I hope no one minds if I take on the role of the Storyteller now
Please just humour me, I feel I might better relate what happened yesterday, if I start from the beginning and tell the story from my point of view (Sorry if some details are boring or of no interest to some!) If you're sitting comfortably children then I shall begin! ;D
So my mum picks me up and takes me to the train station in York. I have an hour spare before I need to get the train, I'm feeling very excited but a little anxious as I worry about travelling by myself. I have time for a mocha and even have a nice chat with a young man who is going to Blackpool to visit friends.
I get to the platform in plenty of time to get my train to London King's Cross. The train should take 2 hours and get me to London by 4pm - I know the art show starts at 6pm so I figure I have plenty of time to get from the station to Konk via taxi.
I get on the train and make myself comfortable and decide I will pass the time by reading Ray's book 'Waterloo Sunset' (have had the book over a year now but have only just got around to reading it.) I'm getting lost in my book ( fascinating read from what I've read so far) when the train grinds to a halt - I'm confused as this train is not scheduled to make any stops. After half an hour of no movement anxiety starts to kick in and I have this awful sinking feeling that something is wrong - it is
We are told that there are technical problems with the train but that we will be keep updated. An engineer is called out and somehow the train manages to go a little further but stops at another station (I forget where.) We are all told to get off the train and are transferred to another - this train doesn't get me to London until 5.35pm - 25 minutes before the art show is due to start. Anyone who's been to King's Cross knows how incredibly busy it is - I quickly dash to the loo and make my way through the 'mad rushing crowds' as fast as I possibly can and 'join the queue I see standing in line' (are these Kinky references getting annoying yet!?) waiting to grab taxis. A nice lady in the queue seems to sense my anxiety and allows me to take her place nearer the front of the queue - I get in a taxi about 15 minutes before the show is due to start. When I say I need to be at Konk studios the cabbie assumes I am a musician and asks if I'm going to be 'the next big thing'! I laugh and explain that I'm going to an art show at Ray Davies' studio. There's a delay to his reply, as if he is thinking, and then he asks if I mean the guy from the Kinks - 'Didn't they sing Waterloo Sunset?' I'm sure it was down to nerves and worry about getting there on time that made me start rabbiting on about how much I love the Kinks, how I hoped Ray would be there, etc, etc,
The driver appeared rather amused and mentioned Ray's appearance at the Olympics... He asked me to name some of their hits and I did 'Oh, I know those songs, didn't realise I knew so many..' I eventually get dropped off at the back entrance of Konk and am relieved to see a few folks that I know, waiting to go in.
It's around 6.10pm and the doors aren't open yet. I just have time to catch my breath before Alma appears and opens the back door to Konk and invites us all in. I feel like we're in some kind of police line up as we are all made to state our names for Alma to find and tick off on the guess list, then one by one we are made to stand against a wall whilst our pictures are individually taken - god knows why!?
I have been into Konk once before (ended up buying one of Ray's old speakers when he sold off some Kinks touring equipment, and was let in by the American guy who works at Konk, Chris - but that is another story!) so I realise that we are in the lounge - that is where the art work is all displayed. I see that Ray obviously hasn't sold off all the Kinks equipment as there are still flight cases etc, dotted about with things like 'Kinks - Stage Left' written across them ( reminds me that I need to take my Kinks flight case out of storage and bring it into my flat.) The art work displayed on the walls are by Gina Bold (www.ginabold.com) and Giusi Tomasello (www.giusitomasello.com) and of course I am immediately drawn to Giusi's painting of all four original Kinks - 'You Really Got Me Now'. But at over £500 there's no way I'm going to get my hands on it. I discover that there are four hand finished prints of this painting available for £36 each - I want one. I realise that I don't have enough cash and decide to ask Alma if a credit card payment can be accepted. She tells me that I can only pay by cash or cheque. I ask Alma to put a print aside for me and she allows me dash off in search of a cash machine. I go out of Konk and turn right and find a newsagents where I can get cash, on the street where the Lane Cafe is (aka the Working Man's Cafe.) My friend Dawn is nice enough to go with me, and I come back with the money to buy the print. The artist, Guisi, says that it would be nice if Ray would sign it for me, she says this in front of Alma.
I look at Alma hopefully and ask as politely as I can if that would be possible. She says that Ray is upstairs, busy with meetings, but that he might come down later. I think 'Great, he is actually in the building then!'
Dawn decides she wants a print too so we dash back out so she can get cash to pay for one, and I promise Dawn that I will speak to Alma again about Ray signing our prints.
