Ship
Yes and it was disappointing. Disappointing because I expected a different experience as a single person.
I should have accepted my gut feeling when I arrived at embarkation. My chauffeur and I was drinking coffee and we watched the other passengers booking in, I knew then that I had made a mistake. I didn’t see any furry rats but I did witness the elderly struggling with Zimmer frames, wheel chairs, sticks and blindness!
I was encouraged to board the liner and “it’s not that bad”my chauffeur called out with a huge grin!
My cabin was well equipped, clean and Toni was at hand to obey my wishes. His first task was to find my favourite channels on the TV.
After unpacking I seeked out where the Buffet eating hole was. Alone, eating a reasonable meal I watched the other 1000 sailors descent all looking happy and hungry!
Yes I was right! Nearly all was impaired and I kindly accommodated them helping where I could during their duration.
After dinner there were always entertainment either quizzes, bingo or shows. To find a table you had to rush as soon as you finished your dessert. I was a threat to a few woman who tightly held onto their husbands and steered them away.
The excursions were well organised, however because of bad weather four were cancelled.
The elderly found it difficult walking the gang plank so endless time was wasted helping them to manoeuvre down and up!
The ship’s staff were polite, friendly and very clean. I could never find my cabin and often I was found walking up and down the right floor but on the wrong corridor.
Forgotten to tell you:
Cruise around the British Isles and a bit more. If you go, check out the age group of the other passengers first.
Bridget White – who has completed 39 years as a volunteer with Oxfam Marlow and recently celebrated with other volunteers a cream tea at the Complete Angler. She was taken by surprise as she thought we were all going to an Oxfam meeting in a nearby Methodist Church rooms.
Her watchful eye and knowledge of bric a brac’ have brought in many. many pounds for the Charity and she still continues sorting/pricing bits & bobs in the operation-room towards the back of the shop.
Asked when she was going to fully retire she replied “I enjoy this too much and I would miss my friends”.
Rock on Bridget!
Scammers
Looking back to 2004 when I left my ex-husband and living in a flat alone, I must have been feeling very gullible, vulnerable and in need of someone to replace my ex. Apparently it’s quite common for men and women to search for someone to fill that vacant empty space.
Anyway, I joined a dating-site and as many of you know you have to build up a profile; age, status and naming a town where you live.
My first Scammer was American, a widower, who had a daughter, owned his own company and a very rich man. He very quickly asked me to chat via MSN.
Within a week he had fallen in love with me, sending me love-poems, his daughter inviting me to her wedding in Hawaii, calling me Mom!! etc. etc.
At the end of that week HE (Micheal, spelt incorrectly) made a BIG mistake. He asked me to open up a bank account in his name and deposit some money into it and he would pay me back. He wanted an English bank account as he was planning a trip to the UK and wanted to deposit money that he hoped he was going to make through one of his business deals.
Now knowing how suspicious and tight fisted that I am I refused to open up an account. He didn’t like that and over the next week he pushed and pushed me, but I gave him the same answer every time and that was a No! He used emotional blackmail, and then a few weeks later he told me he was in Japan and his driver’s son in California had been knocked down and had no money to pay for his medical bills. As the scammer was away and had no money to send him would I pay the medical bills!!!
He quickly gave up on me when I told him to F*** Off!
Another Scammer, a widower, from Bath sent me flowers. He asked to use my bank account as he couldn’t open up an account in the UK!
Another Scammer living in Twickenham had a business trip to Legos, Nigeria only for a few weeks, and when it was time for him to return to the UK there was an air strike. He was running out of money so would I send him some. So after that didn’t work with me, he then told me that he had collapsed in his Hotel room, as he was a diabetic and had no medication with him. According to him he was rushed to hospital but was unable to pay his medical bills, so would I help!.
After watching a programme on TV I investigated on line Scammers on my computer. There was a list of email addresses used and it must have been easily a 1000 or more BUT it also stated that they sometimes use model’s photographs from an agency based in Hawaii. There were women as well as men’s photos so I wasn’t surprised when I came across two of my scammer’s photos.
