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Jul. 3rd, 2006 06:18 pmYesterday morning was the Civic Church Service. I was waiting on the path by the church while my mother and the Deputy Mayor were being robed in a back room when my phone rang. It was Jade, to say she wouldn't be coming to the festival that day as she didn't feel up to it. We agreed to watch the BB7 final next month round at hers and said bye. The service went OK, except that the Deputy Mayoress sat in the pew behind instead of next to her husband because she'd been given duff info on where to sit by John the driver, and when it was time for the first hymn, Morning Has Broken, the organist struck up the second one, How Great Thou Art. Father Ted, smiling, quipped "Morning hasn't broken just yet" and rushed down to the organ pit to tell the organist to change his tune. After the service there was a buffet with wine and orange juice - I stuck to orange juice, given the long day ahead - plus a variety of snacks including (yes!) peanuts. Graham and Juliette came up and said hello, and Juliette lent me her tapes of Martin Jarvis reading William, as promised on the ferry home from Royan.
We stopped at the Town Hall, where my mother opened up the Mayor's Parlour for me to change into civvy clothes, then they dropped me off at the park, where I was going to attend the whole of the final day of the festival.
Wandering around waiting for the proceedings to open, I met Colin, a lecturer from my old FE college, who was manning the college stall. We chatted about football for a while, then Colin said the college was planning a celebration day next summer to mark its 20th anniversary and asked whether I'd be interested in helping with the organisation. I agreed.
As the bar in the VIP tent wouldn't be opening till six, I spent most of the afternoon walking round the main park, only heading for the tent when I needed to sit down or get some shade (there was blazing sunshine all day). All the acts were good; my favourite from the first half was Karen Barnett, a singer with a magnificent voice and a great stage presence who sang a wide range of songs from Britney Spears to The Carpenters. She closed her set with Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft and announced that later in the year she and her musician colleague would be doing a Karen Carpenter tribute show. A bit later, I saw Karen in the VIP tent, congratulated her on her set and asked about the Carpenter show; she said she was hoping to get it staged at a local venue, so watch the local press.
I also heard a lady sitting in the tent talking about BB7 so confessed I was also a fan; the lady said Pete, Glyn and Mikey were her favourites, and her daughter, about 10, added that Glyn was the most intelligent one in the house. I told them Aisleyne was my favourite housemate left, and the lady recoiled. "Ooh, I can't stand her!" No taste.
I tried three different beers. My favourite was Hofbräu, which, funny enough, was the one the bar staff were promoting. Their T-shirts were a surreal sight - the England football team badge on the right of the chest and the logo of Hofbräu, a German lager, on the left. Though anything that seeks to dissociate England fans from anti-German sentiment gets a thumbs up from me.
In mid-afternoon came D*m*r*ra (the gaps are E's, I'm taking no Google risks), a mixed guitar-vocal duo whose female half was none other than Nancy, lead singer of another local band I like, who won't be named here (sorry, but it was mentioning them that got my D1aryland diary Googled!) They were brilliant, playing covers of mostly 80s pop hits.
Having feasted on a bacon roll, a carton of chips, a 99 and a burger from the various food vans over the afternoon, by 6 pm, with the VIP bar due to open, I was ready to settle in the tent for the evening. The meat in the Hog Roast stand was cooking by then, although they didn't actually serve it until about 8.30. Meanwhile we were treated to performances from several of the South Coast Idol finalists. I liked the girl group Essence, who only got to do two songs; when I met them by the hog roast stall, I said to them "Great set" and they sardonically replied "Did you like the second half??" Amy Briant, the Idol winner, had a wonderful voice; later she too came to the VIP area and I got to congratulate her.
