Chapter 3

What was the parking space had been cleaned and painted. There was a girder frame around the walls, supported by uprights on each corner, and across the back wall it supported a pair of steel doors that totally hid the doors to the lane. The single door at the other side had been bricked up. There was an industrial rack to the left, the same as used in the distribution area and big enough to take pallets.

“The steel doors are electric and alarmed. The blue switch on the board when we came in is the one to activate or deactivate the alarms, which are also linked to movement sensors throughout the studio. If you open the second door without deactivating them, there will be a noise like you’ve never heard. We can now just pull these doors open, but they are electronically secure when the switch is thrown or if the power goes down.”

He opened one to reveal the doors to the lane, now a lot thicker with a steel sheet on the inside. The key opened it, and they stepped out into the lane to see that the outer wall looked very much the same as it had been when they first saw it. They then backtracked, closing doors as they went. Jacob hugged his father.

“Dad, it’s fantastic. Thank you for overseeing the building work.”

“It was fun. I learned a lot from the specialists as they worked. They were all keen to give you the best.”

As they walked back, he pointed out mounting points on the walls.

“These are for cameras when you’re recording. There’s five each side and two over the control room window. They’re all swivel and tilt, controlled from the desk in the control room. The screens are set to each show four views. The leads all go through to one of the computers with editing software. I was told that there are ways to synchronise the sound and vision. I know that you need to get equipment and microphones, and a lot of other stuff, but I have loaded the kitchenette with tea, coffee, biscuits, sugar and milk, so we can relax for a few minutes while you young ones try to make sense out of this.”

They went through the control room and back to the rest area, where they found about thirty mugs and all the necessary for a drink. No-one had said very much during the walk-through, the idea that it was finished and theirs was a lot to take in. Willow looked at Wilhelm.

“What was the bottom line for the lot?”

“The studio guys went a little over. They said that a lot was made easier because of the existing wall. That ended up at six-seventy. The building work and all the doors came in at three-fifty, the air-conditioning at sixty, and the toilets were forty. So, bottom line was one point one-two. Everything is paid for. The work in the office was only twenty for the painter and decorator, and another forty for the new furnishings.”

“Thank you, Wilhelm, that was very good of you. I hope that things will be a bit easier for a while.”

“Don’t you worry your sweet brain, Willow. It’s been fun. The is one fly in the ointment, though.”

“There has to be one. Come on, spill!”

“I was talking to Mervyn last week. He told me that he needs to find bigger premises over the next few months. The delivery levels are rising, and he needs somewhere that he can have through unloading and loading, which is impossible here.”

“Did he tell you how big his wish was?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Well, we can always talk to our friendly agent to see if there’s anything available. Did he say if he had a particular area or site in mind?”

“No, but we can have a talk next week. We’ve got pretty friendly. Why?”

“Wilhelm. Each one-eleventh share of our income last month was just over a million. I’m sure that the syndicate could stump up a half a million each for a decent site with a happy tenant. If we include all eleven of us, we can drop the input level. If he moves out of here, we can just take over the empty space for parking. We could get a truck for transporting equipment and a coach to transport the band, rather than relying on our security detail. Part time drivers are available, I’m sure.”

“That’s a big investment, Willow.”

Ashley, who had just taken everything in without saying much, now spoke.

“It’s all an investment, Wilhelm. The seven of them now own this site and the other one in Coventry. As my daughter said, a tailor-made site for a happy tenant is likely to be good for years. They could get one with room to grow. If the current tenant moves from here, there’s the big shed for a small business, and the space in the long shed for car parking if they get other bands in to record. That galvanised shed out front could go to increase outside parking. The ground floor of the offices could be leased separately to something like an accountant, physiotherapist, or the like. I saw the big table upstairs, big enough for the whole band to meet in comfort. The band could actually pay the syndicate a regular lease arrangement. They have the time to continue their school and their careers, so there will be income, maybe not as much as last month, but still pretty tidy.”

“You’re right, Ashley. I’m still thinking like a farmer with one source of income.”

“Are they paying you?”

“Not as such. I do take out expenses.”

“Well, I think that you should look into what you can earn and give yourself a wage. If you haven’t done so already, appoint a separate accountant for the syndicate and any future syndicate should the whole band want to be part of it. They can be based here, in Leicester to make it easier if the control of the business is here.”

“If you all agree, I’ll get that moving.”

The three friends all agreed, and they washed their mugs and left them on the big draining board. One last look at the control room, now noting the vision control desk, and they made sure the doors were shut before going back out into the fork-lift workshop, with Wilhelm turning off all the switches and relocking the door. He gave Willow the ring with the remaining keys so she could give one each to the others. They put the hi-vis back where they found it and got into the vehicle to go back to Stoneleigh. Wilhelm drove around the corner, pointing out the nearby supermarket and two fast food outlets, which he said did on-line orders and delivered.

