First suitcases packed

5 days to go. 

On Friday I was finally able to pack my first suitcase. It contained a very heavy world atlas that covered the whole floor of the suitcase, so that we can both follow the route of the vessel as it ploughs through the oceans. It reveals we have to pass, like Yemen and Eritrea where people live and die, in abject misery and fear as we pass within some 30 miles from them in a world of luxury and ease. It will help me concentrate on our surroundings when we sail through the South China Sea for insyance, as China increasingly claims the whole of it as its own teritorial waters and threatens not just the American Seventh fleet protecting Taiwan, Filipino fishing vessels and supply ships, and Vietnamese coastguard patrols, as intruders, while continuing to claim Taiwan as its own rerritory. Will our Norwegian ship be able to cross that sea unchallenged in April? And how far do we avoid danger as North Korea fires its probing ballistic mssiles to either overshoot Japan or to land short of it, in the Sea of Japan. Anyway, I need a map of wherever I travel, whether by land, sea or air, in order to be able to anchor myself to reality. I still eschew the satnav in my car and check my destinationby first planning the route on a printed map. Maybe I am living in the Dark Ages.

However this first suitcase included heavier objects such as guide books, first aid items, batteries, shaving gear, gym shoes, Although it was going to be our smallest suitcase (of the six we plan to take) it weights a solid 19 kilos. Luckily no restrictions on weight here as we are not flying by plane. 

On Saturday, under Albina's detailed supervision, we packed the second suitcase, in fact the largest of the six. It had many of my clothes and a large number of shirts, trousers, underwear, as well as my dinner suit. So many of these were actually new, as unbeknown to me, Albina had been buying these from mail order companies precisely to get me kitted out for the voyage. We decided not to travel light because we have been warned of the astronomical cost of laundry and ironing services on board a cruise vessel. So the more changes of fresh pressed clothes that you bring, the less you need to spend on the laundry.  Four more suitcases to pack, including three with Albina's belongings. 

We have at least solved the problem of a covid passport for Albina. We had both had the two original covid jabs in 2021 and followed it up since then all three of the boosters recommended for our age group. Evidence for this was an absolute requirements for both of us to present to the the cruise company at the day of embarkation. No problem in my case. I was able to set up and print the 5 page document on the NHS channel, basing it on my email address. But Albina is still living in the Dark Ages too, in fact at an earlier period than me, in the age of Attila as compared with Chaucer. She has no email. Gasps of astonishment. She invariably quotes my own email address whenever she is asked to supply one. I rang NHS lifeline number 119. After two failed attempts, where I was being sidelined irritatingly to the vaccination appointment booking desk, I got through to a really really helpful young lady. She was able to give me step by steady step, click by click, description of the steps to take  on the NHS website to obtain and print a covid passport for her. A simple step petrhaps, but one that had been confounding me for several weeks.

I attended an afternoon literary meeting in POSK at which a distant friend from Warsaw was launching his book on Polish pilots and on high level Soviet spying in the Far East. The author droned for more than an hour, part of which time I dozed off. No problem really, as I sat in a corner seat at the back. As I had arranged with Albina to come back earlier, I bought the book but left the meeting without even talking to him, even though I knew he wanted to speak to me. His own fault really.

Then Albina and I spent an enjoyable evening with our old friends, Stefan and Ewa, over a wonderful shepherds pie and a little tiramisu birthday cake for Albina to celebrate her 75th birthday on February 28th. We discussed Ukraine, and the cowardly hesitation of European nations, and traffic problems on the Chiswick High Road, before the conversation turned to us menfolk again, upon which both Stefan and I dozed off.

Today it is Sunday and I am ready to go out and fetch the Sunday papers.