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.