Friday 11th June 2010

This is the second time I have attended a Starfury Convention the first being T1 last year where I filmed THIS video of Zachary Levy leading a group of attendies to Subway to help the TV show Chuck a third season.

So now to this year. Starfury T2 is aimed at the fans of Chuck and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV shows.

I drove down to the Thistle London Heathrow and check into my room, I then go and pick up my registration pack.

The welcome ceremony takes place in one of the large rooms and all the guests are introduced. Actors in attendance include; Adam Baldwin, Bonita Friedericy, Julia Ling, Thomas Dekker, Brian Austin Green, John Billingsley, Mark Sheppard and Brody Hutzler.

Welcome Ceremony

After that I attend a meet and greet with the stars as I was one of the first to buy a ticket. This takes the for of groups of fans sitting on a few tables and the guests circulating ensuring they meet and chat to everyone.

Once the meet and greet is over I head over to the bar where Adam Baldwin is enjoying a drink so I join him for a bit.

Saturday 12th June 2010

I get up and head down for breakfast. After that I start my photoshoots. The first was with Julia Ling then a group shot with everyone in attendance and then finally Thomas Dekker and Brian Austin Green.

Then the talks started, all of them were really good but the one that sticks out is the Bonita Friedericy and John Billingsley one, they were hilarious, running around the whole hall and recreating the moment they first got together.

Brody Hutzler Talk

Bonita Friedericy and John Billingsley Talk

Thomas Dekker Talk

Brian Austin Green Talk

Adam Baldwin, Julia Ling and Mark Sheppard Talk

After the talks I them went and got my autographs from everyone in attendance, everyone was really friendly during this and spent the time to add personalisation’s and special requests.

Autographs

After that there was nothing until a lot later when the fancy dress party starts so I went and grabbed some dinner.

I watched the fancy dress party which was delayed due to the England game and then after that went to the bar again with a couple of new friends, finally leaving about midnight.

Sunday 13th June 2010

Slow day today, I get breakfast and the go for my photoshoots with Bonita Friedericy. After that I spend the rest of the day attending all the talks before leaving before the closing ceremony and driving home.

John Billingsley and Brody Hutzler Talk

Julia Ling and Mark Sheppard Talk

Adam Baldwin and Bonita Friedericy Talk

Brian Austin Green and Thomas Dekker Talk

Friday 28th May

I started the drive down to Milton Keynes at about 5.40 and it took just under three hours to get to the MK Dons Stadium in Milton Keynes.

I will be staying at the Doubletree by Hilton which is actually built in to the football stadium. Check in was really smooth and they gave me a free chocolate chip cookie. The room was very nice, you could tell this is a new hotel as everything is still fresh and clean. My room even looks over the pitch.

At 9.00 I decide to go over to Ikea for dinner, the store is just next to the stadium. As I get there I see the opening times sign and it shuts at 9.00. All the other Ikea’s I have been to usually shut at 10.00. So go to KFC instead for a fully loaded meal.

I go back to the room and relax.

Saturday 29th May

I get up and go down for breakfast, it was a usual British buffet that you can usually find at a Hilton and tasted good.

I then go and wait in the general admission line outside at 8.30 and go in at 9.00. I quickly collect all the virtual tickets I need (virtual tickets let you come back at a later time when you number is called so there is no need to wait in lines all day).

The first person I meet is Robert Duncan McNeill, who is most well known for being in StarTrek but to me I prefer him as the director of Chuck. He was really friendly and talked about Zachary and Adam (from Chuck) coming over to the UK last year and was happy to pose for a photograph with me.

Next up was Barry Bostwick from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Spin City. I told him that I actually attended the filming of one episode of Spin City ten years ago and he asked me questions about it and was dissapomted the production company did not feedme. We talked for a good couple of minutes and he was really nice to chat to and was happy to pose for a photograph with me. 

 Next I went and got an autograph from someone I was not planning to but then decided to on the spur of the moment. Kate Mulgrew from StarTrek Voyager. To be honest she did not seem friendly at all and did not make eye contact with me or talk. When I asked if I could take a picture with her she agreed but then told her helper to tell people can only take pictures of her when she is signing and not with her.

Next was Joe Flanigan who plays John Sheppard in Stargate Atlantis. He was chatty and seemed nice spending time talking to everyone.

Then I went over to Myanna Buring who has been in Lesbian Vampire Killers and The Descent. She was really nice spending a lot of time chatting with everyone so the line took a bit of time to go down but I don’t mind that if the want to do something over than sign their name and move on, she seemed genuinely happy to be there and was happy to pose for a picture with me.

The penultimate autograph for the day was Lance LeGault, he played Col. Decker in the A-Team and was a really nice guy to meet chatting and joking with everyone.

The final autograph of the day was Peter Kwong who played Rain in Big Trouble in Little China, the classic John Carpenter movie, he was great to meet and happy to pose for a photograph.

That was all the autographs I needed and it was only 11.00 so I go back up to my room for a bit.

I had three photo shoots today with the first one being at 11.50 with Barry Bostwick and he remembered me from earlier commenting again on the colour of my jumper.

My next photo shoots was with Patrick Stewart who was really busy, at least 400 people wanted a picture with him. The line took quite a bit of time to go down.

The final photo shoot was with Joe Flanigan, who was as friendly as ever (much friendlier than the photographer who had a right go at a few of the girls who where working there).

And that was it for the show today, I drive to Milton Keynes Station and catch a train to London to spend the evening there. 

