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Aug. 4th, 2006 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eiffel_71
Last night we went over to the Isle of Wight for the 'Cowes Week Reception'. At Ryde there was a minibus laid on to take us, Richard from Havant and his guest, Brian and Audrey from East Hants, Warwick and Carol (Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Basingstoke and Deane) and the Operations Manager of Wightlink Ferries and his wife to Cowes. It was a very posh do indeed, held at the plush Yacht Haven. We were given a glass of champagne each on arrival, then left to mill around the crowded terrace for half an hour or so before the buffet was served.
On the terrace Richard shouted to me to come and join him; unknown to him, my mother and I had got separated by then - he'd expected her to be with me, and had only called me to share the good spot he'd secured by the balcony. So I spent the next ten minutes making chit-chat with Richard and his guest Lesley, then I was collared by the Town Mayor of Ventnor who was surprised to see civic dignitaries from the mainland. "Are you a seafaring man?" he asked me.
"No, riding on ferries is as near as I get," I smiled awkwardly. "Ah, that's about the same for most people," said his wife kindly. We talked about Gosport and the southern side of the Island till the conversation dried up and we all stood there not knowing what to say. I glanced at my watch and, thankfully, it was past 8 pm, enabling me to take my leave of the Ventnor couple saying it was time to be going in for the food. It didn't take me long to spot my mother, who was with Maria from Test Valley and Sue from Winchester, and we joined the throng filing slowly inside and down the stairs to the dining hall.
Directed to the middle three tables, which were reserved for us VIPs, we headed for the far one, thinking Jim and Maria would join us there, but they sat at the middle one. Warwick and Carol joined us, then a Town Mayor and Mayoress from the Island were about to sit down with us when my mother inexplicably called out, in a 'Don't sit there!' tone, "Oh, save a seat for Richard!" The Town Mayor and Mayoress took that as a sign that they weren't welcome and stomped off in a huff to another table. I turned to my mother and gently remonstrated "There were another four seats here for Richard, even if that couple had joined us. There was no need to call out like that." My mother was totally bemused. She said she'd only wanted to make sure we did save a spot for Richard and genuinely didn't understand why the Island couple had been driven away by her calling out. I did my best to explain to her, till David from the New Forest and Alexis, his escort for the night, came up and sat by us.
At that point Warwick and Carol realised they were the wrong way round if we were going to alternate boy-girl-boy-girl all round the table, and changed seats. Soon Richard and Lesley appeared and sat down with us, but our two remaining seats remained unclaimed all night.
There was an immaculately white-suited jazz band already on the stage; they entertained us all through the food. The buffet included a couple of very nice salads, including one with nuts in, and some perfect new potatoes. When, in the course of conversation, it emerged that I am a fervent women's football supporter, Alexis made my night. She told me she'd played in the Royal Exchange team in the league in Southampton that kick-started the revival of English women's football in 1969! She'd been a midfielder, and regaled me with the story of her being featured on Pathe News scoring a goal in a 3-1 win against Cunard.
"So you played against Sue Lopez, Sue Buckett and Vanessa Raynbird?" I said, awed.
"I played with Sue Lopez. She was playing for Royal Exchange that season." Alexis went on to confirm that she'd played against Vanessa and Sue Buckett (whose name she'd forgotten until I reminded her of it just then). I was most impressed.
Five pretty women dancers in flash silver and blue outfits (to Richard's delight!) got up on the stage, did a dance to one tune then followed that with the Can Can. At this point, alas, it was time for our little party to go and catch our minibus home. On our way out, I spotted Maria on the balcony with Sue so went to say goodbye to them. Maria was really sorry to see us go but I explained we had a bus to catch. She followed me back inside to say goodbye to my mother, then I spotted for the first time an array of desserts on the food tables.
"Here, we're missing our pudding," I grumbled. Maria said "Take one away with you." As she said her farewells to my mother and me, she kissed me and said sadly "Richard's going too. Oh dear."
"David's staying on," I replied, "so you've still got one boyfriend here." And Sue whisked her back off to their table.
The waitresses invited us to take a dessert each with us. My mother chose a strawberry tart, and sensibly wrapped it in a napkin to eat on the bus. I picked up a chocolate dessert, not realising it was a mousse and therefore sticky and squidgy. I ate it as I walked along out of the dining hall and out towards the car park, getting a lot of chocolate on my face and hands in the process. On the bright side, none went on my suit, tie, or civic badge. I was gratified to see Richard had taken a chocolate mousse too with identical results.
