Aren't people ungrateful? The guys at Fred Olsen went to all the trouble to put an art gallery on the newly-stretched Balmoral - actually it's a corridor that has pictures on each wall, but no matter. It's a lovely space and there are some really eyecatching paintings as opposed to the ghastly stuff the cruiselines dress up as art and try to flog at auction at hugely-inflated prices.
In my column in the Telegraph this week I wrote:
Since emerging from the shipyard as Balmoral, the vessel also has a smart new top-deck swimming pool where there was none before, and an art gallery with some striking paintings. As it doubles up as the corridor to the main restaurant, I suspect many passengers won't notice the pictures as they race for their food.
But the reality was even worse. Just after writing that, a couple was walking towards me. He turned to her and said: "This is a complete waste of space, isn't it?"
According to a new survey, we Brits are totally ignorant of the continent just across the water. You know, the one they call Europe. Seems we are also a sad bunch of philistines.
Jane Archer