The train takes just over an hour to get to Euston and when I get there I take the underground to the Apollo Theatre where I pick up my ticket for “All my Sons”.

I then head over to the Savoy Theatre and wait to get the autographs of the cast of Legally Blonde when they come out after the matinee performance. Apparently Sheridan Smith had to stay behind for a meeting so only Duncan James and Alex Gaumond came out to sign for everyone.

I then went for something to eat at Mr.Wu; an all you can eat Chinese buffet, I have a few plate fulls and take my time as I still have some time to kill before my show starts.

I head over to the theatre at 7.00 and take my seat for the 7.30 start. I am right at the top of the balcony overlooking the stage, it is good job I brought my glasses otherwise I would not have seen anything. The play was good and well acted but a little predictable.

After the performance I went and waited at the stage door for David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker to come out, after a while the guy who worked there asked if we would like to go in to meet them, this is the first time this has happened to me and when I went in I met Zoe first, she was very friendly and chatted to me for a while and signed my autograph book and theatre programme as well as posing for a photograph with me. A few minutes after Zoe I met David and he was also very friendly and chatted to me for a while, signed my book and programme and had a picture with me.

I then went back over to the Savoy Theatre in a hope of meeting Sheridan Smith, luckily she was still outside signing autographs so was able to get her to autograph my picture of her. She was great to meet spending lots of time with everyone who was there.

I then went back to Euston to catch my train to Milton Keynes. I got back to Milton Keynes train station a little after 1am and drove back to the hotel and went to bed.

Sunday 30th May

Got up late today as there was no great rush. Went down for breakfast and had the same as yesterday then went back and checked out of my room.

Walked around Collectormania for a bit and picked up my photo shoot pictures from yesterday.

After that I went over to The Centre: MK and did a little shopping and had some lunch before starting the long drive home.

Friday 22nd January 2010

Late last year I was able to get tickets to The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre so planned a mini theatre break to London around it.

I get to London my usual way which is the train from Chester to Euston, but this time there is some problem with the signals and we needed to be diverted via Wolverhampton adding an extra 45 minutes to the journey.

Once I get there I catch the underground to Tower Hill which is where my hotel is, the Travelodge Tower Bridge. I have stayed here before and is great for the price, I was able to get it for £9 for the first night and £19 for the second night so can’t complain.

After I check in I relax a bit before heading over to the Leicester Square area to try and get Keira Knightley’s autograph. She comes out after her performance and signs for about 10 people in the quickest time as possible.

After this I head over to The Little Dog Laughed where I got autographs from the whole cast; Tamsin Greig, Rupert Friend, Gemma Arterton and Harry Lloyd.

Finally I meet Richard Wilson after his performance in Twelfth Night before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday 23rd January 2010

For breakfast I go to Weatherspoon’s across the street to the hotel and get a large breakfast and some orange juice.

After breakfast I catch the tube and DLR to Greenwich and go to the National Maritime Museum followed by the Royal Observatory.

The Observatory is on the top of a hill and I pass many people stopping for breath on my way up there. This is where the Prime Meridian is located so you can stand with one foot in the East and one foot in the West.

After I finish visiting both these places I head back into central London and meet Damian Lewis, Tim McMullen and Chuk Iwuji after the matinee performance of The Misanthrope.

On walking back up the street The Little Dog Laughed cast were just coming out so got some more autographs from them again.

I then head over to the Savoy Theatre where the cast of Legally Blonde was signing autographs, I was able to get Jill Halfpenny, Duncan James, Alex Gaumond, Chris Ellis-Stanton and Sheridan Smith. Sheridan was really friendly and spent at least 30 minutes signing and posing for photographs.

I then get my dinner at Hamburger Plus on Leicester square before going for a bit of a random walk around as I waited before Misanthrope started.

 Had great tickets for The Misanthrope in the centre of the third row, all the performers were great and the play was very entertaining. After the show I get another autograph from Keira but again she does not want to pose for any photographs.

Before I head back to the hotel I pop over to Hairspray the Musical and get an autograph from Phil Jupitus.

Sunday 24th January 2010

At 5.40 this morning I am woken up by an alarm, at first I think it is my alarm clock and after hitting it  a few times it suddenly dawns on me that it is the fire alarm, great!!! I manage to put my clothes on and exit the room, I was in a bit of a daze but there are quite a few people starting to emerge out of their rooms, one man was standing in his doorway in the nude with just his hands covering his b*locks.

When we get outside it is freezing and we have to wait for 40 minutes until the fire brigade give us the all clear to go back in. It looks as though it was set off but some idiots, when I get back into my room I hear security shouting to someone to pack their bags in two minutes and leave or they were going to call the police. I go back to sleep and when I finally get around to checking out did not get any sort of apology from the hotel which you would have expected them to do.

I walk around London for a bit before heading to Euston and catching my train back home, after making use of the first class lounge and drinking plenty of free drinks.

Friday 27th November

It does not seem like five minutes since I was last in London, but here I am again on the train down there.  This time it is to attend Collectormania London.

Once I arrive at Euston I catch the underground to Leicester Square and then onto Russell Square where my hotel is, the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, again the hotel does not cost anything as I am using me free nights accrued during one of their promotions.

After I check in I then go for a walk around and get a cheap ticket to see Speaking in Tongues for later that night.

I go for dinner at Hamburger + and order the big ben which I regret as soon as the waitress brings it to my table, it is almost the size of big ben and would make Scooby Doo proud, I felt like such a greedy bugger.

