Messages

King Charles III delivering his Christmas message today

You decide. Choose Message 1 or Message 2.

Message 1

A life on the ocean wave
A home on the rolling deep
Where the scatter'd waters rave
And the winds reveal their keep
Like an eagle cag'd I pine
On this dull unchanging shore
Oh give me the flashing brine
The spray and the tempest's roar

A life on the ocean wave
A home on the rolling deep
Where the scatter'd waters rave
And the winds reveal their keep
The winds! The winds! The winds their revels keep
The winds! The winds! The winds their revels keep

Now thirty hours out of Cape Town. The voyaging bloggers have been getting on famously and the weather - like the ocean deep - remains benign. We played quoits on deck this afternoon before tucking into a traditional Christmas dinner - with roasted turkey and all the trimmings. Thank you Chef Oliver!

Quietly, I think we are all pining for our loved ones and the Christmas Days that we have become accustomed to. I found Jennifer weeping in our cabin saying she missed her husband Gregg, her two faithful hounds and her infamous parrot, Marco. In situations like this I usually find that a warm embrace is all that is needed.

Onwards to Tristan and Edinburgh of the Seven Seas!

_______________________________________________

Message 2

I woke far too early and tried to get back to sleep with the aid of Radio 4 but it didn't work. For an hour, I fooled myself into thinking I could get back inside sleep's cosy cottage. There was Christmas music and readings. 

The Christmas Eve takeaway curry was probably the reason my sleep was foreshortened. I was supposed to pick up our order at 8pm but in the event I had to wait for forty five extra minutes. There were other customers in the same predicament. This unexpected wait meant that my family were not sitting down to eat until after 9pm.

I felt jaded today. We arrived at Frances and Stew's house at just after ten this morning. Soon we were drinking bucks fizz and eating toasted bagels with cream cheese and thin slices of smoked salmon.

As the morning wore on, I found myself upstairs assembling an IKEA drawing board for Phoebe. Blackboard one side and whiteboard on the other. Why can't IKEA assemble such products themselves? And if you are going to oblige customers to assemble things, please make sure the instructions are clear and foolproof.

Stew was the head chef. He had bought a massive turkey which was roasted for five hours and there were many trimmings including three different types of stuffing, sprouts, carrots, cranberry sauce and Yorkshire puddings. Shirley had made a delicious vegan Christmas pudding which was begun six weeks ago - so rich, dark and fruity.  We poured some rum over it and  Stew lit it. As blue flames licked around it, Phoebe said, "Be careful Daddy! You will set the house on fire!"

Shirley was concerned that the conflagration might impair the taste but in the event, all was fine.

Later, we watched an amazing mountain climbing film on Sky TV  called "The Devil's Climb". Set in Alaska it was about conquering the last unclimbed mountain of any significance in North America. Some of the footage was awesome.

Later still we all played a card game called "Codenames" which was quite easy to get the hang of and pretty good fun too. Stew's parents were also in attendance throughout the day. They are good people.

And it was very nice day - a family coming together, feasting and comfortable in each other's company. A small child and two babies. Food on the table, money in the bank and no one at death's door. Relish it while you can - I thought to myself - because there's no guarantee that all will be the same twelve months from now. Here's a toast to Christmas 2024! (Sound of clinking glasses) Cheers!