I got on the bus eating the last of my mousse, to amusement from everyone. "Dicky's done exactly the same thing," I said, as he was coming up behind. I finished my mousse, sat down and pulled out my packet of tissues...
Getting off the ferry with us at Portsmouth were a group of women dressed for a night on the razzle, some of them with wild make-up, singing drunken little ditties. Clearly coming home after whooping it up on the Island. John the chauffeur was there to drive us round to Gosport, where once I'd changed out of my suit I crashed out.
After that late night it was just as well I didn't have to be in work until 10.30 this morning, for Dress Rehearsal Training. Except with the bus times, I'd have had to take the bus that arrived at 9.30. So Cathy, who was starting work at 9.30, offered me a lift, as she lives just round the corner from me, leaving at 8.50. That gave me a very welcome bit of free time first thing in the morning, during which I checked out the BB news online and learned that we'd be voting an evictee back in tonight. My thoughts turned straight away to Lisa...
When I got up to the telephone unit, there was some confusion as to whether we were supposed to bring chairs with us to the third floor, where the training session was being held. So only Janet brought a chair with her. Arriving in the training room we found there weren't quite enough chairs - in fact, I alone didn't get one. The lady there was apologetic, and advised me to go all the way back to the telephone unit to get one.
"Won't I miss the beginning?" I asked.
"Yes, but I can't help that."
"I'll stand." I was fucked if I was going to miss the start of an important briefing to shlep all the way down to the TU for a bloody chair.
She said sorry again, I pointed out that nobody had told me I needed to bring a chair, and she just wetly said "I'm really sorry about that." Then she suggested I sit on a table in the corner. So I did for the first hour, but that gave me a sore arse so I stood for the second half.
The session wasn't too bad, a man just told us what was going to be different about the questions we'd ask for the dress rehearsal, and answered all our queries as we raised them. It overran for a quarter of an hour (good, a bit more overtime in the bank). Then down to the library to catch up on my e-mail, before trekking in the heat to the temporary bus stop down towards the far end of Barnes Wallis Road...
This evening we went to Romsey for Jim and Maria's Gala Concert, given by an organist called Nicholas Martin. Before the show we got taken to a VIP room where Mike, the Town Mayor of Romsey, met us with glasses of wine and a buffet (made by Maria!) including - oh joy - olives; feta cheese and tomato on sticks; and mixed nuts and raisins. Sue and David were there again, as were John and Margaret from Rushmoor and John and Sheila from Southampton - who, as David pointed out to their embarrassment, are better known for being the parents of Theo Walcott's girlfriend Melanie than for being Mayor and Mayoress. My mother did plenty of plugging for her Medieval Night.
I'd been fearing that the show might be a bit highbrow, but it was anything but. Nicholas, a very talented musician, treated us to a wide selection of music - mostly easy listening, with just a couple of classical pieces, a medley of 50s rock, and even random items like Radio 4's Sailing By and Is This The Way To Amarillo?, all in Wurlitzer organ style. It was great - at the interval Sue smiled at me and remarked on how my head had been bobbing up and down and my foot tapping. Between the items, Nicholas entertained us with some humorous patter, including lots of plugs for his new CD. My mother bought a copy at the interval, then on our way from the VIP room back towards the hall for the second half she spotted Nicholas standing in the corridor and got him to autograph it.
As nobody knew exactly what was going to happen with the returning evictee on BB7, I'd asked a couple of friends to text me and let me know when the vote lines opened. By 9.30, when the first show was due to end, I hadn't heard anything, so assumed it would be the same as BB4, with vote lines opening at the end of the first show, for the person with most votes to go back in during the second show. So - discreetly holding my phone low, down by my thigh, so the rest of the audience wouldn't see me texting during the performance - I tried twice to vote for Lisa, only to get a reply that my vote hadn't been recognised. I assumed from that that only a few of the evictees were being given this chance and that Lisa hadn't been asked, and thought 'what a swizzle'.
At the end of the evening, as Mike and Jim went to make their closing speeches, Maria got up and presented Nicholas with a wrapped bottle of wine - and got a kiss on the lips for her effort.
