Good question!
Once, we were all in the van parked up and waiting to set off. An ugly little kid with bright ginger hair walked past and, feigning concern, Laila stood up and pushed her hands to the window and said ‘Barney, we’re going now, get back in the van’ much to the hilarity of the rest of my cruel posse.
I exacted my revenge when a tiny Asian woman with really bad, bright clothing on walked past and shouted ‘Laila, get back in the van’ and it snowballed from there. And we never stopped. Anything ginger is Barney, anything tall or with grey hair is Neil and so on. A favourite ‘get back in the van’ is the skinny inflatable man that floats above a car dealership in Southampton. That’s Neil.
It’s actually incredibly cruel and often borderline racist to be honest (Laila is quite often represented by a small black lady in jazzy leggings) but it’s all in the name of fun.
The game extends to include other members from other bands but they don’t even know. There’s been a thousand bearded muslim men that have had a ‘Babar Luck get back in the van’ and anyone from South India is bound to be treated to a ‘Jamie Jazz get back in the van’. It’s a very inclusive game.
We don’t want it to be a private joke and come off like we know something anyone doesn’t. Please all play ‘get back in the van’ and pop the bubble of pomp and ego of all your friends, until your self-esteem and insecurities are completely shot. That’s the British way.
And get back in the van, you bugger x
