Tour life

Queuing. Numbers on hands. Wristbands. Dealing with queue jumpers and barrier pushers. Having no time or money or energy. Having to try to get as much holiday as possible at work. Having everyone at work think you’re crazy. Having everyone think you’re crazy. Ticket co-ordination. Car runs. Back seats full of duvets and camping chairs. Lots of trains and even more Ubers. Forgetting what day it is. Waking up and not remembering which city you’re in. Seeing nothing of the city you’ve come to see them in. Finding a random supermarket and getting your queue food. Never looking at your bank account. Tickertape everywhere, in your pockets, on your floor, in your bra. Everywhere. Never ending selfies. Tour outfits and glitter and butterflies and flowers. ‘Do you not get bored?’ ‘Is it not the same show?’ ‘Do you work for them?’ ‘Do Take That know you?’ ‘How can you afford that?’

Getting takeaway to the queue. Having a drink in the queue. Sleeping in the queue. Spending pretty much your whole life in the queue. Arts and crafts in the queue. Trying to think of a good banner or dozen. Having everyone know the lingo when you usually spend a lot of time explaining. Meeting new friends in the queue, seeing old friends in the queue. Rain, wind, sunshine, all in the one day. Walking from the unofficial queue to the official queue in a sea of chairs and duvets and inflatables whilst the general public stares bemused. The queue looking like an abandoned village once you’ve left it. Planning your barrier strategy. Barrier runs. ‘No running’ ‘I’m walking fast!’ The joy of getting barrier. Barrier selfies. ‘SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN’. Starfishing. Not being afraid to use your elbows to get cheeky people away from your spot.

Learning to love the support act. Learning all their dance moves without even meaning to. Pascal. That moment when the arena goes black and everyone screams and your heart jumps. And then the boys come on stage and your heart fills with joy. Dancing like a loon. Trying not to take too many pictures but taking too many anyway. The band intro. The tickertape. The fire. The jump. ‘Do you feel like giants?’ Thrusting your hand forward with your index fingers sticking out cos that’s pretty much every single Take That dance move. The cast. The band and Kev and James and Paul. Doing the Relight arms over the barrier. Howard hanging in the air. Learning to love the medley and How Deep is Your Love. The stairs. Podiums. The very flamboyant outfits. Gary’s hair. Mark’s tassles and high shoes and hats. Howard’s booty shaking.

The joy whenever the boys have a cute moment with one another. The disbelief and exhilaration when they interact with you. And then turning to your mates around you and screaming about it and everyone being chuffed for you. You being chuffed for other people’s interaction. The Superstar rockstar moment. The gorgeousness of Hope but also dancer’s bums. Seeing not one bit of Shine. The New Day intro. The Back for Good arms. The hunger games battle for Mark’s water bottle.  ‘We usually save our thank yous to the end’ No you don’t, you liars. The Pray dance, which NEVER gets old. The moment they all share the mic. Loving hearing the audience gasp at the production. Knowing when things don’t work. The beauty of It’s All For You. Gary’s bed. The epicness of The Flood. Going crazy to Cry and then not being able to breathe. ‘Everybody get down low’ Saying you don’t really care about a handshake but then when they walk by you suddenly want a handshake. Dancing to These Days on the barrier. The Never Forget claps. Looking around in awe at the synchronicity of it all. Even more tickertape. The arena filling with lights for Rule the World.

The boys saying bye and then you standing there dazed at the whole thing and how the last two hours lasted two minutes. And then getting about 3 hours kip before you do it all over again. 

And all of it, all of it being about being with your mates. And the boys being there. Singing and dancing and sharing moments together. Making memories. The sheer joy you feel when you’re on the barrier and everyone around you is singing and you grin at your mates and you know that this is home. The tour bubble has its own magic. Where nothing else matters but tour. Because it’s special. It’s doing what you love with the people you love for a few weeks and having the best time ever. Not caring that you’re sick and broken and poor and tired. Because nothing else matters. Nothing but those hours of absolute happiness. Nothing but tour life. 

Living my best life

Yesterday was nine years since I finished school. Nine years ago I was an insecure 17 year old who loved Take That and London and books. Yesterday I got a train back from Manchester to my house in London after seeing Take That four times in the space of a week. I went and saw the Ordinary Boys (I was obsessed with Preston and his then wife when I was 17) with a friend in the evening.

When I left school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew London was the goal eventually. Somehow I ended up studying nursing for a while, that didn’t go too well. I don’t regret it but it was a bad decision. A couple of years later I ended up studying English and Linguistics. I didn’t particularly enjoy studying it but it was a far better choice than nursing.