Then, on the drive home, at 10.25 Penny texted to say the vote had opened! I texted in a vote for Lisa again and this time it registered. As much as I would have loved to cast a slew of votes to put my darling Lisa back in, I'm still smarting from getting that phone bill earlier in the week. So two votes will have to suffice, the one I cast then from my mobile and the one I cast just now on the parents' phone. C'est la vie.
On the terrace Richard shouted to me to come and join him; unknown to him, my mother and I had got separated by then - he'd expected her to be with me, and had only called me to share the good spot he'd secured by the balcony. So I spent the next ten minutes making chit-chat with Richard and his guest Lesley, then I was collared by the Town Mayor of Ventnor who was surprised to see civic dignitaries from the mainland. "Are you a seafaring man?" he asked me.
"No, riding on ferries is as near as I get," I smiled awkwardly. "Ah, that's about the same for most people," said his wife kindly. We talked about Gosport and the southern side of the Island till the conversation dried up and we all stood there not knowing what to say. I glanced at my watch and, thankfully, it was past 8 pm, enabling me to take my leave of the Ventnor couple saying it was time to be going in for the food. It didn't take me long to spot my mother, who was with Maria from Test Valley and Sue from Winchester, and we joined the throng filing slowly inside and down the stairs to the dining hall.
Directed to the middle three tables, which were reserved for us VIPs, we headed for the far one, thinking Jim and Maria would join us there, but they sat at the middle one. Warwick and Carol joined us, then a Town Mayor and Mayoress from the Island were about to sit down with us when my mother inexplicably called out, in a 'Don't sit there!' tone, "Oh, save a seat for Richard!" The Town Mayor and Mayoress took that as a sign that they weren't welcome and stomped off in a huff to another table. I turned to my mother and gently remonstrated "There were another four seats here for Richard, even if that couple had joined us. There was no need to call out like that." My mother was totally bemused. She said she'd only wanted to make sure we did save a spot for Richard and genuinely didn't understand why the Island couple had been driven away by her calling out. I did my best to explain to her, till David from the New Forest and Alexis, his escort for the night, came up and sat by us.
At that point Warwick and Carol realised they were the wrong way round if we were going to alternate boy-girl-boy-girl all round the table, and changed seats. Soon Richard and Lesley appeared and sat down with us, but our two remaining seats remained unclaimed all night.
There was an immaculately white-suited jazz band already on the stage; they entertained us all through the food. The buffet included a couple of very nice salads, including one with nuts in, and some perfect new potatoes. When, in the course of conversation, it emerged that I am a fervent women's football supporter, Alexis made my night. She told me she'd played in the Royal Exchange team in the league in Southampton that kick-started the revival of English women's football in 1969! She'd been a midfielder, and regaled me with the story of her being featured on Pathe News scoring a goal in a 3-1 win against Cunard.
"So you played against Sue Lopez, Sue Buckett and Vanessa Raynbird?" I said, awed.
"I played with Sue Lopez. She was playing for Royal Exchange that season." Alexis went on to confirm that she'd played against Vanessa and Sue Buckett (whose name she'd forgotten until I reminded her of it just then). I was most impressed.
Five pretty women dancers in flash silver and blue outfits (to Richard's delight!) got up on the stage, did a dance to one tune then followed that with the Can Can. At this point, alas, it was time for our little party to go and catch our minibus home. On our way out, I spotted Maria on the balcony with Sue so went to say goodbye to them. Maria was really sorry to see us go but I explained we had a bus to catch. She followed me back inside to say goodbye to my mother, then I spotted for the first time an array of desserts on the food tables.
"Here, we're missing our pudding," I grumbled. Maria said "Take one away with you." As she said her farewells to my mother and me, she kissed me and said sadly "Richard's going too. Oh dear."
"David's staying on," I replied, "so you've still got one boyfriend here." And Sue whisked her back off to their table.
The waitresses invited us to take a dessert each with us. My mother chose a strawberry tart, and sensibly wrapped it in a napkin to eat on the bus. I picked up a chocolate dessert, not realising it was a mousse and therefore sticky and squidgy. I ate it as I walked along out of the dining hall and out towards the car park, getting a lot of chocolate on my face and hands in the process. On the bright side, none went on my suit, tie, or civic badge. I was gratified to see Richard had taken a chocolate mousse too with identical results.
I got on the bus eating the last of my mousse, to amusement from everyone. "Dicky's done exactly the same thing," I said, as he was coming up behind. I finished my mousse, sat down and pulled out my packet of tissues...
