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Gladys and the chiX Reunited
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Gladys has been the brains and the driving force behind the girl band, the chiX which features her three older sisters. Laura, the lead singer, has walked out, but she’s finding that her solo career is not going well. The chiX have entered for the first round of the Eurovision Song Contest, to see if they can be chosen to represent Britain. But can Gladys persuade Laura to rejoin the band?
Catch up with earlier episodes.
- Gladys and the chiX
- Gladys the Music Maker
- Gladys and the Ghost Girl
- Gladys and the Big Gig
- The chiX Split
- Gladys and the Solo Sister
Read by Natasha. Story by Bertie (with lots of inspiration from Natasha). Duration 13.53 min. Picture of Arny, the manager of the chiX for Storynory by Tania Fernandes
Gladys and the chiX Reunited
It was the physical education lesson at school. Gladys was jogging around the football pitch. She wasn’t a very fast runner, and as she went she thought about what sort of song would have the best chance of winning the Eurovision song contest. “People from all over Europe have got to like it,” she thought to herself. “Including all these countries in the Eastern part, like Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Romania…. there are loads of theme ..and all of them vote for the winner. .. I wonder what they will like…. I need some ideas for some words.”
After school finished, Gladys stayed late for a piano lesson. Her teacher was from Estonia. She was extremely beautiful and rather serious. Gladys and she got on well together. When it was time to go home, Gladys asked her:
“Maria, what do you miss most about Estonia?”
And Maria put her music sheets in her bag and said:
“I miss the sound of music students practicing their scales. I miss running and hiding from the rain in the door of the conservatory. I miss the smell of the lilac trees in spring. ”
And although Gladys thought that Maria’s answer was very romantic and poetic, she didn’t give her an idea for a pop song. So she said:
“But in general, what do people in Eastern Europe really like ?”
“Ah, well everybody is different, but in general we like like music, we like art, we likes science, we like laughter, we like cry a bit, we like the theatre, we like the Circus”.
“Thank you,” said Gladys, “That really helps me with something I’m doing.” Because now she had her idea for a song. “Yes, she thought,” everybody likes the Circus….the Russian circus comes to London every year so it’s a real east european thing – and the chiX can have some great circus costumes and dance moves – that’s it, we’ll do a circus song.”
An so when she got home she went up to her room and started to think of all her favourite circus acts and to work them into the words of a song.
You taught me to fly and to swoop to your arms;
And though I soared high I came to no harm;
You sawed me in half and you pulled me apart
And though I really laughed, you had broken my heart,
You stood me quite still and you threw straight your knives
And though you didn’t kill, you used eight of my lives,
You rattled my cage and you cracked your whip
And though I really raged, I only bit my lip.
You set up a hoop, and I jumped through fire,
And though you were cool, you lit up my desire
You stretched a high wire, and you made me walk,
And though said you were a flyer, It was only talk.
You threw custard pies, and you made funny sounds,
And though I loved your lies, you were only clowning around
Her song was coming along nicely. But she still had to persuade her sister Laura to rejoin the chiX. Laura was into indie music these days, and Gladys wondered if she would be too proud to take part in the Eurovision which after all, everyone knows is a bit naff.
And to tell you the truth, Laura was still in quite a strange mood. She spent a lot of time on her own, and wasn’t talking to her sisters very much at all. Gladys went to see her in her room. She found her lying on her bed reading a magazine about celebrities.
“Laura,” she said, “Have you ever heard of anything so naff that it’s cool?”
And Laura said:
“I suppose like a TV programme that we all watched when we were kids 10 years ago. When you see it now it’s kind of naff cos it’s so out of date, but it’s kind of cool at the same time… or come to think of it Gladys, sensible shoes and glasses can be a bit naff, but cool at the same time because it’s a look that you’ve made your own.”
And Gladys thought that was an interesting answer, because up until then, nobody had ever suggested that her shoes and glasses might be cool. She thought she might just have a chance of winning Laura over, so she came to the point:
“What about taking part in the Eurovision. Is that so naff that it’s cool?’
“Well,” said Laura,” sitting up now and looking more interested, “I suppose winning anything is cool. And getting no points is kind of cool. But on the other hand, coming fourteenth just behind Belgium is pretty naff.”
“But is it a risk worth taking? I mean, if the chiX were in the Eurovision, would you like to sing for us? ”
And Laura said something that surprised Gladys very much. And what she said was this:
“Gladdy, if you were organising it, I would go for it, because you’re a smart girl Gladdy. I meant it. If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that you got the brains not just for homework and that kind of school stuff, but for life.”