I see Speaking in Tongues and wait at the stage door afterwards and get the casts autographs including Ian Hart, Kerry Fox and Lucy Cohu, unfortunately Jon Sim leaves by another door so I was unable to get him.

I head over to Calendar Girls and get Janie Dee’s autograph and then go other to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and get Adrian Lester’s, Joseph Mydell’s, Phylicia Rashad’s, Sanaa Lathan’s and James Earl Jone’s autographs.

I then head back to the hotel for the rest of the night.

Saturday 28th November

Early morning today, I leave and get to Olympia by 8.20 and there is still a big queue outside we wait for 40 minutes before the days open, the weather is quite cold but at least it is not raining.

Once in I get autographs from everyone I want including, Billy Dee Williams, Catherine Mary Stewart, Heather Langenkamp, John Rhys Davies, Misha Collins, Steve Blum and Shannen Doherty, as well as photoshoots with Billy Dee Williams, Catherine Mary Stewart, John Rhys Davies and Shannen Doherty.

Everyone I met was really talkative and friendly, John Rhys Davies even started a conversation with me about the takeover of Corus by Tata Steel and his shares in both British Steel and Corus.

After Collectormania I get on the tube and head for the Old Vic theatre and just catch Kevin Spacey after his matinee performance, so get his autograph and a picture with him. I grab a bite to eat at a Chinese buffet on Shaftsbury Ave which was cheap but not up to much. It is at this point that the heavens open up and it starts to poor down with rain, I decide to head back to the hotel. 

Later that night I venture out again to get Anna Friel’s autograph and hopefully a better picture with her than I had last time. After a short while James Dreyfus comes out so get him to sign my programme and then Anna comes out, she signs a pic for me but refuses to have her photograph taken which is a little annoying as there is only four collectors waiting outside.

I then head over to the Phoenix Theatre there Melanie C is currently performing in Blood Brothers, when she comes out I am able to get her autograph and she poses for a picture with me, she was very fan friendly.

I then head back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday 29th November

As I am not going to Collectormania today because I did it all yesterday, I don’t check out until midday and then head over to the Victoria and Albert Museum where I spend a few hours.

After that I go shopping to Oxford street to buy Sarah some clothes and get some lunch at a Watherspoons before picking up my bag at the hotel and heading for the train station where I sit in the first class lounge for an hour before boarding my train back home.

Friday 23rd October

Just before I left I though I would do a quick websearch to see what I was going to do that night, well I found out that the cast of Monty Python (with the exception of John Cleese) were doing a one night only performance of a He’s not the Messiah (he’s a very naughty boy). After calling the box office they only had a few tickets left, so I got one at a very steep £110 plus £4.50 booking fee, the cost made me feel quite faint.

I caught the 13.35 train from Chester and arrived in London a little over two hours later. I took the underground to my hotel the Holiday Inn Express Southwalk, a nice little place, what you would expect from a HIE, although it was a good ten minutes from the closest station. After checking in I went over the National Film Theatre on the South Bank, where the actress Julianne Moore was giving a talk, I waited outside and was able to get an autograph from here.

After that I went to the stage door at Calendar girls and was able to get pictures with Jill Halfpenny and Gemma Attkinson, the two I was unable to meet last time.

I then headed over to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Pythons, this was the first time I have ever been to this venue and it was huge, I was in a private box directly facing the stage, it could only fit five people and we had a great view of the stage, although the performers did look quite small due to the distance.

I suppose I should have read more about the show before I went, it was totally not what I was expecting, it turned out to be the story of the Life of Brian as told by Eric Idol songs and a huge symphony orchestra and opera singers. It was very enjoyable and at the end Michael Palin got to sing the Lumberjack song which all the audience loved. There were a load of camera crews there and I am sure on more than one occasion they were pointing directly at me, I will have to buy the DVD when it comes out to see if I am in it.

When it had finished I headed for the stage door, with what seemed like a hundred over people, where we waited and waited and waited some more, in the end there must have only been about 20 left. The only people who came out that way were Eric Idol and Carol Channing. Although it was great to meet them and spend time with them I was very disappointed that the others did not come out that was, I was really looking forward to meeting Michael Palin (my favourite Python) as his travel shows are a real inspiration. As I had waited there with the others until 1.30am I had long since misted the last train, so I had to hail a cab on the street, it cost just under £20 to bet back to the hotel and when I did I was exhausted and went straight to bed.

Saturday 24th October

Got up at 7am and felt really tired and went down for breakfast, I was the only one here and helped myself to sausages and eggs and loads of orange juice, I tried to fill up so I could skip lunch.

I them headed to London Excel where the MCM London Expo was taking place.

I got there at about 8.40 and then had to wait almost an hour to get into the place, even though I had an early entry ticket for 9.00.

I went and got autographs from Terry Farrel, Nicole DeBoer and Nelson Ellis, before watching Ronny Cox and his band perform on stage and then got his autograph as well.

I watched the talk by the cast of Warehouse 13 and then had a photoshoot with them, they were very friendly and happy to meet the fans, I then had a photoshoot with Terry Farrel and Ronny Cox.

Then it was time for the free autograph signings, first was the cast of Warehouse 13 (Allison Scagliotti, Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly), again they were very friendly taking time to speak to everybody and pose for pictures, I was talking with the guy in front of me in the queue and we swapped cameras to take pics of each other. If you haven’t seen this show yet give it a try I have only seen a couple of episodes and have really enjoyed it.

Next we went over to the makers of the new “no budget” zombie film Colin, these guys were really friendly and even let me take a picture with all of them.