Getting off the ferry with us at Portsmouth were a group of women dressed for a night on the razzle, some of them with wild make-up, singing drunken little ditties. Clearly coming home after whooping it up on the Island. John the chauffeur was there to drive us round to Gosport, where once I'd changed out of my suit I crashed out.
After that late night it was just as well I didn't have to be in work until 10.30 this morning, for Dress Rehearsal Training. Except with the bus times, I'd have had to take the bus that arrived at 9.30. So Cathy, who was starting work at 9.30, offered me a lift, as she lives just round the corner from me, leaving at 8.50. That gave me a very welcome bit of free time first thing in the morning, during which I checked out the BB news online and learned that we'd be voting an evictee back in tonight. My thoughts turned straight away to Lisa...
When I got up to the telephone unit, there was some confusion as to whether we were supposed to bring chairs with us to the third floor, where the training session was being held. So only Janet brought a chair with her. Arriving in the training room we found there weren't quite enough chairs - in fact, I alone didn't get one. The lady there was apologetic, and advised me to go all the way back to the telephone unit to get one.
"Won't I miss the beginning?" I asked.
"Yes, but I can't help that."
"I'll stand." I was fucked if I was going to miss the start of an important briefing to shlep all the way down to the TU for a bloody chair.
She said sorry again, I pointed out that nobody had told me I needed to bring a chair, and she just wetly said "I'm really sorry about that." Then she suggested I sit on a table in the corner. So I did for the first hour, but that gave me a sore arse so I stood for the second half.
The session wasn't too bad, a man just told us what was going to be different about the questions we'd ask for the dress rehearsal, and answered all our queries as we raised them. It overran for a quarter of an hour (good, a bit more overtime in the bank). Then down to the library to catch up on my e-mail, before trekking in the heat to the temporary bus stop down towards the far end of Barnes Wallis Road...
This evening we went to Romsey for Jim and Maria's Gala Concert, given by an organist called Nicholas Martin. Before the show we got taken to a VIP room where Mike, the Town Mayor of Romsey, met us with glasses of wine and a buffet (made by Maria!) including - oh joy - olives; feta cheese and tomato on sticks; and mixed nuts and raisins. Sue and David were there again, as were John and Margaret from Rushmoor and John and Sheila from Southampton - who, as David pointed out to their embarrassment, are better known for being the parents of Theo Walcott's girlfriend Melanie than for being Mayor and Mayoress. My mother did plenty of plugging for her Medieval Night.
I'd been fearing that the show might be a bit highbrow, but it was anything but. Nicholas, a very talented musician, treated us to a wide selection of music - mostly easy listening, with just a couple of classical pieces, a medley of 50s rock, and even random items like Radio 4's Sailing By and Is This The Way To Amarillo?, all in Wurlitzer organ style. It was great - at the interval Sue smiled at me and remarked on how my head had been bobbing up and down and my foot tapping. Between the items, Nicholas entertained us with some humorous patter, including lots of plugs for his new CD. My mother bought a copy at the interval, then on our way from the VIP room back towards the hall for the second half she spotted Nicholas standing in the corridor and got him to autograph it.
As nobody knew exactly what was going to happen with the returning evictee on BB7, I'd asked a couple of friends to text me and let me know when the vote lines opened. By 9.30, when the first show was due to end, I hadn't heard anything, so assumed it would be the same as BB4, with vote lines opening at the end of the first show, for the person with most votes to go back in during the second show. So - discreetly holding my phone low, down by my thigh, so the rest of the audience wouldn't see me texting during the performance - I tried twice to vote for Lisa, only to get a reply that my vote hadn't been recognised. I assumed from that that only a few of the evictees were being given this chance and that Lisa hadn't been asked, and thought 'what a swizzle'.
At the end of the evening, as Mike and Jim went to make their closing speeches, Maria got up and presented Nicholas with a wrapped bottle of wine - and got a kiss on the lips for her effort.
Then, on the drive home, at 10.25 Penny texted to say the vote had opened! I texted in a vote for Lisa again and this time it registered. As much as I would have loved to cast a slew of votes to put my darling Lisa back in, I'm still smarting from getting that phone bill earlier in the week. So two votes will have to suffice, the one I cast then from my mobile and the one I cast just now on the parents' phone. C'est la vie.
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-05 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 09:09 am (UTC)