One short day

Two best friends, sharing one wonderful, one short day

Two best friends
I arrived into Nashville early evening. My host Rhett had given me the address for Imogene + Willie, the store he managed. I texted him to check that he was still there & hadn’t gone home yet. He was still at work, the store was just closing up so I jumped in a cab & made my way there.  The store is in an old converted gas service station, the cutest little building with a forecourt & the big old garage doors still there. As I got out of the cab Rhett came out of the store to greet me, closely followed by Mrs, his cute little shipoo.

Inside the store I was shown around, introduced to a couple of Rhett’s colleagues and met the owners of Imogene + Willie, Matt & Carrie. I told them that I loved their store and had never seen anything like it before. Not only did it still have the feel of an old service station, a lot of the clothes are made on site. They specialise in blue jeans. One half of the space is given over to displaying the clothes, the other half is filled with a few rows of sewing machines. I met Donya who was busy making several pairs of shorts. It was fascinating to stand and watch the clothes being made, the same clothes that would soon be hanging up for sale just a few feet away. I saw the Camp Willie t-shirt that I wanted to buy.

 

Rhett, Mrs and I got into Rhett’s car & made our way to Belle Meade, which would be my home for the next few days. On the way over I heard most of Rhett’s life story, he seemed to be able to talk constantly. He did ask me a couple of questions which I answered although a few times I didn’t make it to the end of my answer before Rhett had either asked another question or started a new conversation. I suspected ADD and the excitement of my arrival were to blame. Probably more the former than the later though. 

Sharing one wonderful 

Rhett explained that the owners of the house, who he called Papa & Mama T, were lovely & that another guy, Brad, also lived there. I asked if there was going to be enough room for me. Rhett told me not to worry. As we pulled up in front of the house I could see why I didn’t need to worry, the place was big. Once inside I met Mama T who gave me a massive hug & showed me to my bedroom. She then led me to the kitchen, made me a cocktail and explained that in her house guests get their first cocktail made for them, shown where the liquor is & then have to fend for themselves. I felt so at home.

Within half an hour of my arrival the three of us were in the pool, listening to music and enjoying an icepick – iced tea (a Southern staple) and vodka. The banter going back & forth between Rhett & Mama T was great to listen to. After a little more vodka I joined in the banter, which I think they appreciated. Rhett tried to imitate my British accent, I mimicked his southern twang. Within a few hours I felt like I was chatting with two good friends rather than with people I had only just met.

Later that evening we were joined by Brad, the other guy living at the house (tall, good looking & straight) and I also met Papa when he came home from work. A few more drinks later we played a hilarious card game called Spot It! which I think is designed for young children but is so much fun when you are playing with people who have had a few drinks. Brad was sober as he had been drinking tea all evening but he seemed to take the banter directed at him with good nature. Brad retired to bed and we had a couple more hands of Spot It!, playing a different version called Hot Potato which involved holding your card face up in your hand & then trying to offload it to one of the other people when you spotted a match. It got quite heated with Mama T at one point slapping her card so hard into my hand I hit it on the table with a loud crack of my knuckles.

After Mama T went to bed, Rhett and I grabbed a nightcap & went back into the pool to float under the stars for a while. We chatted about ex boyfriends for quite a while. We chatted about our families. We chatted about what we should do in Nashville the next day as Rhett had the day off so could act as a tour guide.

Robert's

The following morning Rhett & I had an early morning swim & then we were joined by a friend of his, Molly, who worked in the coffee shop next door to Imogene + Willie. Molly brought us some coffee and we swam & chatted for most of the morning.  Rhett asked me if I had ever been to a “meat and three”. I said that I hadn’t so it was decided that we had to go to a place called Arnold’s, know for its meat and three for lunch. On the way over to Arnold’s Rhett asked me what I thought about the house. I told him it was not a house, it was more like a small boutique hotel. We arrived at Arnold’s and Rhett greeted the owner, a friend of his, who was stood behind the counter. He told her that I was British and had never had meat and three. She walked me through the process explaining the different meats on offer that day. I chose a lovely looking beef brisket. I then got to choose my three vegetables. Apparently in Nashville mac & cheese is considered a vegetable! I opted for green beans, mashed potatoes and a sweet yellow courgette bake. The food was out of this world.

Jolene lyrics 

After lunch we made out way to downtown Nashville to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We spent a couple of hours walking round, listening to the music, reading about lots of people I had never heard of. I did see the original handwritten lyrics to Jolene, which made the entire trip worthwhile. After the HoF we went to experience some live country & western at Robert’s. They always have live music on. I was even surprised to know one of the songs and be able to sing along – Last Thing on My Mind – the Dolly Parton song, not the one by Bananarama later covered by Steps.

One short day 

After Robert’s, Rhett had to go to Papa’s office for a meeting. One of Papa’s artists, Scarletta, needed a little bit of styling advice & Rhett was there to provide some suggestions. Before the guy arrived they played me a great cover they had done of Rumour Has It by Adele. The guy arrived and I sat quietly at the back of the room while they discussed outfits. Was most surreal to be sat there listening in to something so personal. Once the meeting was over Rhett & I headed to Chago's Cantina, a Mexican restaurant and bar close by to introduce me to the Chago-rona – a frozen margarita with a baby Corona sticking upside down in it which I have to say sounds weird but tastes great. As we finished our drinks Rhett told me that his next “meeting” was with a friend of his, Sarah, who had recently set up The Bang Candy Company making homemade marshmallows. She had a guy who was filming her journey through setting up the company and getting it off the ground with a view to it being a reality TV show at some point. He said that I was welcome to hang around & observe if I wanted. I wasn’t sure my day could get any more bizarre.

Chago-rona

On the way back to the house Rhett asked me what I missed about back home. I told him I missed my family & friends, HP sauce, my own bed & cooking, especially Yorkshire Puddings. I then had to explain what Yorkshire Puddings were. As we got to the house Sarah called to ask if he was ok with the filming being done at the house. He said that was fine. A little while later Sarah arrived, complete with cameraman and a basket of her homemade marshmallows. I was given a box & got to try some. They were like no marshmallow I have ever tasted before, although my marshmallow experience had pretty much been limited to toasting the pink & white things over the bbq & trying not to let it burn, melt from the skewer or touch the ash. I hovered in the background while they filmed. After the filming the cameraman went home & we all got in the pool to cool down.

A while later Brad arrived back at the house with the ingredients for Yorkshire Puddings and I whipped up a batch. Rhett, Mama T & Brad all tucked into them & they seemed to go down well. They are my ultimate comfort food. I always make them from scratch too, none of this frozen Aunt Bessie nonsense. We rounded off the evening by going to see a couple of Rhett’s best friends for a nightcap. I got into bed thinking that this was definitely one of the more surreal days of my trip so far but one that I would remember for a long time.

“Two best friends, sharing one wonderful, one short day” 
Lyrics from One Short Day from the musical Wicked