Just after 8 my heart stopped. Miss K2 entered the VIP area with her parents. They made straight for the tent, so I followed them. Miss K2 and Lady D'Encloseland were standing looking through the programme while Sir Graball was at the bar. I went over and said hello; Lady D'Encloseland asked whether I'd been enjoying the food, I said yes, and she pointed at the couple of ketchup and burger sauce stains on my Havant & Waterlooville FC top and said "You've got plenty of it on your shirt, you messy article. Bib needed." Thanks a bundle for making me look a fool in front of the girl I like, madam.
I talked to Miss K2 for a few moments. She said she was a bit tired - she'd come straight from working a long shift - and she was sorry to have missed all the festival so far. I smiled and said "You'll see the two best acts now." She smiled back. Then she went deep into conversation with Lady D'Encloseland, just as Sir Graball came back from the bar saying he wasn't going to bother trying - the queues were five deep and there were only three bar staff on. I advised him that the crowds might not be so bad in the big beer tent outside, so he went off to try.
At that point Gidea Park, a Beach Boys and Four Seasons tribute band, opened their set, and the hog roasts (slices of pork with apple sauce and stuffing in a large bap) were finally being served, so I headed back to the open air part of the VIP area. As the man was putting my hog roast together, the band struck up Sloop John B. My emotions whirling from seeing Miss K2, I sang along from the heart with the mournful lyrics.
Having finished my hog roast, I headed back into the tent to catch another moment with Miss K2, who was now huddled with two girlfriends as well as her mum. We talked a bit more, then as she flicked through the programme she pointed to the advert for Status Quo at Portchester Castle. "Think you might check them out?" I asked.
"I was thinking of Dad. He's a fan," she said.
I told her I might go and see Girls Aloud there (their advert was next to the Quo's), she resumed reading the programme and silence fell. I just could not think of a single thing more to say. So we all just stood there till she started chatting to her girlfriends again and looking out for Sir Graball, in his distinctive tartan shirt. Very soon he hove into view, and came back to the tent saying the crowds in the main beer tent were worse. Lady D'Encloseland pointed out that a friend of his was getting served at the bar here, so Sir Graball picked his way through the hordes to get to him.
I went back outside and stood with Peter and Michelle to watch the rest of Gidea Park's set, cursing over and over inside, thinking how I might just have blown my last chance to get to know Miss K2 better (I have no contact details for her except an address from last year that may or may not still be hers, and she lives way out on the edge of town so I am not likely to bump into her around the town). I couldn't bring myself to go back to her a third time, thinking I'd just look a doof if I did and that I'd blown it for tonight anyway. In my head I justified my not going back by reasoning that I wasn't looking that presentable because of the tomato sauce stains, but, as I knew damn well, the fact was that, with that previous conversation having dried up, I'd lost my nerve. I did make up my mind to go and say goodbye to her at the end of the evening.
To my surprise, my mother arrived in the VIP tent just as Boney M were coming on; she'd decided she fancied coming down to see the finale. During Boney M's first song, Jan came round offering two tickets for a free hog roast. I explained to her that I'd bought one for £3.50 an hour earlier; she went 'doouh' in frustration, but Michelle and her friend Sue (pipping Peter at the post, much to his chagrin) eagerly snapped them up.
About 15 minutes later, though, Michelle absolutely insisted I take her ticket and have my second hog roast of the night. With all the fast food I'd eaten over the day, I felt stuffed to the gunnels after eating my first few mouthfuls of that second roast, but I finished it - though it did take me nearly all of Boney M's set.
We finished with a sing-along of Rivers of Babylon. Early in the song Smiffy came into the tent, saw my mother, said "Now you're here, you can close the show," took her hand and dragged her off. During the second half of the number I made my move back to the tent. Just as I reached the table where Miss K2 and parents were sitting with a couple of other councillors and their families, Miss K2 dodged out to the bit of the standing area just outside. Lady D'Encloseland, though, jumped up and urged me to dance, so she and I had a restrained boogie to the instrumental run-out of Rivers. As Smiffy introduced me ma to say her few closing words, Miss K2 came back in, but when I looked in her direction she seemed to avert my eye, then she wound along her side of the table whispering things to a couple of the friends of her family. I was 80% sure I heard my name when she whispered to one of them. When she'd done whispering to him I finally said goodbye and "Nice meeting you again" to her. She just said "bye" in a tone I couldn't really gauge anything from.
