I've never been to a 'proper' festival.

I've been to the Godiva Festival which is 3 days/nights of lots of music, lots of food, lots of alcohol, lots of market stalls and either too much sun or too much rain but with no camping or other on site accommodation so it is back to your own bed every night.

You can, if you so wish, find out more information about The Godiva Festival here.  We have Sir Bob and The Boomtown Rats headlining for us this year.  It's a free festival so no entry fees.

I have also been attending the Queen Fan Club Convention every year since 1993.  This is pretty much a festival but indoors and with proper plumbing.  Three days and nights of music, albeit Queen and Queen related, games, market stalls, cough* lots of alcohol *cough but overnight accommodation, depending on the site, is either caravans or chalets, both of which contain proper bathrooms.

I will admit it, I am a snob.  I have camped in the past and will happily do so again once all tents have a fitted private toilet.  I have no need of a proper bed, I don't need a shower, but I do need my own toilet.

But festivals are so expensive to buy tickets for, and that is without accommodation, travel and spending money.  Attending a festival is very much on my bucket list, but I think I need to win the lottery first!

OIQFC 30th Convention - Southport.

I have just returned from a very soggy Southport where the 30th Official International Queen Fan Club Convention was being held.

The 30th anniversary convention saw a return to Pontins at Southport - after a gap of 19 years - and also saw the return of the goody bag.

Included in the goody bag is a pen, keyfob, car sticker and stick of rock.  There was also a raffle ticket to win a free trip to Montruex!  I didn't win.

As always there was a convention t-shirt available to buy, this year it listed all 30 convention locations on the back, much as a tour t-shirt does.

(Apologies for the weird photo colour, not sure what happened!)

We had three fab bands on over the weekend - The Deputies, Robby Valentine & the Queen Kings - as well as various special guests taking part in Q&A sessions.

This years also saw the long awaited return of Tug Of War, an event that has not been held for many years due to that awful pairing - Health & Safety.  Unfortunately, whilst many of us Queenies are able to stay up well into the early hours enjoying a convention water or two, a lot of us are getting a bit too fragile for something as physical as Tug Of War so there were only 4 teams taking part.

The only criticism from me was that the floor cameras were not used enough.  We couldn't see the children's fancy dress, nor the fantastic floor routine from a talented young lady called Cerys.  These could have been projected onto the screens so we could all enjoy them, instead of just the people lucky enough to get seats at the front (I started queueing well before 7pm but still ended up at the back each night) but the bands, who were up on the stage and therefore visible to all, were projected onto the side screens.

There was a charity auction - raising over £4000 for the Mercury Phoenix Trust (MPT), there were raffles for the fan club and the MPT, and collections for McMillan and the Poppy Appeal.  A two minute silence was held at 11am.

This year you could also purchase the hard to get hold of, beer, vodka and wine.

Much as I am ashamed to admit it, what ruined it for me was the people I was with, if they weren't moaning about each other, they were complaining about the lack of facilities in the chalet.  If they weren't complaining about that, then they were moaning about not being able to see what was going on on the floor, or that they couldn't hear what was being said.

I feel obliged to them as they have looked after me over the course of the last 15 years or so whilst I have been travelling up alone, but now I feel like I want to spend more time not being moaned at!  Hopefully they didn't enjoy this year's event enough to go again next year.  Selfish I know, but I need a break!

Plans are already being made for next year, who knows where we will be.....

Bohemian Rhapsody is 40 today!

This weekend marks the 40th Anniversary of one of the greatest songs ever - Bohemian Rhapsody.

According to critics, Bo Rhap was too long and too dramatic to ever be a hit, but thanks to Kenny Everett repeatedly playing a reel-to-reel copy on his radio show, 14 times over one weekend, it did become soar to the top of the charts.

The Comic Strip Presents.... used it in The Bad News Tour episode, the subsequent spin off single was produced by none other than Brian May.

In the 90s, the track was used in what was to become an iconic scene in Wayne's World.  This was to become the cause of many a strained neck or two.

When Lee Evans was asked to perform in France he had no idea what to do so created a sketch around, you guessed it, Bo Rhap.

Even The Muppets got in on the act.

With reissues in blue and purple for fan club members, there must be several million copies of the track on vinyl alone.

How many do you have?

Happy Anniversary Bohemian Rhapsody.

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

At 5.55pm on the 20th April 1992 I was being dragged through a crowd of 72,000 people in Wembley Stadium to stand 6 rows back from the barrier at my first ever concert.

That concert was the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert - The Concert for AIDS Awareness.

Freddie died on the 24th November 1991 from bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS.  At the BRIT Awards in February of the following year, Brian May and Roger Taylor announced a concert to remember him, the proceeds from the concert would fund the launch of The Mercury Phoenix Trust AIDS charity organisation.

