"i remember frog racing" scribblings from the queen mary 2
by Published on 29th June 2016 06:21 AM
Sat Jun 25th at sea off Ireland: It's a hard life! A chatty breakfast, then a lecture on the films of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, another on Concorde, then lunch in the new Cafe Carinthia, then a long afternoon in the Canyon Ranch Spa pool, followed by – yes – a nap, then a gourmet four courses in the redecorated, restyled Veranda Grill followed by a new production show Rhythm of the Night. The Royal Court Theater has been spruced during the refit: new sound, lighting & high def LED screening.
Grand style: A couple with two daughters (from Switzerland) casually tells us they are crossing on the Queen Mary 2, then a week at the swank Pierre Hotel on 5th Avenue in Manhattan (2 suites at, we guess, $3,000 a night) and then it is off to fancy Easthampton for two months (and while the teenage daughters are off separately to summer music camp in Maine). Then it is back home to Europe in September on the QM2. Could their crossings and visit to the US cost $100,000 – or maybe even closer to $200,000!
South African memories: "I had the hottest curry of my entire life on an Ellerman Lines' ship," remembered Alan Parkhurst, my dear friend from Winchester. We had lunch together earlier this month in Southampton. Ellerman was one of Britain's biggest and known shipping firms and, in the 1950s & '60s, had over 50 ships. Alan worked for Ellerman in their Claims Dept in Durban. He would check the freight, often well into the night and sometimes under the hottest conditions. "We had lots of freighters, most of which carried up to 12 passengers each. Our chairman, Sir John Ellerman, selected one, the City of Johannesburg, as his personal yacht. That ship had the very best care and maintenance, and the 12 passenger berths were used by Sir John and his friends and associates. Ellerman also had four, very fine combo ships that carried 100 passengers each. They sailed between London and South & East Africa. They were truly all-first class. Just superb ships. The City of York & City of Exeter were the best. They were fitted out like grand English country houses. The other two, the City of Port Elizabeth & City of Durban, were different and not quite as grandly decorated. They were hugely popular ships and often had lots of lords & ladies among their passengers."
Sun Jun 26th at sea in the North Atlantic: Fine cuisine! Fellow passenger Mary Louise began her sea travels in 1959, onboard the great French Line and three of its ships, the Liberte, Flandre and then the France. "They were all beautiful ships, splendidly decorated and a touch of France on the high seas. They each had great style, an ambience, but the greatest feature was the cooking. The food was beyond compare. They had to be the best-fed ships on the Atlantic. I always gained weight on a French Line crossing."
Well, grand dining continues on the Atlantic: Dinner tonight in the Veranda Grill – gourmet menu coupled with impeccable service. The starter hinted of the fine, very rich five courses was Sardine Cheese Creme Brulee (which, quite charmingly is also an Amuse Bouche, which translates from the French to "Amusement to the Mouth"). Followed by Bayonne Ham with Gruyere cheese in a Vegetable Chiffon, a divine mushroom soup served in a delicate tea cup with saucer, then a superbly presented Galician Aged Beef Fillet mounted on a Garlic Sauce and serenaded by a collection of Pont Neuf Potatoes but standing upright like the pillars of a castle. Next, a sorbet to, well, cleanse the pallet and then all finished off with a "wickedly" sweet Fine Lemon Ile Flottante Brulee. The Grill itself has been redecorated to be a reminder of the Art Deco Grill aboard the original Queen Mary (1936) and where celebrity passengers flocked, dined and danced on those earlier, 5-night crossings. But for tonight, I could dream: Was that Greta Garbo and Cole Porter at nearby tables, but separately of course!
And speaking of Hollywood: "The bracelets that ate Chicago!" George McGhee, a BBC film historian and one of my fellow speakers here and with encyclopedic knowledge on stars on both sides of the Atlantic, chuckled when I described a description of two of Marlene Dietrich's great jewels. Today, George gave a wonderfully evocative talk on the life & times of the great Dietrich – her early German days, Hollywood films, her later years as a cabaret star and, in the end, as a recluse living in Paris. The charming, very buoyant George later decides he will do a new talk all about the great Hollywood stars onboard the great Atlantic liners. "We should work as team," he says, "the Laurel & Hardy of the seas!"
Mon Jun 27th at sea in the North Atlantic: Bowls & cages: Visit today to the refitted Kennels up on Deck Twelve. 18 dogs & 4 cats on this trip and, of course, their proud & loving owners. The outdoor deck has been redone with a glistening red New York City fire hydrant and a steel gray Liverpool street post. Yes, the dogs felt right at home. And inside, the restyled Kennel Lounge, where guests spend time & even personally feed their canine charges. The ship's galley provides the food, of course, but it can be selected in advance by the pet owning-passengers. And yes, some highly indulged doggies. We met Coco, a sixteen-year-old terrier, that, when on shore, resides in four homes: New York, Palm Beach, Monte Carlo & San Remo. Coco is also a winner – she has over 300 days on the Queen Mary 2, well "dog days". Yes, a dog's life!
Supper tonight with ex-Canadian Pacific purser and then my old friend Craig Dahn does a spectacular piano show in the glittery style of his early mentor, Liberace.
British seamanship: "It was a wonderful time – a young man, the sea, far-away places," remembered Martin, who sailed with the Shaw Savill Line for several years in the 1960s. Now long retired, he is here aboard the QM2, crossing to New York. "I served first on the Southern Cross. She was a unique ship for her time – all passengers and no cargo. And she was all-one class – no upper-deck first class. We did continuous 2 ½-month trips around-the-world. We had lots of migrants going out to Australia and then Australian tourists & backpackers on the trips returning to the UK. But it was all go – and unlike today's world cruises. We rarely remained overnight in the ports of call. We were, in ways, like a train. I also served aboard the Athenic and Corinthic, big passenger-cargo ships that carried only about 85 passengers each. They were used on a long, rather slow service out of London to ports in New Zealand and sometimes over to Australia. Cargo determined everything. We loaded lots of meat and wool, and brought these home to the UK. Outwards, we took British manufactured goods. The passengers tended to be older – retirees, tourists, the occasional businessman or government official. Life aboard was comparatively very quiet – long days at sea, quiet afternoons and very simple evening entertainment. I remember frog racing as one event."
Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website
R697530
