Today we're anchored off Fishguard, Wales, a place I visited about three years ago.  It's pretty chilly and kind of gray out so I decided it was a good day to have a sea day.  I had catching up to do on e-mails and some business things so this worked out well.  I did write about the nice history of events in Fishguard when I last visited and to remind myself and anyone else reading this, I've copied some of what I wrote then.  This is the story of the "Last Invasion of Britain." 

In 1797 the French and British were fighting and Napoleon dispatched warships carrying about 1400 troops to land and capture Bristol. The wind didn’t cooperate with the French fleet and they wound up sailing into Fishguard Bay, our port today. The local fort fired its one and only cannon and cannonball as an alarm to the local townsfolk.  The French thought they were meeting stiff resistance so they withdrew and instead landed at a nearby beach in the village  of LLanwnda (good Welsh name).  The French soldiers were a ragtag bunch of mainly recently released jailbirds (Napoleon had his best troops fighting on the continent).  So, when the French came ashore and began plundering the surrounding town and houses they found lots of food and wine and proceeded to get very drunk. A local woman named Jemima Nicholas, who was a cobbler, came down to see what the furor was about dressed in a red cape and a black top hat carrying a pitchfork. She looked so fearsome to some of the drunken French soldiers that she managed to round up 12 of them and march them off to be locked up in the church in Fishguard.  Then she sent word out to the surrounding farms that the women should dress in their red cloaks and black hats, which happened to be everybody’s Sunday best clothing, and stand on the hills above the beaches.  From the French ships the women looked like British soldiers, or at least their drunken state led them to believe that, so after two days the French surrendered.  In the surrender agreement signed in the Royal Oak Pub in Fishguard, the French commander referred to the "several thousand British troops of the line" coming to meet them in battle.  And so ended the last invasion of Britain in February, 1797.

About 15 years before the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Fishguard the townspeople decided to do something to commemorate the event.  They decided to make a tapestry like the Bayeux Tapestry recounting William the Conqueror’s invasion.  Over the next 13 years with the help of an artist who was from the area originally they designed and then stitched a 100-foot tapestry telling the story.  Seventy-three women stitched 41 panels using 154 different colors of threads depicting the events of the invasion.  The pieces were carefully assembled and are on display in the town hall in Fishguard.

Sorry there's nothing new, but I'm taking the lazy road tonight.  Dinner with the captain again tonight.

May 5 - Waterford, Ireland

We  docked in Cobh, Ireland this morning and since I’d booked a tour I had to get up very early.  Seabourn offered a tour to visit the Waterford crystal factory and since I love their crystal I thought I should go and see the Mother Ship. No surprises here – Waterford is located in the town of Waterford in the county of Waterford, about an hour and a half bus ride away.

The Irish countryside is quite pretty, lush and green.  It is, after all, called the Emerald Isle. We passed through lots of meadows with very happy-looking cows, a few sheep and lots of barley fields.  Barley is used for all kinds of things the Irish are pretty famous for – feed for their cows to make great Irish butter and grain to brew Irish whiskey and beer.

We arrived in the town of Waterford which lies along the Suir River. The Suir eventually flows into the Irish Sea and sometime early in this century the remains of a large Viking settlement were found just upriver from Waterford so a replica longboat has been placed near the riverfront.

The Viking longboat replica

The tour of the Waterford factory was interesting but also a little disappointing.  I can’t recall all of the history of the company except for a couple of basics.  It was founded in 1783 by somebody named George Penrose.  In the mid-19th century it closed.  Since then there have been various attempts to reopen the business.  After going through a series of private equity companies, in May 2015 Waterford, which by then had merged with Wedgewood, Royal Doulton and some other brands, was acquired by Fiskars Corporation, a Finnish home products corporation.  The only thing I’ve ever heard of Fiskars making are cutting shears for sewing.  

Over the course of all the reorganizations and refinancing, most of the crystal production, including all the stemware, is made in places like Slovenia, Poland and Hungary.  The factory we went to makes things like big presentation pieces such as trophies for sporting tournaments and, most famously, the ball that drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

It was interesting to see the artisans at work blowing the glass, marking it with markers to indicate where the patterns should be carved and etched. I learned from the guide I spoke with that the stemware pattern I have has been retired and is considered a heritage pattern which can bring pretty big prices if sold (Bear that in mind Katie, if the time ever comes!).  Naturally at the conclusion of the tour we ended in a showroom with some beautiful things.  I’m not in the market for anything so I didn’t have to worry about temptation.  It was very interesting seeing some of the exquisite one-of-a-kind things like a grandfather clock or cinderella’s coach or musical instruments.  I have a greater appreciation for the level of detail and care that goes into making things like those.

