The day I Accosted Simon Cowell

This week's events brought it all back! I went with a friend on Tuesday to the Opera House in Blackpool to watch a live recording of Britain's Got Talent. We spent tha majority of the day squashed up and penned in amongst thousands of people getting drenched by the incessant rain. If you want to read about the experience there is an article appearing in the February edition of Gridlock Magazine - www.gridlockmagazine.com.

The last time the show came to Blackpool was in 2008. My granddaughter who was eight at the time was very excited about the possibility of meeting Simon Cowell and co. Her parents - who are song writers - were away working so we planned our day with precision to optimise our chances!

We hardly slept the night before because we were buzzing with excitement - yes I am quite capable of being an eight-year-old or any other age that takes my fancy. I'm not known for acting my age!

We jumped out of bed as soon as the alarm went and got ready for our 'adventure'.and arrived at the Winter Gardens at 6.30 am. Well? the early bird and all that..............

It was cold, miserable and damp due to the continual fine rain, the sort that wets you through, as Peter Kay observes. Exactly the same weather as we had on Tuesday this week.

I mentioned earlier that my daughter and son-in-law are song writers, they earn their living 'gigging' up and down the country but their dream is to be professional song writers. Not one to miss an opportunity I was armed with three CD's of their songs. The judges that year were Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, hence three CD's.

Strangely there were no barriers up that time and - as far as I can remember, no crowds outside. In fact when Simon Cowell eventually arrived I think there were about twenty people there - although the numbers quickly swelled as word got around.

We waited for hours, not venturing far from the front doors of of the Winter Gardens in case we lost our vantage point! I think it was around eleven o'clock when Piers Morgan arrived - I walked straight up to him, shoved a CD in his pocket (They all had my daughter's contact details on in case I didn't have time to explain) and said 'There's a present for you' He looked a bit surprised  and said 'Oh Thank you'. My next target was Amanda Holden who arrived about thirty minutes later. She smiled and looked genuinely delighted when I gave her the CD but again, didn't have time to explain as TV camera's were honing in on the celebrities as they arrived.

We then waited with Tony Adkins, Simon Cowell's then body gaurd. He was a very pleasant man and made my granddaughter's day regaling her with stories about how he felt sorry for the  contestants - especially the children - who had their dreams dashed. He said he didn't think it was fair to put children through that level of rejection at such a tender age. He would break off to talk into his walkie talkie every so often trying to establish when his boss was going to arrive as he was already about an hour and a half late. Tony assured us that he would get Mr Cowell to stop and pose for a photograph with my granddaughter when he arrived. She was unbelievably excited! Mr Adkins made the wait worthwhile, it's not every day you get an introduction to Simon Cowell.

Simon Cowell's limo eventually drew up at around 2.30. Tony Adkins stuck his head in and had a conversation then Simon emerged shaking his head at his body guard and marched past the small crowd that had gathered ignoring calls from the crowd - including mine and headed straight for the door where a TV camera was waiting.

Well, you know those moments in your life when you see red? I had one of those! Could you blame me after standing in the cold and rain for seven hours with a small, excited child? I walked straight over to Mr Cowell who, I think, was being interviewed on camera, tapped him on the shoulder and stuck a CD in his pocket. 'There's a present for you' I announced as he turned round looking a little surprised.

'Oh thank you very much' he oozed, now the camera was on him! One of the security staff called my disappointed granddaughter over and told her to go down and see him at the tower the following week and he would get Simon Cowell's autograph for her. I took her down and he had kept his promise. She was delighted.

My daughter never heard from any of the judges about the songs but.....it was worth a try!

Here are links to a few of the songs on the CD. Have a listen and see what you think.



Jenny Cox - Would you run broadjam.com/artists/songs.

When She Cries http://www.broadjam.com/artists/songs.php?artistID=33439&mediaID=447766