Sunday 30 November 2003

Winter Memorabilia - Take Two

The thing that was so exciting about Memorabilia this winter, and that made us so determined to go when it looked like all the fates were against us, was that there were over 100 stars there. I guess that's why it was almost impossible to walk on Saturday. It was a lot better Sunday. It was slower and less packed so I was happy.

Jay and I went alone this time and had a nice stroll through the hundreds of booths before we went to meet Tom Baker. It was strange because the day before Tom's line was so long that we didn't have any hope of getting to him. Sunday, though, we practically walked right up to him. The Brigadier was right beside him but I wasn't very interested in meeting him. (Sorry, Brigadier!)

Tom Baker was just as cool looking in person as he was on Doctor Who. (Though a lot whiter, obviously.) We talked for awhile about me being from the states and him living in France and he swore that he was a supporter of the United States and defended them against the French all the time. (I told him it didn't make much difference to me since I ran away from the States. Lol.) He also joked about a breakout of dandruff being the most exciting thing that ever happened in Pontywaun. After a few minutes of chatting, I had a picture with him and we went shopping.


Jay bought a bunch of DVDs because they were Region 1 (American) and I bought trading cards (STNG and Neopets) and Nightmare Before Christmas candle holders. Then we went home and watched some of the (fourteen) DVDs that Jay bought.

Saturday 29 November 2003

Winter Memorabilia

Our trip to Memorabilia was cursed from the start. Jay, his mom, and I all had to get up at 7:30 to leave for The NEC in Birmingham. Well, Jay had to get up at 7:30...We had to get up a lot earlier to get ready. ("I've never seen a clock at 6:30 before!") We got all dressed and ready to go and headed out. About a quarter of a mile from home, though, Jay's car went kaput. So poor Jay had to walk back home (in the freezing rain) to get Sue's car to take instead.

We were determined to get there on time!

Well, we packed ourselves into Jay's mom's car and headed out again. Except, once we got on our way, her car started sputtering like it was gonna die! GAH. So Jay and I went back to his car to wait while Sue went back to the house to call AA and have them come fix Jay's car. Once we got in Jay's car it started fine so we went back to the house to get Sue. When we got to our lane, Jay's car died again. Sod's law. (It's not even 9am by this point, mind you.)

And the worst part was that we couldn't even call for help because our home phone was dead! Jay's mobile had no money on it and his mum's only had a pound on it! Sue finally got in touch of AA to fix the car but that meant we had to get Jay's car back to where it broke down the first time because it had to be so far away from home before they'd fix it. Wasn't that fun. We got there and waited until finally the AA man came to save us.

But, wait. It's not over yet.

The guy from AA checked out Jay's car and told us that the alternator was shot (Which meant the battery wasn't getting or staying charged) and there wasn't anything he could do about it. So Sue used more of her waning phone time to call the local garage and beg them to fix it quick. They agreed so the AA man gave us a jump and followed us up one of the cursed narrow mountain roads to the garage. When we got everything with them sorted, the AA guy gave us a ride back to our house... And then took us back to Sue's no MOT, barely running car to get the house keys. And during all this time it never stopped pouring down once. Sucko. So, there we were at home with one car that was dying, one dead car, no phone, useless mobiles and dripping hair and clothes. Hello 10 am.

Luckily, the garage told us that they could get the car up and running by noon. Jay decided that we could still make it to the convention with plenty of time to look around if we left as soon as the car was finished. So, we had a small nap and set out again. On the bright side, it was over £50 cheaper to fix the car than we thought it would be. A ray of light in our stormy morning.

By the time we got to The NEC, it was around 2ish. (The convention closed at 5.) Jay and I got separated from Sue almost immediately because Jay walks so fast and she walks so slow. So, we power walked through all the stalls (making me grumpy as heck because I kept getting stepped on -- as usual) and had a quick glance at the guests. Neither one of us were really feeling it that day because we were so tired and spent more than half the day soaking wet. In fact, we were about a heartbeat away from giving up and going home when Sue found us again.

I convinced Jay to pick one of the stars he wanted to meet and just get as many autographs as we could before they closed. The only two people at Memorabilia that I was dying to meet were Amber Benson (Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor Who). Of course, both of their lines were stupidly long. Just my luck. Jay got quite a few autographs but not as many as he would usually get.

He talked to Tonya Roberts, Ken Fore and some other actors I've never heard of. He also met Rom and Kavok from Star Trek. The guy who played Rom was so freaky looking but really nice. He even wiped the smudges off Jay's photo before he signed it. Sue met this guy called John Leyton... and by met, I meant they talked forever and in the end he kissed her right on the mouth! :O Lol. Talk about friendly stars!

The absolute highlight of the day was when Jay and I met Amber Benson. We had to wait a long time to get through the line but it was defiantly worth it. She asked where I was from because she said, "Wait a minute, that accent is just like mine!" Lol. Then when Jay came up, we started talking about how Jay and I met online and are living together now. Amber positively gushed over us and it was awesome!


Before we left, we decided to go back tomorrow because we never got the change to meet Tom Baker. (And, because we found Sue's Christmas presents but couldn't buy them with her right there.) We had fun in the end but it was definitely nice to get back home and crawl into bed.

Sunday 5 October 2003

Collectormania 4 - Take Two

We had to leave at "sparrow's fart" (as Jay likes to say) to get to Milton Keynes in time to get tickets for the hobbits. And... Guess what...

NO TICKETS.

Grah! They were suppose to start giving tickets out at 10am (we left at 7am) but because people were waiting in line at midnight to get them, they started giving them out at 9am instead. It was just as we came through the doors that they announced that the tickets were gone. Ah, bugger.

James and Oliver Phelps

To make matters worse, I got separated from everyone else (Jay, Alun, Duane and Dot) because I had to bolt to the bathroom when we get there. Hey, I have a bladder the size of an acorn and I had two cups of coffee on the way. Gimme a break. Lol. Anyway, after about an hour of me panicing, I finally ran into Alun. They'd separated and started looking for me because Jay knew I'd freak out. :) Bless him.

Matthew Lewis

Anyway, it was a huge disappointment to miss the hobbits but ah well. We could've gone back on Monday and given it another try but we were all dead tired and a third trip to Milton Keynes would've driven us all nuts. Of course, Jay heard from one of his other friends that had gone on Monday that he got tickets right away and only had to wait until 5pm to meet them. Bullocks.

Anthony Head

I had a great time anyway, though. I even got a Count Duckula dvd (£5) and a Fawlty Towers Season 1 DVD (£8) so that helped!

Friday 3 October 2003

Collectormania 4

My very first convention! (Well, except for Rally but that doesn't really count.)

I was nervous but everything went really well. It was mostly just stars Jay wanted to meet when we went on the Friday so I basically just had to stand there and look pretty. (A task enough for me. Lol.)

Adrian and Neil Rayment

I was really impressed with most of the celebrities that we met. Most everyone seemed polite and eager to talk to you. I even managed to get away without spending any money (that time). Jay wasn't so lucky! Lol. He did get a lot of autographs though. (It sucks that you have to pay for them but I guess the rich and famous have to make their money somehow.)

George Takei

It was funny because while we were waiting to meet guests or what have you, Alun would disappear. Then, he'd turn up awhile later with some fantastic bargain to make Jay jealous. I guess that happens all the time when they go to conventions together. Lol.

Kristanna Loken

I really had a great time and can't wait to go to the next convention!