Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Raw talent!

 

:)

[mysty]

Extremely raw! :)

[Travelcat2]

Very nice - enjoyed it!

 

Just want to mention that my interest in British royalty, food, etc. really comes from being married to an amazing British man for 35 1/2 years and spending time in England (mostly the West of England, Sommerset, Frome, etc.). He was evacuated from London to Frome during WWII and spent four of the best years of his life there. Although he has been a dual citizen for years, if he had to choose between England the U.S., I am fairly certain that he would pick the country where he was born, raised and schooled.

 

I know - this has nothing to do with anything other than my previous questions. In terms of the discussion we were having, he was not a fan of Diana nor is he a fan of Camilla. He thinks that Prince Charles is a nice fellow but thinks that it would be best if he did not become King. I know this is not a popular view but we were sharing opinions so I'm sharing his.

 

I'll now go back to just reading this lovely thread and keeping my mouth shut for a while:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Very nice - enjoyed it!

 

Just want to mention that my interest in British royalty, food, etc. really comes from being married to an amazing British man for 35 1/2 years and spending time in England (mostly the West of England, Sommerset, Frome, etc.). He was evacuated from London to Frome during WWII and spent four of the best years of his life there. Although he has been a dual citizen for years, if he had to choose between England the U.S., I am fairly certain that he would pick the country where he was born, raised and schooled.

 

I know - this has nothing to do with anything other than my previous questions. In terms of the discussion we were having, he was not a fan of Diana nor is he a fan of Camilla. He thinks that Prince Charles is a nice fellow but thinks that it would be best if he did not become King. I know this is not a popular view but we were sharing opinions so I'm sharing his.

 

I'll now go back to just reading this lovely thread and keeping my mouth shut for a while:)

 

Under no circumstances keep your mouth shut for a while!::)

 

On the sub-text I really like the cooler to be a place to express views don't you? It isn't so much "what you say" but "how you say it" and what is intended. In my view one should only ever be offended by someone intended yo offend. If offence isn't intended then how on earth is it possible to be offended. :confused: If a kid in a supermarket looked at me and said "look at that fat ugly bloke mum" ... well two out of three is fair enough ... right? :D

 

I understand why many don't rate Charles and Camilla. I like Charles because I see him as an old-fashioned passionate emotive but shy man who is thoroughly decent and cares and has a real sense of duty. He does the best he can. I get the impression that Camilla is probably a real hoot in private with avery earthy sense of humour but ensures in public she doesn't let the side down. Just an impression.

 

Anyway ... I am really pleased they named the Princess after my favourite potato. We had some today.

[Mr Luxury]

I'm glad you can share with us those powdered faces in the oil lamp footlights and the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd .....

 

I am Lotti from Cambridge with me lovely Golden locks

I sing and I dance and I 'ave flash frocks!

I do me little turn in front of the plebs

Although to be honest I prefer all those Debs!

 

 

:D

 

 

Oh dear!

[Travelcat2]

Under no circumstances keep your mouth shut for a while!::)

 

On the sub-text I really like the cooler to be a place to express views don't you? It isn't so much "what you say" but "how you say it" and what is intended. In my view one should only ever be offended by someone intended yo offend. If offence isn't intended then how on earth is it possible to be offended. :confused: If a kid in a supermarket looked at me and said "look at that fat ugly bloke mum" ... well two out of three is fair enough ... right? :D

 

I understand why many don't rate Charles and Camilla. I like Charles because I see him as an old-fashioned passionate emotive but shy man who is thoroughly decent and cares and has a real sense of duty. He does the best he can. I get the impression that Camilla is probably a real hoot in private with avery earthy sense of humour but ensures in public she doesn't let the side down. Just an impression.

 

 

Anyway ... I am really pleased they named the Princess after my favourite potato. We had some today.

 

You are truly a delightful man:)

[spinnaker2]

And the award winning tiara of the day, as in Queen for a Day, goes to MYSTY!!!!!

 

Jeff, you get the runner up award. Mr.Potato Head.

[mysty]

And the award winning tiara of the day, as in Queen for a Day, goes to MYSTY!!!!!

 

Jeff, you get the runner up award. Mr.Potato Head.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Spinnaker2! I'm afraid I have not prepared a speech because I really thought UKCruiseJeff would win in this category! I am humbled to have been nominated and over the moon to have won. HeHe! :)

[Tothesunset]

Anyway ... I am really pleased they named the Princess after my favourite potato.

 

And a plum.

 

And a Paul Anka song.

[TLCOhio]

As a change of pace from all of the fun discussions on the new Princess Charlotte, the Royal Family, etc., we do not want folks to forget about dinner, lunch, breakfast, food, etc. Got to eat, right??

 

Below is a summary visual from my grilling work last night. Two brats!! One with a chili flavor. The other more of a lightly-spiced Italian flavor treat. Plus, some bow-tie pasta with pine nuts, etc. All very good and enjoyable to enjoy on our screened porch overlooking the ravine, wooded areas around our home in Central Ohio.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 106,800 views for this posting.

