THIS week we had an earth shaking experience...literally! And it was pretty
scary.
It happened in Mexico on Tuesday when we were rocked out of our sleep by an
earthquake.
I was in my bed when I suddenly woke up and felt the tremors. It felt like
my bed was spinning around and I hung on to it.
The front of my bedroom was a huge window like a massive patio door and it
was creaking and rattling like hell.
I stumbled out of my bed, bleary-eyed and staggered towards the window to
see what was going on.
It was a pretty stupid thing to do as standing at a big window is the worst
possible place to be when you're in the middle of an earthquake.
I pulled back the curtain and saw the swimming pool turn into a massive wave
with the water being thrown up on to the area around it. It was like
emptying out a basin of water.
When it finally dawned on me what was going on I headed straight for the
doorway and stood underneath it because that's what you're told to do in an
earthquake.
I was scared because it's not something I'd ever experienced. You don't have
that kind of thing in Ireland, never mind Sligo.
It was all over in five minutes and then we were on the phone to each other.
"Did you see that? Did you see that!"
Mark had been the only one who slept through it. That fella would sleep on a
bed of nails.
That morning it was on CNN news over here and apparently the quake had
registered 7.4 on the Richter scale, while the highest ever calculation is a
10.
The last one they had in 1985 was a seven and 10,000 people were killed.
Luckily, there was nobody hurt this time.
Looking back, while it wasn't a good experience, it's certainly an
interesting one to have gone through.
WE'VE had some hair-raising experiences on this trip. The fans took us
completely by surprise on our travels around South America.
We don't have our own bodyguards because we feel we don't need them. We're
well able to handle ourselves.
But after this trip, we've had to re-evaluate that situation. The record
company had organised 15 bodyguards for us and we certainly needed them.
When we arrived in Mexico there were 2,000 girls at the airport and they ran
straight at us. The 15 guys formed a circle around us to get us to our
transport. It was a mad, scary scene.
We did a signing session on Wednesday in Mexico city and our van was
surrounded by thousands of girls. They were pounding so hard on the windows
that we all had our hands on the glass in case it came crashing in on top of
us. It's been four months since we've been there and we've seen our fanbase
really explode. The last time we did a showcase in Brazil, for instance,
there were 500 people. This time there were 10,000 and it sold out in a day.
In Mexico, we did a showcase for 3,000 this time and those kind of shows are
normally 500 tops. There were 3,000 fans outside cramming the place. When
you're away you don't realise how much it's growing.
It's been a great buzz and we're delighted with the reaction because it
shows that all our hard work is paying off.
THIS weekend we're in Florida appearing on a big TV show with Britney
Spears, N Sync, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and
many more. It's going to be a great opportunity to catch up on all the
gossip with those acts, but, unfortunately, only Nicky and Shane can party
over here because you have to be over 21 to get served over here!
The heat here in Florida drains all your energy. I've just been out on the
golf course with Shane, Nicky and Bryan - Mark went to the movies - and I've
lost about a stone. It's over 90 degrees here at the moment.
Well, that's it for this week...now I'm off to the pool to cool down and get
a tan going.
WESTLIFE, I think you are the best ever. You are all gorgeous, especially
Nicky and Bryan. Their lovely blond hair just makes you want to cry. I am
your Number One fan. I read the Sunday World every Sunday to read about you
all. I think it is great.
Michelle Byrne, Port-laoise, Co Laoise.
I LOVE Kian the most. He's the biggest hunk in Westlife. I have a big poster
of him on my bedroom wall. I dream every night that I will meet Westlife.
Nicola Hoare, Nenagh, Co Tipperary.
I THINK you are the best band in the world, but my favourite is Mark. I
think he is so cute and my dream is to meet him.
Anita Carroll, Bailieboro, Co Cavan.
I AM proud to be Irish and to have a band as famous as Boyzone from Ireland.
Mark, I think you're the cutest.
Laura Williams, Co Dublin.
