Hi all!
The concert was one week ago and now I've finally found some time for my review. First I wondered if I should write a report at all this time because everything important has been mentioned already.
On Friday morning I made sure to be at Duesseldorf airport in time for the opening of the check-in at 5am. British Airways removed the self-check-in-counters in Duesseldorf and since I haven't checked in online (no working printer) I had to join the queue for "assistance check in" which was the longer one. Everything wouldn't have been a problem if there wasn't an extended family in front of me spening 15 minutes at the counter to check in unsuccessfully with five suitcases and tons of cabin luggage.
Finally I was allowed to go to the "fast bag drop counter" and got my boarding card. Later I saw that family on the plane so somehow it worked out for them.
This time I allowed myself the luxury of a rental car. I had 4 days to fill around the concerts and thought some sightseeing wouldn't be a bad idea. I picked up my car in Heathrow and found the M25 quite empty. A blue Audi in front of me cleared the right hand lane and so made my way around London quickly enough for a little detour to Cambridge. I haven't been to Cambridge before and had some good sunny weather to take some photos of old university buildings. Before driving finally to Southend I had some Cream Tea in a nice cafe opposite to the Kings College. The waitress there asked me if I was German which I replied with a "yes". She spoke German perfectly and told me that she used to live in Germany for two years. Later when I was back in my car it started to rain cats and dogs. The traffic in the afternoon was heavier than in the morning but I was able to arrive in Southend shortly past 2pm. A few hours before in Cambridge I received a phone call from the Gleneagles Hotel telling me they were overbooked and asked if I would accept another B&B. Because I wouldn't like to spend the night in the car nor sleeping under a bridge I accepted. The new B&B was directly behind the Gleneagles Hotel so it wasn't a long way to the venue. The new accommodation appeared not to be the best place in town but it was just for one night. The owners were nice and the breakfast great so I shoudn't complain.
I had a shower, got changed for the show and arrived at the venue at 3.30pm. The HWI welcoming committee were already waiting at the stage door and I was happy to see Martin, Grant, Peter, Karsten, Mark, Steve, Stuart, Paddy, Richard and Roger again. It was also the first time that I met Tom. We looked around for Dave's van but due to the heavy traffic around London in the afternoon I didn't expect Hayley and company to arrive in time. When they finally arrived they had to rush for the soundcheck but Hayley happily spent some time with us and some other fans who waited for her, signing photos and CD booklets and welcoming Tom who met her for the first time. Tom was hayleywowed from the first second.
I took the chance to give her a glass of Manuka honey which was much appreciated. A taste of NZ far away from home.
After we had known everybody arrived safely we went to the shore of the Thames and found a nice restaurant and were joined by Gordon shortly after. Back at the venue we were joined by James and also by Rodders who came half around the world from Chistchurch. It was nice to chat to Rodders again after two and a half years when we met in NZ.
Time to find our seats and getting ready for the show.
The concert started with everybody on stage except Hayley and the first we could hear was her voice starting with the song Prayer. I always like this kind of introduction.
The exact songlist has been mentioned so far. But what makes a concert special on one hand is for sure the music and Hayley's clear, pure voice. On the other hand it's Hayley's natural appearance on stage. She always finds time for a little banter. The moment when water poured in due to heavy rain showers might not have been very funny for the involved part of the audience. But Hayley's way of mentioning it and involving them was very funny, in good spirit of course. At least those members of the audience in the balcony didn't miss too much of the show because Hayley had some problems to continue for a little moment due to her infectious giggles.
Raven become better and better everytime I see them and they even surprised us with a new piece arranged by Natalie. In Leamington Spa in May I was able to get Hayley's songlist of act two of the RoD tour. During the interval when Dave changed the songlists I asked him for the missing part one and here it is:
The highlights of part two were of course Raven and the song "I Know You By Heart". I liked very much the moment when Hayley sat down at the piano asking herself which song to play. I also wasn't sure if she was just teasing or if there was coming up something unexpected. That moment was lengthend by the naughty microphone that didn't like to stay in the position where it should and Dave had to fix it. Hayley, still unsure which song to play, relaxed her fingers and accidentally hit the keys. There was a "pling" form the piano followed by Hayley "Oh, that's a bad start" and a few giggles.
Then she started with "Talk To Me" and I was blown away.
For me it's one of the best songs I've heard from her and it's on the way to become my favorite Hayley song.
Another hightlight was "Wuthering Heights", the last regular song before the encore.
After the show there was a little meet & greet with Raven. They signed my songlist and Tom very kindly took a photo of Raven and me, perhaps to be posted later. We stayed a while before we went out meet Hayley at the stage door. There was already a big crowed and we hoped that Hayley would have enough time for everyone but she did.
We looked at the stage door and suddenly a familiar voice sad "Hello". She came out somewhere else and appeared form the side with a big smile and waving. There were so many fans that I was unsure in the beginning if I should give my songlist to Hayley for signing it tonight or maybe later on Sunday in Swansea. We blocked a little the exit for taxis that went beside the stage door. So we had to clear the way and stepped on the pavement including Dave and Hayley. Then she suddenly turned around and stood directly in front of me saying "Hi" with a big smile. She signed my songlist and I was happy to have had a perfect evening. We said our good-byes shortly after and the musicians made their way back to London as we made our way to our hotels.
The next morning I enjoyed a great fully cooked English Breakfast in my hotel. Yum!
On my table was also a little basket with different kinds of jam and in between there was also a very small portion of Marmite. I've never tried it before and so I used my last piece of toast to eat with Marmite.
Bad idea! ... OH MY GOD
... I've never tasted something awful and disgusting like that. Hayley must have felt the same when she tried Japanese porridge as she discribed it in her book. Marmite is something you either love or hate. I definitely belong to the latter one. Concerning NZ food I should stay with Manuka.
Thomas (have been on the way to Swansea after breakfast)