And now I live in London, I work on Oxford Street and I have an amazing bunch of friends. On top of that I still very much love Take That (and books of course) and currently I’m travelling around the UK seeing them over and over again. It’s completely exhausting but it’s amazing. Mark Owen sang right at me on Friday and I melted. There’s still a part of me that is forever my 17 year old self not being able to believe any of this is real.

People may think I’m crazy or I have better ways to spend my time or money. But truthfully I don’t. I don’t know what people expect me to do with my time and money but I was always under the illusion that being happy was of great importance.

I may not have a powerful job or an other half but that to me isn’t what matters right now. What matters is I’m happy. I’m living my best life. 17 year old me would be astounded at my life now. Living in my dream city, working in a place I used to frequent when I visited London, having a group of friends whom I adore and who accept me as me, following my favourite band around the country.

I am never happier than when I’m on that barrier, I have my friends around me and Take That are right there, belting out the songs I love. I may be broke and exhausted but I’m happy. I’m living a life that 17 year old me would be proud of, and surely that’s the most important thing? 

A love letter to London

This hasn’t always been my city but it will always be my city. I first visited when I was 8, visited many times after and moved here in 2014 (July 31^st cos I’m that much of a Harry Potter nerd). London is my home, where my heart sings with belonging.

London is a world city, we have everyone here, all the countries and people. It’s where the misfits come to gather. I feel like I belong here because you don’t need anything to feel like you belong except to love this city.

Well for the most part at least. We have our little Londoner rules, stand on the right, don’t make eye contact on public transport, don’t walk slow, drink lots of tea, always queue. We will get outraged if you push in whilst someone else is leaving the train, or if you queue jump. Most of the time we’ll just tut and go ‘really’ and not say anything.

Yesterday a terrible thing happened and all our hearts broke for our city, for the people who died and were injured, for their loved ones.

We do not have small hearts, people rushed to the aid of those injured, the brave service people of this city. We all worried about the situation online. I had plenty of friends checking I was ok and sending love and prayers to those in need.

As with 7/7 and the riots we do not let hatred bring us down, we tell it to do one and get on with life. We clean up and grieve and we don’t turn on each other, because it’s what they would want.

I love this city for many reasons. I love that the most outlandish things can happen and no one will bat an eyelid, that it gives you the freedom to do outlandish things. I love the fast pace and the ability to get anywhere in London so easily (well maybe not in the South). The best way to discover this city is to walk around it, you’ll find gems and you’ll find a sense of belonging.

My favourite place in the whole of London is a six storey bookshop, another person’s might be a tiny park or a bustling pub or a street filled with antique shops. There is something for everyone here. We have concerts and musicals and plays, sports venues and art galleries and pop up cafes. You can never be bored, there will always be something you haven’t seen, there will always be something new and something extremely old.

London just has that feeling, that vibe, the one that sweeps you off your feet and makes you fall in love with it. Then plonks you back down on the busy footpath full of smoggy air. It’s alright, we have plenty of parks.

We are resilient, we are worldly, we will always stand together and no matter what happens you can guarantee we’ll still end up drinking tea and moaning about the weather. We are Londoners.

“There's nowhere else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere”- Vivienne Westwood 

The day I met Jason Orange

Today is five years, a whole half decade since I met Jason Orange on a bench. Yesterday at work one of my customers was actually called Jay Orange which freaked me out a bit (his name wasn’t Jason, I did clarify).

I meant to go visit the bench today actually but I live so far from Kensington (I live East, Kensington is about an hour away which is a long trip to sit somewhere). Hey me of five years ago, you live in London now and you’ve met the rest of Take That. I don’t think you need to know what else happens to them though.

It was March 2^nd, 2012. About half 12 in the afternoon. Me and the bestie were wandering around Kensington trying to find somewhere to grab lunch, we’d only flown in that morning and were famished. We sat down in one place but no one paid us any attention and we decided to just grab Pret from the station instead.

As we were walking back, Amy started looking at the guy sitting on a bench and asking if it was Jason which to I went ‘Hah it’d be funny if it was because he’s sitting on a bench’. Then I looked properly, realised it was him and screamed. I ran/Amy dragged me behind a bit of wall so I could calm down. My legs were shaking like mad. After a few minutes I decided I was ready to go speak to him but Amy didn’t so Jason had to witness me walking up to him/Amy still trying to pull me back for some more calming down.

