Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[mysty]

OK. So 51 bumps JP! You are in good shape and we promise not to bump too vigorously! And virtually done, it will be painless. :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Punches, bumps, and other birthday torments

 

"The bumps", or "the dumps" in Scotland,[1][2] a birthday torment common in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Canada, and India,[3] involves the friends and family of the person whose birthday it is taking him or her by the arms and legs, and "bumping" him/her up into the air and down onto the floor.[3][4] The number of "bumps" given equals the age of the person in years plus one "for luck".[3][4] Usually "the Bumps" are administered only to children, in part because as people grow up they become too heavy for the process.[3] Sometimes bumps are also referred to as kicks where the person celebrating their birthday is held by their arms and legs and their friends kick them. This practice is often disapproved in regard to health and safety concerns.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Birthday Bumps originally began as Birthday pinches or spankings on the butt. One bumps for each year.

 

The reason is to spank away any evil spirits on the occasion. They said that the harder you spanked, the farther it ran away. Thus began this tradition.

Hence also in the end you give one extra bump for "good luck"

[mysty]

With JP we may not need quite so many bumps J! He doesn't really come across as very evil. And our arms may well give out before we even get close to 51. :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

M,

 

How was Myster's pizza?

 

Is he in the market for a new bread machine?

 

BreadBot is an insanely over-engineered gadget just for baking loaves of bread

The Verge

A machine baked me bread today, and it was delicious. BreadBot attempts to automate bread-making in order to bring fresh loaves to massive grocers, like Walmart and Kroger. The team behind it,... Read the full story

.

[mysty]

Myster's pizza was delicious! He tried rolling out his dough. Now he wants to try the oyster version from New Haven. :) That machine looks amazing! And did you notice in the article middle there was an add for the SS WC 2020? How odd is that?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Myster's pizza was delicious! He tried rolling out his dough. Now he wants to try the oyster version from New Haven. :) That machine looks amazing! And did you notice in the article middle there was an add for the SS WC 2020? How odd is that?

 

Hi M,

 

I think the ads will be different for everyone and is personalised to what you have been taking an interest in. The magic of the interweb.

[mysty]

Ha Ha! Maybe Myster has been browsing around. :) The interweb doesn't discriminate.

[jpalbny]

Yum...pizza! We made some on Wednesday. It was nice to fire up the oven while the snow raged outside.

 

The birthday bumping and spanking reminded me of the last time we tried to spank my little sister. She was probably about 18 or so. She ended up escaping, and I ended up with a gash above my left eyebrow where I smacked it against a bench. Chris had only known my family for a few years at that point. Needless to say, she was less than impressed!

 

Now we just send birthday greetings via WhatsApp. It's safer that way! No need for stitches. [side note: actually I made Chris tape me up with homemade butterfly tapes. It just added to her disbelief at the situation. I am amazed that she stuck with me!]

 

If you want to do any bumping, you better do it quickly because I plan on eating well this vacation. Thus the arm strength needed to lift me will grow significantly by the day, the longer you wait!

 

Yes, M, the ads are extremely personalized/personalised. Every time I search for anything to buy, I see endless ads on Facebook, Cruise Critic, etc...for days on end. Even if I've already bought the bloody thing!! Right now, I'm seeing ads for Chris's new camera, which will be delivered tomorrow. They are wasting their time since I've already bought it. One flaw in their otherwise very precise marketing technique. :D

[UKCruiseJeff]

M/JP,

 

All my ads are currently bird tables and balcony awnings. :D

[mysty]

OK. Thanks JP and J! I will now be paying closer attention to the ads! A new spying technique. :) But Myster may need to pay attention to ads as well. OOOPS!

[MissSophia]

G’Day All from a very wet Wales!

 

Such joy this morning to receive the infamous Silver Box with the May cruise tickets....rather early so guess it’s due to the dry dock schedule.

 

JP.....such excitement looming with your trip down under plus a birthday.....always great to enjoy a birthday away.

 

Not terribly keen on Pizza..maybe because I’ve never had one that l liked....🤨

 

Busy week ahead with the final phase of fixtures and fittings going in...

 

Happy Day 😊

[jpalbny]

Yay the silver box!! Makes me happy. Only 26 hours to go until check-in, I think... Love the countdowns!

 

We are pretty well organized for the trip. Packing is done. We got everything into two rollaboard cases. No real challenge as we're not expecting cool weather and there isn't any need for fancy clothing.

 

We will check our bags for convenience. May as well take advantage of the free baggage allowance! We have generous layover times so I don't anticipate any problems there...fingers crossed!

