ON February 28 I flew to Sydney to board the Queen Anne - the fourth Queen of the Cunard Line - on her inaugural world cruise. I had enjoyed cruises on the Mary 2, Elizabeth and Victoria over the years, before the pandemic intervened.
We left Sydney just as Cyclone Alfred was heading toward Australia and Brisbane. The captain was notified that the Brisbane Port was closed because of the cyclone. Captain Inger Thorhauge, who is the only woman captain with Cunard and one of only three in the world, was born in the Faroe Islands, and moved to Denmark in 1989.
She steered Anne on the edge of the cyclone area. There were 2900 passengers on board, plus 1000 crew. We experienced a bit of rocking most of the night. 
Queen Anne anchored for the day at Airley Beach and the next day at Yorkey’s Knob, where I went ashore to have lunch with Peg and Ian Woodcock. We went off and around Cape York to Darwin, and then to the Philippines and Manila, where the lights went out for a short time as pirates were in the vicinity. We had to have much information on our phones to gain entry and customs just looked at our passports. The tour I did took in the American Cemetery and Memorial, immaculately kept and covering 152 acres, and containing 17,113 white Italian marble headstones. Displays showed the war in the Pacific in 1941 to 1945. Walls honouring the 36,286 missing in action can be viewed. 
Although I mentioned how many were aboard, I travelled alone and was happy to share a table in Brittania Restaurant at dinner. A gentleman kept looking across at me and said “I think I know you”. I replied “I don’t think so”. When he finished eating, he came around to me with his phone and said “here you are”. It was a group dance photo taken in 2017 on a dance cruise around the Mediterranean. The gentleman Ken was from Christ Church, New Zealand, and Linda, who shared my cabin for a week, was also aboard. To be recognised after eight years shows it’s a small world. Then a few days later I saw Cynthia and Murray Harvey, from Berri, were also on board.  
Next port of call was Hong Kong. I went ashore with Lisa, from Ireland, who was on for the world cruise from Southampton. We walked at least half an hour to find the main post office, and had an extended lunch in a Chinese hotel.
I heard Stuart Tipple, a retired lawyer who took the ‘Dingo Trail’, Australia’s most notorious miscarriage of justice. Stuart was instrumental in getting Lindy Chamberlain out of prison, and it took three years to prove her innocence.
I also went to hear an Andrew Jarrett, a retired referee of 14 years at Wimbledon, who has written a book titled Championship Points. He won junior tennis tournaments and worked his way into the English team. My tennis experiences were relived.
The third lecturer was Sir Peter Cosgrove, our former Governor General of Australia.
His sense of humour was infectious, his experiences in the army in Vietnam and his interaction with our late Queen Elizabeth II were something to hear and see on the screen. I met him and his wife at the lifts and had a photo, both were very approachable. 
Phu, a coastal town in Southern Vietnam, was next, with a greeting by drummers and dancers in national costume as we docked. I chose to do a tour to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) which was a two-hour bus trip away. The poverty was evident most of the way, with many roadside stalls selling their produce. Singapore was next on the Itinerary, where I disembarked and flew home that night. The airport is extensive. I have seen most of the world in the last 20 years, in its affluence and poverty, so it is time to discover and stay in our lovely country.
- JOY MULES