Justin Potter

The QR Reader and the other thingy are likemagic. Pretty good as the page came to life earlier this afternoon while I wasenjoying a single shot skinning Macchiato in a double shot cup and a read afterplaying wizards and magicians in the local park earlier this afternoon.

Justin got us with a 'frozen' spell, but Imanaged a 'Tree Fu Tom' one; while Jodi YouTubed it all and everyone walking bylooked at us strangely. What - You've never seen a four year old and his granddadplaying Potter Spells in a public place before to the extent that the said fouryear truly believes that he can freeze and unfreeze you and your 28 year oldhas to explain that it's not "Three Two One" with speech impairment,but is "Tree Fu Tom" when you roll up and chuck another spell at the Grandson.

Note: (1) the hood, (2) the twig doubling up asa magic wand, (3) granddad has a picture of him at Wizard School on his wall [BlackCap and Black, Red and Grey Gown Masters Graduation 2008 doubling up as the believable 'Wizard School' image], (4) the direction ofthe spell aimed at the Granddad who then stood like a statue until a suitablerelease spell was worked up. 

Mind you I only moved one leg and one arm at the four yearolds first attempt of unleashing an unfreezing spell. Well, he hasn't been to Wizard School, has he?  There's no way that he could have got that spell right aged only four!  Who says that you need a television, playstation or a train set to have fun. Just get out there folks and start enjoying your self.  Tree fu tom, go!

Hidden Gems

Having downloaded a free QR Reader last night from the iPhone App Store and used it for the first time today; I have also downloaded the BIG 'A' reader; 'Aurasma Lite' that was also free.

I never knew that there was so much hidden content on pages in magazines and newspapers and that this hidden material comes to life when the QR Reader scans the code or the iPhone is aimed at a BIG 'A' image with 'Aurasma Lite' turned on. Astonishing seeing how the early home computers operated and how basic the early mobile phones were in comparison to today's smart phones.

If you have the phone to download the Apps then it may be worth checking out these two sooner than later.

Art

I had a smashing Art Lesson again today. This was the final lesson in the Eclipse 'Celebrity Life' series and I am extremely grateful as the art has aided the photography as well as opening up new water colouring opportunities for yours truly.

Today's lesson was on abstract and texture. I am particularly proud of my abstract interpretation of the astonishing night sky that I mentioned a fe Blog posts ago.

Well done Celebrity Cruises, as I complained last year when there was no artist onboard and it was great to find one this year. More so in that the quality of tuition was excellent.

Celebrity Life

Well what are you up to today then?

As we leave Bergen and head towards England; I have enjoyed a personal musical recital by the string trio from Russia who are playing onboard the Celebrity Eclipse.

I believe in fate and also that you reap what you sow. On this voyage as on the last, I once again took photographs of a few crew members and entertainers and had these printed in time to distribute before disembarkation.

There were four photographs left to handout and I had made my way to speak with the excellent Guest Relations Team on Deck 3.

While stood there I heard the string trio strike up and found the musicians in order to hand over their gift.

They were very pleased and to my astonishment I was the only guest present and was asked if I would like to make a personal musical request.

I chose Vivaldi's Four Seasons and sat back to hear a trio of extracts. It was of course a difficult choice to thrust upon "Gran Volta", but they sportingly rose to the occasion. I enjoyed the warmth of the music on Deck 3 in the Passport Bar while others enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine on Decks 12, 14, and 15. What an afternoon; and certainly something that I shall remember for a very long time.

It was for me - the Celebrity Life.

Flam, Norway

We really enjoyed visiting Flam and thought that the quayside was extremely nice with its surrounding high mountains and clean layout. It was a very welcoming environment and we enjoyed 2 hours on the quay prior to returning to the Celebrity Eclipse ready for our afternoon Celebrity organised excursion on the Flam Railway.

The excursion was pricey but as a train enthusiast it was well worth the added expense of booking through Celebrity. Especially seeing that we met half a dozen people who were unable to buy tickets on the day. Better to pay a premium and get a seat on a spectacular journey; than to miss the train because all tickets are sold out!

Here are a few tips for those who intend to visit Flam (although no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions).

TOP TIPS:

Book your Flam Railway journey as soon as you have your cruise booking confirmed. Tickets sold out prior to our cruise. We went into a reserve list onboard and were fortunate to be allocated tickets by Celebrity due to an allocation to another cruise ship not being sold out. The price for the excursion is high, but Celebrity have to make their money, and as a train enthusiast this was one journey that I really wanted to do.

