Caribbean Cruise 2 of 2
I have now finished my second Caribbean cruise in the last two weeks. Travelling wise things have been nuts to be honest. I arrived into the UK on the 14th Jan after disembarking P&O Britannia on the 13th Jan. I then spent a very jet-lagged and hazy 40 hours in the UK, before then jetting myself off again back to the Caribbean at 6am on the 16th January, to embark the magnificent P&O Arvia for it’s maiden Caribbean voyage. After 3 nights on the ship, I’m now returning for the final time this Caribbean season to the UK. It’s fair to say that Greta Thunberg would be livid with me right now, and to be honest, she’d have every right to be. It’s fair to say that my carbon foot print over the past fortnight has been astronomical, so I’ll have to be living with the lights off, no heating and only flushing for number twos for the next few weeks to offset it.
At the time of writing I am sat onboard the Arvia waiting for my pick-up to the airport in an hours time.
If I’m being completely honest, and I hope dear reader that you know I would be nothing but honest to you, I am exhausted! I am not 100% sure which time zone my body is meant to be functioning on right now. For this leg of the trip, I was scheduled to perform my show three times in one night, have a day off, and then my second show three times the following night. My shows are 50 minutes long and very exhausting. To be honest, I was dreading having to do it 3 times in one night, but you know what, I had an absolute blast. It felt a bit like a physical endurance challenge, but I enjoyed the process of trying to pace myself and yet still keep the energy to a high level. I loved that I could repeat my material 3 times in one night. I really felt the benefits of running in a few bits of new material and tweaking it where it was needed. I even enjoyed preparing my snacks for between shows:
The theatre itself is extraordinary. Arvia is a very new ship, so the technology onboard is all top of the range. With a capacity of almost 900, and there being almost 5000 people onboard, it meant that each show was pretty much full.
As well as having a genuine hoot performing my shows for such delightful audiences, I also had the pleasure of getting to know and hang out with some sensational acts, including Monroe and X-Factors Matt Terry.
This contract was worth every bit of the crazy travel-induced fogginess, and I really hope to return to the Arvia some day soon. But for now, Home time!
In other news, it’s only a few weeks until the next Jon Udry’s Variety Bungalow. We have an exceptional line up this time, it’s really not one to be missed. Tickets available here. Make sure you book soon because we will sell out.
That’s all from me. I now have a long travel day home from Barbados to the England. Take care.
J x
Things I’ve been into this week
My highlight this week has been Steve Martin, Stand Up Comedy 1984. I really cannot get enough of Steve Martin, his comedy style is so unique, and even though this video is almost 40 years old, I think it still holds up as being comedy genius. I love his spontaneous child like demeanours and innocence. His part about “Happy Feet” cracks me up every time.