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hathycolSo, confession time: I was not well at all on Friday, to the extent I sort of considered not going. Then I decided that if I ate some fast food it would be kill or cure and I might as well find out on the M6. Fortunately, it was in fact cure, so Richie and I sped up the M6, and he read out the occasional text messages from the dudes and dudettes that had arrived before us. This was about my... fourth, I think? Glasgow Collectormania, though, and I had no intention of missing it, work and stomach be damned.
Richie and I arrived just as most of the gang (i.e. Lucy, Louise, Ann, Dee, Frank and Fiona) were arriving back from Pizza Hut, and we ended up just sitting in Lucy's room, having a good catch-up and generally gossiping. Tali arrived not too long after that, and after a mild key-based altercation we all caught up properly. Sometimes Richie and I are a bit isolated in Southport, and whilst I obviously love Richie dearly it's nice to catch up with other people! That said, we ended up sharing a room with Lucy and Louise who very kindly gave us the double bed. THANKS, GUYS.
The good thing about Glasgow is that there's no mad rush to get to the convention itself, so we had a practically civilised morning, dressing leisurely and heading to the Braehead. Once again we were in full TrekBabe mode, and it was something of a sign when the cleaning trolley we passed had an unexpected Tribble on it!
We wandered around the convention for a bit, before going to the first Doctor Who talk of the weekend with Nina Toussaint-White and Caitlin Blackwood. I like Glasgow for the talks, but they can also be a wee bit... cringe-worthy, as times, but those two gave as good as they got! Caitlin Blackwood is very together for a 12-year old. They both confessed to not really watching Doctor Who, at which point someone asked why they had auditioned to be in the show. Nina's answer of "I am an actor and it was a job!" made me laugh, I have to admit.
We then hung around for Virginia Hey's talk. I had every intention of asking "So, Mel Gibson. Was he always like that?" but in the end I'm glad I didn't. Virginia Hey is, frankly, bonkers in the best possible way but very defensive of Mel Gibson. Still, that Mad Max remains my favourite one in the series, and, you know, Farscape! She talked a lot about some fairly different things, but it was a good talk nevertheless, even if something she said turned out to be a little contentious afterwards.
After a well-needed lunch break, we trooped back in for the Classic Doctor Who talk, with Colin Baker, David Goodison and Sarah Sutton, all of whom were charming and lovely. I don't remember hearing anything particularly ground-breaking, but it was still fun. I also watched the Ron Donachie talk, which was surprisingly good fun - Tali was very excited that he was in the Flying Pickets, and it turns out he's a big Game of Thrones fan, and talked enthusiastically about theories on who Jon Snow's real father is, etc.
After some photo opportunities and much wandering, I ended up meeting Sarah Sutton with Louise. As this convention was The One With No Money (I only picked up some second hand Discworld books, and they were only a pound each), I didn't get her autograph, but she asked if I wanted a picture with her. Obviously I said yes, and then I mentioned that I really like Terminus. I did not mention '... because it's nice to see a companion leave to cure a disease rather than be all traumatised' so she clearly thinks I only like it because Nyssa leaves. Seriously, I am one of the people that actually likes Nyssa! OH THE SHAME.
After failing to win anything at the auction and general cosplay based bemusement, we headed back to the hotel, via a photo with me, Ann and Iron Man. As you do. We spent a few hours sat in the hotel room, watching bad TV, drinking alcohol of various qualities, and getting ready for an evening out.
You see, last year there had been a Glasgow Collectormania party, and it was fun, but ended at 10pm and resulted in us hanging around Glasgow in Star Trek dresses where neds started being a problem and eventually Fiona hit one of them. You know, classic Glasgow night out. We had been assured that this thing went on until 3am this time, so we sallied forth into the Glasgow night, still wearing Trek dresses. (The taxi driver gave us a look and said "You know, I almost don't want to ask this, but have you come far?")
The party itself was great. There was Rock Band, which I have never played before and had no intention to do so. As Ann, Dee and Lucy went off to make a band, I intended to sit on the sidelines and take photos. Ann waved at me, so I wandered up to the stage so see what she wanted. How I ended up on stage witha microphone I'm not sure, but it ended up with the whole group, plus an Alien, singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Oddly enough, I quite enjoyed myself. There may be some video evidence, but I have no inclination to show you it because MAN I can't sing.
There were also songs in between Rock Band, which I enjoyed, but some of the game selections were terrible for a party - why sing something slow? WHY? But Star Trekking was good fun, as always.
Anyway, 10pm rolled around, and we were... thrown out into the mean streets of Glasgow. Argh, we should learn. Still, we found a bar on the same street with a fancy-dress party in superhero costumes, which was a help, before getting a taxi home and badly crashing Richie, Louise and Tali's night in. Ah well.
