Gaby Book 28  Balancing Trick by Maddy Bell Copyright© 2023 Madeline Bell

 
My head was throbbing even before the alarm announced the arrival of seven a.m. Seven, what the heck was I thinking? My few operating brain cells re ran last night just to remind me of just why I felt like pooh this morning.

 
There were calls for an encore when Luftballons ended, encouraged it seemed to me, by Sammy. The others seemed up for it so we did our rocky rendition of Edelweiss, everyone knows it and it went down well enough on the tour. I think it could’ve gotten out of hand at that point as there were calls for more, we were ‘rescued’ by Sammy putting on something a bit more saccharin than BlauHase or should it be BlauKäse could dish up.

"If they’d kept us there any longer I was going to renegotiate our fee,” Stefan joked, I think, as we did a swift breakdown of our gear.
"Guess its one way to promote the band.”
"Probably have to change the name to BlauKäse playing that stuff,” Marcus opined.
"At least private gigs like this don’t get in the press,” Big Jo mentioned.

And the moon is made of Gorgonzola.

"We staying for a drink?” Little Jo asked.
"Thought you’d never ask,” Animal smirked.

Which is how I was still inside the Kurhaus when my lift arrived, making short work of another Weissbier, which in turn is probably why my head feels like it does this morning.
 

After a quick shower to wake myself up a bit and remove whatever gunk Mand had used on my hair last night, I headed downstairs to find some breakfast.

"Mornin’,” de Vreen offered.
"Yeah,” I agreed, "You’re ready early.”
"No point in waiting till the last minute, there’s tea in the pot.”
"I guess.”

To be honest, I was putting off putting on the Garde uniform for as long as possible, I know I agreed to do today’s display, doesn’t mean I enjoy looking like a Christmas decoration – in pink!

"Your dad said he’ll drop us down,” I was informed.
"Where is he, he’s usually up by now,” now being almost eight o’clock.
"Gone for a walk, something about clearing his head.”
“’kay, you want another cup?”
 

"Come on Gab, we’ll be late.”
"It wasn’t me redoing my hair with Dad waiting in the car.”
"The ribbon was loose.”
"It could’ve waited,” I pointed out as we headed towards the rendezvous point outside of the Ahrtor, well actually it was the apron of the fire station the other side of the town ring.
"Says last minute Annie.”
"I was ready.”
"Hmmph!”

Not that getting ready was difficult, no need to do more than a rudimentary hair job and of course makeup, even massy was pointless.
 

I felt a right narna hurrying along Friedrichstrasse, whoever picked this uniform clearly never had to wear one. The boots are okay and I can sort of forgive the colour but the skirt, Nanna would call it a pelmet, it reveals more than it conceals. Nanna, have I always made this sort of observation or is it because she’s fresh in my thoughts?

Mind you, Mand was getting more attention than me I think, the All Stars cheer uniform is probably more revealing even if the skirt is a bit longer, combined with the shell top and cutesy ribbons – well you’ve all seen cheerleaders. I’m not used to seeing so much of Mand in public, its usually leggings or jeans unless there’s a special occasion. Why are we walking I hear you ask, well the Polizei already had some closures in place ahead of todays festivities so rather than get caught up in all of that he’d dropped us by the Niedertor.

It wasn’t a long walk, ten minutes tops, we were there in plenty of time.

"Morning girls,” Han greeted.
"Its still morning?”
"Only just,” Hannah acknowledged, "Thanks for doing this, the rest of the All Stars are down by the river Amanda, I’ll pop down in a few minutes.”
“’kay, see you later soldier girl,”
"Whatever,” I sighed to her departing back, "Where do you want me?” I enquired of my ‘friend’.
"Inside please Gab, you really are a brick for doing this.”
"Idiot,” I suggested.
"Never that Fraulein Bond, never that. Look I’ll catch you in a bit, best see what your girls are getting up to.”
 
Inside the Feuerhalle the Gardetanz helpers, several parents and a couple of Tanzklub women, had a sort of production line going turning the diverse young women into toy soldier clones. Not GI Joe type soldiers of course but that strange caricature of eighteenth century military that is standard in Gardetanz. With a heavy sigh I joined the line to be painted and bewigged into the standard Alle Stern Garde personna.

I’ve gone through the process before, I hated it then and I hated it today but I did promise. With practised ease I was transformed into the group’s china doll, white face, rosy cheeks, red lips, before the Perücke was added. By the time we were done it was nigh on impossible to recognize anyone by sight, the only clue being their voices and for some, height.

"Okay ladies,” a woman I recognised as a Tanzklub official started, "The parade starts in thirty minutes so if you need the facilities now is the time, Mütze und Stütze on the way out then we’ll walk up to Niedertor to join the procession.”

