Where has the time gone ?

Sorry its been a while since my last blog, but I have been very busy at work outside of my local area of Harwich. Plus I recently decided, to move my retirement date a bit earlier, and I stop work at the end of July 2014.

So its been lots of discussions with my IFA on options, and company pensions.

It has also been quite sad going around the schools and play group that I go to, to inform them of my retirement.

But as I am sure you are all aware, I have not had the best of health over the past year, so its the right decision for me.

So we have 4 cruises to look forward to over the next 18 months, and, as I now do not have to worry about booking annual leave, we might squeeze in some long weekenders (Sue is still working)

So as long as the weather holds fine for August, you will find me in the garden, looking at the wildlife

Kentwell Hall Mid Summer Fayre

You can see from my last blog, that it was last weekend that we went to Kentwell Hall.

We liked it so much we went back again as it was the mid summer fayre

You can see my photos Here

Kentwell Hall

If you have ever thought " I have been here before", then perhaps you should go to Kentwell Hall.

It's a 500 year old house in Long Melford Suffolk, that we have visited many times before, and is only a one hour drive from home
So that's what we did today (Saturday) as it was Tudor recreation time, with a 200 strong cast of all ages, dressed and acting tudor times.

Kentwell hall also does other "time themes" as it has a long long history.

But back to today, it was a shame after such tremendous weather, that today was very cloudy and cool, we even encountered some rain on the drive there. But don't let the weather put you off,  you will have a great day what ever the weather.

We have taken all of our grandchildren at some stage to Kentwell, as its  a real "living history" event for them, and they can learn so much, whilst having so much fun.

The "cast" are always willing to engage with you, give you some history, and explain their role, all the time keeping in character.

Today Sue had a long chat with an Alchemist apprentice, and very knowledgeable he was too for such a young person.

If you want to view some more photos I took today, you can find them here 

So go on, treat yourself to a slice of history 

Flash Bang Wallop, what a picture ??

With credit to Tommy Steel for the title of this blog, this is a subject that I never thought I would write a blog about.

Photo Processing

Now from the outset, you have to know that I am a beginer at Digital Photography, and post production processing, but it just so happens I know a man who is a bit of a wizz.

My son in law Matthew has been a photography for many a year now, and guides me on all things photographic. You can see some of his work here and here

If you had read my previous blog on cruise on MS Braemar, you will have seen some pictures I took at Harwich.

For those of you are technically minded I use a Nikon D3100 with a Sigma 18-200 Lens and use Photoshop elements for post production, where I perform minor tweaks to my photos.

The photos below are all the same

As shot with no post production

After my post production

Then after Matthew had worked his magic

It just goes to show what software and expertise can to to a digital photo

MS Braemar - Photos

As promised, here are the photos from our cruise on Fred Olsen MS Braemar

Leixoes here

La Coruna here

Aviles here

Santander here

Getxo here

Bordeaux here

Harwich here

MS Braemar Cruise review

Fred Olsen MS Braemar 20th May to 1st June 2014

The Cruise

A 12 night Cheese and Wine cruise sailing from Harwich in Essex, calling at Portugal, Spain and France

And with it sailing from Harwich (20 minutes from home) made it ideal

The Ship

MS Braemar,  all of Fred's ships are of the mature type, she holds circa 1000 passengers and is similar IMHO to P&O Artemis ( as was )

As do ships of this age, you do not have all the mod cons you would expect of today's modern ships, but she gave a comfortable cruise.

Ports

Besides sailing from Harwich as an attraction for us, a lot of the ports were new to us

Leixoes ( for Oporto )

La Coruna

Aviles

Santander

Getxo ( for Bilbao )

Bordeaux 

The pick of the ports has to be Bordeaux and docking in the heart of the city. It's a pity that the planned use of three gangways to cope with the rising/falling tide could not be accommodated by the local authorities.

This meant only two could be used, with the one up to deck five, being more like a mountaineering expedition than boarding a cruise ship.

