NHS Challenge!

My last post shows my Fitbit and meeting my fitness targets for the day. After returning from our Caribbean cruise I have become even more conscious of the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle . Let me fill you in on some of my observations on the holiday.

I am not keen on flying and so if we can sail from Southampton to Southampton I am more than happy. The downside if there is one that the period of time at sea may be long. So this holiday for me removed a lot of the angst. 

What surprised us however was the number of seriously obese passengers and we surmised that maybe it would have been impossible for them to fly and so again this cruise suited them but for different reasons. Out of  approximately 2000 people on board we estimated that about 60% were overweight. I have mentioned the obesity problem before however this time we were shocked by the body size and the extent of immobility of many. 

We witnessed eating to the point of absurdity. This may seem far fetched but let me give you just one example - one woman who was very jolly and pleasant and almost the width of a corridor would struggle each morning to collect her breakfast from the buffet. She could hardly breath and could only move by conducting a side to side rocking motion. Her plate was filled with several pieces of toast stacked in such a way that bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes could be trapped between the layers - the arrangement was completed with baked beans poured over the top. 

This level of gluttony was not unique. When you see this with your own eyes your amazement turns into real concern that clearly she and many of the others couldn't help themselves. 

The obesity crisis is something we all have to take seriously and the solutions have to be quite radical. A sugar tax would not make any impact whatsoever. The age group primarily 45-70 on this ship, should really know better and realise that they are killing themselves. They also are suffering from many ailments including diabetes, having to endure operations to hips, knees and the rest. 

Ww

We listened to passengers who openly talked about their failings but made light of it by saying "I'm just a real foodie" and "you see I just love my food"!

Plenty of wonderful food was available, lots of variety and choice but for many they stuck to what I heard referred to on a TV programme as "the beige diet" (fat v carbs BBC). Lots of potatoes mainly in the form of chips, bread rolls with every meal, rice, pasta.....

We reflected on the challenge facing the NHS and what could be done. There are no simple answers but there needs to be strong messages about the consequences of this overindulgence. We seem to care more about sensitivities than tackling the problem.  If the behaviour I have described is replicated across the country no wonder the NHS can't cope.

Needless to say the gym on board was used by about 20 people on a regular basis. However others did visit the gym .....to use the scales. Some including my husband preferred to walk 3 times round the promenade deck (1mile) on a daily basis.- just as effective particularly when walking briskly

Diet and exercise are regular topics in newspapers, magazines, TV programmes, websites, Government and NHS guidelines so why aren't people listening???

What do you think? 

2016 - holidays!!

When I was a young woman holidays had to take a back seat as there were always too many demands on limited funds.  I always thought it best to save and pay attention to security and the future. So many years later having satisfied those needs my husband and I are now in a position to indulge ourselves.

Last year we went on two significant holidays - one, a cruise  in March/April for five and half weeks which took in a long sail starting in Singapore stopping at many ports, the most spectacular being Cape Town and ....

Walvis Bay, Namibia.

This was one of the longest holidays we have ever had and we were worried that it might have been too long.  We were pleasantly surprised as we were enjoying all the different locations, the weather, the relaxation and getting involved in activities which appealed to us.

Later in the year ....November to 19th December we went on a Caribbean cruise.  This location is beautiful, however we aren't really beach people and so for us the holiday does have limitations. We saw it as a lovely break before Xmas.It was quite a challenge before we departed as we had to do so much prep before the festivities on return - somehow you always manage to get things done.

We had been to some of the islands before but not to Antigua and St Maarten both of which are subtley different.

 We really enjoyed our frozen Margaritas in St Maarten!!

Holidays are great and enjoyable but it is good to recharge but I have never been one who wishes to be defined by the holidays I take. Some passengers love to have a quick turnaround and return on another cruise as soon as possible - indeed some seem to spend all of their time on ships and if this is what gives them pleasure then good luck to them.  However my husband and I like to have the contrasts, we have other interests at home and love the diverse quality of life.

I am still curious as to how people can afford so many holidays.....and the bar bill!!! 