Friends could not obtain tickets onboard the Celebrity Eclipse and went to the Railway Station very early to be told that all tickets were sold out for the day.

I stood by the SAGA outlet and had a good Internet connection. I also managed to obtain a signal on the platform. But I am not certain if I will have to pay a large Orange bill when we return to the UK.

Day and Night - Night or Day

As we embark onto the Celebrity Eclipse once more, it is difficult to decide which part of Norway was nicer; night or day.

At midnight the curvature of the Earth caused darkness to the left and right hand side of the horizon with an orange sunset surrounded by a gradient blue semi circle of light between the dark areas and over the reds of a setting sun. It was astonishing and I stood on shirt sleeve discussing the sight with an equally underdressed (for that time if night and location) waiter from Turkey. I went inside and dragged my wife and new friends from the Jazz Club on Deck 5 of the Celebrity Eclipse so that they could all witness and enjoy the light display. Not the Northern Lights by any stretch if the imagination, but surely the next best thing and influenced by our northern location.

This fantastic feeling was matched by swimming alone in the heated outdoor adult pool on Deck 12 in the extremely warm Norwegian early evening the next day. I could have been anywhere and with this heat it will be hard to convince friends back in the UK that we travelled this Summer to Iceland and Norway.

Olden, Nordfjord, Norway

A lovely place with beautiful scenery and an old white coloured church in the village. Sermons are no longer preached at the old church, but occasionally the grounds are used for the burial of those that hold a family plot. The practising church is a brown structure just outside of the village that has metal guy lines in place following a creaking sound coupled with the building shaking during a sermon many years ago. The guy lines are in place to secure the building.

This lovely photo was taken by Mrs B and shows Cunard's Queen Victoria to the left and the Celebrity Eclipse to the right hand side. Element a lovely couple from Bristol who are having their first ever cruise and are on the Queen Victoria and of course we exchanged stories and our views of each brand. There is an awful lot for Celebrity to learn, but Cunard could up their game as well. Two beautiful ships resting in a beautiful fjord.

There are no salmon in the fresh water lake as there is no salmon ladder from the tidal river up to the lake.

Here are a few tips for those who intend to visit Olden (although no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions).

TOP TIPS:

The Internet on the quayside was slow but importantly (given the high Celebrity on board costs) it was free of charge. This was the third port of call that I have been able to access the Internet either free or charge or for the cost of a small and enjoyable coffee.

The Road Train stops at the quayside and tickets can be bought from the tourist information or while queuing for the train. The cost was 150 Kron each for a round trip.

The smaller red Road Train is the better summer train as the windows open. It was a wonderful round trip lasting just over an hour with two photo stops (1) at a lake, and (2) the other by a bridge over the river. You can hop off when you get back to the village and re-board any Road Train when you are ready to return to the Quay.

We did not do the trip, but there was a Glacier Shuttle Taxi Bus from the Quayside to a nearby Glacier for around £35 each with two hours at the Glacier before returning to the Quay.

Cards or cash for the Glacier Bus with tickets bought at the Tourist Centre.

Cash only in the Road Train queue but the conductor was accepting Sterling and local currency. The Sterling price when we were there was £35 for two persons for the Road Train.

Jewel in the Crown

Geirangerfjord is a beautiful place with stunning topography of astonishing scale. Indeed a local tour guide likened it to Lord of the Rings in scale and presence. It was a great port of call for our Celebrity Eclipse Iceland-Faroe Islands-Norway Cruise.

We are now cruising between Geiranger Fjord and Olden on the innermost arm of the Nordfjord. But before we go, it is worth mentioning a few tips for those who intend to visit Geiranger (although no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions).

TOP TIPS:

There is free Internet at the Tourist Information Centre right on the pier.

The pier area is compact and everything is to hand and there was no charge for using the WC

Check out the Gift shops as prices seem to vary greatly for the same items.

The ferry costs about £10 each for a return ticket for a journey lasting 1 hour each way along the Fjord.

If you catch the ferry and return early enough before having to rejoin your cruise ship then you could walk up the hill to the Fjord Centre.

If you have never been to Norway before then the scale of the mountains will astonish you. 250m to the first ledge, 600m to the next and so on. This means that low cloud can obscure both the mountains, and of course if you travel to a higher altitude viewing point then the few to the attractions below may also be obscured.

Geiranger

We are now in Geiranger in Norway and having breakfast on our balcony after a great Black Tie Dinner with superb food again last night. Our Waiter Raoul and his Assistant August are a superb team. The recommendations are always excellent as is the wine, albeit for me it will only be a couple of glasses throughout the cruise. I am just as content with water and coffee.

