PV Crew Chrimbo Cracker... at Port Vale FC! (part 2)

So we are all sat around table 4. Vino and other drinks are flowing. Getting stuck into the grub, we find that its as tasty and yummy as before. I drop the salt cellar, which knocks my Magners into my dinner. WHOOPS! 5 second rule applies, and as Debs passes me a clean plate I salvage the turkey, roasties and the pigs in blanket (within 5 seconds!) Lucky theres enough veg and spuds on the table to fill the most hungry vegetarian so I'm sorted!
Running out of Cranberry and Gravy, the staff are quick to come and top us up... they are so lovely at the Vale and nothing is too much trouble. In fact, when Shelley hints that she would like a Yorkie, I ask Keith are there any spare and he heads into the kitchen before returning with 2 of em!!


How we managed to fit in dessert after the starters and all the food I'll never know but we did... and Debs and I made a run for the Spys (minus the coffee) which were munched throughout the night! We managed to get Keith to stick Rob on the tellybox for us - with Wand Erection and lots of cheers at the end of the performance around the function room - but mostly from table 4 ;)
DJ throws on a few tunes and Abba are getting ready - Keith comes over to ask us do we want the tour... well it would be rude not to!


So 1st stop - the trophy room and the Directors Lounge. A few more trophies and a bit more crystal in the cabinet since last time! Keith always gives us the low down and stops for a few piccies too!

Next stop - THE SEAT! We head into the stand and Keith throws on the floodlights! In the Directors seating area we plonk our backsides on Robbie's seat... More pictures and madness... the poor seat, I can only use one word here - VIOLATED! The seat has never seen so much action, the Laydees convene one by one to take their pew... the throne as it was called a couple of times that night!!

It's all action as the Crew take to the stands...
Keith thinks it hilarious, he can't believe the antics... well wait a minute...
This is the PV Crew... we are on hallowed turf, back home....
He then rephrases and says he can believe it! He wouldn't expect anything else infact!
He takes our antics in great spirits though and is happy to give us all the time to "take a load off" and plonk our arses in Rob's seat!
Wonder if the Crew will get to a match when Rob is home at a match... was a discussion that was had over a few shandies ;)

Next stop - THE PITCH! As we make our way along the players tunnel we convene for a team shot. Keith and Nick are happy to oblige as press photographers! Thanks Guys!
We head outside and the cold air hits us. Cast my mind back to the night before at Cary's place where we are watching that DVD documentary of Rob from 1999 and he's mucking about on that pitch! So we brave the cold air and head outside... the groundsman has cleared all the snow which is piled up at the side (no underground heating I bet, they're only League 2 yaknow!) and a ground sheet it placed strategically on the side of the pitch for us to convene on! Well we don't want our heels on the sacred turf!
So we strike a few poses, Shelley gets her legs into places we never realised she could!!! Brilliant!! Lots of laughs as we head inside and pass the Home Team dressing room...

Hang on a minute Keith, we are the Home Team... well I mean we are the PV Crew after all. Taking a minute to consider, he agrees and says "well Rob has been in those baths too so would you like to head in?!?"
ERM of course we would... so he gets his keys back out of his pocket and we head into the dressing room... some of the Crew jump in the baths... Shelley takes some time to get a bit of physio... I move the tac-tics board around... Paula plays with the balls (EASY!!!!) tis good fun!

Thanking Keith for our grand tour, we head back upstairs to the function room where we get another round in. Abba are on stage and we take a few minutes to catch our breath and chill as they get few a couple of slow songs... as they move onto more cheesy songs, we have a little boogie to Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and Thank You For the Music!
They were OK but they weren't Robbie, were they?? And they were no JK as Robbie either!
As they left the stage, the DJ kicks off and we waste no time in getting our requests in. Robbie. Take That. Bon Jovi. Robbie. Take That. Kings of Leon. Robbie. You get the idea...

