QM2 Southampton - New York

Those of you following on Twitter will already know that Robin has gone off on his travels once more.
After three weeks at home it was rather a wrench for him, but, he was also ready for the challenge of two, high profile concerts, in the next week.

After a busy weekend, with three performances in two days, it was rather a weary musician that set off on Sunday morning.
Luckily, there wasn't a long haul flight to face, merely a quick hop down to London. Frankly, for Robin, that is rather like catching a bus into the nearest town.

It was with some concern that he arrived at Heathrow, Terminal 5, and waited for his luggage to materialise. There has been such a lot of bad press recently surrounding Heathrow, that I'm sure most people would be anxious.
However, his suitcase did appear, and he made his way to the meeting point to be collected.
We've never understood why he's flown from Manchester to Heathrow, then collected by car and driven for a couple of hours to Southampton. You can fly there direct after all...

Still, on this occasion, his driver was an interesting chap.
When he found out that Robin was destined to join the QM2, he recalled his own experiences, working in the boiler room of the original Queen Mary.
4 hours continuous, back breaking work, of shovelling coal into the hungry beast, then 8 hours rest before starting it all over again.
Robin's two concerts in a week, should seem a little easier now...mind you, he'll be playing an awful lot of notes, and there will be a lot of people watching...

But it helped pass the time on the journey, and eventually Robin made it on board Cunard's QM2.
He just had time to settle in, coincidentally in a room he has stayed in previously, before setting off to record an in house T.V. interview, to be broadcast today.
This often happens, as it allows the many guests to see what is coming up in the next few days.
I know there was an explorer also being interviewed, but information has been patchy so far.
It takes a while for email to be set up, and, once the ship is more than 2 miles form coast, we can't talk on the 'phone.

Today is Robin's first concert. So he will be busy practicing and preparing himself, along with a sound check at some point.
I'll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, if you're in the UK, enjoy the bank holiday, anywhere else, have a good Monday!