The Deco, Northampton
Wednesday 13th-Friday 29th December 2006
When Gillian Taylforth pulled out of The Deco's pantomime in October, Tish stepped in as of November, playing the Baddie for the very first time - the evaaal Queen Esmerelda!
Having missed Tish in Birmingham at Christmas '04, I was determined to go! That meant there were trains and tickets to book & brothers to butter up! (Massive thanks to my big brother & his girlfriend Emma for agreeing to let me stay with them in Coventry - and for Emma for coming with me to my first show on Friday 22nd December!
Emma: [As Snow White & Prince Danalow kiss for the first time] There's tongues going on there!
Ah, what a thing to say about Stephen Dean's girlfriend, Emma!
Emma: [Seeing Tish on stage in that dress] She's good! (Oh, she is!)
~*~
I snuck out the next morning and got back on the train to see the 11am performance before I went home for Christmas - and I got a wave from Tish!
~*~
So I went back again, for the last show on Friday 29th December with my "puppehh" Stacey! ("Oh Mum, can I go up to Northampton with Jo to see a panto, only she knows where the place is!" That was smooth hun!) There, I met up with Kelly & Laura (she has Tish stylee nails!) - much love to both those girls, what a day!
Third time lucky! After the show on the 29th, us girls (the wonderful Boss Lady Laura is the one behind the camera!) ran back to the stage door - incredibly excited to see that Tish's car was still in the car park.
"Just think-" says Jason loving Laura excitedly. "-Jason's sat in that car!"
I think I pretty much fell in love with Laura at that moment! "I knew you'd say something like that!"
It was Laura that alerted us to activity at the stage door. "Oh my God, it's her!"
I honestly don't know whether I'm too short or just blind, but I had no idea where Laura was looking. Not sure I'll ever live it down for craning and going; "What? Where?"
And get this for a description, Tish fans! "There, the small woman with the hat and pointy boots!"
The security woman pointed us out to Tish and she smiled over at us and began to walk over. We'll admit to a very obvious spaz!
"Where have you all come from then?"
I completely hijacked! Luckily these ladies have long since forgiven me and the spazzing lives on! We were all so pathetically star-struck! It was Tish! And just look at that hat, it was the most adorable thing ever! I could barely remember where I came from! I thought of Stace (who actually managed to make me cry in producing this wallpaper for me, thank you so much my darlin' - I am gonna be so proud to pose with you beside Tish one of these days!) and seeing as we only live 25 miles apart, I knew I should say Bristol! But my only thought was "I don't live in Bristol Stace!" and out it came! The immortal line!
"The West Country!"
I know I embarrassed Stace hugely! Was hilarious. Now our heroine is probably convinced the two of us at least are cider guzzling, Wurzel worshipping farmgirls! Ahhh, it still makes me laugh!
"That's a bit of a way isn't it?"
Like that matters when you're talking to Tish Dean at long last! Ha!
"Yeah well, I've seen the show three times!!"
She looked pretty surprised to hear it! I'm proud to say that Letitia Dean looked at me like I was mad - and declared it too!
"Oh my- you shouldn't have... that's crazy!"
And proud, Tish & proud!
I was honest too! If nothing else, at least I told the lady the one thing I've wanted to for near on 5 years!
"It was worth it! You were amazing!"
"Awww, thanks so much!"
And so the deed was done for one panto year! We'd done it! And Tish climbed into the car (that she'd been staring at the back of for a long time... she told us she needed to reverse it out but couldn't so someone else was having to do it for her!) with a friend we have agreed between us might well have been Amanda Sarosi (one of Tish's bridesmaids!) and drove out of the car-park, beeping her horn to say goodbye to us Tish fans, who waved like loons! The photo of us, the panto princesses, was taken after Tish left. Unfortunately, there wasn't time for us to have photos taken with Letitia ourselves, but thanks to Stacey, this works just as well!
From left: Stacey, Steph, Kelly & me! Ah yes, I am the one in fairy wings. I lost them somewhere between Birmingham and Bristol on the way back to The West Country (:P) with Stacey. I'd forgotten I was wearing them at the gate, and it wasn't until three months after meeting Letitia that Laura informed me that while she was fighting the urge to play with Letitia's hair, she distinctly remembered me wearing the fairy wings as we spoke to Tish! Which makes me a TISH FAIRY! Spaztastic!
It meant a lot to all of us to meet Letitia at last - bring on the next meet, ladies!