A day much like yesterday in terms of weather and empty seascape. We found a place on deck and sunbathed and read all morning. I finished a great book on the legacy of Roman Britain. The afternoon art project was a scene from Valparaiso of houses grouped around the bay and on top of the hills with a funicular link. Better than yesterday.

Went to the am-dram rehearsal. Had one heart-stopping moment when one of our little foursome didn't arrive and it looked like Lord Eyelashes (who had suddenly turned up alone today) might be seconded to us. I was on the verge of ringing Bob and BEGGING him to join in, when our missing man showed up…. Phew…… Anyway, Lord Eyelashes was seconded to Mother Theresa's group. I couldn't help but try and eavesdrop on their rehearsal and I was shocked to discover that the mysterious MT could read well and clearly. Not sure what the glasses and stick are all about. She is still dressed in nun's garb though…

This is not going to be a proper staged play with costumes etc…. No. It's going to be staged like a radio play plus some visuals. Almost like a play in rehearsal. At least that's the plan at the moment. Plans from the Entertainment Officer seem very errr…..fluid….. I'm just really enjoying it, to be honest, trying out different voices and accents…. Just having a bit of fun. I always liked playing comedy. Well… let's be honest….. my choices were a bit limited by the level of my singing and dancing talents LOL.

We put the clocks back another hour last night. Time is just so weird. We are now 1300 miles west of South America but in time 4 hours behind the UK. So, on the same time zone as Bermuda which is to the east of the USA. Obviously, there is a major curve of the Earth etc going on but to me it just seems boggling. I feel like I'm thousands of miles west of NYC say, yet we are on a time zone which is east of it…… Eh??? In a few days we will cross the International Date Line and then there will be a Day That Never Was as we skip an entire day. A few weeks later, when we are coming back across the Pacific, we do it again the opposite way on March 18th and gain a day. Which means, much like Groundhog Day that we live the 18th March all over again.

This has given P&O's admittedly utterly, utterly cr** computer systems a major challenge. They can't cope with the IDL in either direction, so people who are getting off in Auckland on the 26th February, have been given documents saying they are getting off on the 25th based on the fact that their voyage is 21 nights….. Similarly, no one has been able to book tours for 18th March in American Samoa because we will already have spent the 18th March in the Kingdom of Samoa (we cross the dateline going W-E on the 18th) and obviously you can't be in two places on the same day!!! And this is the tip of the systems cr**-berg. I have long retired from I.T. but I ITCH to get in charge of P&O's computer system. I am shocked that a public company allows its customers to see such appalling front office systems. Only god knows what the back office systems must be like. Well…. He may Know, but I can guess pretty accurately….