The coffee and service on Deck 5 of the Eclipse is excellent. Indeed the service is excellent on every Deck on the ship.

We are now ashore having been tendered from the Celebrity Eclipse across the water to Geiranger where we are browsing before our RIB boat experience later today.

Vegas

Yet another great night for the team on tables 153 and 154 and our invited interlopers from Deutschland. I mention invited as we had booked a table for 8 when we arranged our cruise last year, but for some strange reason found ourselves on a table for 4 and the other 2 never turned up. We hit it off with our neighbours and thereafter pushed the tables together, along with inviting two others from 'Select' Dining to join us. We pay for 'Select' but never use it as we prefer the warmth that can be generated in a group if the dynamics happen. They certainly have happened on this cruise, as evidenced by a dining neighbour who commented to me earlier today that it must be great to come on holiday with a group of good friends. He was taken aback when I mentioned that we were two Germans, two Israelis, two English and two Welsh who had never met before.

Now I do have quite a few stories that could be told. But alas "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" and the very funny stories that include "don't tell him Pike" and "I know what a FOCKE is" must remain closed. This of course includes the content of the three cartoons that I have drawn this week.

It's been a great week and we are now 'steaming' to Norway, where we are due to anchor at 4 ports of call and continue to enjoy new found friendships with Nikkei, Eric, Jake, Scotty, the Baron and the Baroness (all of whom are placed with an alias to respect their privacy).

Klaksvik

Góôan morgun - (with an 'x' and not a tor bach above the second 'o').

We are now docked at Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands resting midway between Iceland and Norway. For the second day in the row it is great to enjoy breakfast on the balcony, for which there is no additional charge on the Celebrity Eclipse.

The entertainment last night in the Eclipse theatre was world class. Fantastic singing at a standard that I would have been delighted to pay extra for but did not have to. No wonder that The Arts is such an portent part of culture. I enjoyed the traditional Italian songs as much as the Operatic extract at the end. Brilliant, well done Celebrity!

I have also managed to write two poems and separately to the poetry, complete two cartoon drawings of newly acquired friends. Alas, out of respect to their privacy; I am unable to share these images with you. But I can upload a photograph of Klaksvik taken from our balcony on Deck 7 of the beautiful Celebrity Eclipse.

Vit síggjast

Living like a Lord

Mrs B and two of our Dining Companions have also noticed the "Sir Roger" bit. Last night it was a point of conversation when the waiter in one of the excellent Bars on the Celebrity Eclipse addressed me in the formal title. Wifey asked the waiter to repeat what he said, and the waiter explained that I was 'Sir Roger'. Which was really nice as our friends then commented that they too had heard the expression and were wondering why it was being used in my presence. Brilliant, just brilliant, and probably just a reflection of treating others exceptionally well. Maybe my behaviour is one of many conversations amongst the crew, as they, like others appreciate the interaction and well drilled courtesy. A crew member today on the Eclipse thanked me for asking how they were.

The thing is if you are being addressed so well, then it must follow that you also need to live the dream.

So for the first time in 21 days of sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse; we ordered breakfast to our room.

Like small giggling children we completed our breakfast card at 0230 this morning in between looking out at the ocean on what was an extremely clear night for the 4 hours of darkness. We then placed the breakfast selection card on the outside of the door to our Stateroom.

Duly waking and dressing in time, the photograph shows our excellent Stateroom Attendant Leroy, having delivered an array of freshly prepared food and coffee to our balcony.

The only question must be; why have we never ordered this before given that we sailed on the Eclipse for 14 nights last year to assist me with my then deteriorating mental health? I'm not 100% sure which is my highlight so far; the stained glass in the church on the hill at our last port of call, or breakfast on the balcony at sea today? I suppose that for many reasons the stained glass wins, but nevertheless the Celebrity Eclipse Stateroom breakfast is a wonderful thing that all passengers should indulge in at least once.

Lord Crindau

I have always said that if I had become a Lord then I would have chosen the title 'Lord Crindau' in recognition of where I was brought up. The likelihood of becoming a Lord is extremely scant, as I probably have a greater chance of winning £138m on the Euro Lottery. Although I must admit talking to a complete stranger in Twickenham a few months back who had been brought up in St Julian's Newport Gwent, who had great delight in shaking my hand and saying that he never thought that he would meet Lord Crindau.

I was well touched, but to be quite honest a BEM would do as that is what I aspired to achieve aged 18, and worked extremely hard for 32 years only to fail in gaining my aspiration.

