Dear David

On 27th November 2000, this came by email, entitled Reunion, Fishof? We read some things and don't believe them, so even when we are told about something like this, we still think it may not happen! I even did my tarot cards and it was plain as day that it would all take place!

Two days after Christmas I went to see Lynne in Bristol, making it one of the best Christmases I'd had for a long time. As Monkee friends, we find it difficult to get together at special times of the Year because of family commitments. So the occasional weekend we manage to get together make it Special for us. Even then,we wern't sure if a tour would really go ahead. I knew something "big" Monkeewise would be happening in the not too distant future, but I don't always trust my feelings!

If it really happened,should we go to America, can we really do that? While in Bristol we checked out the travel agents. It wasn't looking good. It was much too expencive, even for New York which distance wise would be the cheapest option for us.

Weeks went by and it all started happening,as if we were really meant to have this adventure. It started slowly at first ,but it built up to a frenzy. As soon as we saw the official tour dates that was it, all systems go! I knew I had to be there. It was one of those compulsion things. But not just that. Fishof may not have brought the tour to the UK. This may have been another of those only chance events. But New York was one of my childhood "wish" places to go to anyway. I was going! To think,flying (which I adore)New York and a Monkee concert! Wasn't this a died and gone to heaven senario??

We still consulted the internet and decided that Westbury Music fair was probably the best venue for us. I just happened to go into Astubury Travel Agents in Callington,just for flight prices really, as I thought me and Lynne could maybe get guest house accommodation to keep the costs down. The hotels we were quoted for by the travel agents in Bristol for New York were very expensive. For us though, the Monkee Magic had begun working,as Coleen at Astbury Travel came up with a very reasonable package. From then on,it was all so easy.which all goes to show that if you really want something, it is attainable! All this,from hearing Im a Believer on the radio back in 1967. To some people, asking Sue Waller to come with us certainly looked as if we wanted her to come because we knew we there may be a chance of us getting closer to you. Since returning from this trip, I am beginning to encounter some jealousy and resentment from different places. But it truly wasn't like that. I didn't even think she would agree to come to be perfectly honest. Susan in Manchester wrote to Sue frequently, like I do with Lynne, so it was inevitable that Sue would ask her to come as well. She declined at first, but then, like Sue, decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. Right now I was thinking that all this kind of thing only happens to other people, but it was really happening to us!

Lynne, Sue and Susan sent their cheques to me. It was all very scary paying all that money in, knowing that anything could go wrong. Could the concert be cancelled? What would it feel like to go to New York, without having a concert to go to? Because this is what we would have had to do, like it or not! You guys are really the best though, you don't cancel concerts like other bands have been known to. This is something to do with the respect you have for your fans, we are conscious of this and love you for it. But it was still scary,nonetheless. To go all that way and be disappointed would be heartbreaking.

The time to go came very quickly, this is because,I thought, we all lead pretty busy lives. On the downside it went too quickly. I couldn't believe I was going, when I got there I couldn't believe I was there, and when I got back I couldn't believe I went! That's so unfair! When I used to think about America in connection with the Monkees, I thought that maybe one day we may get to a convention, such as the one planned in Hollywood. Although I'd always dreamt about going to New York I never really connected it with the Monkees, except last year I imagined going to your booksigning. Sometimes things turn out not just different,they are better! This is a Monkee phenomenon, it does happen sometimes! Why?I don't know. We ought to ask Mr Schneider!

Meeting at Sue's in the Eastend of London made it more special for me, and so the adventure began. On Friday 9th March I took my bus from Liskeard. It felt like going into work at first, but no,not really! Tony was out on a job that day,so Wayne gave me a lift into town. I love the National Express uses,they are all so easy. I was meant to get to Victoria quite ahead of Lynne. I passed by Capallos coffee shop with fond memories of me and you, it just added to the exitement! I considered walking over there, but in the end I opted for staying at the bus station, one of my favourite buildings anyway! This was time for contemplation, and anyway,time was starting to become abit meaningless by now. So I got a coffee in the bus station and texted Sue to say I'd arrived and that we wouldn't be long now. As I was busy doing that Lynne turned up early, as she'd managed to get an earlier bus. "What are you doing here" turned out to be the saying of the whole trip, but Ill explain about that later. Lynne looked so good and happy, as Im sure I must have as well!

