Saturday Sensation

Next morning we all slept in. After I had showered and shaved I opted for my black jeans with the boots and a black tee shirt. I would have not picked the tee shirt if I actually was a girl as it showed the outline of my corset at the bust line and I got a lot of interested looks from all of the fellows. Lesley told me I was brazen and Tess said I was hot. Sven and his band had already eaten their breakfast and left, as they had a gig in Holland tonight. That was, I thought a real slice of good luck. The sisters were happier about that as well.

Tonight the Theatre of Tragedy was to be replaced by Alien Sex Fiend, a band that had been around for nearly twenty years by now. I had never heard their music but had been told that it was heavily synthesiser and computer based. After breakfast Felicity asked us what we wanted to do and four of us said we had planned to visit Duxford while we were here. Lesley was unsure but came along anyway. It was not far from the Manor and it was not long before we were wandering around the old aircraft. It had been a WW2 fighter base and is a huge collection of aircraft from the early days, right up to the Blackbird high altitude spy plane. I had looked forward to the visit but had never thought I would be one of eight girls walking around. We had three hours there before we needed to get back to the Manor and it wasn’t enough. We did manage to see all of the hangers as well as the big American hanger but did not have time to hike down the end of the place to the Land Warfare Exhibition.

Back at the Manor we had lunch in the big tent and sat around for the first band to start. Another local band, they were pretty good but played a lot of music I had never heard, I suppose that they were covers of the hundreds of Goth bands that were around. Once again we were on straight after tea so went off to our rooms to get dressed. Lesley told me to just change from the jeans to my leather skirt as the top half had been a hit and she thought the crowd would like it too. When we assembled I saw that Tess and Bri now had short skirts and fishnets on as well and we all looked very sexy. As we made our way to the tent we attracted quite a number of whistles; I think it would be an interesting set tonight. We had a quick tea and it was again time to go on. His Lordship did introductions again and we got going with the music.

As we played I saw the crowds’ positive reaction and thought that we may be in with a chance during this tour. At a particularly loud cheer I looked across the stage and saw Tess and Bri standing with their legs wide while they played. Now that is one way to get a crowd response. Stevie was as solid as usual and Lesley was giving it her all with the vocals. I hoped that her voice lasted the tour and wondered if there was a way the rest of us could help out with the singing; after all, it was only us that sang before she joined. When we finished our set we went back down onto the grassed area to be mobbed by fans, mainly male, who wanted to congratulate us on our music as well as trying to get a kiss. We all tried to accommodate them as we had never had fans who wanted to kiss us as a crowd, before. When we extricated ourselves and got to our rooms we were dishevelled and most of us had smiles on our faces. Stevie was less enthused and said that he never signed on to be a homo. Faith took him by the hand and pulled him into his room to prove to him that he was as straight as ever.

In fact, we all had our companions with us as we undressed and wound down and it was a much calmer band that gathered back on the grass to listen to the last band. I have to say that I was not impressed; two people on stage with a bank of electronics could not be, to me, entertainment. The actual ‘music’ also left a lot to be desired. Perhaps it was our upbringing with the party and twelve bar scene that had stained our psyche. Or maybe we were just too conservative.

Sunday was low key. There were the locals once more; followed by us starting a little later and then the Fields of Nephilim took the festival to its conclusion. On Monday morning the wizard told us of our tour plans for the next eleven weeks. We would be starting by staying at the Manor for three of them, going out to the gigs in the bus. We were booked for three nights this week at a club in Cambridge, followed by a night off and then three nights in Luton. All were easy drives by main roads. Then we had two nights on Braintree and three nights in Chelmsford, a night off, then four nights in a club in Colchester.

We had one night off and then moved to Birmingham and digs to play at three different clubs in the area, followed by a trip north, to Blackburn, for nearly a month playing at five different clubs there. We had two days off while relocating again to Bristol for a five night gig. Then we went along the south coast for three nights in Southampton, three in Portsmouth, four in Brighton. The last four nights were in a Goth Club in London. It was a pretty full list and I knew we would be tired at the end of it.

We had a couple of clear days so the sisters took us into London for some sight-seeing. I must say that prolonged walking on pavements were not all that good, I don’t know how girls do it all the time. On the first day we spent a lot of time at the Tower of London and I felt it was really creepy when we went into some of the rooms where famous people spent their days, waiting for the chopping block.

We took a ferry from there up to the Westminster Pier and spent a good five minutes circling in the middle of the river while the helmsman told us that they were all poor lightermen and his companion trawled the passengers for gold coins. I thought it was a real cheek considering how much we had paid for the trip. As we were getting off the ferry, the Big Ben struck midday. That made the whole trip worthwhile as I had sat by my radio as a young lad and heard the chimes. Here I was, in London and standing at the base of the tower with the chimes vibrating my body!

We found a little café to have a lunch before touring the Abbey and the Parliament. Then it was home to the Manor. I don’t know how we would have done it without the sisters and their knowledge of the myriad tube lines. The following day we went back into London and then took the tube to Waterloo Station to get a train to Hampton Court Palace. While we were waiting some chap tried to get us to sign up for a new credit card and we strung him along. He gave up with a huff when we told him that we lived in Australia.

It was a smooth and pleasant ride to the terminus, then a walk over the bridge to the Palace itself. We spent all day there and I was amazed at the displays of spears, swords and flintlock guns that adorned the walls. We had our lunch there before wandering the gardens. I particularly loved one sunken garden that I thought was beautiful. Lesley and I sat on a bench there and I told her that if I was ever rich, something like this would be my first priority, before any big house or fast car. In fact, I realised that I had no desire for a fast car any more, was the girl cooties overcoming my senses?

It was real wrench to leave but they were starting to ask people to leave. We walked back to the station and waited for the train. I went up to each of the sisters in turn and gave them each a hug, thanking them for bringing us here. Tess followed my lead but Bri and Stevie sat chatting. Of course, eight girls waiting for a train had to attract the attention of some boys so we were joined for the ride back to London, having a good time with the lads. Stevie stayed aloof but the sisters, Lesley, Tess and I were happy to play our part. When we told them that we were a band the boys said they would try and get to one of our gigs. We parted on the platform at Waterloo and when the boy I had been chatting to mostly took me in his arms and gave me a tongue kiss I reacted as I should. While he hugged me he said “What’s with the surly one, then?” I told him that Stevie was in her time of the month and was a total bitch for more than a week when that happened. “It does improve her drumming as she tends to take her aggression out on them during that time.”

Marianne G 2020