I hope my English is quite understandable. If you have any questions, I will answer with pleasure!

]You can also help improve the translation if you want.

Last year I turned 40, so I thought I would treat myself with a nice trip.
I have been saving money for a year to be able to go to the United States to see Band From TV, a music group composed of TV series actors, including Hugh Laurie of course, and for about a year I have been keeping an eye on the concert dates. Unfortunately, the more concerts with Hugh, the less I could think of someone likely to come with me (going to the US by myself worried me a little). I was beginning to lose hope... And then... on November 1st 2010, Hugh Laurie announced that he was going to release an album...I started to realize I might have the incredible opportunity to be able to see him, finally. And in Europe... much more easy for me to organize, considering my availability and family life. So I started to pray and pray every night for the dates in Europe, London and France to finally be determined... I was really hopeful, but I needed to know to be reassured. I was trying to convince myself that I didn't miss the Band From TV concerts for nothing, that the best was yet to come ...that I would finally realize my dream ... Until finally the day came...on March 2011, it was announced that a series of concerts were going to take place in Germany, England and in France, Paris. Paris was a sure thing, I booked my ticket right away. But... only Paris? Hummmm... I was planning to go the United States after all, so I thought that a little additional trip to England was well worth it to fully satisfy my happiness ... And everything continues to fit perfectly, since the London gig coincide exactly with the vacations I had already asked several weeks ago ... I was really starting to think that nothing could go wrong anymore. I was now certain that everything would go like a dream...
To hell with the relatively high ticket price (it was a resale from a buyer ... I will not mention the price here), I paid, prayed for my ticket to arrive on time for the show, and then started to plan my short stay in London (two days)... hotel, transportations, tours, etc... I was lucky enough to find some relatively cheap flights from Nîmes-Garonne, just near my home, to London Luton Airport, in the north of London.
So here I am on May 4th at 7:39, at the airport shuttle stop in my neighborhood, with a backpack only, ready to take the plane again, almost exactly 26 years after the first time I ever took the plane... and going to the same destination: London ... by the way, the number 26 seems to stick with me because it is the number of my luggage, and exactly half the age of Hugh since he turned 52 on the 11th of June ... anyway, I digress a bit here, sorry. So I take-off at 9:40, and arrive in London Luton Airport at 10:25 (UK time), where I take the train to go to London St Pancras (which by the way is the station from where Hugh would take the Eurostar a few days later to go to Paris. .. how could I not think about that??). I arrive around noon at the station.Then it's metro, hotel, some shopping, re-metro... and finally here I am at 3:20 p.m. at Union Chapel. Here's my detailed account of the events that followed. I wrote this report on May 6th, date of my return from London. The concert in Paris had not yet taken place, that's why the last paragraph evokes the May 11th concert with future tense. I could delete it but I thought I'd keep it, in order to 'keep the flavor of my impressions'.

I hope you read this report with the same pleasure I had when I was remembering it and of course, when I lived it. I’ve attached some pics so it doesn’t seem it’s too long to read. I don’t have the videos ready and will never be unless someone helps me to edit them. I think I’m gonna post them the way they are. They are really worthy because I was in a good place with a good zoom!

After leaving the luggage in the hotel, I leave to catch a metro. It’s 15h20 when I get to Union Chapel (old building, built 200 years ago. No reason to say it’s an excellent choice for Hugh’s show): We are a group of around 15 women and we heard some music. Hugh was already there rehearsing with his musicians. We wait patiently under the London sun (which seems to be with us all afternoon) until 19h.