This and the next are wooden molds made first so when the molten glass is made it can be shaped in them

This man is making a wooden mold for some piece

The glass blower blows his piece and then the molten glass will be placed into a mold.  While still very hot the end will be snipped off.

This man marks the pattern

A carver at work

I just have to include some of these photos of the finished works of art. They are so beautiful and took so much work.

This EDvard Much's "The Scream" in crystal

This Van Gogh's "Starry Nights"

Finally, a nativity scene infront of a representation of the Twin Towers on 9/11

After our visit we had lunch in a hotel in Waterford.  It was tasty but way too much food.  I even tried a local beer (I never drink beer but it seemed like the thing to do). We drove back to Cobh via a different route and passed a pretty famous castle, Lismore, which in fact was the name of the first Waterford pattern and is still produced today.  The castle is not open to the public and it was while she was telling us about Lismore that I learned what I thought was some interesting stuff about Irish history, both old and contemporary.

While I didn’t learn a great deal about it when I was in school, I knew like most of us that Ireland belonged to England for centuries and was not treated well by the latter. Especially in the 19th and first part of the 20th centuries there was lots of fighting and upheaval for Irish independence in part because much of the land was owned by absentee English landlords (mainly from the British aristocracy). In 1921 a delegation of Irish Republicans negotiated in England with the British and in December, 1921 an Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed.  One of the Irish delegates was Michael Collins, a former member of various Irish revolutionary groups.  The treaty gave Ireland its independence but required the Irish to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown.  It also allowed English landowners to retain their holdings in Ireland.  So for example, the Duke of Devonshire, an English peer, owns Lismore Castle and several thousand acres of land around it.  Upon the signing of the treaty he ceded a thousand acres to Ireland, but it turned out to be land that wasn’t suitable for farming or much of anything else.  Michael Collins, about whom there was an academy award film made, was subsequently killed by some of his anti-treaty Irish brethren who weren’t happy with the deal.

To put it simply, think of what it would have been like if after our American Revolution we would have had to swear allegiance to King George III and if some of his court favorites to whom he’d given large tracts of land in the colonies had been allowed to keep those holdings.  Would the Revolutionaries have stood for that?  I think our boys Ben Franklin, John Adams and John Jay did a much better job looking out for us.  What the guide told me may have been an oversimplification, but it does sound like the Irish got worked over.

It was an interesting day from lots of perspectives and I was glad I took the tour despite the early morning departure.  Any time I can learn more history I’m happy.

And by the way, we ended our cumulative trivia in the late afternoon and we blew everyone away!  I got another Seabourn ball cap to give away!

May 4 - At Sea and I’ve completed another year

Just a few pictures of cabin today. We had a peaceful and lovely day at sea.  On this cruise I’ve been so lucky with the weather.  I slept late, played trivia in the AM and Name that Tune in the PM.  Along the way, I got birthday cards, wishes and songs.  My favorite milkshake maker made me an extra-special milkshake.  At dinner I went to Solis and had a lovely meal with the Cruise Director, Entertainment Manager, and a friend.  I even got a few presents along the way.  That makes four years in a row I’ve done that; how lucky am I! 

I didn’t stay up too late because I had to get up early for a tour.  All in all it was a lovely day.  I do like the  way they say Happy Birthday in Spanish; it’s “Feliz Cumpleaños”  which means essentially be happy for completing another year.  I think that’s what I’ve done successfully.

April 30 and May 3 - Portland, England (AKA the Jurassic Coast)

We’ve made two stops in just three days at this small place, the Isle of Portland on the southwest English coast.  It’s  the southernmost point in the county of Dorset.  Portland is what is called a “tied island” in that it is connected to the mainland by a barrier beach called Chesil Beach.  The island is about four miles long by not quite two miles wide and is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site known for its geology and land formations.  Stone from this part of England was used to build St. Paul’s Cathedral and, strangely enough to me, the United Nations Headquarters on the other side of the Atlantic.

Not exciting to see, I know, but this is Chesil Beach which must be man- madeconnecting the island with the mainland

The first time we came here on the 30th of April I only took a round trip on the shuttle bus into the little town of Weymouth.  It was extremely windy and it was actually hard to walk. Since I knew we’d be back in just three days I opted to not go ashore.  I did see something very interesting as we sailed away on the 30th and I’ll just tweak your curiosity now and tell you more about it later.  It was something very unusual for this part of the world.

