DFR Travels: POSH or P.O.S.H.

Wednesday February 12. What else but hot!

This will be our 15th sea day on the trip with only eight more days on the ship before Dubai and then to Morocco.

Today I am just rambling on about a lot of nothingness...

I forgot how hot it gets here. Somehow we can live with the heat as we are generally sheltered from the full effect of the heat either in an air conditioned coach or restaurant when on tour and then there is always the lovely air-conditioned ship to come back to each night. I always wear long-sleeved shirts and have done for years as my skin does not take kindly to the sun any more.

While away on the houseboat I got heat rash, not badly, but it is darn annoying. I first noticed it on the coach on the two hour trip to the house boats, I had the curtain pulled most of the time but it is the heat, not the sun that causes my rash. The first sign of the heat rash was itching, around the back of my neck. Later that day I thought that I might have some bites from mites, spiders or something, that is why the shower felt so good.

Regardless, I got the itch because, I think, my core temperature had risen to a certain point and I could not get it down while on tour. I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the cabin with the AC and a damp towel on my chest, neck and shoulder. An Antihistamine helped as well. Today I raided Jim and Gail's first aid kit and the gave me two possibilities. One was a proper ant-itch cream from the US, the other a solution they got when Jim had his tumble in Sri Lanka. I tried the Sri Lankan oil first, no great relief so after lunch and a cool shower I tried the US option and spent three hours in my underwear in the cabin, attempting to get my whole body temperature down. I think it is working.

While on the houseboat I noticed the back of the feet of one of our barefoot staff. His feet were as black as black oxfords and had that polished look as well, but like old shoes when the leather was cracked! Why doesn't he have skin cancer? However I assume that his genes have adapted to the heat over thousands of years as he was black as coal.

I am not sure how the Europeans fared in India and elsewhere regarding heat, but maybe it is hotter now than it was 150 years ago, who knows? As an aside at Choir practice today the director gave them a new song to learn: 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen go Out in The Midday Sun' Ironic.

Now, back to P.O.S.H. The conventional story about POSH meaning Portside Out, Starboard Home regarding cabin citing on sailing ships sailing to and from India via South Africa before the Suez opened in 1869 is generally accepted. However that origin is full of holes as you can read at length with a few minutes of deep Google time.

However, I cannot imagine the stifling conditions before the age of air conditioning on any long sea voyages. Yesterday in port, in the shade, it was virtually impossible to sit or be out there for even a moment. Only a fool would sit in the sun.