Chapter 19
Back at home, they put the shopping away and Willow went to help Wendy with the laundry. Being Saturday, they went to the club to have dinner and catch up with the villagers. When Ashley was asked about his head, he just told them that he had run into something wooden.
Maisie and Gina came along, so the two friends sat together. Willow told Gina about what Racheal had told her that morning.
“That’s terrible. No wonder his parents are laying down the law. I wonder if the statements that he was leaving the band and the syndicates had actually come from them. Wilhelm was pretty slick with transferring the money. Still, we can’t take the chance that he would do something to derail a tour, like the Hikers, so it’s best that he’s out of it.”
“It would be better for us if we’re more hard rock, but the album I’m trying to work out follows the ‘Journey’ one, which was all sweetness and love. I suppose that I can make it hard-edged with nasty surprises, but it should have an uplifting final track to give hope after the angst.”
“Didn’t you say something about that in Australia? While we were at that seafood place.”
“Yes. I have all the titles written down; it all came to me as we were watching the fireworks. I have the idea that it will be called ‘Fireworks – The Journey Continues’, and all the songs are named for fireworks.”
She pulled her notebook out of her bag.
“Now, we start with ‘Sparklers’, which describes the rings on her fingers as a continuation of ‘Her Day”. Then we have ‘Catherine Wheels’ which is about the reception and all the mad dancing. Then there’s a song about the honeymoon, called ‘Rocket (to the moon and back)’. That’s followed by ‘Crackers’ about the craziness of newly married life and getting into a routine; ‘Banger’ is buying a car for her; ‘Shower’ is the realisation that it’s all hard work. Then the bad bits. ‘Thunderclap’ is finding out that her husband is seeing someone on the sly, and that’s followed by two songs that run together. ‘Pyro (technic)’ is getting a detective to get the evidence, with ‘Pyro (maniac)’ where she presents her evidence and accuses him of trying to burn down the family. The final track will be ‘Starburst’ which is an uplifting song about a new life without him but with a car, a house, a career, and -as a final twist- a new baby growing inside her. That could lead into another album about taking the journey further, but with a companion that you had not considered.”
“Wow! That will be interesting once you get the words and the tunes. You know what you want to say, and that’s a start. If we’re a bit free in the next term, you’ll have time to work on it. It does sound that you listened to that reporter in Sydney. I can see bits of classics in many of those songs. Some of the ‘Fireworks Symphony’, bits of the Wedding March, maybe some Wagnerian themes. In ‘Rocket’ I can hear a building crescendo with a moment of silence. The cover can just be pictures of the fireworks scattered across it.”
“You’re right. I had thought that the ‘Pyro (maniac)’ track could have a background theme similar to ‘Ride of the Valkyries’.”
“Mum and I had a lot to talk about on the drive home. We spoke about the convenience of having a second home. With what I’ve earned, we can buy something in the south of France, which she loves. It can be somewhere we can go to in the Christmas break. I’m doing well with French and Italian, so we can get somewhere nice.”
“You could get a chateau, like on TV, and put us all up. That will all depend on what France does about expats. Spain has put a lot of hurdles in the way of living there.”
“If we get a chateau, there should be room for a grand piano, and would be a good base for when I’m a soloist. I like that. I’ll talk to Mum about that idea.”
That night, Willow was able to tell her Tiger of all the things that had happened to her since she had last cuddled him. She didn’t tell her furry friends about City Shaun, in case they got jealous.
Sunday morning, the family went to the church and listened to Jim on the organ. They went over to the club, where Ashley put a beret over his bandage and pretended to be a French waiter. They had lunch and went home, where Willow sat down with her notebook, and her previous lyrics, to turn everything into a pop masterpiece. That evening, she made sure that her uniform was ready to go.
Monday morning, she climbed into the people mover.
“Good morning, Max, good morning, Sebastian. I hope that you had a good break?”
“It was all right. How was yours? Did you get plenty of rest?”
“If you count over forty hours in a plane rest, yes, I did.”
She was starting to tell them about the trip when they picked up Gina, and both related the saga that was the trip. At the school, they went to put bags in their lockers and joined the throng waiting to go into the theatre.
When they went in and lined up in their years, Jim was playing the Bach. Gina giggled.
“Looks like we both got bumped by a man.”
After the sermon, hymn, and blessing for the term to come, the Head came out to the microphone.