When the tickets finally went on sale, they sold out in less than 3 hours despite no-one knowing who was to be performing, other than the 3 remaining members of Queen.

Our day started at 9am when we drove down to London in a rented minibus.  The rules of the rental contract stated no smoking in the vehicle, and there were stickers everywhere reinforcing this rule.  However rules are meant to be broken, and the cigarette burn caused by a particularly rousing rendition of We Will Rock You was quickly covered up.  With a no smoking sticker.

We arrived just after 11am and joined the queue to park.  A quick trip to the toilets, quicker for the men than the women, as it is everywhere, and we joined the throng outside the stadium.

The sun was beating down, I got quite a sunburn, and the atmosphere was fantastic.  Because of the sheer number of people, there were plenty of Police in evidence but they spent the time wandering round, talking to people. asking where they had come from, how long had they liked Queen, and seemed to be having as good a time as the concert goers.

I arrived back into work the next day to be informed that I had been seen on MTV.  Back in the day if you had been on MTV, you had made it!

Over the entrances, there was a ticker feed '...no bottles......no cameras......no videos.....no smoking......'.  I was seeing that in my dreams for days afterwards.

At 4pm we were allowed into the stadium, we were asked to sit down as it was still two more hours to wait.

We were near the back due to the number of entrances being used.

Just before 6pm, we were told to stand up, as a huge cheer went round the stadium, one of the friends I was with just grabbed my hand and ran.  We ended up near the front, leaving the rest of our party near the back, we were not military, so 'leave no man behind' was not relevant.  They had an inflatable pink pig, so if anyone saw that being waved, that was my friends.  

Metallica were first to perform with Enter Sandman and ever since, that is the song to take me back to that fantastic day more than any other.  The only other song that comes close is Def Leppard's Let's Get Rocked.  For some reason Queen's own songs just don't do it, but that is maybe due to all the Conventions I have attended!

As the evening went on, the atmosphere just got more and more charged, more and more fantastic.  Everyone was singing and laughing and hugging each other.

Elizabeth Taylor was there.

Liza Minelli was there.

The only slightly weird moment, was David Bowie reciting the Lord's Prayer.  Not that the Lord's Prayer is weird, it's not, it just wasn't in keeping with the mood of the evening and made everyone slightly uncomfortable.

Yes, that is Baron Haden-Guest, otherwise known as Mr Jamie Lee Curtis performing with Principal Skinner.

The only other less interesting bit for me was Extreme.  I have never really been a fan of Extreme so consequently their set seemed to go on for hours.  But that's just my opinion.

I think the concert finished at around 11pm and we all trudged back to the minibus, elated and exhausted.  Unfortunately as we had all been parked nose-to-tail, we couldn't leave until the people in front had moved and they took an age getting back.

It was the most fantastic day I have ever experienced, nothing else has ever come close.  The Live 8 concert I attended in 2005 didn't compare, partly due to the dire organisation and despite arriving 4 hours before the concert, still managing to miss Paul McCartney.

I don't think we will ever see anything like this again.

And I don't think we should.

Were you there?  What did you think?

My Year in Pictures - 2014

That was the year that was....

After 2 redundancies and 12 years of low paid jobs, I was finally in a position to be able to buy a car.  It is the oldest car I have ever owned, it is the cheapest car I have ever owned, but, my word, it is the most appreciated of any car I have ever had the use of.

June saw exams and a week in Spain, most of the week was spent here...

 In the Alcatraz...

In Gringo Joe's....

Or in the strawberry cake shop, otherwise known as Bar Centric.

In September I travelled to Norfolk for a birthday party, I also visited some of the local attractions.

The Gruffalo Trail, High Lodge Thetford, Suffolk

 Banham Zoo, Norfolk

Gallifrey, Norfolk

September also saw me in Prestatyn for the Queen Fan Club Convention weekend.  Beautiful Haven site, but the sea had evidently gone away for the weekend too!

October saw me back in Norfolk for Halloween, alcohol may have been involved here, the theme was Doctor Who if anyone is still wondering,  I went as a fat Ace.

I again visited some local attractions.

Africa Alive, Suffolk

WWT Welney, Norfolk.

Then December was exams (boo) and Christmas, a colleague and I were taken out for a Christmas meal by our line managers (and friends) to say thank you for our help over the year.

Then Santa arrived

And New Year Happened.

The Grape Escape if anyone is wondering.

Happy 2015 everyone!

Why I won't be going to see Queen and Adam Lambert

Several times over the Convention weekend we have been told that there was going to be a special announcement on Monday morning.  As Queen and Adam Lambert have just completed a tour of North America, we all guessed that the announcement would be that they were to tour the UK.