Next was the cast of the Disney show Life Bites and although they had finished the line and had closed off the queue for autographs Neil Roberts one of the actors told me to come over so was able to get autographs and pictures with all of them.

Finally I met some of the people behind The Losers and was able to get their autographs as well.

I than called it a day at the Expo and left.

I went to The Playhouse Theatre where I was able to get both John Barrowman’s and Simon Burke autograph after the matinee performance of La Cage Au Folles.

I got a late lunch / early dinner at Nando’s, where I had one of the most miserly portions of chips. 

I then went to see Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, although it was well acted I don’t think it was one of the best plays I have seen, don’t get me wrong, it was good but for some reason I could not get emotionally involved with the characters.

When it had finished I went to the stage door and was able to get pictures and autographs from the main cast, first was James Dreyfuss, (his brother actually took the picture of both of us) then Joseph Cross and finally Anna Friel, I was surprised by the amount of paparazzi that was there, the play has been running for a while now so you would think that taking a picture of Anna every night coming out of a door signing some autographs and then getting into a car and driving off would be a bit boring, after all once you have done it a couple of times what is the point of going back?

I then walked back up to Leicester square and caught the tube back to the hotel.

Sunday 25th October

Bit of a lazy morning, because the clocks went back it meant I had an extra hour in bed.

Went down for breakfast, it was a lot busier than yesterday and the only place I could sit was at the bar, after that I packed my bag and checked out.

First I went to the Cabinet War rooms by Westminster; this is where Winston Churchill worked during the Second World War. Inside you could see his bed room, map rooms, radio rooms, kitchens etc. Although it cost £12.95 entrance it was worth it to see this piece of war time history.

Following this I walked up the road passing Downing Street, the Centaf and a lot of statues including Lord Haig and Montgomery of Alemein.

At the top of the road I arrived at Trafalgar Square and visited the National Gallery where there is a great deal of paintings, some of the highlights are works by Monet, Van Gogh, Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

After this there was enough time to pop to Weatherspoons for a Sunday lunch before heading back to my hotel to pick up my bag I left with the concierge and then take the underground to Euston station before catching my train back home.

Left work at the usual time and caught the direct 16.35 train from Chester to London Euston, then got the underground to Hyde Park Corner which was the nearest stop to our hotel, the Intercontinental Park Lane. To be honest considering this was quite an up market hotel there was nothing really special about it and our standard king room was nothing to blow you away.

After we had checked in we caught the tube back into the West End area and went to Chinatown for dinner after checking out all the menus in the restaurant windows we settled on one that did a 3 course fixed menu for £10.85 each, it was ok but nothing spectacular.

When we finished we went for a little walk around and Priscilla Queen of the Desert was just letting out so we went to the stage door and got Jason Donovan’s autograph and a rather rushed photograph which is not the best.

After that we walked over to the Donmar Warehouse to see if we could spot anyone coming out of there and met Daniela Nardini so got her autograph and picture with her.

We then went back to the hotel for the night.

The next day we started early and went for a walk around the Leicester Square area before seeing the Matinee of Calendar Girls, the show was ok but Anita Dobson who was in one of the lead roles was very over the top and after saying any of her lines proceeded to give it some ‘jazz hands’ which got very annoying everyone else were really good.

After the show we went to the stage door and got autographs and pictures with Jerry Hall, June Brown, Jack Ryder, and Jill Baker. Shawshank Redemption which was at the Wyndhams also finished and their actors was coming out at the same time so was also able to get Kevin Anderson and Reg E. Cathey.

We walked around some more before getting some dinner at a small Italian restaurant, I had the spaghetti bolognese and Sarah had some chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce.

We then went over to the Donmar Warehouse to see Tennessee William’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”, this is a very intimate theatre and our sets were literally over the stage, it was a good play with very strong performances from all the actors. Afterwards as usual I waited to get their autographs and was able to get Ruth Wilson, Luke Rutherford and Elliot Cowan, unfortunately Rachel Weisz did not come out to meet her fans, apparently this was quite normal and we were a bit disappointed.

Then it was back to the hotel for our last night.

The next morning we checked out and left our bags at concierge and went for a walk around Hyde Park followed by a shopping session on Oxford Street, eventually we picked our bags up from the Hotel and went to Euston Station to wait for our train back home, we made full use of the free drinks in the First Class Lounge.  

Friday 22nd May 2009

Left work at lunch time and caught the 12:35 train direct from Chester to London Euston after just over two hours I arrived and got the underground to Tower Hill where my hotel was.

I was staying at the Travelodge Tower Hill that I got at the bargain rate of £9 per night during the January sales. The hotel was clean but reception staff at check in was very miserable. Room was adequate but no hairdryer, shower gels, draws, wardrobes etc. I went across the road to a Weatherspoons for fish and chips and then went into town.

First port of call was the Donmar Warehouse where I was going to wait for the cast. On my way there I walked past Benicial Del Toro, but as he was with what appeared to be his family I did not want to bother him for a picture, When got to the theatre I found out that Gillian Anderson had arrived a couple of minutes before me and signed for everyone who was there, damm. But I was able to get autographs and pictures with Tara Fitzgerald, Chistopher Eccleston and Anton Lesser.

I then went over to the Wyndhams Theate to see a performance of Madame De Sade starring Dame Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike, to be honest it was not my kind of thing and despite being will acted with fabulous costumes I just could not get into the story.

