The Live Ghost Tent Online

The Post-Convention 21st - 24th July 1998
recemembered by Gareth Evans.

I could not believe it was all over, the 11th International Convention hosted by the Laughing Gravy tent in Birmingham was a tremendous success and thanks again to John Ullah & Co for a truly memorable time.
Well, it wasn’t quite over for now we boarded buses and trains back to London for the 1998 post-Convention.

Having arrived at our hotel in London, post-conventioneers were welcomed into a private suite for a sumptuous buffet which was followed by the first of two auctions in aid of the Laurel & Hardy charity fund. Tent committee members had donated memorabilia for the auction which included film books and vintage magazines, hand-written envelopes by Stan & Ollie, rare film posters and a genuine Policeman’s helmet donated by our head plonker (sorry, Clunker) Roger Robinson.

The auctioneer was none other than the Live Ghost himself, Del Kempster, and we were delighted to have with us our special guest Nancy Wardell. As a result of the evenings proceedings we were so very pleased to inform Nancy that the first auction had raised Ł340 for the charity fund.

The next day allowed necessary time to recover from the previous nights antics before starting out for an afternoon visit to the Museum of The Moving Image (MOMI). The visit was, of course, preceded by ‘some good ol’ fish n’ chips’ from the ‘South of London’ at Masters Fish restaurant, Waterloo. The visit to MOMI was enjoyed by everybody, so many fascinating exhibits from the past to the present plus the opportunity of getting in front of the camera yourself to read the news or act in a film scene, great stuff for the extroverts among us!

In the evening we all met in the National Film Theatre café/bar (where else?) for a cocktail or three before a presentation of Laurel & Hardy rarities by our keeper of the celluloid Dave Wyatt, there was not an empty seat in the house as the show was also open to the public. Among the many archive clips were out-takes of Oliver Hardy with Bing Crosby and Stan & Ollie on stage in colour! Well done and thanks Dave for finding these little gems.

Roger Robinson (kneeling), Peter Balskus, a resident policeman and ‘the other dummy’ at the River Police Museum.

Thursday was a particularly special day for a very privileged group of conventioneers. Roger had been able to arrange a visit to the Thames Division River Police Museum situated in Docklands. This is the oldest police force in the world who this year celebrate their bi-centenary. Museum visits are normally restricted to police personnel only so thanks Roger for arranging everything and we won’t mention the money you passed to the curator!!

In the evening we visited the famous Players Theatre for a night at the Old English Music Hall. The evening was dedicated to our late dear friend Tony Hawes who loved The Players. The show was preceded by a truly wonderful buffet and numerous cocktails and after much merriment we made our way into the theatre. Our overseas guests thought it truly wonderful to see how the audiences of Victorian time were entertained.
Although not familiar with all the songs one did attempt to comply with the request of the Chairmen to join in the repeat choruses. My confidence began to grow and I could not understand why the Grim Reaper, who I was sitting next to at the time, moved away when I joined in a chorus of ‘Oh! The Fairies’, mind you I glanced over my shoulder five minutes later to see him and the Grand Sheik sitting alone together in the back row! The song had obviously affected them too although they’ll tell you they just wanted easy access to the bar.

A special part of the show was performed by Alan Curtis who treated us to a rendition of one of his famous monologues in which he managed to include the name of Tony Hawes - much to our delight. At the conclusion of his piece, Alan then gave a short but moving tribute to our dear, late friend that brought a tear to many an eye.

What we collectively experienced was the kind of show Stan would have appeared in at the beginning of his show business career. It was full of nostalgia and a truly wonderful night out. A big tip of the derby to Jim And Jean Stevens for their help in organising the evening.

Now being the Live Ghost tent we just had to include a ghost walk for the final day. Sons gathered outside the Embankment underground station on Friday evening to embark on a ghostly tour of London’s West End and Theatreland. The tour included ghostly tales from the house of Samuel Pepys, the Aldephi Theatre, Covent Garden piazza and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the most haunted theatre in London. Here we were informed by our excellent tour guide of the ‘Man in Grey’ who is, apparently a ghost who is afraid of the dark and has only been seen during the day!

My wife, Sharon, was incorporated into the story by our tour guide much to everyone’s amusement - she had to play the part of a ghostly actress, very appropriate I thought as she frightens the life out of me!!

Gareth & (the frightening) Sharon Evans, Del Kempster and Eric Elliott at “The Two Chairmen”.

The tour concluded outside the Two Chairmen public house where, once again, we ploughed through another buffet, the loyal toasts and much merriment.
That was it, the post-Convention had come to an end, however it so happened that the following day, Saturday, was a planned Live Ghost tent meeting. This was the day we had decided to hold our second auction of assorted Laurel & Hardy goodies which raised the sum of Ł217 making the total raised in the two auctions of Ł557 for the charity fund, a magnificent sum. No one was more delighted than Nancy who went on to tell us that we had restored her faith in the charity - thank you Nancy and long may it continue.

In conclusion one looks back to the night out at the Players Theatre. The final song before the curtain came down was called ‘Dear Old Pals’ and could have been written with Stan & Ollie in mind and certainly embodies the spirit of the International Convention, the Post-Convention, the Live Ghost tent and Sons of the Desert everywhere.

“Dear old pals, jolly old pals”
“Clinging together in all sorts of weather”
“Dear old pals, jolly old pals”
“Give me the friendship of dear old pals”

Now there’s another anthem for the Sons!!

Post-Convention organisers Jim Hutchinson & Del Kempster breathing a collective sigh of relief that everyone enjoyed themselves - now to get planning on hosting an International Convention! (Ed’s note: - not a chance!)

