Nearly in Frisco

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Today was full of very simple pleasures like managing to increase our work rate in the

gym this morning followed by a wonderful breakfast. At this meal, we met Ted and Alison

who are both deaf and who communicate either via a note pad or by signing. Nearly a

lifetime ago, when I was about 11, I was a cadet in the Junior Red Cross and one of the

things we were taught was how to sign out the alphabet. I've only ever used this

knowledge twice before and today gave me another chance. I must have been taught really

well because I can still remember all 26 letters and Ted and Alison were kind enough to

let me try it out with them. And it worked! I could make out what they signed to me

and they could read my very, very slow signing to them. From training some deaf people

a few years ago, Richard could also remember some swearing in sign language (why is that

not surprising?!) which raised quite a laugh over the eggs this morning. Ted has

promised to teach us more words over the cruise including some serious ones and some

rude ones. We can now sign the word for "crap" perfectly!

This afternoon we went to the cinema and had a very funny encounter. There is a bit of

a required technique to going to any of the entertainments on board a cruise ship and

that is to get a seat at the end of a row, and preferably near a door, so that if the

show is no good, you can make a discreet exit. So today's afternoon movie was Return to

the Planet of the Apes and I think it's fair to say people know enough about the Ape

genre to know if they should go to see the Return of ... or not. So we've gone in to

the middle of a row (very daring) and after a little while the lights go down and the

film starts up. And before the film itself starts, the titles begin rolling and up

comes 20th Century Fox. And that's the moment one woman gets up and walks out. Do you

know something she knows and we don't? What is it about 20th Century Fox that would

make you walk out? I wonder if she would have walked out on an MGM movie? Or maybe

United Artists? Like they say: there's nowt so queer as folk!

Tomorrow we'll be back in America. We sail in to San Francisco under the Golden Gate

Bridge at about 5.30 am but won't be able to leave the ship until somewhere close to

10.00 am. As we've been to other countries since we were last in the USA, we all have

to go through US Immigration again. Processing over 3000 guests and staff is not a

quick job but as soon as we are allowed off we shall start exploring - hopefully via the

cable cars that go up and down the hills here. We have glimpsed the coastline today so

are very excited about going ashore tomorrow. The temperature has dropped now and is

down to about 14 degrees. Cold for here but not cold compared with Europe and the UK

right now. Hope it doesn't get as bad as it got last year for you all. Apologies in

advance if I don't blog tomorrow but we're going on an evening tour of the city's

Chinatown and going over the Bay Bridge to get some great night shots of the city's

lights. If we get back at a sensible time I'll blog. If we don't, I'll upload

something on Sunday.

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