My Big Day At The Palace - Part 2
Tue 21 Jan 2003

The investiture and ensuing formalities were all but over by 12.15pm (typical palace efficiency). I was then able to be reunited with my immediate family members back in the splendor of the royal Picture Gallery. By 12.30pm we were all then quietly ushered through yet more ornately decorated hallways and out into the magificent confines of the inner quadrangle. Here we were to 'endure' a royal photo call (something I privately dreaded). It appeared on this ocassion I was to be quote: ''the only 'celebrity' worth photographing today'' according to the official Palace press aide (who incidentally was also a huge fan). It appears the Palace and the Press Association have very differing views on what constitutes a 'celebrity'. The PA tended towards your high profile actors, musicians, sportsmen/women and the like (makes good tabloid copy you see).

The Palace on the other hand appeared to frown on such high flying 'media' types prefering to favour your more 'traditional' (in their opinion) recipient such as your peers, judges, politicians or forces personnel - even professionals from the large financial institutions and captains of industry are more acceptable (you get the picture). So where on earth does a 'deejay' fit in? - I had no idea either. But according to the Palace press office they considered me 'serious' enough to include me in their 'official' press release which they then duly sent to the...Press Association. Nice to get THAT kind royal approval eh? (ha ha). I stood there on my own proudly posing (see photos) for everyman and his dog with a flashbulb - whilst most of the other recipients and their guests discreetly looked on (enviously) probably wondering exactly who an earth this 'dj type' person was and why he seemed to be garnering so much media attention (I don't know either). I've now experienced first hand what's it's like to face a jostling media pack. And let me just say it's definately not something I'd recommend on a regular basis I can tell you. It was quite an intimidating and harrowing experience (even for me).

Thanks... Can I go now?
By this time I was almost flat out on my feet (as one or two photos clearly demonstrate). What a totally MAD day I'd had so far and it wasn't over yet - not by a long chalk. About half an hour later we were finally able to leave the palace grounds in THAT merc. We were the LAST to leave in fact - our small group desperately attempting to savour any last vestiges of their visit by grabbing that all important last photo opportunity.

Men In Black!
We then cruised slowly across the gravelled quadrangle towards the exit of the main outer building. I took one last incredulous look at the magnificent, historic building behind me and thought: 'bloody hell!' (or words to that effect - LOL). It was then it suddenly to ocurred to me that I probably would NEVER ever get the chance to come back here again. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity most ordinary people could only ever DREAM about and now little 'ol me has actually gone and done it - BWOY!! We silently glided through the arch beneath the main building - cheekily waving at a lone 'statuesque' household cavalryman as we passed - and out into the palace grounds. As we approached the outer main gate, I glanced out of the tinted side window and spotted what I thought were some faces I recognised - all peering through the imposing black palace railings and waving. YESSS! - it WAS them.

Serious(!) Management
To my great delight and surprise, I was greeted by more relatives AND members of my own management team from Serious (cheers DAN D, SAM O' and CHARLIE H - bless 'em) and surprisingly some very close friends and a few of fans too - yes FANS! (LOL) - about a dozen or so had turned up unexpectedly completely out of the blue. They had been patiently waiting outside the palace gates (in the cold and rain) hoping for a glimpse. I was absolutely gobsmacked by that gesture - so I didn't disappoint. A BIG shout to ALL of you who came - you know who you are! Once outside the main gates, any remaining protocol and etiquette simply went west! I yelled out to WILSON (the chauffeur) to stop the bloody car!! So he did - rather abruptly - right OUTSIDE the front gate and in full view of several on-looking armed security men and police who wondered what an earth was happening. I got out to be mobbed by my management (LOL) and a few close friends and family. It was at this point I spotted my parents through the excited throng. They were making their way towards me, looking justifiably proud with smiles as big as...well...(they were not allowed to join me inside the palace - shame).

I rushed over to them still holding my newly aquired piece of 'silver' in my hand and hugged them both. WOW! - What a moment THAT was! It was then I noticed I'd actually dropped my medal case and momentarily lost my prized top hat (it was blown off ) in the ensuing scramble also - how undignified was that? (and in front of the Palace too - ha ha ha). Fortunately, I somehow managed to retrieve them both (the medal was still in it's presentation case). I dusted my hat down, then placed it squarely, once again upon my poor exposed afro - sorted! Following that brief traumatic episode, we all managed to compose ourselves and gathered round to pose for a 'friends and family' photo shoot against the railings of the famous old 'house' with me proudly wearing my gleaming new medal - YAY!. Finally, I was able to meet and greet the dozen or so fans and well wishers who remained behind - insisting I pose with them for yet more photograghs and a close-up glimpse of the 'silver' (for which I was more than happy to oblige). After fifteen minutes of this seemingly 'un-becoming' behavior from a new 'Knight Of The Realm' (yeah quite - LOL!), we all headed off for a private, pre-arranged family lunch at a nearby, very swish five star Italian restuarant to celebrate (as you do). If ever there was an ocassion I was sorely tempted to knock back a glass of FRANCE's finest nectar - it was NOW! - But true to form - I resisted. Of course those who know me well know I NEVER touch the stuff (or indeed ANY alchohol for that matter). Instead, I raised a glass of FLORIDA's finest instead...ORANGE JUICE!! (ha ha). After a sumptuous five course pasta meal with all the trimmings and SEVERAL MORE bottles of France's finest (hic), it was time to head home for some well earned respite from the day's events (phew).

