Flavours of Miami and the eastern Caribbean

Christmas lights on a church in the centre of old San Juan,

Puerto Rico.

The Bacardi Distillery, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The free samples were out of this world!

David, June and Bob enjoying yet another glass of cabernet sauvignon following a formal dinner.

Many thanks to Dean & Arlene for this fantastic picture of a typical Caribbean sunset.

Once a plod, always a plod! Miami Beach patrol.

A panoramic view of St. Thomas from a cable car at Paradise Point. M/S Carnival Triumph in the foreground.

School children forming an orderly queue; to use the public restrooms! St. Maartens Island.

A calypso steel youth band playing at the entrance to the port. St. Maartens Island.

Our wonderful fun ship the Carnival Triumph

Our attentive and highly efficient waiters from India on duty in the Paris Restaurant. Special thanks to Mario and his team.

Enjoying a Caribbean cocktail on a white sandy beach on St. Maartens with the turquoise sea and a light breeze to keep me cool!

Caribbean Cruise January 2007

Having just returned from a fabulous holiday in Miami and a cruise of the eastern Caribbean it is time to get back to normal and start posting on my blog once more. The cruise ship was the Carnival Triumph. She is 101,100 tonnes with 2, 750 passengers and 1100 crew. There are numerous bars, restaurants and swimming pools aboard with something for everyone, including Las Vegas style shows and a huge casino. We set sail from Miami and spent the following day at sea. Our first port of call was San Juan on Puerto Rico and I was thrilled to visit the distillery and home of one of my favourite drinks; Bacardi. Needless to say I enjoyed the free samples!

The next day we awakened in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands and could not resist some fantastic duty free shopping in the top branded jewellery stores. We also took a cable car ride to Paradise Point for superb views of St. Thomas. Our American shipmates found it strange that they drive on the wrong (lefthand) side of the road on St. Thomas. However, for us it was the right side of the road because we drive on the left in the United Kingdom and St. Thomas was originally a British island until we sold it to USA, hence the driving on the left. It would have proved far too expensive to change all the junctions and markings to suit right hand driving and so it remains to this day!

We then sailed overnight to St. Maartens and enjoyed an air-conditioned coach tour of the Island. It is a unique place in that it is divided into two halves. One half is Dutch and the other half is French ! The islanders need two cell phones each, one registered in each half of the island, in order to avoid paying international charges when calling someone on the other side of the island! How quaint! We spent time on the beach and marvelled at the turquoise coloured sea whilst enjoying a few Caribbean cocktails before rejoining the ship a little light headed to say the least. There followed two wonderful days at sea as we sailed back to Miami. Sunbathing on our private veranda we did not want it to end, but end it must. Back in Miami the weather was still perfect and we enjoyed more hospitality on Ocean Drive and watched the annual Dachshunds Festival which was delightful. The art deco of South Beach was also a sight to behold.

Upon return to London Heathrow the weather was typically English winter and freezing cold! From sunbathing in Miami on Saturday to switching on the central heating at home on Sunday! All good things come to an end but planning starts immediately for another escape to warmer climes in the not too distant future.

Many sincere thanks to all the officers and crew on board the Carnival Triumph for such wonderful service delivered with courtesy and constant smiles despite all the pressures. Well done!

NB. For those of you concerned about green issues and CO2 emissions in particular, may I say I share your concerns too! In order to make recompense for my frequent use of air travel I donate 10% of my air fare to The Woodland Trust, a charitable organisation which works tirelessly to create, maintain and sustain our woodlands. This in turn absorbs much of the CO2 emissions caused by my frequent flying habits and thus compensates or offsets, to some extent, my personal carbon footprint. I invite you to follow my example. Please visit their website at: http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk but please return here afterwards for my latest postings. As a matter of additional interest all the waste on a Carnival cruise ship is recycled or incinerated. Nothing is discarded into the sea.

Waves kill two on US submarine

The following article by Caroline Davies appeared in The Daily Telegraph, United Kingdom, on Saturday, 30th. December, 2006 and is reproduced below with copyright acknowledgement. The submarine's officers and crew had spent a friendly and most convivial Christmas visit to the City of Plymouth here in Devon, southwest England as guests of the British Royal Navy and local families. We extend our deepest sympathy to their fellow colleagues and especially to their family and friends back home.

Two American sailors died and two more were injured yesterday (29th. December) when they were swept from their nuclear submarine in rough weather in Plymouth Sound.

The four were performing routine operations on the Minneapolis-St. Paul when a freak wave sent them overboard about 1pm.

Though attached to the submarine by ropes, Force 10 gusts and huge waves prevented them getting back on board. They were buffeted against the vessel as crew members tried to reach them.

Two of the sailors were pronounced dead at Derriford Hospital after being given emergency resuscitation as they were brought ashore.

The two survivors were later moved from the hospital to the sick bay at the shore establishment, H.M.S. Drake.

Immediately after the four were washed overboard, a helicopter was scrambled from RNAS Culdrose as the Plymouth Lifeboat and MoD police launches sped to the scene.

A spokesman for Devon & Cornwall Police said: "The vessel, a Los Angeles class submarine, was leaving the harbour in Plymouth and near the breakwater at the entrance to the port. Weather conditions were poor.

"Rescue vessels manned by the Ministry of Defence police attended and the sailors were brought ashore, where they were met by ambulance personnel."

A spokesman for Brixham Coastguards said: " The situation was very dangerous because they were still attached to their vessel and when we arrived were being tossed around a good deal. The conditions were terrible, with strong winds and poor visibility.

"It is common for submariners to perform general maintenance on the the outside of their shell, but in weather like this it unexpectedly became dangerous."

He said passers-by who stopped to watch the dramatic rescue had also put themselves in danger.