“Welcome to the New Year and the Spring Term. This is usually one where the first-year students have found their feet, and other years are striving for good marks. Last term was, I have to say, different. The very first day of term saw our orchestra play in the Albert Hall for the Monday of the last week of the Proms. That was a very great compliment for the combined orchestra, but also for our teaching methods here in school. After that, that same orchestra, with our choir and others, started to work on the greatest religious oratorio of all time, the Messiah. They played one night here in this theatre, and then went on to play three sold-out performances in the Cathedral, which were filmed by the BBC and broadcast on Christmas Eve. I’m told that there will be an official DVD later in the year, but we do have a CD and a DVD filmed here in the school, for sale from this week. The CD that we have has been taken up by a record label and will be released nationally. On that note, the CD that our orchestra recorded at Abbey Road, last year, has been given a Gold Record for sales, which is now on display in reception.”
She paused and looked around the hall, her eyes finding Willow, sitting quietly.
“What I’m going to tell you, now, is a direct result of all that success. We now have the equipment to teach advanced mixing and recording techniques, with courses starting this term. Our friend, the Bishop of Coventry, has requested that our orchestra works on another oratorio, Joseph Haydn’s ‘Creation’. It is another huge work, with the original performance featuring a hundred and twenty instruments, sixty singers and three soloists. Of course, we won’t go that large. Also, the BBC have spoken to us about performing at the Proms again. This will be a better evening, the Saturday night before the last week. They have asked us to perform the Messiah, and our choir will be boosted by the soloists and voices of the English National Opera. They will come here for rehearsals. The Saturday performance will be broadcast live. Because of this, our original plan of separating the two orchestras has been forgotten. The Junior Orchestra will now consist of the first- and second-year players, plus any third-year players who want to mentor them. The current combined orchestra will now be the Senior Orchestra for this year, with the unenviable duty to perform the two biggest oratorio in the same year.”
She scanned the theatre as the orchestra was taking this in.
“Before I go on to more mundane things, I would like to tell you about a party I went to, before Christmas. It was presented by the label that has marketed our music on a national basis, and there are links to that on our website. At that party, I received the Gold Record for the album, on behalf of the school. Our conductor, Mister Bamborough, also received one. There were a lot of well-known singers there, but the runaway winners that night was our own Summer Rose, all students at the school. Will you all please stand.”
The ten stood and blushed as the school applauded them. When they sat down, the Head smiled.
“That evening, they received Double Platinum Records for two of their albums, as well as for two of their DVDs. Their new live show in Berlin was given a Gold Record, and Willow Rose was awarded an individual Double Platinum for writing the entire ‘Journey’ album. We are proud to be able to support such outstanding students. Now, on to more mundane matters…”
When the assembly was over, a lot of the students wanted to congratulate the band members. When they were back into the main school, everyone wanted to pass through reception to see the Gold Record. Above it was the group picture, taken at the party, blown up and framed, with them all looking dapper and beautiful and laden with the awards. Miss Russell stood by it, with a texta, and told all the band members to sign the picture as they passed by.
When Willow and Gina had signed, Miss Russell grinned.
“Busy year for you two this year. At least you only have to master one extra piece. It looks like you’ll be leader again, Willow. Abbie has asked to lead the juniors. She’ll be good for them as she learned so much from you last year.”
The lessons brought them back to something approaching normal, and the school year had started. Willow had looked at her schedule and found that gym was on Tuesday afternoon, this term, and the Combined Orchestra was on Wednesday afternoons, finishing in time for her to help out in the evening with the Village Choir.
When she arrived home, she found a parcel on the step, from the University. It contained her course notes, and the lectures were set for Tuesdays and Thursdays, from eight to nine. There were short exams, every now and then, to show that the students were actually attending, and a warning that there would be projects for the end of each term, with a real-world situation for them to explore and offer a solution to.
She was expected to study for up to twenty-five hours a week, with the total course taking the year to complete the four separate modules, which would give her a Certificate of Higher Education in Business Management, and the key to a degree course later. She read a letter which stated that, although she was years younger than the minimum age, the committee had agreed to let her register due to her consistent high marks and the letter from the Head of the Blue Coat School.
There was paperwork that gave her access to the Student Portal and the Virtual Learning Environment, and a membership card for the Senate Library, should she need to look at books and was able to get to London. There was also an invoice for nearly three thousand pounds, with various ways to pay. She turned on her computer and paid, in full, using the ID to verify who was paying. She saw that she would need to attend the actual Centre of Learning, in Royal Holloway, for exams.
When she showed her parents what she had enrolled for, her father patted her shoulder and told her that she would be the brains of the family. Her mother gave her a hug, a kiss on the cheek and grinned.
“They say that if you want anything done, ask a busy person. Have you found out what the school has in mind for you, this year?”
“Yes, Mum. We’re going to work on Joseph Haydn’s ‘Creation’ for the Bishop, and do the Messiah in the Albert Hall, on the penultimate Saturday of the Proms. I’m the orchestra leader, so will be playing my violin more.”
