Tuesday June 13, 2023
A day at sea filled with activities. First a Lecture by Peter Varley – Lights Fantastic – Halos, Rainbows, Mirages, Green Flash and Midnight Sun. The earth has an angle of tilt, not straight up and down. The angle of tilt in 2023 is 23.4 and varies between 22.1 and 24.2 over a period of 41,999 years. This is what permits total sunlight in the Arctic Circle in Northern Hemisphere Summer and in the Antarctic in Southern Summer. He then went on and discussed the other topics – Refraction which is the bending of light and dispersion is when there is separation into different colors after light goes through a prism. Rainbows are caused by light entering raindrops and reflecting / disbursing back at a 42 degree angle. There can be a weaker secondary rainbow when the reflection / disbursing is at 53 degrees causing what is called Alexander’s dark band between these two. Tertiary and quaternary rainbows are possible when the light is reflected more, but even weaker. He also talked about Mirages (Superior and Inferior) – Superior when the light is bent between you and the object and the image appears to be above the true image. If the image is bent due to the heat of the air differential where the image appears below the actual image. A Green flash can appear at sunrise or sunset above the sun as the light is refracted and disbursed isn’t a green light – The blue and green lights sets later than the red and the blue is scattered. Halos appear when there is a 22 or 46 degree bend as light goes through ice crystals.
The second lecture was by Martin Griffiths – How Far is that? How to determine the distance between us and heavenly bodies? What is and Astronomical Unit an how was it discovered? The answers to the questions – How far is the sun, the moon, the stars etc. is discussed. The Astronomical unit (AU) is based on the distance between the Sun and Earth. The actual distance is 106.million miles away so the AU is defined at 100MM Miles. Starting with Kepler and going through the various iterations and formulae, it was interesting to hear all the different efforts that have been made to where today any celestial body can accurately be determined as far as distance from earth.
We opted to sign up for the Lunch and Learn at the Verandah which this time was tasting the Burgundy Wines. The chief Sommelier Dickson Muniz provided all the education and talk. Very interesting.things like Grand Cru, which came from vines in the middle region of the mountain which provides the best grapes was typically for the Pope. The Premier Cru which came from the upper part of the hills, was for the noblemen and wealthy and the lower part was for local consumption. If Domain is mentioned, it indicates that the grapes are all from that vineyard and none are purchased from other vineyards. The menu and wines were:-
Clam Chowder with Bacon and Welsh Rarebit Crouton
⁃ Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, Oliver Tricon
⁃ Macon-Villages, Domaine de lLa Jobeline
White Crab and Tiger Prawn Cocktail, Mango Sourdough Crisps, Curry Oil Mayonnaise
⁃ Montagnards 1er Cru Les Coères, Albert Sounit
⁃ Meursault, Domaine Faiveley
Louisiana Short Rib slow cooked in a Light Hickory smoked with Spicy Coffee Crumble and Burnt Shallot Jus.
⁃ Celery-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Tortochot, Côte de Nuits
⁃ Volnay, Domaine Cyrot-Buthiau
“Tease your Cheese” – Artisan Cheese Plate, Crafted Crackers
⁃ Chorey-lès-Beaune, Domaine Maillard Père et Fils, Côte de Beaune
⁃ Fleurie, Mommessin Beaujolais
The men, urged on by our wives were encouraged to and did partake of Acupuncture and Massage treatments for our backs after the wine consumption. The treatments themselves were excellent. However, it is important to give all a word of warning – The “New” Mariel Spa provider on board the Cunard lines (an external company that rents space from Cunard) – in our opinion they are not very honest in their buisness practice. The prior spa operator was much better and it was a joy to work with them. This spa operator has doubled their prices, does not provide the same amenities (showers, whirlpool etc) and even though they send offers of discounts urging people to come to their treatment rooms with a discount, that discount is not applied, and when confronted, they find every excuse as to why not to apply the discount. We had already found that they were not pleasant to deal with from a buisness standpoint, so purposely did not use their services on the Queen Mary II for the 4 months we were there and only reluctantly tried here. Never to be repeated or used again in our opinion. I am sure others have had positive experiences, but for us, we can’t wait until they are changed to a more honorable supplier of service. The actual treatment, we repeat, was well done. Returning to our cabins, we dressed for dinner as it was Black Tie – Masquerade Ball.
The Theatre show tonight was the Royal Court Theatre Troupe – Singers and Dancers performing the show “One Way or Another” a musical review from around the world – New Orleans, Miami, Argentina, Paris, Vienna and London. While the theme seemed promising and the energy was high, the costume changes were quick and up to the usual standards. However, Other thanNew Orleans which was named, all the rest seemed to blend into one another with no particular theme, other than that advertised. One number gave rise to the next and songs that were not familiar did not give one he knowledge of what location was which or indeed that there was a congruous theme to the evening. It was a pleasant enough one number after the other, but we walked out saying – what was that show about? We needed to read the daily bulletin to find out the theme. Also the dancers are new on-board and still haven not got their act in synch so it was not yet a “tight” performance. This will come as the dancers were talented. All in all it is always fun to go to a live show, but this one needs a bit of work.
Roger & Anne Travels 