Thursday, December 04, 2014

Thursday 4th December 2014…not so busy!!!!

Another nice sunny morning and off I went to the tennis courts I am so lucky to be able to start my day with 2 hours of tennis…on the way home I stopped at the nursery…..many of you know that the Christmas holidays is not a great time for me and I am glad when January 2nd rolls around but I did buy these beautiful plants…

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Incredible it was 45 pesos for them both not even 4 dollars!!!!

After lunch I treated myself to two hours of relaxing on the lounger on the back patio with my book and I then came inside and cooked my dinner with fresh potatoes, Brussel sprouts that I bought at the veggie market and topped it with turkey slices and some wonderful stuffing!!!!!

At 5.30m I went to Marysol’s apartment for my Spanish lesson this was re scheduled from yesterday when she had to cancel as she had a family emergency…..again we worked on my pronunciation and also conjugating verbs something I have never been able to get the hang of……she is such an amazing teacher I love my lessons!!!!

Came home and had dinner and a bath and now relaxing with the hockey game.

Some up dates for you…first the tennis racquet….as I mention Rita’s daughter received the racquet from the Sports Authority website and she was going to bring it down next Friday when she comes to visit her Mum but I heard from Rita tonight that Ali, who is a nurse, may be going to the Philippines tomorrow to help with flood victims….so that will mean my racquet will not be coming so will have to figure something out.

My toe…..you know or maybe you don’t that I have the ugliest feet ever with my left foot  causing me lots of problems because my toes overlap and rub and cause me to have a huge callus in between my toes and for the last two years I make regular trips to the chiropodist to file away the callus well before I left England in July I went to a doctor there and he cut away quite a large part of it and every day I file it a bit myself and since then I have had no problems whatsoever so happy about that.

So where will you be on 18th September 2015……you don’t know……..want to know  where I will be…..I am going to tell you anyway….I shall be on the little ship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Discover a relaxed, rejuvenating retreat at sea onboard Golden Princess, a brilliant ray of sunshine in any destination! Enjoy a calming massage or mud bath at the Lotus Spa®, wander through the Italian-inspired Piazza, or choose from a variety of dining options including Sabatini's and Crown Grill specialty restaurants, Vines, and the poolside pizzeria. Complete your unforgettable cruise experience with exciting onboard entertainment including street performances, theatrical productions, and Movies Under the Stars.

 

 

Golden Princess

Golden Princess - Players Bar Golden Princess - Spa Pool at Night Golden Princess - Personal Choice Dining offers passengers flexibility. Golden Princess - Atrium

 

 

Golden Princess, a vessel measuring 109,000 tons with a double-occupancy capacity of 2,590 passengers, offers a boatload of possibilities. While Golden Princess' design was created more than a decade ago, its indoor public spaces feel modern -- specifically Princess' famous Piazza. Golden Princess also has the Sanctuary and the Crown Grill, made popular in the line's newer Crown Princess series of ships.
Golden Princess is in line to get another refurb in early 2014, when cosmetic work will be done to fix spots that are showing some wear. The most noteworthy change will come in the ship's Horizon Court, its buffet area, which will be expanded to improve the flow.
Our favorite onboard spaces include the following:
The Piazza is the perfect onboard hub, surrounded by the International Cafe for coffee and anytime snacks. (The aroma of baking cookies and cafe lattes is heavenly.) Vines Wine Bar is also nearby for tapas, sushi and drinks. Clusters of cozy chairs make it the best place to enjoy the street theater-type entertainment, meet with friends or just people-watch.
The two specialty restaurants, Crown Grill and Sabatini's, take onboard dining up a notch. At Sabatini's, you'll eat your way through Italian favorites like antipasto, pasta and tiramisu desserts. The New York-themed Crown Grill expands the typical steakhouse menu to include all sorts of seafood while still offering a wide assortment of premium-grade beef. Both are well worth the extra fee.
The Sanctuary is an oasis of calm for adults, with snooze-inducing cushy lounge chairs, a soothing atmosphere with touches of greenery and the ultimate in pampering -- alfresco massages.
Movies are always better on the big screen, and Princess' pioneering Movies Under the Stars has made its way to Golden Princess' Calypso Reef Pool. Enjoy a concert or sporting event as you splash around during the day, or curl up next to your sweetie under a blanket with some popcorn to take in a feature film at night.
The teens-only sun deck provides this hard-to-please group with an outdoor place to mingle, and the splash pool area, although small, offers parents a tot-friendly place for water play with their preschoolers.
Four pools ease the swim crunch. The outdoor Calypso Reef draws kids, teens and adults, while the covered Neptune Reef provides a climate-controlled space so water enthusiasts can get wet even in inclement weather. The spa's outdoor current pool, targeted for swimmers 16 and older, is peacefully located off the ship's Lotus Spa, while the heated Terrace Pool provides great views at the aft of the ship.
Three show lounges -- the Princess Theater, Vista Lounge and Explorers Lounge -- allow you to find entertainment, no matter what time you finish dinner. Production shows and performances by headline entertainers are repeated three times over two nights, so everyone has a chance to enjoy them.
With supervised activities in the Fun Zone (a children's area for ages 3 to 7 and 8 to 12) and Remix (the daytime teen room), Golden Princess works well for families, especially on the ship's seven-day summer Alaska sailings. In the winter, when the ship focuses on longer cruises to South America and Mexico, the ship caters to an older clientele.