 

Now to figure out how to bring back some wine!! I have some ideas. :D

 

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[TLCOhio]

Yay the silver box!! Makes me happy. Only 26 hours to go until check-in, I think... Love the countdowns! We are pretty well organized for the trip. Packing is done. We got everything into two rollaboard cases. No real challenge as we're not expecting cool weather and there isn't any need for fancy clothing. We will check our bags for convenience. May as well take advantage of the free baggage allowance! We have generous layover times so I don't anticipate any problems there...fingers crossed! Now to figure out how to bring back some wine!! I have some ideas.

 

Good luck to Chris and J.P. for a safe and fun journey. Sorry that I have been absent from the Cooler for a few weeks. As linked below, we have been traveling with our month plus first trip to Southeast Asia, plus being back and trying to get caught up at home and work. Yes, still working and lots to do to earn more money to pay for these past and future travels, etc.

 

Look like more snow is coming to parts of New York State and New England. Is it Australia where you are headed? What all is you itinerary, what cruise line, etc.? YES, bring back lots of wine!!

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

 

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 198,542 views for this posting.

[jpalbny]

Thanks Terry. No cruise this time! All independent, land-based. We have done a cruise here before, and we wanted to see more this time.

 

I am keeping an eye on that forecast. Hopefully it will not interfere with flights.

 

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[TLCOhio]

Thanks Terry. No cruise this time! All independent, land-based. We have done a cruise here before, and we wanted to see more this time. I am keeping an eye on that forecast. Hopefully it will not interfere with flights.

 

YES, J.P., understand those "trade-offs" in seeking more "depth" by doing land-based exploring versus just a cruise that can limit your needed "immersion". That is partly why and how we did for much of our Southeast Asia exploring.

 

What stops or locations will you be focused and visiting? Look forward to hearing your details, especially if it is in or around Australia. Good luck with your weather and logistics.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 223,183 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[UKCruiseJeff]

Safe travels JP and Chris ......

 

I suspect that many outside of the UK will not have had much personal experience of Ken Dodd who died yesterday. Like him or not he is the last of his kind and he will be missed. My daughter and younger son have never forgiven me for taking them to see him in Torquay when his show started at around 7:30 pm and he was still going strong way after midnight. He'd start his show by shouting, "Lock the doors ..... " You'd have to be a really grumpy person for him not to have raised a smile and a chuckle.

 

RIP Doddy .......... :)

[TLCOhio]

Below is the latest on the weather for a major part of North America. Nice and sunny now here, but bad stuff coming soon. Winter is not done. Looking warm in South Florida, but some showers coming there.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 230,281 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

From AccuWeather, here is how things look for parts of the Midwest and Northeastern U.S., plus Canada, during the upcoming days. We will be getting snow here in Central Ohio. Some in the Albany, NY, area, but worse for New England and Canada. Burr!!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

[MissSophia]

Safe travels JP and Chris ......

 

I suspect that many outside of the UK will not have had much personal experience of Ken Dodd who died yesterday. Like him or not he is the last of his kind and he will be missed. My daughter and younger son have never forgiven me for taking them to see him in Torquay when his show started at around 7:30 pm and he was still going strong way after midnight. He'd start his show by shouting, "Lock the doors ..... " You'd have to be a really grumpy person for him not to have raised a smile and a chuckle.

 

RIP Doddy .......... :)

 

Jeff, this reminded me of the time l saw him in Blackpool....four hours he was on stage and l fell asleep...but you’re right a great showman, one of the old school bless him.

 

Had the new SS brochure today and delighted to see Peter Shanks now head of UK etc...great bloke who l remember from the Cunard days......he’ll hopefully shake up the customer service side!!

 

😊

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi S,

 

You were lucky. I had taken wifey and my kids to the pub before seeing his performance and I was really concerned to find that I was almost in the middle of a row. I think he finished that performance after 1am.

 

Some lovely tributes from the people of Devon.

 

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/how-ken-dodd-left-legacy-1327530

[UKCruiseJeff]

....... I know some Coolers are following this with some interest may be interested in a drone film ..

 

Remarkable drone footage captures the curious art of 'stretching' a cruise ship

The Telegraph

 

It was the cruise industry equivalent of routine surgery. The ‘patient’ was Silversea’s ship, Silver Spirit, the ‘hospital’ was the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, and the ‘surgeons’ were a team of engineers employed by the Italian master ship builder. Read the full story

[spinnaker2]

sad to see the innards of the Spirit so exposed as she was eviscerated. She deserves more dignity, perhaps a large drape in the colors of Monaco or Italy?

[jpalbny]

Spins, think of it as being like an old operating theatre! Innards exposed for all to see...

 

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[spinnaker2]

well then i need some ether.

[Mudhen]

well then i need some ether.

 

Too funny! me too!