THAT Merc.
My man WILSON (bless 'im) brought the limo round and we all piled in - exhausted after the afternoon's excesses. I'd just remembered to switch my mobile back on and...WHAM! - it went into melt-down mode. By this time, the many goodwill text messages and calls sent by you were litterally flooding in - not only from friends, colleagues and well wishers here in the uk - but WORLDWIDE too. WOW! - Good news certainly does travel fast (ha ha!) One such message informed me that not only was that now imfamous 'royal' photo of me 'n' Liz (see top) already posted here (apparently within MINUTES of me meeting Her Maj I'm told - cheers for that DELE) - but was probably circulated WORLDWIDE on the net (via a million and one emails) even BEFORE I'd had a chance to get home and see it myself! - Quality!
Job done!
Whilst on the way home, I decided to make a last minute surprise visit to a terminally ill relative (cancer) of mine in hospital. He too was absolutely 'made up' at the news and was genuinely elated to see me all kitted out as I was (complete with top hat and cane) as were the staff and other patients in the ward. It seemed painfully obvious to all of us there that he might not see the week out. For those precious few minutes at least, we were able to visibly lift his flagging spirits (thank god) and put a smile on his agonisingly gaunt face. Sadly, he passed away the following weekend, so I decided to dedicate my award to his memory - a bitter sweet moment indeed. R.I.P. OLD JOE! When I eventually did get home, I barely had a moment to spare - not even for a few minutes rest or pause for reflection on the day's incredible events. I quickly grabbed my record bags and dashed straight back to the club for my imminent MBE charity 'afterparty' later that very evening. I'd decided early on that this particular night was to be a fundraising event in support of my two chosen charities namely: THE BRITISH SICKLE CELL SOCIETY and BODY & SOUL - a south London based HIV/Aids organisation. I'd had no time to change - so I just turned up dressed as I was - resplendant in top hat and tails - whooo! I'd decided I would just dj in my 'suit'. It went down a storm with everyone who turned up and saw me - including many 'faces' from our cratediggers board (another BIG moment!) most of whom were offering to sponsor me for daring to dj in it. They are far too many to mention here - but you all know who you are - RISPEX! I also managed to persuade several other people on the night to sponsor various parts of my morning suit (top hat, cane, etc) as well. And nearly every track I played for the rest of the evening was also sponsored too. Basically - a 'pay for a play' scenario ensued which made for a terrifically spontaneous night. I 'rinsed out' loads of requested classics from across the board - so did dj RUDY RANKS (who played an unbelieveable 80's boogie/hip hop set to the enthusiastic crowd) - BIG set mate! Soul II Soul's legendary JAZZIE B also turned up unexpectedly and played an awesome mash-up set of old skool hip hop and skanking dancehall reggae - wicked! Worldwide's GILES PETERSON was also scheduled to make a surprise guest appearance but unfortunately had to cancel at the very last minute (shame). The night wasn't quite as busy as we'd have hoped (maybe because it was a cold wet midweek evening - who knows?) - though that didn't in anyway detract from a truly fantastic friendly atmosphere which prevailed throughout. I'd like to thank each and every one of you who came down that night - REALLY! On the fundraising front, the night was an OVERWHELMING success. Thanks to YOUR generosity on the night we managed to raise in the region of ?2,000 in total for my two charities - MASSIVE RESPECT for that collective effort - YAY!! My heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE who came down once again and everyone who helped to organise the event including IVOR WILKINS @ the Sub, LINDA & PETE @ LG Resource and last but not least, DELE (and his band - good luck with them in the future!) I valliantly hung on (in the company of a few die hard friends and family) till the bitter end - way into the small hours (3am) and then litterally collapsed from sheer exhaustion - a fitting end to a truly remarkable day which began some 21 hours earlier. It certainly was a day I'll remember with the utmost pride for the rest of my life! ******************** DOWN UNDER with the PETERSON... KIA ORA (again!) - In less than a week's time I'll hopefully (war permitting) be heading down under yet again to visit my many antipidean friends on the other side of the world. It's a trip I ALWAYS look forward to at this time of year. But there's no getting away from the fact that it is indeed a long and arduous journey - nearly 22 HOURS in the air! This time round, the journey (on paper at least) should be a little easier to bear - and that much more... shall we say...EVENTFULL!!. That's because I'll have that infamous 'gooner' GILLES PETERSON as a traveling companion throughout most of our tour (perish the thought!) (only kidding - LOL). All things considered though, that well known and respected worldwide jazz icon (and renowned ARSENAL fan) should make for a great verbal sparring partner as he's GUARENTEED to feel the sharp end of this 'bitter and twisted' SPURS fan's tongue (HaHaHa). We are sitting next to each