The most wonderful Christmas Eve 2014,on the Queen Victoria,The Captain sings,

and his deputy,and other members of the crew, and various staff members.And I sing, too.Quietly.Why quietly, you may ask.Well, let me answer this way:I dance as if I had three left feet.Take one foot off and you get a pretty good idea how I sing.We were given an absolutely splendid list of Christmas carols,I knew the melody of most of them ,but not the words.Next to me a gentleman singing his heart out to the embarrassment of this wife.I said to her - you can"t keep a good man quiet".They got the joke and laughed heartily.Mince pies were being handed out but none were left for me.Oh, how I would like to enjoy a lovely little mince pie!I said to the lady who stood on the other side of me-I only came on this cruise for the mince pies.Luckily for me,she also got the joke. Many times people do not understand my sense of humour and I get some funny looks. After the singalong there was a concert in The Royal Theater by two singers whose name I do not remember, nor do I remember their stage name.I expected very little from the performance, but got a lot. They are nice boys with surprisingly good voices,I hope I will hear them sing many times yet.Because once on the cruise ship circuit, they never get off it, even though many performers are good enough to make it in the big bad world, but often the world is just too big to make it big, so big on a ship can be just as big as small in the big world. Back in my cabin a wonderful surprise awaited me-a Wedgwood cup,compliments of Cunard.It was the most unexpected gesture,quite touching.I hope the three employees will be just as pleased to receive my present tomorrow.This Christmas is the first Christmas I am spending on a ship and I know not the last.Couple sitting at the table next to mine at dinner are planning to spend next Christmas on Queen Mary.I hope nothing will come into it,they are lovely people.Lets call them Malcolm and Pamela.He a small, wiry man,very thin with short spiky hair,looks good 60 but may be late 40, if he had spent his life working outdoor, a builder perhaps, or a scaffolder.Talks a lot and likes to hear his own loud voice,I smiled to myself when he said to the waiter-chocolate mousse? We never had it on the Queen Mary.He must have been on a different QM to me, because mousse is a staple pudding on all cruise ships and the QM is no exception! And no ship had more of them than The Independence and now the QV. People who love this sloppy pudding must be in their element. Pamela matches Malcolm to perfection,she answers just as loudly, flashing her knife about with some vigor in the most endearing way.They are perfectly turned out every evening.I have taken to them, as I have not taken to a stranger. The breaking point was when Malcolm declared himself to be an expert on cappuccino.And to his credit, the waiter makes him one no man would find a fault with - the froth sitting proudly, then Malc starts stirring the coffee, until some of the milk flies on his beautifully presented suit.It happens every evening.He jumps up, wipes himself with a serviette,sits down again,his wife nattering away.They are lovely,made for each other,salt of the earth,the backbone of the country.If only England had more people like them, every ship would be a happier place.Because I have said it before and I will say it again - there is no buffoon like an English buffoon. And every ship has them aplenty.