This meant those with walking difficulties had a real problem 

Entertainment

As I said in my blog, this was the first cruise for the theatre company, and we both thought they were excellent. It was also interesting to see them rehearsing in the lounges, something you never see on a P&O ship.

The quizzes were varied and plentiful, and we even won a few, and I think we have found our niche in "name that tune" as we won this twice with 20/20.

The crew show was a delight, with songs and dancing from their homeland of Thailand.

Special mention though must go to one of the entertainment team Wilmar for his demonstration of sand drawing, I have only ever seen this on YouTube, but to see it live was excellent.

The band In Tune which played primarily in the Coral Club, were the best I have seen / heard in all my years of cruising.

The comedian we had on board was Don Reid, we saw a couple of shows from him, which were OK, even if some of his material was older than me.

The flautist Stephen Clark and singer Jane Beaumont we did not go and see so cannot comment.

The Weather

As this was a May cruise and we did not go that far South, it was not a hot cruise, but pleasant enough to sit out on deck when the sun was out. The "Bay" did not trouble us too much, so that was a bonus. 

Food

Fred has a reputation for good food, and on this cruise we saw or tasted nothing to dispel that. Evening meals in the MDR come already plated, of good quality and variety .

The portion control is also better IMHO.

For breakfast and lunch we mainly eat in the Palms Cafe. Now for regular cruisers on P&O who eat in the buffet, you would not recognise the Palms. Crisp white linen table cloths, and you are shown to your table. It really is a million miles away from P&O and for the better.

Cabin

We had a superior outside cabin, which meant it had a picture window. The cabin was spacious enough, but the bathroom especially the shower was very cramped.

The Crew

Again another thing Fred is well known for, and they were all delightful, also it being a smaller ship, the really do get to know you, and us them. 

Top marks Fred !!

Summary

This is only our second Fred cruise, the first being a three nighter.

So it was good to be able to compare with other cruise lines on a longer cruise. Now although Fred ships are NOT adult only, they do attract an older passenger base. There were a few families on board with young children, celebrating an uncles 85th birthday and were a delight to have on board.

So all in all a very good cruise. Did we like Fred on a longer cruise ? Yes we did, which is good news as we are already booked for next March for the Solar Eclipse.

So as we say goodbye to Fred, we say hello again to P&O again later in the year to sail on Adonia, as she is the only one of the fleet we have not sailed on yet.

MS Braemar the Final Part

Once again my Ipad ( OK it could have been me) lost today's blog, so here we are ,day 2 in Bordeaux, trying to remember what I typed yesterday.

On our sail out from Getxo ( for you P&O fans we passed Oceana docked in Bilbao ) the Captain announced that we would be picking up the pilot at 0330 for our long journey up the river  into the heart of Bordeaux, plus he would be arriving by helicopter. Well, 0330 is too early even for me, but I did get up on deck by 0700.

Of course there were not too many people about, so it was very quiet and all you could hear was the morning bird song from the trees along the  river bank

  Along with the mist banks rolling along the river, it was stunning and surreal in equal proportions 

We then went under our last bridge, before we arrived in Bordeaux

 

We had booked a lazy tour today, a panoramic (aka coach ride)  around the city, then a visit to a Chateau for a tour of the vines, and some sampling ( well we are in Bordeaux)

This is where it all begins

These hold one or two bottles :-)

Before being aged in Oak Barrels

You could of course then have purchased a bottle or two, but they were a tad expensive for my wallet.

By the time we had returned to the ship, the weather had closed in and yes, it was raining again .

Day 2

We were greated by blue skies this morning, plus other guests had joined us in this beautiful city.

No tour today, so it was out for a walk, and some retail therapy and time to enjoy the stunning architecture.

The children really seemed to enjoy this mist fountain 

Well that's all from Sue and myself for this cruise as later today we start our journey back to Harwich.

I will write a cruise review which I will post when we get home, i will also post some more photos.

Thank you all for joining Sue and myself on this cruise, and taking the time to read my ramblings

Until next time