So with all of this in mind; you can well imagine my delight at being continually called Sir Roger by a multitude of the excellent staff on the Celebrity Eclipse. It is happening more and more as if they all know something about the Honours list that someone in Britain is yet to share with me.

Continuing with the theme; maybe this is the time to mention that I met the Queen the other day while pottering around Iceland. Indeed I have met her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in person and chatted away, but alas I suspect that the moment has long been forgotten at the Palace. The lady that I met in Iceland is the double for our Queen. And as a lifelong Royalist, and the son of a lifelong Royalist, you can well imagine that I was blown away by this encounter.

That of course would be a nice conclusion to this Blog entry, accept of course the story does not conclude there. Apparently, and I have no proof, but also no reason to suspect a line; this lady is a direct descendent of the last King of Burma.

Now that's a really nice conclusion to this storyboard. Medal winners, Sir's and Lord's all topped by the Regal Majesty. Unless of course I have been spun a line and the direct descendent is actually from Barnsley and is a better storyteller than me!

But if that is the case; then why do do many of the staff call me Sir Roger while an even greater number bow to the lovely lady?

Akureyri

Having left Reykjavik yesterday we are now meandering down the Eyjafordur to Akureyri on the Celebrity Eclipse (with apologies to those that note that I am unable to work out how to insert the various double dots and lines to replicate the correct spelling using my iPhone).

Given the weather back in Britain prior to this holiday, it was a joy to be on the balcony at 0700 this morning in our bathrobes and without footwear to enjoy the warm sun. Although it's strange to be so warm while looking at the snow capped mountains as the meandering takes place.

It is unlikely that we will do an excursion today, but I must admit that our new found German and Israeli friends have been well looked after by the lovely Celebrity excursion team. Eric and Nikkei are off on a 5 hour adventure while the Baron and his equally charming wife are away to the Godafoss Waterfall. We have an option, but I'm not certain what I want from today. Relaxation or chasing the sights, which of course is a bit of a conundrum as we may not return to this part of the world.

But we are returning to the excellent Moonlight Sonata Celebrity Restaurant and that is a real look forward to.

Stones and Stuff

We are not very good with paying attention to the detail involving the excursions. We know what time to arrive, and we duly arrive early so that we do not inconvenience other guests; but we rarely know exactly where we are going.

We also like surprises and certainly don't research an area before 'wisiting'. I mean, that's almost like knowing the punch line before its delivered by the Comedian!

With these points in mind the Celebrity Icelandic Reykjavik excursion was a lovely treat. The Viking museum was awesome, as of course was the Blue Lagoon. And that folks could have been that; except the tour then went on to the geothermic fields instead of back to the port as we expected. I mean, there is so much solidified lava about, me in my ignorance thought that they were part of the larger geo-thermic stuff.

So you can imagine our delight when the Celebrity tour bus guided by 'Ever' pulled into an area container several geysers. Wow, double wow, and chips. The steam was hot, as of course was the boiling liquid. Mrs B was well impressed as of course was I.

Ever had delivered the best 'wisit', partly due to the astonishing sights and experiences, and partly due to the unexpected nature of both the stop and its content.

As ever, Ever came up trumps. Indeed Ever has become a very warm memory of a slightly colder country.

Ever after

Of course the correct title for this Celebrity Eclipse Blog entry should be 'after ever'. As 'Ever' is the name of our excellent Icelandic guide who accompanied us on the Geothermal and Blue Lagoon Celebrity Excursion and I am writing this entry the day after the accompaniment. Hence the 'ever after' title.

The grammatically correct entry would of course have been lost in translation. A bit like Evers' "we will be wisiting the sheeps". Well all of the words weren't strung together, but that I suppose is the artistic licence of Blog writing. We explained to Ever that 'sheep' was both singular and plural, and giggled like school children when Ever we were "wisiting' anything. In fact we seemed to bond with Ever. The best line (as the coach moved over a precarious track road with significant drops) was, "the driver has not driven before' with an extremely long and worrying pause before the essential word 'here' was tagged on. Apparently the tractor track was a new arterial road. I felt better knowing that the loose ground was fresh, and the driver was indeed qualified to be sat in his independently sprung seat.

Ever is a wonderful tour guide who is a credit to Celebrity and was justly rewarded by a few of us at the front.