“So, you’ll be as busy as you were last year. All you need now is another tour.”
“That may happen. Mum, how would you like a trip into Coventry on Saturday? I want to get another computer for the uni study only. One I can take away with me and do work on in the free time.”
“That will be nice. We need some things to fill the gaps in our wardrobes, now we have the two places to go to. If we have enough in London, we won’t need to carry much with us.”
That evening, Willow sat at her computer, researching the ‘Creation’. She found an orchestra list, which was impressive. There were a lot of wind instruments. Three flutes. Two oboes, a C and a B-flat clarinet, two bassoons and a contrabassoon. Then there was two horns, two trumpets, and three trombones.
With the strings, there was first and second violins, viola, cello, and bass. Percussion was timpani, and then there was a continuo, which would give Gina a place. As far as the soloists went, the bulk of the work only had parts for the soprano, tenor, and bass. With the alto only having something to do in the finale. She thought about what they already had and decided that they could perform it as a full school operation, without any additions from outside. She had heard one of the choir from second year with a good soprano voice, and another with alto. They already had the tenor and bass.
She could see why the Bishop wanted this, as it told the story of the first seven days, as described in Genesis, and took other words from the book of psalms. She made notes for herself and made ready for bed. She saw that she had an email from Evelyn, thanking her for the pictures, which had been sent to all the members, with both blown up and now on her bedroom wall.
On Tuesday, she was waylaid on the way into school and sent to see Mister Bamborough.
“Good morning, Willow. Knowing you, I expect that you already have some idea about the orchestra for the ‘Creation’?”
“I have, sir. We won’t be much bigger than last year, as we can decrease the number of the violins. With the extra wind instruments, I think we would end up with forty. The choir will be what we make it, but I think we can do a good job with what we had before from the school. I have thought about the soprano and alto places, and there were a couple in the choir that could do a fine job.”
He laughed.
“You and I think along the same lines. I agree that we should make this an in-house production. Hold your thoughts. I’ll be playing a CD of the piece at the first meeting next week, and then we can start sorting the players out then. I expect that most of the band will be in the line-up. If they’re not playing, they can be singing. We concentrate on this until we perform, and then move to the Messiah again, with our visiting extras.”
As she rose, she reached into her bag and pulled out the small boomerang.
“Here you are, sir. I did promise you a boomerang and this was the only one I could carry.”
As she left him, he waved the boomerang around and was smiling. The day was normal, and the first gym lesson had the PE instructor getting them to sit on the floor while she spoke to them.
“This year, girls, we will be in the netball competition again. It will take place in the last week of May. What is different, is that we will only be fielding the first, second, and fifth-year teams in Birmingham. Because the second year and third-year teams won the trophies last year, they have qualified for the National Competition in London as a third year and fourth year team. This is limited to just the winners from the five regional competitions, so there’s only a total of twenty-five teams. It is taken at a much slower pace than you found before, with each team having four games in the round robin, just two a day. The top two teams play off for the trophy. It only takes four days to complete, so, if you make it to the final, you only play five games in total.”
They were put through exercises to loosen the muscles after the holiday. Willow needed a shower after that, and, feeling refreshed and supple, the friends went home again. That evening, she revisited the songs that she had been working on to see if any could be changed to suit the fireworks mantle.
Wednesday, school was starting to become usual again, and that evening, after dinner, she walked to the club to see if the Village Choir were ready to start a new year. It was a small group, without the ex-professionals, so she led them in a few easy songs to start the year and feel as if they had done something. Thursday and Friday evenings, she continued to work on the fireworks songs, taking the hints that Gina had made about the classical content.
On Saturday morning, the family went into Coventry and did some shopping. Ashley bought a woollen cap that hid his lump, now that he wasn’t wearing a bandage, and the girls bought a few outfits still on racks from the New Year Sales. In the electrical store, Willow chose a similar laptop to the one at home and got them to set it up using the WR Holdings contact and email only, with the MS365 and other packages that had been recommended by the University. She added a mouse and keyboard pack and a carry case for the lot. The salesman tried to get her logged on to all the social media, but she refused, getting him to delete any that were already set. At home, she added the Student Portal and other university links. Her home unit was black, and she had deliberately bought a silver one, so she didn’t get mixed up. She had done without getting emails while away without her laptop, and she wasn’t going to start chatting on-line now.
Sunday, they went to hear Jim on the organ, now pretty much the main organist, with his name replacing the other two on the board. They went over to the club, had the hot drinks, and a light lunch. She worked on the songs some more. The coming week, she knew, wouldn’t allow this much free time.
