Travel: The Great Wall of China

It had always been a dream of mine to stand on The Great Wall of China and my dream was realised in 2004 when I was asked to lead a school trip to China. Alongside some colleagues we flew 11 great students to Shanghai for a three week immersion course based in Pudong, the 'new' part of Shanghai that was being developed. 

I vividly remember being called into the Headteacher's office and worrying slightly about what I'd done wrong. There was no need to me to be concerned however, Paul, the Head welcomed me in a came straight out with the question - 

"Steve, would you like to lead the trip to China in July?" 

I couldn't believe my luck and my response was immediate - 

"YES" 

It got better. Paul also said that while we were in Shanghai, the teachers could take it in turns to have a mini-break and head off to Beijing for a couple of days, but ensuring we had enough staff for the small group of students we were taking care of. 

When the time came I flew to Beijing and stayed at The Holiday Inn. I had also been advised by two friends to visit the wall at a place called Simatai.

I spent my first day in Beijing seeing the sites (a forthcoming blog) and looking for a backpackers tour company. I found the perfect trip to Simatai at a youth hostel and booked on. Next day I got myself back to the hostel and set off with some English folk, a young teacher whose parents were visiting and a couple just starting their round the world adventure. 

Simatai is 120km north-east of Beijing and is away from the tourist trap of Badaling. As a result the Great Wall is not as well maintained but is less busy and has hardly any stalls of 'tat'. Upon arrival there was a choice of walking up to the Wall (2/3 hours) or taking a cable car. We chose the cable car. 

Unfortunately it was a very misty day so my views (and photos) were not the best. But, I was there and I fulfilled another travel ambition.

       

There was one final thrill of the day - coming down. Although there was a choice of walking, I preferred the zip-wire. It was a good choice! 

A Captain's Tale: Champions League Final Opening Ceremony (Part III)

This follows: 
http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-captains-tale-champions-league-final_2.html


The excitement hit me as soon as I awoke. Today was the day I would perform in front of a packed house at Wembley. My memory returned briefly to the magical summer of 2012 and the days of the opening ceremony and closing ceremony. 

A quick look out of the window made me smile too. It was sunny, far removed from just a few hours earlier when we had a rainy final dress rehearsal. With a call time of 4pm I left the house at 2pm and when in London found myself chatting to a few Bayern fans while showing them some of my photos of rehearsals and what they had to look forward to. If my mum had been with me I'm sure she would have told me to "stop showing off". By the time I arrived at Wembley it was still four hours before kick off but it was busy. 

There was a incredibly positive vibe in 'Joysleep' and everyone seemed up for it. Then word hit me that there was face paint available and as I'd never done it before I thought I'd indulge myself. I was quite happy with my effective yet subtle attempt.
Some of my buddies really went for it and their looks ranged between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Mime Artists with a smattering of black and white mistrels thrown in for good measure. In any case everyone was busy taking photos of this momentous day.

I met Charlotte way back in Olympic auditions 2011

Mixing with the enemy (although we are all SPURS)

Just before our final instructions meeting and forming our lines in the car park, I looked over to the creatives table and standing there was ex Scotland manager Craig Brown. Never one to be shy, I wondered over, had a chat and asked him for a photo. What a lovely guy. It turned out one of our cast, Louise is friends with him. By all accounts he loved coming over to 'Joysleep' and meeting us and was impressed with what we did on the pitch.

Once the final messages had been delivered, we went through some final movement practice in the car park. Then a few of us splintered off to practice the battle scene. It was worth doing. Before we knew it we were marching off to the stadium. 

The reaction from some of the crowd that were still outside the stadium was interesting. Some got into the spirit and took photos and videos while a few pointed at us and pissed themselves. I hadn't expected that. We had quite a bit of time in the tunnel so everyone took a view of the full stadium. Heart rates increased as the atmosphere intensified. 

When Bayern 'legend' Paul Breitner arrived in his starting position I bided my time and leapt into action asking for a photo. I really am shameless. With minutes to go I went up my line thanking people, and giving some words of encouragement as well as reminding them to concentrate. And then it was showtime.

How can you explain what it is like to enter a stadium with 80,000 people screaming? It's difficult. I was 100% focused and full of excitement and adrenaline. The first section went like a dream and evidently looked brilliant from the crowd.

   
Concerns I had revolved around the split and joining back in lines. There was no need to worry. Lines were straight and looked great. 