Split, Venice, Sarande, Malaga......memories...

As promised here are more photos of our recent Cruise starting with Split

           

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Venice

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Sarande

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Malaga

Picasso Museum

Holiday Matters....

In my last blog I mentioned our holiday.  It seems an awfully long time ago now but in fact was only last month.  We went on a cruise.....again! Cruising is one of the most enjoyable, stress free holidays you can take.
We had decided to tour around France as we used to , but with all the problems with the "tunnel" and the inevitable disruption we decided to go back to our old habits.

We weren't disappointed,  3 weeks cruising the Mediterranean with wonderful weather.  If I was being picky it must be said that the temperature at times could be a little challenging....up to 36 degrees on one day.

As soon as we arrived in Southampton and handed in our cases we were free to enjoy. We had been to some of the places on the itinerary before but this still didn't detract from the pleasure of seeing them again.
Ports of call included Cadiz, Valletta, Dubrovnik, Split, Venice, Corfu, Sarande, Malaga and La Coruna.

Here are some of our photos in Seville which we travelled to from Cadiz

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Malta

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Dubrovnik

We have been to Dubrovnik before but my husband was particularly thrilled with the visit this time as "Game of Thrones" was filmed here. 

Have I wetted your appetite? More photos later......

Back Home!!

Got back last night from 3 week cruise holiday which ended in Australia  -now we are seriously jet lagged! Not helped by being at airport in Brisbane for 6.30 pm for 11.30pm  flight - 10 mins before boarding emergency - gas leak - chaos fire engines, fire fighters….terminal evacuated hundreds bemused people milling around outside. Not too long to wait flight left one hour later but we had to go through all the security stuff again!! 

Then approx 7 hour flight to Kuala Lumpar, another few hours wait before 13 hour flight to Heathrow!

Surprising how flexible bodies can be as they struggle to achieve a position which will enable a semblance of sleep!!  So proud us oldies - so resilient!!!

Formal Frocks!!

The worst part about coming back from holiday is the washing!

We are just about on top of this now but there are still some dry cleaning and repairs to do.

The most challenging and expensive thing for me is dealing with cleaning of evening gowns from the formal nights on board.  I am not complaining as dressing up is one of the most enjoyable parts of the night life.  So many passengers comment on the fact that everyone almost without exception "scrub up well" when dressed in their finery.

Assessing the cleaning problem!

There are so few opportunities to dress formally these days and so certainly we make the most of it. If sailing from Southampton on a return trip there's no problem regarding amount of clothing that can be taken - the difficulty arises on a fly cruise and weight restrictions.  My husband loves to see me enjoying myself with clothes but he does read the riot act when we are flying and I have to do my usual strop when asked to be sensible as to the quantity!

I just hate leaving out some items as we girls know,  sometimes you feel like wearing a certain dress and sometimes you don't!  Good to have many options..............hmmmm

My favourite black tie designer is Marchesa - so feminine and special but unforgiving if you put on an ounce.  Also like Anna Sui, D & G, Prada ........ this sounds expensive but with careful buying in sales and outlet sites you can accumulate a range of items which suit your shape and style and which you can use over and over again.  (This is the line my long suffering husband is never tired of hearing form me and he enjoys mocking me - but ladies it is so true - isn't it?)

It really is worth the effort and am looking forward to the next jaunt!!

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Something quite remarkable happened as we left the dining room one night - a woman called after me and this was someone who I haven't seen for 27 years - our children went to junior school together and we shared school runs!  How random is that?

and then on to Norway..................

After Iceland we sailed on to Norway and visited 3 ports of call - Alesund, Flam and Stravanger.


The most notable of the 3 was Flam which was a jewel - really pretty nestling deep in a tributary of the world's longest and deepest fjord.  It is surrounded by steep mountainsides, waterfalls and deep valleys.. I am afraid my snaps do not do it justice. Its definitely worth a visit for the breathtaking scenery.

Iceland and Norway were very expensive and can't say that there was a lot to buy and so purchases were few and far between.  My husband thought that this was a real bonus!!!  Grrr!

