Iceland Cruise July 1st 2017 - Falmouth Page

Up at 08:15 after a good night. Billy is the Shore Manager & gave the Port Talk. I skipped it but Avis went. I pounded the deck, much of the time with a guy who had been to a Catholic Grammar school, hated it, left at 15, became (instantly) a coal miner, went to BT when the mine shut, was posted to Germany & Tunisia (where he learned the languages, we chatted partly in German) & is now 78. Then, there was a talk about the Battle of Britain, which I did not think was very good. I went up top to take panoramas of this delightful port. We were well in the ria.

I had never been here before, although Avis had as a child & see the 1987-88 diaries.

A fleet auxiliary

The Church from "Black Watch"

Further West from "Black Watch"

A light lunch & onto the Falmouth port shuttle. We walked through the town, stopping at an old-fashioned gentleman’s outfitters for a leather belt for me (£15), as mine had broken, which could have been a real nuisance yesterday.

One of the best views across the ria is from the car park on the front. We had coffee & tea in Marks overlooking the harbour, walked a bit further & back.

Dropping Avis at the ship, I went up the Pendennis headland to the Henry VIII castle but did not go in as it was soon to shut.

It did give me the chance to take photos of the seaside beach of Falmouth, although the bulk of the town is on the ria side. Stuck on second sitting, we ate in the Brigadoon Self-service Restaurant or the shows are too late. Avis went to a film. Ken went to the singer’s concert. She was opera-trained & obviously did not make the cut. Bang on the note every time, her performance of the drinking song from Traviata showed her limitations but if she can make a living on the ships, good luck to her.

Sunday July 2nd

A day going up the Irish Sea, on its best behavior. Three miles of deck-pounding before Gloria’s over-long talk on the reason for Iceland’s geological interest, all about deep geology & plate tectonics. Very good but ran into the Driver’s Report at midday. She has talked on over 40 cruises but still uses a white background. Lunch in the Brigadoon.