Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
Part Five
After the third day the fog cleared. I stood on the bow of the Queen Mary facing eastward to England and took in the glorious blue Atlantic Ocean that surrounded us. Finally we could see the water! I imagined we were strong and my hair quickly turned into a style any scarecrow would relish.
I needed to find my brush and make amends with my hairdo before appearing at one of the most elegant ceremonies and traditions in the world known as “the English afternoon tea.” Scarecrows are not invited.
The tea was not to be missed. We sat at tables set for four in the Queen’s ballroom while white gloved attendants in tuxedos came to pour the tea, my favorite, English breakfast tea, followed by a similar group bearing silver trays laden with every delicate sweet and sugary dessert one might imagine along with an array of tiny cucumber, turkey, chicken salad or salmon finger sandwiches to satisfy any possible afternoon pangs of hunger.
As I tasted the delightful petit fours and chocolate treats an image of Dr. Cubbage from the White Stone Family Practice flashed through my brain giving me advice about maintaining a heart healthy diet. But can one eat carrot stocks and spinach on the trip of a lifetime? Of course not, and I quickly dismissed my good doctor.
The Queen segregates people according to the class of ticket purchased as England is still into rigid class systems, which ironically had driven my Anglo-Saxon ancestors out of the country and to America almost 200 years ago. One even eats in one’s assigned restaurant and must follow strict dress rules or … for those who don’t care to conform to rules, (which is usually me except I was conforming for the trip of a lifetime) are invited to dine in the buffet deck where there are few dress codes and all are welcome.
The entire passengers meet as one in all the ship’s activities and public spaces. I felt a bit silly, I will admit, in formal clothes on my way to formal dinner in elevators when others were happily headed for the buffet in casual clothes. I told Chip in his evening dress he looked exactly like our maître d’.
At English tea we mingled with everyone with some success, some failure. Our first tea we shared a table with two police persons, husband and wife, from Yorkshire, England. We so enjoyed meeting them and sharing our take on what “woke” has done to the American police force and it turned out the same thing had happened in Britain.
Our next tea was not so fortunate. The tea and pastries were lovely but we joined a table that once we introduced ourselves, a man who said he was an Irishman, immediately stood up and left the table. His wife, an English woman, made some lame excuse for her husband’s rude departure and we managed a polite conversation throughout tea, but we felt as if the man did not like Americans. It was unsettling.
The next day we joined a couple who were friends from Australia who liked to travel together and they were fun to be with. He was a sheep farmer and she was retired and they most definitely liked Americans. The passengers were mostly Americans, (many southerners,) English, Scottish and German. We also noted they were a well traveled group, especially as to cruising, and many had decided for their last cruise to go on the Queen.
Throughout the teas, a string quartet would play. The ensemble started with a German march and the audience clapped in delight (just as they had done when we once were in Vienna,) but after that ribald opening, the group retired to sedate English music. We did not hear any American music.
Breakfast was delivered to our cabin each morning but lunch and dinner were served formal style with six courses. The food was excellent but much fancier than we normally would eat. I remember especially an outstanding beef Wellington, baked Alaska and coq au vin. I enjoyed most of all an old fashioned turkey dinner with the usual Thanksgiving sides.
That evening in the Royal theater we were entertained by a comedian from South Africa. Before getting us laughing he told us how difficult the last several years had been for him and his family as COVID-19 had shut down most of his gigs. His routine mostly poked fun at his wife and women in general. We laughed although nothing he said would be considered politically correct.
But who wants to live in a PC world anyway? When government tells you what is funny and not funny, for some odd reason, just the opposite is true.
After two years of no work, the comedian was just getting back on his feet. Which made me think of what we in the states had suffered with COVID-19 shutdowns. Our law offices were closed to the public for three months, the lawyers still worked over the telephones and with some clients in emergencies who had to sign documents while heavily masked and isolated from staff. Scary times. Thank goodness that time has passed. We saw no masks nor did anyone ask about COVD-19 shots during the trip.
The gentle rock and shudder of the ship that bothered me the first few days had passed, the wind had calmed and one could walk on the promenade deck without a jacket. We had passed Greenland on the north and were passing Iceland now. We would soon be arriving in Southampton. The week at sea was rapidly coming to an end.
• Part 6
© 2023