other on the long flight over so he'll DEFINATELY be getting it in the neck - all the way to AUCKLAND! (LOL) On a more serious note - GILLES and myself are very much looking foward to this tour. We've been on about it via texts and calls to each other for weeks - ever since I first discovered we were both on the SAME bill to play in AUCKLAND, SYDNEY and MELBOURNE. I have been asked (via email) by very disappointed aussie fans why I have not appeared at ANY of this year's VIBES events - either in AU or NZ. To clear up any confusion over this issue - the simple (and honest) answer to this question is two fold - firstly that: a) This years dates fell far T00 EARLY for me/us to seriously consider and b) most importantly - I/WE were simply NEVER asked! When, (if at all any) representations were eventually made to our respective managements from the Vibes organisers - it came far TOO LATE (as in the case of the Auckland VIBES event) for us to properly consider any other proposed offer. By then however, we had ALREADY considered AND ACCEPTED an offer to play at Auckland's GROOVE IN THE PARK - a FREE gig at the DOMAIN. As it turned out - a potentially RIVAL event. This is in no way the fault or responsibility of either GILLES or myself. That situation, I should add, is ENTIRELY the making of the various organisers THEMSELVES for reasons best known to them. Co-incidentally, it has transpired that both the VIBES and GITP events in AUCKLAND have been scheduled take place on exactly the SAME day - 6th FEB (Waitangi Day) - a fact myself and GILLES were only made aware of a month or so beforehand - by the organisers of VIBES themselves. (strange but true). That's unfortunate for the punters and everyone concerned as we were completely unaware BEFOREHAND that this would be the case. This to me demonstrates a complete LACK of professionalism on their part and a total disregard of the interests of the thousands of Kiwi fans who are still, after all, customers. We are now both well aware of the fact that an awfull lot of Kiwi fans and others will be faced with a dillemma over WHICH event to support on the day. In an IDEAL situation maybe it might just be possible to check out BOTH events on the day - who knows? Where ever you decide to go - it will be the RIGHT choice I'm sure. I've no reason at all to doubt that BOTH events will be MASSIVE on the day as BOTH have equally fantastic lineups and will hopefully be very well supported by the Auckand MASSIVES I'm sure - Here's to that scenario anyway - YAY! These are just a few of the REAL reasons behind why GILLES and myself are NOT playing any other event in AUCKLAND on that day (with the possible exception of a last minute afterparty perhaps). We would NEVER knowingly (or otherwise) appear to 'undermine' ANY rival event - in ANY country we happen to be playing in. I'm just taking this oportunity to completely refute ANY such allegations to the contrary. It has long been my policy (and I'm sure I speak for GILLES on this one) to NEVER get involved in any percieved 'promoter war' (under ANY circumstances). I hope this now clears up any potential misunderstandings between the various parties concerned. I just thought that you the public should know that's all - COOL! Still, it will be a REAL honour and indeed a privilege to play together - not only for our many fans in AUCKLAND (a first for us jointly) but also in SYDNEY and MELBOURNE too - Can't wait! It's been the best part of a YEAR at least (maybe even longer) since we last played alongside each other...ANYWHERE! - and on the rare ocassions that we do now - we seem to bring out the BEST in each other both musically and deejay wise - thoroughly 'avin' it' in the process. So you guys and girls will be in for a absolute musical treat! I'm hoping if all goes well (please god) this will be a tour to remember. Not only for us - but for YOU TOO! We aim to enjoy EVERY MINUTE of our short time down under - playing a wide ECLECTIC range of great music we just KNOW you're gonna love! GOOD TIMES down under fe'reel!! If you're up for it - and there's absolutely no doubt that WE are - follow our/his (drunken?) and debauched antics via my post gig scribblings on here... ******************** STOP PRESS... UPTOWN RECORDS in London have managed to secure a LIMITED number of feature length imported copies (promotion only) of the GOOD TIMES FILM on DVD. They are good quality copies which are region 1 & 2 compatible - so should work perfectly in most countries around the world. So HURRY and give them a call today on 0044 (0) 207 434 3639 or visit their website at http://www.uptownrecords.com for mail order details WORLDWIDE while stocks last... ******************** FRESH CONTACT! As I'm going to be away for the next few weeks, I will NOT be available on my current MUSICLINKS e-mail until I return on the 20/21st February. Therefore, in the meantime if you really want/need to contact either myself or GILLES for any reason (comments/requests/shouts etc) - THEN PLEASE USE the following e-mail address: goodtimes@london.com - AFTER Mon 3rd Feb or continue to post in the forums in the usual way (we'll check them whenever we can). Hopefully, I SHOULD have DAILY access to this e-mail account - so look forward to hearing from ya wheneva! have a cool 'Year Of The Goat' in 2003 and remember: ''NOT IN OUR NAME!'' laterz.. Norman Jay MBE