And Gladys felt wonderful. Because not only were the chiX back in business, but her sister really appreciated her.
The chiX worked hard to get their act into shape. Their aim was to get on the national TV show, and then to be picked as the British entry in the competition.
Just three weeks later they took part in an audition to see if they were good enough to go on the the show.
The auditions were held in a fringe theatre space in Islington. The chiX travelled across London by train and Underground, and then spent twenty minutes wandering around in the rain trying to find the venue. They were a bit bedraggled by the time they arrived, but none of the sisters complained to Gladys.
Four judges sat in the front row of the darkened theatre. The chix performed their song with just a pianist for backing. . They sang their words and did their circus moves but as Gladys watched from the side wings, she could see that the routine was still a bit ragged. At the end of the song, Laura and Mandy bowed and Sam curtsied. They smiled because that’s what Gladys had told them to do – but she could see it was a bit forced.
One of the judge’s was the TV programme’s producer. She asked the only questions:
“So why do you want to represent Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest?”
Mandy and Sam carried on smiling, but clearly could not think of an answer. “Because the chiX the best,” said Laura.
“Thank you,” said the producer, “We’ll let your manager know.”
And that was it. The audition was over.
In the changing room, Sam aid: “That was easily the scariest thing we ever did.”
“Wasn’t it just?” said Mandy. “Just four people staring at you. I mean, I felt like I was walking naked down the street.”
“But hey,” said Laura, “Performing in front of 50 million people wont be scary at all.”
Gladys wasn’t at all sure that they girls had passed the audition, but their manager, Arny, told her not to worry. It was just a formality, he said.
And so the girls kept on practicing their act. Arny brought in new backing musicians. They tried out different costumes. The choreographer worked on their routine. A special effect man came in to work on stage smoke, and fiery hoops.
And when they did get the invitation to take part on the TV show, they were feeling ready to go.
Gladys called Arny and said:
“I want the chiX to arrive at the television centre felling like they are on top of the world. I hope you don’t think this is a bit cheeky, but do you think you could get a taxi?”
And Arny said:
“Right-oh Gladdy. The sisters have been good girls recently. Working really hard. It’s time for the red carpet.”
And on the day of the show, the chix travelled to the TV centre in Arny’s stretch limo.
They were met in reception by a young TV producer who led them through security and along the corridors past the doors to the big TV studios. They went into stage Five which was a big room with lights and TV cameras, and technicians plugging in cables, and she led them round the side and to the back and down another corridor to their changing room.
Text Copyright Hugh Fraser 2009-
Gladys has three sisters who are in a girl band called the chiX. But Gladys isn't in the band because she's too young, and she's "too Geeky". But it's Gladys who is the brains behind the band.
Dear Bertie
If you see that this computer has used different names,
it is my friends
Hey Bertie do you have Goosebumps?Please anser me!
I am happy that the chiX got back together I thought that they would never get back together. :) Berti- I like your stories. :) I really like the one where you ran away. :) LOL
it gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggoooolooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
it is so gggggggggggggggggggggggggggoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddddddddd !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( :
im dieing bertie dontyou love me? please reply.
i loooove you so please reply bertie and can i marry you please and if you dont reply i might die because of a curse the which put on me . xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
bye bertie my beloved.
good story!
Dear Abigail, keep listening to the chiX because Laura might improve !
everyone is ! I HATE LAURA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am geting the same problem as Fatima.
Hi Fatima I think we might have lost the text for the last part of the story.
hello i was just asking tha after natasha read They were met in reception by a young TV producer who led them through security and along the corridors past the doors to the big TV studios. They went into stage Five which was a big room with lights and TV cameras, and technicians plugging in cables, and she led them round the side and to the back and down another corridor to their changing room.
she still kept on reading not again and again just the rest of it when it wasnt realy there
Dear McKenna, I”m really glad you like our stories. We usually publish a new story around the weekend. The good news is that we are gradually adding more and more stories to our iTunes feed.
I love your story’s,I can only get recording from Itunes.I love to listen to them I wish I knew what day to listen
I like the chiX
Hallo Bertie~!
You are soo astute about having computer’s number called an IP address! ^^
However, my siblings are sometime use storynory with their(or my) computers. :/
However, i’m not worry about that because i will get NEW laptop touch screen next year! =]
Whoosh~! My school is almost begin!
