OOh it's him, he's here!

The much awaited 'Shaggy storm' finally hits Colombo

By Ruhanie Perera and Uthpala Gunethilake

Interesting as the superstar who arrived last Wednesday was, the fans who beat him to the Galadari Hotel (where Shaggy was welcomed and was staying) were a story themselves. Decked in their 'Sunday best', with pen and paper in their hands or cameras around their necks they ambled up and down the hotel lobby with desperate glances at their watches.

Some people just couldn't believe their luck. Saran (14), Harry (16), and Anusha (12) had arrived here from Canada at 3 a.m. that morning for a holiday. Staying at the Galadari, they woke up a few hours later to find that the superstar was to stay in the very same hotel they were in. That was it. They grabbed their cameras and haunted the lobby for the next few hours. "Yeah, we're Shaggy fans," was the prompt reply that came in unison as they left to continue their vigil and their mother who had many plans for the day was left to cancel them and follow her children around. 

A couple of hours later than he was supposed to make his big entrance, the lobby buzzed with excitement at the news that Shaggy was almost there. The hotel staff smoothed their clothes for their 'V.I.P', the Kandyan dancers ready from morning jumped off the couches and gave their limbs a good stretch, the exuberant girl fans slicked back their hair and everyone made their way to the oil lamp, which seemed to be the 'hotspot' for the afternoon. 

Shaggy's troupe arrived. Then...a few cars went past the entrance, a bus followed and even a speeding trishaw came and went drawing gasps of anticipation. Finally dressed in a yellow t-shirt and jeans, a rather sleepy Shaggy entered, giving his fans one of those 'kodak moments'. Unfortunately that moment was rather short. As soon as he lit the oil lamp he whizzed away to his room. 

Though there was a tinge of disappointment, the persistent souls were not about to give up. Marian (17) and her friends had waited for Shaggy for four hours at Liberty Plaza because they were told that he would drop in there. "We are really big Shaggy fans and we're excited that he's finally here. But it's a bit disappointing that he didn't stick around for too long, because we wanted his autograph."

Shaggy, 'the skinny guy with the loud voice' says he got his voice-training from the army, his name from a cartoon character, and his big break from 'O Carolina'. Quite a strange recipe for stardom, but judging by the enthusiasm of his fans it sure has worked. More Shaggy fans who preferred to be unnamed said they are going to continue the autograph hunt. "Each time they advertised that Shaggy was coming, we bought the tickets. We are going to hang around here for his autograph, and we are going to follow him around till we get it."

Saran, who now can boast of having stayed at the same hotel as Shaggy, had this to say. "None of my friends in Canada has ever got this close to Shaggy and I have a whole lot to tell them! This trip has really been fulfilling!"

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