Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 228 days

It’s turning out to be a very busy week of blogging, which shows how just how much is going on in the Cunard world! Thanks as always for your feedback; I’m glad you are enjoying all the posts so please just keep those questions and comments coming.

We’ve covered all sorts of subjects on the blog in the sixteen months we have been on line, but this week we are covering one of the more unusual, but definitely inspiring, stories I’ve come across. Firstly though, here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 26 February to 4 March:

There’s an incredible story that has caught the attention of the world’s media, from the USA to Britain, from South Africa to Australia. It has also featured on numerous websites and blogs so now it’s our turn to pass on this wonderful story. It begins with Barbara and Dennis Gregory from Johannesburg, South Africa, when they were sailing on a very special voyage in October 2008 to celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary. They were aboard Queen Mary 2 on the last tandem Transatlantic Crossing between the ship and QE2. 

Mrs Gregory takes up the story; “It was a dream holiday. We had a perfect week in New York and had taken many beautiful photos. On the journey from New York to England we continued our fantastic holiday and many great memories were captured on our camera.” These are just some of the photos Dennis and Barbara Gregory took while they were in New York:

The Transatlantic Crossing from New York to Southampton was going well, and they were enjoying taking lots more photos of their special trip, including this iconic shot of Mrs Gregory with QE2 in the background:

On the second to last day of the voyage, Dennis Gregory took this picture of his wife relaxing on deck.

Minutes later, they saw dolphins and that’s when disaster struck, because in the excitement, the camera was knocked overboard! At the time, both ships were off the south coast of Ireland over the Continental Shelf so the Gregorys understandably thought their Nikon P90 camera, and all their treasured holiday photos, were lost forever.

That was until Benito Estevez, a Spanish fisherman who was trawling the ocean, over sixteen months later, discovered the lost camera in his nets!  While the camera itself was damaged beyond repair, the photo memory card was amazingly intact.

The fisherman contacted both Cunard and the BBC to see if he could trace the owners and posted five pictures online which included this one of Mr Gregory wearing a woolly tourist hat from Oxford.

The story was picked up by the British media and Laura De Klein, a friend of the couple who lives in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, recognised the couple in the pictures and got in touch. The Gregorys have since been reunited with the camera and their photographs.

Mrs Gregory told reporters: “To think the Spanish fisherman has gone to such efforts on this – it’s very touching. It’s literally a dream come true. There’s no way we could ever have imagined that this thing would ever turn up again. It sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic. It’s incredible it survived 16 months submerged at that depth – I’m almost speechless.”

It’s a wonderful good news story which has amazed everyone. Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director of Cunard Line said: “In all my years in the travel industry I have never heard of such a heart-warming stroke of luck and we at Cunard are delighted that Mr and Mrs Gregory have been reunited with their photos. The images are even more poignant as they depict the last Transatlantic Crossing of the great QE2 and can never be taken again.”

I’ll be back next week with some more posts including, the first of the series of interviews with Queen Elizabeth’s newly appointed senior officers, I’ll also have more news from Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria on their 2010 World Voyages as well as some other amazing Cunard stories. Cheers Alastair

Thank you for your comments as usual and it’s great to hear all your thoughts and sentiments as QE2 arrived in Dubai. I will do my best to keep you informed with her progress as she is transformed in to her new life.

Meanwhile welcome to the final part of the TOGS voyage story. Although the voyage ended a week ago it has left all those who took part with some amazing memories, and hopefully, has set the tone for an annual event.

Straight after Sir Terry’s first broadcast of BBC Radio 2’s “Wake Up To Wogan”, with stunning views of the Straits of Messina, from the Commodore Club on board Queen Victoria, he spent some time chatting to TOGS before he had an opportunity to discover Messina for himself, including what I heard was an extremely good lunch!

