JOHN WAITE UK FAN GET TOGETHER

Saturday the seventh of November Nineteen ninety eight. 7-30am. What's that noise. My alarm clock wakes me into the morning of the first ever "John Waite fan get-together". After a couple of months planning over the net and with numerous phonecalls crossing the land and sea, the day had arrived.

The talk of getting together with a few fellow John Waite fans was someting that I had thought about for a few years, a sort of Uk fanfest, and what better place to hold the ocasion than the grand city of Lancaster, "the voice's" very own home town.

My trip involved a massive 90 minute drive south via Carlisle and the M6, aided by my long time drinking partner and bestman at my wedding 13 months ago, the one and only....Mr Steven Craig. proffesional editor and Jimmy Barnes/ George Michael lookalike.!

Steven's trusted black Volkswagon was our transport for the weekend, we heading of from the south east of Scotland at 10-30am and before we knew it....it was 12 am and we were driving in a strange one way sysyem in Lancaster town centre !!. Out of the blue appears the Farmer's Arms Hotel, the Farmer's would be our roof over our heads for part of the next 24 hours of fanfest.

Steven parked the car near by at which point I rushed in the lounge bar to ask for parking directions for residents, where I was greeted by a slighty bemused barmaid, who seemed unsure of our hopes of parking and my unusual northern accent.

Whilst our barmaid racks her brains, a chap at the bar tells me to turn left, follow down the drive and stick it behind some gates, or someting of that discription, I thank him for his advice and aim to leave where the chap replies "No problem, Kevin !", Scotty mumbles "who is this southern geezer I ask myself" to which the guy relpies "it's Trigger Mate", and there we had our first sighting/meeting of a fellow Waite fan.

Trigger is sometimes also known as Mr Paul Newcomb, avid Crystal Palace FC soccer fan and who does a bit of shipping when nedded. Two minutes later our car is parked, and Steve and I are checked in with thanks to Tony, the landlord. It's down to business... "where's the Bar", Steve and Scotty shout.

We introduced ourselves properly to Trigger, and next thing, we are greeted by a tall guy with a scouse (that's merseyside) accent. It could only be one man, the one and only Barry (Banks) from Hoylake. Barry is one of the first ever subscriber's to No Brakes and quite a mean collector of Mr Waite collectables also. Four drinks are ordered up and we look for a seating area to accomodate more than 4.

2 seconds later we are seated, and low and behold who walks through the door... it's our Antepodeans fanfesters, Greg and Jeff Roberts, who have come all the way from Beverly Hills, New South Wales in Australia. Jeff and Greg were able to make it with a coinciding trip to the UK and Ireland. "G'day" from Jeff and Greg, and "Throw another shrimp on the barby" from us. More drinks ordered and but then who graces our humble gathering, but the person that owns the whole of Kent... and No Brakes competition winner, Mr Adrian Pounce, landowner and furnishing company type person, also a drinker of "Guiness".

Everyone was introduced to each other and mass chattings in various accents and dialects, more ales flow and before we knew it it was time to shut the lounge bar (3 pm already), our discussions and stories have giving us rumbling stomachs, it was time for food and more beer. The beer count was a up and around the five to six pint mark by 3pm, what would ly in store in the forthcoming 10 hours til shutting time.?

We all leave the farmer's together, and head into Lancaster town centre, before we know it, we have seated ourselves at at table at a pasta restaurant right in the middle of town, without hestitation drinks are order and something else... ah, yes, Food (very handy to soak up all the ale that was being consumed). The meal appears and without a thought it was now 4-30pm, the last pieces of Pizza and lasagne were forced into our mouths, to which Mr Pounce (the bloke that owns the whole of Kent) offers us a small "Sothern Comfort" miniture chaser to wash the taste of Italy away from the table. This was done in the traditional fashion of "In one" and as far as I remember most disappeared in quick fashion.

I make a quick phone call back to the Farmer's to track our missing piece if the Fanfest jigsaw, my good friend and Geordie (that's a person from the North East of England), Mr John De Arostegui. John could only make it part of the day, but only matters of seconds since going off the phone John walks through the door into our Pasta and southern comfort tastings and John Waite discssion group!

John is introduced and before you could say "where's the nearest Burger King", we head out of the Pasta place, ready and willing for more Waite discussions with slight offshoots into Ale drinking and strange noises from the bathroom (due to too much Garlic, mushrooms and southern comfort sauce). Our next port of call was the Kings Arms hotel, which appeared after only a matter of minutes.