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The Post-Convention 21st - 24th July 1998 recemembered by Gareth Evans.
I could not believe it was all over, the 11th International Convention hosted by the Laughing Gravy tent in Birmingham was a tremendous success and thanks again to John Ullah & Co for a truly memorable time. Well, it wasn’t quite over for now we boarded buses and trains back to London for the 1998 post-Convention. Having arrived at our hotel in London, post-conventioneers were welcomed into a private suite for a sumptuous buffet which was followed by the first of two auctions in aid of the Laurel & Hardy charity fund. Tent committee members had donated memorabilia for the auction which included film books and vintage magazines, hand-written envelopes by Stan & Ollie, rare film posters and a genuine Policeman’s helmet donated by our head plonker (sorry, Clunker) Roger Robinson. The auctioneer was none other than the Live Ghost himself, Del Kempster, and we were delighted to have with us our special guest Nancy Wardell. As a result of the evenings proceedings we were so very pleased to inform Nancy that the first auction had raised Ł340 for the charity fund. The next day allowed necessary time to recover from the previous nights antics before starting out for an afternoon visit to the Museum of The Moving Image (MOMI). The visit was, of course, preceded by ‘some good ol’ fish n’ chips’ from the ‘South of London’ at Masters Fish restaurant, Waterloo. The visit to MOMI was enjoyed by everybody, so many fascinating exhibits from the past to the present plus the opportunity of getting in front of the camera yourself to read the news or act in a film scene, great stuff for the extroverts among us! In the evening we all met in the National Film Theatre café/bar (where else?) for a cocktail or three before a presentation of Laurel & Hardy rarities by our keeper of the celluloid Dave Wyatt, there was not an empty seat in the house as the show was also open to the public. Among the many archive clips were out-takes of Oliver Hardy with Bing Crosby and Stan & Ollie on stage in colour! Well done and thanks Dave for finding these little gems.
Roger Robinson (kneeling), Peter Balskus, a resident policeman and ‘the other dummy’ at the River Police Museum.	Thursday was a particularly special day for a very privileged group of conventioneers. Roger had been able to arrange a visit to the Thames Division River Police Museum situated in Docklands. This is the oldest police force in the world who this year celebrate their bi-centenary. Museum visits are normally restricted to police personnel only so thanks Roger for arranging everything and we won’t mention the money you passed to the curator!!
In the evening we visited the famous Players Theatre for a night at the Old English Music Hall. The evening was dedicated to our late dear friend Tony Hawes who loved The Players. The show was preceded by a truly wonderful buffet and numerous cocktails and after much merriment we made our way into the theatre. Our overseas guests thought it truly wonderful to see how the audiences of Victorian time were entertained. Although not familiar with all the songs one did attempt to comply with the request of the Chairmen to join in the repeat choruses. My confidence began to grow and I could not understand why the Grim Reaper, who I was sitting next to at the time, moved away when I joined in a chorus of ‘Oh! The Fairies’, mind you I glanced over my shoulder five minutes later to see him and the Grand Sheik sitting alone together in the back row! The song had obviously affected them too although they’ll tell you they just wanted easy access to the bar. A special part of the show was performed by Alan Curtis who treated us to a rendition of one of his famous monologues in which he managed to include the name of Tony Hawes - much to our delight. At the conclusion of his piece, Alan then gave a short but moving tribute to our dear, late friend that brought a tear to many an eye. What we collectively experienced was the kind of show Stan would have appeared in at the beginning of his show business career. It was full of nostalgia and a truly wonderful night out. A big tip of the derby to Jim And Jean Stevens for their help in organising the evening. Now being the Live Ghost tent we just had to include a ghost walk for the final day. Sons gathered outside the Embankment underground station on Friday evening to embark on a ghostly tour of London’s West End and Theatreland. The tour included ghostly tales from the house of Samuel Pepys, the Aldephi Theatre, Covent Garden piazza and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the most haunted theatre in London. Here we were informed by our excellent tour guide of the ‘Man in Grey’ who is, apparently a ghost who is afraid of the dark and has only been seen during the day! My wife, Sharon, was incorporated into the story by our tour guide much to everyone’s amusement - she had to play the part of a ghostly actress, very appropriate I thought as she frightens the life out of me!!
Gareth & (the frightening) Sharon Evans, Del Kempster and Eric Elliott at “The Two Chairmen”.
The tour concluded outside the Two Chairmen public house where, once again, we ploughed through another buffet, the loyal toasts and much merriment. That was it, the post-Convention had come to an end, however it so happened that the following day, Saturday, was a planned Live Ghost tent meeting. This was the day we had decided to hold our second auction of assorted Laurel & Hardy goodies which raised the sum of Ł217 making the total raised in the two auctions of Ł557 for the charity fund, a magnificent sum. No one was more delighted than Nancy who went on to tell us that we had restored her faith in the charity - thank you Nancy and long may it continue. In conclusion one looks back to the night out at the Players Theatre. The final song before the curtain came down was called ‘Dear Old Pals’ and could have been written with Stan & Ollie in mind and certainly embodies the spirit of the International Convention, the Post-Convention, the Live Ghost tent and Sons of the Desert everywhere. “Dear old pals, jolly old pals” “Clinging together in all sorts of weather” “Dear old pals, jolly old pals” “Give me the friendship of dear old pals” Now there’s another anthem for the Sons!!
Post-Convention organisers Jim Hutchinson & Del Kempster breathing a collective sigh of relief that everyone enjoyed themselves - now to get planning on hosting an International Convention! (Ed’s note: - not a chance!)