That evening he hosted the Captain’s table with Captain Christopher Rynd, the Captain’s wife Julie Rynd, Alan, “Barrowlands” Boyd, Janet and John “Boggy” Marsh, as well as four winners of the “Children In Need Auction” from the previous night. It’s a great tradition on formal nights and was made extra special by Sir Terry’s attendance.

The following morning started with Sir Terry entering the Commodore Club to a huge cheer from the TOGS, clad in dressing gowns (and thankfully clothes underneath!) As he prepared for his second broadcast he was fortified by the proud presentation of a curry, (freshly made buy the on board chefs who we met later), by Edina Cloud.

For those of you unfamiliar with the “Wake up to Wogan Show”, this was continuing the tradition of sending food in to the show on a daily basis. And yes he did eat it and seemed to genuinely enjoy curry at 8am! During the broadcast he interviewed the Executive Chef Nicholas Ollroyd, and his twin brother Executive Sous Chef, Mark Ollroyd. He had met them at the traditional Chef’s Parade in the Britannia Restaurant the night before, and loved the idea of twin brothers from Yorkshire working on the same ship. He had a lot of fun interviewing them but wasn’t sure if he was seeing double or not.

Since I have been home one of the questions I have been asked most about the voyage apart from; “What was Sir Terry really like” and to that I answer – exactly as he seems; he is very much his charming self. The other question was; “Were the chefs really twins and are they identical?” Well I’ll let you judge that for yourselves:-

Sir Terry’s programme always ends with a “Pause for Thought” and as we overlooked the bay of Naples, Canon Roger Royle used the historic city of Pompeii as his inspiration. It was great to see the team working together and the real fun they seem to have as well as genuine friendship. Somehow having seen the broadcast live, you listen to them at home with a stronger understanding of what is involved, and of course a greater respect for the craft, which they all make look so easy.

Sir Terry had to be whisked off straight after the show as he had a flight leaving less than 2 hours later, and his driver had to negotiate the Naples traffic. That in itself is no mean feat but as we saw the car drive away with both Sir Terry and Canon Roger Royle, we were slightly disturbed to see one of the windscreen wipers held together with cellotape! Anyway they reached the airport safely and in plenty of time despite the driver having to lean over to the passenger side to see through the windscreen. Being forever positive, it did at least provide more material for Sir Terry on his Monday morning show.

With the broadcast over and Sir Terry on his way back to London, we went to lunch in Naples and the home of the Margherita pizza; yes genuinely where this pizza was created for the then Queen of Italy, (this was June 1889 by the way), by Raffaele Esposito in a restaurant called “Brandi”. Although I had been there a couple of times before I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I could remember exactly where it was, but a combination of bluffing and good fortune,  we found it and had a fantastic lunch – I can thoroughly recommend it if you ever go there. On the way back Alan “Deadly – Voice of the Balls” Dedicoat, discovered the Italian Lottery – but I am not sure if “Droppa Those Bigga Money Balls” would translate too well to the residents of Naples!

We rushed back to open the TOGS hospitality desk for the last time, and were delighted to be selling more Bears, CD’s and pins, all in aid of “Children in Need”, to not only TOGS but also other guests who have the delights of “Janet and John” to look forward to when they get home – though I’m not sure what they’ll all make of it! That night was a real treat as we got to enjoy a special show featuring the stunning Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers, with a special performance by Clare Teal. Clare is well known to BBC Radio 2 listeners as a presenter of the Big Band Special series. She has released 6 albums and in 2006 she was awarded “BBC Jazz Vocalist of the year” and then “Jazz Vocalist of the Year 2007”, at the British Jazz Awards. She has a superb voice and I would recommend seeing her if you get the opportunity. 

The last night of any voyage is always one of mixed emotions and is usually spent with new found friends in a favourite bar on the ship. For many of the TOGS and the remaining members of the BBC Radio 2 team it  meant an evening with my good friend Barrington “Barty” Brown, in the Commodore Club, whose quintessentially English style is always tremendously popular. Amongst his extensive repertoire is the Hippopotamus song originally created by Flanders and Swan, but most recently revived by Sir Terry on the Bandaged album. Somehow it became a bit of a theme tune for the voyage. Not satisfied with having performed two shows, Clare Teal also joined Barty and a good night was definitely had by all!

