Detar ates beat aca tac Coat Wc gree Incas Sve Cece eco tie 07 fer ives Cee Po caO nd Del oats Sete OTe OOOO Er a ens THERE’S NOTHING like a little decadence to brighten one’s life, and there can be no better decadence than a Far East cruise on a fuxury ship like the Sea Princess. (I nearly spelt that decadance, which would be a good way of doing it, if you ask me.) Let me stress that the trip was not a public-relations frecbie, that Grey Eyes is going to have to spend the rest of her life picking berries in the Fraser Valicy to pay for it, and that what | write is a pure hymn of praise in honors of the high life. For we peasants are born wide-cyed and stay wide- eyed. It is only the rich who become bored, the poor things. We hurried dowa to Ambleside one day to see this white glory leave, and picked her up in Japan. “Don’t sink, or anything silly like thet,’’ we chirped as she steamed by, if indeed ships do still steam. But she was in Kobe on time. Cap- tain John Young, ber master, is always on time, and so are ali who. sail in her. We took to the good life as if to the manner born. But there were problems. What, for instance, to have for dinner? Should it be tle Baked Salmon en Croute with Hollan- daise Sauce, Broiled Rock Lobster, Tail Drawn with Butter, the Tournedo of Beef Tenderioin Montmorency, or the Rock Cor- nish Hen? Such problems re- presetited themselves every even- ing, the menus changing daily. That sort of puzzle can give a fellow wrinkles. But I must say that Grey Eyes never seemed to have any difficulty at all. She had an advantage, however. Most evenings, when we walked (and eventually waddled) to our table, Giovanni the Italian waiter would rush forward, take her by the arm, escort her to her place, and whisper things into her ear. I began to get worried. We Anglos cannot compete with those Italians... Time is of the essence in today’s hurried world, which is why we prefer to suffer air travel and get jet lag and indigestion rather than float happily along in a good ship. But it would be better if planes were scrapped and ships came back into fashion. Flying in a hermetically sealed tube with a bunch of other sar- dines cannot compare with stan- ding at the stern rail of the Sea Princess while she sighs her way nocturnally throvgh the China Sea at 17 knots. It’s a good way to end it all, too, if you feel so inclined. I mean, you can hardly throw yourself off a jet plane, can you? But the delights of this ship are such that gloomy thoughts occur only in fantasy. After all, there are always tomor- row’s meals to look forward to. The sybarite (t‘:at’s a ten-dollar word for the lover of the good life) must be on guard against human MarmBOox weakness and the traps set by the P & O Line, of course. Bars galore, comrades! And, this being a “cashless ship,’’ everything goes on your credit card and you don’t have to worry about money. It took will power, I can tell you, not to do a bar tour while taking one’s good-health trots around the upper decks. Happy hour all day! The Sea Princess was built 20 years ago, so the decor is pleas- antly subdued and the wooden deck chairs fit one’s form perfect- ly. They didn’t have a chap come round with a blanket to tuck you in, which, I have heard, was an old P & O custom, but we weren’t on the Atlantic so that didn’t matter. We of the lower classes learn fast about these things. Before you know it, we'll be demznding to sit at the captain’s table. Oh yes. Captains. They have my sympathy. Not only are there such things as captains’ and deputy-captains’ cocktail-hours, where they have to shake hundreds of hands and act as if they’ve never shaken a hand before; they also have to be pleas- ant at all times and pretend not to be used to it. Being a captain on a cruise ship must be a bit like being the Queen. A final note: being a “‘racist,’’ I took pleasure in those calm British officers’ voices that came over the loudspeakers. One knew that if the worst came to the worst, they wouldn’t be the first into the boats. @ Reform Party made ‘great mistake’ Dear Editor: Mr. Doug Collins is like a voice in the wilderness. One of the very few people who has the courage to say in public what 90 per cent of the people say when sitting around discussing government policies. : I think the Reform Party has made a great mistake by not taking Mr. Collins on board and might as well fold their tent and steal away in the night. It appears there is nothing reformatory about them. If you stand on their platform they open the trap door and hang you for speaking out on issues they purport to stand for. ‘That’s not reform, it’s more of the same. I am very disappointed. I had such high hopes. I think Mr. Manning just closed the door on the only breath ‘of fresh air we could have had in de- cades; that is, a party that echoes the concerns of large numbers of citizens. B.M. Jones North Vancouver WE HOPE SO because uncomfortable feet can ruin your whole day. If you are a skier and your feet aren't happy, there is no better time to let our booifitting professionals help you select that perfect fit. Remember, the ski season is just around the corner. 9 - Wednesday, November 9, 1988 - North Shore News IMPAIRED DRIVING Ardagh Hunter Turner Barristers & Solicitors , #300-1401 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver 986-4366 Free Initial Consultation ‘RE-ELECT Emie CRIST NV Dist ALDERMAN Just as Stanley Park gives Vancouver a unique status among the world's great cities, so the newly created Alpine Park encom- passing the mountains in the District of North Vancouver from Indian Arm to the borders of West Vancouver will make our com- munity even more special. 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