Cue lots of dancing, busting moves that MJ would be jealous of!! A few more drinkies and we get the staff involved... Shelley takes a shine to Sam's hat and gets that off him!
Cary takes a shine to Keith's flashing lights and gets them... Keith heads back 2 mins later with some new PV lanyards for us - seeing as I lost my last one tying the PV Crew banner up at Soccer Aid, Wembley I was glad to get a new one! Coming close to locking up time, the DJ plays Rule the World and we take to the floor and have a right good group hug! We're all psyched up for the tour now more than ever and decide we need another drink to calm us down! However the bar is closed :(

Keith says to give him 10 mins to get rid of everyone and we are good for another drink... or two....
Before we can say "lock in" we are getting more drinks and having some choons on to sing to! Mand has a power snooze but soon wakes up and gets her 2nd wind... In his error, Nick gives me a Southern Comfort and Coke for Cary instead of a Southern Comfort and Lemonade... Keith says to take it and Cary decides to waste not, want not....! NICE!
Nick and Keith come and join us as the rest of the staff head home after a long shift - thanks guys for taking great care of us xxx
We're sat round singing, Debs is drumming the table... Keith gets us all a couple of drinks in (thanks Keith) and Nick remembers why he didnt stop late last time pmsl!!
We have a good catch up, Keith says we have to go back before next Christmas and it's something to think about! It really is like going home when we go back to the Potteries... we always get a warm welcome and especially at Port Vale where it all started!

Its about 3.10am and we decide to go back to the hotel... Keith orders 2 taxis for us but upon heading downstairs we find out that the fog has dropped in and the taxis are not too quick to come and collect us. We convene on the main desk in the foyer, which Keith tells us used to be the Customer Service desk in the shopping centre up Hanley duck! Paula and Cary decide to get behind it to give us some "customer service" and a sing song of "9 to 5" starts!
5 more mins and still no sign - so with Keith finishing locking up, Nick gets on the case to chase them and within about 10 mins our chariots await... We bid our goodbyes to the guys and head back to the George where we jump into our PJs and decide to have a few Cocksucking Cowboys before bed.
Lou cranks up the lappy and with the miracle of WI-FI she finds the performances from Take That and Rob that were on TV earlier in the night. What a way to end the night, singing The Flood, downing shots in our jammies and laughing at all the fun we had earlier that evening!
We hit the hay about 5am... and are awake again at around 8.30. Yes we are mad! Well you can't miss The George Brekkie... This time we had juice and glasses!
Fresh tea! and the brekkie wasnt bad either! Lou even got mushrooms pmsl!!
Cary, Shelley and Mand never made it down for food - WTFood board! That WAS a first! Getting packed up is always fun, even though I always give out half of my case I always end up taking more home... thanks so much for my cards, treats and pressies girls! Feather trail has hit the George again... from the reception up the stairs, to each of the rooms and even in the bathroom (dont ask!) They love us though so we always seem to get away with it *snigger*
Making our way downstairs we hand in our keys and the Receptionist asks us where we were till 3.30 as the Night Manager commented on our late arrival... when we say Port Vale she couldnt believe we got a lock in at the footie ground.. her final words were "you girls know how to party!" and she wouldn't be wrong!

We head back to Stoke train station, where one by one we head on our travels back home... but not before lots of hugs and Christmas wishes outside. Mand is straight off for a Subway having missed Brekkie, Shelley gets one for the train and Ash and Cary follow them over the road.

Another cracking weekend girls. Brilliant. The only things missing were the Shads & Rena... but they were there in Spirit...!! Merry Christmas to you all and can't wait for the next one!

Just popping in to say.... See You Soon!

Plans are coming together nicely for our next get together which is on the 16th October in Manchester.
The swanky apartments are booked...

The surprises have been ordered...
The booze will be nicely chilled....
and we will be ready for the off!
Should be a great weekend. Myself and Louise (with her welsh pounds) will be hot-footing it to Cary's place on Friday and then over to Manchester on Saturday to meet the rest of the Crew!
Although its a while off, we are currently making plans for our Annual Chrimbo Cracker and thinking of heading back to the Vale. The PV Crew goes home... well it's 2 years since our last visit and we are overdue a lock in!
Finally there's talk of us Going for It in Blackpool with JK as Robbie and the One Night of Robbie Williams show in 2011. Yes - we are organised! ;)

So short and sweet blog just to keep you updated... oh and before I go here's a link that I was sent from the Owner & Manager of the Quayside in Runcorn. Apparently they loved us so much they have put us on their website! (and HERE we are!)
See ya later! x

Stoke gets Crewed!

