more news II

Saturday 29th July 2006

4:38 p.m. CET Yet another good night last night. Had a group in for most of the evening who I discovered were mad on Coldplay, when I launched into The Scientist they erupted with cheers and applause!! As a result I ended up playing four out of five of the Coldplay numbers I have in my repertoire, but I had to vary it a bit for the sake of the rest of the people in the room! Ended the evening with a bit of a sing-along with some of the younger members of their group, which was fun and different. Also the guy who had been there the night before came in and requested a few numbers, then fell asleep!

For the first time since I have been on board, almost the entirety of last night’s crossing was in thick fog. Was really weird being outside on deck last night with cloud just rushing right past you. Felt like we were flying not sailing.

I’m almost three weeks into my contract now. Once again time is racing.

Monday 31st July 2006

8:10 p.m. CET The last couple of nights went pretty well although nothing of major interest to report.

Ida came to see me while we were in port in Hull yesterday. The earliest she could arrive was at mid-day so we only got to spend four hours together but it was nice that she could come up. Plus I managed to sort out a day-pass for her this time round so she came on board the ship and I showed her round.

We left Zeebrugge about an hour ago and for the first time since I came aboard we are doing some proper sailing! The wind is force 5-6 tonight so the sea is a bit rough, so the ship’s rocking (or ‘rolling’ as they call it in the trade!) I love it!

Wednesday 2nd August 2006

5:05 p.m. CET The last couple of nights were nothing to write home about. It’s been quiet and I have been feeling slightly demotivated since Ida left on Sunday. But the good news is that it’s less than two weeks before I go home for a week.

Despite the windy weather I walked into Zeebrugge with the guys from the band plus a couple of the casino girls. We went to a bar and had a few drinks (mine still non-alcoholic), and I walked down to the sea again.

Thursday 3rd August 2006

1:37 p.m. Last night was the best night I’ve had in about a week. Was quite busy until around 11 o’clock and managed to get the crowd on my side after playing a barrage of popular numbers! At the end of the night some older guy (who apparently is a regular on North Sea Ferries) came over and asked me if he could sing Moon River so I accepted and it didn’t sound too bad despite him seeming to have had a skin-full!

Today’s main bit of news is that James wants me to do rolling contracts on this boat until the end of the year, in fact until January, when this ship goes into dry-dock. The only exception would be from the middle of September when I would get four-weeks break as there’s another new guy due to be coming on. I’ve agreed to it in principle, but we’ve still to thrash out a few of the finer details. Talking of which, I’m going to speak to Peter at Live Business in a short while so that we can sort out contracts etc.

Apparently the band are on til the end of this month, then True Nature are coming back for a couple of weeks. The Bulgarian bands aren’t going to be on until a bit later in the year.

I just met a blind chap called Ted who is the piano tuner, along with his guide-dog, Ace. He was very good, he managed to virtually dismantle the piano and put it back together again single-handedly. And he sorted out a couple of niggling problems with the piano which was a blessing.

I finished Sophie’s World the other day. Was a good read, great brain food. Would recommend it if you haven’t read it. If you have read it, I had forgotten what a hoot the penultimate chapter is! Incidentally, if anyone has any recommendations for good books (preferably in a similar vein to Sophie) then please do let me know.

Saturday 5th August 2006

12:26 p.m. The last couple of nights have been very testing. We had a mixture of people on, but predominantly a coach-load of twenty-somethings who spent most of both evenings in the piano lounge and were so loud that they almost drowned me out. Still it was good character building I suppose. And also good preparation for when I go on the larger ships as apparently that’s what it’s like all the time!

The good news is that Peter from the agency has arranged for someone to cover for me from 15th til 21st so I am definitely having just under a week off. Only five round-trips away! Will be good to have a break.