The split part 1

The split part 2 

On the movement forward I felt lines were a little untidy but loads better than previous rehearsals. The biggest stumbling block though was the charge which had not gone well on Friday. This time it was great and more importantly the battle movements that some of us had practiced a hour before went like a dream.   

Lines!!!

I made it onto telly! (In Europe)

The final act of our ceremony was to pull the enormous banners across the pitch. In order to prevent the previous night's disaster of the upside down banner, blue tags had been attached to the the front of the banner. It worked! 

While I was standing there I watched as the teams entered. I realised I was approximately 15 metres from Arjen Robben. It was surreal. Thankfully Sky picked up on this momentous occasion for me.

And then it was time to roll back the banner and leave the field. This was one of my favourite moments and we 'played' to the crowd. Wow. What an amazing experience. 

The promise at 'Joysleep' was beer and a live feed of the football. We also received a very nice adidas Champions League tee-shirt. I was too hyper to watch the footy. Instead I decided to grab some of my favourite people for more photos.

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo with Neil Goulder and I wish I had. Thank you Neil for all your hard work which gave me this opportunity. I'm sure I am not alone in my gratitude. 

I did get one with Mike Dolbear though. Great to work with you again Mike. Until next time...

  

A Captain's Tale: Champions League Final Opening Ceremony 2013 (Part II)

This blog follows: http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-captains-tale-champions-league-final.html

With 'The Hive' rehearsals finished on Saturday, Wednesday 22nd May was the date for dress rehearsal no.1 at Wembley Stadium. I was excited. It's many a schoolboy's dream to play at Wembley. While I would have loved to play football on the pitch, banging a shield was just fine. Not many people can say they've been on the pitch at Wembley and for a very good reason, not many people are ever allowed. 

We assembled at a disused ex-carpet warehouse on an industrial estate a stones throw from the stadium. Upon arrival our costume was draped over our designated chair, much like the Olympic opening ceremony. There was no time for modesty as there was no male/female changing area but like true pro's no-one complained and everyone just got on with it. 

  

The costume consisted of 'old skool' black plimsols (so as to not damage the Wembley pitch), black sweat pants, a red or yellow tabard with a white or black sash and a red or black headband. Thankfully we were allowed to wear either a white (Bayern) or black (Dortmund) long sleeved tee-shirt. Mine was a Tottenham 1970's replica shirt which helped me through the pain of it looking like I was representing Arsenal. It also meant I was in a Spurs shirt when on the pitch at Wembley.

Once dressed it was time for me and a few of my buddies to, as my mum would say "play silly buggers"  The objective was to make it look like we had special ninja powers. I think it worked. 

  

After playing silly buggers we convened in 'Joysleep' for some final prep. At this point Mike introduced one of the most inspirational young people I have ever had the opportunity to meet. Over the past three years Stephen Sutton has been in and out of hospital with various cancerous tumours and doctors recently diagnosed that it was incurable. Instead of feeling sorry for himself he has embraced life and is ploughing his way through an awesome bucket list. One of the items on the list was to play drums in front of a large audience. I think 80,000 at Wembley qualified. In addition to the list he has also raised over £10,000 for Teenage cancer Trust. What a boy. Check out:  https://www.facebook.com/StephensStory


We then got tooled up (picked up the shields) and tried to form our lines of 40... at least three times in three different places in the car park. After all the previous practice I must admit my ability to count to 40 was unsurpassed. It was great to see everyone in costume including the knights and flag bearers.

It was time to move. I was going to stand on the pitch at Wembley.

From Joysleep to Wembley

We entered the stadium through the service entrances and whilst standing in the tunnels in our line order we were able to use the in ear monitors for the first time. Joy upon joys, we could now all hear the click track and instructions from Mike and the creative team. 

I think it actually showed what an amazing job everyone had done at 'The Hive' where we were moving and playing in time without the in ears. 

Understandably we had some really strict rules for being on the pitch for example not to place the shields down, not to sit down etc. The night before I had seen the Wembley groundsman interviewed on the regional news programme and when asked what his biggest challenge was his reply was "keeping people off the pitch". That made me laugh. Apparently UEFA president Michel Platini took his wife on the pitch once in high heels (his wife, not Michel). The groundsman must have had a heart attack. Then with the click track running and Mike shouting "Go!" it was time for the first run through.

We actually had quite a bit of time to practice on the Wednesday night. There were still issues with people not keeping lines and uncertainty as to when certain movements should happen. The final battle with Morris dancing was cut but we then had to add another movement to it. It felt messy and I guess it looked messy. Finally we practiced pulling the large banner out which went very well. 