Afterwards I went to the stage door and was able to meet, Dame Judy Dench, Rosamund Pike, Fiona Button and Deborah Findlay as well as Linda Bellingham who came out from Calendar Girls at the theatre opposite.

I then went over to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to try and get Rowan Atkinsons autograph. When I was waiting for him to come out I ws able to get Angus Deaton and Hollie Taylor. When Rowan came out he would only sign Oliver items, which had nothing of, I tried to get him to sign my autograph book but he refused.

Last call of the night was the Royal Court Theatre at Slone Square where I met Wallace Shawn and Jennifer Tilly where they are in a play together, I was also hoping to get Miranda Richardson as well but unfortunately she did not come out.

When we were waiting Ethan Hawke walked right past me, and was able to get his autograph and a picture with him, that was unexpected.

I then went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Saturday 23rd May 2009

Got up really early today, at about 6.30am and went down for breakfast only to be told they were not serving it until 8am which I did not have the luxury to wait for so began my quest to get to the Excel centre. Not an easy quest even though in theory it should only take a few minutes as it is on the same DLR line as Tower Hill which is where I got on, unfortunately due to engineering work, I needed to go to Canary Wharf get a bus to Canning Town and then change and get another bus to the excel centre. Once there I joined a large line and waited to go into the hall at 9am.

Once in if went straight over to the virtual tickets for Linda Hamilton and the Eureka guys followed by photo shoot tickets for later in the day, I then went and waited in another line to get a ticket for the Merlin signing to take place that afternoon.

I then went over to get some autographs, first was Neil Grayston who plays Fargo in the TV show Eureka, I was the first one in his queue that morning and talked briefly to him for a while, he seemed a really friendly guy.

Next was Linda Hamilton, who was really nice with a big smile and appeared genuinely happy to be there, last was Joe Morton, who turned up a bit late, but looked happy.

I had lunch at one of the take away noodle bars they have there and have to say it was bloody awful then went back in to attend the talks, first was Gerald McMorrow the director of Franklyn then Duncan Jones and Gavin Rothery the creators of Moon. My final talk for the day was the cast and creators of Merlin which I had to leave early to make my photoshoot with the Eureka cast. I waited for this for over an hour as Joe Morton did not turn up, in the mean time Neil Grayston came through the line offering everyone flapjacks, what a nice guy.

Eventually he arrived and got a picture with the both of them followed by Tony Curtis who was a really nice chap, I was the first person to get one and because the camera man was fiddling about with his equipment for a minute I got to chat with Tony for a while as we waited, nice guy.

I then had to rush to the Merlin signing and after explaining to the crew member about what had happened with the delayed photo shoot and how I needed to get back to the Linda shoot a very kind lady let me go in front of her at the beginning of the line, what a nice person and if you are reading this thank you very much. I got the autographs of all the Merlin people and even my picture with Katie McGrath before going back and getting my pic with Linda Hamilton. During this shoot she gave me a big hug and told me how she was enjoying being there ad meeting and talking to all the fans and even gave me a kiss before I left, what a class act.

I went back over to the Merlin area and took a few more pics with them and even one with Bradley James followed by getting an autograph with Tony Curtis. After this there was nothing left for me to do there so left.

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Complaint about the organisation of the expo

I don’t really complain about many things, at least not in public, but feel that I have to about the organisation about certain parts of the expo.

It is clear that the event appeals to two different attendees, firstly and he majority, Manga loving kids and secondly entertainment collectors such as myself. Who is it then so difficult to organise a schedule that is tailored to each demographic that attends, surely have all the entertainment and film guests talks and photoshoots in a flowing schedule so nothing overlaps, my plan for the day was to attend the Eureka talk, Linda Hamilton talk, James Duval talk, Franklyn talk, Moon talk and Merlin talk as well as photo shoots with the Eureka cast, Linda Hamilton and Tony Curtis. This is in addition to free signings from Frankly, Moon and Merlin.

Unfortunately, the schedule was put together by an illiterate fool who had no concept of planning (I talk from experience, not as an illiterate fool of course, but as someone who has been involved in organising events for different industries in the past).

Surely a well though out and cohesive schedule for entertainment guests would keep a lot of people happy, due to the mismanagement of aid schedule I had to miss talks by the Eureka cast, Linda Hamilton, James Duval and half of the Merlin one, along with the free signings of Franklyn and Moon. I was only able to make the Merlin signing and still get my picture with Linda due to the kind lady who let me cut in.

People complain about this stuff every event on the shows forum and everytime the management delete the threads, which has happened this time as well, why don’t they own up to the shortcomings they have and develop a solution to stop it happening again, surely this is in everyone’s best interests????

Rant over!!!

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After stopping at the hotel to freshen up I head into the city and get tickets for Pricilla Queen of the Desert, the musical. I have my dinner at Pizza Hut before the performance and then go to the theatre.

I was up in the cheap seats and almost had a nosebleed due to the altitude from up there. The show was really good and was good entertainment filled with toe tapping classics.

After the show I went back stage to get Jason Donovans’ autograph, he came out in a couple of minutes but only signed for about five people saying we was in a rush to get home, luckily I was one of those who got an autograph but he did not let anyone take a picture with him before shooting off, I only got one of the side of his head and his back so was a bit disappointed with that.

I then went back over to the Wyndhams Theatre and got another pic with Rosamund pic before going to try my luck again with Rowan Atkinson, this time I was going to go into the theatre and get a programme for him to sign, only problem when I got there it was closed, nutz!!!

