Whatta looooooooooong
weekend!!!
To go through every detail of
my journey would probably be a bit TMI but I will try and keep it brief-ish and
keep to the main points. I left work, as I normally do, at 12.15 but that is
where the normality of my Friday ended. Instead of collecting baby from the
childminder, I waited by the car for my husband – he was picking Marcus up
instead and needed the car seat from me. I then went to the bus stop and caught
a bus into Bath. After a small walk around town and a bit of food I got the
quite-packed train to Paddington. The very British way of people shuffling
about in seats because people were sitting in other’s reservations is always a
bit of a laugh. Right on time I arrived in the big smoke and made my way towards
the tube. Now I made a bit of a mess of this as I started following the signage
for ONE tube line then decided to follow the signs for a different one. This
then meant that I ended up doing a full loop of the place without seeing a
train… Once I worked out what I had done I found the Hammersmith and City line
tube and made my way.
Then I had a short walk to
the hotel. The hotel was just fine, I am sure I could have found many a fault
with it but I am just not a fussy person! I always get a bit nervous when it
comes to checking into places like this as I always fear I will have got
something wrong or be turned away (although such a thing has NEVER happened!) The
room was small but practical enough for a person by themselves staying for a night.
Got in the door and started stuffing the pockets of my rucksack full of all the
free stuff XD After a brief rest and a costume change I ventured out into
Hammersmith.
Then I met up with some of my
friends, almost all I had actually never met in person before but only
contacted them through online platforms. As the evening progressed I met lets
of different people whose pictures and profiles I’ve seen online. Although I
might not have been introduced explicitly to loads of people it was really nice
seeing faces I recognised (the probability of people recognising me was
probably very low!!) Although I was meeting people for the same time I felt
like I knew so many of them so well. I had been told that ESC events were
really great things ad that the fans are really nice people – and now I can
actually say this is true.
On a slight tangent I’d
really like to talk about the Hammersmith Apollo itself. First of all is a
beautiful grand building inside and out although there is one slight problem
about the outside - THE GREAT BIG
FLYOVER STUCK RIGH IN FRONT OF IT!!!!! I loved all the Art Deco features and
although the inside looked lime green from the inside it was more of a
mint/apple green which was much more tasteful. There were some lovely light
features in the auditorium which were also highlighted during the show.
So let’s get on with the
actual night.
When we got there Scott Mills
was doing a Q&A session with Jon Ola Sand (the man in charge of the
European Broadcasting Union), Alexander Rybak (winner for Norway in 2009) and
Nikki (half of the Azeri winning act in 2011) Now I could have stayed and
watched but I needed the loo… However I did take a few piccies.
(PLEASE NOTE – this was the
camera on my new phone that I have only had for a couple of weeks and so they
are not *brilliant* quality)
We then got into the
auditorium and found a spot near the back which although far from the stage had
a pretty decent view. The warm up guy was doing well trying to whip up a
frenzy, however making everyone sing “One step out of time” *punch punch* is
not exactly the best… That said, the introduction of Mel and the judges got the
audience well fizzed up. Eurovision classics filled the air such as ”Save all
your kisses for me” “Making your mind up” “Puppet on a String” and “Diva”
(although disappointingly the English version – I can only sing it in the
original Hebrew!) The show started promptly at 7.30pm although the intro had
been pre-recorded a few minutes earlier. I felt that the show (at least in the
hall) was well run and we thought through. It was nice seeing at the bits that
you |don’t see when the camera if focused somewhere else.
The show then started with a bang with this guy....
Oh my word he was good! Part of me was really honoured to see him perform in the flesh and you can really tell thathe is a quality performer. It would be a real shame if we never saw him again either as a singer and/or songwriter in Eurovision again.That will be a performance I will hold i my hert for a verylong time. After all the introductions were done and dusted it was finally time to get on with the show!
Another slight tangent here –
after I had heard the songs on Radio 2 I has the overall feeling that 1) these
were not bad songs but 2) they sounded very over-produced and flat. This lead
me to hoping that seeing them in the flesh would sway me one way or the other.
As it turned out – this was
the case… but not always in the ways I had expected
1) I wish I loved you more – this visually looked stunning
in the hall wth the black and gold background. I also liked the choreography of the backing singers. However Holly absolutely smashed
it vocally in the hall.
2) Light up the world – He sounded very weak at the start and didnlt get better. Danyl did the Basim poopy step
dance which is never a good look. A good group effort in the flesh but a bit
cheesy for me and ESC.
3) I will never give up on you – this looked very odd on a big stage with her being alone on stage and little movement but was atmospheric and you could hear a pin drop. She also filled
the place with her voice.
4) Freedom Hearts – the place literally buzzed as the
bass thundered through you. She looked a bit awkward choreographcally and was dressed like a slutty
Selma. The flag waving at the end started far too late.
6) I don’t wanna fight – this was very much the crowd
fave and got cheers throughout. She looked a bit messy and the Frank Spencer
backing didn’t help. I couldn't tell you how good she was at the time due to all the shouting!
In fact, the show flowed
really well until the interval acts started. The Vamps were pretty good
although I am guessing I was not the only one in the audience wondering what
the hell they were doing there. I really enjoyed the reprise of “Love, Love
Peace, Peace” which they showed on the big screen although this was possibly down
to the fact the crowd in the hall went absolutely bonkers. How I wished they
had shown the replay from the theatre’s point of view. It felt so alive!