 

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

You are truly a delightful man:)

 

How sweet of you to notice!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Spinnaker2! I'm afraid I have not prepared a speech because I really thought UKCruiseJeff would win in this category! I am humbled to have been nominated and over the moon to have won. HeHe! :)

 

You are a worthy winner!

 

By the way ..... I forgot to mention my very favourite US Tv export!

 

Treme!

 

:)

[mysty]

You are a worthy winner!

 

By the way ..... I forgot to mention my very favourite US Tv export!

 

Treme!

 

:)

Thank you UKCruiseJeff! You are indeed a gracious man! In future, may I address you more informally as Jeff? I do not want to presume on our fairly new acquaintance. :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thank you UKCruiseJeff! You are indeed a gracious man! In future, may I address you more informally as Jeff? I do not want to presume on our fairly new acquaintance. :)

 

Oh ... alright then, but only when we're alone.

 

I don't want the rest of those ne're do wells others getting above their station. Give an inch and they take three bleedin' centimetres. Some of them don't have no bleedin' breedin'. They hang around internet forums hoping for someone else will say something interesting. :rolleyes:

 

Just watching S1 E7 West Wing having just watched 6,

 

Can I call you "My" for short?

 

:D

[mysty]

Oh ... alright then, but only when we're alone.

 

I don't want the rest of those ne're do wells others getting above their station. Give an inch and they take three bleedin' centimetres. Some of them don't have no bleedin' breedin'. They hang around internet forums hoping for someone else will say something interesting. :rolleyes:

 

Just watching S1 E7 West Wing having just watched 6,

 

Can I call you "My" for short?

 

:D

You are an absolute delight! Yes, you may call me "My" or if that requires too many keystrokes you can go with "M". :) Unfortunately it has been years since I have seen West Wing and my memory of late does not extend beyond a few minutes ago. :) So I do not remember what happened at all in S1. I am, however, throughly captivated with The Good Wife. If I were much younger, Alicia would be my role model! Enjoy S1 E7!

[UKCruiseJeff]

You are an absolute delight! Yes, you may call me "My" or if that requires too many keystrokes you can go with "M". :) Unfortunately it has been years since I have seen West Wing and my memory of late does not extend beyond a few minutes ago. :) So I do not remember what happened at all in S1. I am, however, throughly captivated with The Good Wife. If I were much younger, Alicia would be my role model! Enjoy S1 E7!

 

Alicia has this thing. It is when she is asked something and says "YES!"

 

As an actress for some reason she reminds me of Mary Tyler Moore.

 

The thing about The West Wing is that it is good enough to make you think it might all be really like that. But everyone is so likeable and honourable and human. CJ and Leo and Toby ....

 

And Torres Brandy.

 

:)

[mysty]

Alicia has this thing. It is when she is asked something and says "YES!"

 

As an actress for some reason she reminds me of Mary Tyler Moore.

 

The thing about The West Wing is that it is good enough to make you think it might all be really like that. But everyone is so likeable and honourable and human. CJ and Leo and Toby ....

 

And Torres Brandy.

 

:)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if life imitated art! Likeable and honourable and human just seems like an impossible ideal these days. Our senate is wracked with controversy and honourable seems a vestige of days of yore. We have no characters remotely resembling the good folks portrayed on West Wing. More's the pity!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if life imitated art! Likeable and honourable and human just seems like an impossible ideal these days. Our senate is wracked with controversy and honourable seems a vestige of days of yore. We have no characters remotely resembling the good folks portrayed on West Wing. More's the pity!

 

I know. And just when I was getting over the shock as a young lad that someone as pure as Mary Tyler Moore might be having sex with Dick Van Dyke ( what a very strange name .......) they tell me that Alicia was a non abstainer. :eek:

 

I think sadly life copies TV doesn't it. We have a programme in the uk that I think we sold to the US called "The Apprentice". It has made a whole generation of wannabee business people think that being successful is all about selfishness, greed and nastiness. They think that if they appear to be totally sh7t then they will be admired. I think the TV often does the same for politics.

 

 

Jeff

[mysty]

I know. And just when I was getting over the shock as a young lad that someone as pure as Mary Tyler Moore might be having sex with Dick Van Dyke ( what a very strange name .......) they tell me that Alicia was a non abstainer. :eek:

 

I think sadly life copies TV doesn't it. We have a programme in the uk that I think we sold to the US called "The Apprentice". It has made a whole generation of wannabee business people think that being successful is all about selfishness, greed and nastiness. They think that if they appear to be totally sh7t then they will be admired. I think the TV often does the same for politics.

 

 

Jeff

I think we might have been separated at birth Jeff! Our views are much the same. What passes for "celebrity" or "worthy of attention" these days is appalling! And life goals now seem to revolve around the almighty dollar. What is refreshing for me is your irreverence and refusal to take seriously things that do not deserve to be considered important.

 

And my libation of choice is wine. :) Unfortunately in the province of Canada where I reside, all liquor sales are controlled by a provincial power called the LCBO. If they don't sell it in their stores, it is virtually impossible to get your hands on it. Torres 5 Brandy is available in some stores for $25.95 CAD.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I think we might have been separated at birth Jeff! Our views are much the same. What passes for "celebrity" or "worthy of attention" these days is appalling! And life goals now seem to revolve around the almighty dollar. What is refreshing for me is your irreverence and refusal to take seriously things that do not deserve to be considered important.

