Tales of the sea were the order of the day during a visit at a Ferndown care home.

Residents at Brook View have formed a watertight bond with Alfred ‘Alfie’ Saunders, the stepson of one of their Colten Companions, Jo Vardy.
Alfie has just completed his first six months at sea with the Italian company MSC Cruise Liners aboard the MSC Virtuosa, the fifth largest ship on the sea.
He has been sending regular postcards to the residents from countries he has visited, including France, Morocco, Portugal and Belgium.

Alfie Saunders meets Brook View residents. Picture: Steve Belasco

He also sent a video he shot of the Northern Lights, which he filmed from the bridge of the ship while in Norway.
And on some time on shore recently, Alfie visited Brook View to give a talk and host a Q&A session.
Companion Jo said: “Everyone is thrilled with Alfie’s postcards and gave him a wonderful welcome when he visited.
“One of our residents worked on the original Queen Mary shortly after its launch and has been swapping stories with Alfie.
“Other residents were interested in meeting him as they have cruised in the past and his talk brought back many happy memories for them of visiting the countries he has spoken of.”
After a lunch provided by Brook View chef Isabella Corbo, Alfie answered questions and spent time chatting with residents, revealing that one of his proudest moments was when his captain asked him to take the helm and guide the ship across one of the busiest and roughest stretches of water, the Bay of Biscay.
“It was lovely to have been invited to speak here at Brook View.
“Everyone was really engaged and asked me great questions,” Alfie said.
“A lot of the residents here are very well travelled and have their own fascinating stories of cruising.
“I am really looking forward to corresponding with them during my next tour to America and the Caribbean in July.”
Resident Pamela Roberts said: “I enjoyed Alfie’s talk. It was very informative. He is such a lovely young man.”
Trevor Clark said: “He is a very captivating speaker and so confident for somebody only 19 years of age.”

The teenager is now beginning his second year of a three-year course, from which he hopes to qualify with the rank of third officer.