[total-madness] Thursday

[Adele]

Good afternoon!   What can I say about Thursday? I need a bloody holiday! I've got a cold, I ache all over, but it was more than worth it. Truly fantastic to meet so many of you in person, & great seeing some of you again. Ok....   8.30am Picked Mike H up from the train station, 20 mins late due to lovely traffic in wonderful Doncaster (urrgghh)   11.20am Got to Highgate, parked the car & tubed it into Camden Town. Trotted straight up to the Dublin Castle. Meeting up with; Rich Groves Simon Saunders Vince Foley Chris Mountain Kev Tizzard Joe Dovey Deanna Dovey Joanna Reid Lyn Lawlor Graham Hewson Andrew Langmead Julia/Suggsylia & two chaps whose names I never caught, apologies guys :o/   A couple of bevvies, loadsa chatting & a mood of excitement upon us, we trooped down to the tube station. Now I did my best Mother Hen act, I kept up the head counts, but what can I say, I misplaced Chris! Sorry Chris :o/   1.25pm Out the tube..straight into the Nags Head, well it has to be done! Kept popping outside & found Chris! Got all the Maddies again & after a quick brew we went up to the Dr.Martens store. Inside we grabbed the flyers advertising Wonderful & Johnny The Horse. Had a look at the boots in question. Then Steve Jacobs joined us (excellent seeing him again)we grabbed the seats, foolishly thinking we would be able to stay! Vince came inside in a state of shock having just met Suggs & Chris outside, hey Vince you still feelin' emotional? ;o) Then Cathal walked in & had there not been a seat directly behind me my arse would have hit the floor! Cathal & Vince had a big hug, before we all got moved outside. The queue was already a fair size, but one by one we managed to saunter closer to the front, until we'd made a huge group meeting up with; Nutty Pat & Shona, Nigel & Sarah Ward then Wee Stoo arrived. The excitement was building, six Madness men there, still no sign of Lee. They came out for the press photos, all of those with cameras shot out of the queue & up to the front, Cathal brought Vince out of the crowd to join the mad pic, then Nigel got in there, you lucky buggers ;o) Spotted Lee Swansdale up by the doors, had a chat with him & took his mobile number, with a message for Chrissy Boy, & he had to go, people to see, things to do ;o)   3pm Its our turn to go into the store, by a stroke of luck Lee finally turned up & so we all got the full 7 signatures. Emma wouldn't make it to London until 6pm, so I got her boots & got them signed. Gave Chris Lee's message, & spent the next few minutes trying to get the number out of my mobile! way too technical, this meant that the guys started signing Emma's boots twice! All of the band were in high spirits & really happy to be there. Quick chats with all of them, showing our age now Woody & I were comparing notes on our kids ;o) Suggs had a big beaming smile for everyone & Cathal was as kind as always, gave me a promo of JTH & said he was glad I'd made it down, & my name was down on his guest list. Did I ever mention how much I adore this man??? Back up to the Nags head for more excited ramblings. Fiona Linnell joined up with us. Joe got his leg signed by all the band around a Madness tattoo, so we headed off to Camden to find a tattoo parlour!   5pm A couple at the tattooists, some off to eat & the rest of us to the DC. Lee Swansdale was there, & popped up to his car for copies of Magic Carpet 12". Went to Highgate to get my car, & as I was dragging myself wheezing & gasping up the hill, an angel appeared & took the heavy bags from me. The Vine was here! Emma & I drove back to Camden & as we walked up Parkway I suggested we pop into the Spread Eagle on our way to the DC. & there before us, sat alone, were Cathal, Suggs & Woody, we crossed the road throwing cars & buses behind us & casually said hi, before getting our drinks. By the time we'd been served, Lyn & her pal had spotted the guys & were outside chatting with them. So we too came out 'room for a little one?' Cathal waved us to sit & for some odd reason The Vine became speechless! Why was that Emma? ;o) Ofcourse they were lovely, though just what were Lyn & her friend talking about with Woody? My ears pricked up when he laughed & said.. "the sperm donor, that's what she refers to him as" Go on, tell!! They got up, said they'd be back in half an hour if we wanted to get our fellow maddies. Not a minute after they'd left but Andrew & Vince appear, I skipped over to the DC & with the words, "Suggs, Cathal & Woody are coming to the Spread Eagle in half an hour.." I cleared the pub! In one smooth motion 20 drinks were downed, bags collected & all scurried out the door! We took over all the seats outside & a quick call to Lara & Steve & they too were on the way. As promised the guys returned & this time had Chalky with them. I finally got the one thing I've always wanted, but had been to shy to ask for, my pic taken with Cathal. Nigel, Pat & Mike, I believe you took the pics & have I told you I love you all? Three cameras, just to be on the safe side ;o) Cathal said they'd not be on stage until 9pm, so there was no major hurry.   