Saman meets Madonna
MadonnaTribe is happy to be, once again after the tour, the medium with which Madonna fans can share their stories. Here’s another experience from one of the lucky 250 fans that met Madonna yesterday. This one comes from
our community member Saman.
“My sister and I caught the same train yesterday morning as se was on her way to college and I was on my way to London Waterloo Station. My Sister got off at Weybridge and for the first time in my life I continued onto London Waterloo!!!
I was SO scared that my Dad might see me (he works on the trains). We got to Waterloo where I kept my flat cap low on my head and my face buried in my scarf. I asked for assistance and was told where to go. I caught the Bakeloo line to Oxford Circus. I came out the tubes and was standing in LONDON!!! All my life I really wanted to go to London on my own or with my sister and now I was here…it was surreal! what was even more surreal was the fact i was just about to meet my all time favourite idol…MADONNA!!! I was scared, but I went along to Selfridges and I saw a poster advertising the event. I kept getting “electrical vaults” swooching through my body. I was dead nervous.
I got inside Selfridges and there was an Information Desk ahead of me. I asked for details and i followed directions. I went out the back doors like I was told and then I was lost. I saw a security guard and asked for help. “I’m trying to get to the signing” I said. He looked me up and down and said “it’s been cancelled,” he had sucha serious face and I thought I came all the way from Woking taking so many risks and you’re telling me it’s cancelled!? I aasked if he was joking and he said “no it has been cancelled, they’re turning people away.” My heart just sank but then a smile played across his face and he said “no, I’m just kiding!” I was so happy again and called him a “weirdo!” he helped me get to the queue and I was number 191.
Normally I am very quiet and I was so scared I would be all alone. For about 5 second I chatted to someone before finsing out he was the founder of www.mad-eyes.net! I also heard people talking about MadonnaLicious and MadonnaTribe and it was cool because back in Woking I thought I was the only one that visited any Madonna website!
After roughly 4 and a half hours of queing we were allowed in the building bit by bit. My friend was come to meet me so we could go home together and I was so worried she might not make it but she phoned saying she was on her way. I was a bit more relaxed then. We paid and then exchanged our tickets for receips and went up to the second floor of Selfridges and queued again. Some of Madonna‘s people were telling us to keep our voices down because Madonna was reading to children and the noise was going through. She was just on the other side of the the wall beside us!!! Finally I saw my friend and I was happy she was there! we chtted to kill time. Suddenly I looked ta my watch and it was 4:23pm and I realised my fast had opened to minutes ago!
I knew we were getting closer and i had such bad butterflies in my stomach. I kept looking around. I looked up and on the screens they kept advertising Madonna and christmas Stories from celebritues and they featured Madonna’s daughter‘s story too! the guard informed us we had 30 minutes left. I had bought a gift for Madonna but I thought we couldnt hand it in. I thought I heard one security guard say something about gifts but I think he was chatting to another security guard.
At this point I was about the fifth person to be in next! I cried twice before going in because I was so frightened now-this was it…no turningback. I was about to turn back twice but I stayed where I was.
There was a black curtain ahead of us…and she was behind it!!! our bags were taken off us and I was freaking badly now! I was the third person and slowly, gradually it was my turn. Three people entered at a time. Because I’m short I couldn’t really see. 2 people were ahead of me. I tilted my head to the side and there she was!!! dressed in black and hair down. I kept pinching myself to wake me up! I was really scared. I hoped she would shake my hand and be the nice lady people say she is when they meet us. They took our tickets and I kept my receipt.
Then it was MY turn to walk to the table. As I didnt the electric shock sin me were getting stringer and my stomach was lurking and lurking! i gulped a million times and now I was right in front of her and her assistant. I was as nervous as ever…it’s unbeleivable.
She looked at me and smiled and said “hi“, I said “hi” back. She looked so thin and shrunken. People say she is tiny in reality but she was sitting down so I culd tell but then gain I didnt look that closely! I was tooooo shy! because it was such a surreal moment i cant remember EXACTLY what happened but it lasted about 45 seconds or a minute. She asked me name to which I replied “Sam…for short” and because I’m ludacrously shy she didnt hear me. She strained her ears indicating that she hadn’t heard me. So I said it louder “Sam” and she replied “Sam?” I said “Yes…for short” and she asked “what’s for long?” to which I replied “Saman” she said it back but I think it was like “Salmon” and I quickly said “yes but not like the fish!” and her assistant started laughing! I was SO EMBARRASED!!! I didnt look at Madonna right in the eye, I did at one point but I KNOW that she had her eyes on me the entire time. Making me even more nervous than I already was. I told Dad I was in college and would beck by eight and i had that to worry about too! I was far too shy to do anything now and i think she then asked “Do you want the book?” and I said something like “yes” or “ok” and she gave it to me still her eyes fixated on me. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to shake her hand but that had flown out my head. if I wasnt so bloody shy I could have asked her! I said “thank you” and I think she said something like “ok” or “thank you” as I walked away and I turned back and said “thank you” again. That time I wanted to say “thanks for inspiring me and giving me confidence” but the words never came out! I walked away. I knew she was still looking at me! I was so shaken! I felt so uncomfortable all the way through!!!
Outside I grabbed bag and clutched my book, they gave me a “selfridges” bag and I took it and burst into tears!!! not because I had just met my idol and never (with a family like mine) thought it was possible but because she didnt talk to me as much the other fans, they had guts but I had had to be so damn shy! I hate it! moreover because i had made a complete a complete idiot of myself infront of her and I could get rid of the embarassement! I had taken too many damn risks to get to where I was, I would be dead if dad found out! it was so saddening. I didnt even get to shake her hand and I really wanted to! I cried all the way to the station with my friend, Marie. On the over ground I hoped dad would see me. It was about sixish now and i was still in a trance. I hadn’t eaten for fourteen hours but I wasnt hungry cos they nerves had taken over hunger!
On the overground train I took my book out and I looked at the autograph. I was still really worried about the fact that I made a complete mess of myself in front of my idol. I could help thinking “she probably thinks im so stupid!” but at the end of the book I learned a little lesson, a lesson I already knew but it had just been refreshed in my head. Number one – most people probably walked out that room and thought “I should not have done that”. Number two – some people didn’t get to go and I did so I should stop complaining. Number three – Whatever happened to me while I was standing opposite Madonna happened for the best!!!.
Saman“