It's the beginning of the summer of 1977. Final exams are over and 18 year old Monica Brannigan and her best friend Paula leave their troubled home city of Belfast to embark on a fun-filled three day trip to London for Paula's 18th birthday, and to...
Sorry for the overdue update. Part of the reason to blame is because, in February, I went to London on a last minute solo trip. While I was there I paid a visit to a certain house...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Did I feel Freddie's presence (or ghost)? I don't think so, but as you can see it was a beautiful day and the trees were still mostly bare which only enhanced the surreal and ethereal serenity that I felt standing in front of the iconic door, which is now black and no longer forest green. Little did I know that two weeks later to the day I took this photograph, news would become public about Garden Lodge being put on the market. I just hope that the new owners will treat the house with the respect it deserves. For all we know, maybe a Queen fan with enough money in the bank will snatch it up...
(P.S. I also stayed in the hotel which, incidentally, hosted Johnny and Roshni's school prom in the Smells Like Teen Spirit chapters. A happy little accident, I promise ;D)
Saturday 10th January, Chelsea and Westminster, around 9:30pm
"Bloody hell, Kash was right about ordering a taxi..."
Freddie Mercury strode into the entrance of the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, throwing down the hood of his dripping wet coat from the bucketing rain outside.
His aviator sunglasses protecting his identity were fogged up with perspiration, but he still managed to see the elevators that Monica mentioned in her instructions given to him over the phone.
"'When you get out onto the first floor, take the corridor left of the escalators in front of you and look out for Apollo Ward'... fuck, what does that even mean?!"
Her words replayed in Freddie's head, but he was too pumped up with adrenaline to visualise them properly, and was basing his co-ordination on parts of the hospital he'd already been to.
He got in the first lift he saw, and even if it didn't take long for it to reach the next level Freddie willed it to go faster.
There was a dinging sound, and the elevator doors swung open to reveal a waiting health care worker standing by with an empty wheelchair.
"Excuse me?" Freddie asked as he stepped out, taking his glasses off to wipe them dry, "Which corridor goes to the Apollo ward?"
"It's on the wing at the southeast end, this only goes southwest." the worker answered.
"Oh fuck!" He leapt out of the lift and turned left past them both, realising he'd made a mistake.
"This is Elevator D, you need to take Elevator B if you want to get there quick!" The healthcare worked called out after him.
But all that Freddie cared about was getting there, not how fast it was going to take...
*****
Monica glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been at least twenty minutes since she phoned Garden Lodge, not even a heartbeat, and he still wasn't here.