And yes, that was the announcement.

As Queen fan club members we had the opportunity to purchase tickets before they went on sale to the general public.  I followed the link, if the tickets were not too expensive then one could be my Christmas present to myself.

The tickets were £78.00, which does include booking fee (oh good) plus £2.30 postage, a total of more than £80.

By the time I add in train fares, hotel for the night, food and a couple of drinks, it could come to more than £200. As I said in my last post, I could have had 3 nights at the Convention for £79.

I would rather put one of my CDs on and listen to them as they were at their peak.

Several people I know have bought tickets for 4 or 5 different nights and venues across the country.  Where are they getting the money?

And if £80 per ticket is not enough for you, you can purchase a VIP package for £1,008, yes, that does say £1,008, again plus postage.

As you can see from the picture below, this includes a seat on the stage.  Why would you want to sit on the stage?  You will probably spend most of the show staring at the back of Brian's head.

Unfortunately, as long as people are willing to pay these prices, things will never change.

I am going to save my money and put it towards a weekend somewhere, or maybe next year's fan club convention.

OIQFC - Convention no 29.

This past weekend saw the 29th Convention weekend of the Official International Queen Fan Club (OIQFC).

For anyone that doesn't know, it is basically a long weekend (Friday to Monday) of Queen music, plus all the solo ventures and groups, videos, competitions and fancy dress.  Oh, yeah, and alcohol or as it is known over the course of the weekend, Convention Water.

The very first convention was back in 1986 in Great Yarmouth, I believe it was just held on one day.  It has since been held in Camber Sands, Southport - where my first convention was in 1993 - Prestatyn, back to Great Yarmouth, and this year we were back over to Prestatyn.

It has also extended to the current 3 nights.

It is a very full on weekend, although lots of activities have been dropped along the way, mostly due to Health and Safety, apparently alcohol and It's A Knockout type activities do not go well together.

This is a programme from 1995, I can't find an earlier one.

And this is this year's.

This year's official fancy dress themes were - Friday, Black & White; Saturday - Sheer Heart Attack and Sunday - Freddie Mercury.  There are also the unofficial themes too, if someone has a special birthday then their group may decide to have their own theme.  In the past, tables have been decorated for convention goers birthdays or anniversaries.

You can be involved in as much or as little as you like.

There is also the fun of catching up with people that you have not seen since the previous weekender.

It isn't a cheap weekend, but sharing caravans can reduce the price a lot, some will sleep 8 people and the more you have in the caravan, the more the price per person reduces, this year started at £79 per person.  I stay on my own and this year I had a fab caravan for £180, it even had an en suite in the main bedroom.

If you are a fan of Queen, it is a weekend that you need to attend at least once. you have to be a member of the fan club and each member can take up to 2 non members as guests.

Next year is the 30th convention so we are hoping for something special.  Maybe that should be the year you become a Convention Virgin and try it.

My Fancy Dress needs for the year.

I have four Fancy Dress events coming up in the next few months and I have no idea where to start!

The themes are (1) Freddie Mercury; (2) Naughty at Forty; (3) Sheer Heart Attack - I will explain this one and (4) Doctor Who.

The first three are for the annual Queen Fan Club Convention, this is a fantastic event involving lots of music, lots of alcohol (known as Convention Water), competitions, both Queen based and non-Queen based, and catching up with old friends.

I don't want to just buy an over the counter Freddie Mercury costume as there will be people in attendance who will be wearing handmade to the original pattern costumes which over the years will have cost them hundreds of pounds.

I think the easiest way to get round this is to go as Freddie, or Ian Beale*, in the I Want To Break Free video.

I am sure I have got a Vanessa Shanessa Jenkins costume that I can adapt!

Naughty at Forty is because the 40th anniversary of the formation of the fan club.  I really don't know what to do for this.  The best I have come up with so far is a forties style outfit but I am not sure how to a naughty element into it.

Sheer Heart Attack is because as well as this year being the 40th anniversary of the fan club, it is also the 40th anniversary of the album, Sheer Heart Attack.  Again, no idea where to start.  Should I borrow some scrubs from work and go as a surgeon?  

I could go as a stick of rock, Brighton Rock being the first track on the album,  I could try and recreate the Killer Queen outfit from We Will Rock You, Killer Queen is the second track.  

Doctor Who is for a Halloween party but there is just so much choice!  Do I go as a Doctor, an assistant, a baddy?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

*Oh, and the Ian Beale reference...

We Will Rock You - The Musical

So long everybody, it's time to go...

So today we bid a sad farewell to We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre in London.  12 years is not a bad innings for a show that was expected to only last 12 months!

