conclusion

Sunday 28th October 2007

4:14 p.m. CET Thursday and Friday nights were both very quiet, which was a nice break but also a bit more of a challenge in a way. Last night was busy again, and the best night I’d had since Tuesday. Played a variety of material, and even had some couples dancing to Spanish Eyes and later on Fields Of Gold. There was a group of Germans sat behind me for most of the evening making requests, including one for Morning Has Broken which I hadn’t played for quite a while.

Tonight is my last night on this ship for a while, in fact it’s unlikely I’ll be back on here this year as a guy called Bruce has been contracted until January.

Wednesday 31st October 2007

12:36 p.m. GMT Had a very good closing night on Sunday. The bar was busy, and there were several couples and a few family groups who stayed for most of the evening. Again I played a few songs that I hadn’t done in a while, including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and Everybody Hurts. Had a good reception throughout, even in the last set when it was a bit quieter.

forthcoming attraction

Wednesday 24th October 2007

4:46 p.m. CET Last night was a refreshing break from the norm as I didn’t play any jazz numbers apart from during the warm-up set, and later on I focused on singing some more up-beat numbers, some of which I hadn’t played for a while, including Walking In Memphis and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and also had requests for Man On The Moon by REM, This Love by Maroon 5 and Yellow by Coldplay, none of which I had played for a while and all went down well.

Full Extra, one of the Bulgarian bands, left today, to be replaced by Night Queen, the band with whom they have been rotating for the best part of the year, and who were also here in August during my second contract on this ship. They will be having the night off in a week’s time, as 80's psychedelic rock outfit Doctor and The Medics (most famously known for their version of the song ‘Spirit In The Sky’) will be appearing for a one-night-only Halloween special. It’s not the first time that a relatively well-known group has been performing on board; back in February, the current incarnation of The Four Tops were the headlining act for the Valentines mini-cruise.

Thursday 25th October 2007

12:36 p.m. BST Last night didn’t really get going until the last set, although I did play two new songs early in the proceedings, the popular jazz standard What A Difference A Day Made, and She by Elvis Costello. I didn’t have many requests but I played My Way for the first time in a while and this seemed to go some way to winning over the audience.

On Tuesday night there was another amazing sunset over the Humber, I managed to get a few pictures of it which didn’t quite do it justice but here is one of them.

progress

Monday 22nd October 2007

1:18 p.m. CET Had a fairly reasonable night last night, it wasn’t fantastic but it wasn’t dreadful either. It was a bit slow-going at first, but things gradually picked up as the evening went on, especially towards the end of my first set, when I played Easy (Like Sunday Morning) by Lionel Richie which seemed to go down particularly well. There were several small groups sat nearby during my second set and they were all ears, most notably when I played Everything I Do (one of the first songs to be included in my repertoire, some 16 years ago!)

It’s a sunny but cold day in Holland today, for the first time this autumn I saw my breath when I was out on deck earlier! Even so I may take a walk later on, as I haven’t been off the ship on the Dutch side so far this time round.

Tuesday 23rd October 2007

11:14 a.m. BST Well I did end up going out for a short while yesterday afternoon but only for a brief walk around the port. I took a few more photos which are on my web space.

Had probably the busiest night so far last night. I felt like I turned a corner with my playing, as I played three numbers which I hadn’t done before, namely Try a Little Tenderness, Sway, and Spanish Eyes. Although the audience response was a bit slow, I thought I performed them particularly well, and they were appreciated.

Later on there were some familiar faces in the bar, not only people that were on the ship on the outward journey last week, but some that I had seen before on this ship, and one woman who remembered me from when I was on the Bruges back in March! I rounded off by playing I Write The Songs (following a request) which was I think the best received all night.

silhouettes

Saturday 20th October 2007

5:22 p.m. CET The ship was very busy last night but the Sky Lounge was less busy than the night before. Not to say it was quiet, far from it, in fact I had a bit of a challenge in the form of a fairly large and rowdy group sat right next to the piano, and although they were singing along and making requests, they were deterring other people from staying and listening which made things very difficult. Still, as I have learned, this sort of thing goes with the territory, and it was the only Friday night sailing from Hull (the so-called “mad Friday”) of this contract.

Yesterday I forgot to say that on Thursday night when we had just left Europort we sailed past a cruise ship that I later discovered was the Oriana.

11:44 p.m. BST Had a welcome break this evening, very quiet for a Saturday evening, similar to when I was here before. There were several couples in during the evening including some who stayed throughout. I played On The Wings Of Love by Jeffrey Osborne for the first time and although I thought I played it well I think it was a bit lost on the audience!

There was an incredible sky after sunset this evening in Europort, and I managed to take a few photos. Here is the best one of them.

pontoon

Wednesday 17th October 2007

5:30 p.m. BST I came back on the Pride of Rotterdam on Monday for a two-week slot, and my first two nights went pretty well. Nothing that outstanding to report, although Monday was busier than Tuesday in the piano bar, and had a good reception throughout the evening. Last night I played Leon Russell’s ‘Song for You’ for the first time, which went down well. I’ve got a few other new songs side-lined which I will be playing during the course of the next week and a half while I’m on here.

The weather in Hull has been superb today and according to the forecast it looks set to stay that way. I hope it’s right!

Thursday 18th October 2007

5:11 p.m. CET Had an excellent night last night, it was busy throughout the evening, in a way it was quite unusual as half-way through one lot of people filtered out and were replaced by another lot who were equally attentive. There were some large groups and a few couples who were listening and making requests. One group of young lads were in who had been on the ship when I was here a couple of months ago and they remembered me from before. I had a few encores and I wound up by playing some numbers by R.E.M. and Coldplay, and they were well received.

Friday 19th October 2007

10:50 a.m. BST Another successful night last night, again it was busy and the atmosphere was good throughout the evening, I had a warm reception and some requests. During my second set there was a group of students sat nearby and I allowed one of them to play a tune that she had composed, which was a light classical piece and went down very well. Along with the usual quota of jazz and pop standards, I played High and Dry and Bright Eyes which I don’t perform very often which were also well received. By the time I had finished people were still wanting more, and I had some positive comments afterwards.

(As you may know, as well as being a card-game, Pontoon is also a type of flat-bottomed boat.)