A little later I pluck up the courage to go and talk to Alma again about Ray, I hate to be pushy but realise that you don't get anywhere in life if you don't ask! I start by saying something like 'I really don't want to be pushy Alma but it would really mean a lot to us if Ray could sign our prints...' I explain that me and Dawn are big fans and have travelled a long way and spent a lot of money to be there. I try as hard as I can to be poilite and casual. I ask if she could maybe tell Ray that the girl who owns his old Mercedes is here. That makes her smile and she says something like 'Oh, he's mentioned you'. I don't know quite what to make of that, is this a good thing I wonder? She says she'll see what she can do.
Dawn makes herself comfortable on a sofa and I go and grab us a glass of wine each from the bar (there's a little kitchen area in the lounge at Konk) - for some reason I start to feel very nervous and decide I need a drink. The lady behind the bar clocks my Ray autograph tattoo and asks about it. She calls me a 'superfan' and I smile but feel a little embarrased for some reason. She obviously has worked out that I've come in the hope of seeing Ray and starts asking me questions... I start to babble a bit like I did with that taxi driver. Like him she appears slightly amused, but seems to want to engage me in conversation.
I say I better go find my friend (Dawn) and I join her on the sofa, drink in hand. I decide that I need another glass of wine - dutch courage.
Suddenly he is there, stood to the left of where I am sitting, back to us, leaning against the wall -
A couple with guitars are providing musical entertainment, I know I should be listening intently but I'm not really. I've only had a glasse and a half of wine but I start to feel a little drunk. I don't want to disctract or annoy Ray with the flash but I take a couple of photos, they aren't great but I'll share them anyhow -
I see Alma hand him our prints that she's looking after for us, and I see him sign them (that's what he's doing in the photo above.)
I gulp down the rest of my wine and decide to walk over to him, I see he is not talking now. I go over and shyly say 'Hi Ray' and he gives me a hug smiley: happy I quietly ask if he got my letter and he looks a little confused and says 'Did you send it here?' I say that I personally put it through the letterbox over the weekend and that I've included some photos of his old car. He asks if I put it through the letterbox of the front door, I say I did. He says that somebody will have put it upstairs for him (I assume that's where his office is) and that he will look for it.
At this point Olga comes over and he is obviously happy to see her
She asks if he's better and he says he's still not well and says something about not wanting to give us all his germs. I nearly say that I wouldn't mind but decide against it!
Olga says 'Can these two ladies have a photo with you Ray?'
Olga took this great photo by the way, very kind of her. I thank Ray and then walk away. Five minutes later I see Ray disappear through a door and I don't see him again, he didn't stick around for long.
Me and Dawn go outside for some fresh air and Alma assumes we are leaving, I say that I'm coming back in as I have a little while to wait before my taxi arrives. She says that is fine.
We get chatting to the artist who painted the Kinks picture, and she is really happy that Ray signed it for me and that I love her piece of art work. Me and Dawn talk to her friend too, she is not a Kinks fan but perhaps she will check them out now! Giusi says that someone mentioned the song Art Lover to her and said it should be played at the show
She wants a photo with me holding her print (on the right is her friend)
Not long after that I realise I need to go get my taxi so I go and say thank you to Alma. She was quite nice actually, I thanked her for getting Ray to sign my print and told her that I'd had a great time, she seemed happy about that.
I won't bore you with the details of my journey home, except to say that there were no delays this time and the journey went to plan. I got home around 1.30am.
I'll also add that I made some new Kinky friends (there were a few fans there) and that it was lovely seeing people that I already knew.
I honestly hadn't thought about that Holly! I'd be ecstatic 
We are told that there are technical problems with the train but that we will be keep updated. An engineer is called out and somehow the train manages to go a little further but stops at another station (I forget where.) We are all told to get off the train and are transferred to another - this train doesn't get me to London until 5.35pm - 25 minutes before the art show is due to start. Anyone who's been to King's Cross knows how incredibly busy it is - I quickly dash to the loo and make my way through the 'mad rushing crowds' as fast as I possibly can and 'join the queue I see standing in line' (are these Kinky references getting annoying yet!?) waiting to grab taxis. A nice lady in the queue seems to sense my anxiety and allows me to take her place nearer the front of the queue - I get in a taxi about 15 minutes before the show is due to start. When I say I need to be at Konk studios the cabbie assumes I am a musician and asks if I'm going to be 'the next big thing'! I laugh and explain that I'm going to an art show at Ray Davies' studio. There's a delay to his reply, as if he is thinking, and then he asks if I mean the guy from the Kinks - 'Didn't they sing Waterloo Sunset?' I'm sure it was down to nerves and worry about getting there on time that made me start rabbiting on about how much I love the Kinks, how I hoped Ray would be there, etc, etc, 
The driver appeared rather amused and mentioned Ray's appearance at the Olympics... He asked me to name some of their hits and I did 'Oh, I know those songs, didn't realise I knew so many..' I eventually get dropped off at the back entrance of Konk and am relieved to see a few folks that I know, waiting to go in.
