seafaring

As a nation of sailors we have lost our way.  At one point in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century nearly every family had someone who was away at sea.  Many men never came back.  Often there families weren’t told for months sometimes years after. There was a rich reward for whoever could construct a timepiece that could work out at sea so the sailors could calculate their position in degrees of longitude and latitude in the open sea. 

World liner cruises became popular in the early twentieth century.  For the best part of 50 years cruising enjoyed a hey dey among our island people, who congaed late into the night across the Mediterranean, through quoits at targets along the Atlantic and enjoyed the queues for sunny, outdoor buffets serving local delicacies as well as the more familiar fare, which meant one didn’t have to dress for dinner.  Another reason cruises were popular was that alcohol was served at a quarter of its original price.