"People who were gathering on the front to watch the incident were also putting themselves at risk of being washed into the sea.

"One young girl was nearly swept out when a wave hit the side and splashed over."

Festive Greetings

It is Christmas Eve and I would like to express my warmest Seasonal Greetings to all Bloggers wheresoever you are on the Globe. Special good wishes to Dirk_ Star who regularly visits this blog. Apologies for the lack of postings of late. I won't bore you with the reasons but I hope to do better in 2007. As we celebrate Christmas Day tomorrow I shall pray fervently to the Almighty for peace to return to the troubled regions of the world. I shall pray especially for the peoples of Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and the Darfur region of the Sudan. In particular, I shall remember all the military personnel of the coalition forces serving as peacekeepers in various countries. Being separated from their loved ones at this time of year is difficult and they deserve our gratitude and good wishes. It is my earnest wish that 2007 may inspire our world leaders to strive to bring an early and just settlement to these dreadful conflicts. In addition, I will be praying for the plight of recently bereaved families, the homeless, lonely and many sick people in our communities. May they find care, comfort, kindness and warmth from those close to them and from the noble charities who work so hard to alleviate the pain and suffering in our midst. May God grant us all a peaceful Christmas and help us to mend our broken world in the New Year.

The threat of terrorism

I am heartened by HM The Queen's address at the recent State opening of Parliament. The first and foremost subject for Parliament to focus on right now is the defence of this nation from the threat of terrorism. The stark warning last week from Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of MI5, that her Agents are struggling to contain a rapidly-growing terrorist threat simply fills me with total horror. With 30 top-priority plots currently under investigation and intelligence reports that militants are actively trying to recruit teenagers as suicide bombers demands urgent attention from our Government. Her staff are said to be monitoring as many as 200 groupings or networks comprising of more than 1,600 individuals "who are actively engaged in plotting or facilitating , terrorists acts both here and overseas" Dame Eliza also said, "We need to be alert to attempts to radicalise and indoctrinate our youth and to seek to counter it." A warning such as that from such an eminent person really needs to be taken seriously and I concur with her sentiments. We must all sit up and take note. It will be very difficult for her Agents to infiltrate such groups simply by virtue of the age profile of those youngsters being targeted by the militants. We must not wait for another 9/11 or 7/7 before taking every conceivable initiative available to the security services to help protect us. I shall be flying to USA on vacation shortly and already I am feeling apprehensive. Isn't this exactly what the terrorists want us to feel like, living in constant fear of attack?.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister to consider establishing a fund to offer substantial cash rewards to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and subsequent conviction of anyone known or suspected of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism. Something along the lines of what Crimestoppers do after an appalling crime. This initiative would be aimed at rewards for information before the catastrophe takes place. Prevention being the key factor. In any conspiracy there will always be a weak link who will be tempted by greed and the get rich quick mentality. Principles often go out of the window when such opportunities present themselves. Also, perhaps the case for compulsory ID cards should be given more serious consideration, as indeed should the extension of the period of detention before charge in suspected terrorist plots. With follow-up investigations overseas and de-encryption of computers taking weeks of labour intensive work it is plain that 28 days is insufficient time for the security services to complete their various tasks. Surely, with safeguards such as authorisation of extensions by a Judge or JP built in, it would not compromise our civil liberties that much.

The same applies to the gathering of incriminating evidence by phone taps with the same precautions. Every conceivable initiative must be used to protect our citizens. Our enemies, within or without, will not give our civil rights a second thought in pursuit of their objectives! With our borders and coastlines being wide open to infiltration and with an ever extending EU we cannot afford to be complacent any longer. Not to mention the radicalisation of our homegrown militants.

Just a thought.

Winter blues!

As winter takes a hold and all the autumn leaves have fallen it is time to reflect on the year as it draws to a close. There have been many happy moments, some sad days and inevitably many memorable occasions. For me however, I cannot help reflecting on all the loss of life and suffering in those parts of the world stricken by conflicts and wars. Also the humanitarian suffering caused by natural disasters such as drought, earthquakes, famine, flooding, etc. As a New Year approaches I pray for peace where there is dysfunction and reconciliation where there is discord or mistrust. For the sake of today's children and tomorrow's generation it is beholden on all of us to strive to leave the world a better place than we found it. It is incumbent on all world leaders and politicians, of whatever persuasion, to work towards this goal especially as regards the ecological impact of global warming and climate change upon our precious planet.

Cruelty in the name of fun or sport?

I was shocked and appalled to see video footage shown on BBC Spotlight television news last evening of a bullfight in a village north of Madrid which involved a bull with sharp horns being actively encouraged by young men, performing as matadors, to charge a blind folded donkey which was protected on the sides by no more than a foam mattress. It had no protection whatsoever at the front or rear. Perhaps I have no right to comment on the traditions of another country but I could not live with my conscience if I did not speak up about this barbaric act of senseless cruelty to a defenceless animal in the name of fun or sport. Many years ago as a young person I attended a Spanish bullfight and the sights I saw at that event turned my stomach to such an extent that I have been an opponent of the sport ever since. It must have been a terrifying experience for that poor donkey who had no idea what was going on around him as he was charged from all angles by a furious bull for an inordinate amount of time. I ask myself how can people who consider themselves to be human beings inflict such harm upon an innocent animal in the name of fun or sport? I struggle to find an answer but I am immensely encouraged by Dawn Vincent who runs The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, East Devon, UK, who plans to pursue legal action through the European courts to prosecute the perpetrators of this evil act. I have sent a donation to assist her in this course of action and would invite you to do the same. I have no vested interest in this matter other than my utter disgust at anyone getting pleasure from inflicting such barbaric suffering on a poor blindfolded donkey let alone the tormented bull. Do post your comments; together we can make a difference!