Birthday treat

My birthday treat having been an expedition to Ryde, we were taking a coup de blanc on the balcony of the 'Three Buoys', when we were rewarded by the sight of no fewer than two floating care homes, also known as cruise ships, the FCH Faith and the FCH Hope, pulling east out of Southampton on the evening tide. Maybe FCH Charity today if we are really lucky.

Both ships were flashy and large. They each carried thirteen of the large bottles used as life boats on each side, the sort of thing to be found at reference 2 or through reference 1. I don't suppose trying life in one of them is part of the experience on offer, as one imagines that it would be pretty grim.

Six decks of sea-view cubicles above the life boats, no doubt huge numbers of lesser cubicles elsewhere. Such a lot of people swapping suburban bliss for life in a cubicle.

We speculated about the numbers of parsons, doctors, dentists and so forth carried. They must get deaths quite regularly, so perhaps the odd mortician. Not to mention all those eager young dancers trying to make it to the west end, working the cruise ships until the right opportunity comes up.

We also speculated about the dynamics within towns which host visits from such ships. There must be lots of interesting local politics going on here, with lots of passions for and passions against.

PS 1: I have anonymised the names to protect the privacy of the owners. But privacy which could no doubt be breached by getting google to take a gander at the records maintained by the Southampton Harbour Master.

PS 2: for the avoidance of doubt, the 'Three Buoy's is a rather natty, near vegetarian restaurant on Ryde Esplanade which we may sample properly in due course. Not a public house.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/fch-celebrity-constellation.html.

Reference 2: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/zanussi-or-bust.html.

Reference 3: http://www.threebuoys.co.uk/.