Day One: Barbados

Apologies for the Big Brother-style headings, but I thought I'd do these in a diary-like form and this is the first thing that came into my head!

Right, a nice easy one to start you off. We got to the airport at 8am ready for the flight at 11, got checked in and had a spot of brekkie in wetherspoons (which is starting to go off a bit, I really must write to the management), whilst we whiled away the minutes until the plane was ready to leave. Unfortunately because of the bad weather and gale force winds, the plane was delayed by 2 hours, which was rather annoying, and then once we had taken off sideways (seriously, we actually took off sideways because of the crosswinds, you'd pay good money for that kind of thrillseeking at any theme park!), we were told that the flight was slightly longer than the advertised 8 hours and we would be in Bridgetown in approximately 9 and a half hours!

Thankfully we had some half decent movies and TV shows to watch on the in-flight entertainment, as well as music and games, of which i won about 14 games of solitaire, and got to £64,000 in millionaire when the boredom got too much. Unfortunately there was only about 7 hours worth of entertainment to watch, which left us with brain-numb for the remaining hours, but arrive we did, and immediately we knew we were in a little slice of paradise, as we were greeted off the plane by lines of palm trees and a big sign with bob marley on it (they love him out there, they do), and of course because it was late afternoon there, the poor, grey-coloured peasants trudging off the plane in long sleeves and trousers weren't subjected to intense heat, which was good.

Our bags were already en-route to the ship, and as there was no check in (all inclusive y'see), we got on some buses to take us down to the port. Now, as odd routes go, this one really took the biscuit. From smooth road surfaces and highways, our driver decided to take us through a couple of villages. All very well and good, but these roads did not like buses, and so we were buffeted along as we went past some lovely little shanty towns, even though we all just wanted to get on the boat and crawl into bed by this point!

The journey took about an hour, but it was well worth it when we got there. After checking in and having our credit card details taken, we were taken round to the ship, which was docked with about 3 others. After getting on board and finally finding our rooms, a tannoy announcement put pay to any relaxation. They were going to have an emergency drill and everyone coming onto the ship was required to take part. Oh joy of joys, we thought. Just what you don't need. So when the alarm sounded, off we went with our life jackets and sat in the Marquee, which was the main auditorium on the ship, and sat through a couple of speaches from the captain about safety, which no one took a blind bit of notice from as we were all trying to keep awake.

After that we were left to our own devices, and so while we waited for the Manchester passengers to get in (their flight had been delayed by 5 hours), and have their own emergency drill, we went and had some dinner, got settled in and went out on deck when we were due to leave port. It was only when you went out on top deck that you realised just how big the ship actually is, and wonder how the heck it was staying afloat!

After having a wander around the ship, trying not to get lost and getting our bearings, we went to bed, as tomorrow was exploring day!

Normal bit of the blog!

Well this week had been a struggle. Not only have I had to cope with the time difference and all the fun that jet lag brings, but i've had to motivate myself to come into work, which was fun! Actually this week hasn't been too bad, we've not had too much work in, which is good when you start a new job, as you don't want to be bombarded with work when you are trying to settle yourself in. Added to that, I've got a nice, shiny new desk, with a window and everything!

We'll ignore the plight of the not-so-mighty Villa at the moment, and just say that this weekends match against bolton is a must-win, otherwise mid-table mediocrity will be an inevitability!

Until next time, ttfn!