Ruth

Ah! I didn't know you on MFC. You're more than welcome

Part 3 He (Bob) also had a beer from the fridge but I was fine drinking bottles of water. Some friends of Mika’s arrived and we’d all had our time so we left and went to stand with the people waiting to see him at the stage door. It was cold; possibly -3 degrees according to the security lady. We waited around and watched the crew load the truck. Rob spotted a polka dot on the ground and picked it up for me Eventually Mika emerged, very amused by the fans who were singing, ‘We are frozen, we are frozen!’ He was lovely and friendly as he worked his way along the line. He talked about the hearts and said how much he appreciated the effort that had gone in to them. He seemed to be taking requests for what he would sing at the next concerts. And then he was gone. It was a totally brilliant experience, a wonderful evening and I’m terribly grateful to Mika for letting us share it like that. Bob is completely won over by such a ‘nice young man’ and could appreciate the fun and the music of the night.

Part 2 At 8pm we went back through to the stage door and flashed our sticky label passes to get in. Backstage was tiny and they had moved some of the boxes out of ‘our’ little area but we were told to sit in the dining area - we’d seen Mika eat the smallest plate of food st the table and leave. I then sat next to Mrs P and Bob was next to Yasmine as they ate. We learnt new German words from the other choir members. Tim, Mika and Mrs P told us to move together for the best effect but the choir leader - if we had one - was at the back! The show started at 9, we watched when we weren’t on stage from the back. I thought it sounded ropey, but that’s normal apparently. We were on for first for ‘Popular’ and Bob managed to fall off the stage! He stepped to the side into thin air between the stage and a speaker. No-one noticed so he had to haul himself back up. Looking at photos and videos, it wasn’t seen at all. I pulled my hair down for the first spot on stage but I was so sweaty I tied it up again! Mika was dripping wet and mentioned it; we were the same. The hearts in the crowd were unbelievably effective to see from the stage; it’s no wonder Mika talked about them. We went on and off stage lots of times, nearly missing one because he didn’t do Elle Me Dit. But we sang the words to Toy Boy at the tops of our voices backstage. At one point Mika do the ‘more quietly’ sign to us but he actually wanted us to bounce down - the only time Bob appears on a photo! He neglected to tell us to get up for our next singing but, do you know? I think it’s possible that they weren’t letting much of our singing through the speakers. . . I do know that suddenly it was all over, we’d done our encores, Mika had been carried off the piano and we’d taken a bow. Then he ran past us giving a high five along the line and that was it! I couldn’t believe it had finished. We followed him off stage and took our gowns off for the last time. Mika got himself freshened up and changed and came out to the dining area where we were. I asked if we could take photos because our instructions had forbidden it, but he was fine and he posed with everyone and signed things. I usually give him a gold star but this time I’d made - crocheted - a poppy for Remembrance Day for him and one for his mother. I had changed back into my turquoise top and was wearing my Mika rosette from the very first time I saw him. Because the band are new, I was showing off my long-standing fangurliness at least to myself, but he noticed and said he’d have to have more made. My husband thanked him ‘for making my wife a very happy woman.’