I have been lucky enough to see the show twice, and would have liked to have seen it again.  Yes the story was a bit ridiculous, or so we thought at the time, but it seems to have been a bit prophetic *cough Simon Cowell Louis Walsh *cough.

For anyone who doesn't know the story, it is set 300 years in the future.  Earth has been renamed as Planet Mall, or iPlanet in more recent productions as a nod to the iPhone, and is controlled by the Globalsoft Corporation. Mainstream commercial conformity reigns, Ga Ga Kids watch the same movies, listen to computer-generated music, wear the same clothes and hold the same thoughts and opinions. Musical instruments are forbidden, and rock music is unknown.

Photo courtesy of Last.fm

Galileo and Scaramouche refuse to conform and meet up with The Bohemians, an underground group who believe that a Dreamer will come and bring back real music.

Photo courtesy of BrianMay.com

Cue lots of contrived situations to enable many, many Queen songs to be performed (no-one goes for the story, it has to be said).  

The prophecy says that the Dreamer will come and a shining star will show him the way to the Place of Living Rock, where instruments are hidden.

Cue more Queen songs.

The shining star has been identified as the Freddie Mercury Statue in Montreaux and it is pointing towards Wembley Stadium, the Place of Living Rock.

The group of believers arrive at Wembley to find that it is in ruins with no instruments to be found. Scaramouche inspires Galileo to perform the opening of "We Will Rock You", and an electric guitar is revealed. Galileo cannot play it, but Scaramouche can. Another member 'Pop' hacks into Globalsoft's network so their music can be heard by everyone on Planet Mall and Killer Queen (head of Globalsoft) is defeated. 

After the curtain call, a question appears that says "Do you want "Bohemian Rhapsody"?" Everybody in the audience is supposed to shout yes, and the answer appears as "Oh...alright then" and the entire cast perform "Bohemian Rhapsody" as an encore.

It was great night out, and I wish I could have been there tonight.

This is one time when the show WON'T go on.

Christmas Songs

Much as I don't particularly enjoy Christmas, I do like some of the music that is associated with it.

Here is a selection.

The Muppet Christmas Carol - Ebeneezer Scrooge: I love this, in fact it is my ring tone

Nativity! - Sparkle and Shine: It was ages before I actually watched this film, yes it was filmed in my city (Coventry), my former school (Coventry School - Bablake, used in the film as Oakmoor School) and a former workplace (I had a brief stint at the Cathedral), but it was about kids.  I eventually watched it and was hooked, tears were streaming down my face.  And who couldn't love Bob!

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York:  I can't find anything wrong with this track, I like the Pogues and I thought Kirtsy MacColl was great and yet another talent taken before their time.

The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping: I know it is officially the countdown to Christmas when I hear this.

David Essex - A Winter's Tale

Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody: Will get everyone up and dancing, every time!

Queen - Thank God It's Christmas: I couldn't not put this in!

and finally, something a bit more serious

Greg Lake - I Believe in Father Christmas.

Ten Day You Challenge - Two Songs

Two Songs

1.  Don't Stop Me Now - Queen.  This song is guaranteed to get me up, dancing (badly) and singing (even more badly).  If I ever get round to having a party, for any reason, this will be played.  Loud.  It has the power to wake me up, it has the power to cheer me up.  It is probably my favourite Queen track.

2.  Someone Like You - Adele.  I couldn't decide which other song that I love to include here so I have gone for the song that I hate the most!  I am not a fan of dirges anyway but this is dire.  I have stopped listening to radio stations simply because they insist on playing it.  If it does come on the radio I have to switch off.  If it is on in the office I will choose that time to go to the toilet.  The song just makes me want to smash things.  At the risk of offending people even more than I probably already have, this would be the song that would tip me over the edge and send me on a killing spree.  You can tell how much it affects me as I have written twice as much about this as I have about my favourite song.

All packed, but am I ready to go?

Everything is in the suitcase, not sure I can dignify what I have done with the term 'packing' seeing as I just stuffed things in willy-nilly.

My ipod, ipad and kindle are all charged ready for the journey ahead of me and the train tickets are separated out and within easy reach in my bag.

I am now just waiting for the clock to tick round to leaving time.  I am going far later than I would normally do as I adjusted the times to better suit my travelling companion as they had to catch a train to meet me.  Now that they are no longer coming with me I am left kicking my heels as I would have preferred to have been a good halfway there by now, in fact last year I was already on site by this time having travelled the day before and stopped overnight with friends nearer the venue.

Still, am looking forward to a couple of days of company.  Attending one of these events sober is going to be an eye-opener, there is always the danger that I only enjoy myself due to the constant fug of alcohol clouding my brain, but we shall see.

Have a good weekend all!