happy birthday

Monday 16th July 2007

11:24 p.m. My blog is one year old today!

another grand finale

Saturday 30th June 2007

4:48 p.m. CET Last night was again rather quiet for a Friday, but it seemed to fly past. Not a particularly outstanding evening although there were several people that came and went throughout the evening who appeared to be enjoying my playing. After I had finished I stayed for about half an hour and chatted to two women who had been sat listening nearby.

I have now done the majority of my packing, and I’m just in the process of making the last few preparations for the off tomorrow.

I would say I have progressed since starting work on this ship. My playing and singing have both improved, I have added several new songs to my repertoire, plus I have gained some experience of dealing with generally tougher (and in some cases hostile!) audiences. Generally though I think I have been quite fortunate; the majority of people I have encountered have been pleasant.

Monday 2nd July 2007

11:18 a.m. BST Am back home now. Saturday night was a bit odd too but it ended very well. From time to time we really do get some characters wandering through the bar. During my second set a guy came up and asked me where I was from, and when I told him I was from the UK, he said “Oh, that’s where I’m going” (the ship was bound for Hull at the time), then told me “I’ve just been to a big music store in Germany. It had a lot of instruments in it. Good night!”

Later on there was a large group of students in, and my last set unfolded in a way that was reminiscent of 28th May (just after I had started on the Rotterdam); instead of winding down I played several up-beat numbers, plus some songs I don’t very often play which went down very well, most notably This Love by Maroon 5, Still Haven’t Found (What I’m Looking For) by U2, and This Is The Last Time by Keane.

As it was the last night on-board for both Marie and myself, and also it was Teddy’s birthday (the bassist and vocalist from the band), there was a big group of us who stayed up very late in the crew lounge. I got up yesterday morning with only just enough time to pack the rest of my stuff and leave!

As I was on the way out I met my replacement, who was a guy called Daniel who will be filling in for a week until Tim goes back on-board.

I have still to confirm my next contract, but it’s looking like I will probably be returning to the Rotterdam on 20th August.