Anyway, on May 1st we docked in Portsmouth which I’d been to before and where I’d visited the Royal Navy Dockyard and seen the Tudor ship Mary Rose and the HMS Victory of Admiral Nelson’s fame.  I didn’t think they’d changed so I had a sea day in port.  After my lovely visit to Dover and Canterbury I found myself back in Portland.  The wind was calmer although we had more clouds than a few days ago, but thankfully it didn’t rain.

This weekend is a holiday weekend in the UK.  The first Monday in May is apparently always a bank holiday so on this Sunday May 3rd the little town of Weymouth on the isle of Portland was bustling.  The British do love their dogs and I saw all varieties walking around the promenade around the small boat harbor.  I even gave a few a nice head and chin rub.  I do miss having a dog, but if I want to keep on cruising, it  wouldn’t be fair to have a canine companion.  

The small boat harbor in Weymouth

There were lots of families around and many of them were baiting lines and fishing off the harbor walls.  I went over to a couple and found they were fishing for crabs.  The kids would catch them and put them in a bucket of water.  I asked if they eat them, but they told me they don’t.  After a few minutes they toss them back in.  They’re just caught for fun.  As you can see from the photo I took they look quite different from our Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs.  Everyone looked like they were having a good time and everyone seemed to be catching them.  Perhaps the crabs are smart enough to have figured out they get an easy meal with no penalty to pay for it

Same basic shape but doesn't look nearly as good as our crabs.

I walked around the harbor for a while and then decided I’d try lunch at one of the pubs and cafés around.  I found a table outside at the Quayside Pub and Café and sat waiting to be served.  It turned out this was one of those places where you go in and order, pay and they bring it out to you.  I found a nice young Englishman to table sit for me so my place didn’t get taken and went inside. My intention was to try some genuine English fish and chips, but on the menu I saw a crab salad and after seeing all the crabs being caught, I thought “why not?”  I’ve decided it’s a mistake for anyone familiar with our crabs to order them from elsewhere.  The salad was okay, but that’s all I can say for it. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs are the best and I’ll challenge anyone who says otherwise. It was pleasant sitting there and I chatted with the people who guarded my table. After I’d finished, rubbed a few more dog heads (can you imagine what would happen in the US if people came in with a non-service dog to a restaurant?) and noticed that the clouds were looking darker I decided it was time to walk back around the harbor to the shuttle bus stop.  About that time a couple of sailboats came along and the drawbridge was raised so traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian was stopped as the boats glided through.

The Quayside Pub and Café

My crab salad

Back on the ship we had afternoon trivia and we had to reconstitute our team.  Only Lisa, a really fun Australian I know from several cruises (she likes to dance at the Club too BTW), were left from the last leg.  We found some Brits and Americans to join us and proceeded to finish in third for the day.  It’s cumulative so we’re okay. (If we don’t win that’s okay with me too but not everybody feels that way.)

So now to what I teased you with earlier.  The first time we stopped here the other day I learned from thebus driver that they have a group here called the Weymouth Ukeleleians(sp?).  They are a group of senior(seasoned) citizens who get together and play the ukulele.  I don’t know about you, but I associate ukes with Hawai’i, certainly not Dorset in England.  Well, be that as it may the group comes down to the dock just before sailing and serenades us.  They all look well-seasoned.  Some of them wear flowered shirts and they played for us.  While I listened they were playing Beatles tunes – Ticket to Ride and Eight Days a Week.  How fun is that?  As we finally sailed out a three-cannon salute was fired by the Nothe Fort Victorian Artillery Brigade.  I didn’t get a picture  of that but it was so nice.  I have read that this community is a pretty depressed area of the UK and they very clearly welcome tourists and cruise ships unlike some places.  It is an absolutely lovely place to come.

These are the Weymouth Ukeleleians.  If I can figure out again how to post a video I will, but right now I can't get it to work.

I had a nice evening at a small hosted table with some people I already knew.  The show tonight was  Scottish duo, brothers who sang Celtic songs.  They were very good, but I have to say that when they talked I probably only understood four out of ten words.  I need closed captions with Scots or Yorkshire accents.  But the music was toe-tapping and fun.  After I went to the Club and met my new friends Sonja and Ton from the Netherlands who are such fun!  We danced and at mid-night they had the band play, and everybody sang, Happy Birthday.  How great is that!  Tomorrow is a sea day so I can sleep in.  Hooray! 

May 2 - Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?

We docked in Dover today and many of my fellow voyagers left, their cruise at an end.  It’s a really good feeling walking down the passageway the night before and not seeing your suitcases outside your door because you get to stay a little longer.  Of course, my turn will come.

