a glimpse of what's to come

Wednesday 22nd November 2006

4:16 p.m. CET A rather odd night last night, with the majority of the folk on board being from the older generation, a few of which accosted me during the course of the evening in various states of drunkenness.

Yesterday afternoon I went over to the Pride of Rotterdam with Mathias, the resident pianist from there. It was the first time I had been in the new terminal and the ship. The terminal felt like a small airport; had to go up four floors to get to the gangway leading to the ship. The ship itself is a lot bigger and more modern, it is easy to see that it was originally designed to be a cruise ship. Even walking through the crew accommodation felt like ambling through the corridors of a hotel. The piano bar is a circle shape, and is a lot more spacious and slightly classier-looking than the Pride of York’s Moonlight Lounge. There is also a panoramic array of windows, out of which it was possible to get an excellent view of the River Humber and Hull, and surrounding areas. I am due to be going across again tomorrow.

Went to Lidl again this afternoon, this time on the tram. Bought a pile of chocolate to take home for Christmas. Was nice weather today, sunny and a little chilly but not as cold as it has been.

Spoke to Peter at Live Business when I got back. Apparently the guy who was due to be taking over from me has pulled out, so there is a chance I might be staying aboard a little longer, possibly three or four trips. I am not sure yet though. During the course of the conversation, Peter told me that he was keen to use me on the larger ships next year, possibly including the Pride of Bilbao (which sails from Portsmouth).

Thursday 23rd November 2006

10:17 a.m. Again a bit of a non-starter last night, although there were two chaps in the bar for a time who I would guess to be about the same age as me, and one of them took some photos of me playing which he agreed to e-mail to me when I am back home, which should be useful for publicity purposes.

I have decided not to stay on for another week, it has been too long since I slept in a proper bed, and although it was just over four weeks since I was last at home it feels more like four months…