13th June, 2002
Well, I finally got to see Brian Wilson in
concert. We spent the weekend in London. It all started last
Saturday morning.
Our flight was with Aer Lingus and it was due to leave Cork at 12.05pm,
but when we boarded and were seated the captain announced that a
flashing light was indicating that there was a slight problem
with one of the engines, and that an engineer was about to check
it out. Half a hour later a few passengers got a little bit angry
and agitated - things such as missing connecting flights in
Heathrow, appointments were mentioned - but the hostess explained
that the passengers safety was paramount, and that the plane
could not take off until everything was checked and passed.
Finally, at 1.30pm the plane took off, and an hour later we were
in Heathrow. We took the train into London, and a tube to
Waterloo brought us to our accommodation, the Travel Inn,
Belvedere Road, London. The hotel has a sign hanging in the foyer
which states that if the patron is not 100% satisfied then they
will give a complete refund. It was 100% perfect. The cost was £74.95
per room, per night. Breakfast was £6.95, and it was self
service - all one could eat, or a continental breakfast for £3.95,
rashers, sausages, scrambled eggs, fired eggs, tomatoes,
mushrooms, hash-browns, all the toast you wanted, cereal, orange
juice - great value! The rooms were spotless (about 600 rooms!),
the bar staff were very friendly - one pint of Heineken and tonic
water cost £3.30 (that’s Sterling). Some shops were
accepting Euro’s - 60p to a Euro.
In the bar we got talking to a Cockney couple, and of course the
talk was about the World Cup. The man was on a high because
England had beaten Argentina, the hand-of-God (Maradona) episode
had been avenged. His partner told us that she had never been to
Ireland, even though her grandfather, Cornelius O’Driscoll,
had come from Cork!! There must be a huge potential tourist
market out there for people with Irish blood in their veins,
especially in England. A taxi driver told us that American
tourists are down by 60%.
I made contact with a friend of mine who runs a social club in
Romford, Essex, and we spent Saturday night out on the town with
Tom and Mary Flynne. We went for a meal in an Italian restaurant
called the Topo Gigio, where the man at reception, Vivio, asked
me what part of Ireland we were from. We told him and he took a
crumpled business card from his wallet, it read Gerard Wallace,
Jeweller, North Main Street, Cork. So, Gerard Wallace, if you
read or hear about this, Livio sends you his best wishes.
After the meal Tom took us for a drive around London and
eventually brought us back about 40 years when he took us to the
Galtymore Irish dance hall in Cricklewood. I must admit, I loved
it, it was like the ‘Arc’ was a long time ago. Brendan
Shine was the attraction on the night. Tom told me that a few
years ago one could not get in when one arrived at the hour that
we did (about 11pm), but time takes its toll, and the men of the
fifties who built the roads, railways and bridges were dying out,
and the area known as ‘little Ireland’ was now part of
a different social ethnic culture. A lot of the patrons were in
their late 50’s and early 60’s, an era coming to an end.
As I said, a history lesson I really enjoyed. Tom told me he knew
a friend who was showing the Tyson/Lewis fight, but Italian wine,
and Brendan Shine, made me decline, so they dropped us back to
the hotel and we bade them farewell.
We spent Sunday afternoon checking out the sights - the House of
Commons, Trafalgar Square, bought some presents, and then the
rain came so we went back to the hotel and had lunch. The concert
was being staged in the Royal Festival Hall, about 300 yards from
the hotel - a huge concert hall with bars, on different floors, a
music store, merchandise stands, etc... The concert began on time
at 7.30pm and Brian Wilson appeared on stage with a ten piece
band to a raptourous applause.
The show came in three parts - one was a mixture of some old
Beach Boys numbers, mixed with some songs from his solo albums,
then a break. In part two he did the whole ‘Pet Sounds’
album, and finally part three they finished off with the classic
Beach Boys hits, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”,
“Surfin’ USA”, “Surfer Girl”, “I
Get Around”, and “Barbara Ann”, etc... Twice
during the concert Brian stopped and told the band, “Stop,
stop, you got it wrong, start again!” A round of applause
from the audience showed their appreciation of a perfectionist -
no miming or backing tracks from Brian Wilson!
At the end of the concert I asked my wife what she thought of
Brian Wilson. Her reply was, “He reminds me of the artist
Salvador Dali, complex, unique and original. I told her that he
was known as the Mozart of pop music, a brilliant band, excellent
sound, and a night never to be forgotten.
We didn’t fancy dragging cases and bags through tube
stations on our way to Heathrow, so we asked the hotel
receptionist what was the cost of a taxi to the airport. She told
us to get a cab, as they were a lot cheaper than the black taxi’s.
She booked a cab for us, collection time 9.00am, Monday morning.
8.59am next morning he arrived at reception. On the way to the
airport he told us his name was Sean O’Farrell, his father
was from Limerick, and his mother from Glasgow - the perfect
Celtic match. He then he sang the complete Irish song, “Shake
hands with your uncle Mike, me boy” as we drove to the
airport. He told us the story of his life on the way to the
airport and that he hadn’t been back to Limerick since he
was 13 years old (he was 63!). A lovely man who made the journey
to Heathrow a pleasure.
The flight was again delayed by approximately one and a half
hours. I’m sure it was the same plane, but we made it back
to Cork for 2.30pm.
Verdict: London is a great place, different in every sense, but
one would need a week, and a guide, to really get to see as much
as possible. In the words of general McArthur, “I will
return”.
Bye for now,
Michael O’Hanlon.
A reader told us that a child was recently bitten by a dog in the
Douglas area. Please see page 6 regarding the law on dangerous
dogs.
