I The Calcutta & Burmah Steam Navigation Company was registered in Glasgow in 1856. One of the first ships of the company was Cape of Good Hope, built in 1853, (420 gross tons). She was a steamer, but also rigged as a brig. At 190 feet long, she still managed ninety days from Southampton to Calcutta to […]
How to turn a pollywog in to a shellback. On the 5th April we crossed the Equator on the way to Bangkok. Many passengers had not crossed the ‘line’ before, so according to tradition they are Pollwogs. A ceremony was required to satisfy King Neptune and turn them in to Shellbacks. Fortunately I had crossed the […]
The first European to see what we now call the Fiji Is. was Abel Janszzon Tasman during his 1642/43 voyage. He had already visited Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tonga. Later Captain Cook passed close to the island during his last voyage in 1774. The islands had been part of the Tongan empire and the local […]
Who gets tired of visiting Sydney Harbour? Leaving Circular Quay, Sydney. Not a cloud in the sky Full ahead! Iconic scenery The city at work and the Botanical Gardens – a link with the past. An older ferry, which we are catching . . . Water views worth millions as we approach Rose Bay. A […]
The first European to see what we now call the Fiji Is. was Abel Janszzon Tasman during his 1642/43 voyage. He had already visited Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tonga. Later Captain Cook passed close to the island during his last voyage in 1774. The islands had been part of the Tongan empire and the local […]
In 1788 Thomas Gilbert was the Captain of the Charlotte, which had sailed to Australia as part of the first fleet carrying convicts. After discharging his convict passengers Captain Gilbert sailed for China and passed through a group of islands that we now know as The Gilbert Islands. He made sketches of the islands and […]
At 122, 000 gt, I thought that perhaps Celebrity Silhouette was too large to berth in Stockholm, and this was the reason why we berthed at Nynashamn, which is forty five minutes, by coach, from Stockholm. I have since found out the Emerald Princess (113,561 gt) was able to berth in Stockholm during her visit, and […]
During the Corona Virus lock down, I decided to do a spot of Spring cleaning of my study. All went well at the beginning until I started to find things that I’d forgotten about, so of course I welcomed the distraction by checking out my own bits & pieces, which I had not seen for […]
As we entered Copenhagen we were being followed – Sapphire Princess again, and later the Queen Victoria. Copenhagen is located on the island of Zealand. According to legend the Swedish King Gylfe allowed the Norse Goddess Gefjun to carve out of Sweden as much land as she could plough in twenty four hours. The Goddess […]
At 122, 000 gt, I thought that perhaps Celebrity Silhouette was too large to berth in Stockholm, and this was the reason why we berthed at Nynashamn, which is forty five minutes, by coach, from Stockholm. I have since found out the Emerald Princess (113,561 gt) was able to berth in Stockholm during her visit, and […]
On receiving the contract I read it quickly and then read it again more slowly and then one more time, after which I decided that I needed help to make the correct decision. I bounced the idea off Goodread, which is a book readers web site, and I was very pleasantly surprised to hear from Stephen […]
I was sixteen when I made my first visit ‘abroad’ in 1960, I’d been asked to help a teacher to look after a group of British school children while visiting Germany. We were to stay at Youth Hostels as we made our way up the Rhine by rail and returned via paddle steamer, Bismark Paddle […]
The history of Qatar can be traced back 50,000 years. Throughout history various empires controlled the peninsular on which Doha stands . Qatar is the purple bit which is a peninsular, not an island. Manama is the capital of Bahrain and not part of Qatar. Qatar became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1872, and […]
At 122, 000 gt, I thought that perhaps Celebrity Silhouette was too large to berth in Stockholm, and this was the reason why we berthed at Nynashamn, which is forty five minutes, by coach, from Stockholm. I have since found out the Emerald Princess (113,561 gt) was able to berth in Stockholm during her visit, and […]
