Wednesday to Thursday
Written by Nikki-ann on Monday, 5 May , 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’ve been a little busy since my last post, so here goes…….
Wednesday evening I met Mum off the train and took her to the orthopedic hospital to see Nan. My brother and sister-in-law also turned up so the three of them went into see Nan while I waited outside with my surprise. I then went in when my brother & sister-in-law went home. Nan didn’t see my surprise at first (or saw it, but couldn’t believe her eyes), but was delighted when she saw it… which pleased me no end. Nan looked surprisingly well considering the operation she’d had the previous day. She didn’t even have any bruising. She’ll be back to her old self once she’s had her other hip done (which shouldn’t be long now). We all had a good chat and even went beyond visiting time, but the nurses didn’t seem to mind. Nan came home on Friday afternoon, a couple of days earlier than originally expected, so that was great news!
Thursday morning I set off for London. I made it to Shrewsbury train station with just minutes to spare to catch my train. I had a reserved seat from Birmingham to London, but somebody was already sat in my seat so I politely asked them to move. When I finally sat in my seat somebody else came along and asked if I was sure that was my seat as he had a reservation for that seat. I’m not sure if he had the wrong train or if the seat had been double booked, but the reservation thing above the seat had my name on it so I wasn’t going to move!
The tube journey from Euston station to Wembley seemed to take forever and I found out that Wembley Central station was quite a walk from the hotel and Wembley Arena and Stadium. I soon realised there was an overground station right by the stadium!
I stayed at the Hilton Wembley Plaza hotel which overlooked the stadium as well as Greater London. They allowed me to book in a couple of hours early which was great, but the hotel isn’t up to other Hilton hotel standards. Still, the room was warm and did its job (provide a comfortable place to sleep!). I had a bit of a rest before heading down to Wembley Arena. I had a standing ticket to see Matchbox Twenty and wanted a good view of the stage.
When I got to the SE entrance of the arena there was already around 15 people queuing, so I joined the queue and sat on the floor to save my legs/feet for the concert. As the queue steadily grew so did the black clouds above. It wasn’t long before it started raining. Thankfully I’d got a lightweight waterproof coat on so most of my stayed dry (but cold!). It rained on & off so by the time the doors were due to open the queue was restless and eager to get inside. Unfortunately, it sounded like the band were only just doing their sound-check and the doors weren’t about to open.
Half an hour later were were finally let through the doors. Security was tight and everyone was being searched. I got stopped and questioned about my camera (it seems they can’t tell the difference between an SLR camera – which aren’t allowed – and a non-SLR camera – which I’d got!). The girl finally let me through, only for me to be stopped again as I was putting the camera back in my pocket. So I went through the whole thing again. This security guy kept telling me it was a professional camera and I kept telling him it wasn’t. Another security guy came over and looked at it and said it wasn’t professional and it was fine for me to go. Finally, after a hundred or so people had gone past me, I was allowed to make my way into the arena. I wasn’t happy! Thankfully, I still managed to bag a spot by the barrier in front of the left side of the stage.
The support act was a band from Nottingham called Headway. I’d never heard of them before, but certainly enjoyed their set. They were a nice compliment to Matchbox Twenty. You can check out their music on MySpace or Bebo.
Matchbox Twenty came on stage and were fantastic! The entire arena got a notch louder when ‘Real World’ was played (‘Real World’ was the first MB20 song I heard and was hooked as soon as I heard it). Standing in Wembley Arena on Thursday night you’d never believe that MB20 aren’t a big band here in the UK. They put on a wonderful show.
Towards the end of the evening there was a bit of comotion in the middle of the front row of standing. A girl didn’t feel too good and the first aid staff sorted her out, but left her in the crowd. Rob (Rob Thomas – lead singer) had noticed this while singing the last verse of a song and as soon as he had finished he called for the lights to go up. Up they went and Rob asked the girl if she was OK. He had a lttle chat from the stage and then asked for security to pull her and her partner out of the crowd and to sit her right in front of the stage for the last song! She looked a little embarrassed, but Rob made sure she was OK. It shows just how much of a nice guy he is.
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I came out of the concert much drier than I went in and in my had were a USB wristband (containing a recording of the show I’d just seen) along with a t-shirt and programme (which I can’t help but get when I go to a concert).
I headed to the hotel bar straight after the concert for some much needed refreshment before heading to bed.
Friday to Sunday to follow shortly!
Comments (4)
Category: Health,Life,Music,Out & About,Photography
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Comment by Janice Brown
Made Monday, 5 of May , 2008 at 6:13 pm
Nikki-ann,
What great photographs!! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I can’t stand crowds so you’d never find me doing what you did! Kudos.
Janice
Comment by rashbre
Made Tuesday, 6 of May , 2008 at 9:35 pm
Wow – it al sounds action packed.
The business with cameras is pretty random. I’ve given up taking anything that looks remotely like an SLR to concerts. I was at an outdoor one in Exeter a while ago with an actual SLR and they made me take it back to the car. This was an open air ‘who cares’ kind of gig so I was quite surprised.
I normally take my little black Canon G7 if I think I can get away with a camera in the venue. It looks a bit like an old fashioned basic film camera and doesn’t raise too many eyebrows yet can take a decent shot. Otherwise I make do with my iPhone which takes a better shot that one might expect and just looks like a phone.
What did you think of the new Wembley? Same way in along the Wembley way but quite random barrier queuing at the top of the ramps, which then make it a lottery if you area going to a standing area.
I found the catering etc a bit ‘football crowdish’ which is a bit of a pity. If you get a chance to go to the Dome you will see the difference!
Glad you enjoyed the (eventful) concert!
Pingback by Notes of Life » Friday
Made Tuesday, 6 of May , 2008 at 10:54 pm
[...] Following on from Wednesday to Thursday… [...]
Comment by Bob-kat
Made Saturday, 10 of May , 2008 at 9:28 am
Glad you enjoyed the concert. The photos are great so worth the fuss I would say.
I have never heard of the band so I must check them out.
