"People Everywhere, A Sense of Expectation Hanging In The Air" ........... Voulez Vous (Aha)!

Following on from yesterday, after taking a short breather at their hotel, Nigel and Lu made their way, just down the road, to one of the two highlights of Lu's significant birthday trip .......

..... to wit ....... The Abba Arena ........

...... with the obligatory visit to the Merch Shop beforehand. Sadly, there wasn't anything of a Nigel size nature, but then Lu consoled him with the thought that it was the memories they would make that evening that would last forever, unlike any t-shirt or hoodie.

The excitement that thronged through the queue as Nigel found himself humming Chiquitita, was, he told us, unbelievably tangible and palpable, as he and Lu observed, that perhaps they might be some of the youngest there ....... 

....... but then, Abba had already split up way before either of them had even been born, leaving "Waterloo" a real part of history to them, as it were.

Once inside the arena, as it was a such a hot evening, they were pretty relieved that Lu had booked sitting seats, as they watched the dance floor gradually fill up, it looked snug!

The security was ***t hot, no pictures or filming was allowed during the show and if a camera phone light was spotted, they were on it straight away, which was great, because if there is one thing Nigel hates most when he's at a show, is having to watch it through the screen of the phone of the person stood/sat in front of him.

And then, when it did finally get started ....... WOW!  Nigel said he couldn't believe his eyes, he couldn't believe that Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid weren't actually there. He felt as if he could almost touch them.  To be honest, he couldn't even find the words to describe the sight, the sound, all the incredible lighting effects that once again, Nigel felt he could almost touch or the atmosphere. It really has to be seen to be believed. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and Dancing Queen, were his highlights, with Voulez Vous (Aha) coming in as a very close third ..... 

But that's all he's willing to divulge ........ with no filming allowed and very little online, the arena are hoping to keep what else goes on clouded in an air of Abba mystery. Darrell of course is a little bit jealous, but no doubt his time will come, as Nigel and Lu are definitely planning on going again, but there again, Darrell has actually been to the Abba Museum in Stockholm and seen their costumes, among other things, up close, in real life and informs me they are tiny!

Coming back down to earth was a little hard, so Nigel was grateful for the walk back to the hotel, with a cheeky nip into the local Tesco Express for a can of coke, to help cool down and a bag of cheese and onion crisps ..........

...... before sharing a very acceptable meat feast pizza and then retiring ...... because tomorrow heralded another adventure taking in another of Lu's long felt wants .........