Before he came out I was able to get an autograph and pic with Jodie Prenger who was very friendly. When Rowan came out I tried to get him to sign my autograph book again but he refused so I pulled out my Pricilla ticket and got him to sign the back of it, and I was able to get a picture with him.

I then went back over to Slone Square to see if I could get a pic with Miranda Richardson who I missed the night before but when I got there I found out they had all left a few minutes before I got there.

So went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

Sunday 24th May 2009

Got up a bit later today, at around 9am, had a shower, packed my bags and went to breakfast at the Weatherspoons across the road. When I went in I was told they were not opening until 10am, so went back to the hotel for a few more minutes until I returned a bit later.

Had a full breakfast for £2.99, and although it did not taste the best (what do you expect for less than three quid) it filled the gap.

I checked out of the hotel by 11 and was a bit annoyed that they did not offer a left luggage service which ment I would have to carry my pack around with me all day, not very happy about that because it was very sunny and I had quite a think coat with me that was too bulky to fit in my bag.

I was planning on going to Hampton court today but did not fancy the travelling involved with my bags so decided to have a short day so went to the Science Museum instead.

It has been a few years since I have been to the Science Museum but it is quite interesting there, especially for me as a space enthusiast and it had free entry. I started out on the first floor looking at early steam machinery and then on to early vehicles and the space area which included the original Apollo 10 Command Module.

I explored the other floors before leaving and poping over to Oxford Street to do a bit of shopping for Sarah, have to keep her sweet so she will keep letting me coming on these weekends .

I then go to Marylebone station to catch my train back to Wrexham. It turns out that there was a football match at Wembly today and it seems like this station was a get off point after the match. Nothing like sweating to death waiting for over an hour in a train station surrounded by drunken chanting idiots, made 100% better by a delay in my train by 40 minutes. GREAT!!!!

It is the first time I have used this direct train to Wrexham, it was forced upon me by work being carried out on the regular line I take with Virgin, I am sure it would have been quicker if I had walked, it took ages, and there was no air conditioning.

Finally got home almost five hours after boarding the train.

Saturday 18th April

Got up very early, too early and drove down to Birmingham. This year Collectormania Midlands and Autographica was combined and took place at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel by the NEC. Got there for about 8.30 and joined the queue to go in, when I was waiting both Mickey Rooney and Ernest Borgnine walked past me and said good morning to everybody.

When we went in at 9am I went over to Ke Hu Quan (Short Round from Indiana Jones and Data from Goonies) and got his autograph and had my picture taken with him. I then went and saw Matthew Lewis (Neville from Harry Potter) and talked to him for a while before getting a signed pic and photo with him. Final autograph of the morning was Ian McNeice another friendly person and good to talk to.

I then spent a bit of time walking around the stalls, to be honest I don’t know whether it was the small venue or the credit crunch but there was hardly anything here and nothing worth buying.

The photo shoots then started, I had a full scheduled planned with a lot of the classic actors in attendance. First up was Joan Collins, she seemed nice and friendly.

Then Mickey Rooney, for some reason his wife was also taking part in the shoot, don’t know why and he would not shake anyones hand.

Next was George Kennedy, again like Mickey before him he was sitting on a chair but seemed a lot happier to be there.

My final photo shoot of the day was Ernest Borgnine and what a genuinely nice person he was, all the way through the shoot he did not stop talking, cracking jokes and putting people at ease, what a top bloke.

I then went and got some lunch and the food court provided at by the event and had a hamburger and chips which was not to bad.

After lunch I then went into Autographica and got the autographs of both Ernest Borgnine and Mickey Rooney. Ernest was as friendly as ever but Mickey looked like he wanted to be somewhere else he signed my picture without even looking up.

I carried on walking around for a while looking at the stalls and then went home.

Sunday 19th April

Had a bit of a lie in today before heading back down to Birmingham. Got another autograph from Ke Hu Quan, this time on a Goonies treasure map that I purchased from a stall. Then headed over and got George Kennedy’s autograph and waited around for my two photo shoots for the day.

The first photo shoot of the day was Ke Hu Quan followed by Matthew Lewis (I think I was the only guy getting a picture with Matthew!!).

I went to a couple of talks, first was the Indiana Jones one followed by a Harry Potter one.

I spent the next few hours waiting around for the photos to come back which took hours.

When I was sitting in the reception at the end of the day surfing the net on my mobile phone Leonora Crichlow from Being Human came and stood right next to me, I thought about it for a while then asked her if I could have my picture with her, she seemed happy to so I did.

After another long wait the photos were finally ready, I picked them up and then came back home.

Background

After how much I enjoyed the previous Eclipse event in Northampton I decided to go to the second instalment, this time the guests attending included James Kyson Lee, Dania Ramirez, Stephen Tobolowsky, Alan Blumenfeld and Adair Tishler.  There was a lot few attendees this time leading to a lot more guest interaction which was great. 

Friday 14th November 2008

I took the afternoon off work and left at lunchtime to give me plenty of time to get to Northampton and relax before it all happens in the evening.

The traffic was a bit busy on the way down and it took around three hours to get there. I check in quickly and go up to my room, to be honest the rooms in the Park Inn are not the best, but for £70 per night including breakfast for what they call the executive room I suppose it is ok.

The Park Inn Northampton

After I unpack my stuff I go back downstairs and collect my registration pack, as I am a Gold pass holder I also get a little goody bag that included a couple of autographs, posters, badges, mug, casino chip and some fake money.