Great, I’m just glad that no one will recognise me in this get up.
 
Perhaps I should explain what today is all about. The valley I live in is a fairly close community, there are events like last nights disco to keep us entertained, clubs for just about anything you can imagine and bigger, community gatherings like todays Familienparade, not a parade of families but a parade of the more mainstream groups from up and down the Ahrtal. Its a charity fundraiser of course, all the groups parade through Ahrweiler Altstadt then there’s demonstrations in the Marktplatz, a bit of a recruitment drive.

To that end the Tanzklub are out in force today, the Garde and Cheer teams of course but the Gesellschaftstanz, rock and roll and Volkstanz groups will be out too, not forgetting the kiddies Garde and folk groups. There will be a lot of folk taking part and a lot of watchers.

Of course, it couldn’t be a community event around here without food and beverage stalls, there will no doubt be a couple of kiddy rides too. Its not the town Karneval, that’s later in the year, but it does get a decent gathering of locals and early season tourists – hey, who doesn’t like a party?

It was organised chaos at the Niedertor, what with musical groups tuning up, dancers forming up and small children throwing up. The whole thing is carefully choreographed, well sort of, a stop start affair, which means the kilometre long route will take a couple of hours to get around. Its a slightly convoluted route, straight along Niederhutstraße to the Marktplatz, a loop around St Laurentiuskirche before taking the streets past Der Mühle to reach Ahrhutstraße then back up to the square.

If i had to guess i’d say we were about mid way in the parade’s length, sandwiched between the Ahrtal Tramps, a sort of brass band ensemble who turn out for all the local festivals and a flock of pre teens in fuchsia and black leotards from a local gymnastics club. Could have been worse, one of the local Oompah bands was waiting to join the procession behind us!

The groups ahead passed through the narrow gateway, we were on.
 

Somehow we made it round, a brief break to take on liquids and another to dispose of same got us round but these outfits aren’t designed for hours of stomping the cobbles. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one when we reached the end with sore feet and chafing in places you really don’t want to know. And if I hear one more brass rendition of ‘Like a Virgin’, it’ll be a lifetime too soon.

I’m not sure how many times we did our set pieces, there are half a dozen bigger sequences that we did in rotation with some simpler moves padding things out a bit. My feet weren’t the only things aching, my calves, my shoulders, even my hands from gripping that toy gun, all felt like I’d ridden two hundred K non stop.

"I’m glad that’s over,” Franny stated when we were finally able to break rank.
"And that band,” Solde added.
"You’d think they’d learn a few more tunes,” Maria opined.
"I’m starving,” I put in as I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to unknot abused muscles.
"No money,” Solde replied with a sigh.
"Hold that thought,” I suggested before extracting a couple of twenty notes from inside one of my boots.
"Sneaky,” Margot crowed in delight.
"You aren’t just a pretty face Bond,” Solde suggested.
"Who can tell under this lot?” I replied pointing to our near identical faces.
"Covers many sins,” Maria observed.
"We eating or what?” Francine prompted.
"Oh yeah,” I growled as I led our little band towards the exciting aromas wafting from the stalls in front of the Hotel zum Stern at the bottom of the square.
 

It was well after three before a motley collection of Garde and cheerleaders headed down Ahrhutstraße towards the Ahrtor and beyond to the fire station to collect our gear. Why so late? Well the Cheer team were near the back of the parade and, as mentioned before, who doesn’t like a party?

"You two got a ride?“ Han enquired as we collected our bags.

Once back at the Feuerhalle we’d been divested of hats and wigs, make up was removed returning the members of the Garde to a semblance of humanity.

"Getting the Express,” Mand told her.
"It’ll be packed,” I lamented.
"And miles away,” de Vreen added with a sigh.
"If you aren’t in a rush I can drop you off, I’ve got to take the Poms and Garde stuff back to the club so I’m going past.”

Yes!

"Er no rush,” I allowed, "That’d be great.”
"Well thank you both for stepping into the breach.”
"I enjoyed it,” Mand advised, "Made a change to chasing down the tarmac.”
"Jumping about on cobbles?”
"You take what you can get.”
"Whatever, if I hear Like a Virgin once more…”
"You’ll commit murder, you’ve said like twenty times already.”
"Well I’m not a big Madonna fan anyway.”
"We know,” Hannah joined in with a grin on her face.
"I was just saying.”