 

And my libation of choice is wine. :) Unfortunately in the province of Canada where I reside, all liquor sales are controlled by a provincial power called the LCBO. If they don't sell it in their stores, it is virtually impossible to get your hands on it. Torres 5 Brandy is available in some stores for $25.95 CAD.

 

 

I am so pleased you've noticed that I try hard not to take too many things seriously. Except those things that are genuinely serious that is.

 

One of the problems generally is that too many people take themselves too seriously. They wish to want others to think they are important and so try to present themselves that way, They think it a defect or a weakness if they listen and change their minds. I love changing my mind about things. I also think - and this is particularly true that the majority of people do not "get" that they probably cannot make themselves happy. Only others by what they say and do can make you happy. and that means therefore we have the power to make others happy and unhappy but probably not ourselves. The only thing I think we can control about our own happiness is the joy we get at making others happy. That is why when people make a charitable contribution for example - it makes them happy. That's also why I fel you should only be offended by the people trying to hurt others but never by what they actually say. It is the process by which people derive pleasure by the purposeful act of huirting the feelings of others that I object to. I have never once in my life been offended by the actual words. The words normally help to educate even in only in a way not intended by the person producing them.

 

One of the two great poxes on society is both religion and nationalism (not patriotism which is different and arguably the opposite of nationalism ....) and look at how much we are all suffering simply because how other people have been taught from birth what they believe as a quirk of where they were born or what religion their parents have as a result of what their parents have .... and so it goes on? Not self constructed genuine beliefs but indoctrinations often of hatred of diversity due to the lottery of the place and line of birth of ones parents.

 

We all have the potential for genuine religion. The belif of what is right and what is wrong but it is squashed from birth and replaced by rigid bizarre doctrine. Genuine religion is the voice inside which urges us to behave in a certain positive way. And it can be nurtured and conditioned.

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if children were taught instead of the religion lessons, lessons about listening to the voice in our heads we all have from birth. Teaching kids simple things like "You see someone without food .... they are hungry ..... you have some ..... what do you do...." "You see a blind person trying to cross a road .... what do you do ....." etc. The teaching of life ethics rather than the garbage we serve up our children. I'm sure you get the drift. Teaching them all this garbage is where it all goes wrong. They must be taught how to work out and do what they know is right.

 

The problem is of course that few of us are able to cope with the truthful answer to the question we all ask. "What is the meaning of life". There must of course be a meaning mustn't there? Otherwise that would imply no meaning and that would be too terrible and confusing to handle. We must be here for areason right? There must be some sort of destiny for each of us right?

 

Once you are able to accept that "there is no meaning" to life and that we are all accorded the opportunity of taking the ride - possibly just the once - and it is what you do with it and how you conduct yourself whilst taking the ride that matters. Not the seeking and preperation for something afterwards. Not for being rich or well known although that might happen. It is to simply have the opportunity to enjoy the ride. You are allowed in (birth) .... you live ..... and then it is over. Only when you understand that are you able to treat others in the wya you should ... they are merely sharing the ride the same time as you .... That is why people love religion. It provides every answer to every question that if we didn't have the religion would force us to confront the terrible, terrible reality .... and that is there is no meaning to life except the meaning each of us gives it whilst we are here. The meaning of life is that there is none except the opportunity itself whilst it is happening.

 

When you understand and accpet that philosphy then it seems so much more important to try and enjoy what you have whilst you have it and simply make it your job to try and make others happy rather than unhappy.

 

This is what happens when you get up early with a spring in your step and write things I guess ......

 

Back to the brandy. I am and will always be a peasant. You can always tell a peasant by simply asking them if they are a cognac or an armagnac person. I am not even that. I am a Spanish Brandy person. It confirms all those terrible rumours ......

 

:)

 

ps.... sorry about all the spelling shenanighans.

[mysty]

Well your early morning Life 101 discourse did not send me running to hide under my bed. :) You seem to be a man who enjoys thinking and living and actually combining the two activities! Another refreshing trait! My thoughts have travelled many of the same paths. I'm looking forward to further explorations into the question of life and our responsibilities as fellow creatures on this current trip around the sun!

[Tothesunset]

Get a room, you two.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Get a room, you two.

 

:eek:

 

There's no smiley or other appropriate emoticom after this ...... I do so hope it was in humour!

 

It is lovely to chat with complete strangers who you will never meet don't you think?

 

:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Well your early morning Life 101 discourse did not send me running to hide under my bed. :) You seem to be a man who enjoys thinking and living and actually combining the two activities! Another refreshing trait! My thoughts have travelled many of the same paths. I'm looking forward to further explorations into the question of life and our responsibilities as fellow creatures on this current trip around the sun!

 

 

Well today I have been thinking about that salmon dish and how it might improve and although it looks similar it is completely different. And the asparagus has been done differently as well. And She really liked it.

 

I think we will baptise this Prince Charolotte Salmon with Asparagus.

 

Not bad for a Tuesday. :)

 

[spinnaker2]

That was one long Jeffism...