Strange bedfellows, or you never know who you'll meet over dinner

A recent comment, on Retired Martin’s blog, about sitting next to someone on a plane, whose country is at war, reminded me of a polar opposite experience that occurred on our not so recent, cruise to Norway. Martin mentioned about being seated next to a Ukrainian national, whereas my experience involved a person representing the other side in the appalling conflict that is continuing between two former, East European neighbours. Mrs PBT’s and I were on our way back from Alta, in the far north of Norway, and it was the second of what turned out to be five days at sea. Our ship was supposed to have called at Narvik, on the return voyage, but due to heavy seas and storm-force winds, our captain had decided to make a dash for home. This sort of made sense from a seafaring point of view, but need to have a strong and stable relationship to be cooped up in a cabin, with your nearest and dearest for the best part of a week. Fortunately, ours seems to have survived, but on the day in question…