After a smooth disembarkation the following day in Civitavecchia, we kept bumping in to TOGS and guests alike, at Rome airport and even back at Heathrow, with that knowing look of shared experiences!

So there it was, hopefully just the first of an annual tradition of the TOGS voyage, and I’m glad to report that it was a tremendous success, not only for raising so much money for “Children in Need”, but also for being a lot of fun for those who took part. It was great to welcome new guests to the joys of taking a Cunard Voyage and also to introduce the uninitiated to the world of Sir Terry Wogan – your lives will never be the same!

I’ll be back on Thursday with my regular blog hopefully introducing a new guest blogger, but in the meantime I would like to thank again all those who made the TOGS voyage such a huge success. Firstly to Sir Terry and the whole “Wake Up To Wogan” team without whom this wouldn’t have been the voyage it was. Also to Norm, Helen, Kel and all those who work so hard at raising money not forgetting Matt for all his hard work with logistics and so much behind the scenes, things which took up so much of his time. Thanks go to Captain Rynd and his officers staff and crew, (especially Gustavo, Jacqui, Colin, Jim and the Technical Team, and Amanda and her Entertainment Staff), for all they did to contribute to the smooth running of the voyage. Mostly thanks to all the guests on the voyage – TOGS or otherwise – for being there and being fun to be with. I’d better go now before this starts sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech – in my dreams! Cheers for Now - Alastair

I am writing this as late as possible this week to get you all the latest news from Queen Victoria. However I am sat in the Golden Lion Pub with the Radio 2 team (I’m such a name dropper!),enjoying traditional fish and chips whilst watching the emotional arrival of QE2 in Dubai on the news. I apologise I haven’t been able to get you much news yet from the farewell voyage but I promise I soon will. I did receive a message this morning from Carol Marlow saying that everything had gone well and QE2 was, at the time, being escorted by H.M.S. Lancaster, Royal Yacht Dubai as well a flotilla of other ships and yachts on her final approaches. Her arrival was amazing and I did go to Queen Victoria’s Internet Centre and watch on the link to the QE2 Bridge cam. (Thanks Chris for posting that idea). What a great reception she had and yet again it shows what a legendary and much loved ship she is and I know we will all watch with keen interest as she embarks on her new life in Dubai. You can’t help thinking what is going through guests’ minds today as they disembark and for the crew leaving her for the final time tomorrow. We’ll do our best to get you some reports soon. Meanwhile Queen Mary 2 has arrived in Fort Lauderdale for her brief Caribbean season before beginning her second World Cruise in January.

Before I bring you up to date with what’s been happening on Queen Victoria over the last few days – here is our weekly look at this week in Cunard’s history for the week 21^st to 27^th of November

November 21 1787

Samuel Cunard is born in Halifax, Nova Scotia

November 22 1955

Sylvania II  is launched at John Brown Yard at Clydebank, and along with the Carinthia III they become the last liners to be built purely for the North Atlantic market. She eventually becomes the last Canadian emigrant ship

November 24 1967

Cunard’s first cruise ship, the RMS Caronia II, comes to Southampton for the last time after a distinguished career.

November 26 1968

QE2 leaves Greenock, Scotland for her first set of sea trials

November 26 2007

Cunard accepts delivery of Queen Victoria

November 27 1920

Samaria II is launched

Meanwhile back to Queen Victoria…………..

You’ll know from my last Blog on Monday that we have a host of guests from BBC Radio 2 on board as part of the TOGS voyage. On Sunday we were joined by Canon Roger Royle, Janet & John Marsh and the voice of BBC’s National Lottery Balls: Alan Dedicoat.  It’s been a very busy few days for our Radio 2 personalities as we got them to work. Firstly they have spent a few hours each day helping to man the hospitality desk and having their photos taken as well as signing CD’s and frankly anything that has been put in front of them. On Monday night the Golden Lion Pub was packed to the rafters in anticipation of Canon Roger Royle’s “Loose Canon Karaoke” and guests and TOGS were never going to be disappointed although at times they were surprised.

