I had just 2 days off and so enjoyed seeing my little boy Sam and my wife Marie, we did as much as we could, I got back from Costa Rica and went to bed at 9.30pm and fell asleep almost immediately, the next day Marie and I enjoyed some lunch out in our favorite pub and soon after picked Sam up from school, that night we had a delicious chili con carne and had an early night, the next morning Marie and I went to watch Sam and his class putting on a little play all about penguins, Sam was an emperor penguin, now all this normal stuff which might be so boring for you
to read was like heaven on earth for me, I so enjoyed seeing Sam singing and he even had a speaking part, we were so proud sitting there with tears in our eyes.
My flight to Walvis Bay was amazing, we flew into a desert in Namibia it was spectacular and my camera was in my luggage so no photos of the Desert Airport. I shared the taxi to the ship with Michael (who’s surname will come to me as the blog goes on) who is a wine merchant from Cape Town and he is here to give a couple of lectures on his wine, a nice guy who loves a beer too!
Once through another immigration routine I was on board the 6 star Silver Whisper which is a 28,000tonne cruise ship for the very rich basically, my suite is ever so nice with a massive bathroom, a huge double bed with a pillow menu, a spacious sitting area, a fully stocked fridge, a TV with a hard drive with 100’s of films, a balcony and a walk in wardrobe, oh it’s very nice, I sailed on Silver Spirit last year and that is their newest ship at 36,000tonnes but this is just as nice, it even has an iPod friendly docking system and it is an open bar here, so everything is free!
We are overnight tonight and we sail tomorrow for Cape Town where I have just flown from, my show is on the 3rd Feb and 1 show only at 10.15pm, so only one crack at it, the guests on here are very well to do, very wealthy and have paid huge amounts of money to be here, so I have to be the very best I can be, no pressure then, but really I have to be 100% on form as this is a top end product, a 6 star product!
Good Morning and we are still here in Walvis Bay, I slept like a baby last night, the bed is a comfy as a Tempur mattress and the pillows, well, you just melt into them. I was too late for breakfast so instead had a meal beside the pool and met some lovely people from Scotland, they were in the Whisky business and have now retired and enjoying life, I also met 2 very nice people from Palm Springs in California. The people on here are just so wealthy and speak a different language to me, I have my show tomorrow night and I am praying they like me.
This afternoon the nice man I met yesterday Mike Ratcliffe who is giving a wine lecture so I shall be going along to that and I’m quite looking forward to it.
The weather has turned quite misty and overcast so not a sunbathing day today.
I went to watch Mike Ratcliffe’s wine lecture and I thoroughly enjoyed it, he showed us where in South Africa his vineyards are we had three white wine’s to taste and comment on, now my wife Marie is the white wine expert in our house but I have to say I enjoyed them, I soon came to understand I was to taste them not guzzle them down the way I did, all the same they were lovely.
I am staying in tonight as for me it’s a school night as I am working tomorrow night, I should really go see the production show they are putting on tonight, but I have chosen to stay in, now staying in on Silverseas can be a great night, I have just finished my meal that was delivered to my room by my Butler Dennis (I know…Butler, but that is how it works on here) and the meal was beautiful, a nice 12ounse New York Sirloin with fried pennies, carrots and broccoli and washed down with a nice glass of Merlot, what more do you need. I have Barry Manilow playing on my iPod and the sun has just gone down across the South Atlantic Ocean, I am also feeling a tad home sick and at the same time feel very fortunate to be here, its totally out of my league but who cares, please let me sleep tonight and not worry too much about my show tomorrow night, if they like me, what can go wrong so to speak. Goodnight all!
I wish I could say “good morning” to you, last night I had hardly any sleep at all, I have been at sea since 1982 and last night was the roughest seas I have been in for a long while, the cabin creaked loudly and I rocked to and fro in bed all night long, it’s 5.45pm and it still hasn’t let up, this ship is only 28,000tonnes so its moving more so than a larger ship. I had my rehearsal and sound check this afternoon at 1pm and it went well, the band is a trio from Poland and read music well and the sound is being taken care of by Rudy from Manila, it’s not the best but its not bad, all I need now is this crowd to enjoy my show. Tomorrow we will be in Cape Town where the ship will be alongside for 2 days so at least I will get some sleep in. I fly to Perth Australia on the 6th Feb to join Cunard Queen Mary 2 in Freemantle on the 8th Feb.