But I just loved being there on the pitch. I sneaked a camera in and was able to get some pics. A really momentous evening, and this was in an empty stadium. I was buzzing for Saturday. 

Dortmund

Friday 24th May 2013 - Last Dress Rehearsal

It rained all day on the Friday and there was rightly much concern from many of the cast about going into the stadium in full costume and getting soaked, particularly as the actual game was the next day. Thankfully the decision was that we would have to wear our plimsols for the pitch but otherwise we were ok to go in our normal clothes...and coats. 

The one thing that did strike us as we walked into Joysleep were the decorated shields which looked fantastic. 

With shields in hand my mate Simon and I decided to add to our ever growing portfolio of 'cool pics'. 

The real battle - Wickes v Harveys

Dortmund Training 

We knew that we would only have time for one run through in the stadium so it really needed to count. Thankfully the Morris dancing routine had clearly looked as bad as it felt and it had been cut. As we got into our starting positions we saw Borussia Dortmund players training on the pitch, another reason why our time was limited. 






Just before we were due to go out the Bayern Munich 'legend' came into position in front of us. I recognised him. It was Paul Breitner who also played for Germany and Real Madrid. I even remembered him from my Spain '82 Panini football sticker album. 

The rehearsal itself went so fast it gave me a dose of realism of how quickly seven minutes would pass on the night itself. The truth be told, I was very concerned with a number of things on the 'Bayern' side namely the quality of the lines and the 'charge!'. 

Then horror upon horrors, as we pulled the massive Bayern banner across the pitch it was upside down. I looked up at the big Wembley screen and imagined the worst. "Bloody hell imagine if that happens tomorrow".

There was a lot to be work to be done and little time to do it. 

Tomorrow was show time. 

Final blog:
http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-captains-tale-champions-league-final_3.html

A Captains Tale: Champions League Final Opening Ceremony 2013 (Part I)

I don't have an official bucket list but if I did 'playing drums at Wembley' or 'playing football at Wembley' would have been on it. Last Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to play a (kind of) drum on the pitch at Wembley in front of 80,000 people during the opening ceremony of the Champions League Final. What do you mean you didn't see it? Ah that's right, ITV & Sky decided to show 3 second clips here and there while the pundits talked...and talked...and talked. Throughout Europe however, our continental friends saw the result of our endeavors and the biggest, most expensive opening ceremony to a Champions League that UEFA have produced. For me it was an amazing and special experience. To be on the pitch at Wembley is exciting enough but to be there performing with 80,000 packed inside was incredible. It's been an amazing year and I find it hard to reconcile that in the space of 10 months I have played at the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony and now Wembley.

The Finale to our endeavors  - Saturday 25th May 2013

Many people ask me how I get to do these things. The reality is that I simply applied to be part of the Olympics opening ceremony back in September 2011 and became part of the opening ceremony with thousands of others. However the spirit & legacy of the 'Pandemonium Drummers' (http://www.pandemoniumdrummers.co.uk) has lived on and the group have continued to perform time and time again for festivals, awards ceremonies and supporting charities. With some very influential people involved in the group and the ability to muster a significant number of 'big event' experienced individuals when needed, the group were offered the opportunity to take part in the Champions League opening ceremony. So when I'm asked how I get to do these things I simply tell people to take the opportunities that life offers, be prepared to do things for free and then when you are involved, be committed and work hard. 

As the plans were put into place regarding recruitment for the event I received an e-mail from one of the organisers asking me if I would like to be one of twenty drum 'leaders' for the event. I was thrilled and felt honoured so my reply of "yes" was not a surprise. There was a lot of mystery and secrecy as to what our instrument would be and what we would be doing. Our only previous experience was the Olympics where we had dressed up in 'Industrial revolution' clobber and drummed on plastic/metal bins. 

We would be working again with drum 'legend' Mike Dolbear who trained us for the Olympics. I remember sending Mike a tweet saying I hoped whatever we would be banging was 'macho'. During a drum leaders workshop in Enfield on 23rd March Mike pulled me aside to show me what we would be drumming...medievel shields! The picture on his iphone actually had a Barcelona badge on it (as everyone assumed they would get to the final) and I was sworn to secrecy. 

