the beach, not sure given the weather if we would benefited from it, so joined others in the buffet restaurant yet again, then a sunbath as sun had now come out, still very loud music but as ship fairly empty found place a little quieter. For the evening there were many more people going down to dinner, but service still quite good, we shared the table with a family problem was due to my poor hearing I struggled to join in.

Next day was St Thomas again up for breakfast, not really sure at present about what we did here other than a trip on the ferry to the beach, which was very pleasant followed by a walk and back on the ferry, note to self must ask Jane for more information, then again day followed the same sort of path as others

Last port of call before final destination was Antigua, we had booked a trip with a bus then beach for 3 hours, all went well with this and finally I ventured into the crystal clear water for a swim then a sunbath on a beautiful white beach, Jane spent a lot of the time enjoying swimming luckily we had an umbrella as it was very hot. there beaches in this area were all beautiful, it would be nice to come back for a holiday here I felt. Afterwards yet again a trip back to the ship, lots more food, rest and sunbathing. This evening was a formal night so we both dressed up and had a very pleasant meal, we went down to the theatre to see the show which was okay but deafening, I thought it would be nice to go up on deck and take some photos, problem was the ship was sailing at 15 knots and we found out later there was a 25 MPH wind, so no relaxing photos to see, but still was fun, so back to the cabin, our last animal visitor, I finished my novel off then went to bed so would be fit for trip home the following day, Oh forgot to say had to have cases packed ready to be collected early the following morning.

Today we were up early, decided to go down to dining room for breakfast, only problem the dining room was not open so back to buffet, when finished we went to immigration and passport control, give card with number on and told to come back later, did this quickly sorted, then had to return to cabin to collect our cabin luggage etc as had to be out for 9.30 so went and found somewhere quiet to sit for a while, last snacks, then left the ship. Collected luggage and went by taxi to airport at 12pm. We travelled through centre and realised there was little different than back home just warmer and sunnier.

At airport went to Virgin desk, all was going well until I asked about an upgrade as it was a night flight and more legroom would make it better, man said yes and there was a row of four seats available so we could have two seats together the price he quoted was okay, he then asked for my passport again, unfortunately he had not returned it, but everyone decided I had put it away somewhere, after some delay they found he had dropped it on the floor. No mention of upgrade and we were given boarding cards and set off with me in wheelchair. When we got to the boarding gate I realized he had not changed the seats, so Jane mentioned to member of staff he came over and explained there had been a mistake and it was not possible to sort out at the check in desk, they would now have to wait until final boarding to see what could be done, well the good news was it was sorted and because they had caused issues it was at no cost

The flight was okay, the extra room made a difference and this time no children behind, I watched a couple of films had short bursts of sleep, interspaced with staff providing drinks and food. We arrived on time, were provided with transport by the airport to get us through immigration etc, then collected luggage and headed for the exit and to ring our shuttle service.
Sadly there was some sort of issue so got a taxi instead back to hotel and to collect my car. Jane was not well so I ended up driving back home. We had got to the hotel at 8 30 and the driver said to wait until after 9am when the M25 traffic would of abated. By the time I had refuelled the car it was time to set off, luckily I had downloaded a Tomtom app to my phone, which therefore warned me there was an hours delay on the M25 and redirected us down back roads for some miles. We stopped at the first service area and had a McDonalds breakfast before setting off again. There were further delays so in the end it took six hours to get home
I dropped Jane off home, she was now feeling a little better and came home, first task was to empty the case and start on washing, I was tired out but could not sleep, it has taken a few days to get back to some sort of normality, a mixed blessing is that the temperature here is very high in the 20s, so typically British now complaining is to hot and we could do with some rain to cool everything down.
Now I have had time to think about the holiday, there is some advice to help others considering this sort of trip. To start off with
Do lots of research on which cruise line suits your needs, I presumed they were all pretty much the same but found that the Celebrity cruises and I presume others are geared to the American market, so for me they were to loud, the food for most of the day was not to my taste, the activities also were not to my taste, nothing wrong with the cruise but was me and my needs. Maybe a smaller ship that caters for the British is better for me.
Make sure how you want to get to the cruise, I chose the wrong airport so it meant lots more travelling before I started. Think about what grade of seat, as these are long flights.
Check if dealing with the cruise line is better than a broker to make easier to create the links and value for money, also compare different packages and dates.
Make sure about the time of the year you are going, we went when it was windy and raining at times, also avoid the hurricane season
Do you want to sail to your destination and fly home or the reverse, or fly both ways
Research where the ship starts its cruise, we chose the wrong port so therefore had to go through immigration twice and wasted at least one day
Look at the various ports, are they places you want to go to, would having some rest on the ship be helpful certain days
Do you want a smaller ship or boat, what sort of price do you want to pay
Well I have not been put off the concept of going on another cruise but think the next will be a totally different one to the Norwegian Fjords maybe next year