Well, I have 50mins to go until my 2nd sound check (its how they do it here, 2 sound checks, its because other things have gone on the theatre since my rehearsal and sound check, good thinking really) my one and only show is at 10.15pm, what a long way to come for one show, when I first started off all those years ago back in 1975 I would never have thought I would have been flown all the way to South Africa to do one night only, I do hope it goes down well, I know the insecurities are setting in with only 2hrs to go until show time in the Viennese Theatre. Do you know, waiting to go on, is worse than actually doing the show, funny that isn’t it!
There has been some amazing African sunsets, have a look at these!
What a great night…I know I get a bit strange before I go on stage but these people are so upper class, well they loved it and so did I, thank you everyone who came to see my show in the Viennese Theatre I’m sorry I over ran, I was only supposed to do 45mins and ended up doing over an hour, I had a great time, in the audience there were people from the USA, Germany, Canada and the UK, thanks guys I had a blast.
Good morning and what a lovely morning it is and welcome to Cape Town, take a look at these photos of our approach with Table Mountain as our back drop, the historic city of Cape Town is instantly recognizable, and few cities in the world possess its beauty and style.
I sat in the sun for a good few hours this afternoon, I spoke with Marie my wife and she told me to enjoy the sunshine as it’s snowing back home, so I did just that. I watched the sun go down over Table Mountain and thought to myself “I love my job”! We are here overnight tonight and tomorrow night and then on the 6th Feb I fly to Perth Australia via Jo/burg so I have another day to enjoy beautiful Cape Town.
I so enjoyed the wine lectures by Mike Ratcliffe and have made a friend of him; he’s a great guy and owns the Warwick Wine Estate in South Africa www.warwickwine.com check it out!
We had another day and night in Cape Town and I sat in the sun next to the pool and the temp was 37c, boy that was hot. I met some very nice people from Aston near Sheffield, Edward and Jenifer who own a few different businesses in the UK and our great fun to have a drink with, they went up Table Mountain and the taxi they took had done 600,000 miles or more, it was a Toyota, so not a bad advert for the Japanese motor company. Also at the pool bar I chat to two ever so nice people Mike and Linda who are just great company, I would jest and tell people that Mike was my agent, he loved that, he also introduced me to Bloody Mary’s and Bull Shot’s oh my goodness what a drink, thanks Mike. I did finally get off the ship and headed for the famous Waterfront, wow what a place, I mean I have always thought that Cardiff Bay was amazing but take a look at these photos.
Fab isn’t it, it even has a huge shopping mall and as you can see, oh and that is where Woolworths have gone. There was a wonderful atmosphere at this awesome resort and with the time difference being only 2 hours you get over the long 11hr flight much quicker, I will feel sad to leave Cape Town and I look forward to coming back sometime in the future, they also have some of the best golf courses in the world here, so that would be the icing on the cake if I could get some golf in too. I am half packed and my car will be here at the ship at 3pm to take me back to Cape Town International Airport for my flight to Australia.
I really do appreciate the fact that you take the time to follow me on my blog, thank you. I can’t believe we pick the tour back up 24th Feb in Brecon, then Pavilion Porthcawl 25th Feb, then a charity night at the Neath Workingmen’s Club for “Help The Hero’s” on the 26th Feb, we go back to Swansea Grand Theatre on St. David’s Day 1st March, the Towers Hotel and Spa Jersey Marine on the 2nd March and then a very special night the next night at the Muni Pontypridd the 3rd March in which I am to be part of a festival called “Taffyfest” a night of celebrating Welshness!
Ok…see you later!
What a day so far, I blagged a taxi to the Airport and when at the British Airways desk they told me my luggage will not be tagged straight through to Perth, so that meant I would have to collect my luggage in Johannesburg and re-check in for Perth with only 1hr 45mins grace, well I did panic, on a scale of 1-10 probably a 6, when I got to Johannesburg my case came off almost first and the check-in for South African Airways for my flight to Perth was only 3mins walk so panic over. I am now on the flight to Perth and have no one next to me so that is a bonus. My next slight worry is I hope I have done the necessary with visas for Australia; I did it all online, so please let everything be in order. Ok, see you in Australia!
Are we there yet? Another 3hrs to go, I had my “plane sleep” as I call it, where you are asleep but still hear the noise of the plane and you still feel the pins & needles in your hands, feet and bum, then there’s the passing wind bit where you let one go, then realize you’ve done one, then with eyes shut tight hope it doesn’t smell, but at the same time you don’t care because you are in “plane sleep”.