Back out in the open air, my mother was stood with Peter and Michelle. I told me ma what had happened, referring to Miss K2 only as "she" as my mother knew who I meant, then said "A young lady I like" to Peter and Michelle by way of explanation. They tried to get me to reveal her identity, Michelle saying "Spill the beans" and Peter "Tell me, man to man", but I named no names. And then we were rushed off to have our photo taken with Boney M - who were lovely people - then my mother gave me a lift home. I was in a daze the whole time.
Caught the first bit of Big Brother's Little Brother before leaving for work today. Glad I did, as Michelle from BB5 was on there, really sweet and looking as gorgeous as ever - if her jumper hadn't had Crazy Frog on, she'd have been perfect. I told Angela the Miss K2 saga, and she said to think positive - Miss K2 might not have been deliberately trying to dodge me at all, and if she was talking about me she might have been saying something nice. Angela urged me to talk to Lady D'Encloseland, since I get on with her, one day and ask her to find out whether Miss K2 would be interested in meeting up with me some time.
Sarah #1 was still in mourning after England's exit from the World Cup. She, Pam and I discussed who we thought would win it now; Pam and Sarah went for Germany, I for France.
After my fast food excesses of yesterday, I'd intended to leave the nibbles alone today, but in the middle of the shift I caved in and helped myself to a coconut crunch and a chocolate digestive from the tin of Family Circle on the table...
Sarah #2 gave me a lift home. On the road into Stubbington she stopped at a junction to let a couple of cars from the opposite lane turn, earning her a honk from behind. "OH, FUCK OFF!" she yelled. When the cars had turned, a white van swerved round us and sped off in front of us, and the driver flicked us a V sign. "ARSEHOLE!" Sarah yelled, and we laughed when moments later we hit traffic so the guy hadn't gained anything at all. At the Stubbington roundabout, though the arsehole was going down the lane next to ours, he swerved a little way over into our lane just to make us stop, then flicked us the V again. Sarah called out "You didn't gain anything, did you?" but the stupid twat just sat there smiling. "Bastard," Sarah said as we drove off.
The grub from yesterday is taking its toll. I can normally wear my belt done up at the fourth hole in comfort; today I'm having to do it up at the third. Whoops.
We stopped at the Town Hall, where my mother opened up the Mayor's Parlour for me to change into civvy clothes, then they dropped me off at the park, where I was going to attend the whole of the final day of the festival.
Wandering around waiting for the proceedings to open, I met Colin, a lecturer from my old FE college, who was manning the college stall. We chatted about football for a while, then Colin said the college was planning a celebration day next summer to mark its 20th anniversary and asked whether I'd be interested in helping with the organisation. I agreed.
As the bar in the VIP tent wouldn't be opening till six, I spent most of the afternoon walking round the main park, only heading for the tent when I needed to sit down or get some shade (there was blazing sunshine all day). All the acts were good; my favourite from the first half was Karen Barnett, a singer with a magnificent voice and a great stage presence who sang a wide range of songs from Britney Spears to The Carpenters. She closed her set with Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft and announced that later in the year she and her musician colleague would be doing a Karen Carpenter tribute show. A bit later, I saw Karen in the VIP tent, congratulated her on her set and asked about the Carpenter show; she said she was hoping to get it staged at a local venue, so watch the local press.
I also heard a lady sitting in the tent talking about BB7 so confessed I was also a fan; the lady said Pete, Glyn and Mikey were her favourites, and her daughter, about 10, added that Glyn was the most intelligent one in the house. I told them Aisleyne was my favourite housemate left, and the lady recoiled. "Ooh, I can't stand her!" No taste.
