Jesse Simon Gordon

who also calls himself William Baekeland and claims to be an English aristocrat,heir to a billion £ fortune, is a Walter Mitty character, who had fooled the sharpest minds three times his age. The master criminal in the making, when he was  22  he claimed he had studied in North Korea,[ NORTH KOREA,this should have rang the bells!], Switzerland, Monaco,visited 154 countries, piloted planes, trains, automobiles, all this by the age of 22, 22, for cry now loud! And the wealthy travellers from all over the world believed every single word of his and handed him what comes to half a million £ to organize extreme travel tours for them.That they will never see a penny of their money they have come to terms with.That they allowed this baby-faced conman to rip them off is embarrassment they will be digesting and living down for a long time yet. How could they have been so gullible? But then some people have more money than sense.

I must be a glutton for punishment.

Have cruised on Ventura three times in as many years. I remember clearly how dirty the area around the outside pool was when on board the very first time,stale filthy water not draining off from the guttering,rubbish not swept,I commented on it to a member of staff,he looked at me blankly and walked away.I had this overwhelming sense of grubbiness all around, yet I,a stickler for hygiene, still managed to have a lovely time,I just had to close my eyes to a lot of shortcomings. The second time on board last year in June I had a cabin on the top floor, kind of askew,the whole side of the ship spread ahead of me. I loved it.The ship was not any cleaner, the attitude of the staff any more eager,but yet again I had a lovely time. Now I am on board for the third time!Yep,a glutton for punishment,me!There was dust around my two TV sets on 21 April,today there is quite a sediment.I wiped all the drawers and shelves I wanted to use,they were dirty.The wardrobe mirror had nasty finger marks on.The bed in my superior deluxe cabin is the worst I have slept on,two single beds pushed together. Towels are harsh but the large ones are very large and that is how I like them. There is a shower fitting in the bath tub and here is where the magic happens - water is always hot and the flow powerful,I love to feel it on my back and alternate hot and cold. The carpet in the stateroom seems to be new,the fluff is coming off as I walk. The tables up and down the ship in all the dining venues are never clean,even now as I write am looking at the crumbs I had brushed to one side. The overwhelming sense of grubbiness around me prevails as it had the last year and the year before that. Yet in spite of everything I have had a lovely time and being a glutton for punishment am very likely going to be back again! Because Ventura offers a lot to make me happy,good food and decent entertainment.

La Coruna,you were so spick and span yesterday,you almost took my breath away.

No smell of urine in the port,no condoms, no cigarette butts covering the pavement next to a restaurant I pass on the way to Calle Real.You have so much going for you and the best thing of all is your patisserie La Gran Atilla on Rua Riego De Agua. I only discovered this little treasure about three years ago and now every time I come to La Coruna, I go there for the best coffee in town and the as light as a feather carrot cake. The baker is a genius, a slight sprinkling of sugar all over the top gives crunchiness to this exquisite deliciousness. I do not go on bus tours any longer,as have seen almost everything there is to see in town and its surroundings. Have been there many times, the first time in December 2010, the last time in December 2017,twice - when returning from the South America/Caribbean cruise on Columbus and again at Christmas on the Queen Victoria. The weather was not on our side yesterday,it rained all morning,it is very wet in this part of Spain and my plans for the day went out of the window.Wanted to walk to the Torre de Hercules lighthouse [I did see it from a distance during my first tour of the town,but wanted to go inside, it was built in the second century A.D. and it is believed to be the only working Roman lighthouse],but it was cloudy all afternoon,too, and I thought it best to make myself busy near the ship,so after my visit to the patisserie I popped in some shops. They have Bimba and Lola boutique in town,founded, like Zara, in Spain,but much more expensive.I bought a suede pair of shoes there,have been looking for something black,simple and smart on a low heel for a long time now and finally have walked out of a shop with it.