Part 2 of my TFF UK Tour Journey (continuation of Part 1 What feels like the end is often the beginning)

In case you didn’t read Part 1 mentioned above, thinking it was only about my BoBo Ray of Sunshine, it was so much more! You missed out on the night I will never forget, Tears For Fears at Delamere Forest and what brought me there. I’m still giddy over the thought of getting a shout out from Curt Smith himself! However, my trip to the UK didn’t end at Delamere. Oh no it didn’t! I’d actually like to look up the miles that were driven in those four days as we sure crossed a lot of ground. Makes me exhausted to think about it and also grateful for G to do all of the driving in the Tears For Fears mobile. (Also explained in part 1 )

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We got up early in the morning and had to get on the road to travel a few hours south to Oxford. We were heading to my 2nd concert at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, my friends 4th concert for the week. They are the #16TFFGIGSin2019 gals. Diehards! The real deal! TFF MVP’s! One thing that I absolutely loved about driving for hours in the TFF mobile was learning how to speak “proper” English from my friends. They confided in me that most Americans don’t understand British humor or sarcasm. Little did they know that I was more like them than they realized and gave them just as much sass and sarcasm back. I also taught them a few sayings they hadn’t heard of before like “dropping the kids off at the pool” amongst some other things LOL. W thought it would be best if I took out my journal and wrote down the words so I could try to pronounce the names correctly. Writing it down didn’t help much because whoever came up with the pronunciations must have had too much to drink as they made no sense! See below.

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When we arrived at Blenheim, pronounced Blenhum as the m is more silent on the end, I wanted to stop at the merchandise area as I hadn’t gone while we were at Delamere since we stood in line for hours to ensure we got the front row at the barrier. Tonight’s concert was assigned seating and I was so darn lucky to have 2nd row center stage seats. I cannot tell you how I spoiled I am after going to these concerts. I don’t know if I can handle sitting anywhere else. I mean I seriously lucked out on this tour. I had 2nd row in Killarney in January, front row at the barrier in Dublin, front row at the barrier at #Suckfest and Delamere Forest and now 2nd row at Blenheim! What would Canterbury bring! As we got closer to the merchandise area I decided I was buying all of the t-shirts they had for sale which was 4 of them. I pulled out my AMEX and they said they only accepted Visa or MC. Oh crapola! I forgot to call my bank before I left so I could use my Visa. I realized that with the time difference they should still be open on a Saturday so there was hope. I felt a bit frazzled to be honest. The lady I finally got on the phone with, after being on hold for what seemed like hours, had to ask me a bunch of security questions to make sure I was who I said I was. It took awhile before I could finally purchase my souvenirs and the line behind us was getting longer. So sorry for the inconvenience! It must have been meant to be that I forgot to call the bank because had we not spent that time at the merchandise stand we may not have run into Carina, Charlton and Jamie on the grounds outside of the Palace. Talk about perfect timing!

There are so many things that I would love to say about that conversation we had. What I will say is that if anyone ever doubted that this band doesn’t love their fans or wants to play for them when they are supposed to, you don’t know this band. They do read comments on social media and pay attention. Not everything is always as it is made out to be as with anything. You can’t always believe everything you read or hear unless it comes directly from the horses mouth. I felt vilified and once again felt that my BoBo Ray helped bring me to the UK to find my truth and help me with her loss. To Jamie, Charlton and Carina, Thank You So Much for taking the time to speak with us and have your photo taken with us. That meant more to me than you know.

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After hob knobbing on the lawn with the band, we ran into many fellow Tears For Fears fans that we knew from social media. It was great to meet people I follow online. We took a few photos and I had my first look at Mushy Peas. They were beautiful in color but didn’t look as appetizing to eat although some would disagree with me. I couldn’t force myself to try them. Maybe my next trip to England! Good excuse to go back. If anyone asks me why do you want to go back to England I can tell them for the mushy peas! Good enough reason as any don’t you think?

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Scritti Politti and White Lies opened for Tears for Fears or as they say in England they were the support acts. I remember listening to the song Perfect Way growing up but hadn’t heard of the group White Lies or any of their music. I thought the lead singer was quite a character. He loved to smile and looked so proud to be there. I could just tell by the way he held up his arms after each song. I can’t imagine what it would feel like performing on a stage for a crowd at a palace. I get stage fright singing karaoke. Lord knows how I ever made it through singing the National Anthem. Stage performance is definitely a gift or maybe its part confidence too. I know I could use a bit of both at times. I suppose we all could.

