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.