Love,
Emma~
Dear Michelle and girls. If anyone is insulting anyone please let me know. I must have missed it. I am ready to delete any insulting comments.
I also ought to point out that everyone’s computer has a number called an IP address which I can see. It doesn’t tell me who you are, but I can tell if the same person is commenting under different names. One person seems to do this rather a lot.
Hi, Hannah E.~
So sorry someone is insulting such and intelligent sounding girl like you. I came to tell you my e-mail, so you can talk to me whenever you want. We can be pen-pals. Please use the addresses below.
minjoo1018@gmail.com
If you do, you can be sure I’ll write back.
Michelle^^
P.S. That Michelle above me is NOT the same Michelle as me. I swear on god. You can tell me and ther by that little ‘^^’I ALWAYS add to the end of my name.
Michelle,
If you stop coming to Story Nory then you wouldn’t be able to listen to the next Gladys story when it does come out.
I’m not talking about not replys. I’m talking about Gladys!
I want a new Gladys and I want it now! I don’t want delays! Make sure it comes out by August 31st. Is that clear young man????
Oh and If you don’t reply to this OR don’t get it out by the 31st, I’m gonna quit comin’ to storynory. And that’s the end of the matter, okay young man??
i really love this website.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michelle sorry if I don’t always reply. Sometimes I;m just busy. I know you are right about Gladys. I apologise for the delay. We are making some plans for her.
I WANT a new Gladys story!
(Bertie, I will be very angry at you if you don’t reply)
I love your stories. I cant wait for the next one! your great!
My daughter loves these stories! They are VERY cute! :)
Thanks Lily.
Thanks Lily… Let’s just stick to commenting on the stories from now on. We don’t want any hurt feelings here.
Dear Everyone on storyory.
Everyone, I am so, so sorry, but, I am the one who pretended to be Hannah E(And alot of other people). I checked out her blog, and I thought it would be fun to pretend I was her.
I know I was mean. I just didn’t know what I was doing. So here I am, apologizing.
Anyway, This is the first time on this wonderful site that I have shown my real name.
Hannah E. Bertie. Princess Emma.
Please forgive me.
Sincerely,
Lily
This, is just a great story!
When is the new one comin’ up?
AliQJ -Happy Birthday !
i want a new katie stori
Bertie, I drink honey, lemon juice, and water when I have a sore throat too. Honey’s sweet and soothing, lemon juice helps your throat, and water makes it a fluid, and also healthy! By-the-way, my birthday is August 7. The next Gladys and the chiX will be like a birthday present!
Dear Princess Emma, Thanks for your idea. I’m afraid we can’t have log ins and passwords because we don’t collect personal information off people. I will try to be more vigilant at weeding out possible fake comments.
Hi Flora, the next Gladys is not written yet, so I can’t say exactly, but we are planning one ofr August.
Dear Bertie, Hannah was right (same happen to my other name). I STILL worrying about someone tried to use my name to make worse (or rude) comment on other stories. That’s terrible! I wish comments have passwords that Hannah and I can put our own real names :<
We hope Hannah feels better!
Emma~
Dear Hannah, Sorry somebody used your name. I’ve deleted the silly comment that I think you are referring to. Come back and comment soon !
Dear Mrs. E You Are welcome to email me with more details. I’ll look through the comments and delete anything that looks untoward.
Hi, this is Hannah E.’s mom. I have a little girl in tears because somebody is using her user name. We just want you to know that she would never talk like that. Ever.
So sorry that somebody is misusing your very nice website. My children really enjoy listening to the stories all the time.
Sincerely,
Mrs. E.
Whoever is doing that please stop that is really mean! p.s.Bertie I never said that.
The real Hannah~
bertie have you ever been in a band please reply
Hi Flora, the Next Gladys will be some time in august. Sorry to keep you waiting.
When is the new Gladys story i want a new gladys story please reply
love the story is it frome bertie
oh, Bertie, I wish I looked like Laura, so grown up and fashionable. I’m ten years old, and I (don’t think of me snooty!)adore fashion. All I’ve got is my boring, long, curly brown hair and dark, brown eyes. But I still wear the latest fashion.
AliQJ… the next chiX story will be in August
Hello Aliqj … the chiX drink lemon and honey when they have soar throats
By the way, I LOVE the chiX! Natasha, what do they DO when you have sore throat on recording days???
Please respond,
Your Friend an Fan, AliQJ @->-
When ARE you going to comr out with more Gladys and the chiX stories anyways, Bertie? (Even though you’re actually making them up kind of fast!)
