Yes at last we have the Video Blog of my interview with Sir Terry Wogan, but I’ll come to that in a moment. As Queen Victoria returns from a wonderful voyage to the Canary Islands, Queen Mary 2 has been making history on her Around The British Isles Voyage with her first visit to  Glasgow, and of course the home of Cunard for so many years; Liverpool. As you know from the last posting on Tuesday, Peter Shanks (President and Managing Director of Cunard Line) is on board and hopes to post more news soon along with some pictures and maybe even video.

On Queen Victoria we are nearing the end of a great voyage to the Canaries and our guests were delighted to find the warmth of the islands. After a short voyage to Cherbourg, Zeebrugge and Rotterdam we’ll be heading back to the Mediterranean. Now before the interview here’s this week in Cunard’s history for the week 23^rd to the 30^th October.

October 27 1986

QE2 arrives in Bremerhaven for a six-month £110 million re-engining and refurbishment programme, the largest such refit in the history of the merchant marine, undertaken and successfully completed in 1987. Steam turbines replaced by diesel electric power plant and the funnel is widened to accommodate the new engine. HRH the Princess of Wales boards on the ship’s return to Southampton.

October 29 1970

QE2 offers medical assistance to the ‘Cerinthus’ in the Atlantic

October 30 1947

Cunard’s first cruise ship, the Caronia II, is launched at John Brown Shipyard, Clydebank. She becomes known as the ‘Green Goddess’ because of the colour of her hull.

Hopefully most readers of this Blog will be familiar with Sir Terry Wogan and his TOGs, but in case you don’t, he currently has the most popular breakfast radio show in the UK with over eight million listeners every morning. He has also become quite a British institution in his own right over the years, hosting numerous TV shows and of course the remarkable annual BBC “Children In Need” event. Although he announced his retirement from the breakfast show recently he will still be heard on the Radio 2 airwaves at weekends and yes, he will still be joining guests and TOGs on board Queen Victoria for the voyage departing on 14 May 2010.

Following the great success of the TOGs voyage last year, (you can read all about it in the Blogs posted between the 20^th November and 11^th December 2008), we decided to do it all again! Next May we’ll be visiting exciting cities such as Barcelona and Cannes as well as the port of Livorno where guests can visit Pisa and Florence. With Rome and Gibraltar also on the itinerary it’ll be a fantastic voyage.

We are looking forward to welcoming back the TOGmeister himself, Sir Terry Wogan, along with his intrepid team who’ll be getting involved with all sorts of fun and games including the Deadly Quiz and Loose Cannon Karaoke as well as a brand new Janet and John.

As you may know I went to meet Sir Terry again, when I was last at home (see Blog from 6 August 2009), and our friends Helen and Norman (at http://togscalendar.org/) filmed the interview in London at BBC Radio 2’s studio. And if you are still wondering what a ‘TOG’ is, don’t worry Sir Terry explains it all. So here’s the interview:

We hope you’ll join us and remember it’s all about fun and raising money for Children in Need. You don’t need to be a TOG to join in the fun so to find out how you can be a part of this exciting voyage and how you can support BBC’s “Children in Need” click http://www.cunard.co.uk/togs/

In the meantime we wish everyone taking part in this year’s events, all the best with their fundraising activities. Of course the crescendo of the occasion will be the night of Friday 20 November on BBC 1 hosted by a galaxy of stars including Sir Terry himself.

Thanks for logging on again, we’ll have more news from the fleet soon including more posts from Queen Mary 2’s Around The British Isles Voyage. Cheers for now - Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 397days

Yes less than four hundred days to go before we are joined by our new Queen, and I’m happy to tell you that I’ll be going back to the shipyard in Italy later this month to bring you some of the latest pictures, and hopefully video, of her construction. Meanwhile as the announcements come in about her progress and some of the finer details, I’ll of course keep you posted.