It’s a lovely day here in Dover despite not being too warm.  It’s in the mid 50’s here on the water.  There’s a little mist, or maybe it’s a marine layer, so we can’t see the French coast just 22 miles away.  Seabourn offered a half day tour to Canterbury so that’s what some of us decided to do.  On our way for the half hour ride to that city we stopped for a photo op at Dover Castle, perched on the white cliffs of Dover. When William the Conqueror prevailed at Hastings in 1066 there was a castle at this site. The present castle was built during the reign of Henry II in the 12th century. Beneath the visible castle there are evidently large tunnels which have continuously housed soldiers for hundreds of years.  It was also from headquarters in those tunnels that Admiral Ramsay directed what came to be known as the “miracle of Dunkirk.”  In May, 1940 the British Expeditionary Forces of 338,000 soldiers were stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France.  British naval vessels couldn’t rescue the men because of danger from the Luftwaffe and inability to get in close enough to rescue  the men.  Operation Dynamo was put to work enlisting thousands of small boats including private pleasure craft to rescue the stranded soldiers.

From the castle we drove on to the city of Canterbury. This small city in the county of Kent is the home to three universities and to the magnificent cathedral which is the home church of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Church. The city itself is a UNESCO world heritage site. Portions of the old city were bombed during WW II but much of it and the cathedral were spared. I’ll write more about the cathedral in a moment, but I think the story of how the cathedral was spared much damage is interesting.  The bombs Germany dropped on Canterbury were for the most part incendiary not explosive.  There were fire-watchers posted on the roof of the cathedral and its adjacent buildings and these brave souls would push the bombs of the buildings or douse the fires before they could spread.

In 596 AD Pope Gregory ordered a monk named Augustine to go to Britain to lead a mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.  The missionary gained permission from the Kentish king to refurbish some pre-existing churches.  In 1070 ground was broken and consecrated to begin to build the cathedral that I visited today.  The structure as it stands now wasn’t completed into its present form until 1834 when the last alteration was completed.  The cathedral is built of limestone brought from France and is in a Romanesque and Gothic style. The cathedral complex includes the church, monastic quarters and cloisters plus several outbuildings.

This is the bell tower of one of the old churches here when Auguatine first came

My first glimpse of Canterbury Cathedral

The entry gate to the cathedral grounds

This is a war memorial with the names inscribed of those fallen in the "Great War." If you're a Downtown Abbey fan as I am you'll know that after WWI many towns built monuments to the men from their towns that died then.  This one stands in Butter Market Square near the cathedral

In the 12th century King Henry II  had a contentious relationship with Thomas Becket, the strong-willed Archbishop of Canterbury.  They had been friends but had differences of opinions on some matters of state and their relationship soured.  It is said that at some point Henry exclaimed “will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”  Four of Henry’s knights took that question to heart and rode to Canterbury where they confronted Becket and murdered him in his cathedral.  The spot is marked with crossed swords bathed in red and quite dramatic.  The cathedral is interesting but as one of my Australian friends (she’s actually a hoot!) has said it’s “ABC,” another bloody cathedral.  I had gotten one of those audio guide headsets and it was interesting sitting and listening to the narrative in each part of the building.  I wish the organ had been playing, but sadly it wasn’t during my time in the cathedral.

More pictures than you probably want or need to see of the cathedral

This is the spot where the over-zealous knights assassinated the archbishop

The cloister and next the Chapter House

When I left the church grounds I walked down the lane in the oldest part of Canterbury.  There were some of the usual tourist ticky-tacky shops, lots of pubs and some art galleries.  There was a lovely jewelry store with handmade things but I managed to maintain my sales resistance.  I passed an interesting looking building made of flint, which is the local stone, that is the home of the Chaucer playhouse.  Chaucer was not a native of the city but since he wrote the Canterbury Tales they are enacted as plays in the theater.  Nearby was the home of Christopher Marlowe, the playwright and contemporary of Shakespeare.  He was born here and there is a lane in the old city named for him.

A couple of the pretty streets in the old city

Our visit was short and then we headed back to Dover.  I’ll be back in Dover three more times before I finally get off and return home so I may go back to Canterbury.  I heard it’s easy to take a train there so I might try that because it seemed to be a lovely little place to spend more time.

The clearest view of the White Cligffs of Dover I got today was from the bus as we drove by because of the mist around

Back at the ship we had a whole new group of passengers wandering around and looking lost.  I went to the patio to have a salad and met some nice people from South Carolina on for just a week and some not as nice folks from Toronto on for longer.  The Toronto people began their conversation with me by telling me four or five things they didn’t like already.  They had only been on the ship for ten blinks of an eye so I couldn’t understand that.  I shall do my best to steer clear of them.

That’s it for now.  I have catching up to do on what I did between the wild tender ride on our day in Plymouth and today in Dover.  I’ll do that later.  Bye for now.