I stood in front of him and blurted ‘Jason I like love you so much’ and when he only replied ‘Right’ and I thought ‘Oh god it’s not actually him’, blurted ‘I’ve seen Take That live 14 times!’ And all smiley he went ‘Have you? Come sit down here’ which I did. I touched his leg (soz Jase) and went ‘You’re my favourite you know’ and he went ‘Am I?’ smiling even more. Oh god I was melting. Amy took some pictures and we started chatting.

We were chatting and I was just like 'I can’t believe I’m chatting to you’ and I didn’t want to be annoying him. He said I had a good eye and that people didn’t always recognize him with the sunglasses and the beard and I said 'Oh you’ve shaved, not shaved shaved but you’ve not got as big a beard’. I could not stop rambling.

At one point I went ‘I don’t want to be annoying you’ and he went ‘Nah you’re cool’ to which I shouted in his face ‘Oh my god Jason Orange just called me cool!’ to which he just burst out laughing. Sorry again Jay but years of low self-esteem don’t lead you to believe one of Take That will ever call you cool even if you didn’t mean it in that context.

I decided to quiz him on the next Take That album and asked when they going back in the studios to the words of ‘Gary’s off working and you’re here sitting on benches’. His reply to this, a couple of years later, made me realise why he left. ‘Gary like’s working though doesn’t he? I like sitting on benches.’ We agreed Gary worked too much and started talking about the tours.

He asked why we were in London ‘Oh you just over from Ireland for the weekend then?’ and we were like 'Yeah’. He asked what we were doing and I said nothing really and that I’d met him now and I could go home happy. I said we didn’t have much money to do anything and he was like 'Oh that’s my fault with all the concerts’ and I was like 'Yeah but I’d pay thousands for tickets’ and he was like 'Really?’ Yes Jason, yes, also me of five years ago, you’re pretty much doing that now. It’s so much fun.

I asked him if he knew the elephant’s name was Nellie and he said ‘Yeah, Nellie and Om’. I told him The Circus Tour was my favourite. He said most people said that and he was saying how he thought that they peaked at The Circus and that perhaps they were trying too hard with Progress, he didn’t know and I was sitting there going 'No no Progress was brilliant’ even though I completely agreed with him.

I eventually decided to leave and said we’d best go as I didn’t want to be annoying him too much and he was like 'It was lovely meeting you girls, enjoy your non-shopping shopping weekend cos I took all your money’. Then he put his hand out which I took and he pulled me into him for a hug and he kissed me on the cheek. I remember feeling the stubble on my cheek, my vision going black and all I could think was ‘Don’t scream, don’t scream’. And then we said bye and left. Amy told me she was saying thanks so much for talking to me and he had made my life and he said 'You’re more than welcome’.

So afterwards I went and called my mum, ran around Kensington Gardens going ‘Oh my god, oh my god’ and crying and not shutting up about it for weeks (ok months, ok years) on end. Even writing this up now has made me cry. I forgot how much I miss Jason, I know he’s happy which makes it ok and I adore the three boys. But yeah, he made those five minutes on a bench some of the best of my whole life. Thanks Jason, the whole thing is still as clear as day and you really did make my life.

Book review: Giovanna Fletcher, Happy Mum Happy Baby

I don’t have a kid(wouldn’t that be a big surprise if I did), I won’t be having anytime soon(though I want them, tons of them) but I bought this book purely cos I bloody love the Fletchers.

My mate Nicky is a huge McFly fan and I got into Tom and then Gi that way and more so after that wedding speech. I watched all their vlogs and whilst they both did Vlogmas last year I especially appreciated them. I detest winter and have SAD, and knowing I had some cute Fletcher fun to watch daily helped me be a little less morose. The pair of them never fail to make me laugh.

What I love about the Fletchers is that they’re so normal but just the absolute loveliest couple with the cutest family. They’re as the cool people say ‘couple/family goals’. I basically want to be Gi when I’m older, a successful author with a wonderful other half and a gorgeous family.

The thing I think I value most about Gi though is just how nice she is. In my life, I don’t care if people think I’m weird or annoying as long as they think I’m nice. Kindness goes a long way and it’s so encouraging to see it promoted by Gi and her brood so much.

Happy Mum, Happy Baby is an account of Giovanna’s adventures of motherhood. With the basic premise that there is no right or wrong way to parent but to do what’s right for you and your child. It’s an extremely honest account and is very TMI but I think that’s what makes it such an enjoyable read.