Back at home, Willow and Ashley were dropped off with ‘see you tonight’s’ and went in. Wendy was interested in what they had seen, so Willow left her father to describe the place, going up to her room. She added the studio key to the ring with her house key and school locker key. She emailed Jill to deliver their equipment, and to contact Wilhelm to arrange the time and location. She knew that they had the six amps. These were in three sections, two big speaker boxes and the amplifier head that went in between. There were the two keyboards, but she was unsure of what else was in storage. She remembered that on the first stage, there were three amps with ‘Hikers’ on the back, and on the second stage there was another three ‘Hikers’ and six marked ‘Force’.

She went down for lunch and then spent the afternoon working through the parts of the Messiah that they would be rehearsing with Margaret and Sally next week. Later, that afternoon, she got ready and joined her parents to go to the club for dinner and set up for the sing-along. They were warmly welcomed. Malcolm asked if they would be available for the dinner dances for a few weeks. She told him that, as far as she knew, they didn’t have anything on until the half-year holiday at the end of October.

They were joined by Gina with Maisie, and Jacob with Rick and Racheal, his old Fender in its case. Brent and his mother were a few minutes behind. After the meal, the four went to set up the stage, pausing in the store for a cuddle and kiss. They set up two amps, the two Yamahas, the drum kit and the PA. Before they started playing, Willow gave Brent one of the keys, and Gina told him about the studio.

There was a full house, and they played quieter songs for a change, moving into the usual singing numbers. Most of the audience were locals tonight, along to see their local stars and happy that they were back and seemingly unchanged. They stored all the equipment again, pleased that they had done a good job after so many weeks.

Sunday morning, Gina played the church organ and Willow sat with her parents. They went to the club and the two friends sat to talk about the studio. Now they had it, they needed to get all the other equipment. After lunch, Willow collected the awards that she had amassed, and the family went to the hardware store to get a small stepladder, hanging hooks, thin chain and tacks. They drove to Leicester and went into the studio.

Willow switched on all the lights and showed her mother around, then Ashley opened his toolbox, and they ran string across one wall of the rest area, making sure it was level. Willow added the chain to the back of the awards while her father hammered in the nails holding the hanging hooks. When they finished, there was a neat row of awards. Before they left, Ashley had added a second row of hooks. Now it was beginning to feel like home.

Wendy had taken stock of what was in the cupboards and the fridges, and had walked to the supermarket, coming back with long-life milk, dry biscuits, chocolate bars, tea towels and sponges for the kitchenette, as well as a block of toilet paper, soap and towels for the two toilets, as well as a half a dozen cans of air freshener. They closed up and went back to the club for dinner, as Ashley was on duty that evening.

On Monday, lessons began to follow the normal route of new material. At lunch, Willow went around the others in the band, giving everyone a key and telling them that, if they go to have a look, to make sure that they turn on all the switches just inside the door, or else they may have to call Wilhelm to find out how to turn the noise off.

She gave a key to Xavier, telling him the same thing.

“If you do go, see about the microphones and stands, please. When you go in, the board is powered up if you’ve turned all the switches on, and the air-conditioning would have kicked in. There is a twenty-four-slide mixing desk and a secondary mixer, which looks like it can be fed to number twenty-four. There are also twelve camera mounts which tilt and swivel. I’m hoping that we’ll have our stage gear delivered this week, so we can set things out. Whatever you buy, send the invoice to Wilhelm to pay.”

“Is it worth the money?”

“It’s your wet dream, Xavier.”

He grinned.

“I’ll get Franks’ dad to take us there tonight.”

As she left him, she saw Petunia gesturing for her to come over, so she went and sat in a spare chair at their table.

“How are you girls, today? I gather it was your parents who visited us on Friday.”

“It was, Willow, and they were impressed with what we were doing. Mum said that she had seen ‘Wicked’ and wondered how we could present it here, but seeing the theatre and hearing what we were planning, she thought that it would be an interesting variation. Mister Bamborough opened up our rehearsal room and showed them the equipment we had to use, and Dad told me that we’d better be good or else we’re headed for the other school.”

“You’d better show him how good you really are. Did you sort out any new material over the weekend?”

“We sure did! We have told our driver to be an hour later tonight and also Wednesday and Thursday, so we can get in there and work on the songs. Tuesday and Friday are orchestra and the musical. We never thought that we would have the opportunity to have so much music as well as a good education. The normal lessons are so much more structured than what the posh school had offered.”

