Queen Mary 2
She was flying the Royal Mail pennant, something I'd never seen on her before.  Easy to miss when she was docked port at QEII.  But even this year starboard and in the new terminal, I'd not seen it.
We stopped in the cafe for a quick bite to eat while we waited for 4.30pm.  My friend Gary found us.  He was on his way home.  We had a brief chat then he went to catch the ferry.  We went out and there were a few people around, but generally they would take a photo then leave.  As seems to be the norm before sailing, there was a tender down waiting to be hoisted up after Mary moved.  Two blokes near us were discussing ships but quoting things they'd read such as you can hear Mary's whistle ten miles away (generally untrue since it depends on wind and if she has power in it or not).  They talked about Caribbean cruises yet didn't know where she was going after New York.  But the classic was one calling the tender a dinghy while the other never corrected him!  As we waited and waited the windchill made the cold feel almost as bad as January.  Fingers were going numb.
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		(C) Copyright Patricia Dempsey 11th November 2009 Not to be reproduced without permission