***PLEASE RESPOND BERTIE!!!***
Michelle, Many thanks for your ideas. Yes, more activities is a good idea. We do sometime decorate the site for christmas and halloween, but you are right, we could do it more often. I think a story every week is the most we can manage though. Many thanks for letting your friends know about Storynory. We’ll think about your ideas and try to do some of them.
Dear Bertie,
Hello Bertie. This is Michelle. This time, I want to talk to you about ways to improve storynory, the site(Please, I hope i didn’t hurt feelings. Storynory is wonderful. Still..)
I have been thinking about this a lot, and finally decided to talk(comment) to you.
First, I think you should put more activities to it, besides listening to storys. For example, games. I have a feeling it will make the site more popular.
Second, you should decorate it more. add snow(Christmas), suns/beaches(Summer), leaves(fall), flowers(spring), and hearts(February). It would look waaaaaay better.
Last but not least, you should more often add storys. My friends say that storynory is wonderful, exept for the fact that it doesn’t so often have a new story.
Hope this helps. Bye for now!
Sincerely,
Michelle
this is a cool story.
Dear Bertie
Hello, Bertie. I am Michelle, and I’m new to storynory. It is a fabulous site, and I love it. I heard all of the Gladys storys, and am waiting very hard for more.
I have always thought that Laura was a bet snooty and girlish(even if I myself has been like that for a long time)like the queen herself made her bed, but when she said
“Glady,if you were organizing it,I would go for it, because you are a smart girl Gladdy. I meant it. And if I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that you’ve got brains for not only homework and that kind of schoolwork, but for life too.”,
I felt some kind of different feelings towards her.
I love Gladys, and can’t wait to hear more.
If you decide to reply to this comment, please, tell me when the next Gladys story is coming. Really, I don’t mean to be pushy, but I’d be really grateful if you did.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Holy cheese!
Well, I’m always right.
But of COURSE no one is better at writing than me!Ha!
In fact, I even won over 100 awards for my books, which are all(and I mean all!!!) bestsellers. Ha!!!!
(na,na,na,na,boo,boo~)
and did you read my blog?
<333333333333333333
Dear Sharanya, I wish we could add a story every day, but we work full out to do one a week. We have to write them, record them, edit them. etc. But really glad that you like the stories so much. And you are quite right, Laura has finally learned to value Gladys. She had to try going “solo” to understand how much Gladys does in the background.
natasha:
i like gladys and now i like laura too, because she said the right thing about her she said this:
“Gladdy, if you were organising it, I would go for it, because you’re a smart girl Gladdy. I meant it. If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that you got the brains not just for homework and that kind of school stuff, but for life.”
i love gladys if you are gonna put another chiX story then i will be always listening to storynory
bertie:
bertie i have listened to all the stories in storynory please can you add stories every day not every week.
from sharanya :)
Hi Bertie.Thanks for the comment. I have started writing a book And I will probably do my own illustrations.
Hannah~
Dear Sophie, Thanks ! .. the chiX Rule !
ansewer me
Hi Hannah, I haven’t got many tips apart from keep writing and illustrating as much as possible and perhaps publish your work on your blog.
Hi Cattien, you are right, it’s time for another Katie. I’ll get working on it
Dear Nikki, I wanted to write a story with lots of girls voices for Natasha. Also, a long, long time ago, I played in a band and I remember what it was like – - so I put the two ideas together and came up with a girl band.
I want another ‘Katie the Ordinary Witch’
Bertie!
hi bertie :) can i ask u a Q? wat inspired u to write about the chix?
by the way the stories roc
Bertie,
I want to be an author and illustrator when I grow up got any tips?
Hannah~
I love the chiX!!!!!!!!
The ‘Download the audio to your computer’ is not a link so I can’t right click it and save as.
I love your stories!
Can you come to my blog sometime?
Hannah~
p.s.how many Story Nory stories have you done so far?
Hi Bertie I have got the link up
Hi Yeh-Jun glad you like Gladys, There are going to be three more stories, but they come out when we’ve written them, so no exact scale. We are thinking about doing some music for the last two episodes and that might delay them a little while we get the music together.
love you
bla bla bla bla
Awesome :)
When do new gladys come out?
Very fantastic story.
Well spotted, Michelle. I’ve put the right text in now, but still looking for the ending !
Dear Bertie,
Why is the “Gladys and the solar sister”text here instead of the real one?
Love the story.
sincerely,
Michelle
CHIX RULE