I woke up the next day without a hangover and feeling remarkably well-rested, which was a new feeling for a Glasgow Sunday! Dressed as River Song, we headed back to the convention for a somewhat quieter day. Fiona and I, in a moment of madness, signed up for the cosplay competition in an attempt to age it up a bit and have some non-anime people in it.
First things first, though, we all went to the Colin Baker talk which I suspect he enjoyed more, getting to keep the stage to himself. Immediately afterwards, Fiona and I found ourselves at the cosplay competition, being informed we were the first ones on. PANIC. We sprinted on, posed, and sprinted off to the side in order to feel old and occasionally heckle some of the younger participants. "You know what these kids don't remember? JOHN MAJOR."
To our horror, we were taken back on stage for a group photo, where Fiona and I as Rose and River stuck out like sore thumbs amongst some brightly coloured anime kids. ARGH. We won nothing, either. Oh well!
After this we sat through the auction, where I had every intention of bidding on a Richard Dean Anderson autograph. I have been trying to get one of these for TWELVE YEARS. Imagine my annoyance when I had to leave before it was called, because I had to go to the Colin Baker photoshoot. I asked Lucy to bid for me up to £40, and as I waited in the queue I heard the bidding go higher than that amount, so continued on my merry way. Still in the queue a few moments later, Richie, Louise and Lucy turned up and presented me WITH THE AUTOGRAPH.
I made some hysterical noises. "I'VE WANTED THIS SINCE I WAS THIRTEEN! I AM TWENTY FIVE! THAT IS MANY YEARS!" Guys, I am still overwhelmed. I have now completed by Stargate main cast collection. (In the early years, I hasten to point out.) I am still incoherant with excitement.
I was beaming my way through the photoshoot with Colin Baker, who is incidentally the last Classic Doctor I didn't have a photoshoot with. Another collection completed! Oh, and for previous Collectormania attendees, the photoshoot system has changed - they print there and then for you! Very impressive.
After this Richie and I seemed to lose everyone, but headed to the talk with Deborah Watling and David Goodison again. This talk veered significantly more to the cringy scale, so I thought I would ask a nice easy question, about what it was like to work with Patrick Troughton. This managed to make Deborah Watling a bit tear-y, as she described how she missed him. I felt awful. It was lovely to hear, though.
After that it was sort of time to head off, really. The day was stretching on, and I still needed to drive back to Southport. Alas.
It was a lovely weekend, and it was great to see everyone again, despite the ritual humiliation! And on Friday I'm off on honeymoon. Time is officially FLYING, but I'm going to spend tonight watching the Paralympic opening ceremony. Devastated to discover that wheelchair rugby (a.k.a. MURDERBALL) is on when I'm away, and I think that the U.K. is probably the most enthusiastic about these games. I really hope Austria is a big fan of aforesaid murderball, that's all.
Richie and I arrived just as most of the gang (i.e. Lucy, Louise, Ann, Dee, Frank and Fiona) were arriving back from Pizza Hut, and we ended up just sitting in Lucy's room, having a good catch-up and generally gossiping. Tali arrived not too long after that, and after a mild key-based altercation we all caught up properly. Sometimes Richie and I are a bit isolated in Southport, and whilst I obviously love Richie dearly it's nice to catch up with other people! That said, we ended up sharing a room with Lucy and Louise who very kindly gave us the double bed. THANKS, GUYS.
The good thing about Glasgow is that there's no mad rush to get to the convention itself, so we had a practically civilised morning, dressing leisurely and heading to the Braehead. Once again we were in full TrekBabe mode, and it was something of a sign when the cleaning trolley we passed had an unexpected Tribble on it!
We wandered around the convention for a bit, before going to the first Doctor Who talk of the weekend with Nina Toussaint-White and Caitlin Blackwood. I like Glasgow for the talks, but they can also be a wee bit... cringe-worthy, as times, but those two gave as good as they got! Caitlin Blackwood is very together for a 12-year old. They both confessed to not really watching Doctor Who, at which point someone asked why they had auditioned to be in the show. Nina's answer of "I am an actor and it was a job!" made me laugh, I have to admit.
We then hung around for Virginia Hey's talk. I had every intention of asking "So, Mel Gibson. Was he always like that?" but in the end I'm glad I didn't. Virginia Hey is, frankly, bonkers in the best possible way but very defensive of Mel Gibson. Still, that Mad Max remains my favourite one in the series, and, you know, Farscape! She talked a lot about some fairly different things, but it was a good talk nevertheless, even if something she said turned out to be a little contentious afterwards.
After a well-needed lunch break, we trooped back in for the Classic Doctor Who talk, with Colin Baker, David Goodison and Sarah Sutton, all of whom were charming and lovely. I don't remember hearing anything particularly ground-breaking, but it was still fun. I also watched the Ron Donachie talk, which was surprisingly good fun - Tali was very excited that he was in the Flying Pickets, and it turns out he's a big Game of Thrones fan, and talked enthusiastically about theories on who Jon Snow's real father is, etc.
