House of Memories by Alice; Taylor Page B

Vikings”. The band had arrived. They poured out of the van with a clatter of instruments and black boxes. Kate smiled as she viewed their quiffed haircuts and white satin suits. Kilmeen had never seen anything like these.Where had Rosie found them? But knowing Rosie, the chances were that they were super musicians. These were going to be a big change from Tom Murphy and his middle-aged group of violin and accordion players. There appeared to be about six of them in all, and as they came towards the hall they were almost obscured by their large instruments and leads draped over their shoulders and the heavy black boxes they carried between them. Kate dashed out to hold the inside door open for them. They packed the narrow corridor with their gear, and she breathed a sigh of relief when everything seemed to fit and they made it through into the hall where they were able to spread out and approach the stage like a tidal wave.
    It took about an an hour to get all their gear up and do test runs on the stage, and during that time Rosie made several visits to the door to see if there was any activity outside. She was not reassured by what she saw, and in her desperation she confessed to Kate what the band was costing and the minimum number she needed in the hall to clear all her expenses. Kate was gobsmacked by the price of the band but did her best to hide her dismay from Rosie.
    Finally the band were ready, and the first blast of sound hit the hall. Kate felt the walls shudder around her and thought that she could be blown across the road by the force of the music. Were they a good band? She honestly did not know. All she knew was that she had never heard the likes of it before. But it had some magic, because faces began to appear in front of her, and soon a queue filled the little corridor and quickly backed out into the street. She was glad when Fr Tim arrived, and the two of them doled out tickets and took in money so fast that there was no time to do or think of anything only keepingthe queue moving. Finally there was a lull and they looked at each other in disbelief.
    “Phew,” Kate grinned, “that was some avalanche! Where the hell did they all come from?”
    “Apparently the Vikings are a big name out there with the young ones,” Fr Tim told her. “I’ve asked around, and they are the new rock and roll wonder band.”
    “Well, Rosie got it right,” Kate said, “and I’m delighted for her, because she took a big chance.”
    “I think that Rosie will always take chances,” Fr Tim smiled. “That girl likes excitement and challenge.”
    And with that the door out of the hall burst open, and Rosie was dancing around in front of their little office. She was glowing with achievement, and her blonde hair that had started the night in an elegant knot on top of her head had now fallen down around her shoulders, and her bright red dress showed patches of perspiration under her arms. She was a picture of vibrancy and delight.
    “We made it! We made it!” she chanted. “We’re home and dry with money to spare.”
    “Well done,” Kate said warmly, “and now we must make sure that everything goes well and that they all go home having had a great night. That will send out the right signal about the new club.”
    “But why wouldn’t they?” Rosie asked in surprise, looking down through the glass partition into the hall. “They’re all having a ball.”
    Kate had to agree with her as she looked in over the scene of swirling young bodies who seemed to be able to achieve any conceivable dancing angle a supple body could master.
    “I’m glad that they stopped coming,” Kate said, “because you would not like to refuse anybody, but to let in any more could be dangerous.”
    “Oh, I never thought of it like that. I just thought that if the crowd got any bigger that we wouldn’t have enough room to enjoy the dancing,” Rosie told her happily, pointing down to where Nora and Danny Conway were clapping their hands