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Monday April 18, 2022

The Internet is super spotty tonight so here are the highlights from last night and today:

The entertainment last night was a fellow (the name escapes me and I can’t find the program) who played several instruments (not all at once) and was an amazing showman. He started off on the marimbas (I would have called the instrument a giant xylophone) and played several well-known pieces, such as “Flight of the Bumblebees” and some Bavarian beer hall tunes. Then he switched to this funny small instrument he called an electric Hawaiian guitar? He played a beautiful melody that I recognized from the 50s but can’t remember the name (I’m not doing too well on the informational side, am I?) It’s something like “Slow Slide”—he said it was the first Hawaiian melody that made it to the pop charts back in the 50s. Then he switched to the Romanian pan pipes and played a tune popularized by Georg Zamphir (Remember him? I do.)  It’s called “The Lonely Shepherd”—beautifully haunting. 

Then he went on the drums and did a duet with the Queen Mary orchestra’s drummer that was toe tapping. A short piece on a little horn. Another piece on a saxophone. And then he ended his 45-minute set with Rod Stewart’s “I Am Sailing” on the pan pipes again. It was a wonderful show!

Today we went to a lecture by a retired Rutgers professor on English stately homes’ architecture that was fascinating, a Queen’s Counsel barrister gave an overview of how barristers become barristers in England and Wales (Scotland is different, he said he wouldn’t cover that) and what’s happening with “the law” right now. Interesting but 45 minutes left more questions than answers. Tomorrow his lecture will be on how common law evolved. The Rutgers professor will be speaking about Hogarth—R isn’t interested in Hogarth, too earthy for him, but I am because I studied him in one of my courses for my BA way, way back when. 

And then, after lunch, I went to see a show on Cunard’s history, a combination of four of the entertainment crew describing various events in its history with photo montages on the screen behind them and a guitarist and pianist playing music from the eras. Much more interesting than I am making it sound.

I read for the rest of the afternoon, we then had dinner up at the buffet restaurant. Tonight was another one of those dress-up Gala evenings in the main restaurant that I would have enjoyed going to in the days when Richard was interested too. Now it’s not fun to go solo. Still, it’s been another wonderful day, I did my exercise in on the treadmill, chatted with several folks here and there, enjoyed listening to music all over the ship (there’s ALWAYS music!) 

Just three photos—it’s very slow to upload photos. The first is the Verrazano Bridge that the ship has to pass under to leave New York. Not a lot of distance between the stacks and the bridge, the ship has to wait for just the right tide level to leave. The second photo is of the ship’s lobby; I took the photo from the mezzanine above. And the third, well, the third is of my treadmill this morning :)







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