At 16h40, I heard a familiar language, I stand up and I look to the direction where two young ladies are approaching: false alarm! Even I manage to speak English and that the language “Hugh Laurie” is universal, the help of two Belgians was a great advantage and I’d feel less insecure and weird around young English female fans… and just one male fan !
So, my new Belgian friends, who have just come from Berlin and will be in Paris next week (just like me), we wait for Hugh who will get inside through the artist entry situated behind the chapel… my first information was false, I missed him, I won’t have any other chance, I’m so disappointed. He only stayed for 3 minutes, they said, they almost didn’t see him arrive in the back part of a Mercedes… It was when she saw him watching that they realized who was in front of them… he ran away, he only signed 3 autographs in 38 secs and then he went inside the chapel. The two Belgians told me that he arrived between 16h and 17 h. I can’t believe it, but yes, me, who’s been waiting for an hour, I felt bad and already missed the chance to get an autograph… Time passed and I said to myself that I’d tried to walk around that artist’s entry in case he comes out to smoke a cigarette. It’s 17h05 when I decide to do a little tour, you never know: I get to the door, I see the façade with dark curtains that let the light of the room go through, I see a presence, some movements, there’s someone there. Suddenly, some melodic notes are connected; I heard the sound of a piano…. Who else but Hugh can play it? No one else and the timing is convenient. I’m about to get in when the warm-up session finishes, this is a session required for the musician. After a few minutes, the magic power of his fingers on the piano ends, the silence comes ... the shock of heel on the wooden floor is suddenly upset, a go at a quiet pace, then a few moments after returning ... I gasp, he may have noticed a presence outside my presence ... but how is that possible? The piano takes a lot of concentration, Hugh is already definitely in an altered state, far from the pressure of the stage, out of sight. I wait without moving, but nothing happens, the silence returned. A couple comes to the door, the woman looks at me behind his sunglasses, someone comes to open, they quickly rush inside. A female voice through the window panes tells me the end of my dream, the spell is broken. So I return to the main door or gradually I realize that I experienced a moment more intense, more moving than anything that could happen to me now ... I have not seen Hugh, I do not see him maybe not tonight, but I'm sure it's him that I heard, this prelude to an unforgettable evening probably worth more than all the autographs of the world ...
Back at the entrance, it's about 5:40 p.m. when I see a face that not unknown to me, but who is this woman in white shirt, short brown hair, sunglasses, look for someone who seems, something ... the entrance is right in front of it ... yet it seems to me that seems to finally recognize Jo looking for something, she released her cell phone. "It can't be it! "We are told my two friends from Belgium and me, she can't get her husband all the same! "Hello, Where are you? "Joked one, without suspecting that indeed, it was Jo who was looking likely the stage door. Maybe I did not want to see her more than not to believe ... she moved away on the sidewalk along the chapel, then disappeared at the corner of the street.

When the doors finally opened, it's 19:05. How is the scene, can we settle in front of the stage, or should we sit? I quickly locates the position of the piano on stage left, my choice is made: as close as possible, next piano, open field toward the micro-central, so as not to leave Hugh eyes. The first two benches in front of the stage is reserved, I moved along the third, along with a friendly German, speaking a few words of French and English, new ideal traveling companion ... then continue the evening for me smile. Until the beginning of the concert for 20 hours, more and more viewers are installed, we're between 500 and 700 people and discover the beautiful scenery, the scene where the spirit of the group already seems to glide through the instruments, the program placed on the floor, and a bottle of water (... that Hugh doesn't even open elsewhere. Apparently, the whiskey is better spent!). Many, like me, capture the scene a few shots ... we see a few familiar faces, Rowan Atkinson, Amber Tamblyn, my neighbor's front quick to take pictures with him a memory more ... it was beautiful. So many people came to listen to Hugh Laurie, whether known or unknown, that gives heart-warming. A furtive glance around me, and I recognize this time for Ms. Laurie, aka Jo Green accompanying their daughter Rebecca in the back of the room the crowd, then returning to the lodge of her husband so it was that I had seen a few hours earlier. As she should be proud of him after so many sacrifices. According to my dear acolytes Belgian whom I was separated for the time of the show, Jo would be the first fan of Hugh, they saw her almost dance to the blues hidden behind the scene ... She has the chance being married to such a man overflowing with talent and generosity, but I think Hugh is so lucky to have her near him for 22 years soon. The presence of family and friends close to him to support it must be essential to its already fragile balance as most of us know.

As the group moved finally to 8:10 p.m., and start playing without Hugh, all asks: Where is he? Where will he go? When? ... Suddenly, when I started filming the scene, cries arise on my right, I turn as quickly as possible my camera and see Hugh finally make its debut in the aisle of the room a step quiet, masterful, incredibly elegant, hello viewers gaze beating the rhythm of the music of finger snaps and pauses for a moment taking one of these pauses he has the secret, before going on stage. Hello there again the public, and true to its legendary modesty and understatement of his talents, he began by making fun of himself and especially his shoes, I must admit, I did not found ideal for the show because at the piano the shoe could be seen yawning a lot around his ankle. Pants with a statement when he was sitting, it lacked elegance. I don't practice enough English to illustrate here the details of this touch of humor with which he decided to open the show, but I can say that set the tone: the whole show was well punctuated a friendly atmosphere between both musicians (with jokes among musicians, laughter, to the point of having to pause to resume the current song, ... the aim clearly to tease a little Hugh ...) with the audience . To my regret, as for some others, I didn't understand everything, but the laughter is contagious and the mood musically in unison, Hugh did not disappoint anyone. Proof is the "standing ovation" to which he was entitled, before and after Tipitina that closes the show. Of Saint James Infirmary , where the artist has made his mark, showing the full extent of his talent (the suit jacket then falls too quickly for my taste, ... nod to "hot" strip of Hamburg), to Let them talk , sad song but so movingly, through the incredibly sexy stomp of The Battle of Jericho , the frenzied pace of Swanee river and fantasy Hallelujah I love her so for which Hugh seems to enjoy as public participation to accompany clapping ... we can't refuse ... to hell with cameras, video camera, the pleasure is total.

