pete14

If you have time, there is a micro brewery close to the station and the ship (depending on where the ship is parked). It is absolutely amazing inside although the beer is priced for Norway prices so you may not want to stay there for long. I am sure Mr Presto2 will take a keen interest.

Lunar on the Wedgwood site near Barlaston. You need deep pockets but every once in a while we all deserve a treat. All crockery is Wedgwood and glasses are Waterford crystal.

We treated ourself to lunch today at our favourite eatery. Not a chip in sight.

We got a bottle of wine from Snoop Dog’s winery. It was awful and went down the sink. A few years ago, we were given some from Cliff Richard’s winery in Portugal (I think) which was almost as bad. Hopefully Gary Barlow’s will be better. You will just have to take that or leave it.

I’m not sure P&Os IT facilities could cope with an app to propel a bottle of cheap Cava to hit the front of a ship, even one as large as Arvia or even a virtual one.

You may already know this but the words to ‘Amazing Grace’ were written by John Newton, the captain of a ship involved in the slave trade and put to the tune we all know some years after his death. Doesn’t make it any less beautiful though imo.

We were also booked on the Iona maiden that was cancelled due to Covid. My memory is that the prices for that maiden were very reasonable indeed. The Arvia maiden was noticeably much more expensive when bookings opened.

If that happens, and I have no reason to disbelieve it, I don’t blame P&O for ‘rationing them’ by not making them freely available. It also stops myriads of people handling them, squeezing them to see whether they are of the correct ripeness for their taste. Not to mention non sanitised hands rummaging through fruit that you don’t peel such as apples.

I don’t suppose they knew about the problem when you booked. Maybe it will be fixed before the cruise returns so perhaps you could move into it once it is finished.

Sorry to hear that. Do you want a warm dog to huddle around? 🐶. I don’t suppose the cat is too impressed.

Our Charlie had some allergy tests done because he was having food problems. We found out that he is allergic to beef, chicken and turkey which is quite a common combination apparently. He has lamb and duck but we had to read the labels carefully because many tinned varieties of lamb or duck also contain chicken and beef (it is cheaper) and ‘animal derivatives’ which is likely to be derived from chicken. It is also a problem finding biscuits and treats. Labelling on many of them are not specific to what meat or derivative they include. I contacted the maker of ‘Dentastix’ who didn’t tell me what was in them. All they could tell me is that they probably would not suit Charlie because of his allergies. Vegetarian and even vegan treats and chews seem to be OK. My advice is to find something that suits and stick to it. It may take some time.

Many years ago, I had to teach a Richard Head. The kids nicknamed him ‘Headless’, I guess the obvious choice these days was not in existence in the late 70s. Shame because it would have been apt.

Probably anybody else is too polite to draw attention to it, pretending not to have noticed. 🫣

Too late 😊. Lots of us have seen it so no embarrassment spared. As Canard is French for duck, maybe they have invested in lots of them to transport cruisers across the sea. Maybe one cut too far?

Congratulations. Round 4 here you come.

He seemed to start quite well but flatters to deceive. I am not sure we are getting the best out of him, more on the fringes of games rather than really getting involved. The manager seems to like him though because he starts most games. In a more successful team that plays to his strengths, he may make a bigger contribution. I would suggest that the oatcake forum is not the best way to judge how successful players are but it can be entertaining at times. Some ‘fans’ seem to want a whole new squad, new management and new owners all at the same time. 🥴

The bad memories about ‘mad nath’ have not left yet. Maybe his methods work for Luton Town where he was successful (but not good to watch), but he is a one trick pony unwilling to change his philosophy about how to play the game, even when results are dreadful and the sack moves even closer. By the way, do you want Will Smallbone back?

Of course those of you who have been following this huge thread for a long time, will realise I am referring to Harry our local heron.

As a non-Chelsea fan, I completely agree with your comments about Gianluca Vialli. As for Harry, lots of people seem to think they need to know all the gory details, personally I am pretty indifferent to the whole thing although I could have done without hearing about his sex, drugs and ‘kill stats’. As for Prince Harry.……😇

Does the same sanction apply if I mention dog food cans? By the way, it was Mrs pete14 who texted the link to you.

Not far from us either. Could even be considered to be a suburb on the fringe of Stoke on Trent. 😉😎

Check carefully before booking. A couple of years ago I was looking to renew and got a quote from a company, may have been Avanti but I’m not sure. In that instance, the 20% discount only applied to the basic premium and the extras for declared medical conditions etc (which can be quite large), we’re not discounted. Still fairly competitive though.

I completely agree with your first paragraph but I hope that you don’t include my response to the post that claimed the Britannia maiden was a disaster. Maybe the person who made the comment had some problems, if so, hopefully they sought a response from P&O at the time. To equate this with a disastrous cruise in general is incorrect, as others have reinforced, it wasn’t.

A lazy start for me as well. A bit chilly but bright and miraculously not raining when I walked Charlie along the seafront. Will be driving back home a little later and watching the ‘mighty Potters’ play football this afternoon.

Certainly in North Wales, the wettest.