Holiday Hits and Misses - costs! (2)

As I mentioned cruising holidays are not a cheap option no matter how they are advertised in the press. Cabin costs depend on where it is in the ship, if it is an internal or external, whether it has a balcony, whether you opt for one of the even more expensive mini suites or full suite with your own butler!

Brisbane - Koala

Additionally there is the cost of the bar bill for alcoholic drinks and for soft drinks (not provided in dispensers) and for wine with evening meals.  For a couple on a  3 week holiday it is not unusual for this to amount to £1000+

There is also a daily charge per person to cover tips for the really hard working cabin steward and the waiters on your evening table.

When you visit places where you have never been before most people choose to join organised excursions rather than doing their own thing. The cost depends on whether the trips are half day or full day. You can sometimes also opt for "off piste" excursions which can last several days and involve visiting places not on the usual itinerary or  involve specialist interest activities and then rejoin the ship at the next port..  Costs per person vary from approx £70 to about £200. The "off piste" activities can be hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

Brisbane - Emu

Visas in some countries can be quite punitive e.g. China charges £250 per head, others much less - Japan is approximately £38 per head.
So the costs mount up. There were 1800 passengers on board of which a third were going round the world and then the rest of us who were completing just a "leg" of the cruise. Some of the round the worlders talked about the number of times they had completed this long cruise. Many had already booked their next holiday.  One couple in their 50s told us that they had been on 5 cruises in 5 months.

I must say that even with the most expensive extras available on the cruise,  they were not short of takers.

Which brings me back to the question I posed on the last post - how can people afford this? This question is even more poignant today having watched the Budget and listened to the talk of hard times particularly for "ordinary" people and how badly austerity measures were affecting them. . It certainly wasn't evident on the ship.  Many having thrown caution to the wind. Clearly people have their priorities and they must be quite creative when it comes to managing their own budgets.

Although my husband and I enjoyed our holiday we are always say we couldn't spend any longer than the 3.5 weeks - we don't have the stamina and......we couldn't afford the time or extra costs including.... the bar bill :)

More holiday talk on next post......

Brisbane Kangaroo

Holiday hits and misses! (1)

Just got back from a 3 and a half weeks holiday on a cruise.  I know cruising isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but this opinion tends to be aired by those who haven’t had the experience.  A long time ago someone said to me and to my husband that once you have tried it you are smitten.  This certainly has proved to be the case.  There is nothing to compare to driving down to Southampton  - handing over your car keys and being shown to your cabin – luggage miraculously appears and then you are then someone else’s responsibility!  The floating hotel takes over and all the cares of our everyday routine are taken away.

This is not a cheap option – you do have to take into account not only the initial cost of the holiday but all the extras which I will refer to later.  My husband and I have saved and prepared for this stage in our lives  but we are always staggered by the number of people on board who have sailed regularly on very expensive around the world trips often not bothering to set their feet on the ground on some of the ports of call as they have” been there done it” several times! I am not talking necessarily about wealthy people – there is a complete spectrum – we keep saying how can they do it?! There are those who are clearly wealthy and money is no object and then there are those who are “comfortable “ but cautious; others who openly talk about selling council houses and enjoying the proceeds and then more worryingly are those who provocatively declare that they are “on benefits”!  I am not sure as to the true status of people on board but I would be fascinated to find out!

This time the holiday was not so relaxed as sadly when you want to explore  the further extremities of the world you do need to fly and then join the cruise . We flew to Sydney via Hong Kong before visiting other parts of Australia, on to Papua New Guinea, then Japan and China before reaching Hong Kong and then the flight back to the UK.

Some say that cruises are for older people and I must admit that the majority of those on board fell into the 50+ category . However there are some cruises  which cater for families and the younger ones. You just have to make sure that your choice of provider and ship reflect your needs. So more later....

Sydney Bridge

I intend to post some highlights of my holiday and also some senior moments and experiences which may stimulate a response or debate!

Sydney Opera House from ship