Thursday 18th April – Strictly Cunard

I managed to wake in time to get to the Solo Travellers’ coffee time and had a very good talk with Rock. In a one-to-one situation he can understand English much better (he is French-Canadian), though I had difficulty explaining to him what I meant by travel ‘insurance’.

It was Judith’s birthday so a group of us met in the pub for fish and chips for lunch. We went straight from there to bag our places for ‘Strictly Cunard’, where seven couples, including Jenny, were competing. Those who wanted to dance with the gentlemen hosts could do so. Jenny was dancing with Jorge, and did a good job considering they had not chosen their dance until the night before and only practised that day. I filmed it for her on her iPad. (I was very glad that I had refused Jorge's suggestion to compete, dancing with him. I would have got too nervous.)

We stayed on for afternoon tea (with the harpist playing), and then it was time to catch up on three days of my diary before dinner. The others at my table were wondering where I had got to, as I had missed about four nights in a row.

The first dancing session was upstairs in the night club on a tiny floor. The room was hot! Jorge had sensibly brought along a peacock feather fan and did a fan dance with each of the ladies, fanning us at appropriate steps. Very funny! I played up to it and at one point held the fan up in front of our faces and pretended we were kissing. ‘You are wicked!’ he said. I think it’s a scream that the two theologically-trained people (Jorge with a Master of Divinity - a non-denominational minister – and I) are the two who play up in the dances and pretend to ‘smoulder’.