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Night of the Proms, Antwerp, Belgium - 27 & 28 October 2006 by Alison The Proms - Antwerp, Belgium - 27-October-2006 Flying To Belgium I was up at 6:45am, out of the hotel by 9:45am and eating pancakes in the Egon Cafe in Oslo at 10:15am. Yum. A random book fair was going on in the centre of Oslo - there's always something going on in Oslo. Afterwards I walked down to the harbour for a last look. I lost track of the time taking it all in, taking photos, and soon it was 10:55am and a rush back to the hotel to collect my luggage. I managed to make the airport train at 11:05am. I have no idea how. I was going to get the 11:15am one. I'm glad I didn't - there were long queues. I made it through Checkin and Departures, bought some Norwegian chocolate and vodka and flew to Brussels at 12:45. I arrived at 2:45pm. It was a huge airport which meant a mad race from gate 60?! I finally found my luggage in a sweat, then took several escalators down to the train station, bought tickets and made the 3:04pm train. Thankfully Belgium didn't seem to have a passport control?! The ticket guy was moody and unfriendly. I changed trains in Brussels Nord. The train ticket guy told me I was in 1st class and 2nd class was full. I paid the extra 3 euros to stay in 1st. I wasn't even sure I was on the right train at first, but I was. Arrived in Antwerp at 4pm. Found the Alfa De Keyser Hotel. Wendy had left a key at the desk for me and I went up to the room and dumped my things. Then I went across the road to The Irish Bar and met up with Dirk and Wendy! It was so good to see them! I drank a White Russian. Dirk kindly gave us a lift to Sportpaleis where The Proms were being held. We went to a bar across the road called Backstage to have a drink. The Proms Later we went to queue outside the doors of Sportpaleis. They were due to open at 6:30pm. We arrived around 6pm. Kathy and Bea were there already I think. We said "hellos" and I tried to remember how many kisses to give. The Red fans aka The French Fans arrived too. We waited anxious as ever for the doors to open at 6:30pm. The doors opened late. Apparently the security had been stuck in traffic. They zapped the barcode on the tickets and we ran to some stairs where we were supposed to wait until 7pm, but because everything was running late, I think we were kept waiting longer. When it was time to go to the stage, security walked us to the entrance of the hall. No one searched bags, camera's were allowed. People checked our tickets were valid for the downstairs standing area. Then came the running! I ran straight into something which was hanging from the ceiling?! It was later tied up. We all got the front row, slightly to the right as they used a camera on the left which would have blocked our view a bit. I had Mieke on one side and Dirk's wife on the other. It was great we all made it...They showed highlights from previous years on the screens which were on either side of the stage. I can't believe Chrissie Hynde played there - if only I'd known! I would have gone. Then came the waiting until 8:30pm. The Proms started with clips from various songs we would hear in the night. They played a bit of "Summer Son" and we all cheered. The orchestra performed several instrumental songs with visual aids in the background. We linked arms and swayed and it was all rather fun. We also held up some free flashing lights - each level (standing, first tier seated, second tier seated) had different coloured flashing lights which gave a nice effect. We saw various artists perform during the evening including: Ike Turner - With another woman who had a very powerful voice...she was great apart from some scary trousers which revealed far too much! Her bum stuck right out, I don't know how she walked. John Miles - He was ok - apparently he plays there every year. Tony Henry - An English, or rather Scottish I am told, guy with an opera voice. "Delilah" was good. He got wheeled around the crowd on a moving stage. It's strange to hear him speak normally one second and then bellow out songs the next. Tears For Fears - I particularly liked their songs. I didn't realise what songs they had done until I heard them and recognised them. I started to wonder when Texas well, Sharleen, would be on. It was a few songs in before we got to hear "Put Your Arms Around Me". She was playing on a small rotating stage at the very back of the auditorium. We couldn't really see her. Her voice was beautiful, despite the fact I never liked this song that much and was very happy on the Greatest Hits tour when they ditched it for "So In Love With You". The first half ended around 10pm, then there was a 25 minute (?) break before the second half. Sharleen wasn't back on until near the end to do "Inner Smile", "Black Eyed Boy", "Summer Son" and "Say What You Want". I was concentrating so hard on trying to jump and clap in tune (I was useless this night) that I didn't take in the orchestra enough! During "Black Eyed Boy" Sharleen really held the notes, someone said it looked like the vessels were going to pop in her neck! I thought "Say What You Want" sounded fantastic and really was able to stop and listen to the orchestra during that song! They had a final song where all the artists came back on stage. Sharleen did not. I am not at all surprised. They did this rather naff version of "Yellow Submarine" which was cringworthy. All of the artists were given flowers and sometimes they were thrown into the crowd for everyone to fight over! Afterwards It finished at 11:45pm. Quite a long evening! We all headed over to a bar called Backstage which was across the road. There was drinking and dancing though I don't think I had very much, maybe one bottle. It was fun. I took pictures of Wendy and Dirks wife underneath a sign with a line from "Say What You Want" hanging across the front of the venue. Afterwards Dirk kindly gave Wendy and I a lift back to our hotel...and the room which stunk of smoke. I think we got to bed around 3am. The Proms - Antwerp, Belgium - 28-October-2006 The Zoo Wendy woke up around 9am, wide awake. We got up more like 10:30 or 11am. We were going to get breakfast but were suddenly very short of time. We were meeting up with two of Dirks children, Mieke and Griet (?) for a trip to the zoo at 12. There was time to grab a slice of chocolate cake from the bakery and then we met up at the hotel and headed over to the zoo. There were lots of animals there - bears, elephants, giraffe's, lions, penguins, tigers, zebras...and quite a few types of ape and monkey. There was a really odd animal with the zebra stripes of giraffe, a cows face and a horses shape. I still don't know what it was! It was good fun. We all managed to squish ourselves onto a