I tried three different beers. My favourite was Hofbräu, which, funny enough, was the one the bar staff were promoting. Their T-shirts were a surreal sight - the England football team badge on the right of the chest and the logo of Hofbräu, a German lager, on the left. Though anything that seeks to dissociate England fans from anti-German sentiment gets a thumbs up from me.
In mid-afternoon came D*m*r*ra (the gaps are E's, I'm taking no Google risks), a mixed guitar-vocal duo whose female half was none other than Nancy, lead singer of another local band I like, who won't be named here (sorry, but it was mentioning them that got my D1aryland diary Googled!) They were brilliant, playing covers of mostly 80s pop hits.
Having feasted on a bacon roll, a carton of chips, a 99 and a burger from the various food vans over the afternoon, by 6 pm, with the VIP bar due to open, I was ready to settle in the tent for the evening. The meat in the Hog Roast stand was cooking by then, although they didn't actually serve it until about 8.30. Meanwhile we were treated to performances from several of the South Coast Idol finalists. I liked the girl group Essence, who only got to do two songs; when I met them by the hog roast stall, I said to them "Great set" and they sardonically replied "Did you like the second half??" Amy Briant, the Idol winner, had a wonderful voice; later she too came to the VIP area and I got to congratulate her.
Just after 8 my heart stopped. Miss K2 entered the VIP area with her parents. They made straight for the tent, so I followed them. Miss K2 and Lady D'Encloseland were standing looking through the programme while Sir Graball was at the bar. I went over and said hello; Lady D'Encloseland asked whether I'd been enjoying the food, I said yes, and she pointed at the couple of ketchup and burger sauce stains on my Havant & Waterlooville FC top and said "You've got plenty of it on your shirt, you messy article. Bib needed." Thanks a bundle for making me look a fool in front of the girl I like, madam.
I talked to Miss K2 for a few moments. She said she was a bit tired - she'd come straight from working a long shift - and she was sorry to have missed all the festival so far. I smiled and said "You'll see the two best acts now." She smiled back. Then she went deep into conversation with Lady D'Encloseland, just as Sir Graball came back from the bar saying he wasn't going to bother trying - the queues were five deep and there were only three bar staff on. I advised him that the crowds might not be so bad in the big beer tent outside, so he went off to try.
At that point Gidea Park, a Beach Boys and Four Seasons tribute band, opened their set, and the hog roasts (slices of pork with apple sauce and stuffing in a large bap) were finally being served, so I headed back to the open air part of the VIP area. As the man was putting my hog roast together, the band struck up Sloop John B. My emotions whirling from seeing Miss K2, I sang along from the heart with the mournful lyrics.
Having finished my hog roast, I headed back into the tent to catch another moment with Miss K2, who was now huddled with two girlfriends as well as her mum. We talked a bit more, then as she flicked through the programme she pointed to the advert for Status Quo at Portchester Castle. "Think you might check them out?" I asked.
"I was thinking of Dad. He's a fan," she said.
I told her I might go and see Girls Aloud there (their advert was next to the Quo's), she resumed reading the programme and silence fell. I just could not think of a single thing more to say. So we all just stood there till she started chatting to her girlfriends again and looking out for Sir Graball, in his distinctive tartan shirt. Very soon he hove into view, and came back to the tent saying the crowds in the main beer tent were worse. Lady D'Encloseland pointed out that a friend of his was getting served at the bar here, so Sir Graball picked his way through the hordes to get to him.
I went back outside and stood with Peter and Michelle to watch the rest of Gidea Park's set, cursing over and over inside, thinking how I might just have blown my last chance to get to know Miss K2 better (I have no contact details for her except an address from last year that may or may not still be hers, and she lives way out on the edge of town so I am not likely to bump into her around the town). I couldn't bring myself to go back to her a third time, thinking I'd just look a doof if I did and that I'd blown it for tonight anyway. In my head I justified my not going back by reasoning that I wasn't looking that presentable because of the tomato sauce stains, but, as I knew damn well, the fact was that, with that previous conversation having dried up, I'd lost my nerve. I did make up my mind to go and say goodbye to her at the end of the evening.
