What helps to make a Holiday

Well here we are in mid Atlantic taking a massive detour to the South to avoid a large weather depression, that we would of had to go through the middle of if we had kept on our original course. As it is we are still experiencing big swells and high winds force 8 and climbing and will continue to rise for the next couple of days, the sick bags are back out, the crew are lashing everything down that moves. True to the tradition of Brits on holiday there are still some people the colour of 100 year old Chesterfield suites led out on sun loungers in slightly protected corners trying to get an even darker shade of Charcoal, and I bet they are UKIP supporters anti immigration, ironic. We had a most interesting lunch hosted by Ships Officers as part of the P&O loyalty scheme which was very nice, on Hilary and Brenda's table they had a gentleman in his eighties who was cruising with his bit of fluff and regaled them with stories of daring do in the bedroom and tales of Viagra, never a dull moment. To make any holiday a success there has to be an army of unsung heroes and heroines behind the scenes. I want to tell you about one, my cabin Steward, Vijaya, from Chennai he is about 5ft 4ins of pure energy, does not look old enough to shave or have left school. He looks after 19 cabins, cleans them, makes beds, cleans bathrooms, hoovers and all those jobs we take for granted, then prepares them for when you turn in at night turned down,cosy with 2 chocolates on your pillow(not eaten, still on plan). Never complain about your working day, Vijaya gets up at 6.15am is ready to stock up his supplies trolley and start cleaning his 19 cabins at 7.30am he finishes his first run through by 3pm he gets a break to eat catch his breath and ready to do his evening work at 5.30pm that is completed by 9.45- 10-00 pm then off for an evening meal go to his cabin watch a film sleep by 12.00 - 12-30am then it begins again. He gets the occasional day off and occasionally an afternoon in a port at one of our stops, he does this for a contract period of 9 months and he considers himself very privileged to have his job. So never complain about your 9-5 existence, when you compare.  It makes me feel very humble