fair ride for kids which had a bus on it. It's a very amusing photo - I still don't know how we all managed to fit in it! Afterwards we went to The Irish Bar. Dirk and his wife came to join us. Scorpion arrived a bit later as he had been stuck in traffic. We all went to Pizza Hut for lunch/dinner. The Proms It was back off to The Proms again. There were too many of us to fit in Dirks car so some people took the subway. The subway was quicker - traffic in Antwerp is not good! We decided to go earlier to queue because it was a Saturday. I think we arrived maybe 5:30pm. Kathy and Bea were already there again. There were a few other people waiting too. I don't know who they were there to see. The doors opened soon after 6:30pm. They couldn't zap my barcode properly but we all still made it to the stairs with room to run. Two evil large women were behind me. One elbowed me and I later found out the other had been elbowing Wendy. Argh. There was the stress again to get to the front. This time when we were "released" into the standing area, I did not hit my head on anything hanging from the ceiling! We all made the front row again. I had Mieke one side of me and Wendy the other - this was to try and improve my jumping. We sat down by the barrier and waited again. This time the "highlights" on the big screen was not so entertaining to watch a second time round. The place was definately busier tonight. Someone spotted Iceman and his wife, from the messageboard and Arundel. We managed to get his wife in the front row a bit later. I have to say, as much as I enjoyed The Proms, I could not go to every one, or even many more because it was entertaining enough but if I had seated tickets, I probably would have been tempted to skip the first half and arrive in the second for Sharleen. The only very entertaining part from this evenings performance was Ike Turner! He had left his flies undone on stage and it probably won't sound that funny now but it really was. The most amusing bit of all was when his wife (sitting infront of the barrier next to us, with big dark glasses) leapt up off the barrier, waving her arms, telling him to stop, doing "do your zipper up" movements, and he totally didn't see it at all. I took a few photos. It was so damn funny. He did it up, eventually, but not enough so she still waved madly until he made a dramatic gesture on stage of doing his flies up. Also apparently this nights show was to be used for live television and perhaps the DVD. Poor Ike! Other amusing things - there was an incredibly hot backing singer who was lusted after alot! Wendy think she knew because I was the only one photographing her. She was hot! I guess I could endure the first half again if she was on the stage! I looked up and caught us on the big screen during one of the orchestral songs. I think there were about 18 or 19 000 people in that venue?! Oh and they had a bit of the stage sticking out further than the previous night, for the camera to roll up and down. In the middle of The Proms, the camera flew off the rails and crashed into a pile at the end of the stage. The people tried to fix it but it was no use. I dread to think how much that cost! To add to technical blunders, Sharleen kicked the laptop off the front of the stage (by accident) which was recording that nights performance! You could buy a CD each night, of that nights highlights. Needless to say, there was not a CD on sale that night *lol* Again Sharleen was great on stage. This time I jumped more in tune *lol* and I recorded most of "Say What You Want" - Sharleen saw and came over and looked at my camera. She also mentioned there being familiar faces in the front row, or something...! Afterwards We went back to the bar called Backstage. It was alot busier but we still got a table. They played lots of Texas songs and we all jumped and screamed and shouted the words. It was alot of fun! I drank 5 1/2 bottles of the Belgium equivalent of Smirnoff Ice. Never again. I have at most drank 4 bottles and got depressed in the past. This time I was rather tipsy. I still knew what was going on, and I wasn't sooo bad. I had to leave the room when they started playing a Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams" because it holds memories for me and it all hurt too much. I was rather annoyed to find I could not top my phone up to text someone. I tried every network and nothing worked. I suddenly felt very stranded and isolated without my phone. It reminded me of Skanderborg Festival...I went back in though. Drank more. There are pictures. Somehow it ended up with just Dirk, Mieke, Wendy and I in the bar. I recall buying a couple of rounds of beers for them and the barmaid offering to carry them over - was I really that bad?! I don't know. And I tipped the barman, which I don't think your supposed to do. And dropped my phone, it still works. Then we all took a taxi back. Wendy and I got out at the hotel and said our goodbyes to Dirk and Mieke. I didn't feel all of the effects of the dizziness until we got back to our hotel room. We changed rooms because of the smoke smell and got upgraded to a nicer room with two beds. I couldn't even make it over to my bed and collapsed on Wendys because it was nearer. Everything was spinning, alot. It was very surreal. I went to bed thinking "I must brush my teeth" but I couldn't get up! The Morning After The Night Before - Antwerp, Belgium - 29-October-2006
Flying Back I woke up and felt very sick. It was like everything I drank had been trapped in my chest. I wasn't sure if I should be sick or what. I didn't have a headache, infact the only thing that felt wrong was my chest. I don't know if I should have forced myself to be sick - I've not done that before. We got up around 10am I think, or nearer 11. Wendy left before me as she needed to catch an earlier train. We said our goodbyes and she paid for the room on the way out. I caught the 12:04 train back to Brussels Nord. It was earlier than I intended however I am glad I caught that one because the train took forever to arrive and I missed my connecting train to the airport. I caught the next one and arrived with enough time to Checkin, buy some Belgium chocolates for Mighty Fine Hot Senior Senior Boss and parents, and make the flight home. Of course the UK was useless as always. Heathrow Airport might aswel have had a baggage handler strike, there were so many other people waiting for their luggage from flights before mine. Eventually I got my suitcase and had a mad rush to the Central Bus Station (why is it always like this?!). However I made the bus and was home in time for roast dinner. Although I still felt SO sick, I wasn't sure whether I should have been eating anything at all. It was a great weekend though, despite the upset stomach! |