Ellie Elmore A Life Touched by Gods & Men

Episode 1 … First Encounter First Impression-6

‘Come in, guys, come in,’ says Madge as the trio walk up her front garden path.

Ellie and the boys do as Madge asks and follow her into her back room, where she points to her settee and chairs.

‘Take a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? It’s green, my favourite.’

‘Green tea!’ remarks Johnny, pulling a face.

‘Where’s your sense of adventure, Johnny?’ says Ellie. ‘Green tea sounds good. I’ll have a cup with you, please,’ she continues, even though she’s never heard of green tea either.

‘Mug, Ellie, mug. We drink out of mugs in this house and good girl for joining me. Green tea’s good for the body, you know. Antioxidants, it’s full of them,’ continues Madge, smiling at all three teenagers as if they understand her.

‘Okay, I’ll try a mug as well, please,’ agrees Mee.

‘Go on then, and me, please,’ adds Johnny, smiling at Ellie because he’s just re-found his sense of adventure.

‘Good,’ replies Madge, ‘excellent. Green teas all round then.’

‘I’ll help,’ says Ellie, following Madge. ‘I’ve never seen green tea being made before.’

Johnny and Mee head on out to the shed while Ellie watches Madge make four piping hot mugs of fresh green tea, and as the tea brews in each mug, Ellie tells Madge all about their last exam at school today. Plus, about her friends and her white school blouse, which she’s keeping as a friendly reminder of her mostly happy, school days.

‘Madge?’ says Ellie, with a thoughtful look on her face as she stands in Madge’s kitchen. ‘The boys and I would like to start working on your shed this coming weekend, if that’s okay with you?’

‘This weekend? My, you don’t mess about, do you, young lady,’ replies Madge, who doesn’t seem at all surprised at Ellie and the boys being eager to get started. ‘I’ll have to organise some paint and materials for you then, straight away.’

‘Actually, we could help you save some money there because Johnny’s dad sells paint for a living, so Johnny’s going to ask him if he’ll get us a few tins from work,’ explains Ellie.

‘Paint from work? I see …’ says Madge. ‘It’s not … erm … the paints not … erm …’ splutters Madge.

‘Stolen?’ says Ellie, finishing Madge’s sentence.

‘Yes, dear. The paint won’t be stolen, will it?’ she asks, seeming a little embarrassed.

‘No, Madge, it’s all perfectly legal. Johnny’s dad often takes home paint samples from work. He’s allowed to,’ replies Ellie, trying to reassure her new friend.

Madge sighs with relief and then the two of them head on up to the shed with the drinks.

‘Tea’s ready,’ shouts Madge as they near the shed with four freshly brewed mugs of green tea on a tray.

Johnny and Mee pop their heads out of the opened double doors, which makes Ellie smile as she looks at her two best mates in turn. ‘Here we are, boys. Now, mind how you go, because this tea is red hot. In fact, I’d leave it to cool awhile before you taste it,’ says Ellie in a motherly voice, now inside the shed with everyone else.

‘Thanks, we don’t want to burn ourselves, do we, Mee?’ says Johnny, winking at Mee as he takes a mug from Ellie. ‘It is slightly green-looking,’ adds Johnny, staring deep into his mug. Then, suddenly, ‘Aowww!’ he shouts, holding his tingling lips.

‘There’s always one,’ says Ellie, laughing, ‘and our one is Johnny,’ she adds, shaking her head at him.

Madge, Ellie and Mee all chuckle at Johnny’s misfortune as he prods his lips, knowing it’s only his pride that’s hurt. Then they all start discussing the arrangements for painting and repairing Madge’s old shed this coming weekend.

‘So, your dad sells paint for a living, Johnny?’ asks Madge, bringing up the subject again.

‘Yeah, and I’m gonna ask him if he’ll get us some for your shed,’ he replies, still poking his lips.

‘I see,’ says Madge, still seeming a little unsure.

‘We’ll have to give the outside a mighty good clean up before we do any painting,’ adds Mee, referring to the timber walls.

‘You’re right, and all those weeds, small bushes and tree branches behind the shed will need trimming back and tidying up too,’ agrees Ellie, changing the subject from painting. The area around the shed isn’t completely overgrown with weeds and bushes, but it is in need of a good tidy up.

The conversation continues for a while, with everyone offering suggestions concerning the sheds spring-clean. Then Ellie and the boys note the time and leave to go home.

***

Thursday morning, nine thirty, and Madge decides to phone Eddie to tell him all about young Johnny turning up with his friends, about his friends making music and, the deal she’s struck with the teenagers to fix up her old shed with the intention of using it as a music studio.

‘Hi, son. Great news, and in a big way!’ says Madge the minute Eddie answers his phone.

‘Sounds like this good news has you all excited, and I’m sure glad to hear you say good news,’ replies Eddie. ‘Go on then, tell me your good news.’

‘Well, young Johnny, my paperboy, turned up on my doorstep the other evening, and he had his two friends with him,’ says Madge getting straight to the point. ‘His friends are Ellie, a teenage girl, and Mee, a teenage boy,’ she adds.

‘With two friends, you say?’

‘Yes, son, and I’m pretty sure they’re the music guys you’re looking for, because they create their own music, and they’re looking for somewhere to practise. Undisturbed!’

‘Sounds promising,’ answers Eddie, ‘very promising.’

‘That’s what I thought,’ agrees Madge. ‘So I’ve struck a deal with Ellie and the boys to fix up our old shed. They’re going to supply their time and labour, and I’ll supply all the materials. Plus, they want to start cleaning out the shed this coming weekend, so it’s all happening around here, it really is!’ adds Madge before catching her breath.

