So then before we knew it was time to leave Sunderland, it was great being back home but the time went so fast and there were still things we didn't get to see and people that we didn't get to see, sorry guys!
First stop in London was to get my tooth fixed by me old mate Jamie at his practice in Cavendish Square (very nice!) for an undisclosed fee;" free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can't!"
So big thanks to Jamie, and his family. Claire had just recently given birth to Seth, their 3rd child so it was fun and games in their house, but loved every minute.
Had an absolutely frantic time trying to get hold of our visas to India, the trouble was that we only had 4 days to get the visas before we flew out. On arrival there was a huge queue coming out the building, guys on the door like night club bouncers and loads of guys outside handing out random slips of paper and writing dates on them, it was more like a bookies pit at the races than a high commission, and we had no idea of what was going on. Once we had our piece of paper we were then told to come back the next day without even taking a step in the place, but I pleaded our case with expertise, " What.......?", and then he let us in.
You thought outside was bad, inside was a nightmare - hoards of people and no instruction what to do, where to go or anything. We eventually found an antiquated number caller of
which only some of its lights worked which added to the confusion. We were sat next to guys who had been coming here for days and still hadn't got there visa, at this point we didn't hold much hope for getting them before our flight, so we were already set our minds that we would have to be changing flights and rearranging hotel bookings, etc. It was so chaotic you had to see the funny side of it. But then we managed to get called really quick ( well 2 hours), I would receive mine in "an hour" and Andrea would have to come back in "3 - 5 days" as she doesn't have a British passport, but we had a word with the guys and they said it would be ready on Fri afternoon, only a few hours before they closed for the weekend and we were flying Sunday. So we waited for another couple of hours for mine, more pushing and shoving, elbows in your back, people shouting in your ear, absolutely no concept of the term 'queue' and then we worked it out, this must be the test, the initiation, if you can hack it in here you might just stand a chance in India.
First stop in London was to get my tooth fixed by me old mate Jamie at his practice in Cavendish Square (very nice!) for an undisclosed fee;" free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can't!"
So big thanks to Jamie, and his family. Claire had just recently given birth to Seth, their 3rd child so it was fun and games in their house, but loved every minute.
Had an absolutely frantic time trying to get hold of our visas to India, the trouble was that we only had 4 days to get the visas before we flew out. On arrival there was a huge queue coming out the building, guys on the door like night club bouncers and loads of guys outside handing out random slips of paper and writing dates on them, it was more like a bookies pit at the races than a high commission, and we had no idea of what was going on. Once we had our piece of paper we were then told to come back the next day without even taking a step in the place, but I pleaded our case with expertise, " What.......?", and then he let us in.
You thought outside was bad, inside was a nightmare - hoards of people and no instruction what to do, where to go or anything. We eventually found an antiquated number caller of
which only some of its lights worked which added to the confusion. We were sat next to guys who had been coming here for days and still hadn't got there visa, at this point we didn't hold much hope for getting them before our flight, so we were already set our minds that we would have to be changing flights and rearranging hotel bookings, etc. It was so chaotic you had to see the funny side of it. But then we managed to get called really quick ( well 2 hours), I would receive mine in "an hour" and Andrea would have to come back in "3 - 5 days" as she doesn't have a British passport, but we had a word with the guys and they said it would be ready on Fri afternoon, only a few hours before they closed for the weekend and we were flying Sunday. So we waited for another couple of hours for mine, more pushing and shoving, elbows in your back, people shouting in your ear, absolutely no concept of the term 'queue' and then we worked it out, this must be the test, the initiation, if you can hack it in here you might just stand a chance in India. One elderly Indian gentlemen in the ' queue ' asked us how long we were going to be in India for, we told him " 5 - 6 months maybe", " Ah " he paused, " you are very brave " What were we letting ourselves in for?!
So I received mine that ( long) day, and Andrea eventually received hers on the Fri afternoon as promised. So we had a cause for a few celebratory drinks but we weren't celebrating for long when we saw the prices!
Then it was over to Si and Caroline's for a few nights of catching up. An exciting time for these 2 as they are expecting their first child in Dec. So while me, Si and Andrea were having a few drinks, Caroline valiantly soldiered on with glasses of cranberry juice and sniffed our red wine corks! Don't worry Caroline, not long to go now!
Had a cool last day, feeling very excited and of course a little apprehension about what the next few months had in store. Shaun made his way over to East London for an afternoon / evening of fun.
If there are any single ladies reading this, I just have to let you know that Shaun is living in South London, in a wonderful house, he is charismatic as much as he is charming. A sharp wit and owns a bold, vast knowledge of music and it's industry. We're not talking about just mere pop trivia here, but he has a fascinating and envious solid factual grasp on the subject, he even knows what A&R men do. Unbelievable, despite his boyish classic looks, this Peter Pan of pop is very much available. So ladies, one at a time please, no Indian queuing here please. I nearly forgot to mention that he is also mint.
Thanks again Si for the lift to Heathrow at a crazy early time on Sunday morning, nice one, you're a legend, and thanks also to co-pilot Shaun and the warnings about the 3 Ws.
And remember, never judge a book by it's cover.
