Things I learnt on my Cruise Part 2

·      Wifi is available in a lot of places, but sometimes you have to work very hard to use it

·      You can buy fridge magnets everywhere

·      Some women will pay a lot of money for a handbag

·      Use Sterling in Gibraltar, not Euros

·      You can play candy crush without an internet connection

·      Gordon can’t sleep any later than 8am ever

·      There are some very odd people in the world

·      I am rubbish at languages

·      Most people in Europe seem to speak English, especially when they want to sell you something

·      Parma ham is nice

·      Cruises are addictive

·      Some people get seasick

·      Beetroot is nice in soup

Things I have learnt on my cruise part 1

·      There is a lot of sea

·      Corsica is French and is very pretty

·      Majorca looks nice from a distance

·      Italian drivers aren’t as bad as I thought

·      In countries like Spain and Italy, lane markings are just a guide for those who want to use them

·      Monaco is a big town, of which Monte Carlo is a small area

·      When people hear a Scottish accent they want to talk to the owner of it

·      Everyone in Europe has either been to Scotland or knows someone who has, and they think you want to know about all their Scottish connections

·      The new P&O cruise ship will be called Britannia

·      Rome is smaller than I thought

·      Monaco is very pleasant, but don’t even think of buying things there

·      The castle in Cartagena looks quite ugly from below, but very pretty when you get to it, and has lovely views over the bay

·      Temperatures of 27 degrees in September are very pleasant

·      The Mediterranean is hot

·      Carnival cruise ships are very big and very loud and you should never book a cruise on one of them

·      Some people have been on a lot of cruises

Low Saturday

Today is Low Saturday. The day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday.
I wonder what the disciples were thinking on this day. For us it's OK. We know what happens. We know that we will be in church tomorrow celebrating the fact that Jesus has risen. Those first followers of Jesus didn't have the knowledge that we have. Yes, Jesus had told them what was going to happen, but they didn't get it. All they knew was that the man they thought was special, the man they had followed for the last 3 years, the man they thought would save them was dead.

February

February is hard work. I have known this for a number of years. People say that January is a depressing month, but I quite like January. It is a haven of peace and quiet after the busyness of Christmas, New Year and 2 family birthdays. It is a month to enjoy the fact that the house seems to be bigger because there are no decorations up. It is a time to enjoy doing nothing and not to feel guilty about it.
But February is a different matter. It is still dark in the mornings. Usually it is wet and when it isn't wet it is snowy. And it is always cold. I don't like cold weather. And the summer still feels like a long way away. In February I just get on with things. I go to work and I come home and I feel tired because I need some sunshine and I just want to sit and watch the tv in the evenings because I have no energy.
The only good thing about February is the the next month is March. And March is hopeful. The days start to get longer and spring is nearly here. But I still have to get through the rest of February!