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  Yes I set sail for 28 days to New Zealand!!!!!

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  The ship actually goes to Sydney but I shall dis embark in Auckland where I plan to send at least three months touring around the two islands..tentative plans are for my brother and Janet to come over the first part of January for a couple of weeks and then I shall knock another item off my bucket list by flying to Melbourne and taking in a couple of days at the Australian open tennis………anyone jealous or better still anyone want to come on the cruise I am paying single supplement so no extra charge!!!!!

 

 

 

  Of course this follows on…

 

 

Tennis: Australian Open changes 2015 heat policy

File photo: Camila Giorgi of Italy holds an ice towel to her face during her women's singles match against Alize Cornet of France at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne, 16 January 2014 Some matches were halted during the 2014 Australian Open after three consecutive days of temperatures over 40C

Organisers of the Australian Open have changed their extreme heat policy ahead of the 2015 tennis tournament.

Director Craig Tiley said a roof had been added to a third court, and the heat policy had been updated to "ensure conditions are fair for all players".

Temperatures soared above 40C during the 2014 tournament, causing players to faint or suffer from heatstroke.

Organisers were criticised for not suspending matches, with some players describing conditions as "dangerous".

The extreme heat policy is implemented at the referee's discretion. Once the policy is introduced, play can be suspended at the end of the current set in each match.

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Analysis: Wendy Frew, BBC Australia Editor

Thanks to climate change, much of Australia will be subjected to longer, hotter and more regular spells of extremely hot weather, say climate scientists.

To cope, Australian industry needs to start "heat-proofing" its operations and sporting authorities need to rethink when and for how long competitions are played outside, says Elizabeth Hanna, president of health sector organisation, the Climate and Heath Alliance, and a researcher at the Australian National University.

It also raises questions about the kinds of houses Australians live in, says Ms Hanna, who is in the midst of a four-year project funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council that is measuring how high temperatures can rise before workers and productivity are affected.

 

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In a statement on the Australian Open website, Mr Tiley said: "The decision on implementing the heat policy will take into account the forecast once the ambient temperature exceeds 40C, and the Wet Bulb Global Temperature (WBGT) reading exceeds 32.5.

"When conditions exceed these levels the referee is taking into account the forecast and state of play when making his discretionary call."

The WBGT reading takes into account humidity and wind direction as well as heat.

"The other major difference from previous years is that matches currently in progress will continue until the end of an even number games in that set or completion of tie break," the statement added.

"At the completion of the even number of games in that set or completion of tie break, play will be suspended."

Under previous guidelines, there was no set temperature to trigger the extreme heat policy, with the decision left entirely to referee's discretion.

This led to criticism during the January 2014 tournament that the policy was not implemented transparently, with players complaining of "inhumane" conditions.

Australia has just experienced its hottest month and hottest spring on record.

 

Yashi Kochi!!!!

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