But what was not so wonderful is the continual tour problems. I'm not sure if Celebrity target Mrs B and I deliberately or more realistically we are just unlucky. But between The Med and Iceland we have managed to get bitten by ants, an air conditioning failure in warmer climates (air con is not needed in Iceland), several ear piece and transmitter failures AND now we have had the coach microphone failure. It is extremely frustrating that we have changed coaches twice and all in all the quality of the excursion arrangements do not equal the quality of the Celebrity Eclipse and it's almost hand picked crew that are a credit to the HR team.

The frustrating thing about this imbalance is that those providing the tour facilities know that the Eclipse is arriving and could check their stuff in advance and also prepare a Plan B. You don't check essential equipment when the last guest ambles on board - yet we experience the same ineptitude in country after country. I mean folks, it's all arranged and everyone knows when the Eclipse is due in port.

Especially in Iceland where the Eclipse is the largest Cruise ship to dock in our first port of call. But it's not an Icelandic thing, as (unfortunately) it seems to be a Celebrity thing. There is of course a simple answer; set a standard that matches the fleet and refuse to pay those that don't meet the standard.

Although I suspect that the excursion problems are in fact something that will last 'Ever after', and for that reason those in Stateroom 7233 have only booked 2 excursions on this Cruise. Instead today we look forward to the company of Irit and Roger from Israel as we wonder around the sights of Reykjavik.

Formal nights

Just had a brilliant formal night and the opportunity to wear my new 'dickie bow' that was bought by Mrs B

The food, service and company on the Celebrity Eclipse was wonderful. My salmon and caviar first course was matched by the astonishing quality of my duck le orange third course. We better not say too much about my fourth course just in case my trainer reads the blog. Needless to say; it was pretty special.

There are approximately 150 Americans on this cruise, but I am wondering where the Eclipse Captain is hiding them! This photo was taken by the lovely daughter of a charming couple from New Jersey. Mrs B was still getting ready and I was told to go to the Bar on Deck 3. Always being one to obey orders, I duly obliged. Good move as I met my first American cousins of this cruise!

Champers

Free champagne or Bucks Fizz when boarding and a nice treat of more free champers again this morning. I know that it's a tad early, but hey ho, it's holiday time after all!

The free drinky poo's today accompanied the Celebrity Eclipse 'Heartbeat of the Operation' galley tour. Apparently 25545 pounds of beef are consumed on an average 16 day cruise, along with 52652 pounds of fresh fruit, and 2250 pounds of lobster. Yummy, I like a good nosh up, and you certainly get that on the Celebrity Eclipse.

Cheers, mmmmmm I wonder where I put my champagne

Mind and Body Workout

Just had a good workout in the Celebrity Eclipse gym followed by a long sauna. Very relaxing and very celebrity. Oh and my first Water Colour lesson! Complimentary and Contrasting Colours using a colour wheel. Well done Celebrity as I did mention last year that there should be art classes. Working out the body, and working out the mind, perfect!

Abandon Ship

Just completed a very professional lifeboat safety drill on the Celebrity Eclipse, conducted by their as usual top quality crew. Whenever I have been on an aeroplane I never seem to hear or understand the instructions. But no such calamity with Celebrity Cruises with clear talking and sensible video images. The devil is in the detail, and Celebrity have strung together a good safety session.

This worthwhile and seamless demonstration, plus the great ABP parking arrangements quay side, and poached red snapper for lunch are all making for a great start to Day 1 of this Celebrity Cruise.

Numbers and more numbers

DAY 1 of our Celebrity Eclipse adventure and we just had a fright. I got our Stateroom number wrong and we tried to get into an occupied Stateroom and couldn't understand why our Pass Key wouldn't work. Then someone else opened the door from inside, and we remembered that our Pass Key had failed to work on Deck 5. So there we were thinking that there had been a double booking! Well a failed Pass Key, the door doesn't open, and then someone else is inside the Stateroom. It's a reasonable assumption.

Mrs B tried to throw them over board, but I kept my cool and checked the paperwork only to find my mistake! Stateroom numbers are like Euro lottery numbers for me, i always pick the wrong ones.

Happy days :-)

Arise Sir Bradley Wiggins

I wrote it on the 27th July and I am writing it again. Can someone please arrange for Bradley Wiggins to be Knighted?

Oh, and while you are at it; how about a BEM for weight lifting 18 year old Zoe Smith. Dropped body weight to get in, sustained the body weight loss in order to compete and then broke the British Record at the Olympics. A true Olympian and one that proves that you don't have to win GOLD to be GOLDEN

Inspirational, and that's without mentioning amongst many others; Captain Stanning, Helen Glover, Froome, Jamieson, the Men's Eight, et al