We dragged our bags across to the tube station and onto Eastham, with me getting stuck in the ticket barrier on the way through. This tube journey seemed to go very quickly aswell, I'd always thought it was a long one, but we were now operating on high speed! Outside the station we ordered a mini cab to get to Sues. Jan was already at Sues when we arrived, and also Sues son Peter. Jan and Peter would be seeing us off the next day at the airport and we planned to have breakfast at Heathrow before takeoff. This evening we ordered a takeaway pizza. It was delish! Id brought a bottle of wine with me, and so did someone else. We needed a drink! Me and Lynne tried to sleep on the futon, I was far too exited, even to have a Monkee fantasy! In the morning we caught a bus (so what is it with me and buses to Monkee concerts?) to the tube station. This train went all the way to Heathrow. During this unforgettable journey, Lynne, who is a constant worrier, asked Sue if she had contacted the Sue in the States who was maybe arranging accommodation for us near Westbury for the night of the concert. We thought maybe this would take the form of a motel room or something I wasn't worried and was taking everything as it came, which is more of my nature to do. But what Sue said next came right out of the blue. She was having this surprise for when we were on the plane, but since Lynne asked….we were going to stay in your
hotel,we were booked in with the Monkee tour!! I couldn't get the smile off my face. Happiness like this is so precious. Oh to bottle that moment for ever!

We checked into Air India and then we all went and had breakfast as planned,not that we felt like eating much. Right then,we felt like the luckiest people alive and I still do! We seemed to get so much more than other fans, without really trying. Maybe fate was having a part to play in all this. Jan took our photo before we said our goodbyes and we went to the departure lounge where we had to wait a while before our flight was called. It is always very hot in Heathrow, so it was a good job I only had light clothing on. Finally our flight came up on the monitor and we made our way to the designated departure gate. We sat for a short time in another lounge and were called to board by seat numbers. Sue had gone to the toilet, so we waited for her for a while, then followed the rest, thinking she would show any second. We boarded a bus to the aircraft and when I saw the plane, I thought how beautiful it was with its minaret designs round the windows. Im glad Lynne took a photo at this point. It was about three quarters full of Indian people, some of them very beautiful, the rich kind we don't see very often, even on the tv. We only see the poverty. This was elegance and style.Sue finally caught up with us as we were getting seated. The flight took about six hours. Me, Lynne and Sue sat in the middle seats while Susan sat opposite. I had a curry as I like them anyway, and while in Rome as they say. But Barb you're not in Rome, you're on an Indian plane, somewhere mid atlantic, on the way to New York! Wow! Me and Lynne wished we'd had our walkmans now because I saw some guy with one so it must have been ok. Apparently you can use them after takeoff and before landing. When were flying over the land we
looked out the window and could see piles of snow everywhere, this was America!

At JFK airport we took ages finding Sues bag because there were so many the same and someone had dumped it on the ground so it wasn't going round like the rest of the luggage. It still didn't feel like we were in America. Maybe we'd seen so much of it on the tv. We got a bus outside the airport to take us to our hotel, the Milford Plaza. This was a huge hotel like they all are, with lots of small bedrooms. Our room was ok. We got freshened up and went out for a meal in Times sqaure. We weren't hungry though and only hate half of it. Food was also becoming meaningless. Tomorrow was going to be our big day and we knew it! We checked out a few shops and Susan bought the Music Box set in a shop that Maria told us about. They had lots of Monkee memorabilia there, but vastly over priced. It was a good idea for her to buy the box set as she could possibly get it signed the next day, but it was also over priced and it was the only copy they had anyway.

The next morning(11.3.01) we had breakfast in the café in the hotel. I had eggs, bacon and toast and coffee. Not really thinking I could eat anything on a day like this, but we had to have something to keep us going. We packed smaller bags with the things we thought we would need and walked to Penn St. train station which was a few blocks away. We had to catch a train to Hicksville on the Long Island railroad. From there we got a taxi to our/your hotel which was a few miles out of town in the middle of nowhere! The Marriot. It was beautiful, like walking into a conservatory. Our room, also beautiful was on the 4th floor and we could see the car park outside our window. I was struck by how yellow the grass was at this time of year. Didn't it ever go green like in England? After tidying ourselves up we decided to stake out the lobby. We sat drinking coffee, bought from the restaurant, when Lynne said "there's Davy"! My heart did what I thought it would! I didn't see you, but you had come down the glass lift and had gone into the restaurant with Dave Alexander and some other guy who was probably a driver. Unable just to be able to sit there I asked Lynne if we could go and get more coffee, just so I could look at you. And boy did we look! I think Dave A is used to this sort of thing and has developed antennae, because he did spot us and know what we were up to. But we were cool and so was he. Having got the coffee and taken Sue and Susan back to them, we all decided to reposition ourselves a little closer to the exit of the restaurant eventually you came out on your own. I just looked and looked, time stood still, an unbelievable moment in time. My eyes took in every single inch of you, trying to keep this on record for all time. You nearly stopped and were kind of thinking about it, when Sue called over in a sort of reflex action, just to make sure you did stop! So you stood talking to us for a while and promised to get us back stage passes. Then you went up the lift,flapping your arms like a bird,knowing you had an audience. We loved it, another memory to last for ever! An exclusive one at that!

