I'm really pleased that Amber, a huge fan of the late, great Fenella Fielding got in touch with me. She wanted to write something about her meetings with Fenella and how much the star of Carry On Screaming meant to her. It's a delightful read.
My name is Amber, I'm 14 and I come from the UK. I also have Autism.
I got into the Carry On films in June of last year (I was 13), I can still remember the one I first watched, which was Carry On Abroad!
My idol is Fenella Fielding. I found out about her through Carry On Screaming. I loved her voice, her looks, how gentle she was. I then started collecting photos and all films she was in on DVD. You would expect a 13 year old back then to be into someone like Justin Bieber or a singer like him. She just seemed to grab my attention instantly. I created a fan group for her on Facebook, 'The Fenella Fielding OBE Appreciation Group', who would've known that the creator was a 13 year old girl?!
When I found out she was coming to Liverpool in November to perform her memoirs at the Unity Theatre, my heart skipped a beat. I live in Cheshire so it made an ideal occasion. I persuaded my mum to get me tickets and we go and see her.
On the night we went to meet her, I felt so nervous, my heart was racing, I was sweating... only on the train to Liverpool! I can remember nearly everything about that night, me shaking in Pizza Express eating my tea because I was incredibly nervous, walking to the theatre after that. But it was all worth the wait, I waited 3 months to meet her, and that moment had finally arrived.
Watching her perform her memoirs up on that stage was mesmerising. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was more nervous to meet her than see her perform! When I went up to meet her afterwards, I nearly cried. It was probably the best moment of my entire life. I hugged her and I gave her all my gifts I made for her, she even gave me a box of eyelashes signed by her as a gift!
I missed her very much after that, and I hoped that I would meet her again. For Christmas last year I even got a signed photo and bookmark from her (Thanks to my mum and Simon McKay). In March of this year, I found out she was due to appear at What A 60th Carry On (an event being held on the 3rd June in Ealing to celebrate 60 years of the Carry Ons) with a few other stars like Jacki Piper, Anita Harris and at his first ever Carry On event, Billy Cornelius aka Oddbod Jr!
My dad took me to this event. On the train down to London I was super excited to meet Fenella again and get my book signed, when we got into the Drayton Court, Fenella and Simon were walking out of the bar as I was walking in! My heart nearly stopped it was so sudden!! I introduced them both to my dad and I had a quick selfie with Fenella before heading downstairs. This event was one of my most favourite ones I've been to this year. I met a lot of people I knew from the Carry On films community, they recognised me from the Fenella fanclub! I got my book signed by both Fenella and Simon. Unfortunately I was in a rush to meet the other stars so I never managed to get another photo with her. As Fenella once said 'Quality not quantity!'
I hoped to meet her again in the future, but little did I know, that was the final time I would ever meet her in person.
When the news broke that she had a severe stroke just over 2 months from when I last met her, I was so disheartened. I just hoped she would recover for days and days. She never recovered.
I remember talking to my online friends and an alert came up on my phone. Fenella's account tweeted a tweet with the caption 'Ms Fielding RIP' with a link to a Wix Shoutout, sadly breaking the news that she died that afternoon. I was in tears for nearly 3 days. I felt as someone had ripped a hole in my heart. My world fell apart, I grieved so badly, even at school.
Even though we met twice, Fenella was like a grandma to me. She made a load of people smile and laugh over the years. I'm glad to have been a part of her fan club. It's been just over a month since she died, and even though I miss her, I think of the happy memories I had meeting her.
RIP Fenella Fielding, thank you for making me smile, and fly high up there!
Thanks for reading this blog post and thank you Graeme for this opportunity!
You can join the Fenella Fielding appreciation group here: https://www.facebook.
My Twitter: @ AmberDoesItAll
My Instagram: @ amberthefangirl
My YouTube: Amber The Fangirl
My first time meeting Fenella: https://youtu.be/fR_
My second time meeting Fenella: https://youtu.be/Hp-
My tribute to Fenella after her death: https://youtu.be/
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram
Thanks Graeme! I enjoyed writing this x
ReplyDeleteNo, thank you Amber. It's a great blog x
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