Sunday - January 16, 2005
QE2's Characters: Part 1 (Updated)
The ship seems to attract a number of eccentrics that one could kindly refer to as unique characters. I have managed to capture a few on film, but I'll just list some of the more memorable ones here. If you think the ship sounds like a floating looney bin, you could be right.
Scarlet O'Haira: This is a lady of undetermined years (but well past the last blush of youth) with long, flowing red hair who dresses like something out of the classic movies. Her "going through the Panama Canal" outfit was a long skirt with a crinoline underneath, white gloves, and straw hat with an enormous brim and a ribbon under her chin. She really looked like something out of "Gone with the Wind." I later saw her on a formal dress night in an all-white concoction, that an English friend would refer to as a meringue, that made her look like a bride from the 1940s. I'd love to know how she packed all this gear.
The Bookie: Coming back to the ship from Panama in a tender, we sat beside a man who is also doing the trip around the world. He had started to do the trip last year, but had to leave the ship in New Zealand because of illness. In the course of conversation, he told us that there will be a big dinner party for all world travellers when we get to Barcelona. When I asked him how he knew this, he said "It's my business to know everything, isn't it - I'm a bookie!" He is an Englishman who now lives in Spain, for reasons we didn't go into to, and he takes bets over the internet. He told us he takes bets on everything, from who will be the next pope ("a coffee-colored gentleman") to where the next Olympics will be ("Paris, because it's their turn, isn't it").
The Painter: We had just entered a cocktail party we had been invited to, and were standing around looking for a place to park ourselves, when I see a lady sitting at the bar pointing to me and then pointing to the seat next to her. Convinced she was motioning to someone else, I just stood there. So she pointed to me again and then at the seat again. I looked around and couldn't see anyone behind me, so I walked on over. "Have some champagne", she said, "get yourself some of these beautiful shrimp, and then park it here, honey". I recognized her as the woman who teaches the watercolor painting classes on board. This is her second world cruise and she has her granddaughter travelling with her after taking her grandson on the previous trip. This lady has a terrific sense of humor and is quite colorful, no pun intended, in both manner and style. She wears a a different color hat every day to match her outfits and is quick to call a spade a spade. She is also a very good painter and a good teacher, and I hope to see more of her on the trip.
Marathon Man: I see this man every day on deck. It doesn't matter what time of day you go out, there he is, striding around the promenade deck in nothing but his jogging shorts and tennis shoes with a stop watch around his neck. And if he's not jogging, he is lying on the deck doing crunches with his legs in the air. This is not any spring chicken either; the man must be in his 70s. One has to admire his spunk, if not his obsessiveness. I said to Mike that I think he is determined to walk all the way from New York to Los Angeles.
The Perfect English Couple: It was very sunny and hot as we prepared to board our tender to go ashore in Acupulco. Dressed in a t-shirt and cotton slacks, I had only been off the air-conditioned ship about 5 minutes and already I could feel the perspiration rolling down my back. As I sat there slowly melting. I looked across to see the Perfect English Couple board the tender. She was wearing a lovely all-white "frock", heels, and a straw hat. She looked as cool as a cucumber. Her husband was wearing a seer-sucker suit, which doesn't sound all that unusual, except that the pants were shorts! Under his jacket he had a crisp white shirt and a bow tie and he had on shoes and knee high socks. I know don't where they were off to but they looked like they had stepped out of a magazine article about garden parties. I really wish I could have seen them at the end of the day to see how they had fared, but no such luck.
The German Siren: When I first saw this woman at breakfast in the Lido, I was dumbstruck! Those breasts can't be real, I told myself, and strained to get a better look. The clothes she wore were so tight that one could hardly miss noticing her assets. When I was able to raise my eyes, I saw that her face looked like she had had one lift too many and her lips like they had been stung by bees. This lady is definitely an example of what too much plastic surgery can do to a person. I have since seen her around many times, and have never seen her speak to anyone but the lady she is travelling with. Her whole attitude seems to be to wear the most outrageous clothing and then to strike poses as she sashays about.
Diana Dors and Dirk Bogarde: This is the couple, John and Pam from Stratford Upon Avon, who sit at the table next to us. Both of them are very snappy dressers and she has a beautiful collection of jewelry, as do many other women on this ship. I look forward to seeing them at dinner to see what they will be wearing. I think that Linda, the wine steward is equally fascinated with Pam's wardrobe because she tries to make a drink for her each evening that matches the color of her dress. John is not one to be put in the shade by his wife. He has a collection of dinner jackets that can't be ignored. One evening it is a fushia jacket, the next evening it is peacock blue. When he did wear a plain back tuxedo jacket, he opened it up to show colorful cut "gems" all along the inside hem! They have travelled many times on the QE2 and will be going around the world with us, so I'm sure I'll have more to say about their sartorial splendor in future postings.
The QE2 Diva: I mentioned this lady in an earlier entry, and last night we had a chance to hear her sing and to have a drink with her. It was a formal night, and as Mike and I walked toward our favorite bar for an after dinner drink, the Diva passed us coming in the opposite direction. My eyes widened as she floated by, and from behind me, I heard Mike say "Holy Shit!" She was all decked out in the most incredible costume - it was a low-cut concoction of pink with layers of white lace, a white veil, on her head, and pink satin full-length gloves that didn't have any hands but ended in pink satin bows at her wrists. Mike said it looked as though she was wearing a bunch of table cloths. As we were later sitting in the Chart Club, having our drink with Daniel and Michael (the gay couple from New York who asked to be referred to as the Publishing Mogul and the Retired Litigator in my characters list), Mary (the Diva) came in with a camera man in tow, and decided she would sing us all an aria and asked the piano man to accompany her. She performed "Mio Babbino Caro" complete with dropping to one knee at the emotion-packed ending. You had to be there to fully appreciate what I am telling you. (The photos shown below were taken at a later talent show, so you can see the Diva in her Mimi from La Boheme frock.)
Daniel, who said she reminded him of Miss Haversham from "Great Expectations", decided to invite her over to our table for a drink, and over she came. I understand that she is very close to 90 and she is quite frail, but she is all there upstairs. She regaled us with stories about her trips on the QE2, told us about her three books and her CD which we can purchase in the book shop, and handed us each her business card. I was getting quite a kick out of all this when the conversation turned to San Francisco. "I love San Francisco", she said, "but it is a rainbow city. Do you know what a rainbow city is, dear?" I was choking back laughter, and nodded yes, when she said, gesturing to Daniel and Michael, "Do these boys know what a rainbow city is?" I said "Yes, I think they do." wondering what they were thinking of this, when Daniel pointed at Michael and said "He's just a good friend of my mother's!" I had to excuse myself and run for bathroom before I died laughing or wet my pants, and Daniel wasn't far behind me. The evening ended with us getting our pictures taken with the Diva, who insisted that we pose by the piano, and she wanted "the boys" on either side of her. It was an evening to remember!