Relax with Sherrie time
This fortnight our columnist, actress Sherrie Hewson, takes us on a calamitous journey on a cruise ship…
To my lovely Yours friends,
Hope is in the air and spring is looming! What’s that lovely saying by Alfred Lord Tennyson? “In the spring a young woman’s fancy lightly turns to the thoughts of love.” It’s actually, “a young man’s fancy” but I’ve always thought he got that wrong. The warmth of the sun, the buds on the trees, the ducks pairing up and of course the daffodils waving hello. This is the start of new beginnings, not quite the world we knew before but certainly a sense of relief and perhaps time to reflect. I don’t know about you but I like to sit and think about good times, not in a sad way but in a joyous way; things that make me really laugh. Do you remember when we could go on cruises? I’ve performed on many cruise ships and loved every minute. I was lucky to sail on the QE2 before she left for Dubai, and on the Ventura and the Oceana – all beautiful ships. The captain of the QE2 gave me a tip. He said, “If you’re ever in a storm go to the middle of the boat, sit on the floor with your head between your knees and you’ll never be sick.” So dutifully, on a very bad day at sea, I went to the middle of the ship and sat on the floor with my head between my knees. When I looked up the captain and crew all clapped and laughed. “Someone always falls for that one,” laughed the captain...
I met my best friend on the Ocean Majesty. Andrew Robley is a wonderfully talented singer and I’m so grateful he is in my life. Although I have to say our first encounter was both calamitous and hysterical.
We were both in the cabaret room – I had been on and done a Q&A which was fun, then Andrew did his spot and of course went down a storm.
Afterwards we all had a big party. The room was set out with a dance floor and rows of seats filling the room. As the night went on, we all had a few too many drinks and lost our sense of decorum, if you know what I mean… My favourite song came on, The Time of my Life, from Dirty Dancing. You know the scene where the girl jumps into Patrick Swayze’s arms? Yes you’ve guessed it... as the music came to that bit I ran and jumped into Andrew’s outstretched arms. I flew over his head as he fell backwards and I ended upside down between the rows of seats, knickers flashing and Andrew somewhere under me. We recovered unscathed but without our dignity and yet we still say we had the ‘time of our lives‘. I’ve loved Andrew ever since. However, I don’t recommend you try this yourselves!
‘I jumped into Andrew’s arms and flew over his head as he fell backwards...’
Sherrie xx