I have just been served a cup of tea, which kind of resembles a muddy puddle, and what’s this froth that’s starting to appear? Oh the joys of air travel, yes talking of air travel, why on earth haven’t I ever signed up for any sort of air miles, everyone says to me “oh think of the air miles you are saving up” no, not me, and I must have done thousands and thousands of miles.
Ok back to my disgusting cuppa and see you down under!
Welcome to Perth Australia. I flew through immigration and once I collected my case there was the nice man Len to take me to my hotel the Crowne Plaza and it’s lovely. I just had to get out there and explore Perth, the sun was out and the temp was 38c so very hot. I walked miles around the Waterfront (yes Perth has a waterfront too) just take a look at these photos, they say it all, wow what a place, you just can’t take a bad photo, this place is beautiful, awesome, stunning, jaw droppingly fabulous, now that may sound over the top, but look at the photos.
Tomorrow morning I’m joining the Cunard flag ship Queen Mary 2, I joined this amazing ship in Perth 2 years ago, well Fremantle actually, so I am looking forward to that very much. The weather is set to be another very hot day with a high of 36c. See you tomorrow!
I joined the QM2 around 10am and met a fellow entertainer Andy James who’s a comedy magician, we half unpacked and headed ashore for a couple of beers, we found a great pub with a great choice in beer, we were looked after by to lovely ladies Nat and Sharon who run this fine bar, Andy did some magic tricks and we were soon made to feel like locals, the beer was very expensive $10 a pint that’s about £7.00 but having said that we were given a great welcome, I can’t remember the name of the bar but will find out soon, just incase you ever find yourself in Fremantle, a great place for lunch too.
Andy James did his show last night and it was fantastic, so clever and very funny, he’s done now till Sydney lucky thing. My show is on the 11th Feb with an 8.45pm and a 10.45pm show so one night only.
It’s quite windy out on deck today but the sun is out, but with this ship being more a liner than a cruise ship it feels more an indoor ship but I’m sure I’ll get out there in the fresh air later.
There are quite a few people working here from P&O so last night I was invited to the Officers Wardroom for a drink and met up with an old mate Ben who used to be the Security Officer on Artemis and Phill Aldridge who is the Chief Engineer I have known him for at least 12yrs and his lovely wife Nikki, also the Cruise Director Paul O’ Loughlin who has worked at sea for years but I had never met him so it was nice to chat to him about people we both know and have worked with over years, there is also another cruise director onboard doing what they call a hand over, his name is Keith Maynard and what a nice chap he is. Here’s some useless information for you, The Wardroom originally was known as the Wardrobe Room, a place where Officers kept their spare uniforms. It was also a space where any loot secured from enemy ships was stored. In an effort to have some privacy on a crowded ship, Officers would sometimes take their meals in the Wardrobe Room. Today, the Wardroom aboard ship is where Officers take their meals, relax and socialize.
Tonight we have a lady called Jenifer Green who is doing a special show singing the songs of Shirley Bassey, so that is going to be fab, they also have “A Night at the Opera” with Carmen so what a night of amazing entertainment we have onboard QM2 tonight!
QM2 is on a World Cruise, I was in Southampton the day she left it was 10th January as I was on Independence of the Seas, also that day Queen Elizabeth was in and setting off on her World Cruise, and I have done a leg on both ships Ft. Lauderdale to Costa Rica on QE and now here Fremantle to Sydney on QM2. Going back to Independence of the Seas for a minute, I remember waking up on the 11th January looking out to see from my balcony and there was QM2 sailing alongside us, here’s the photo.
We are now 9hrs ahead of the UK so keeping in touch with home is hard as when I’m up and about Marie is fast asleep, oh well not long now before I come home, it’s been a long stint this time with a lot of long haul flights, yes I must sort out the air miles!
Another day at sea and another hour forward on the clocks, I didn’t get to sleep last night until 5.40am just could not sleep at all, I woke this afternoon at 1pm, I hate jet lag!
Today at 5pm I have been invited to appear on the in-house TV Show with Cruise Director Paul so I have an hour to go for that, he’s a really nice guy so I am looking forward to that.
We have another hour on the clocks tonight so then we will be 11hours ahead of the UK.
The TV show went great, they record it ready for the following morning and it gives you the chance to promote your show that evening. Paul O’ Loughlin is a really nice guy and he has invited me for a few drinks after my late show tomorrow night, that’s nice isn’t it!