Thanks for taking the time to read this and that you have enjoyed it

Gordon Cormack 1947 to 2017

I first met Gordon at secondary school, I am not sure what brought us together as friends, yes we were in the same class but not similar apart from the fact that as I saw it we were not the same as lots of others,  I was the token kid with no uniform, he had what looked like scarring on his head, I was tall and thin whilst he was short and stocky.
I had had a previous best friend who sadly died in a road traffic accident, but few others in my class or at the school. Maybe it was just one of those things. All these years on its hard to rember those sorts of details.
In the second year at school we had to decide our options for the rest of our time, regarding which of range of classes we wanted to study and which to drop.

Sadly for me there was nobody at home to advise, so I chose ones I was interested in rather than those that may of helped when I left school. Previously after a meeting on a train I had decided I wanted to be a chef, so the unusual choice of subject for me instead of woodwork or metalwork,  was domestic science, where I could learn to cook. For reasons I never discovered Gordon went for the same choice and eventually the school actually agreed to this, we were only the second set of boys to of ever done it.
For many lads who were more physically mature than me, the prospect of being in a class with twenty girls would of made them very happy, but for me and at the time I thought Gordon,  it was all about the cooking, it was only fairly recently that I discovered that he also was into girls, just did not have that much success at school.
We continued to mix at school but some subjects we went along different paths, also met outside school usually at his home as it was near rather than mine that was some distance away. As time went on we saw less of each other at school ad I became one of the milk and ink monitors and helped either preparing for assembly each morning or other projects such as the school play or concerts with another boy Brian Bacon.

When we left school we continued to meet as friends but I became more interested in motorbikes and acquired another set of friends as well, I think I was seventeen or so when we had some sort of fallout, I cannot remember after all this time what it was but stopped meeting, plus I was now working strange hours at the tenpin bowl,  so we lost contact.

Over the years at times I did wonder what had happened to him, but made no effort to find him nor him me as far as I was aware and in time he went out of my mind. It was only many years later when the website Friends Reunited was created with the facility to search for former school friends that my interest in finding him again reopened. I joined it and went on there regularly and found a whole list of people I knew but no Gordon.  Eventually I noticed there had been a reunion that I missed so I asked if anyone had seen him. One person wrote back saying yrs he was there and he would passed on a message to say I was trying to get in touch an provide my details.  Sadly nothing came of this.

Time passed and occasionally I would wonder what had happened to him and others but I made no effort to search them out. Then out of the blue one day at the charity I worked for Gordons name came up on an e mail at the charity wanting to find out about training on a placement with our counselling team. I passed the request on but also e mailed back, sadly I got no response and neither did he come to work there.
Some months later I answered the phone at work and this voice announced he was Gordon,  I told him who I was and suggested we could meet up, his response was that he was to busy do that was the end of that, so I put it down to experience and decided to forget about it all.

Years passed then out of the blue in 2015, the contact person for our support group, informed me that someone wad trying to make contact with me, it turns out it was Gordon, I e mailed him and we arranged to meet in Manchester at The Moon Under The Water a pub restaurant, it was only days before we were to meet it occurred to me that we were both forty years older so maybe we would not recognise each other. So hr said he would be wearing a red anorak type coat and have a copy of a book, the name escapes me for now but that was quite serious, I on the other hand would have mt duck carrier bag.

On the day I was unsure how it would go so decided to time limit the meeting if needed and leave it, I was there early so wandered about the place not really sure who I was looking for. Eventually though I realised this short squat bearded person was he do we found a table ordered drinks and started to catch up regarding the last forty odd years.

I know I am far to open but also a chatterbox, so maybe that was part of why he learnt a lot about me whereas he was much more guarded about what had happened to him over the years. The time quickly passed and we agreed to meet again in the future.

and thats what happened ove the following months we met every so often at various venues for a chat and a meal.

One of the things he said was that he was exploring alternative religions, in particular Buddhism and alternative therapies
towards the end of last year he asked if I was willing to assist him with some training in reflexology as he was looking for people with illness or disability to work with. I was quite happy to give it a try so we did some work in preparation for this and the first session was to be at the start of this year. Unfortunately on the day I had a virus so we cancelled and arranged to meet the following week, on the day he did not arrive which was quite unusual for him so I texted him to find out if he was delayed and later tried e mailing him as he did not have a landline, but got no response. I did wonder if he had had an accident or was himself ill and I would hear from him soon. I tried again about a week to 10 days later, but again no answer.