I take all that back to my room and then go for a walk into Northampton as I decided to do some early Christmas shopping and got some clothes for Sarah from Jane Norman (I will not say what they are here as they are a surprise).

On the way back to the hotel I stop at a chippie and get some food as I am quite hungry by this time. I then get changed into my suit and go down for the start of the evening events.

To begin with we are introduced to all the guests by them coming on stage and saying hello, to everyone before being ushered out again.

Guest Introductions

All gold pass holders are then taken to another room where we have a meet and greet with the guests. This was totally different than the last one with only about 40 people taking part, which was great so it was very informal and you really got chance to talk to all the guests for quite some time.

I started with Dania Ramirez and chatted with her for a while and found out she had spent the last few days shopping and bought loads of stuff, then went over to Alan Blumenfeld who was quite interested in what we did for a living, then over to Stephen Tobolowsky who was very funny and then Adair Tisher who was talking about the theatre and in particular Wicked which she has seen a number of times, before going back to Dania until the session finished.

After the meet and greet I went back to the room to get changed into more casual attire and then back down to the bar, it was a Japanese theme so most people were dresses up, I just wore a shirt with a few Oriental letters on it. The guests stayed at the bar drinking for a while and chatting to people, Adair even sang a few songs on the Karaoke. After a lot of drinking and even taking part in a sumo wrestling match I finally went to bed.

Friday Night

Saturday 15th November 2008

I woke up early and went down for breakfast and helped myself to the hot buffet, sausages, bacon, beans, etc. After that I went to the main area for 9am when all the signings and photoshoots where taking place.

My first photoshoot was with Alan followed by Adair, then Dania, James and finally Stephen before all of them for a group shot.

Photoshoots

After the shoots were over I went into town and got something to eat before coming back for the afternoon session which involved a number of talks with the guests.

First up was James, Dania and Adair followed by Stephen and Alan, both talks were great and there was a number of good questions asked.  Stephen and Alan had some great stories that were really interesting to hear.

James, Dania and Adair Talk

Stephen and Alan Talk

They was also a quiz captained by Stephen and Alan each with two audience members, they were great sports to do this, even wearing wigs at one point.

They was then another talk with all cast members before an auction were a number of things were being sold including having dinner with the guests that night that went for just £140, I kind of regret not bidding on it.

Group Talk

We then went back into town for some dinner before the evening party which was the theme of a casino so I wore my tuxedo.

There were a number of roulette and black jack tables but the main draw was the poker table with James, Dania and Stephen playing on it, I wish I could play poker as it would have been great to play against them, Ian did and lasted for quite a long time until they had to take a break to watch a magic act (a guy escaping from a straight jacket that I did not really see a point of), Stephen was doing really well up to that point, winning most hands.  After the magic act the poker fizzled out and I went to bed.

Saturday Night

Sunday 16th November 2008

Had a nice lie in today and went down for breakfast at 10am, I had a bigger appetite than yesterday and managed to polish off quite a bit.

The morning was spent getting autographs from all the guests and generally just relaxing before the afternoon talks.

The first talk started at 14:00 with James followed by Alan and Adair and then Dania and Stephen before the final group talk of the event, again I really enjoyed these as you learn things you never knew and both Stephen and Alan told a few more interesting stories about there careers.

James Talk

Alan and Adair Talk

Dania and Stephen Talk

Final Group Talk

The day finished with a short closing ceremony hosted by the organisers to thank people for coming.

I them set off and head home getting there about three hours later.

Overall I would say that this event was a lot better than the first Eclipse, mainly due to the smaller number of attendees and the friendliness of the guests, I don’t have a bad word to say about any of them and could not have expected anything more from them.  I have even booked my tickets for the next one in May. 

Background

For those people who have seen the occasional updates I add to this site will know I am a big fan of the TV series Heroes and I have attended a few events to meet and get their autographs, well this weekend I went to London to meet five of them, four from the new season 3 and one original member. As well as attending this event I also, as usual went to the theatre and visited a museum.

Friday 24th October

I left work a few minutes early to catch the direct train to London from Chester at 16:08 and just made it with a few minutes to spare before it departed. Luckily I had a reserved seat as the train was quite busy and at least in the carriage that I was in there was no spare seats.

To pass the time on the journey I watched the first three episodes of the new season of Heroes as because I have just got back from a long holiday to Florida I had not seen any of the episodes yet and thought I better had before I was to meet the people who was staring in them, I have to say I was impressed.

When I finally got to Euston Station I then went on the underground to get to my hotel the Hilton in Canary Wharf, which due to a number of internet codes and promotional vouchers I was able to stay at for just £53 per night including breakfast, the cheapest I have ever seen this hotel at previously is over £100 and breakfast is £19.95, so an absolute bargain!!!

The Hilton Canary Wharf

The plan was to dump my stuff in the room and then go to Trafalgar Studios to see Riflemind, a play staring John Hannah (from the Mummy and Four Weddings) and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (Oscar winner for Capote) but I was so tired due to my lack of sleep after flying back from the States a few days before I just decided to go to bed.

Saturday 25th October

I got up quite early and went down for breakfast; the buffet style food was really tasty (I have stayed at a number of Hiltons being a Hilton Honors gold card holder for a few years and I think this was the best one so far).

I left the hotel at 7:30 with the intention of arriving at the Excel centre where the London Expo was taking place at around 8:00, an hour before it opened at 9:00. Unfortunately, due to work on the underground I needed to take a bus from one of the stations and this took over 20 minutes to depart so I did not get there until 8:30, by which time the line was huge.

