17.4.06 An amazing day in Manchester!
OMG Ok I’ve just had quite possibly the best 24 hours of my life and as is now customary I want to share it all with you! Well the excitement started last night when I rang Lynzi to say hi and ask how the party was going in Manchester! I chatted to her for a bit and then she said she’d ring me back in a bit. Neway about an hour later my phone rings again and it’s Lynzi. She goes “Joy I’ve got someone who wants to speak to you!” so I went “Oh my God!” and she goes “Don’t worry it’s not Shayne!” so this other voice comes on the phone and goes “Hiya” and I’m like “Hi” and she goes “Do you know who this is?” and I’m like “No” and she goes “It’s erm Faye, Shayne’s girlfriend” and I was like “OMG hiya!” Was chatting to her for about 5 minutes and I was like “You must be so proud of him” and she goes “I’m very proud” and I told her all about me coming down tomorrow and about getting the passes and stuff. And she told me if I saw her I had to go up and say hi and that she didn’t bite! And then I was telling her about having to get up early and she said “We haven’t woken you up have we” so I was like no but that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway and she goes “I know it’s like Christmas!” and then I told her I loved the album and she was like “I haven’t heard it yet!” and I was like “You haven’t!” and she goes “Well I heard it in Miami but I haven’t heard the finished version!” and I went “Aaaaaw it’s amazing, he’s just such a good singer” and she goes “Aaaaaw thank you!” and then we just chatted and she was asking me who I was coming to Manchester with and then she said again I had to come and say hi to her and she called me sweetie bless her! So that put me on a high and put my planned sleeping time back by about 3 hours lol! Anyway finally fell asleep about 1am. When my alarm went off at 5.15 this morning I was like “Ugh!” but got up anyway, dressed etc and then my Mum picked me up at 6.15 and drove me over to Dani’s house where I met up with Dani and her mates Tori, Amie and Sam. Then we all got in the car on the way up to Manchester and Dani’s Dad drove us up there. We arrived just before 9. We parked and walked up to Albert Square, stopping to buy Hot Chocolate in McDonalds on the way. We got there and there were a good 150 or so people queuing in front of us but Dani and I had our front of stage passes so we didn’t panic too much. Then I spotted Emma walking down the street so I pegged it after her and said hi where I bumped into Lynzi at the same time. They headed off to HMV and I went back to the girls. Eventually Laura (Bakewell Tart) walked past so I said hi and they told us all the people with passes were queuing up the top so Dani and I said goodbye to the others and headed up the top to queue with all the other people who had passes. Eventually they opened the barriers and let us in. This was about half 10. The stage had like an apron at the front of it and Dani and I were lucky enough to get right to the front of the apron and that’s where we stood waiting for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes listening to a DJ from Key 103 (can’t remember her name) trying to fob us off that Shayne was near when really we knew he was nowhere near! Mike Toolan and Chelsea came on from Key 103 and they started the crowd going. Whilst waiting I decided we should give our banner to Shayne at the meet n greet after- it said “WELCOME TO YOUR BETTER LIFE!” and so we signed the back of it I was looking around the VIP area and suddenly I saw this face and I was like “I know that woman!” and I was like “OMG it’s Philomena!” so I had a quick glance around and then I saw Shayne’s sisters and brothers and … Faye! I was going to Dani “I need to go over!” so eventually I did and she recognised me right away and put her arms round me and gave me a big hug and said “Hiya babe are you alright?” I was like “Yeah” and I asked her if I could have a picture with her and so we did- even though it was windy so my hair is all over the place! And then I asked if she liked my banner and she was like “Aaaaaw bless ye!” Then I decided we’d better head back to our places and it wasn’t long then until Shayne came on. They had Nikki Sanderson from Corrie on first which was really bizarre cos I just don’t know why she was there lol- then suddenly SHAYNE!!! OMG he was looking gorgeous as ever- as you will see from the pics! He was chatting to Mike and Chelsea for a bit and screaming “HELLO MANCHESTER!” It was mad- there were so many people there! Then he sang “Next To Me” which was fab! Everyone was bopping and his dancing was ace. At this point Shayne was at the front of the apron so I got a nice view of his backside- hence why quite a few of my pics you can’t see his face properly. Then he went back up the stage and we could tell he was about to cry! He did his thing where he put his hands over his nose and his eyes welled up and Dani began to cry so I gave her a hug. He then sung “Stand By Me” which is one of my favourite songs off the album! I was just singing along trying not to cry- I could feel myself go all goosey inside! Then he sang “All My Life” which was ace! And then came the next special guest……… LOUIS! Bless they were chatting n stuff and then the Mayor came on as a surprise and presented him with a “Pride of Manchester” award. He was so choked and whilst the Mayor was talking he noticed my banner and pointed at it and mouthed “Thank you” really appreciatively! I died! Then he sang “No Promises” and “That’s My Goal” and everyone was just singing along- it was amazing! And then he said he was going but of course he came out to do an encore of “Over The Rainbow” which was just fab! After he’d gone we all waited in front of the front barriers to be told where to go for the meet n greet. We looked up at the Town Hall and suddenly this window opens and out pops Shayne waving to everyone! The crowd went mad! Eventually we were allowed inside the Town Hall for the meet n greet and it was so nice to be in the warm again after so long! Once again Joy did not learn her lesson from previous Shayne craves and decided to leave her coat at home so being stood outside in Manchester weather in a shrug with holes in the back was probably not the most sensible idea! Anyway we had to go up these steps to this room where we were all told to wait round the edge of the room and at first we were all told to sit down and that Shayne would come round to us but then he ended up sat at this table and we went up to him. He was a bit pushed for time so after a while they stopped allowing photos and it was just a case of getting stuff you wanted signed signed. Whilst we were waiting Emma, Lynzi and Georgy signed the back of the banner too. Eventually it was my turn to go up and I handed over my huggy pic to be signed. I wanted to ask him to sign it “To Joy” but I was so wrapped up in giving him the banner I couldn’t! I put the banner on the table in front of him and I said “Shayne this is for you” and he looked at me and said “Thank you very much” and then I was moved on and as I walked away I said to him “I love you”. Then once Dani had got her stuff signed we went out and found the others and headed to HMV to buy our albums before heading back home to Birmingham! Well I think that’s my essay! It’s been an amazing day- thank you to Dani, Tori, Amie and Sam for making it such fun and to Dani’s Mum & Dad for driving and putting up with us! I met loads of people off the boards aswell so “Hey” to all of you- was nice to meet you all (you know who you are) and hopefully I’ll see you all soon! Special shout out has to go to Lynzi and Emma and of course Faye for my phone call and to Shayne for being so lovely and gorgeous as always! You’re a true star and you should be so proud of yourself! I have to say I am truly proud to be a Shayne Ward fan and hope to continue being a Shayne Ward fan for many years to come! Pics in next post!
OMG Ok I’ve just had quite possibly the best 24 hours of my life and as is now customary I want to share it all with you! Well the excitement started last night when I rang Lynzi to say hi and ask how the party was going in Manchester! I chatted to her for a bit and then she said she’d ring me back in a bit. Neway about an hour later my phone rings again and it’s Lynzi. She goes “Joy I’ve got someone who wants to speak to you!” so I went “Oh my God!” and she goes “Don’t worry it’s not Shayne!” so this other voice comes on the phone and goes “Hiya” and I’m like “Hi” and she goes “Do you know who this is?” and I’m like “No” and she goes “It’s erm Faye, Shayne’s girlfriend” and I was like “OMG hiya!” Was chatting to her for about 5 minutes and I was like “You must be so proud of him” and she goes “I’m very proud” and I told her all about me coming down tomorrow and about getting the passes and stuff. And she told me if I saw her I had to go up and say hi and that she didn’t bite! And then I was telling her about having to get up early and she said “We haven’t woken you up have we” so I was like no but that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway and she goes “I know it’s like Christmas!” and then I told her I loved the album and she was like “I haven’t heard it yet!” and I was like “You haven’t!” and she goes “Well I heard it in Miami but I haven’t heard the finished version!” and I went “Aaaaaw it’s amazing, he’s just such a good singer” and she goes “Aaaaaw thank you!” and then we just chatted and she was asking me who I was coming to Manchester with and then she said again I had to come and say hi to her and she called me sweetie bless her! So that put me on a high and put my planned sleeping time back by about 3 hours lol! Anyway finally fell asleep about 1am. When my alarm went off at 5.15 this morning I was like “Ugh!” but got up anyway, dressed etc and then my Mum picked me up at 6.15 and drove me over to Dani’s house where I met up with Dani and her mates Tori, Amie and Sam. Then we all got in the car on the way up to Manchester and Dani’s Dad drove us up there. We arrived just before 9. We parked and walked up to Albert Square, stopping to buy Hot Chocolate in McDonalds on the way. We got there and there were a good 150 or so people queuing in front of us but Dani and I had our front of stage passes so we didn’t panic too much. Then I spotted Emma walking down the street so I pegged it after her and said hi where I bumped into Lynzi at the same time. They headed off to HMV and I went back to the girls. Eventually Laura (Bakewell Tart) walked past so I said hi and they told us all the people with passes were queuing up the top so Dani