"You’re late, I was expecting a call,” Dad mentioned when we got back to the house best part of an hour later. The train would probably have been quicker but Han supplied a door to door service which my poor feet were glad of.
"We got a lift.”
"A call might’ve been nice.”
"Sorry.”
"How was it?”
"Tiring but good fun,” Mand enthused.
"You don’t look convinced kiddo.”
"My legs ache, my hands ache, my shoulders are killin’, what’s to like?”
"You got to now Like a Virgin note for note,” de Vreen teased.
"They played different notes every time.”
"I’m guessing you’ve not eaten?” Dad asked.
"Not really.”
"Not really as in a five course dinner?” was that sarcasm.
"Not really as in a crepe from Eva’s stall two hours ago.”
"I’m guessing a Sunday roast isn’t on the cards?”
"Really?”
"Just checking, get yourselves sorted out and we’ll go up to the Nürburg, I quite fancy Schnitzel for a change.”
"Mand?”
"On my way!”
"Twenty minutes?” I suggested.
"Thirty, I need to finish this paperwork for tomorrow, now go.”
 

I know Schnitzel doesn’t sound that exciting for Sunday dinner, compared to a roast its not but Schnitzel at the Nürburg, snuggled below the Burg is a bit different. I might’ve told you about it before, there is other stuff on the menu but their claim to fame is a menu with a different variant for each day of the year. Okay, some are a bit of a stretch to be different and I daresay most people still end up with a Jaeger but as gimmicks go I’ve seen worse.

Twenty kilometres as the crow flies, its more like thirty by road, up to Altenahr, Adenau then the climb up to Nürburg. Usually when we come up this direction its during the day and the howl of cars and bikes testing themselves on the Nordschleife reverberate through the hills but tea time on a Sunday it was eerily quiet. We also didn’t have to contend with the idiots using the public roads as if they are on the race circuit either – not that Dad spared the Saab’s horses on the twisty ascent from Breidscheid.

Of course, with such a long menu, deciding on what you’re having can be a drawn out affair. I finally settled on the Pute Hawaii Cordon Bleu, essentially a folded turkey schnitzel stuffed with cheese and pineapple, maybe not one for the purists but it works for me. Mand’s Curryschnitzel sounded a bit gross to me, Dad had a Jaegerwürst, essentially a standard Jaeger with sliced pepperoni sausage.

"Are you going to be alright next week?” Dad asked Manda as we waited for our culinary delights.
"Course.”
"Maria did say you could stay down with them.”
"I’ll be fine, honest, its only a couple of days and I’ll be at school most of that.”
"If you change your mind the offer’s there.”

Next week? I was confused for a moment and then I remembered, Nanna’s funeral, our unscheduled trip to the west of England.

"So Dad,” I butted in, keen to change the subject, "Any news on the new DS?”
"Nothing concrete, I guess its no secret that I was talking to Joe last weekend.”
"So Joe’s our man?” Manda suggested.
"Maybe, there are others in the frame and it might come down to availability as much as desirability.”
"What about Maria? She’s filling in isn’t she?” I observed.
"She doesn’t want to take it on full time, she’s been on the road with the team for almost ten years, she wants and deserves some home life.”
"You don’t want the job?” Mand asked.
"I’ll do it if push comes to shove but if we can find someone else of the right calibre I’d be happier.”
"We’d have to break in a new DS for the junior team Mand, we’ve only just got this one trained,” I stated with a nearly straight face.
"I can get new riders you know,” he riposted.
"As good as me?”
"Who’s to say, I managed to drag you up to a passable level.”
"Hmmph!”
"Seriously though, if the junior team is to continue we do need some fresh blood, all of you will be moving up to the senior ranks in the next twelve months, I’ll be out of a job.”
"Maybe you should take on the senior squad Mr B,” Mand counselled.
"Its a consideration, that’s what tomorrows meeting is about, whether Apollinaris continue to support a junior team into 2008 or let it finish on a high with you guys.”
"I know it won’t really affect me,” I started, "But does it have to be Apollinaris sponsoring the team?”
"It doesn’t have to be but it does make things simpler, I doubt you’d be riding those Pinarello’s or top spec Campagnolo without being associated with the senior Apollinaris squad.”
"Even with all the titles the team has?” Mand asked.
"Even that, talking with some of the other teams, they have a real struggle covering the weekly running costs. There is talk that some of the elite men’s teams are looking at running development teams but that won’t be specifically for juniors. At the minute all you girls have a toe in for our senior team but I’m not sure where Josh and Darren will end up.”
"Bummer.”
"Sure is, there are more talented riders than places on teams to take them.”
"So it’ll be the same for Cav and that?”
"Not quite, providing they keep performing BC will have them on their own development squad.”
"Quite a carrot,” Mand noted.
"Indeed.”
"So by dipping out, the lads might miss their chance to move up?”
"Its a possibility, we’ll try to not let that happen, there are a few options this side of the Channel but some good results this summer will be essential. Any way, less of what might happen, I’m pretty certain that’s our food coming out.”
 
Maddy Bell © 15.06.2023