fireworks III

Wednesday 15th August 2007

11:55 p.m. BST Last night wasn’t too bad although it wasn’t the best night. Peter from Live Business was on the ship and he came into the piano bar briefly but I didn’t get a chance to speak to him. By the last set it was very quiet and I wound up by playing several instrumentals, the last of which was Nightswimming which I hadn’t played for ages.

Tonight was generally a better night, and though I didn’t have many requests the audience were more receptive. I fancied doing something a bit different this evening, so I decided to play some numbers that I hadn’t performed for a while, and they went down well. Also I played Honesty by Billy Joel for the first time, and Sweet Caroline and Stuck In The Middle for the second.

The bruises from the paint-balling excursion have now begun to develop, one on my arm is particularly colourful. From the sound of things I think I got off lightly with just four, Michelle for example came away with ten!

Only two more round-trips until I go home now. It feels like I have been on here a lot longer than two weeks…

Sunday 19th August 2007

2:15 p.m. CET Wednesday and Thursday nights were both fairly uneventful, although on Wednesday evening there was a guy in who said he recognised me from when I had been working the Zeebrugge route, and on Thursday night there were a group of girls in the bar briefly who complimented me on my voice.

Friday night was fairly successful although as with last weekend the numbers dwindled towards the middle of the evening and didn’t really pick up again, which I attributed to the lure of the show downstairs. It was still a good night nevertheless, with several groups and couples in, some of which who stayed until the end. Didn’t have many requests but the majority of people seemed fairly attentive.

Last night was a different story, it was busy throughout the evening, I had about a dozen requests and people singing along to some of the numbers. There was one fairly young group of Germans in who I recognised from about a week ago, who were en route back home, and I chatted to them for a short while afterwards. Probably the best night of this contract.

Only one more night now, as tomorrow I am returning home for a couple of weeks, then I have another (thankfully brief!) stint on the York.

Tuesday 21st August 2007

3:48 p.m. BST Am back at home again now. Had an excellent last night, even better than the one before. Again it was busy all evening, and the atmosphere in the bar was excellent. During my second set I played a rather triumphant rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water, followed by some more upbeat material, which went down quite well and had several people singing along. I also played instrumental stuff, including Song For Guy which I hadn’t played for a while, The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby, and Ballade Pour Adelaine. I was talking to a couple afterwards who knew Nottingham very well as their daughter is at Uni here.

I forgot to say that on Saturday night during my last set I played a couple of Elvis numbers, by way of marking the 30 year anniversary of his death.

Also on Friday night while I was on my break, I was stood on deck at the back of the ship, I could see the lights of Europort in the distance, and as happened once before last year when I was on the York leaving Belgium, I spotted a fireworks display taking place somewhere just up the coast (somewhere in the region of The Hague or possibly even Monster!)

het onderzoeken door fiets

Sunday 12th August 2007

11:16 a.m. BST Friday night started well, but the passenger numbers began to dwindle about half-way through the evening and it was rather quiet by my last set, which is fairly unusual for a Friday night (especially as we were sailing out from Hull). I rounded off by playing Unchained Melody and spontaneously three couples appeared and took to the dance floor. Last night was similar in terms of the number of people about, and I did played some instrumental pieces during my second set which I don’t very often do.

Yesterday evening (after a day of lovely weather) there was another beautiful sunset but unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos of it as I was playing at the time.

Monday 13th August 2007

11:03 p.m. BST Last night was much better than the two previous nights. The evening in general flowed well, the audience was quite appreciative throughout and there were a few people who stayed until the end. One of them was a young German lad who had been in on Thursday night (who had stayed throughout the evening then as well!) and he made a few requests, some of which I knew and played. I didn’t get many requests apart from that but things went well all the same. I rounded off the evening by playing The Scientist by Coldplay, which I hadn’t played for a while.

Today I had been intending to go to Rotterdam (which would have meant having to get up very early to catch the coach!), but I had forgotten that there was boat drill this morning. Instead, since it was a nice day I cycled down to Oostvorne and back with Michelle (the children’s host) this afternoon. I didn’t manage to take many photos, but I did get a few, including these ones of a typical Dutch house (we passed many similar constructions on the way), and a stretch of water called Brielse Meer. More pictures on my web-space.



Oostvorne itself was not like I had imagined it to be, I was thinking along the lines of a quaint rural old village with lots of run-down buildings, but as it turns out it was actually a fairly modern looking small town (in fact, a lot of the architecture didn’t look to be more than about forty years old), with a busy main street with plenty of shops. It only took about 45 minutes to get there by bike so I might go back there some time to get some more photos.

It seems that the vigorous exercise paid off, as I had an even better night tonight, I felt that I played and sang very well (though I say so myself!) and the audience were very appreciative as a result. I decided to start off my 9 o’clock set by playing instrumentals, as I often do, to warm myself and the crowd up. During my break I had been drinking a cup of tea, and I put the empty cup on the side of the piano when I had finished. One guy must have thought I had put it there to collect change as he dropped some money into it as he was on his way out!