So now we had to get ready for the concert. Me and Lynne washed our hair and blow dried it. I needed to do this to feel just right. We did feel good! Sue ordered a taxi from reception. It was yellow,and also a people carrier, driven by a guy who looked like John F Kennedy, talked like him aswell! We got to the Westbury Music Fair a bit early,but it didn't matter.We were there!So we had time to pick the tickets up with no hassle and take some photos of the outside. It was very cold. This was America cold, not England! There were still piles of snow everywhere, they must have had quite abit a week or so ago. We were lucky it didn't affect our travel plans. I had left my big coat in NY city, but it didn't matter, this was Monkee Concert!!

There was a notice in the foyer saying that photography and videoing was not allowed. This was a bit disappointing we thought but never mind. As it turned out, no one took any notice of this and someone took the best photos of the whole trip, very professional and better than what I took anyway. In the next part of the foyer, the inside bit we bought our goodies. I bought two t-shirts, one black, one white, two photos, a mousemat and a cuddley Monkee. We also grabbed a hot dog and a coffee, sort of realising we hadn't eaten much in the last 24 hours! I thought the inside of the arena looked really good, and a bit smaller than I thought. Thirteen rows back was no big deal and it was a good job Sue sat in the aisle seat as she's got a zoom camera and she took some good photos.

You all came out right away, after a small intro of Monkee music. To see you all there was pure magic. You looked beautiful with your hair longer. Micky looked fantastic, and Peter looked radiant in his red coat. You all looked happy to be together as you all know you ought to be. You know that, but it wasn't always meant to be. The format of the concert was the work of a genius and had been carefully thought out. Apparently every concert was different in some ways. The boy band Natural didn't come out until the middle bit, so we didn't have to sit through them at the beginning. But as it turned out, it wasn't like that anyway. They were good, and we enjoyed them, especially their interaction with yourselves. Now,looking back,it is so hard to recollect the concert in my mind. There always has to be one song which stands out dosnt there? Just one, that when you hear it months later, it brings all the feelings and memories back. For me it was Can you Dig It? I don't know why, it just was. Maybe I thought, oh, wow, so much Head stuff. I try to imagine you singing Girl now. I know where the stage was pointing and where you were at the time of the song, but it all becomes a hazy recollection. The same with Shades of Gray, but then you were all pointing in the other direction!

This was one concert I didn't mind leaving my seat at the end. In Cardiff I didn't want to get up because I thought,if I do, that's it,all finished, nothing else! But with this one, I knew we had something to look forward to because we had the back stage pass. They herded us around abit, and we didn't know what to expect, we didn't actually go back stage either and to be honest it was abit of a disapointment at the time, when just Peter came out to meet and greet. Sorry Peter! But then, looking back it was the probably the best thing that could have happened. Peter said "Hi" to me and asked what I was doing there. So did he remember me from London? At the time I thought he was getting me mixed up with Sue. I don't know why I did, but I went for it and asked for a kiss (a rehersal maybe for later?) and got it!! Anyway he signed a couple of things and I was just going to have my photo taken, with Lynne pointing the camera when he suddenly, without warning dashed off, calling out an appology as he went. I even thought at the time that Id joined the exclusive "snubbed by Peter Tork"club! I was ok about this, I didn't know why at the time, but then its only been recently that I've figured that one out. It was a genuine "one to one" situation. He had said something to me, he had interacted with me ,before I'd said anything to him. A subtle thing, but consequently quite huge!

Outside it was freezing! And I only had that thin jacket on! We walked round to the foyer to ring for a taxi, but it was locked, so we went back to the exit where the tour buses were still loading and Dave Alexander went to find us a phone, but he didn't come back. There were quite a lot of fans outside, if they knew where we were heading, boy would they have been jealous! Then after what seemed like a long time, a taxi came by, looking for the people who had booked it. So as the driver couldn't find them, he took us back to the hotel. This was another little bit of Monkee magic. A taxi for us, out of nowhere! We sat in the taxi and travelled back to the hotel in stunned silence. Once back, Sue moved like a whippet, out of the taxi,straight into the bar, no time for lipstick, breath fresheners, nothing. I was in shock by this time and needed a drink! Micky was at the bar with Donna his girlfriend. This time it was me who noticed a Monkee. Lynne was surprisingly cool about this. I knew she had to handle this all on her own, I could be there, but I didn't want to intervene. I would have found it difficult to handle the "girlfriend" thing. Lynne and Susan gave Micky a birthday card from all of us. I stayed out of the way because I know you guys were really "off duty" and I cant bear to hassle you. There are times like this when I hate being a fan. Micky said he would come and speak to us after anyway. Time was meaningless and I've no idea how long things went on for. I stood by the bar with Lynne who was sitting and kept asking me to sit down ,but I couldn't do that because if Id sat on a bar stool I wouldn't have been able to look at you! You were then sat at a table with the tour people and I couldn't stare, but I wanted to look and look! At one point you got up and had a word and a smile with Micky, it was an exclusive, rare, moment. Dave Alexander came over at one point and I talked to him about the concert and about him doing his Meatloaf impersonation. I got his autograph along with Aviva who plays in David's band, mostly the saxophone. When Micky did come over I did manage to sat a few words to him about how good the concert was, particularly the sound quality. I think he appreciated my commenting on it. I hope you all remember us and that we left an impression.

