The number 9 is seen as the number of the man, as a numeral symbol of his gestation (nine months).
The number 9 is the expression of “the power of the Holy Spirit”, according to Etchegoyen.
The freemasons have made the number 9 the eternal number of human immortality.
The number 9 number was considered as sacred in Egypt and in Greece.
To His Podgeness however, the Number 9 simply means:
9 more sleeps to go;
9 more sleeps to cruising;
9 more sleeps till the big fella gets on that boat,
with his bird and her boy;
9 more sleeps to cruising.
And after that 9th sleep, there shall be much rejoicing and coming together of all P&O’s l_u_v_e_r_l_y cruise ships and I, His Podgeness, will be one of the chosen ones who will be joining the historic celebrations, along of course with She Who Must be Obeyed. 
plus of course, many many others.
Today, I will be venturing into the loft / roof-space / attic, to retrieve the many cases and carriers that I just know we’ll need. As a minimum, I reckon we’ll need 2 full size suit cases, 2 medium size suitcases, 1 hard shell suit carrier, 2 ruck sacks, 2 (bulging at the seams) camera bags, and a couple of carry on bags (hand luggage). within these items there will be at least 7 hand bags with, each no doubt, matching shoe’s and of course some serious shopping bags with good strong handles.
The preparations are now in full swing.