To my surprise, my mother arrived in the VIP tent just as Boney M were coming on; she'd decided she fancied coming down to see the finale. During Boney M's first song, Jan came round offering two tickets for a free hog roast. I explained to her that I'd bought one for £3.50 an hour earlier; she went 'doouh' in frustration, but Michelle and her friend Sue (pipping Peter at the post, much to his chagrin) eagerly snapped them up.
About 15 minutes later, though, Michelle absolutely insisted I take her ticket and have my second hog roast of the night. With all the fast food I'd eaten over the day, I felt stuffed to the gunnels after eating my first few mouthfuls of that second roast, but I finished it - though it did take me nearly all of Boney M's set.
We finished with a sing-along of Rivers of Babylon. Early in the song Smiffy came into the tent, saw my mother, said "Now you're here, you can close the show," took her hand and dragged her off. During the second half of the number I made my move back to the tent. Just as I reached the table where Miss K2 and parents were sitting with a couple of other councillors and their families, Miss K2 dodged out to the bit of the standing area just outside. Lady D'Encloseland, though, jumped up and urged me to dance, so she and I had a restrained boogie to the instrumental run-out of Rivers. As Smiffy introduced me ma to say her few closing words, Miss K2 came back in, but when I looked in her direction she seemed to avert my eye, then she wound along her side of the table whispering things to a couple of the friends of her family. I was 80% sure I heard my name when she whispered to one of them. When she'd done whispering to him I finally said goodbye and "Nice meeting you again" to her. She just said "bye" in a tone I couldn't really gauge anything from.
Back out in the open air, my mother was stood with Peter and Michelle. I told me ma what had happened, referring to Miss K2 only as "she" as my mother knew who I meant, then said "A young lady I like" to Peter and Michelle by way of explanation. They tried to get me to reveal her identity, Michelle saying "Spill the beans" and Peter "Tell me, man to man", but I named no names. And then we were rushed off to have our photo taken with Boney M - who were lovely people - then my mother gave me a lift home. I was in a daze the whole time.
Caught the first bit of Big Brother's Little Brother before leaving for work today. Glad I did, as Michelle from BB5 was on there, really sweet and looking as gorgeous as ever - if her jumper hadn't had Crazy Frog on, she'd have been perfect. I told Angela the Miss K2 saga, and she said to think positive - Miss K2 might not have been deliberately trying to dodge me at all, and if she was talking about me she might have been saying something nice. Angela urged me to talk to Lady D'Encloseland, since I get on with her, one day and ask her to find out whether Miss K2 would be interested in meeting up with me some time.
Sarah #1 was still in mourning after England's exit from the World Cup. She, Pam and I discussed who we thought would win it now; Pam and Sarah went for Germany, I for France.
After my fast food excesses of yesterday, I'd intended to leave the nibbles alone today, but in the middle of the shift I caved in and helped myself to a coconut crunch and a chocolate digestive from the tin of Family Circle on the table...
Sarah #2 gave me a lift home. On the road into Stubbington she stopped at a junction to let a couple of cars from the opposite lane turn, earning her a honk from behind. "OH, FUCK OFF!" she yelled. When the cars had turned, a white van swerved round us and sped off in front of us, and the driver flicked us a V sign. "ARSEHOLE!" Sarah yelled, and we laughed when moments later we hit traffic so the guy hadn't gained anything at all. At the Stubbington roundabout, though the arsehole was going down the lane next to ours, he swerved a little way over into our lane just to make us stop, then flicked us the V again. Sarah called out "You didn't gain anything, did you?" but the stupid twat just sat there smiling. "Bastard," Sarah said as we drove off.
The grub from yesterday is taking its toll. I can normally wear my belt done up at the fourth hole in comfort; today I'm having to do it up at the third. Whoops.