Finally one day I got a phone call from his tutor Alison to inform me he had died at home in his flat, they were not sure when or why, a neighbour had reported this, so she was ringing round to inform people she was aware of, at that time there was to be a post mortem so no date for the funeral. His brother in law was sorting everything out and hopefully he would be in touch. A few days later whilst having a break at the caravan, I noticed a missed call from Gordon and a voice mail, I checked and it was the brother in law, asking for me to contact him. Due to poor reception I texted him back to say I would ring on return home, which I did, he had little more information but did say he would tell me more when he knew. At the time it felt very odd that he had used Gordons phone but at least we would recognise the number I suppose.

I think it was a couple of weeks later before he got back in touch to inform me of the date location and time of the funeral so I said I would see him there, I also texted Alison to see if we could meet up for a chat. On the day I did worry that few people would be there as he was such a private person, so was pleasantly surprised when the church was quite full, it was a humanist funeral so no hymns or usual process. I spoke briefly to the BIL who informed me it was a brain tumour Gordon had died of, afterwards Alison had not made herself known so I texted her, but got no response, I therefore made my way home, a text arrived from her to say they were all going to the pub, but I said was so late and if she made contact maybe we could meet up somewhere, I still have not heard from her.

I still do not know why he made contact after all these years or what he did with his life, it also seems sad that he died alone and was presumably there for days before being found, but there will never be any answers to this for me. The brother in law did not seem to want to chat and in reality what did we have to talk about, his sisters are still alive but I never knew them that well all that time ago.
It has all made me think about my life and things I want to do whilst I can, but also what can sound rather morbid to arrange what I would like to happen as and when I die to me and the process.
Its a shame really as I have already said there were so many questions I would of loved to know the answer to from him, but now its to late.

A Strange Year 2016

Good morning to you all, I just thought I would give an update on last year, and how I feel about it.

Well a good start sadly is my health, its been a roller coaster of ups and downs with a lot of money spent on physio, after the diagnosis of asthma I felt at least being treated would improve my health, but then to find out months later after taking my inhalers, that in actual fact I did not have the condition, but had serious issues with my heart and arteries, which luckily were eventually diagnosed and now treated. I am trying to do the things that will maintain my health but find it hard to dedicate the time and effort to exercise and maintain a proper diet, My back has really been an issue over the last 12 months and has required a lot of manipulation by physios to improve it to a tolerable state. I also saw a pain relief specialist but he said due to blood thinning medication for my heart, that he could not do anything other than provide medication, I prefer not to be doped up so put up with things as they are for now. More annoying is an area on my ankles that are painful and so far not responding to treatment, plus my legs these days seem to be very dry all the time if I dont use a moisturising cream.
The biggest effect on life this year has been problems with my hearing despite hearing aids. I changed from one hospital to another as I felt my local one was not listening to what I was saying, there seems to of been some improvement, plus now I am learning of other ways to make sure I can communicate. Recently I have taken up lip reading but not sure how effective that will be, I have finally acquired a phone that helps me to hear people more clearly, but when possible I use e mail to communicate a lot of the time, Sadly I have cut back on joining in groups due to problems being able to hear, in more than one to one situations

This year has been very exciting in terms of finding my family, and that there is a whole set of other relatives out there, plus I have found out a little more about my mother and grandfather on my fathers side. This started with a short message from someone who was creating their family tree on my mothers side, he had seen something at a cemetery about my grandfather, that I had never been aware of, then I found some more information about him, I really must go to the cemetery soon to check it out. He led to more relatives who now live in USA and I have managed to speak to, plus a relative of my mothers who I met over the Christmas period and I am hoping to catch up with again in the new year, who knows how many more there are out there

It has been great to have the caravan and to spend time there in pleasant surroundings as and when I want to, this is even better as at present I am struggling with going abroad due to my health and all the barriers these days with my mobility and security etc at airports. Plus have met some pleasant people on the site, maybe this year as health improves I will be getting there more often and explore further. For many years I had intended returning to a resort in Austria I first went as a child to back in the 1960s and last 10 years ago. I had hoped to go there in 2017, but sadly now find the festival of choirs that I was looking forward to no longer takes place so at present my feeling is that maybe dont return and stick with the happy memories from the past

This year is a special birthday and I hoped like the last one it would be easy to arrange, unfortunately the venue I had used previously has been demolished as has the local civic hall and I am struggling to find a suitable venue at present as I would like to invite friends with mobility issues so need ground floor access also am thinking of making it a theme on the forties so need somewhere that lends to this. I had hoped to sort out a date before Christmas but this has not happened, friends have suggested that I have a smaller simpler event but I am not really interested in that, at least at this time

Last year one of my grandchildren had a little boy who is so much fun I feel very proud and my other grand daughter has announced her wedding plans for two years time, so now have something else to look forward to

So life is still throwing up all sorts of surprises, last year one of my schoolboy friends made contact and we are now meeting on a regular basis, I wonder what else this year will bring

Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy it