Malaga tomorrow

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<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday 23^rd April 2012:

Now that we’re in our final few days we are very aware how little time is left to doss around and do nothing. With that thought firmly in my mind this morning I booked myself in to the spa for the most gorgeous pedicure. My tootsies now sport a magnificent coating of scarlet nail polish, all hard skin has been banished and my calves are soft and smooth. What a wonderful way to spend an hour.

After lunch we thought we’d pop in and see the ‘Country Fayre’ that is Cunard’s charity event where staff and passengers can sell off stuff they don’t want to pack and take home (and you can pay for a cream tea rather than eat one for free). We had slight misgivings that turned out to be very well founded. It felt like a jumble sale. Just hint at the word “bargain” and some people go nuts. We managed to not get too excited at the prospect of buying up the library’s old copies of classics but it clearly motivated some to take home more books than they brought.

So instead we spent the rest of our afternoon doing little more than pressing “play” on our iPads or turning the pages of a book.

And it’s a good job we rested this afternoon because this evening we went a show which made me, and a lot of other people, cry. A group of 4 singers called <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beyond the Barricade sang their hearts out moving through some of the most famous musicals. I am not much of a music person except for musical theatre and then I’m completely potty about it. And this group was absolutely amazing. There wasn’t an empty seat in the theatre except at the end when every person rose to give a thunderous standing ovation. All the singers have had major roles in Les Miserables, as well as many other West End shows, and one of them has played every major male role in Les Mis as well as being the musical director for one of the travelling versions of the show. Their voices were fantastic and this was easily the best entertainment we have had since we left England back in early January. And the best news is they’re on again on the last night of the cruise so that’s Thursday evening sorted!

If I can bring myself back down to earth we’ll go and have dinner in a minute and, afterwards, we’ll probably put a couple of dollars in the slot machines in the casino. We are hardly main line gamblers but still warm to the thrill of seeing 3 cherries come up in a row!

It’s Malaga tomorrow. We’ve been before and it’s not an ideal replacement for going to Lisbon - which is where the ship was originally due to go- but we shall wander round the shops and find a nice bar to do some people-watching from. It’s not a bad way to spend a day.

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