Possibly the nearest I will ever get to seeing Mans and/or Petra on a
Eurovision stage.
The actual result was so very
stressful – the pause before the announcement seemed to go on forever! For me
the right person and right song won. It was my fave beforehand so was really
pleased to see it get through. Needless to say I was a little bit shocked.
Firstly because the crowd reaction made me thing that Salena was going to win
but secondly (and I don’t know if you could pick up this from home) but once
the result was announced people started booing. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m
one who like a good boo, and I would even encourage ’political booing’.
Hhowever there was nothing that this girl had done or said to give cause for
others to boo. BOO TO YOU :P
After the show was done, we
went to the Hop Poles pub where the room upstairs had been reserved as an ESC
after party venue. Ohhhhhhhh it was sooooooo good. It was like a dream. I was
singing and dancing along with my faves (and even some of my non-faves) and it
was really great being in the presence of people who felt the same way as me. I
often think about doing things like karaoke but most of the songs I would want
tossing would be ‘obscure Eurovision songs’ and they’d never be on the list. In
that moment I was belting my heart out to so many choooons…. It was a bit like
a primal scream but in friendlier song form…. But it had been a long day having
been up since just before 6am and I got pretty knackered fairly quickly and
finally got back to my hotel around 11pm.
After a quick shower, a bit
of fried food, a few nice drinks and Channel 4 +1 I finally got to bed…. Not
that I slept well. Not so much because the bed was awful, more that fcat that
my head was buzzing and I was very aware that I was in a different room PLUS my
feet were throbbing XD I ended up getting up about 6.30am and watching
Cbeebies. Baby or no baby, old habits die hard! I then got changed and went to
breakfast around 8am. Although the food was nothing special I was kept
entertained by the TV showing news on BBC One. The ‘tough talking’ of Trump and
his cronies, especially regarding the travel bans seemed s at odds with the
environment I was in. Most of the staff were Eastern European or of
sub-continental background, a few of the guests had Australian accents and the
shops up and down the street reflected a wide range of countries and cultures.
If there was ever a moment when one could fully understand that that man was
talking complete bollocks – this was it.
After breakfast, I decided to
leave my stuff at the hotel and have a walk up and down the main street.
Everything was still closed, apart from a few food/eatery places, the traffic
was very light and not many people about. I took my camera with me and took
some pics of the local place names, sights and signs. It was nice to get out in
London whilst not so busy, it can be quite a stifling place when it is in full
gear.
My plan from here on in was a
little sketchy – all I knew was that I had to be in Paddington by just before
2pm. I checked out of the hotel at 10am and walked down towards the Apollo by
this time most of the shops were now opened. I went to the German ‘Bäkehaus”
and go the husband a back of pretzels then popped into a number of charity
shops where I found a small Miffy lunchbox that I could give to Marcus. After
that I then did small pilgrimage to site
I has googled the previous evening. For those of you confused by the reference
this the site of the bench used tin the opening credits of “Bottom”. The original
bench was moved many years ago but after Rik Mayall’s death a replacement was
produced and installed in his memory.
I then went to have a look
around the small shopping centre next to the tram station. It was here I would
see something that literally knocked me for six.
HEMA…IN THE UK...I WAS
STANDING NEXT TO A...HEMA
To the general public going
about their daily business, I probably looked like I was having some kid of
mental break down or just been told some awful news, I stood outside the shop
and literally cried in a mildly panicked fashion. I even phoned my husband in
an effort to calm myself down – and discuss a shopping list XD I walked out
with a huge bag of stuff. I could have spent 3,4,5 times as much but heaving it
all around London AND get on the train AND the bus was never going to be a good
move. After that I then got a bus northwards for another pilgrimage site… You
either get it or you don’t…
I then got the bus to
Paddington and got myself some take away fayre (as well as using their
toilets!). As it was far too early to wait around in the station itself I
walked up the road to Merchant Square and the Paddington Basin. I would imagine
that on a weekday this place is filed with business types but at the weekend it
seemed a world away from the inner city. It was also nice to see so many canal
boats here. In fact although I knew this place existed I never knew the canal
was here. I would imagine long walks up and down it are lovely in the summer.
And so the time came to board the train. Although all the seats had reservation tickets on it, barely any of them in our carriage were actually used. Once at Bath, I walked the few metres to the bus station, got the bus back to Peasedown where I had left the car and drove straight home.
And then I because plain old mummy again. Oh don't get me wong I missed my husband and my little boy greatly but I guess until you push yourself and test the boundaries one never knows how far you can go. I missed them, but I was so busy and in an odd kind of way it was nice to be Ann "The Eurovision Fan" rather than Ann - the woman what works at school or Ann - the mummy and wife. It just feltso free to be doing things that I genuinely love and for someone who feel like I have very few close friends I felt like I was surrounded by allies and fellow followers of the cause. I did make me feel a bit silly that I was nervous and apprehensive before hand.
I just want t say a BIG thank you to everybody I saw and met last weekend - you made that day so special to me. I am going to try to make sure that this is NOT my last Eurovision event although may be my only event of this year. If the BBC decide to have another UK national final I will try my hardest to be there and if Eurovision even winds its way to these shores I will try to make the leap.
It is a distant memory now.... but a very treasured one x