On the boat in Venice we had a “Gala dinner” on Christmas Day. After the main course (no, not turkey – beef wellington which I don’t think I’ve had before but was pretty good) the Purser made some announcements. First, there were two couples on board who were celebrating wedding anniversaries. They each got a round of applause and a cake. Then he had another special announcement to make. One of the passengers had proposed to his girlfriend and been accepted. In fact, I heard that they had actually asked the ship’s captain to marry them there and then, but he’d refused – spoilsport! So the smug-looking happy couple got a badly-played serenade of the Bridal March and a cake.
I asked the other people on my table whether they thought that, if I announced I was there to scatter my husband’s ashes, I would get a cake too? I decided to settle instead for a slice of the Baked Alaska, which the chef had flambéed so flamboyantly that he had charred the ceiling!
