A day to remember

What a fantastic afternoon we had at the Cleethorpes Carnival.

I arrived about 3.30 to hear "Superstar" being blasted out across Sidney Park - it certainly helped me find our lorry! We milled around a bit and had some photos taken till 4.15, when we got into position on the float. What a great job everyone had done in getting it ready. I wish I knew everyone's names who had been involved, but I guess they all know who they are. Anyway, they had done an amazing job...we had a temple with columns, a cross, a market, palm leaves, loaves of bread. And Kev had set up his PA equipment and was merrily blasting out selections from the soundtrack. I'm sure we were the loudest float there.

It had been raining in the morning, but the sun was just starting to come out, thank goodness. At 4.30 we started rolling out of the park. We started singing and dancing and never stopped till we got to Haverstoe Park 2 hours later. We went through "What's The Buzz?", "Hosanna", "Simon Zealotes", "The Temple", "I Don't Know How To Love Him" and "Superstar". With Peter, James & I taking turns with the microphone and everyone else singing along, we made a hell of a sound. I think at first people thought we may have been some crazy church society - "bible bashers" spreading the good word - but once we got onto "Superstar" I think it dawned on people what we were about.

The sun came out and I started to regret wearing jeans...I ran out of water half way round the course, and with the heat I soon found my voice drying up. But I kept soldiering on, "the show must go on" and all that! My rendition of "Superstar" got more and more funky each time - if we can replicate the carnival atmosphere when we do it on stage, I think it could be a real success.

Best moment for me was turning the corner into Cromwell Road and seing Lisa and the kids standing there with Mum and Dad. I'd just finished one rendition of "Superstar" and had handed the mic back to Pete, but then it came on again, so I grabbed the mic back, leaned over the side of the float and gave it all I had for my fan club! I could see Lisa was so excited - my very own groupie! It was such a big moment for me - you know how much all this means to me, but being up there with all the crowds, singing to my family was just a magical experience.

We eventaully arrived at Haverstoe Park, where the carnival ended. We stayed on the float for one more dance to "Superstar", then started stripping the float down. Kev was having a party back at his place, which would have been good I'm sure, but I knew Lisa and the kids would want to see me and take me home to tell me about their day, so I had to give it a miss.

I think everyone agreed it had been a fantastic afternoon and a great advert for the show and the society. It's just a shame that tickets aren't on sale yet, as I think we would have sold a lot off the back of our performance. With another month to go before they go on sale, I just hope people remember about us.

Good job there's no rehearsal this week coz I think I'll still be recovering!