As the storm grows stronger

We made it to dinner ... just, because as the afternoon progressed so the waves got higher. At the time of writing this (20:15 UK) the ship is heeling from side to side and there are many things on the move. The latest has been a drawer in the next door cabin which is repeatedly opening and closing. We're hoping that the occupants are not night owls!

And dinner? Well, neither of us has been feeling that great today, for different reasons. For Gabrielle though it's definitely motion-related and she put a brave face on it, dressing for dinner, adding a "bit of rouge" to take away the paleness and then spending quite a long time in the bathroom making strange noises. Just before that, the wedding planner phoned and we postponed our meeting to tomorrow - are we expecting to be better as the weather gets worse? We shall see. But, back to the tale ...

Even the "rouge" couldn't take away the paleness but, she's a Hadley and of course we valiantly set off on an expedition to our restaurant of choice, four floors down. It was a slow and wobbly descent, but we got there, only to be told that there were no tables for at least 40 minutes.

We decided that we'd head for the buffet, which is on floor 12 - two floors above our room and of course six floors from where we had just been. Being valiant troopers, we never take the lift so, up we went. It was very slow progress but we got there. The place was not even a little bit busy and there were quite a few men sitting glumly on their own ... I wonder why?

Navigating a buffet is tricky at the best of times but when the floor is on the move you take each step with care as people stumble and slide around you. All at once there was a crash as the ship hit a particularly large wave. Everyone grabbed something to stay upright but, from the kitchen came an almighty crash and a few staff dashed in to a) see what had happened and b) to help clear up or c) have a good laugh.

Gabrielle and I made it to a table with our dinners, ate up fairly smartly and descended to our room (two floors) where she disappeared into a dressing gown and into bed, never to be seen again. She has managed for lunch and dinner just two soups. That's one soup ... and another soup. You're old if you get the reference! More news from the poop deck tomorrow, so to speak.