Meanwhile I attended an exciting meeting this week in London, to talk to Sir Terry Wogan about the next eagerly awaited TOG’s voyage sailing from Southampton on 14 May 2010. Intrigued? Well I’ll tell you more after “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week, 7^th to the 13^th August:

August 8 1922

The Doric is launched at Harland & Wolf, Belfast and becomes part of the Cunard White Star fleet in 1934

August 8 2005

Cunard announces that Queen Mary 2 will make her first World Cruise on January 10th 2007

August 9 1990

QE2 completes her 500th Atlantic crossing

August 9 2007

Cunard introduces its new lecture series called “Cunard Insights”

August 12 2008

Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Venice

The TOGs voyage will be a fantastic follow up to the first voyage last year and just in case you haven’t read about that amazing voyage yet; you can look back to the five Blogs which followed the whole trip, with the first posting on the 20^th November 2008. Also for those of you less familiar with the term “TOG”; don’t worry that first Blog will explain it all!

As you know I am on leave at the moment, which gave me the opportunity to attend a special meeting at the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London. Leaving Wiltshire on a lovely morning (so much better than the Saturday before when my carefully prepared barbecue was typically rained off and held inside!), I made it to Radio 2’s studios in London just as Sir Terry was finishing his morning broadcast on his birthday. We were therefore especially delighted that he was able to spend some time with us chatting about next year’s voyage.  So over birthday cake (thanks to Edna Cloud), we looked at some of the exciting events awaiting those who join Sir Terry and his team in the Mediterranean. Joining Sir Terry and our group from Cunard were Alan “Deadly” Dedicoat and even Lynn Bowles managed to pop in between traffic reports! Sir Terry himself is incredibly proud of the work the TOGs do to raise money for “Children in Need” and was very excited about the prospect of raising even more on this voyage.

You can find out more information about what promises to be an amazing and unforgettable voyage on the following Cunard link:  -

www.cunard.co.uk/togs

There was also time for a quick photo opportunity to mark the occasion:-

From left to right are Norman and Helen (who look after Charity Goods – more details later), eating the cup cake is Alan “Voice of the Balls” Dedicoat, Sir Terry Wogan, Lynn Bowles, Alan “Barrowlands” Boyd (Sir Terry’s morning show producer) and yours truly. They will all be on the voyage with a host of other “Wake Up To Wogan” personalities.  Sir Terry was then kind enough to do a quick interview on video which we hope to bring you next week where he reminisces about last year’s trip and looks forward to next year’s offerings.

Not only will this voyage be a huge amount of fun but it will also raise more money for BBC’s “Children In Need Charity”, and you can find out more on the following web site: -  

http://www.charitygoods.co.uk/25.html

I look forward to sharing more stories next week and of course answering more of your comments and questions. I’ve also got some great features coming up over the next few weeks including an interview with Cunard’s new President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, as well as a guest Blog from Maureen Ryan who many of you will know as Cunard’s longest serving Social Hostess. There’ll be more “A Day in The Life” features and the promised reports from the shipyard where Queen Elizabeth is currently under construction. Cheers for now and thanks again for logging on. 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

What a week for Cunard. We said farewell to QE2, to see her begin a new life in Dubai, and we celebrate Queen Victoria’s first anniversary of sailing under the Cunard flag. Thank you to Peter Shanks for sharing a unique view of QE2’s arrival in Dubai. Thanks Jerry for the links and to answer Paul Bird’s question, although it would be a lovely idea to think that the timing of her farewell was the 40^th anniversary of her sea trials was chosen on purpose, I’m afraid it was just timely coincidence. It’s also good to hear about all your sentiments of QE2 and of course thanks for the feedback regarding the TOGS voyage blog. I liked Doug’s reference to Queen Victoria as a 21^st Century Queen – I couldn’t have put it better myself. But before I bring you up to date with the next part of the TOGS voyage, here is this week in Cunard’s history for the 27^th of November to the 3^rd December.

November 29 1968

QE2 Sails from fitting out berth under command of Captain Bill Warwick

November 30 2007

Cunard takes formal ownership of Queen Victoria as she leaves the Marghera Ship yard flying the Cunard flag for the first time.

