HaPpY NeW YeAr 2018
from MaRtIn!
My year began on board the lovely Saga Sapphire in Malta. Unfortunately the New Year fireworks weren't a patch on Madeira's! The high point of that cruise was the trip to Tivoli near Rome. I had double billing as both destinations lecturer and dance instructor!
My next cruise was my first time lecturing with P&O going up the Amazon on the lovely Oriana. The Boi Bumbá festival was as dramatic as five years previously!
In March I had a mini-cruise to Ireland lecturing on board the lovely Saga Pearl II, which included an interesting visit to Port Sunlight near Liverpool.
In May my friend Mark invited me to stay at his old college, St. John's in Oxford. He also came to stay with me in BoMoH a couple of times during the year. He has now sold his flat in Dulwich and bought another one in Poitiers, France!
My next cruise was to Norway with a lovely "Slice of Paradise" tour. This cruise included two new ports (Arendal & Kristiansand)! On this cruise I had double billing as both dance host and destinations lecturer! Also that month I cruised around Denmark, visiting three new ports (Esbjerg, Skĺgen & Ĺarhus) and one new town (Ribe).
In June I had my first cruise lecturing on the lovely Clebrity Eclipse going to the Baltic. This included four new castles, three new towns (Helsingor, Rakvere & Stralsund), two new ice bars and one new island (Rügen)!
During the summer, I completed my three year theology course and I am now an Associate of King's College (AKC)!
In July I was back in the Baltic visiting two new ports (Kalundborg & Gdynia), two new towns (Roskilde & Gdansk), one new island (Tjorn) and one new country (Poland)!
In August I had another mini-cruise, this time to Normandy & Brittany (Brest).
In September I went around the UK and France visiting three new ports (Dundee, Scrabster & Oban).
In October I was back lecturing in the Canaries, which included whale watching in Madeira!
In November I finally got my free bus pass and have used it to visit London, Salisbury, Lymington and Swanage!
In December I will be back lecturing on board the lovely Saga Sapphire with the seasonal cruise to the Baltic. Christmas will be spent in Oslo and New Year in Stockholm. Quite a change from the usual Madeira & Malta!
During the year I composed several new enrichment lectures to complement my port talks.
Most Tuesdays I went sequence dancing with Carol & Mike and most Wednesdays line dancing with Karl. Weekend dancing was mainly at Highcliffe and St. Leonard's to live country musicians!
I had two Open University staff development weekends during the year at Bristol and Milton Keynes, the latter followed by a visit to my see my brother and sister-in-law in Harlow. My two T802 students submitted their MSc dissertations, but one of my two new students has dropped out already! I also joined in the academic procession at the OU degree ceremony in Poole Lighthouse.
Next year I already have six cruises booked (four as lecturer and two as dance host) including TWO trips to Cape Town and my first cruise on the Crystal Serenity!