After some photo opportunities and much wandering, I ended up meeting Sarah Sutton with Louise. As this convention was The One With No Money (I only picked up some second hand Discworld books, and they were only a pound each), I didn't get her autograph, but she asked if I wanted a picture with her. Obviously I said yes, and then I mentioned that I really like Terminus. I did not mention '... because it's nice to see a companion leave to cure a disease rather than be all traumatised' so she clearly thinks I only like it because Nyssa leaves. Seriously, I am one of the people that actually likes Nyssa! OH THE SHAME.
After failing to win anything at the auction and general cosplay based bemusement, we headed back to the hotel, via a photo with me, Ann and Iron Man. As you do. We spent a few hours sat in the hotel room, watching bad TV, drinking alcohol of various qualities, and getting ready for an evening out.
You see, last year there had been a Glasgow Collectormania party, and it was fun, but ended at 10pm and resulted in us hanging around Glasgow in Star Trek dresses where neds started being a problem and eventually Fiona hit one of them. You know, classic Glasgow night out. We had been assured that this thing went on until 3am this time, so we sallied forth into the Glasgow night, still wearing Trek dresses. (The taxi driver gave us a look and said "You know, I almost don't want to ask this, but have you come far?")
The party itself was great. There was Rock Band, which I have never played before and had no intention to do so. As Ann, Dee and Lucy went off to make a band, I intended to sit on the sidelines and take photos. Ann waved at me, so I wandered up to the stage so see what she wanted. How I ended up on stage witha microphone I'm not sure, but it ended up with the whole group, plus an Alien, singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Oddly enough, I quite enjoyed myself. There may be some video evidence, but I have no inclination to show you it because MAN I can't sing.
There were also songs in between Rock Band, which I enjoyed, but some of the game selections were terrible for a party - why sing something slow? WHY? But Star Trekking was good fun, as always.
Anyway, 10pm rolled around, and we were... thrown out into the mean streets of Glasgow. Argh, we should learn. Still, we found a bar on the same street with a fancy-dress party in superhero costumes, which was a help, before getting a taxi home and badly crashing Richie, Louise and Tali's night in. Ah well.
I woke up the next day without a hangover and feeling remarkably well-rested, which was a new feeling for a Glasgow Sunday! Dressed as River Song, we headed back to the convention for a somewhat quieter day. Fiona and I, in a moment of madness, signed up for the cosplay competition in an attempt to age it up a bit and have some non-anime people in it.
First things first, though, we all went to the Colin Baker talk which I suspect he enjoyed more, getting to keep the stage to himself. Immediately afterwards, Fiona and I found ourselves at the cosplay competition, being informed we were the first ones on. PANIC. We sprinted on, posed, and sprinted off to the side in order to feel old and occasionally heckle some of the younger participants. "You know what these kids don't remember? JOHN MAJOR."
To our horror, we were taken back on stage for a group photo, where Fiona and I as Rose and River stuck out like sore thumbs amongst some brightly coloured anime kids. ARGH. We won nothing, either. Oh well!
After this we sat through the auction, where I had every intention of bidding on a Richard Dean Anderson autograph. I have been trying to get one of these for TWELVE YEARS. Imagine my annoyance when I had to leave before it was called, because I had to go to the Colin Baker photoshoot. I asked Lucy to bid for me up to £40, and as I waited in the queue I heard the bidding go higher than that amount, so continued on my merry way. Still in the queue a few moments later, Richie, Louise and Lucy turned up and presented me WITH THE AUTOGRAPH.
I made some hysterical noises. "I'VE WANTED THIS SINCE I WAS THIRTEEN! I AM TWENTY FIVE! THAT IS MANY YEARS!" Guys, I am still overwhelmed. I have now completed by Stargate main cast collection. (In the early years, I hasten to point out.) I am still incoherant with excitement.
I was beaming my way through the photoshoot with Colin Baker, who is incidentally the last Classic Doctor I didn't have a photoshoot with. Another collection completed! Oh, and for previous Collectormania attendees, the photoshoot system has changed - they print there and then for you! Very impressive.
After this Richie and I seemed to lose everyone, but headed to the talk with Deborah Watling and David Goodison again. This talk veered significantly more to the cringy scale, so I thought I would ask a nice easy question, about what it was like to work with Patrick Troughton. This managed to make Deborah Watling a bit tear-y, as she described how she missed him. I felt awful. It was lovely to hear, though.
After that it was sort of time to head off, really. The day was stretching on, and I still needed to drive back to Southport. Alas.
It was a lovely weekend, and it was great to see everyone again, despite the ritual humiliation! And on Friday I'm off on honeymoon. Time is officially FLYING, but I'm going to spend tonight watching the Paralympic opening ceremony. Devastated to discover that wheelchair rugby (a.k.a. MURDERBALL) is on when I'm away, and I think that the U.K. is probably the most enthusiastic about these games. I really hope Austria is a big fan of aforesaid murderball, that's all.