December 2 1982

Visit of HM the Queen Mother to QE2 in Southampton the second time in a year

December 3 2004

Cunard signs the contract with Fincantieri’s Marghera ship yard, to build hull number 6127 Queen Victoria

In a week that marks Queen Victoria’s joining the Cunard family, it’s perfect timing to share part four of the TOGS voyage. For those still unsure of what the TOGS are all about – you’ll find out more on my earlier blogs – hopefully that may help! Meanwhile Malta greeted Queen Victoria with a stunning day as she arrived at about lunchtime and I have to say it’s a great port, packed with history and lovely to be just a short walk from the centre of Valletta. Thanks Matt for this great photo.

Later that afternoon Sir Terry Wogan, (also affectionately known as the Togmeister), arrived at the ship, to be greeted by Captain Christopher Rynd and Hotel Manager Jacqui Hodgeson. There were a few TOGS hanging over the ships rails (well not literally but you get the meaning), to greet him as his Butler escorted him to his suite. However, despite him having broadcast that morning back in London and the flight to Valletta, we had a rehearsal booked for him at 6.00pm. As I escorted him from the aft of the ship to the Royal Court Theatre (forward), he remarked that a Par 9 would have been a shorter distance! For someone who has appeared on stages all over the world, even Sir Terry was amazed as we entered the Frank Matcham inspired Royal Court Theatre mentioning it reminded him of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin where he had hosted the famed Eurovision Song Contest some years ago.  

For this special performance, we had sold the Theatre Boxes and front row in a silent auction raising even more for “Children In Need”. Entertainment Director Amanda Reid gave Sir Terry a great introduction and the show began with him regaling hilarious stories and tales from his TOGS before introducing Canon Roger Royle who auctioned off items including, “Dinner at the Captains Table hosted by Sir Terry and Captain Rynd”, “An invitation to London to watch the Wake Up To Wogan show followed by brunch”, “A limited edition print of Queen Victoria signed by the ships senior officers and the Wake Up to Wogan Team on board” and some exclusive TOGS items.  Although it was all aimed to raise as much money for “Children In Need” as possible, it proved to be hugely entertaining with the banter that they do so well on Radio 2 each morning. John “Boggy” Marsh and his wife Janet were then invited by Sir Terry to join him on stage for the latest “Janet and John” tale which was………….unprintable here ………but hilarious. I am not sure if it will ever be published, but don’t forget you can get copies of other “Janet and John” tales, which have been heard on the “Wake Up To Wogan Show” by clicking on this link.

http://www.charitygoods.com/

I would at this point like to acknowledge the incredible work done by Norman, Helen and the various Togs around the country who run this website and work so hard in getting the various merchandise sent out, as well as having the inspiration to come up with so many brilliant fund raising ideas. They do a fantastic job and raise over £1 million for children in need each year. Their current aim is to get Sir Terry’s duet with Aled Jones performing “Little Drummer Boy” from the “Bandaged” CD to be the Christmas number 1 – good luck to you all.

Meanwhile back on stage John Marsh invited Sir Terry to close the show with the Hippopotamus song (which is also on the “Bandaged” CD). Sir Terry wasn’t too sure about this surprise, but it was too late, as Canon Roger Royle appeared on stage with the words and Alan “Barrowlands” Boyd appeared majestically on a lift coming up from the orchestra pit. That sight alone was enough to start Sir Terry off in a fit of the giggles and it clearly made quite an impact on him as he still mentions it frequently on air! It was a great close to the show with the entire audience joining in the chorus of “Mud, mud, glorious mud……….” Have you noticed there are some tunes you just can’t get out of your head! It was already late and with the prospect of an early start, most of us got an early night (I’m not mentioning who didn’t…….) ready for the live broadcast the following morning.

I was in the Commodore Club by 7.15am but was beaten to it by Myles, Neil, Jim, Gary, Keith and the technical team who were busy establishing the satellite link up from the ship’s Commodore Club to the BBC’s Radio studios back in London. This is no mean feat on a moving ship coming into port, but they did an incredible job. Gustavo and his team had also set up breakfast for Sir Terry and his team, including the much loved “Snorkers” (or sausages to you and me!) I was also beaten to it by the TOGS who were already ensuring they had the best view, with the earliest being “Cocktail Clare” who apparently arrived at 6.20am – now that’s what I call keen! Before too long the Commodore filled up and Sir Terry arrived at 8.00am to a huge cheer from the gathered crowd.