8.30pm After the guys had gone & we were all still floating on sheer joy & disbelief, we went down to Arlington Rd, where photos were taken of us all outside the Goodfayre, incorporating the window seen on the promo of Lovestruck. Having the only car to hand, my boot was filled with DM's & other bags. Then to the loud sounds of Chipmunks Are Go, we marched to the Electric Ballroom. We got in & I managed to pass off Mikes dictaphone as a mobile, Stoo got his camera in I think Pat got his in too. The support band were pretty good. At about 8.45pm we headed up to find the spots near the front.   9.15pm Lamppost on stage, with a policeman's helmet hanging from it, the lights went down, the cheers & chanting began & here they were. Opening with Lovestruck the entire audience singing it as though it were an old favourite. They were truly on top form. To me the best gig they ever did will always be the first ever Madstock, the atmosphere & feelings between band & audience were unique that day. But this, this came an incredibly close second. Cathal doing the Nutty dancing from all those years ago, Woody becoming helpless with laughter as he cocked up The Prince, Cathal taking delight in taking the piss out of Suggs forgetting the words to Madness. What a treat, Cathal spotted John Hasler at the front & demanded he get on stage for a dance during Bed & Breakfast Man. The crowd as always singing the ohohooh he was, he was the bed & breakfast man bit (it would have driven you mad Pete ;o) Lee Swansdale had told us before the show that it was no longer a 40 min set, but a full one & hey he's the man in the know, & as ever was absolutely right! Cathal's sister Bernadette was there & he proudly announced that she'd recently had a baby, "well done sis, well done" he beamed Then for the intro to Johnny the Horse, Cathal said; "this is for Vince from Cork & Adele & her mad friends" Not sure who screamed first me or Emma! But we did!! After Johnny, Suggs said that it was a song about the homeless & Cathal reminded us why we were there, & to remember those less fortunate than ourselves. For Drip Fed Fred Cathal sadly said how Ian was unwell again & that he was in our prayers. They dedicated it to him. Cathal saying 'is it Christmas? Yeah, I cant wait, I cant bloody wait!' No amount of words can do the performance & feel in the room justice, but it was there home ground, it was a small & personable gig & I don't recall ever seeing them quite so happy on stage in many years. Suffice to say it was a bleedin' corker! It was incredibly hot in there, all of us leaving puddles in our wake, they finished & said goodnight. The lights came back on & we dived toward the bar for anything wet & cold, I took off to the little girls room, but 40 other girlies had got there ahead of me :o/   The place started to empty & security were pushing those without passes out. Lee & I had passes so we headed up to find out what was happening & where the guys might be drinking after. Emma took charge of my car keys & maddies.   11pm Lee & I found the cattle market of people upstairs & Mark the only band member there, were given another DM book & decided to get the hell outa there. Hungry we went to Cafe Metro outside the Electric Ballroom, got ourselves some grub & tired, hot & hungry we flopped onto the pavement to eat. Woody & 3 ladies were walking towards us, he was waving called over to me that I hadn't met Siobhan, so I went up to say hi. They were heading home now, but had thoroughly enjoyed the day. We headed up to the DC & found the remainder of the maddies heading down to us, so feet dragging, all needing a drink & a seat! We got into the Mango Rooms, first person we see, MrSmash! Had another big hug & kiss, more thanks for a terrific night, & headed towards the small, understaffed & packed bar. It was stiflingly busy, all of us extraordinarily happy but totally wiped out. one by one we started saying our goodbyes, promises to meet in December & saying for the thousandth time that today had been undoubtedly the best. Mike & I still had 200 miles to drive, so along with Emma & Graham we made our way back through the crowd, thanks & byes to Mark, then Chris, & a final hug & kiss to the incredible Cathal, who was still in high spirits, eyes twinkling & obviously fairing better than the rest of us 10 years his junior. We were visibly fading.   It was an unique day. Nothing at all could have made it better, it was perfect. Had I been alone I would still have had a great day, but in sharing it with all of you it was far, far better. Like at the previous meet, we mostly met as strangers, but that's not how we parted ;o) I promise to get more sleep in December & this time you'll all get name badges!! If lost, please return to the TMML!   Thanks to all who were there, & for making it such a special day. My life December's gonna be fun   Love Adele ;o)