Another request – this time from Cunard – any possibility of joining the Queen Victoria on a sector of her world cruise? I had four days’ notice. Was flown over to Miami to join the ship in Port Everglades. It was then over to Barbados where I got the chance to swim with some turtles;… more…
This was a last-minute request to join the Saga Ruby on her very last cruise – to the Caribbean and back during the Christmas period. I had just 24 hours’ notice. So a mad panic of packing that afternoon after the phone call and down to Southampton to embark the following lunch-time. The itinerary was… more…
A guest speaking engagement on the Oriana in late August, gave me the chance to see something of Iceland. There were three ports of call. Reykjavic, Isafjordur in the West Fjords and Akureyri. The landscape of the West Fjords was very dramatic, the area being the most sparsely populated region of Iceland. Sailing out from… more…
I’ve been struggling to get to grips with writing my third novel, tentatively called Pets Aplenty. While on my last cruise speaking engagement, there was the chance to get some writing done. It was one morning when I had started a conversation between Beryl the receptionist and Paul Mitchell the vet – it was taking… more…
A Western Mediterranean cruise on board the Ventura where I was giving six talks. There was a great holiday atmosphere throughout and the entertainments team worked their socks off to ensure everyone remained ‘buoyant’. This is a picture of the ‘Great British Sail Away’ from Cartagena, with much flag fluttering and singing of Rule Britannia. more…
A great ending to a whirlwind trip to Urulu (Ayers Rock) where that evening, we had a barbeque, sipping champagne. It had been overcast all day – which meant it was cooler and so enabled us to do three walks in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Then 30 minutes before we were due to park… more…
We had a two week cruise over in the Caribbean calling at ten islands. As you can see from this photo taken in Antigua, the Ventura is a huge ship and can carry 3200 passengers. I had to give four talks while onboard. On Grenada, I went tubing on a river with rapids swirling down… more…
This was a piece in the Sunday Times Home Section about whether pets have a sense of humour. more…
This is a picture of me amongst the fallen trees in Mancombe Woods next to our property. One of the many photos taken to accompany the feature. The Daily Mail sent down a photographer two days before the piece was due to be published. But they didn’t like the pictures he took so they sent… more…
Dora arrived at our home in Somerset having travelled by road from Madrid. As you can see from the photo, she soon made herself at home. more…