I have never heard karaoke begin with a rendition of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” but this, we soon discovered, was going to be karaoke with a difference. John “Boggy” Marsh and his wife Janet were enrolled to assist, with John on the piano and Janet providing vocals. Not wishing to miss out on the excitement Alan “Voice of the balls” Dedicoat had been ashore in Alexandria, not to see the sights, but to purchase props. He joined Roger Royle and Kell (from the TOGS hospitality desk), in their version of the Sand Dance. It’s impossible to describe the performance but put it like this; I don’t think “Strictly Come Dancing” will be offering them a place in the next series!

Roger did an amazing job entertaining an eager audience who clearly loved the evening taking away a multitude of unforgettable memories. The next morning over 400 guests came to see Alan Dedicoat in his lecture “The Best of British”. It could easily have been called “Broadcasters’ Worst Nightmares” as he played out takes from the BBC archives which illustrated how difficult the job can be. Of course like all professionals, broadcasters can make the job seem effortless, but we soon gained a whole new level of respect for these very talented individuals.  Not only was it very entertaining but it provided an amazing insight in to the workings of the BBC. I know one of my challenges as an Entertainment Director is making sure I pronounce people’s names correctly. The BBC are one ahead of the game  on that one with a Pronunciation Unit who work busily in Bush House in London, ensuring all the broadcasters get the most accurate information – not that all that preparation always worked – as we found out. We also discovered some of the tricks of the trade used by both broadcasters and interviewees. For example did you know that politicians like to be interviewed at five to eight in the morning so they know the interview will be stopped in time for the eight o’clock news, thus curtailing the possibility of suffering from foot in mouth disease!

We also gained a little insight in to what is actually going on in the studio when Sir Terry broadcasts and yes it seems they are all having as much fun as it sounds like. Food apparently plays quite a big part in the daily shows with one of the highlights being “Snorkers Week” (or National Sausage week to you and me), where the team all vie for a spot on the show which involves tastings, and you guessed it a lot more fun.

On the same afternoon Alan hosted The “Deadly Pub Quiz” (oh yes our TOGS got good value from Alan – but he was worth it!). The event actually took place in the Queens Room as the number of teams amounted to 42. Alan Dedicoat was, as you would expect very entertaining and did a superb job despite the banter coming from Canon Roger Royle around the room.  I must admit hearing the voice that normally says “Drop Those Big Money Balls”, asking us what colour a Purple Finch is, was a bit surreal.

It was a great success and our team came fourth – thanks to Barty and Judy who were my team mates. And no I didn’t have a preview of the questions – Alan couldn’t be bribed despite my offers of donations to Children in Need! Congratulations go to the victorious (pun intended!)“Seagulls Team” of Evelyn, David, Clare and 94 year old Betty.

When Alan heard about Lynn Bowles ringing the ships bell – he simply had to have a go and not be out shone by Lynn. Fortunately there was a sea day so he was joined by Canon Roger Royle, Janet and John Marsh for another photo opportunity with Pudsey getting in on the act as well. After another busy morning at the Hospitality Desk we arrived in Malta and said good bye to Alan Dedicoat who had to get back for his National Lottery broadcast that evening. Later in the afternoon it was a real pleasure to welcome Sir Terry Wogan himself and in my next Blog I’ll tell you all about “An Audience with Sir Terry Wogan and of course the live broadcasts from Queen Victoria’s Commodore Club. Don’t forget to tune in to BBC Radio 2 on Thursday 27^th and Friday 28^th November between 7:30am to 9:30am (on your radio and on line).I have a feeling there’ll be lots to tell you about including an interview with Sir Terry.

