I am flying back to the UK today to spend Christmas with my parents who I haven’t seen for many months. I will return in a week.

Meanwhile I leave on board Maria, Selina, Peter “Golden Boy”, little Snoopy and the pre-honeymoon couple Neil and Sarah (Sarah keeps on accidentally scratching the woodwork with the ENORMOUS rock she now wields on her engagement finger). Maria will continue to rule the Downstairs Department with a rod of iron whilst Neil has in my brief absence been appointed Acting Upstairs Skipper. Pretty scary. It’s a bit like leaving your child in the care of the more demented inmates of the lunatic asylum, so they are under strict instruction to do NOTHING and to go NOWHERE.

They will be maintaining the blog in my absence but as it will be all about boring things like shopping trips and how the loos in the marina got blocked on Christmas Day, I’m sure they won’t be worth looking at. I certainly won’t be bothering to log in.

Catch up with you when I get back. Meanwhile, all of us on board Mina2 wish you a very Happy Christmas.