‘It certainly is all happening!’ replies Eddie, seeming over the moon with Madge’s information. ‘But I can’t manage a visit this weekend, Madge. I’ve got to work, and it’s an important meeting, so I won’t be able to check them out just yet.’

‘No problem,’ replies Madge, ‘because I’ve a hunch Ellie, and the boys will be working on our shed for a few weekends to come, and oh, while I’ve got you on the phone,’ adds Madge, ‘I want you to make me a promise.’

‘A promise? Like a promise to behave?’ asks Eddie trying to second-guess his mother.

‘I want you to promise me that if, and I do mean if, these are your music guys, I want you to promise me that you’ll do right by them. By that, I mean that if you do decide to promote them, I want you to promote them properly. And I want you to work with them personally,’ says Madge, because from what Eddie’s told her in the past, she knows all too well just how tough and ruthless the music industry can be.

‘I don’t want you or your record company just using these teenagers to make quick and easy money from and then tossing them to one side and forgetting all about them once you’ve finished with them,’ continues Madge. ‘I don’t want you just to use them until the next big band or artist comes along, resulting in you dropping them like a stone. You hear me, Eddie?’ she adds, like a mother standing in harm’s way to protect her children.

‘But Madge, our record company needs to make money. That’s how we can afford to invest in new artists and bands, and I have to toe the line, or I lose a well-paid job,’ replies Eddie.

‘Did you hear me, son? I want you to promise me,’ adds Madge in a growl-like voice.

‘Okay, okay! I hear you,’ agrees Eddie, knowing his mother means business.

‘I tell you what, I promise that if these are those teenagers I saw that day in the old car factory, I’ll commit my dream to them.’ adds Eddie.

Madge and Eddie’s conversation becomes serious because Madge knows Eddie has a dream, a dream he and his late father worked on for years. She also knows her son will keep his word to make his and his father’s dream come true.

Eddie’s been searching for years for the kind of talent he can personally mentor. The kind of talent who’d like to work with him on his dad’s music and song lyrics to freshen them up into today’s contemporary chart music, because part of Eddie’s dream is to bring his father’s music to life and get it into the UK charts.

‘Madge, that day in the old car factory I could almost touch my dream,’ says Eddie. ‘I could see it. I could smell it. I could taste it. And now I know it’s time to reach out and take hold of my dream. It’s time to make mine and dad’s dreams come true. It’s time to reach for the stars.’

‘Oh I know I’ve helped countless singers and bands on the road to musical success over the years, but I’ve always had a massive record company behind me. Now I wanna do this from the ground up without a music factory behind me. So, let the dream begin.’ adds Eddie, packing complete commitment into every single word he says to his mother.

‘You know, Madge?’ he continues. ‘Not only will you, and I benefit from my dream. So will those like-minded dreamers who join me in making our dreams come true. Those two teenagers are lucid dreamers, just like me. That’s why they were in the old car factory that day because no one could see them, no one could hear them. Those two youngsters can feel and see the bigger picture of where they want to be with their dream. That’s why they were working on their dream right there and then. I could feel it. I saw dreamers with true talent that day, but those teenagers are like a rough diamond which needs to be cut, buffed and polished, and I’m the man to do the cutting and polishing,’ adds Eddie. ‘All I need to do is find those youngsters again so they can benefit from my dream.’ He continues in full flow letting Madge know his innermost thoughts.

‘Madge, if this project succeeds, and with the good Lord’s help it will, you and those two teenagers will be able to see the results of one man’s life. A life of working, creating, planning and dreaming, and that man was your late husband and my dad. Plus, you’ll see what I’ve been creating, planning and working on for the first half of my life regarding myself and my dad’s dream,’ says Eddie. ‘So it’s time to take action on our dreams, for all our sakes.’

‘I think Dad knew he’d left it too late in life to achieve his dream in full,’ continues Eddie. ‘He was too late when he realised you have to reach for the stars and take action on your dreams while you’re younger. While you have the good health and energy to do so.’

‘Steve spent most of his life dreaming and writing the music and lyrics for a number one UK hit record, but he never took action on his dream. And when he reached the later stages of his life, he realised he’d left it too late to achieve his dream, so he started putting what energy he had left in life into helping me with my dream.’

‘Now Dad’s gone, but he’ll still help me, and others through me, because Dad’s dream is still my dream. We both dreamt of writing and producing music for a number one UK hit record and for me to promote a band into superstardom. And after my encounter with those two teenagers in the old car factory the that day, I believe we could make our dreams come true together.’

Eddie is now squeezing real passion into each and every word of his little speech to Madge, who by now is completely silent as tears fill her eyes because she knows her son has something special to offer. Madge knows Eddie is full to the brim with passion for music, and right now his highly emotional speech has just reminded Madge of the very reason she still loves her late husband and her son so very much.

‘I just hope these are the teenagers you saw that day in the old car factory,’ says Madge.

‘Well, if they’re not, we’ll just have to find the ones who were in the old factory that day,’ replies Eddie.

‘But if these are your teenagers, and you pull this off, you’ll be a man in a million,’ says Madge. ‘And I couldn’t love you anymore than I do right now. It makes me feel so proud to know you have the courage and strength to carry on with you and your father’s dream because I know how hard you’ve both worked for the love of your music. And I know your dad would have been so proud to hear you say what you’ve just said to me. I’m even willing to bet he’s watching us both right now, smiling down on us from above. If you were home with me right now instead of on the other end of this phone, you’d get the biggest hug from me you’ve ever had, young man.’