Risky adventures: The high price of underwater tourism

A horrific tourist submarine accident in Egypt has left six dead with many of the 44 on board the vessel still unaccounted for. It’s a funny old thing but I would never voluntarily descend to the depths of the sea in a submarine unless I had a gun to my head. Aside from the fact that I suffer from claustrophobia, I would never trust the vessel enough to think that it wouldn’t leak or crash. In countries where health and safety is perhaps not a priority and maintenance of transport vehicles poor, venturing on such trips will always pose greater hazards but few consider this when giddy with holiday fever.

When the Titan Sub imploded in 2023, killing all five of the super-wealthy paying passengers, I was incredulous. With all that money and privilege, why would such high-net-worth individuals take such a ridiculous risk. Of course, that is the irony. Those with oodles of cash to splash probably seek more and more thrills to keep them satiated, and plummeting into the ocean on a precarious, tiny sub probably seemed like a great wheeze. Maybe zillionaires feel that they are so invincible and needed that they simply won’t face the same risks that us ordinary folks might. Who knows, but it was a tragic and unnecessary waste of life.

As for the poor tourists on the Egyptian sub, perhaps holiday excitement drove them to take the three-hour trip, believing that it was a regular excursion that posed little danger. The chance to see the seabed and various aquatic creatures might seem to be a lovely idea on vacation but wouldn’t a glass-bottomed boat prove a little safer? Let’s hope that more of those on board make it out alive. What a heartbreaking end to what could have been a glorious getaway.

Au naturel

There’s been a lot of fashionable polemic over female celebrities who choose to go make-up free at major film events. The most famous of these is Pamela Anderson, the former Baywatch babe, who spent much of her life caked in harsh eye liner and slap. Now she floats along catwalks and appears at photocalls with apparently no make-up, heralding the fresh new look of going completely au naturel.
Many have praised the move, holding Anderson up as an icon of our times, bravely showing her face to the world as an ageing woman of 57. But hold on a minute. Is she really make-up and tweakment free? Of course not.

No celeb would ever really grace such an event without a dollop of foundation, lip gloss and a hefty amount of tweakments, despite what they might claim. You only have to look at the smooth forehead, hamster cheeks and full lips to know that nature has by no means taken its course. I don’t care a jot what my fellow sisters do to their faces and jawlines, but I do wish they’d stop fibbing. Actress Calista Flockhart, a natural beauty, has also recently been photographed exhibiting a make-up free face but again, the cheeks are a giveaway and there’s not a lip line or frown in sight. It must be awful to be an ageing actress in Hollywood these days where everyone has to look perfectly plastic.

Thank heavens for the greats such as Maggie Smith and Judi Dench who stubbornly refused to capitulate. Both great character actors, they showed humanity, pain, mirth and irony in faces that were still capable of free movement and grace.

Pension pain

The other day I was talking with a pleasant operative at DWP about my future state pension. I was told that I still needed to complete a few years to make the maximum state pension that could be offered, and he suggested making a one-off smallish voluntary contribution payment. This apparently has to be confirmed before 5, April when there’s a cut off. Actually, you can still contribute after this time, but the voluntary contribution will be slightly higher, I was assured. I’ve applied but I’m still in two minds about whether to bother for an extra promised £18 per month when the time comes.
The fact is that the way things are heading in the UK by the time I reach pensionable age, state pensions might be means-tested, and I might end up with tuppence a week. This would be thoroughly galling, having dutifully paid into the system for more than 30 odd years. I did point this out to said operative and he gave a sigh. Well, yes, anything could happen but hopefully I’d still get my dosh, he suggested.

Many believe that a UK pension is a given but of course it’s not. It operates on a ‘pay as you go’ system with working folk’s taxes paying for the current generation of pensioners. With a growing population, and so many pensioners on the horizon, plus countless people claiming benefits, there simply won’t be enough dosh to go round in the future. The question is when the bubble will burst. It’s a game of Russian roulette and I’m still not sure whether to play along.