On Monday evening, she had an email from Peter, with her new statement. The CDs had sold a total of six hundred thousand albums, and the DVDs had sold six hundred and eighty thousand, with the Berlin show accounting for three hundred and eighty thousand. Merchandise had moved eighty-five thousand pounds worth, and expenses totalled eighty-five thousand. Her share, after the commission, was a bit over six hundred thousand. He had a note on the bottom that she wasn’t being charged for the shipment to Australia, as it would be classed as advertising.
She answered him, asking if he could transfer six hundred thousand to the WR Holdings account. Then, she transferred fifteen thousand to her uni account. By her calculations, they were making a lot of people rich, with Peter taking a million from this statement alone.
Tuesday, in gym, they did warm-up exercises and played a full game of netball, her first real hit-out for a while. Because of the time since the competition, she hadn’t realised how fit she had got, nor how much more body mass she had. Not that her dress size was much bigger, but the body that the dress contained was somewhat bulkier, and the hem was a little higher than before. It made her realise that she would need to shop for bras soon. Gone was the weedy boy, replaced by a developing girl.
Tuesday evening was the first lecture in her course. It was mainly an introduction session, with her the youngest of the dozen students. When she gave her name, there was a look of surprise on the faces of the others, but the lecturer, ‘call me Terry’, carried on as if she was a normal student.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Music Studies started with discussion on Film Music, and the need for it to convey the mood of what the scene was showing, leading to the music that you could hear, with your eyes shut, and be able to describe the scene. Willow took this in, as it would help her with her own narrative songs.
After that, it was the Senior Orchestra, which she was now leading. Mister Bamborough gave her a copy of the score, and she followed it as he played the CD of the work. It was as long as the Messiah, and in three parts. It had as much impact, with Willow quite excited by the whole thing. Again, it would be hard work, but with it being only students, they could just take it in order.
Thursday evening was the first proper lecture on Zoom, leaving Willow with lots of notes. At this rate, she would need to get a box of notebooks. And so, she settled into a routine, lectures on Tuesday and Thursday, Orchestra rehearsals on Wednesday, schoolwork as needed, and writing up lecture notes or working on songs over the weekend.
She and Gina still played the occasional sing-along, with Malcolm booking other bands for the dinner dances. The club had turned the corner, becoming a popular place to be on Saturday nights. Gina would lament that they still hadn’t found a suitable new home, and had started to look outside France
In the first week of February, there was another statement from Peter, with her share being just on four hundred and thirty-six thousand. She had him transfer five hundred thousand to the WR Holdings, leaving thirty-six thousand with him and over three point eight million in her account, enough to get something serious, if she could find time to do the research. The Berlin DVD had gone Platinum.
On the Saturday, the first day of the half term, Wendy drove her down to London, with both laptops, staying overnight and driving home, leaving Willow at the apartment for the week. Gina and Maisie had flown to Italy to look at a few places.
Willow spent the weekdays in the Senate Library, and two of the evenings with lectures. The rest of the time, she worked on her new songs, with peace and quiet to concentrate. She ate in the restaurant or at the university. Sometimes having dinner with Ted and the others. On the Monday, she had taken an Uber to a music store and came back to the apartment with a Nord Stage Three, which she set up in the upstairs sitting room. On Friday, she had recorded every track and emailed them to the others in the band.
On the Saturday, Wendy came back, and they had a little retail therapy, this time buying four small vacuum cleaners for the two apartments, as well as some spring outfits for the next time they would stay. On Sunday morning, Willow cleaned her rooms, with Wendy cleaning downstairs. They then went next door and repeated the cleaning there. They had lunch with Ted and Alicia, and Kevin and Hazel, then Wendy drove them home.
Monday, it was back to school and the usual routine until the last day of February, when there was an email from Jill. The latest album had been released, to critical acclaim, and the band was going to spend a good part of the Easter Holidays on tour. They would fly from Manchester to Madrid to play a single show to eighty thousand at the home of Real Madrid, then on to Rome for another show to seventy thousand at the Stadio Olimpico, and then Athens for a third at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, to seventy-five thousand. There would be local bands to open, and they were expected to play for ninety minutes or more. They would be home from Athens on Good Friday, with a week to rest before going back to school.
Willow spoke to her parents and Gina. At school, Gina spoke to Brent, who spoke to Herb, who spoke to Nancy. Willow emailed Jill that the five of them wanted to return to London. They would Uber to the apartments and spend the week there, with them organising a minibus to take them home on the Saturday.
Willow emailed the Uni, explaining that she would be on tour that week, until Easter, and asking if she could submit her project and attend the exam in the week between Easter Monday and the start of her next term, the following Monday. She got a reply from her lecturer, telling her that it was approved, considering her busy life, and that she was to present herself at the Royal Holloway Campus, at ten on the Thursday of that week, and to bring her project with her in digital format.
Marianne Gregory © 2025