On the way home, that afternoon, Gina remarked that they seem to have added the group of first years to the circle of friends.

“No bad thing, Gina. It will keep us grounded if we mentor another group. They may end up playing dinner dances in the club during the year. Who knows, by next summer, they may be opening for us on stage. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this last year, is that nothing is impossible.”

On Tuesday, at lunch, Xavier came over with a big smile on his face.

“You weren’t wrong. Willow. That set-up is absolutely fantastic. We did everything as you said and took a camera that I had bought, with remote control. It fitted beautifully and we tested the screens and the control stick. I’ll get more during the week, and get the other stuff delivered to my home. Brent said that he’ll get his dad to pick it up and take the lot there on Saturday with his van. All we need then is something to record.”

“Hopefully, the stage gear will be there by then. I’ll get Sebastian to organise a coach to take all of us there. Only the three of us and you have seen inside, and I’m keen to walk everyone through.”

“It needs a name, with that on the wall separating the rest area from the control room. Any idea what you’re calling it?”

“Well, the syndicate name is Summer Love Properties, so ‘Summer Love Studio’ will be all right. It’s not as if we’ll be advertising it for general usage.”

Wednesday was another session for the Messiah. The Stoneleigh group had been brought to the school and Sally had come with Tom for the session. Willow waited until everyone was settled.

“All right. Today, we are going to work on the alto and soprano movements. In the first part, the alto has four, plus a duet with the soprano. The soprano has two others. If we can crack these, we’ll be really ahead of the game, so let’s buckle up and make these fly! The first item is an Air, which has the words ‘But who may abide the day of his coming’. Are you ready, Margaret? If the orchestra nails it first time, feel free to sing.”

The orchestra were now more confident with the way the music should be played, and Margaret sang with the first playing. They moved on to the next movement, which was with the choir, and had the words ‘And he shall purify the sons of Levi’.

This was followed by a Recitative with Margaret, one of the key ones of the first third. It had the words, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son’. Then came the first of the movements where the chorus worked with a soloist. It was for the alto, again, and was another key movement with the words, ‘O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion.’

Willow could see Mister Bamborough with a big smile as they worked. This was the orchestra that had played the Prom, the best school orchestra in the country. The more they had played Handel, the easier it became.

Willow asked if they could run through the four movements in a single go, so they went back to the first Air. When they ended, Margaret was sipping water and could hardly wipe the smile off her face, her friend Sandra, in the chorus, having the time of her life as well.

They had a short break and then it was the turn of the choir, with one of the most memorable items from the opus, with ‘Unto us, a child is born’. Then it was the turn of Sally as the soprano, with the movement about shepherds abiding in the field, a short chorus item singing the ‘Glory to God’.

Sally was up again with the next piece, an Air with the words, ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion’. They were on a roll, so Willow got them to carry on with another Recitative for Margaret – ‘Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened’, followed by the duet with Margaret and Sally with ‘He shall feed his flock’, followed by the final part of the first third, a chorus item with, ‘His yoke is easy.’

What had been evident was the work that everyone had put in prior to this session. The orchestra really had the style nicely, Margaret and Sally showed the work they had done with just the organ in the club. Willow stood, looked at Mister Bamborough, who just nodded.

“Thank you for that, everyone. This has been a great session. Next week, I want us to work through the complete first third of the concert, including the bass and tenor movements. If that works out, we’ll move on to the next third, which ends with the blockbuster movement of the Hallelujah Chorus. Those who may not know, this is traditional for the audience to stand, as if they’re in church, which guarantees a standing ovation. We can do what we’ve done today, by working each movement in order. See you all next week.”

The orchestra and other filed out with big smiles. Mister Bamborough stood next to Willow as the others left.

“That, young lady, was a very professional session on your part. I think that you could be a good conductor, it you wanted to.”

“Thank you, sir. Now that they have reached this point with the interpretation, I’m starting to think that we may be able to have two sessions where we do the full opus, before we put it on for the school.”

Margaret and her friend were leaving to go to the coach, and Margaret asked Willow if they would see her tonight, to which told her they would. Mister Bamborough waited until they had gone.

“Are you working with those out of hours?”

“I’ve been working with the choir in Stoneleigh for over six months, sir. Tom came and started to help when I had reached the limit of my knowledge. We’ve been working on her parts of this for a couple of weeks, with either me or Gina on the keyboard.”

“That does explain a lot. I was sceptical about having Margaret making a mini comeback, but today has shown me what an asset she’ll be. Sally has a great voice as well.”