Firstly thank you for all your feedback about the QE2 Farewell from Southampton and especially to Andy for all his links. We are hoping to get you some news from QE2 as she approaches Dubai in a few days, with pictures and video from the legendary voyage. When she arrives in Dubai most of the crew will be leaving the next day and I’m happy to report that after a well deserved rest you’ll see most of them on either Queen Victoria or Queen Mary 2 and indeed Queen Elizabeth when she enters service in 2010. I am aware that Captain McNaught and Thomas Quinones (who many of you will know for his brilliant heritage trail on QE2) are planned to be joining us on Queen Victoria in the spring along with many other familiar faces. Talking of familiar faces it was interesting to hear that my fellow Entertainment Director has been recognised as a “Bradley Walsh” lookalike. It made me think we could do a ship’s crew lookalike competition on this blog, so if you have any ideas we’ll start a gallery! Thanks Anne for the idea – keep them coming.

Meanwhile back to Queen Victoria…………..

During the TOGS voyage we have managed to persuade many Radio 2 personalities to take a few days away from the BBC studios in London, to join us for a few during the voyage . We said goodbye to Charles Nove in Istanbul but were joined by Lynn Bowles. Lynn is best known for her traffic reports on the Radio from very early in the morning right up until Noon, looking after the reports for three DJ’s (Sarah Kennedy, Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce). Having never been on a ship like this before, on joining she exclaimed she was stunned by the ship’s beauty and facilities.

Lynn loved her time on board and was amazed by the amount of activities on offer, especially on the sea day after Kusadasi. She said she rather liked the idea of combining two activities on board – Fruit Carving and Fencing. Although we all agreed this would have been quite an interesting spectator sport, we decided instead to try something new - “Bowling with Bowles”. This was actually a first, where we invited guests to join the Entertainment Staff in the Golden Lion Pub for a virtual game of 10 pin bowling on the Nintendo Wii. It was a huge success with over 40 people entering and even more watching Lynn and fellow guests’ battle with technology. It takes a little while to get used to (and one or two never did quite get it!), but when they did, it seemed quite addictive and very entertaining for all concerned.

Each day we have been hosting a TOGS hospitality desk as a way for TOGS to get together and meet our Radio 2 personalities. One visitor to the desk was the ship’s Security Officer Andy Holloway who invited Lynn to ring the noon bell in the Grand Lobby. In fact I think Andy really came down to the desk to buy a Pudsey bear, but Lynne was delighted with the offer. This is a long standing tradition where on days when the ship is at sea, the ship’s bell is rung to mark noon.

That night we invited Lynn to join a few of us in one of the Royal Court Theatre’s private boxes to watch the signature show Victoriana. She couldn’t resist a regal wave just before the show began and was quite surprised to see how many of the audience returned the compliment! Again she couldn’t help showing her enthusiasm for the Theatre, the show and the ship generally. I think we definitely have a convert here and I don’t think it will take much effort to convince her to come back!

The next day was Port Said which greeted us with a superb warm day – just in the 80’s, sunny and perfect. It was certainly a highlight for all our guests as they headed off to The Pyramids, the Nile, Cairo and the Sphinx. Although it’s a long day it’s one of amazing memories – I think there were only a handful of guests left on board who wasted no time in getting up on deck to relax by the pool and get a little bit of colour. Matt & I also stayed on board as we said good bye to Lynn Bowles and awaited new Radio 2 personalities to join us. It wasn’t long before we heard the contagious laugh of Canon Roger Royle, Janet & John Marsh and the voice of the Lottery Balls: Alan Dedicoat. After a late night in the Commodore Club singing along with Barrrington Barty Brown we realised the pace of things was picking up. There’ll be a host of new TOGS activities for me to report from so watch this space if you want to see what happens at Loose Canon Karaoke and the Deadly Pub Quiz. We’ve been told to prepare ourselves for……….. well, log back on Thursday and we’ll tell you everything.