I left Cork bound for my flight to Birmingham, looking forward to the weekend. Since meeting Jonny Wilkes after his show in Bristol in October, the girls and I waited patiently for news of Soccer Aid to be released into the public domain and to try and secure tickets… so as soon as I heard they were on sale, we bagged ourselves a couple on the front row. Sweet.

The girls were all en-route. If you’re meeting us for the 1st time – hellllo! We come from all over the place. To give you an idea, we are talking: London, Leeds, Norfolk, Port Talbot, Runcorn, Rutland, Stafford and finally Cork in Ireland. Meets are often difficult to arrange where everyone can go due to travel, timing, kids etc so this one was extra special as everyone would be on board the party train at some point during the weekend. So here I introduce Randy Rena, Dirty Debbss, Kinky Kriss, Lusty Lou, Pervy Paula, Shexy Shelley, Curvy Cary, Minxy Mandy and me, Scrumptious Sam.

The Meet...
Meeting at Stoke train station was a breeze. For once, trains were on time for everyone; and despite my half hour delay (cheers Aer Fungus!) I managed to get the time back somehow. Shelley, Kriss and Paula were already at the station and we said we would wait on for Louise to occur an hour later! Kriss kindly offered to give us a spin in her batmobile to the hotel, where Cary, Mandy and Rena had already landed. The George Hotel is ace. It’s like faulty towers, but it’s our Faulty Towers and we love it. There is always a warm welcome and a brekkie in the morning (juice but no glasses!) and it’s across the road from the Red Lion – a regular haunt of ours when in town.

Popping to Subway to get a sarnie (Subway – the official food of the PV Crew!) and downing a swift half passed the time… Louise was here and with a “Whatssss Occuringggg” shouted across the road we were off and on our way.

At The George, there were hugs a plenty. That’s the thing with the Crew, you wouldn’t think that we had not seen each other for the last 6 months or so. There’s never an awkward silence when the Crew are in town! Sorting the rooms, we headed upstairs to unpack. As per usual the bar was set up 1st, well it wouldn’t be a PV Crew Party without our sponsors!

Swapping gifts, hugs, and t-shirts; whilst having a cheeky drink we got into our Laydee Lympics tops and head for the Red Lion. Home colours of course - Black & Gold seeing as we are in Burslem!

Grapes for Kriss, Cary and Mandy… and Bob’s Bingo was on the cards for everyone where we were playing for the deep fat frierrrr and the sodaaaa stream! (and a few Robbie goodies of course!) Ordering a round in, we were sure to get ice in that duck! The barman thinks we are a little bit nuts! Spooky that “And Through it All” is playing on the telly so we ask the nice barman to replay the DVD and he’s happy to indulge us… I had arranged for a few Port Vale bits and bobs to be sent to the hotel from Port Vale FC (Thanks Andy in the Club Shop!) so the PV Crew could have their very own pens and badges! The whirlwind that are the PV Crew swept through the pub, and getting a few more signings on the banner we headed back to the hotel after an hour so we could get ready for our night at the theatre….! The “minibus” was collecting us at 6.15 so we had to get a move on.

Now when I say minibus that’s what I told the girls. In reality I ordered a platinum limo so we could arrive at the Regent Theatre in style, along with 2 bottles of champers to get us in the party mood! Imagine when Shelley and Kriss went outside the hotel and tried to hop in an actual minibus that was parked over the road… PMSL! Only to then see the limo at the side of the hotel… I could hear them shrieking and laughing upstairs in the room! Classic! All into our dresses, I look at my friends and see we scrubbed up really well.

So we are in the limo and on our way… I’ve Got a Feeling; that tonights gonna be a good night! Arriving at the Regent, a number of heads turned as the limo pulled up. Needless to say as us rabble piled out they realize it’s not the VIPs they thought LOL! Heading into the Regent we take a couple of pics, score a drink at the bar (4.70 for a wine – what are you thinking people?) and head in to take our seats. The place was packed and everyone was in good spirits.