Then you were there in front of me, I opened my mouth to speak and before I knew it I'd asked for a kiss!! You didn't even hesitate, you kissed me on the lips. Like when you're drowning and your life passes in front of you, I thought of all those years and about the very beginning of all this. You must have been so used to this. How many hundreds of fans have you kissed? Like a part of the job, I know. But for me and the all those other lucky fans, it meant an exquisite moment, a memory to last a lifetime. I thought I could probably die happy at that point. Of course I want more now, its never enough, not ever! Someone said something about how far we had come and I said "what's mileage"? Meaning,I love you David, it didn't matter how far we travelled for this experience. You muttered something that was agreeing with me, as you travel a lot to keep in touch with your daughter's in England. Susan gave Dave her camera and he took a photo of David with the four of us,it came out real good, we were lucky.

Shortly after this, you left to go to bed, but before you left you gave us all a kiss!! Because we had very little to eat all day, I was feeling I'd drank too much wine. Well Susan kept buying them. Under normal circumstances I would stop and have orange juice or something, but these were way beyond normal circumstances. So I had to go to bed as well. Sue, Susan and Lynne stayed to talk to some American fans. They probably thought I was some stuck up lady,but I didn't care and as it turned out, they were rude to Lynne anyway. Its such a shame we didn't meet any nice American fans on the whole trip. Next morning I was feeling rough, but we all went down to breakfast. I didn't eat or drink a thing. Maybe I would have felt better if I'd forced something down, but at the time it didn't seem like a good idea! So I had to go back to bed for a while, while the others staked out the lobby again. While I was gone, you came and chatted to Sue, Susan and Lynne and I missed you. I don't feel devastated about this, looking back. At least I missed that "fan thing" about hanging around lobbys, trying not to appear too obviousJ Peter also came past and checked out, he waved before he left. Lynne said if Peter had come over and chatted for a little while, it would have made up for the night before when he zoomed off!

I joined the girls and they said they were sorry Id missed you. We thought you would be down again on the way to check out, but you didn't come back and we had no alternative but to go and pack and check ourselves out. So we ordered a taxi to take us to the station. While waiting I realised it was now March 12th.Happy Anniversary for Cardiff Lynne! Back in New York we became tourists again for a short while, and did more shopping. I bought Jory two baseball hats and a bean bear and I got Jamie some CDs. The Virgin megastore is the biggest in the world and looked it! I bought the Monkees Music Box in HMV. We also found the Barnes & Noble book store where Nez had had his book signing last year and Sue bought Jan a bag.

Just as dusk fell we went up the Empire State building because it was quite close by and we watched the lights come on all over New York. I did see the Statue of Liberty at a distance, but I wished we had gone up closer. And I also regret not going to Central Park, but we weren't really tourists and I was just happy to have been there and to have had what we had!! We had an evening meal in the same restaurant as we did the first night. I can't say I enjoyed the food in New York. When we had a light lunch earlier on I had a tuna sandwich. I thought it tasted really strong and there was too much of it.
We were able to leave our luggage in the hotel the next morning after checking out. We went out and shopped some more before picking up the bags and dragging them across to Grand Central Station and our bus stop to the airport.

In the departure lounge we found a beautiful American Indian gift shop. Sue bought Jan a turquoise necklace. And me and Lynne bought a silver and turquoise ring. Very Neftoon Zamora. Just a small Mike connection there I guess. On the flight home me and Lynne asked if we could use our Walkmans and were happily told we could. We were tired by this time and we did doze off now and again. We didn't watch the movie or anything. Flying back home from New York always means losing a night's sleep. I had another curry,hotter this one! Back at Heathrow me and Lynne said goodbye to Sue and Susan and we went off to find Lynne's bus. She departed quite soon after. I was all on my own then. This felt like the lowest point, and I was wondering what I would feel like, now I knew. I went to get a coffee and croissants and they cheered me up abit. I then went and looked for my bus station. It was quite a walk but I had a couple of hours to kill before my bus came. Outside it was freezing cold and I should have got my big coat out of my suitcase, but I guess I was too tired to do anything, so I just had my denim jacket. I sat in the waiting room reading my Music Box book, feeling really tired and cold. I must have slept on the bus home because on the last jerk awake I felt ok. Of course it was very depressing coming home as I expected ,but that's life, it just leaves you wanting more! So watch this space………