Over 60 ... And Getting Younger: November 12, 2012

Written by Stanley Greenberg Friday, 16 November 2012 00:00

Mad Dogs And Englishman, Part II

Our cruise ship, the Grand Princess, resumed the voyage to Valletta, Malta, two days at sea away. My brothers-in-law and I found a hot tub and met the most interesting British people who joined us in the tub.

One gentleman was from the British Isle of Guernsey. He said that his island was captured by the Nazis during World War II. The residents of the island therefore experienced a period of no food and cruel Nazi rule. The people were forced to eat all their famous Guernsey cows. Guernsey is closer to France than it is to England. The people from Guernsey still have not forgiven Winston Churchill and the English for letting them suffer during the war.

The food on board the ship was quite good. We ate in a steak restaurant one evening and an Italian restaurant another night. In the morning, we hurried off to the exercise room to work off all the added calories. Walking around the deck was another good exercise.

I introduced my sister-in-law, Louise, to the game of Black Jack at the casino. She said she enjoyed Black Jack more than the mindlessness of playing the slot machines. However, I could not convince her to stick on 13 when the dealer showed a 6 or less.  

Life aboard a cruise liner is fun. Each day we played a rugged match of Scrabble. We watched soccer and cricket (which we don’t understand) on the “telly.” The evening shows were quite good, with outstanding British entertainers. One night, we watched a chanteuse named Siobhan Phillips sing Nessun Dorma. She sang it almost as well as Pavarotti. Her cockney throwaway lines were very funny, like “I’ve had a breast reduction, now I have only two.”

I went to the ship’s library for a Scrabble tournament. I had a match with a British entrepreneur named Dave. He was a pro. Dave came with a Scrabble timer and Scrabble dictionary. He whipped me, 350 to 300. Great match!

To be continued next week….