the rough and the smooth

Wednesday 21st March 2007

12:05 p.m. CET On Sunday night I decided to do something original and play all of my instrumental pieces during my first set in the key of C. Nobody seemed to notice! Later on there were two couples in who were very attentive, and were making plenty of requests. One of the couples were mostly asking for Billy Joel numbers, some of which I knew and played. Both couples returned on Monday night, which was busier and as such there was more of an atmosphere in the bar. Not the most attentive audience, but New York State Of Mind was particularly well received.

Like many mid-week evenings, last night started off being quite busy but the number of people in the bar declined throughout the evening, and by the end there were only a few people left, including one chap I got chatting to who had been sat nearby for most of the evening and was very supportive.

The current spell of bad weather has produced rough seas and freezing temperatures over the last few nights. Early on Tuesday morning I got woken up by one of the drawers in my cabin flying open, and various other items falling over or rolling about. Yesterday while we were docked in Hull we had hail, sleet and snow showers, at times quite heavy, unfortunately I got caught in one of them and got drenched. Last night when we had left the Humber the ship was rocking wildly, which made walking in a straight line very difficult. However by the time I went to bed it had improved slightly.

Jo, who was working as the children’s entertainer on the York last year, is in Hull for a few days, I got to see her for a few hours yesterday afternoon and catch up which was good as I hadn’t seen her since the beginning of November.

Friday 23rd March 2006

3:16 p.m. CET Wednesday night was fairly steady and a few people were in who had been in the previous night, including the same fellow who I mentioned before. There were several school groups on-board again, including one consisting of German students, for whom I did a dedication half-way through the evening. There was also a older couple in who kept buying me (soft) drinks throughout the evening, which I thought was a nice gesture.

Last night was relatively busy with a mixture of people coming and going throughout the evening and only a few groups staying throughout. Had quite a few requests too, and once again Billy Joel seemed to be a recurring choice. I took the opportunity to air some numbers that I hadn’t played for a while, including At My Most Beautiful by REM which went down well.

Early indications are that I may be spending a portion of the summer working on the Pride of Rotterdam, the sister ship of the Pride of Hull, where I was working for a couple of weeks back at the end of January.

11:18 p.m. GMT It’s been a while since I did an entry during the evening while at sea, so I thought I’d take the opportunity. Had a good night tonight, the best of the week so far in fact, it was busy for most of the evening, with most tables occupied until my last set. Had several requests, and a receptive audience throughout which was the first for a while. There were several Germans in the bar, including a group of young ladies who sat nearby for most of the evening singing along to most of the songs which helped to keep things lively! Also there was a couple sat by the piano until quite late, who were listening intently.

I managed to get hold of a photo of the helicopter that came to airlift someone to hospital last Saturday morning, from the communal computer in the crew mess.



Saturday 24th March 2007

12:44 a.m. GMT Was out on deck just now, and saw the orange crescent moon hanging low in the sky, reflecting on the sea. Quite a sight, especially as I hadn’t seen the moon at night for a few weeks.

11:44 a.m. GMT The sea has been a bit calmer the last couple of nights. Still a bit rocky, but nowhere near the level of Monday night.