When I got in I went straight to the Heroes are and got virtual tickets so I could come back and get there autographs later, I also got photo shoot tickets. Then I just went for a walk around and see what was here. Usually this can be quite interesting especially at events like Collectormania and London Film and Comic Con, but the London Expo is mainly aimed at Anime and Manga fans, something that I have absolutely no interest in.

I then went to get the Heroes autographs on my poster and both David and Ken looked really impressed by the amount of signatures already on there, all the cast seemed to be genuinely pleased to be there, not just there to sign autographs and make some money.

Heroes Cast - Signing and Panel Talk

I then had a photo shoot with them; I decided to get one with everyone in and then with each one individually. Everyone again was very friendly during this, the Group went first followed by Greg, Brea, Andre, David and finally Ken.

Heroes Photoshoot

 

This is were my first complaint of the event was, there was only about ten people who wanted a group shot, a shed load who wanted Greg, 20-30 for Brea, 6 for David, 4 for Andre and 2 for Ken. So after the group shot the cast had to wait to the side for about 30 minutes while they did the Greg shoot, surely it would have made a lot more sense to do there shoot before Greg as it would have been over within five minutes and would have stopped them hanging around when they could have been relaxing.

Also a second complaint, to get autographs from the Primeval panel you needed to que up at 12:00 to get tickets which was limited to 150, the Heroes photoshoot lasted from 11:30 to 12:30, very bad organisation on the part of the organisers, as there would be a crossover of fans from both shows.

Luckily I was in the queue early (stood there for 45 minutes) for the Primeval tickets and got chatting to a couple of guys in the queue, who kindly kept my space for me, so after the group Heroes shot and Greg (which I was first for) I went back just in time to get the tickets and then went back again for the last three photo shoots.

The Heroes casts then did a panel discussion answering questions from the audience, David himself seamed to be a big fan of the show admitting to owning them on both DVD and Blu-Ray and knowing extras that were on them along with what editing software the studio uses.

I went for lunch to the Mongolian barbeque upstairs that was quite good value, for less than £10 you had soup, a main that you picked out the ingredients for and a pint of Coke.

After lunch I went back and attended the Merlin panel and later got autographs from them and the Primeval cast and creators. Everyone seamed really happy to be taking part, and best of all because it was a promotional event all the signatures were free.

Merlin Cast – Signing and Panel

 

Primeval Signing

Autographs

Michael Hogan

After these I then went back to the hotel, and then out to Leicester Square. In Leicester Square I went to my usual cheap theatre tickets booth to try and get some reduced tickets to Rain Man staring Josh Hartnett, but unfortunately they did not have any. So I went to the Apollo theatres box office where the show was performing and was able to get one of the last tickets for that night’s performance. I then went over to the Comedy Theatre and waited for about 20 minutes before Kelly Brook arrived and got her autograph and picture with her, there was also around three autograph dealers waiting for her and they all got what seamed like ten autographs each from her and she still has a smile on her face.

Kelly Brook at the Stage Door

I grabbed a quick McDonalds before heading back to the Apollo to see Rain Man. Both Josh Hartnet and Adam Godley gave stellar performances, I was really surprised by how good Josh was, my last experience of someone like him on stage (Orlando Bloom) was very disappointing.

After the show I went to the stage door and after waiting about ten minutes Josh came out and signed autographs for a load of people including me.

Josh Hartnett and Adam Godley at the Stage Door

I then went to Trafalgar Studios in a hope of meeting John Hannah and Philip Seymour Hoffman after there show Riflemind as I would not get another chance of it was the last ever performance after the show was forced to close early. Outside the stage door I met Ammie-Fion Edwards from the TV show Skins and apparently just missed Geri Haliwell by a couple of minutes, but unfortunately I did not get to meet John or Phillip as they stayed late to attend the after show party and I needed to make sure I caught the last underground train back to the hotel.

Aimee-Ffion Edwards outside the Trafalgar Studios

 

Sunday 26th October

Clocks went back last night so I had an extra hour in bed, which was very welcome, I then got ready and went down for breakfast, and again it was really tasty.

I checked out and left my bag with the concierge, before heading over to the Imperial War Museum were I spend a few hours looking at all the exhibits commemorating the people who have fought in conflicts since the First World War.

The Imperial War Museum

I then got the underground back to the hotel to pick up my bags, before getting back on to go to Euston station.

This is were everything started to go wrong I was due to leave euston at 17:56 so got on the tube at 17:00 to get there, I had plenty of time and planned to go to the first class lounge for some drinks and snacks before I boarded, but then the underground train I was on got stuck in a tunnel due to a signal failure, I was there for over an hour and a half with no fresh air, extreme heat and even people fainting around me, not very comfortable in the end they managed to get us to the next station which was kings cross and cancelled all further services. I then needed to walk in the rain with my case to Euston and got there with 4 minutes before the next one to Crewe was departing so no first class lounge and free drinks for me!!!

I was told that a train would be leaving Crewe to Chester at 22:00 and that would give me 3 minutes to get on as I was due to arrive at 21:57, but then at Milton Keynes there was a problem with this train and was delayed for 8m inutes which then made me miss the Chester one.

OK not the end of the world I thought I would just get the next one, when I got to Crewe I spoke to the person there and due to maintenance on the line there was no trains running in that direction after 22:00 so I then needed to catch a bus to Chester which took an hour. In the end I did not get home until half midnight when I should have got back by 21:00. What an enjoyable experience that was!!!!!!!!!