and I said goodbye to the others and headed up the top to queue with all the other people who had passes. Eventually they opened the barriers and let us in. This was about half 10. The stage had like an apron at the front of it and Dani and I were lucky enough to get right to the front of the apron and that’s where we stood waiting for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes listening to a DJ from Key 103 (can’t remember her name) trying to fob us off that Shayne was near when really we knew he was nowhere near! Mike Toolan and Chelsea came on from Key 103 and they started the crowd going. Whilst waiting I decided we should give our banner to Shayne at the meet n greet after- it said “WELCOME TO YOUR BETTER LIFE!” and so we signed the back of it I was looking around the VIP area and suddenly I saw this face and I was like “I know that woman!” and I was like “OMG it’s Philomena!” so I had a quick glance around and then I saw Shayne’s sisters and brothers and … Faye! I was going to Dani “I need to go over!” so eventually I did and she recognised me right away and put her arms round me and gave me a big hug and said “Hiya babe are you alright?” I was like “Yeah” and I asked her if I could have a picture with her and so we did- even though it was windy so my hair is all over the place! And then I asked if she liked my banner and she was like “Aaaaaw bless ye!” Then I decided we’d better head back to our places and it wasn’t long then until Shayne came on. They had Nikki Sanderson from Corrie on first which was really bizarre cos I just don’t know why she was there lol- then suddenly SHAYNE!!! OMG he was looking gorgeous as ever- as you will see from the pics! He was chatting to Mike and Chelsea for a bit and screaming “HELLO MANCHESTER!” It was mad- there were so many people there! Then he sang “Next To Me” which was fab! Everyone was bopping and his dancing was ace. At this point Shayne was at the front of the apron so I got a nice view of his backside- hence why quite a few of my pics you can’t see his face properly. Then he went back up the stage and we could tell he was about to cry! He did his thing where he put his hands over his nose and his eyes welled up and Dani began to cry so I gave her a hug. He then sung “Stand By Me” which is one of my favourite songs off the album! I was just singing along trying not to cry- I could feel myself go all goosey inside! Then he sang “All My Life” which was ace! And then came the next special guest……… LOUIS! Bless they were chatting n stuff and then the Mayor came on as a surprise and presented him with a “Pride of Manchester” award. He was so choked and whilst the Mayor was talking he noticed my banner and pointed at it and mouthed “Thank you” really appreciatively! I died! Then he sang “No Promises” and “That’s My Goal” and everyone was just singing along- it was amazing! And then he said he was going but of course he came out to do an encore of “Over The Rainbow” which was just fab! After he’d gone we all waited in front of the front barriers to be told where to go for the meet n greet. We looked up at the Town Hall and suddenly this window opens and out pops Shayne waving to everyone! The crowd went mad! Eventually we were allowed inside the Town Hall for the meet n greet and it was so nice to be in the warm again after so long! Once again Joy did not learn her lesson from previous Shayne craves and decided to leave her coat at home so being stood outside in Manchester weather in a shrug with holes in the back was probably not the most sensible idea! Anyway we had to go up these steps to this room where we were all told to wait round the edge of the room and at first we were all told to sit down and that Shayne would come round to us but then he ended up sat at this table and we went up to him. He was a bit pushed for time so after a while they stopped allowing photos and it was just a case of getting stuff you wanted signed signed. Whilst we were waiting Emma, Lynzi and Georgy signed the back of the banner too. Eventually it was my turn to go up and I handed over my huggy pic to be signed. I wanted to ask him to sign it “To Joy” but I was so wrapped up in giving him the banner I couldn’t! I put the banner on the table in front of him and I said “Shayne this is for you” and he looked at me and said “Thank you very much” and then I was moved on and as I walked away I said to him “I love you”. Then once Dani had got her stuff signed we went out and found the others and headed to HMV to buy our albums before heading back home to Birmingham! Well I think that’s my essay! It’s been an amazing day- thank you to Dani, Tori, Amie and Sam for making it such fun and to Dani’s Mum & Dad for driving and putting up with us! I met loads of people off the boards aswell so “Hey” to all of you- was nice to meet you all (you know who you are) and hopefully I’ll see you all soon! Special shout out has to go to Lynzi and Emma and of course Faye for my phone call and to Shayne for being so lovely and gorgeous as always! You’re a true star and you should be so proud of yourself! I have to say I am truly proud to be a Shayne Ward fan and hope to continue being a Shayne Ward fan for many years to come! Pics in next post!
The crowd
A windswept me n Faye
The performance
In the Meet n Greet
The Stage
My signed pic
