WE HAD DINNER in the canteen and there were wooden tables and the chairs didn’t move. They were stuck to the floor somehow.

Mum was quiet and my brother was quiet and when we finished eating a man in a white uniform came over and said that the ship was going through the heads soon and that the forecast was for very rough seas. He was only looking at Mum when he spoke. He told her that it was advisable to get the children to bed as soon as possible.