“If we work the full third, next week, can we get Xavier in to record it, please. If we do that with each third, he could put together a CD of the whole thing for sale on the night we perform it here. The Cathedral concert will be a BBC DVD later, but it would be awesome if we had something for the school website.”

That evening, there was an email from Wilhelm, saying that a load of stuff had been delivered and stacked in the studio for them to sort out. She answered with her thanks and told him that she was organising a coach to take all of the band there on Saturday. She composed an email, and sent it to all of the band, as well as the three techs, to see if they could all be available on Saturday to see the new studio, with her being picked up first at ten.

When that had been sent, she did a little research on the web, finding a couple of larger warehouse properties for sale, both in Birmingham. She emailed Mervyn with the details and asked him if he could have a quick look to see if either would be suitable for his expansion. She told him that all the band should be looking at the studio on Saturday. After that had been sent, she went and asked her mother if she could organise a box of notepads and another of pencils, so that the band could take notes.

“Are you having a meeting?”

“I hope so, Mum. I’m trying to get us all at the studio on Saturday.”

“Can I come?”

“Of course. I’m organising a coach to take us. There may be other parents who want to have a look.”

Later, she was at the club with the choir. Margaret was glowing, happy in being able to sing again, the one talent that her disability hadn’t been taken from her. They did a few more of her parts with just the organ. Tom and Sally hadn’t come, so the others in the choir sang a few of the songs that they had been learning, just happy to be out with friends.

Thursday morning, she asked Sebastian if he could organise a full-sized coach on Saturday morning, to pick her up at ten, then go through Coventry before heading for Leicester.

“Are we looking at the finished studio?”

“We sure are. I think that you’ll be impressed. I’ve been told that the tenant is looking for a bigger building to cover his expansion. If he goes, we can use the large shed for parking, which might be helpful.”

“I’m sure you have some ideas to retain some income if that happens.”

“There are some things being thought about.”

They picked up Gina and Jacob and arrived at the school, with the day being fairly normal. At lunch, all the band confirmed that they would be waiting on Saturday, all keen to see the studio, especially the four wind players, who had never seen the site.

After dinner, she sat and looked at a DVD of the Messiah, to gauge the timing. If they worked the first third, they would be able to start with the second third, which could get them ahead.

On Friday afternoon, Willow was put through a whole series of gym exercises to test her stamina. This was related to the harder games that she was expected to play in the next netball season. The three friends went to the rehearsal room with the first-year musical group. They had the band equipment set up, so they started working through the songs, all the singers having a turn, as well as the chorus, or Ozians. It was a good session, with Gina playing a keyboard and Jacob working with the set volunteers, drawing out simple designs that could hint at what the story intended to convey. The singers were keen to make it work, and their enthusiasm was contagious.

That evening, there was an email from Mervyn, to tell her that a site at Small Heath was perfect, but twice the size needed. She answered that it looked like the building could be split in half and another tenant accommodated. She said that, if he was around on Saturday, she wanted to have a meeting with all the band, to see if they were interested in buying a property that size.

On Saturday morning, Ashley was out in the shed working on his model car, while Wendy and Willow waited for the coach. They had a big bag with notepads and pencils, another bag with new hi-vis, as well as a folder of photos that Willow had downloaded from the internet. When the coach arrived, they boarded and set off to pick up the others.

Gina was with Maisie, Jacob had Rick, and the coach filled with band members and parents. The last pick up was Xavier, Frank, and Dave. Sebastian knew the way to the factory site and made good time. He went into the car park and pulled up close to the galvanised shed, keeping as far out of the way as he could. There were four band members who were surprised at where they were but trusted the others not to be playing games.

Willow handed out the hi-vis that she had brought, then went to the office to get some more, coming back with Mervyn.

They got on the coach.

“Can I have your attention, please. This is Mervyn, the manager of this site, and he wants to give those who haven’t been here before a quick safety lecture.”

Mervyn explained about what went on, and to stay to one side if there was a forklift near them.

“Please be careful. Willow will lead you in, and I’ll see you all later.”

Before Willow stepped out, she asked Max if he could stay outside until a van arrived with equipment for the studio, then come in to grab a few helpers to carry it in.

Mervyn stepped out and helped the older passengers down as they got out and followed Willow into the long shed. A few of the parents were really not sure of what they were here for. Willow stopped at the door of the studio and waited for them all to gather round.

“This is the way into the ‘Summer Love Studio’. The first room isn’t big, and there are rather a lot of you, but it does open out further on. Welcome to our home away from home.”

She unlocked the door, went in and flicked on all the switches before leading them through the short corridor.

Marianne Gregory © 2025