0 deg 20.19 N ,6 deg 46.07 E

Sao Tome.I think itis friday but forgive me if it is not, it does not really matter on a cruise .The only day I am sure of is Sunday because there is always half a roasted cow up in the Lido restaurant . Today was a tender port with no shuttle bus into town on shore. A 1.5 k walk in over 30deg heat to the only shop did not appeal to us so we lazed on deck and read for a while------too hot. But , Chris you will be surprised to know that I painted a little landscape of the shore. I am quite pleased with it . I also painted one at Cameroon when I stayed on board , see ,I have used my paints !Yesterday was the rowing race around the ship . There were four lifeboats , two with passengers rowing ,one with male officers and one with female officers. What a laugh .One of the 'passenger ' boats lost their coxwain -- a twisted ankle so Joe ,our Entertainment Supremo took over.She is as fit as a flee , runs 4or 5 miles a day round the deck and is full of herself .In other words ---no contest .She was standing on the stern shouting out the strokes and the blokes were trying their best to keep up , it was hilarious . Of course they won , they daren't not .The male officers retired , their engine cut out but quite why they needed an engine in a rowing race is beyond me .I only know one thing ,if we have to abandon ship I want to be in Jo's lifeboat .It is great on this ship Maureen and I know many people .Jo bought us a drink in the South Cape bar two days ago, we know the Maitre d' , the head waiter, the Executive Chef ,the sous chef , some waiters and lots of passengers who were on the South American tour. Great ! Alan is here again helping people with the internet, he is here now having his ego massaged . He is well loved for the help he gives .I am going now to the sailaway . I will put our position on ,I could not send texts ,I thought it was quite interesting hanging around on the equator , The southern tip of this island is actually on the equator . ByeeeeeeXXXXXXXXXXX.

Limbe

Chris ,you would be O.K. here on your Atkins diet, plenty plenty meat and fish. You could have minute steak for breakfast if you got
tired of bacon . I hope that you and Steve get the boat sorted out when you go down to Dartmouth .Don't forget to take your cold
weather gear. Julie , I have asked Steve to save the Obama inauguration prog for me but I am telling you .in case he forgets .Yes Africa
is different from anywhere else I have been especially since we are calling at ports in west Africa . Normally cruise ships do not call
here .We have not seen any since Tenerife. No wonder that all the Africans are surprised to see us .Chris, is that correct that Hull is twinned with Freetown ? I know that we have Freetown Way but I did not think that it had any
significance. If that is the case it will obviously be connected to slavery. There is a gate in Freetown , when slaves walked thro' it and
reached the other side, they were free. The lady who gave a discussion re. above is going to put a reading list at Reception so I shall
get it.We really do have the ' Island Mentality ' in Britain don't we ! We have Lord and Lady David Steel on board and Lady Judy gave a talk the other day about the explorer Mungo Park and the Niger
where he did his exploring .It was very interesting but there were no photos as Lady Judy had not forseen making the talk, it was off the
cuff one might say.We are moored off Limbe, Cameroon today. I did not go ashore as there was a problem getting passengers into the lifeboats to get to
shore. Quite a swell and it was so hot that it would not have been pleasant walking around. Tomorrow will be a good laugh . The
Master has arranged for there to be a boat race. The cadets and some deck officers will row a lifeboat and some passengers will row
something else--not sure what .The race is around the ship and this is going to be on the equator ????? I shall be all eyes .Almost
time for dinner so byeeee.XXXXXXXXXX

Try again

I have just left a recital by The Brodovski Quartet which was excellent so I am still a bit 'away with the fairies'.The last piece that they played was 'The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba'.It was amazing, I never realised that there is a solo for the second violin and a duet for the viola and second violin . It is quite different seeing a piece played and hearing it on radio or disc. David --lead violin said that normally a quartet or a group go round a circuit and play the same 5 or 6 pieces probably adding one now and again but that they had quickly realised once they came on board that they had to quickly enlarge their repertoire .He thanked us for this and said how much they are enjoying it . They will leave us at Cape Town, pity .Yesterday we were at Lome, Togo . Maureen and I went on tour to a Voodoo show an hour's drive into the country , a lot of the time on dirt roads , very bumpy . It was very colourful and quite amusing, They buried a cockerel which looked comatose and then dug it up 15 mins later.' Brought back from the dead ' yeah, right . It did flap it's wings and make a heck of a row , probably scared stiff. One wonders how often it had been buried like that, bet it stopped it crowing in a morning , more likely trying to sneak off into the bush. It is nice to go ashore in out of the way places though . I know what a monkey in the zoo feels like now .Tomorrow we are going to Limbe , they have never had a passenger ship there before so that should be interesting .I am wondering if it is easy to access the net tonight or if it will be another £3 no go. Night night y'all.XXX.

Africa

Yesterday we were berthed at Freetown ,Sierra Leone. I had not originally reserved a place on a tour but I changed my mind as I am unlikely to pass this way again .The Deputy British Ambassador, Charge d'affair came on board to give a little talk about Sierra Leone . I know that there was a war here not too long ago but I did not know that the UN War Trials were still being held here . It is one of the poorest countries in the world but is improving little by little. The British are held in high regard here as Britain and others probably ,ceased to tolerate the atrocities and Britain sent in a force that took over and 'sorted ' things out. Anyway we berthed at 8am and on shore was a building with a balcony which was crowded with people watching us come in. It is 20 yrs since a cruise ship came in, re the war. Our tour was very enjoyable ,the poverty is obvious but the people are clean and smiling. We saw the huge cotton tree that was planted years ago by resetled slaves who came here after William Wilberforce did his wonderful job of abolishing slavery. The Cathedral is lovely and has plaques on the walls to many people who have died here, some saying 'friend of the negro' .When we had our 'Sailaway' party on deck with cocktails and a group , lots and lots of people came to wave us off . On the balcony , down the steps and all along the quay until we left land behind . What a day! There was a Cocktail Party last night for Britannia Club members of which I am one. The Master gve a speech which was as usual very amusing . Dinner was amazing .The three choices for the main course gave me a headache deciding which to have . Giant scampi, which are my favourites , tenderloin steak or guinea fowl which I have never had . I had scampi because I had steak the night before but Maureen said it was delicious so I shall have that next time . Nigel had the guinea fowl which he said was excellent so I might have that. Decisions, decisions all the time. Time for lunch so byeeeeeee.Well I did not manage to post that Fri or Sat. Alan was not here between 4 'n 6 so I could not get help. He will be here today so I may as well add to it while I wait.Today we have been on the shuttle bus into Takoradi ,Ghana. We went to the market, many people sitting by the side of the road selling fish, meat fruit and veg.The strangest thing is that I did not see any flies. I cannot understand that. It seems quite a poor country but we saw many many white garments and there was not a speck of dirt on them .The children were lovely , I took quite a few photos of them and they were overjoyed to see themselves, pity that I could not print some off for them. After about 45mins we got back into the bus. It was boiling hot and so humid but it was nearly mid day and we are almost on the equator so one can expect it. I sat on the deck under an umbrella and had a gin and tonic when I got back----it was after 8 bells after all. I enjoyed the trip and am glad that we braved the sun. I think that Alan will be here soon so I will say au revoir.XXXXXXXX.