To thank him as it should, I wanted to offer a small personal gift in late show, for he discovered one of our famous singers, jazz-man Claude Nougaro. I have enclosed a card and hope he meets me one day. Unfortunately I couldn't give it to him: I hurried, but I found the road blocked by a security guard making mine almost to ignore me. Then I turned my head to the right and overview Jo who was watching me a bit bewildered: without even thinking, I approached her, I said hello (to his surprise), and I asked her if her husband was Hugh (as a precaution or false hope? big question which I unfortunately already knew the answer!), after she agreed, I decided to ask her to convey my present to Hugh, it agreed with all the thanks from her husband, she sent me warm thanks and all the French fans.

I was glad I could give her my gift. But I remained disappointed not to have seen and talked to Hugh. So I found my two acolytes Belgian early afternoon at the stage door ... a small group of twenty people were well on the release of Hugh for an autograph, a picture, a smile, a few words ... with the arrival of the caterer, we had the satisfaction to see that the musicians and then Hugh Laurie, were not yet out and we kept hoping to see the artist up close. A security guard came shortly after we announce that the artists were going to eat and they did not know what time they come out. He offered us to stay but he didn't know how long we should wait. To hell with time "late" (it was only 10 pm), we decided to stay with the hope to meet in smaller committee, however, with the fear that too many people discouraged Hugh to come and meet the fans, for lack of security. What was our surprise at the re-appearance of the same security guard, 5 minutes later, we announced that Hugh had finally decided to come right away, the condition imposed by the security officer is to be divided into single file along the wall and not to bother when the long-awaited dream realized. His wife and daughter out in front of him to join a car, we ended up in committee reduced, about thirty people, a perfect discipline, a real pleasure for everyone I think, to wait patiently for Hugh Laurie, remarkably smiling, attentive, cooperative, generous, make us the immense joy to play the game for autographs and pictures at will for nearly 20 minutes. He was very patient despite some looks off towards the end of the session ... the poor should begin to feel hungry ... but he played the game until the end. No irritation when the little bird would not come out , we have rewarded many and how cute "Oh my God! "Meaning its difficult to keep the break, but never show irritation. He was adorable and available until the last of the fans. Needless to say, we were unable to leave while he was there, which allowed us to leave cameras, eyes and heart block loaded, satisfied, overjoyed, ... About me, I was more thrilled, because I dared to grab her by the waist, wrap it and keep my arm in his left hip before the break (during which he signed an autograph) and during the break ... Ladies, feel its smell, touch him, what fun! :giddy: ... so much so that my little visit to Hampstead, home to Hugh Laurie and the stars scheduled for the next day didn't seem even more necessary, I was overjoyed, he had met all my expectations, and this since the day I decided to go to meet him there will be nearly a year. The next day, after 3 hours of sleep (11 hours sleep in total, in three nights!), I ventured into this area yet beautiful, despite the rain, out of curiosity ...

It's my hair, on the left !! (I spell him my Christian name he knew to write half)...
I have several pictures of him and with him, I can't put it all ! :roll: :mrgreen:

(Can't show you pics )

Hugh seemed relaxed and happy to be there in his country more than ever ... even though I think he was anxious about seeming to disappoint his compatriots already bitter he left to get its world-renowned United States. The British public present at the concert was impressed ... the English press has enjoyed, but did not fully reconciled with Hugh, there is still a little sarcasm in London Evening Standard I am eager to get me to the subway entrance (free newspaper!). My trip to England has also continued in my plane back to Nimes with my seatmate, 50% French 50% English, French teacher in England early in their careers, then an English teacher in France, who kindly translate for me this newspaper article, and to my surprise, turned out to be a huge fan of House, including taking a lot of fun to talk about the latest episode of House with his students back to school ... I got back on the planet and in our world, ended with two hours of watching videos, photos, discussions about career and biography of Laurie, but also talk about the discipline of legendary English (unfortunately the French are far away, believe me!), lifestyle, life in London, the current work on the metro network, the world's oldest and of course the preparation of the Olympic Games. So much so that some minutes before landing, this lady has come to reveal to me the gift she had made before returning to France: Season 6 on DVD and in English of House !

I went home with a great desire to sleep. Still I couldn't resist transcribing my journey as soon as possible to keep him forever in the memory of my computer. I hope that Paris will be as magical, with more than double the viewers in London, I pray that Hugh is also available and accessible. I admit that this perspective makes me a little afraid the French public is not the most remarkable about the discipline and respect for people. I hope with all my heart I am wrong, and we prove otherwise ... Hugh can't finish his European tour without a memorable passage in Paris, he must finish in the grand finale!