WC January 31.
Quite a few interviews being arranged – and some are very exciting. I interviewed Matt Willis, once of Busted, on Tuesday – and what a great guy. He’d had a miserable day and reckoned I cheered him up. That was nice to know. He’s in Footloose at the Mayflower, Southampton, – and what a brilliant show! Matt also won the 2006 I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Lucky to get home with the late night fog very dense. The last Red Jet was 30 minutes late but made it. Thanks to the crew for a great job.
Had a scare on Thursday morning heading for Aylesbury to interview Su Pollard. This, again, involved the Red Jet. No fog this time – just engine trouble and, consequently, only one jet an hour. The boss of Red Funnel was directing operations and suggested we took the water taxi to East Cowes to catch the car ferry. It was likely this would beat the next Red Jet to Southampton. The car ferry left late and when we were about ten mintues from Southampton the next Red Jet overtook us. There was no free bus when we docked. I was with Alex Dyke, who was going to work on the mainland. He could easily walk but I managed to rush to the taxi rank and caught the London train by a minute. When I arrived at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, which is five minutes from the station, Su Pollard was arriving by taxi. What a fantastic hour that turned out to be! Su is wonderfully hyper-active and a dream to interview. I love her company.
Fareham may not seem far away but by ferry and train it can be a real nightmare. My train back was due to arrive at 8-16pm and the ferry was due to sail at 8-15. Apparently, the ferry office was phoned but they would not hold the ferry for that minute. As quite a few rushed down the slope the gang plank was already up. It meant a 59 minute wait.
I had some consolation, as I had been to the Hit Parade Heroes soundcheck, at the Ferneham Hall, to interview former Shadows’ star Brian Liquorice Locking, who turned out to be an extremely nice guy. Met a few old friends who were also on the bill – Jet Harris, Mike Berry and John Leyton. Back on the Island, I just managed a quick hello to my old mate, Jethro, who was just heading home from Shanklin Theatre, following his gig. This was 10-10pm – and I had left the Ferneham Hall at 7-15pm. I could have got to Birmingham quicker.!!