I played a more diverse range of songs tonight than I usually do, including some old rhythm and blues (by Billy Taylor), and some classical, namely the theme tune from the film The Piano, which had been requested by one young lad. I don’t get many requests from the younger generation so that made a nice change. The mixture of material seemed to go down very well and keep the audience attentive.

I managed to solve the mystery of the disappearing passengers on Friday and Saturday night. There wasn’t much of a mystery involved actually – I think a lot of people had been drawn down to the show-bar by the live shows that Gareth put on with the band both nights (they did a Blues Brothers theme on Friday, and a ‘Back to School’ theme on Saturday).

For some unknown reason I have allowed myself to be coerced into going paintballing tomorrow with the rest of the entertainments team (the whole lot in fact, even the croupiers). I have never been before so it should be interesting, hoping I won’t get too bruised, stained, or injured…

Tuesday 14th August 2007

4:07 p.m. BST Well I'm back in one piece, with a few minor bruises, but it had been raining so I was soaked from the waist down when we had finished. There were only six of us in the end but it was still good fun, and I would probably go again.

Footnote: 'het onderzoeken door fiets' means 'exploring by bicycle'.

tractors, buses and trains

Thursday 9th August 2007

8:05 p.m. CET Yesterday evening was a bit slow at the outset, but at the beginning of my second vocal set I decided to play some more up-tempo numbers which were well received and I did a fairly good job of winning over the audience. Not least of which was a fairly large group of Germans sat opposite me, who were making requests throughout the evening and stayed until the end. During my last set I played Autumn Leaves and a couple were dancing.

It’s not anywhere near as busy tonight, although the numbers will probably pick up later on. On the whole I expect a slightly more laid-back evening.

Decided not to go out today as it was rather grey, cold, wet and windy all day. Hoping for more agreeable conditions soon so that I can resume my familiarisation with the local area, and possibly venture further afield!

Friday 10th August 2007

10:41 a.m. BST Last night turned out to be a bit busier than I was expecting, given that the passenger numbers were not huge, but nonetheless it was still a steady night and a good one. There were the usual quota of groups and couples in throughout the evening, some of which made requests. Also last night and the night before I finished with people still wanting more, which was positive.

I think the highlight of the evening for me was overhearing a conversation behind me between one couple and their young son, who I would guess to have been about four, during which he said “Jesus did, Jesus walked on water!” To hear a declaration of faith from someone so young, especially in this day in age, was both moving and encouraging.

12:16 p.m. BST As the port is responsible for freight as well as passenger transport, I often see some unusual and sometimes bizarre objects dotted about. A lot of it tends to be farming machinery, earlier this year when I was on the Bruges I spotted a rather odd looking contraption sat waiting to be loaded (and just to add to the randomness, with a green open-topped bus behind it). And today there was a row of tractors also sat lined up impatiently waiting to be swallowed into the bowels of the ship (or they may have just been ejected from them actually). As with the bus, the objects are not always farming related. Today as I was making my way through the freight park, I noticed what seemed like a carriage from a tram or an airport monorail.

foreign affair

Tuesday 7th August 2007

4:49 p.m. CET Last night went well, it was rather busy with a few large groups in, and I had a stream of requests. There was one group of Dutch people sat behind me for most of the evening, and for a while during my second vocal set they were all stood behind me singing along like backing singers for a few of the numbers! Having had a request for Neil Diamond earlier I decided on a whim to play Sweet Caroline for the first time, which went down well. By the end of my last set there were still a few of the Dutch group left, along with a few other couples dotted about who were receptive.

It has been quite a sunny afternoon in Holland today, but not as warm or bright as Sunday which seemed almost tropical. A bit of a shame to be stuck on board again really, I’m hoping to do some more exploring during this contract, as I might not be returning until October when conditions are likely to be a bit more unreliable.

I made a brief excursion down to the newly-refurbished Seaman’s Mission yesterday, and it has been quite extensively improved. Quite a relief not to have to sit in a damp cupboard cramped up against other ship workers jostling for space!

Wednesday 8th August 2007

12:28 p.m. BST Some evenings in the piano bar are very enjoyable, others feel like more of a chore, and last night fit into the latter category. However, there was a group of scouts in (not talent scouts unfortunately, I mean the Baden-Powell variety!) who were quite good-humoured and were making several requests throughout the evening. On the whole not the best night though.

return to rotterdam

Monday 6th August 2007

11:20 a.m. BST I am back on the Rotterdam again, earlier than expected, for a two-week stretch this time, and as Tim has gone to work on a cruise-ship it looks like we won’t be rotating.

I came back on Saturday, and it has been business as usual so far, nothing extraordinary to report, although I did have a good first night, with a steady number of people in throughout the evening, and a warm reception throughout. Last night was fairly unremarkable, although there were a few groups who stayed for most of the evening who seemed appreciative.