The broadcast began at precisely 8.30am ship’s time (7.30am) back in Britain and Sir Terry began by gloating about the beautiful weather over the straits of Messina. To all of you at home – yes it really was that lovely I’m afraid. There were also claims of canned laughter from back in the studio but I can assure you the Commodore Club was packed with over a hundred very excited TOGS!

It was fascinating for everyone who hadn’t seen a live radio broadcast before, to see how it all happened and to see the professionalism of the operation, despite the banter and lightheartedness you hear on air. Alan “Barrowlands” Boyd even had access to emails coming in from listeners in the UK, with the help of his assistant Joe and the technical knowhow of Keith. During his broadcast Sir Terry was very complimentary about the ship and her crew and as part of the first morning’s broadcast, he interviewed the ship’s Master, Captain Christopher Rynd.

During the interview he did happen to mention why he, as a knight of the realm, hadn’t been piped aboard, so we all made a mental note to arrange something next time! And, while a song was being played back in London and not forgetting what this voyage was all about, he took the time to pose with Captain Rynd and Pudsey.

There is lots more to tell you about the voyage and the last two days but I have just realised how long this blog is getting so I’ll sign off here, and post you the last episode in a few days time – I bet you can’t wait! In the meantime I’d like to thank the “Wake Up To Wogan” team and the TOGS for being so much fun as well as the Captain, officers and crew on Queen Victoria for doing such a great job in looking after us all, and making the event so special – true White Star Service.

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.

Before I tell you about the first few days of this wonderful voyage, I’ll cover some other news.

Firstly I am pleased to announce this site has been rated with 4 stars by the “Best Blogs At Sea” website. So my thanks go to you our readers for your part, and for those who support me in filing these blogs. This is a great site of fellow ship bloggers which I think you’ll find very interesting. www.bestblogsatsea.com.

It was great to read your comments again last week as well your questions which I’ll now do my best to answer Firstly in answer to Anthony Gaiani Jr’s question regarding the Queen Elizabeth and her progress, I’m afraid I don’t have anything to tell you at the moment, but I am looking into getting you some news very soon on her progress. However I do understand she is still on schedule for her launch in the autumn of 2010 and can assure ‘We Are Cunard’ bloggers will be amongst the first to know anything.

Thanks you as well to Steve Pedersen for his question about the glass panel on the floor of the bridge wings on both Queen Mary 2 and on Queen Victoria. If you are not aware of these panels, thanks to Scott Cameron, I have a photograph of one from the Queen Victoria.

The panels are located on each bridge wing and are made of toughened glass. Contrary to rumour they are not trap doors used to eject unwelcome guests, but an added aid to assist in docking the ship. Fully enclosed bridge wings were introduced to many ships in the late 90’s as the amount of technical equipment located on each wing increased, and the need to protect it against the elements. The panels were introduced as a means of improving visibility for Captains as they brought the ship along side. In fact the next time you are on board, walk along the pier side and look up at the bridge wing and you’ll see the panel is located at the point exactly above the edge of the pier. I hope that answers your question Steve, and please feel free to keep asking more and if I don’t know the answer I know one or two people who will!

Now it’s time for this week in Cunard’s History for 14^th to the 20^th November.

November 15 1997

QE2 makes her maiden call Miami, USA

November 19 1968

QE2 moves to her dry-dock in Greenock before beginning her first sea trials. Prince Charles becomes the first “civilian” passenger to board the ship.

Now to this week’s blog as the day finally arrived for TOGS around Britain (and some beyond) to come together and join a voyage of a lifetime on board Queen Victoria. TOGS I hear you ask……………….. Let me explain! TOGS actually stands for Terry’s Old Geezers and Gals – Terry (or more appropriately Sir Terry Wogan), is probably Britain’s best loved radio broadcaster who’s morning show on BBC Radio 2 has more listeners (over 10 million daily) than any other show, and as such he has become a national institution in his own right. You can find out more about Sir Terry and his breakfast show by following this link.

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/wogan.

