A gottle of gear

Last night the act in the theatre was a ventriloquist by the name of Gareth Oliver, he was the funniest vent I've seen in a long while.
The show was made even better by him getting my mate John up on stage, fitting him with a mask and making him a ventriloquists dummy.
Anyone who knows John knows that he DOESN'T do audience participation, well with the help of a litre of €1.09 red wine he'd bought ashore in Ponte del Garda, he became the star of the show.
Gareth had him telling everyone that he was wearing his wifes thong and was an expert ballet dancer to name but two things.
John is definitely not a ballet dancer, but the jury is still out on the thong wearing.....lmao.
Well, I was proved wrong and we actually got in to the Azores, well done captain...
Ponte del Garda was a nice town and we enjoyed a couple of hours there, and the rain held off, woo hoo!
We continued our cultural tour and found our usual cheap local bar and had a couple of beers.
At €1 each it was one of the cheapest on the tour.
On a more serious note we found out that the island had some really bad weather the night before we arrived, the TV news showed pictures of some really bad flooding and I believe three people lost their lives in the storms.
It puts some of the complaints about the ship rocking in to perspective....

From one storm to another

The weather has calmed down a lot, the banging waves have stopped and we are not being thrown about which is good, but there is still a deep swell on the ocean so the ship is still rocking a bit.
So one storm finishes and another starts, this one is called Rebecca and she's on stage in the theatre.
She was good last week and brilliant last night, she doesn't just sing songs she acts out stories.
With every song she sang you understood the lyrics and felt the emotion.
She was in a word; brilliant.
Along with Kandy the vocalist with the Intermission duo, they are just about the two best female vocalists I've ever heard.
They are completely different types of singers, but both can tell a story in song and fill it with emotion.

The cruel sea

It's been three days since we left Charleston SC and the storm hasn't let up despite the captain telling us each day that, tomorrow it will be better.
I don't know how these solo sailors manage in this kind of weather, I'd be scared out of my mind.
When we got that extra night in Charleston I immediately thought, they've given us this because of the long range weather forecast and they knew we wouldn't get in to the Azores.
As it stands it's looking like I could be right, as usual I'll keep you informed, free wifi permitting....lmao.

Do you believe in angels?

Kandy the singer with the Intermission Duo, and Sheila have found they have an affinity with each other, in that they both strongly believe in angels and all things spiritual, Kandy even has two cats called Gabriel and Rafael, who are the two main angels.
They have been discussing angels and stuff most nights, but the weird thing was yesterday when they both had decided without any prior knowledge, to give each other a gift.
Sheila had been telling me during the day that she was going to give Kandy an angel as protection for Kandy, she had been given the angel by our Nic, but knew she wouldn't mind as that's the kind of thing you do with angel gifts, that is pass them on for protection etc.
Anyway when we went to the Lord Taverners bar last night Kandy came over to see Sheila and gave her a religious medal of St Gerrard that her mother had given her.
St Gerrard is apparently the patron saint of mothers, and Kandy says Sheila reminds her of her mum.
Sheila have Kandy her angel gift, but the strange thing is both of them deciding to give the gifts and on the same day.
Coincidence? Maybe, but still a nice little story.......

Force 10 gales and footballers.

The title says it all, we've been tossed and thrown all over the place today, and it's due to continue tomorrow.
Touch wood I've not been sick so it's not to bad, but there's time yet, lol.
Going to see an ex Glasgow Rangers player speak tonight, his name is Gordon Smith.
I have heard of him but don't know to much about him.
If he's half as good as Duncan McKenzie he'll be great....I'll keep you informed later.....
It's now later and I've been to see Gordon Smith, he was very good and had some interesting and very funny stories.
I think that the thing that makes footballers stories so good is that they are talking about an occupation that most blokes would love to have been able to take up.
He has through the Scottish FA, been involved with FIFA and had a good insight in to the running of international football.
After the talk I picked Sheila up from the cabin, went for something to eat, then off to bed as the theatre entertainment was canceled due to the weather.
I thought this a bit strange as the act was a ventriloquist, and not a singer and dancer.
I didn't think a vent would be bothered by a bit of swaying, bit there you go, what do I know......lol

Surrey with a fringe on top.

Well I'm not sure if it was a surrey, but it was a horse drawn carriage and it did have a fringe on top, and it was a brilliant way to explore downtown Charleston.
We spent a very short hour on the carriage and the driver gave us a humorous potted history of Charleston, explaining things like the wealth in the town and not the haves and have nots, but the haves and have a whole lot more each side of Broad street.
Then it was on to the hour and a half harbour tour, which again was great.
We learned about the first shots of the civil war being fired from fort Johnson on the Confederate side to fort Sumpter on the union side.
While this went on the people of Charleston who lived by the water watched and partied as it was so far away from them across the bay.
We also saw things like the retired aircraft carrier Yorktown which is now docked at Patriots Point, and is a floating museum.
The tour, carriage and boat was booked by Chisit, online before we came away, the whole thing cost $39 per person, which was brilliant as the carriage ride alone booked on the ship was £34
So once again well done John.
We then had a walk around the slave museum, which was quite touching and humbling in many ways.
Then a stroll to find something to eat, we first tried to find a place called AW Shucks which had been recommended, but we couldn't find it, so we ended up in a restaurant called Sticky Fingers where we had pulled pork and fries washed down with a large draught beer.
It was brilliant and John and I agreed we'd never had our pork pulled so well in a long time...lmao

Charleston, South Carolina

We docked in beautiful Charleston last night, which was twelve hours earlier than the itinerary stated.
That gave us an overnight in port and a chance to explore some of the town and find out where we pick up our carriage ride on the morning.
We did this but didn't stay out to long as most places were shut and also it was bloody cold.
We got back to the ship about 9 pm and had a drink before going to see the show that John had recommended.
It was a singer called Rebecca Storm, who I'd never heard of but John said she was very good, and I must say she was.
She did a lot of musical theatre stuff, Evita, Blood Brothers, etc and she'd actually starred in them.
She was excellent and acted out the songs rather than just sing them.
Strike two for Chis, we just need the carriage ride to be good and that will be his hat trick of good recommendations, space centre, theatre and carriage ride...lol
I'll keep you informed.
Looking forward to today as Charleston looks to be a beautiful and interesting place, but I well be putting two pairs of socks on and getting well wrapped up.