I’m off to the gym in 20mins, I think it will do me good, all this food and very little exercise isn’t good for anybody!
Well I enjoyed that, I walked/ran a mile in 15mins so not much I know but it was good to do. I went out last night and enjoyed the pub with Magician Andy James and we had a great night.
Today we were in Adelaide, we were docked a long way out of the city so we had to take the bus which was 45mins transfer, well to honest I wasn’t that keen on Adelaide as the roads were so uninteresting being long and everything in blocks like it kind of looks in some American cities, I took a few photos so take a look!
Tonight is my show in the Royal Court Theatre which holds 1100 people, I’m on in an hour. My rehearsal went well as the band are awesome and the sound is brilliant, so much better than the last time I was here, lets hope and pray it stays the same when I’m up there doing my show! See you later.
Loved it…both shows went really well, I couldn’t have done any better and the crowd were just fab for both show, they were mainly Australian and boy they make a great audience, also British, Kiwi’s and Americans so a good mix! After the show Andy James and I went down to the Officers Wardroom and had a lovely couple of pints.
A day at sea today and a great afternoon in the Golden Lion Pub where we had a good chat with guests and some beautiful fish and chips, Andy did some amazing close up magic too!
It was early to bed at 9.45pm and fell asleep almost straight away only to wake up at 3.30am so just lay there watching tv and waiting for morning to come, I am ready to go home now, I’m missing my family a lot and as much as I am looking forward to going home I’m not looking forward to the 24hr flight back to Heathrow from Sydney.
This hour on every night is really messing my head up, I feel so drowsy all the time, as I was up so early I had to go back to bed around 9am and I slept till 12noon.
I got up at 6am and it wasn’t the best weather but as I walked on deck there it was Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, I have a lot of memories here in Sydney, I first came here in 1982 to become an Entertainment Officer (there’s an another blog just on that) I took a few photos of the Opera House and surrounding area, have a look!
On my way to breakfast I bumped into a lady called Jenifer Green who is an amazing singer and does a wonderful tribute to Shirley Bassey, as we got chatting I just mentioned that I had been coming to Sydney for 30yrs off and on and that I had got to know quite a few people, I spoke of the ever so funny Jeannie Little, Maria Venutti, Sylvia Ray, then I said “have you heard of an Australian singer called Wayne Cornell” well, she nearly fell of her chair, she said “Mike, that’s my husband” we laughed and enjoyed talking about Aussie showbiz and soon it was time to get on the bus with my new found buddy the brilliant comedy magician Andy James www.ajmagic.com well when I say get on the bus we only got on the wrong bus but all was well in the end. I was also back and fro with my best mate Dave back in the UK that day as he and I were once in Sydney doing some shows here. Well as I was getting off the ship that day and flying home I had absolutely no time to spend walking around Sydney, so it was straight to the airport.
Great news Andy and I managed to get upgraded to exit seats where there will be bags of leg room. We had a couple of beers with two guys from Sydney and then we were soon onboard and a 9hr flight to Hong Kong. It was a Virgin flight so loads of films but very cramped sitting in economy.
We landed in Hong Kong and had 2 hrs to wait for the next flight to London, we found a great lounge where they served chinese food and cold beers and free wi-fi, so texts back and fro to Marie, I am so excited to come home!
When we got onboard for the London flight we found it wasn’t full so once the seat belt signs were off we dashed to the empty seats and lay flat out and went straight to sleep, it was heaven compared to the last flight, I slept for 8hrs, oh thank you God for that.
I am now sat back in the spacious exit seat and we have 2hrs left till London Heathrow where my driver will be there to take me home. What an adventure it has been these past 2 months, Barbados, St. Lucia, Tortola, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, San Juan, Cartagena, Panama Canal, Costa Rica, San Jose, Grand Turk, Cape Town South Africa, Walvis Bay Namibia, Johannesburg, Perth Western Australia, Fremantle, Adelaide, Sydney New South Wales, Hong Kong and back to London and HOME!
I have quite a busy time now at home coming up, I will be back in the studio for Ads work for Trade Centre Wales, rehearsals for St. David’s Day Concert at Swansea Grand and Muni Pontypridd, also my tour starts back in Brecon 24th Feb, next night Pavilion Porthcawl then a charity for “Help the Hero’s” at the Neath Workies!
But most of all I can’t wait to spend time with my family!
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