Sir Terry will be joining us later in the voyage after the incredibly successful fund raising night on Friday 14^th of November for ‘Children In Need’. This is an annual event which aims to raise money for literally hundreds of Children’s charities. There were some who thought that the current financial crisis around the world would mean last year’s total could not be matched, yet alone exceeded. Thanks to the ever generous British public and all those involved in fund raising events around the country, and at BBC Television centre (hosted by Sir Terry), a staggering £20.9million was raised. To find out more about the work ‘Children In Need’ does and how you can still donate (hint, hint!) you can click on this link. www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey

I was asked if I would join the group to assist with the smooth running of the voyage and the various TOGS activities. So apart from relishing the opportunity to be a part of this great event, it was also worth it to escape the new season of “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here”!  It was also a rare chance for me to travel as a guest on board so I was looking forward to seeing things from a different perspective which is always valuable. The festivities started with a special welcome party for all TOGS to gather in the Winter Garden. The ship had done a stunning job in preparing the venue and making it very special for the TOGS reception. In fact the very talented on board ice carver even made a giant Pudsey Bear (the ‘Children in Need’ mascot), out of polystyrene as a centre piece, which soon became a photo opportunity for TOGS’ scrapbooks.

I had the pleasure of introducing Charles Nove who many of you will recognise as one of Terry’s intrepid team. Not only is he a much loved broadcaster he is a keen wearer of cardigans and a fan of the Route Master double-decker bus – yes an interesting character! You can find out more about Charles on his blog -   http://charlesnove.blogspot.com.

He set the tone of the voyage by welcoming the TOGS, who were already enjoying the special TOGS cocktail (designed by the on board bar staff especially for the voyage), and finger desserts to live music.  We soon found out that many TOGS were embarking a ship for the very first time so it was great to welcome them, as well as a few familiar Cunard faces who were already sharing their nautical know how. It had been a long day for everyone but there was so much to chat about and catch up on that no one actually got the early night that they had earlier promised themselves!

It was an early start the following morning as we all gathered for the TOGS shore excursion to Meteora. If you have never been there – I can really recommend it, and although it sounds a bit of a cliché, seeing really is believing. We set off from the port of Volos (which apparently – for those familiar with Greek Mythology – was where Jason and his Argonauts set off in search of the Golden fleece in probably somewhat different conditions to that of the luxurious Queen Victoria; I doubt Jason had accommodation with a bath and balcony! Our guide was fantastic in giving us a potted history of the region’s incredible past featuring names I tried to remember from my history lessons. There was so much to absorb, but this was possibly overshadowed by our guide trying to get to grips with who or what TOGS were, let alone explaining the innuendos of the Janet & John stories, which we discovered didn’t translate very well in to Greek! To tell you briefly about Meteora; it is a region of incredible rock formations, which survived as vast pinnacles, towering above the surrounding landscape millions of years ago. Around the 9^th century hermits in search of solitude, climbed the faces of these formations and created caves which are still visible today. These hermits were later brought together in monasteries which were built at the top of these rocks and were virtually impossible to get to, in fact they were created by lowering baskets on ropes and the building materials were painstakingly lifted up one basket at a time. This was the normal access method for new joiners to the monasteries whose faith was probably put to the ultimate test as they hovered in nets hundreds of feet above the ground in a process that took up to half an hour. We were offered the same route, but most of us were delighted to find out that steps were carved in to the rocks in the early 20^th century.  Sadly, today only a handful of the original 26 or more monasteries survive. They are truly incredible and you may recognise this one, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity (Aghia Trias), as the location of the dramatic ending of the James Bond film, ‘For Your Eyes Only’ starring Roger Moore.

What a great day it was; mind you after a superb Greek lunch buffet the conversation on the way back to the ship seemed to transform in to gentle snoring from around the bus as we prepared for the formal night ahead.

Our next TOGS event comes in a few days time, and we’ll soon be welcoming more guests from Radio 2 including Sir Terry, so we’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening on board with some more photos. Don’t forget to listen to Radio 2 (you can also listen to this on line), on the 27^th and 28^th of November for the live broadcast from Queen Victoria’s Commodore Club between 7.30am and 9.30am GMT. In the meantime I am happy to report that everyone is having a wonderful voyage and are gradually introducing the TOGS concept to the crew and other guests of Queen Victoria with varying degrees of comprehension!