It’s amazing how devious they can be, how they get away with it and sadly how gullible we can be. Men are also targeted and yes they also fall for it.
Reporting it to the Dating site, making them aware, doesn’t stop them taking their money and details. They say that they try their best not to let this happen but they also don’t know who they are, and that’s as far as they investigate.
The credit cards used as probably stolen and used quickly before being reported as stolen.
I was not fooled as I have no money to give away but they prey on widows/ers, divorced, separated individuals who are probably lonely and needy for love.
Who snores? Well I do and I feel so embarrassed about this! What can be done to help me and others like me? I always thought it was a male thing, and us pretty women didn’t make such an annoying noise, but I’m wrong.
It’s bad enough sleeping next to a man who does, but what happens when you are told that you do and it’s loud and disturbing and that you need to go to the Doctor etc?
After I Googled ‘How to stop snoring’ I found that I have to either lose weight (ha ha), stop drinking (not drinking at the moment) or to sleep on your side (as if). Will I ever find a man who can sleep through my snorning or will I stay single and never have to hear any complaints from anyone? Not to be disheartened I bounced it back. It’s their responsibility to remove themselves either to the downstair’s couch or to the spare bedroom. If in a Hotel go to reception and sleep on a couch or book into another room.
Another way to look at it is that the man will have to love me and my snoring, like I would them!
That’s a good question to ask at ‘Speed Dating’ – “Do you snore?”
Nov 2006 I treated myself to a 7day luxury holiday in St Lucia at a 5star hotel called LeSport. It was very expensive but everything was included so I didn’t need any spending money. Every day you were entitled to a free Spa treatment before or after a choice of either water sports, swimming, golf, tennis, walking or just laying on the beach sunbathing. Everything was provided to help to make your holiday relaxing and enjoyable. This Hotel catered for couples and single travellers, but not for children under the age of 16 years old. As I was a single lady I thought go-for-it. My bedroom was beautifully furnished and cool and one early evening I went back to my room to get ready for dinner. First I thought I would go out onto the balcony while I enjoy a glass of wine and look out to the beautiful blue sea. I was on the 2nd floor so had a lovely view of the sea and was able to watch the guests walking back to their rooms. I took my book and just chilled again. I closed the door leading back into my bedroom to keep out the mosquitos and other insects and also the air conditioner was running. It was time to go back in and get ready…………I tried the door but it was locked. What do I do now? I shook the door pushing the handle up and down but it didn’t budged so I leant over the balcony and started to call out to the passing guests for help but they couldn’t hear me. I tried quite a few times to get the guest’s attention but it was no use. As I leant over the balcony I saw some toes on the next balcony sticking of the railings so I called out. The couple luckily heard me and engaged with me in a conversation, after the wife rang reception to ask for help. We had a good chin wag and we exchanged names, weight, our occupation, where we lived etc etc and laughing at my disposition. We then heard from the above balcony another couple calling out asking whether help was needed. Again to pass the time I found out about them and even their sex life!! So we had a 3 way conversation hanging over our balconies. Reception was going to send up a Maintenance man to help me, but……I had put the chain across the lock just inside my room. That sent my new found friends into hysterics. We had all by then topped up our glasses of wine. One of them reported again to Reception and told them about the chain. It must have been at least 30 mins later that the maintenance man appeared and he eventually opened the door to my room and then opened the balcony door to rescue me. I bumped into my balcony neighbours often during the rest of my holiday and we would just look at each other and start to laugh. So, I shamelessly bragged to my friends on my return to the UK that I have had a black man in my bedroom and no! I’m not a racist.
