Over the first weekend in April I went to London. Part of that trip included me participating in The Who Convention held at Bush Hall in shepherds Bush. To say I was reluctant about going is an understatement, a huge understatement. I am now a single parent with 4 kids. Their Dad flew in for the weekend to be with them but I still had to arrange care for them for two days, I was told by my family (not my kids) I was being selfish for going and then of couse the guilt set in (see prior post regarding guilt). I can't tell you how many times the words "the trip is off" went through my head but all along I knew I would get there! Destiny? I don't think so, I am chalking it up to sheer will power! Was I being selfish, maybe but I don't get to be selfish too many times in my life so what the hell!
I will start off at the Goldhawk on Friday night. I went there alone and when I walked in the first person I saw was Andrew, my roommate for the first part of my trip. When he smiles, he does so with his whole face which is very comforting. He introduced me to Chris (Guitar Wizard) and told me that Jeff House was asking for me. I interrupted Jeff's conversation to introduce myself to him, even though I felt like I knew him all ready, I did! Dino approached me and immediately pinned me with a Who pin (I was devoid of any Who paraphinalia) I think now we may be betrothed??? Dave (Smashed Guitar) was introduced to me and then I met Derrick and Mike and a few members of the Dutch Mob including Jens Kristen and Thea. I also recognized Tom "Mr T" Matchett right away and we talked. I met Bjorn who is a great guy and Mark who wrote Amazing Journey, the book about Pete, he had some pictures from Pete's house earlier in the day, where he actually met Pete. Then I met Tony and Ron and his family. Then Marietta walked in and I introduced myself to her, what a lovely lady, I wish we had more time to hang out and talk. Later Joyce Coll showed up and we hit it off right away, I was groping her breasts within 30 minutes of meeting her!!!!! I also met Trish, Ozzie and Gitta, then Irish Jack Lyons showed up. He is a wonderful man, once the Guinness started flowing freely he started mingling among the devotees. At one point he came up to me and asked me my name and I told him Meg. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and started flipping through his numbers, I thought to myself, is Jack going to ask me for my phone number? For a split second I was flattered. He got to a name in his phonebook it said Meg, he said "that's my wife"! At that point I knew I was on Jack's good side. He then asked me if I was Irish and I said my family heritage is Irish, yes. I said my family is from Cork. He asked me my surname which is Hines and he asked me if it was spelled with an I or a Y and I said I. He proceeded to tell me that a family that lived on his street that owned a grocery store were named Hines. Then we started talking Who, I don't remember how it came up but I told him I was born one year to the day later then the release of I Can't Explain and he turned to me and said, "Well then your Birthday must be January 15, 1966". Jack, you had me at hello!
At this point we moved towards the back of the bar to listen to the musical stylings of The Wholigans, a nice acoustic set courtesy of a guitar borrowed from Tom. I listened from a distance as I was still socializing. I got to meet Marilyn from Seattle, she joined in on the conversation at a weird point, wouldn't you say Marilyn! The evening was winding down and the Goldhawk was closing, we were off.
The next day, The Convention. I was late getting there as I decided to partake in a little mid morning nap. Honestly, I thought the thing started at 1 not 12. Woops! My MIA status created a little stir but once I showed up all was well! When I got there Irish Jack just started his readings, how wonderful, although the crowd was a little to loud during his time on stage from the back he was a bit hard to hear. Who's Who took to the stage once Jack was done and they played a strong rendition of Quadrophenia. They were very good. Near the end of their set Jeff, Joyce and myself took a short walk to get a drink and I found my very favorite candy bar in the store. Curly Wurly bars rock! We got back in time for the auction to start. Tom was a great auctioneer not to mention how good a Master of Ceremonies he was, I believe he found his calling. We took this opportunity to get good position to see the Casbah Club's set. There we were right up against the stage in front of Bruce Foxton's mike stand. The Casbah Club hit the stage and really put on a great show. Midway through their set a little interruption pulled the attention from the stage. That little interruption was Roger Daltrey! I was in shock! He greeted people along the way to the stage and he stepped up to the mike and thanked the audience for coming and supporting the Who and the TCT. He talked a little about the Who's new work and also asked if anyone in the audience really understood TBWHM! He said he didn't either but because of it Pete was making some really great music and that was enough for him. The audience asked for a song, we got two. Roger and Simon sang Behind Blue Eyes and Substitute. I noticed the chemistry between Roger and Simon right away, they really trust one another. It did my heart good to see that. Roger made a few more comments and left the stage, the audience was stunned and very pleased! The Casbah Club came back on stage to finish their set. I think they put on one hell of a show, can't wait to see them on tour! When the Casbah Club finished Tom went back to work with the auction, Jeff, Gitta, Tony and myself stepped out to get dinner. We made it back for the Wholigans set. I was a Wholigans virgin up to this point, I was duly impressed with their performance! At the end of the Convention everyone socialized as we were hearded toward the door. Simon and his family stayed until the bitter end. We then started to figure out a location for the afterparty. Jeff, Joyce, Tom and myself scouted out a location and stood by the window banging on it everytime we saw a conventioneer walk by. That afterparty ended up being a lot of fun, I wish I took pictures there! It was back to the hotel, didn't get much sleep and I was up early again to meet with Jeff and Joyce to take the train to Brighton. Paul and Chris offered to take us on a walking tour of the Quadrophenia sites among other things, what a wonderful day. I ended up back in London around 10:30, got my things packed up ready for my early morning flight!
I am so glad I went, all the people I met were wonderful and I had a great time. Yes, I would do it again in a New York minute!