Soon after the twenty drum leaders were offered the opportunity to 'drum' on the track being prepared. Again, I said yes. On 17th April I met up with Mike and three other leaders, Tom, Steve and Alex for the recordings. Armed with all manner of sticks, we tested which sounded better on the shield. The shield itself was light and incredibly durable, apparently the same material as police riot shields. Also attached to the inside of the shields were a plastic tube and a wooden block to give some different sounds. The recording was interesting and although I never learned to read drum music (my drum teacher said it would slow my progress), I had a go on the track which seemed to be quite complex. I was in awe of Alex, Steve and Tom and must admit I felt a little inferior. 

The following Saturday the drum 'leaders' convened with Mike in a dance studio in Fulham. It was great to see some familiar faces from the Olympics and we practiced a number of rhythms which we would be teaching our groups over the following weeks. This was not like the Olympics though. Instead of 150 hours of rehearsal we had approximately 35 hours and as it became evident - more complex movements to learn and perfect.

          

The following Saturday was the first practice for everyone. Neil Goulder, the man who made all this possible had recruited 380 drummers, mainly from the Pandemonium group. The venue was 'The Hive', Barnet FC's new training ground and evidently their new stadium. We had the run of a  full size astro turf pitch. Upon arrival us leaders received an orange hi-vis vest. I was delighted that I would look like a bin-man for a month.

 I was team leader three and with the first hour I realised that I had a team made up of women...and that teams 1 and 2 were also 100% women. Our costumes were done first and as we were getting kitted out in red I knew we'd be Bayern Munich but I was puzzled as to why Bayern would be all female. As soon as we were outside I had a word with the creative team who realised this wasn't what was planned and we swapped half our group with an all male group. I now had a mixed team and was delighted that some of my Olympic buddies were in my team too. My job was to keep the troops happy and be the link between the creatives. One of the main frustrations for the drummers were that we had no in ear monitors until we got Wembley. Even with a P.A. set up, being able to hear depended on the volume (and residents didn't stop complaining about noise) and wind direction. Then there was the problem of being taught movements while people were having costume fittings. It was a fairly frustrating afternoon for all although unsurprisingly the rhythms were learnt quickly. 

A Dortmund view of Bayern. Mike & creatives on left.

The big test would come with the choreography. Initially the creatives tried speaking to everyone rather than use us leaders. This led to difficulties when we tried to move people ourselves in fact I had an individual tell me "He told me to do this so I'm doing this" which didn't help. Our groups were asking about the music too which was a fair question. Through these trials and tribulations I tried to plod on positively and at the end of the day thanked each one of my group individually... the ladies got a kiss, of course. In our leaders meeting with Mike at the end of the day we were able to raise many of the issues. Mike then confided in us, telling us that:

a) The composer for the music had been sacked and a new guy was on the case. (So much for my recording!)
b) Due to the costs of the shields and in ear monitors, Uefa were trying to halve the numbers. He had fought them and won.
c) Some of the creatives were last minute additions so were really trying to get their heads around it on that first day.        

The biggest problem of the first day was that we had 90 no- shows, many of whom didn't offer a reason for not attending. This in turn led to frustrations with the troops. Absences would continue to plague the rehearsals. 

Welcome to the British Summer!

During week two of 'The 'Hive' rehearsals we me some other cast members, namely the flag bearers, battlers and archers. This was my most frustrating week as I could see where things were going wrong, I knew the answer but I felt none of the creatives were listening. The big problem was the number 40. In order to make lines of 40 split into a 10, a 20 and a 10 you must have 40 people. In order for the lines to match up vertically...you must have 40 people. I counted to 40 at least twenty times that day. I wasn't the only leader that was frustrated though. The same issues were of course plaguing Dortmund. But the other issue of course was absences.

On a more positive note we could see how this ceremony might be shaping up. The costumes for the non-drummers were brilliant including proper chainmail!
Our final week at the Hive was a much more positive experience. We had finally sorted the problem of the lines of 40 and were much closer to what it might look like. We worked a lot on the battle where we all charged each other, and then got involved what seemed to be a morris dancers routine smashing shields and clicking sticks. All we needed were bells around our wrists and ankles. The biggest thrill for me was to know that I would be one of the team pulling the enormous Bayern flag across the pitch. We practiced that a few times.

That was the end of our rehearsals at The Hive which was probably just as well. Apparently we had been ordered off the premises from 1pm due to the level of complaints!

In exactly one week we would be doing this for real. Our only rehearsals now would be Wednesday and Friday at Wembley with severe restrictions on time allowed on pitch. We were far from ready. How would it all pan out?

Part II here

http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-captains-tale-champions-league-final_2.html