As the band started, we knew we were not going to be in our seats for long… standing up, cheering, clapping, “one hand in the air-ing”, bouncing… all part of the show. Well it was for us. Paula decided to stay in the aisle seat and of course when Rudebox came on, the shoes were OFF and she was busting a move or two! 99% of the people in the theatre were up and participating – sure that’s what Rob’s music is all about! You always get the odd one though who refrains and that’s cool as long as they don’t expect us to refrain with them! If you want to read a full review of the show, check out my last post HERE!

and if you are thinking of going to see it,  DO - becauseyou won’t be disappointed.

Later than scheduled (because JK was staying up on that stage for the whole night!) we head out of the theatre and decide on our plans for the rest of the evening. Well the night was still young…

I spotted a bar across the street, tables outside and a chippy opposite. PERFECT. Chips and alcohol. Just what we needed. Heading across the street and straight for a couple of empty seats, we rested our weary tootsies and took turns to get food. Who would’ve thought a night at the theatre would have been so exhausting!

Inside we pop to get a round of drinks and we settle on a table outside to set up camp! On the table next to us, there’s a friendly looking older guy with glasses. A couple of the Crew are asking each other if it’s Pete Conway, Rob’s dad… We can’t decide and are too shy to ask directly. Yes that’s right, we are shy and retiring types us lot!

As Pete gets up to leave with his friend, who is smartly dressed in a suit, I shout “See ya Pete” down the street – at which point he turns around, looks at us and replies “I’m coming back in a minute!”
So that settles that, it’s either a guy called Pete who looks like Rob’s dad or it’s a guy called Pete who is Rob’s dad… Upon his return we found out he was the latter. And what a gentleman he was. Not wanting to intrude on his social time, we asked was it ok to chat for a while and Pete agreed. Asking us what brought us to town, we told him about the show, and about the Port Vale Crew… How we got together, why we got together, our travels etc. We said that it was his son’s fault and he laughed! Pete is happy to chat about footie, cricket, Britain’s Got Talent, Wales, Stoke and the show we had all just seen. We ask him is he off to Soccer Aid and he replies that he was going to watch it on the telly, but that Rob had been taking it seriously and has been training for 4 weeks. The following day when we saw Rob getting off the coach tanned and in great shape, we knew that Pete was telling the truth!

Pete’s friend, “Herbie” I think his name was, was also a gent. He soon got into the swing of things with the Crew and was a right larf… took a bit of persuading to get him to lend Paula his jacket mind you, but eventually we were on to a winner! Pete is stood in the street at this point, and when we look up, we see JK running towards the pub from the theatre. Pete threw open his arms to gesture to JK and they gave each other a right big bear hug. Now if you hadn’t been aware of the show that night, it was a proper double take moment as from afar it looked like Pete and Rob together!

“My 2nd son” Pete says to JK and everybody laughs. At this point the pub is pretty crowded and a good time is being had by all! It’s been roughly 2 hours since the show, and there’s a great buzz around. Pete is still there chatting away and Herbie is getting to know the crew better too. We stop to chat to a Police Sergeant patrolling the area and nab him for a quick photo… ‘ello ‘ello ‘ello what do we have here?!? Thankfully he didn’t arrest us; well we are good girls, honest!
Pete and Herbie say their goodbyes but not before posing for a couple of pics with us lot. It was really lovely to meet them both and a pair of gents they were… The pub was closing, but in true PV Crew form we scored a lock in and headed inside with JK, the band, and some friends of the group. Sitting round the table, we reviewed the evening’s antics so far, chattering about the show and laughing at what had just happened outside. Lots of cameras around snapping pics, JK settled in for a few snaps too… Rosie and Jim… Hear the Drummer get Wicked… too many laughs to mention.
Calling it a night just after 3, a minibus was ordered to take us back to The George… where upon arrival a couple of us think that Cocksucking Cowboys were in order and carried on with a few shots before hitting the hay. Just another ordinary Saturday night in Stoke for the girls!