When I was working with the British Army at a station near Hanover, Germany (at the time West Germany) I had a visit by two of the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) police who was stationed nearby or training nearby. Once a year a registration document for your car similar to a MOT needed to be presented for renewal (after a mechanical check of your car) then that would enable you to purchase petrol coupons. Petrol coupons were about a quarter of the price for a gallon of petrol. Not knowing what they wanted I was told that I was guilty of forging a date on this document and it was a serious offence. Because I was innocent I found it funny, but when I was given my rights by these two (man and woman) I just couldn’t believe I was hearing right. I invited them to sit down, offered them tea or coffee, but could not render a smile from either of them. So they started to interrogate me for 1.5 hrs. If I had my wits about me I should have had an officer with me. They twisted everything I said and when I was asked where is my car I honestly told them that it was 2 hrs. away being used by my Office boyfriend (later became husband). They then wanted to know why he had it, who he was and wondered whether he forged the date. I told them to ask him themselves which they thought twice about. I left the office to go back to my flat and was very upset by the experience. A couple of weeks later I received a phone call from the Colonel’s Adjutant ordering/inviting me to see him to get my wrists smacked! Luckily my Officer boyfriend was visiting me so he drove me to the Barracks and came into the Adjutants office to wait for me. The Colonel was ready to see me so in I went to his office. He started to read out the charge and asked me questions. I stopped him and explained that the person who was in possession of my car was sitting outside and that he should ask him the questions. My boyfriend went in and I left the office and waited until I was called back in to find the pair of them laughing and joking with each other. I was furious but kept quiet. A month later we went to the Garrison for a Fete and bumped into the SIB Major who promptly said, “Oh! We have the ‘RAF Gutersloh Mafia here”. (Where my boyfriend was stationed and where I was before I moved to work with the Army. It would have been so easy to admit to the crime just to stop their bullying!
Inspector Clouseau
Years ago I was a live-in Nanny to two children (and they were very difficult). I arrived oblivious to the situation within the household. The husband was a professional man and the wife semi worked leaving me to care and drive the kids to school and to their various activities.
It was a very volatile household with the wife exploding often and I soon found out why.
The wife had recently had an affair with a colleague of her husband, leaving him and taking the children to live with this man. The husband persuaded her to return to him but she was very unhappy with this arrangement. He was very aware that she could leave him again quite easily. He adored his kids and he did not want to lose them.
Meanwhile the lover heartbroken and wanting to obtain more money somehow so that he could entice her back, to care and support her and her children.
After a row with his father whilst he was on holiday with him, the lover allegedly battered him to death, or so say the police. The police wanted to prove that he was responsible for the death of his father. The lover denied it, but the police were out to prove him guilty. (Music)
Where did I fit in?
I had the weekend off so when I returned on the Sunday evening I was told to expect a bumpy road with the media and the police because a top detective from France was on his way to interview the wife. There was a report on the television and radio that evening reporting why the French detective (Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther) was arriving in the UK and who he was hoping to question.
I couldn’t get my head around it all. He killed therefore he was guilty, end of. The husband believed him to be guilty but as he was trying to earn brownie points with his wife and at one time was his boss, he didn’t want to see him go to jail as he was a probably provoked by the father and he wasn’t mentally strong enough to endure a prison sentence.
The wife obviously wanted didn’t want him to go to jail, but knew that she was in a very difficult position. Was it because of her that this murder happened? Uh…………..Yes…………….!
My job was to look after the two kids but ended up supporting and protecting her also. When it got really bad we were chased in the car across countryside by a journalist. When we stopped in the village for some bits six reporters surrounded our car, snapping away with their cameras with photos appearing in the next day’s edition. TV cameras would be outside the house and I was often filmed getting in and out of the car. Then reporters would knock on the door and bribed me when they telephoned.
As I was going through my own personal problems at the time I found this difficult to cope with, to understand and I didn’t know how to deal with it all.
I had to leave but before I did the local policeman came to advise her that the French Detective was in London and was wishing to interview her. I left the household and as far as I know they never did pin the murder on the lover.
A few years later the husband was killed in a car accident, the wife re-married (to a local farmer), the children I don’t know and the murderer got away with it.
Me? It was a scary experience but I got through it, life is never boring for me!
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