We enter to what looks like a reception area, but is actually the bar. The Kings Arms has changed a lot since John Waite played his first ever live gig there. The Stage from John's "Chalk Farm" days has long gone, it's now a car park out the back, to compensate the shock of no stage, more drink is ordered, followed by more in quick succession. We are losing count of beer totals by now, it's double figures for sure and it's only turned 6pm (help.!).

Two or five pints later, we track down the Brown Cow, Adrian was "lead barfinder" at this point, he had arrived on the friday night as he had taken the train up from his estate (or is it small republic ?), so he knew a tad better than the rest of us where to hunt down ale dispensers due to his scouting trip on the night before.

Adrian proved his worth and all of a sudden we were sitting through the back of "The Brown Cow". All of a sudden, my chauffer and partner in crime, Steven had produced a camera, possibly stolen but in full working order, so it is passed round of group for a picture of everyone and anything that would could possibly focus on !!

At this point I was going to tell you what all our discussions were about, but in relection I can't remember, and I don't think anyone else does (answers on a question to No Brakes ?). More lager and beer and shorts are comsumed and we continue to find more pubs and more topics of coverstaion in "Waite world", amongst the ever filling up public houses gf Lancaster, everyone in "Waitefest" is really having a good time, and getting on like a house on fire. John (De Arostegui) sadly has to leave mid evening to head back to a 21st Party in his new home town of Southport, Steven & I remember vaguely asking John is we can all come along, but we decided to take Lancaster on all night long. John says his goodbyes and promises to make it all day next time.

It's now around 9-10pm and people are disappearing by the minute, before I know it, it's around 11pm and it's down to the intrepid Trigger and myself, we are in some niteclub and there is a band playing upstairs and downstairs is a disco, both choices of music are inaudibile, probably like my speech. After more drink of some sort (I do remeber drinking "Red Bull" late on !!), Trigger thinks it's time to track down the Farmers, & with help from a bouncer we stumble only a matter of two or three hundred yards to arrive at our safe haven for the evening, the Farmer's (horrah).

We quickly head for the bar, where we find my chum Steven attached to the body of a young female student (Lancaster is a famous university town in case you were wondering). I somehow order more drink from Julie behind the bar, who also calls me "the famous Kevin" and after chatting with the small band of leftovers from "Waitefest Lancaster 98", I decide "enough is enough" and make the accent to my room way up in the heights of the Farmer's Arms. Room 13 unlucky for some. I collapse into bed, fully clothed and pray to be alive the following morning.

My prayer's are answered the following day, but realise I feel like death, so does Steven, who appeared back at the room many hours later, due to falling asleep in the bathroom in the public toilets. He looks decidely worse than me, and boy did I look bad too.!

After coming too eventually and checking that I still can use both my legs to walk, it's breakfast downstairs. Steve and I are last to make it apart from Trigger. Barry and Adrian have been downstairs for a while, and Jeff and Greg are enjoying the delights of a full English breakfast in Lancaster. The two Scotsmen try to enjoy the full English breakfast placed in front of them, and slowly try to keep each piece of bacon, sausage, toast etc down for a long as it takes before feeling like bringing it up again.!! We succeed in keeping the breakfast down (just), but still feel that mass alcohol from the night before does not make you feel like comsumming fried food any quicker.

After breakfast Trigger and I find that our respective Football teams have done the business, to which point everyone retires to the Bar again, this time it's Cocacola all round... (what a difference a day makes !). More discussions and reflections of the night before are past over, Greg hunt's out a couple of scrapebooks of rare Waite/ Babys cuttings all the way from Australia, and gives us some Australian reviews of the Babys lp's which are quite humourous, we all take a moment and all rationally think to ourselves "I am able to drive yet ?".

More chatting and a coke or two later, and it's time for our "goodbyes" as everyone has to make it back to where they came from.? (apart from Greg and Jeff, who are heading across the water to the fine celtic isle of Ireland). So we all shake hands and pose for photographs, we ask "when is the next one going to happening ?" and make a point of "making it again" and we all head off South, North, East and West to start saving for "Waite fanfest in Lancaster 1999".

What a 24 hours !!! What a day!! What a night !! What a morning !!! What a hangover !!

The trip back home was a long one but the memories of the first ever UK gathering of John Waite fanatics in Lancaster on November 7th and 8th 1998 will stick in my mind for many moons to come. Roll on 1999.!!

Special thanks to Tony and Lynne (and Julie) at the Farmers, Paul Newcomb, Barry Banks, John De Arostegui, Greg and Jeff Roberts, Adrian Pounce and Steven Craig and the town of Lancaster for a great day and night.

We'll be back. (watch out !)

Also thanks to the people who sadly couldn't make it : Huw Knight, Sammy and Huw, Jacques Sabbe and everyone else. See you next time.