Meryl, Caleb, Tori and Michael have now returned from their Tribe Tour 2002 to Germany and the UK. This week we will take a look at a special report from a fan.
1ST FEBRUARY – MY DATE WITH THE TRIBE.
I am Laura, a 16 year old girl from Scotland, who has been lucky enough to have the best day of her life (so far!!)!!
As everyone knows the Tribe motto is KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE. Well, the dream came alive for me on the 1st of February!
Have you ever seen a movie in which the main characters are trying to do something important, but are faced with problems which seem certain to divert them from it? My sister Kara and I know exactly how that feels!!
That’s me, Laura, with the dark hair and my sister Kara is the blonde one.
On the eve of having lunch with the Tribe cast in London, things slowly began to go wrong!
Still up at 1.30 in the morning (packing and getting ready for the lunch, getting more excited by the second) all the lights suddenly went out!! Scotland had had bad weather (strong winds) that week, so we were having a power cut!!!! Oh no!!! Realising that our alarm clock would not go off due to it being electrical – we searched in the dark for a battery operated clock!! Phew!! We luckily found one!!
Beep, beep! Power back on!! 4.30 in the morning – time to get up and get ready!! Had to wake Kara up!! Dressed, had breakfast, checked to make sure that we had not forgotten anything important (like the train tickets!) and then we (me, Kara and our Mum and Dad) tiptoed out of the house like mice, trying not to disturb the rest of the family who were all still asleep!!!
Arrived in Glasgow Central train station at around 6 – said our goodbyes to Mum and Dad then made our way to our booked seats!! Made it!! The excitement was bursting inside us!!! The journey down was slow and relaxing – but a bit boring!! So, as a last resort to relieve the boredom, Kara and I played games such as I Spy – only problem was that we could only see trees, more trees and yes, you’ve guessed it, even more trees!!!
It was not until the train pulled into its final destination of Euston, London (8 minutes early – which is strange for British Transport!!), did I realise how big London was and how although we knew the street and rough area of where Planet Hollywood was, the getting there was going to be the problem!!
Took the underground train to Leicester Square – due to the fact that it was our first time in London, we thought, let’s go ask the ticket officer to direct us!!! which proved to be a great help!! Just go right, straight on, right, straight on, right and straight on again (which did not lead us back to the station – honest!) Found Planet Hollywood without too much trouble(!), luckily, as I would not have liked to have been lost in London (a scary thought!) !! Planet Hollywood is not a restaurant you can miss!!! Flashing lights and a very big building!!!!!
In the restaurant, I walked over to the person dealing with the customers and told her that we were there for the Tribe lunch!! It sounded so good saying that!!
Getting to grips with the chicken wings!
Slowly walking over to the table, I looked at the people sitting there!! Recognising Meryl for her unique smile, Michael for his chatting and friendly manner towards everyone, Caleb for sitting quietly and listening to the conversations and, obviously, Tori for her amazingly bright pink hair!!! Although knowing their names and everything about their characters – I felt over-whelmed!!!
Even though quaking in my boots (shoes actually), I thought, Laura now is the time to be confident!!
Luckily for me, I was greeted by a warm and friendly smile from no other that the one and only Saranne James (Fan Club Co-ordinator) who we all know and love!! I was then introduced to Hannah Butler (the person who helped organise it for me and gave me all the details)!! She is a lovely person who makes you feel so welcome!!!
Taking off my coat and sitting down, Michael reached forward and shook my hand (actually formally introducing himself)!! As if I did not know who he was!! However, it made me at ease, and so all the rest of the cast introduced themselves and I introduced myself and my sister Kara (my chaperone)!!
We all sat and chatted about all types of things – family, acting, movies, music etc, laughed and danced and sang along to the background music that was playing in the restaurant!!! We also decided to have a tour around the restaurant to see all the props from movies which was extremely good fun (and I would recommend it to anyone who ever dines there!!)
We ordered the food which was enough to feed a small army (well, there were quite a few of us there!!) We munched and then chatted again! Signing autographs took place not long after – with cameras clicking here and there!!
It was lovely to see how they all acted like one big family – sharing their food and remembering old times!! I felt as if I had met them before, as if they were old friends!!
Unfortunately, it was nearly time to leave. Final photographs were taken, wishes of luck and thanks were exchanged, hugs were given!! A whole lifetime would not have been long enough!!
One big happy family!
We all left the restaurant and made our own way homewards!! When Kara and I arrived at Euston Station, due to landslides and bad weather, trains to Scotland were being delayed and cancelled!!!
Fortunately, we were advised to catch a train to Preston Station in England and get a bus the rest of the way to Glasgow. We arrived at Preston but we were then told that the bus was cancelled and we had to wait an hour or so for a train to take us home! We arrived in Glasgow at midnight to hugs from our 4-year-old sisters who had really missed us !! Cute, huh?!!
At around 12.30 in the morning, we arrived at the house!! Extremely tired and ready for bed (due to the lack of sleep!) we flopped down in the sofa – and then chatted for about 3 hours!!
Went to bed and fell straight asleep!! Still feeling as high as a kite, of course!!!!!
Woke up the next morning and sent thank you e-mails to everyone!! Then at 12 noon, the television was switched on to Channel 5. The Tribe was on!!! It felt so strange and surreal watching the programme – I had just had lunch with some of them not even 24 hours before!!!!!!
So thank you to Mr Raymond Thompson, Saranne James, Hannah Butler, Michael, Tori, Meryl, Caleb and my mum and dad and my sister Kara for making my dream come true!! I had a fabulous day!! We both did!!
The Cloud 9 staff who I had the pleasure of meeting are such lovely people.
Meryl and Tori are like a girl’s best friend, Michael is lovelier and chattier than the already amazing Jack, and Caleb is just so friendly and sarcastic!!
And, I know from the Bulletin Board that a lot of fans were and still are upset at not being able to meet them but it just proves that if you are willing to keep the dream alive, then in future years, your dreams will come true!! I know !!!
LAURA xx
Check in next week for some more exclusive Tour gossip.
CALEB’S COLD…
Don’t forget to enter the competition!
YOU could be wearing Caleb’s Tour Jacket!
Yes, the very jacket that he wore all around Germany and the UK!