Apologies! It's been over a week, sorry. Here though, finally, my blog: Part 1 Tuesday 6th November 2012 at Theaterfabrik Munich I started writing this and trying to get all my memories and impressions in order but it’s all a bit blurry so apologies to anyone who was there and remembers better who said what and when . . . Firstly, the original plan was to go with my daughter-in-law, who lives near Munich and to treat her to the delights of a Mika concert as a birthday gift. Unfortunately, she had to return to the UK so my husband very gallantly stepped up to the mark. He obviously set his head to a very positive attitude and was keen to support me. Secondly, the audition; my husband used to sing in a local band and has begun to do solo open-mike nights, so when I told him about the auditions for the Polka Dot choir, he was up for it. You can see his video on YouTube. I realised that he was likely to get on and I would be on my own in the audience, so I waited till no-one was in and did a video which I sent to team Mika with an unlisted link - so you won’t be able to see my singing. It’s not that I can’t, I’m just fearfully lacking in confidence, singing on my own. So it was both a shock and a delight to get the e-mail on Sunday afternoon with instructions and a list of 7 songs to practise. I put them on our iPods and we did our homework on the plane over to Munich on Monday and on the train into the city on Tuesday morning. When we arrived at the venue, (and I have to credit Google maps for my local knowledge) we met melody, Statue of Liberty & tiibet who were very cold and organising the, as yet, non-existent queue and the heart kits. As we didn’t need to queue we went for a meal and a drink, returning in time for the rehearsal call at 4pm. We went in, met Tim and rehearsed. Tim is an excellent musician and he sorted the 10 of us into 3 groups to harmonise. He said we were very good. He also called both me and Bob by our first names which always makes me feel special. Joy and Max also sang with us but they said that Mika wouldn’t be at the sound check. We were led up onto a very small stage and told where to stand - not in our harmonising groups! I was on the front row and would have been nearest the centre stage but I swapped because I was taller than Tina. We went backstage, which was also a small space. There was a sitting area for the band although I’m not sure they’d all have fitted in at the same time. Our changing area was down a couple of steps and was so full that we stood shoulder to shoulder and filled it! Outside that was a room set up for the crew and the band to eat with a kitchen area and trestle tables. Even so, when Yasmine started trying to open the costume boxes and Mrs P was trying to hand out our Polka Dot gowns, it was obvious we couldn’t manage in that part of the room so we spilled into the dining area. I was interested to see if the gowns were hand-made but they weren’t; they were from New York. Mrs P had stuck the polka dots on and was very anxious that they shouldn’t fall off if she put them through the wash. Each one had a size by height label and I was given one that drowned me until it was changed to a better one. Suddenly Mika appeared. I told him that Tim said we were good and he got us to stand around the trestle tables and warm up. That involved bouncing down and jumping up. My husband can’t bend his knee at the moment as he’s had an operation so he was told to stand and look stern. He shared some signals about singing more loudly, more quietly, coming in on time and something else. . . We then moved into ‘his’ room which was set out with a coffee table laden with fruit. He did some singing and rehearsing with us which was magical. He also hurt his throat trying to reach high notes. I heard him talking to Max about ‘Toy Boy’ but didn’t know they’d swapped it for ‘Elle Me Dit’ on the set list. He also let us into the fact that we’d be singing not 7 but 9 songs! A set list was put up showing CH for our parts. They have been changing the playing order and including different songs at different gigs which is lovely for the fans who travel to a lot of them. He said having the choir stopped him from being bored. We went back to the front of the stage and hung around afterwards - with Bob practising ‘Popular’ and ‘Lollipop’ which hadn’t been on the list, as it was preferable to waiting outside and I don’t think anyone was hungry because of the excitement. The venue opened its doors early because of the cold and let the audience into areas just outside the main room. When the people started coming in the heart kits were given out. Lots of people made them straight away. They looked great. I gave my tickets away as they weren’t needed by the choir.

We have to be there at 4pm prompt, so I'm sure we can help with the hearts as long as we've got them beforehand. I'm sorry - and surprised - you're not in mellody (and freestyle)

I have 2 tickets for Munich too. PM me if you can use them.

I've just found out that I'm in the choir. (And my other half) It means I've not one, but two, spare tickets going begging. Can anyone get friends to go along?

Bless the BBC for moving north. London is not the only place in the UK. And bless Mika for driving up here.

Well, my plans have just been changed a bit! My son and d-i-l will be in the UK on the 6th so they're going to leave the tickets on their table in Germany for me to pick up. And now I'm going with Mr. He's being very good about it - and he wants to audition for the polka dot choir - but it's going to be a very different experience and there will be no queuing in the cold beforehand, that is certain.

You are v good

Not the news that I was looked at strangely

Are any of you doing the singing test?

A bit of 'Celebrate' was in the background on Strictly Come Dancing (Also, I stood under a speaker in Intermarché in Nice to listen to Elle Me Dit. People looked at me strangely!)

lol!

Indeed - and mine was a reel to reel tape recorder! Was yours? I bought TBWKTM from amazon at a normal price and mine was autographed. I never understood that but I was happy enough.

It's my birthday on Friday so I've posted a hint link to my daughter for the UK deluxe and then I'll have to see about getting the French songs when I'm in Nice next month. If I'm in France, will French iTunes download for me?? I certainly couldn't download Elle Me Dit from the UK.

I think the release dates being so far off (esp for the UK) are so that we can have fun working out the tracks and the countries. When 'Elle Me Dit' was released in France, I couldn't buy it from here so I hope people manage to find links to sites which will trade. (I'm actually quite happy with downloads, I don't need more actual clutter)

I noticed. It's harder for me now he's better at French. I remember when he used 'salle' for room (which is what we are taught,) but he was corrected to 'pièce' which he uses now. You are very good at translating

I listened in French and got the gist but it's so much better with this up on my screen too. Thankyou so much. (I didn't know 'un best of' was the French for a compilation. Or did he just not find the right word?)

He sang La Solitude when I saw him in Nice (Palais Nikaia 1-5-2010) with the accordionist from the support band. Lovely. We told him afterwards how much we liked it. And a million smiles for the chance to watch this again : (it's me he's talking to at the start and I join in - saying 'perfect' - about La Solitude later)

Payday coming up . . .

You may have noticed that for a couple of months all your favourite sites and new ones ask permission (once) about cookies. It's a new law: they have to ask (and you have to give it or else you can't use the site!) It's like 'accept' for software.

Lovely I want one.

I love the photo and the gold paint - Mika - crown. I like the lettering on the back but not on the front because it looks so 'secondary school pupil' and at odds with the rest. I'm not happy about different release dates and different versions - I was never able to buy Elle Me Dit and don't want to struggle to get all and any tracks from different countries. I love the research MFCers have done about the tracks and other people associated with the album. I'm puzzled by 'Emily.' I thought there already was an English version of Elle me dit ? ?

I remember this. October it is then. At least he's shared lots with us already.