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During this whole trip there had been different signs that popped up along the way. The sunflower bouquet in the loo, BoBo Butterfly at the castle, the truck with a sun spotted in numerous locations and a Minneapolis shirt at Blenheim Palace? OMG the guy is wearing a Minneapolis shirt on stage with Andy! Hello Minneapolis shirt guy! I’ve come all the way from Minneapolis! Another sign! Notice Gooch on the drums. We do love our TFF Crew! The only one missing in the picture is Bill. As they say in bars in America, don’t forget to tip your bartenders. I say don’t forget to recognize the Tears For Fears Crew! They work some long hours and do a fantastic job getting the stage ready for the show. We salute you!

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G & W were sitting one section over from me so I was by myself. To anyone ever wondering if you should go to a concert alone, Do It! If there is one you want to see, Go! I have to say that Blenheim was my all time favorite venue I have ever been to. The band sounded absolutely fantastic! I sang and danced throughout the whole concert. It was a beautiful evening. Great weather! A great day! And we all got set lists! I finally got one of Roland’s! Thank you Andy and crew!

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We still had to get to our hotel in Oxford after the concert and check in. We made a stop at a petrol station which thankfully was still open to go inside for some snacks or sweets or crisps. The names they call some things still confuses me at times! I think that might be where I fell in love with Kind bars. I think more people should eat them so maybe some Kindness will rub off 🙂 Once we got settled at the hotel we had to figure out what time we were leaving in the morning to head further east to Canterbury. We were all functioning on maybe 4 hours of sleep the past few days but a lot of highs from everything that had transpired.

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Curt’s birthday was Monday so we decided to get him a card and some skittles on our way to Canterbury. We also brought something special for the crew. The question was how would we get it to them. Where there is a will there is a way! While waiting in line we met more fans that had been to the concerts at Delamere and Blenheim. We weren’t the only ones who made the trek across England. Canterbury was another general admission show but we had gold circle tickets so we were able to get in before others. Once through the gate I literally sprinted across the cricket field to secure our front row spot at the barrier again. There were a few times people would try to push their way to take over our space but there wasn’t a snowballs chance in hell they were going to do it. We waited in line for hours and my poor feet were numb and swollen. I decided that for tonight’s show I was going to put my phone away and be present and in the moment. This could be the last time I see my favorite band live in concert. An artist named Max and ABC opened for Tears For Fears. I didn’t know who Max was but ABC sounded just like I remembered them. They were absolutely fantastic! Once they were finished with their performance I put my phone in my purse until after the concert.

Tears For Fears put on another great show. The crowd sang Happy Birthday to Curt. I cried again during Woman in Chains because it reminded me of two weeks earlier dancing in my dining room with my BoBo to that song before the vet came, and we got our set lists. I had brought along a vintage photo of Roland and Curt to all of the shows that I carried in my purse in hopes that I might get it signed by them but it wasn’t meant to be. A part of me felt a little defeated if I’m being honest, but I certainly had a lot to be thankful and grateful for.

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I think back to October of 2016 when I attended the Phoenix concert and wound up in the hospital with a DVT and bilateral pulmonary embolisms. Had I not had that terrible life threatening experience happen to me this trip may have never happened. My husband and I might not have booked the trip to Dublin once I was cleared to fly for the opening of the UK tour. I wouldn’t have went to Ireland by myself in January to go to the rescheduled show or changed my plans to go to Killarney once that show was added the night before. I never would have met Gwen and Stephen and convinced them to go to Dublin since they were already there as I had a spare ticket. I wouldn’t have suffered from TFFWS and went to an incompetent festival which is how I ended up back in England. This is all from the kindness of my #TFFFF who invited me over because of it and what timing! Two weeks after My BoBo went to heaven I was able to share some wonderful experiences that may not have ever happened if it wasn’t for that damn blood clot. I came home with more friends and memories that I will always cherish from the bottom of my heart.

I titled part 1 as What feels like the end is often the beginning as I know sometimes that is hard to take in. I know my #TFFamily in England is wondering if that will be the last time they will ever see Tears For Fears perform there again. I recently lost my BoBo Ray of Sunshine and there are days when it feels like the world is going to end for me. I’ve had my fair share of health issues since my blood clots and she was always there for me. Nurse BoBo took good care of her mama when her mama needed it the most. I’m having some more challenges since I returned from England but am trying to look at the positives. I was able to see Tears For Fears 5 out of 6 times this year and in two different countries. I made a whole lot of new friends who share the same interests as me and I got pretty lucky to meet some of the band members a few times. There are some people who can only dream about seeing their favorite singer or traveling to another country. I know how lucky I am. I am now beginning a new routine but filled with many new friendships. I hope that Tears For Fears will continue to tour after a much needed break. They helped get me through some rough patches but also connected me to some wonderful people all over the world who share a common bond in their music. For that I am #ThankfulAF!

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