By putting every detail in the book and holding nothing back, you really feel like you’re getting to know Gi and what it has been truly like for her having children. I gobbled it up in a day because it’s just so easy to read, plus it’s chock full of the cutest pictures of Buzz and Buddy and the Fletcher fam.

I’d recommend this for anybody who has kids, anybody wanting them or just anyone who loves watching the Fletchers on YouTube and the other various social medias as much as I do. Happy Mum, Happy Mum is as lovely and as real a read as Giovanna is herself.

Rating: Five stars  

Do you not get bored?

So here’s the thing, I love Take That. More than pretty much everything besides books. I first got into them in 2006 when I was on a forum for another fandom and a few people were talking about going to their tour. They were going three times, I wondered and asked them why they would go three times. Oh I had no idea.

Fast forward eleven years, I’m still friends with these people, none of them see Take That anymore and I have seen them live 28 times. 30 including tv shows. I’ve met all of Take That, I even met one of them on a bench. And now I get asked the questions that I asked all those years ago. ‘Why do you go so often? Do you not get bored? Do you not have better things to do with your money?’ People are baffled by it.

Thing is people who aren’t in fandoms don’t understand them. They don’t get that it isn’t just a band. It’s the friends you’ve made, the memories you’ve had, the long hard slog of life that they’ve helped you through. I don’t know one singular person in any fandom who doesn’t have it to thank for at least one close friend in their life.

About 90% of my friends I know off the internet, or I’ve met them in a queue or at a barrier. I have the internet and fandom to thank for my whole life. I have Take That to thank for some of the best days of my existence.

I don’t spend my money on much. I live in London so rent is a lot and I need to eat obviously. But aside from that and books, there’s not a lot. I don’t smoke, I rarely drink, I don’t gamble, I don’t go clubbing. My friends are nerds, we spend our time in museums and bookshops and cafes, an occasional pub. My social life is relatively cheap. Except for the tours.

For those who don’t know anything about Take That shows, they don’t just stand there and sing. They put on a show, a full on lights and fire and water and throw the entire kitchen sink and three truck loads of ticker tape at it type show. They’ve had flying cars and inflatable elephants and a huge robot named Om.

Not every show is the same. The boys aren’t machines who can press rewind and repeat the night before. They make jokes and talk to us and have jokes with each other. The little in-jokes and tiny moments that build as the tour goes on is part of what makes it so special.

You go to one show and you feel dazed by the end of it. You forget half of it. You feel lit up inside, as if by magic. Their shows are magic. They’re happiness. They’re standing at that barrier surrounded by your friends, with your favourite band right in front of you. Your band are singing, they keep grinning at each other and at you, and you sing those songs so loud and you dance and you jump and you have the best time. You watch the spectacle, you laugh and sing and scream and before you know it, it’s like you’ve clicked your fingers and the show is over. And you want to go again.

There is stuff you can hardly believe, aerialists and never ending bubbles, waterfalls and fire. But then there is the simplicity, the bits that mean the most to any fans, the band banter, the cheeky smiles and grins, 60,000 people all doing the Never Forget claps at the same time.

Take away the show, the entire event and you’d still have the most awe-inspiring bit, the bit which everyone loves the most. They don’t need spectacle, Take That, it’s not about that, it’s about the basic, pure, raw feeling. That bit which sings in your heart more than anything else. That makes you ache for more, that makes you love it so much.

So people made think we’re crazy for sitting in queues for hours on end, for going over and over again, for spending so much money and time on them and their tours. But once you’re on that barrier, none of it matters. Everything else fades away, during those two hours, you’re transported to another world, and you don’t want to be anywhere else.

Why would you only go once? Why experience joy like that just one time when you could do it over and over again? Why wouldn’t I spend my money on the thing I love doing most? Take That can take all my money and time, I give it to them gladly and I know I’m not the only one. And knowing you’re not the only one may be the best bit of it all.

Intros

Who: Laura, 26, writer, reader, Hufflepuff, vegetarian, bi, Virgo, INFJ, Thatter.
Where: My beloved London
Why: I'm slightly mad at myself lately for how little I've been writing. I feel a bit like I'm lying when I constantly tell people I'm a writer and yet have not written properly in months. So a blog.
What: Book reviews(reading is something I have not neglected), ramblings on authors and series and general books things. Also general life happenings regarding Take That, life, friendship etc.
When: That I have yet to figure out. Whenever I can fit it in around work.

So ta-da welcome to a blog which I really need to figure out how to design properly! I promise it'll get better than this.