Happy New Year

After a busy busy day at the office I am now home relaxing with a few nibbles and a glass of something strong waiting to see in the New Year.

I would like to wish all my clients, my work colleagues and family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Speak to you all in 2011

HAPPY XMAS TO ALL

Well Christmas is finally here and I hope that everyone is having a great Christmas Day.

I am just taking a few minutes break before continuing with the Christmas day cooking.

The Turkey is in the oven, the veg is prepared and ready and the house is quiet temporarily, whilst I await the arrival of my son and the return of my daughter and her boyfriend.

There are presents everywhere, no need to get stressed about the mess today though as it is Christmas then everyone can leave their prezzies around at least until the dinner is cooked and then I will become a stern mother and demand they be re-located to a safer place.

So for me like so many others my day will be a good Christmas feast this afternoon, just in time to see the Queens speach and then sitting around full to the brim for the rest of the day wondering why I squeezed in so much dinner and that I should of learned after my 46 years that my eyes shouldnt be bigger than my belly.

I hope that everyone enjoys this special day and I will return with more news soon.

Cruise ship Clelia in trouble in the Antarctic

Another Antarctic cruise ship ran into trouble yesterday while crossing the treacherous Drake Passage on its return voyage to Ushuaia, Argentina from the Antarctic Peninsula. The Clelia II suffered engine failure that left it adrift in the Southern Ocean for a time while the region's notoriously bad weather pounded the vessel.

The ship was spotted and passed by the National Geographic Explorer, another cruise ship, which was also making the return voyage to Ushuaia. When the crew of the Clelia II failed to respond to hails, the Explorer turned around and returned to the foundering ship to render aid if needed. After establishing communications with Clelia, the Explorer stood by for much of the day, while crew members repaired the engine and managed to get the damaged ship limping back towards South America once again.

There have been a number of high profile accidents involving passenger liners in the waters off Antarctica in the past few years. Back in 2007, the MS Explorer struck an iceberg and sank in the Southern Ocean, while just last year this very same ship, the Clelia II, ran aground and needed to be pulled off the ice by another vessel.

For now, the ship is once again under its own power and hoping to complete its return trip to Argentina where full repairs can be made. The incident just happens to underscore the dangers of traveling in the Antarctic waters, which can be treacherous in the best of times. Fortunately, it seems that the Antarctic tourism community dodged yet another potential disaster. With the poor weather conditions this situation could have been far worse and it is a miracle that no one was seriously injured

P&O Aurora Xmas party cruise 2010

Hi last weekend we were fortunate to be taken onboard the P&O Aurora for our works outing to Zeebrugge.

It was great to experience another ship and for me as I had only been on the Azura I had chance to see a smaller ship in the P&O fleet.

I thought that this ship had a warm feel to it, the decor again had a warm friendly feel, not too modern and certainly not too old fashioned.

My cabin was lovely, everything that you could wish for a balcony, good sized bathroom and lucky for me a bath with shower over.
Great to have a kettle to make that early morning brew and of course UK plug sockets so no need to pack an adapter.

Simon and I went to see the show which was an Abba Tribute evening, though it wasnt a huge production, it was very entertaining and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it, all singing and dancing at the end of the show, and as there were no empty seats it definately suited the passengers on board this short cruise.

The highlight for me was a trip to Brugges, I had never had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful town before and I was not disappointed.

Lovely quaint streets, choc and lace shops everywhere and of course market stalls in the little squares.
I treated myself to a fab apple strudell and warm hot chocolate in one the of the quaint little restaurants in the square and it was absoloutely delicious.

Many thanks to our bosses for giving us the opportunity to get away and experience another ship as well as visiting Brugges, there are not many companies that would give their staff such a great treat and to anyone looking for a short cruise I would recommend a mini cruise to Zeebrugge anytime as long as you make it off the ship and enjoy Brugges.