|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 13, 2005 19:10:12 GMT
If anyone else has been to a convention and has some funny stories, or wants to tell of their experiences with certain guests, feel free. I have many but won't write them until I know I'm not the only one. LOL!  Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Apr 3, 2005 19:32:30 GMT
Thought I'd start up this thread for up-to-date info of the them and signings. Here's one about the annual sea cruise:
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Due to circumstances beyond our control, and quite unexpectedly, Princess Cruise Lines has decided to reclaim all unsold cabin space remaining in our group's room block, over three months earlier than our original agreement had indicated. Dispite the best efforts of our travel agents, who cannot recall ever seeing a similar occurrence, we could not get them to reconsider, and there are no other cruise lines offering a suitable substitute cruise sailing from the UK that would be even remotely within the budgets of our fans. That being the case, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel our plans for a European voyage this year, and have rescheduled with a more traditional Florida-based Caribbean voyage for 2005, which will sail the week of 4 - 11 December. All of our existing fan members who had signed up for the European voyage have been personally informed of the changes, and are free to either move their deposits and payments over to the new voyage, or to receive a full refund, as they prefer. Our already confirmed celebrity guest Nicola Bryant has also been personally updated on the situation, and although she has rarely traveled outside of the UK in recent years, she has asked to remain with us and plans to come join us on the Island Cruise from Florida in December. Please bear with us regarding other invited celebrity guests, as we re-contact some of them with the new information as soon as we can, and see "Who" is available now on the new sailing dates.
------------------------------------------------
I'm going to put my sad hat on here. What a load of crap that excuse is. More likely down to Lis pulling out due to a couple of dates clashing and refusing point blank to move the others when she agreed to the cruise first. As for Princess/Carnival, well we only have their word for that. But they clearly have no idea about cruising out of Southampton. For something of a similar type they could have gone on P&O/Carnival's Oceana. It's a twin ship but the Adonia/Sea Princess was child free like the new Arcadia will be and proved far less popular. They could even go on the Oriana or Aurora. Royal Princess will soon be changing to the P&O brand after 21 years and is child free and reasonably priced too. Even Royal Caribbean Lines' Legend of the Seas (starting its first season out of Southampton next month) is good value so the prices and cruises wouldn't be much different. I wasn't going anyway but it looks more like they're trying to save face by blaming Princess/Carnival after either not getting many bookings or people cancelling.
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 6, 2005 16:22:54 GMT
Dimensions on the 12th & 13th November in Stockton-on-Tees now taking bookings (though no guests announced yet). www.tenthplanet.co.uk/dimensions/ If anyone went last year, phone them up to get the fiver off and ask for Paul Taylor rather than do it online to make sure you get the discount. All your details will be on file from last year. Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 7, 2005 16:47:03 GMT
Some guests for Dimensions:
Peter Davison - The 5th Doctor
John Schwab - Bywater - NEW SERIES GUEST
Nicola Bryant - Peri
Caroline Morris - Erimem
Bernard Holley - Lead Axon
Who the heck is Caroline Morris? Is this a Big Finish character?? I'm so far behind with my CDs I haven't a clue. They did say they'd try for Peter this time since he had to pull out last year due to getting filming dates for The Last Detective. Lovely man and very nice. So's his wife, Elizabeth. I hope Nicola's back's recovered enough to travel all that way but I won't be surprised if she drops out. It must be a really serious injury to have lasted all these years.
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 8, 2005 12:22:42 GMT
No idea. I'm still trying to work out which was Bywater in the Dalek one. At the present time, I'm going to give him and Caroline Morris a miss. The bar sounds a better option unless there's some autographs or something better to do.
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 22, 2005 0:25:49 GMT
Maureen O'Brien, who NEVER does conventions is down as a guest (work permitting) at Dimensions. I hope she doesn't pull out. She'll be a must-see!
There's also David Gooderson (Davros 2) and David Brierley (K9 2) who Lalla Ward says is NOT K9!
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by Nick on May 23, 2005 16:47:57 GMT
I nearly died of shock when I red Maureen O'Brien...then I realised I was thinking of Maureen O'Hara ;D...does anyone know if there are there any conventions held in the south East of England,as i have never been to one and would like to go..what goes on at these conventions..??..I once worked at a Star Trek convention..but was stuck in the bar,and didn't see much..But I did have my palm read by someone in a Captain Kirk shirt on
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 24, 2005 0:41:08 GMT
LOL! Maureen O'Hara for the next companion I say!!!! Conventions are great. I've been to loads but now go more to catch up with people I haven't seen for ages that see the guests (since I've seen most of them loads anyway), except ones I've never seen. There aren't usually many in the south-east. Don't think there are any at all this year except Invasion 5 at Barking in July (run by 10th Planet). I went to their first in 2001 and it was a one-day event but very well organised. I haven't been able to get to any more. I've only been to London (once) and Exeter. Though there has been one here in Southampton 10 years ago but I started going 3 years later - grr! Would have saved on travel and accommodation! LOL! I've had to go to Coventry, Manchester and Stockton. Travelling's a pain but it's great once you get there. And if you stay in the main hotel (which is always better so you don't have to carry coats and things around all day) then the convention rate is quite reasonable and about half the normal rate. Each organiser does different things. There's usually a Friday night quiz (though the Panopticon ones were totally boring) or you can stay in the bar. 10th Planet do something called a coffee club where there's 10 tickets for a tenner each with a guest (money goes to charity). They're quite good and I enjoyed my 3 last time with William Russell, Louise Jameson and Simon Williams. There's panels with they guest talking and doing Q&A at the same time as photos and autographs. Saturday night entertainment. Most cons have comprised of the guests entertaining us in some way but 10th Planet has Hattie Hayridge and a couple of other people (I was dragged on stage by some juggler I've forgotten the name of to help with his finale) while the previous organiser got that David Benson to do his Kenneth Williams stage play and 2003 I missed his Frankie Howerd but was told it wasn't as good. If you don't fancy the entertainment there's always the bar. ;D My friend Paul went to his first last year (mind you, he lives in Hull so that's much nearer to Stockton) and loved it. I nagged at him to get that solitary Simon Williams coffee club ticket and he enjoyed that too. Most of the cast are brilliant. Panels never to be missed were always Anthony Ainley and Colin Baker. Both were always hilarious. If you like bitchiness, Lalla Ward's your ideal guest, followed by Louise Jameson (though Louise is more honest than bitchy - except towards the BBC). Peter Purves was a definite improvement minus his wife loitering around! Katy's barking mad. Paul's not keen on her (Jo being his least fave Pertwee companion) but I said he'd love her and he did. I'd never seen Kate O'Mara before last year and she was very funny. 10th Planet have a knack of getting unsual guests instead of the norm of Doctors and companions. I'm grateful to them for insisting at Battlefield 6 3 years ago the organisers had Yee Jee Tso from the McGann film (since he was doing appearances for them) and he was a brilliant guest. Even that friend who won't join that I usually go with enjoyed him. Conventions can be a little overwhelming at first when you don't know what to do. My first was the Blakes 7 20th anniversary one. I hadn't anticipated all that queuing! But I loved it enough to want to try a DW one but was very disappointed with Panopticon 98 because of the crap organisation (which they greatly improved when they moved to Manchester in 2000 until 2002 when it was the worst I've ever been to, but at least I got to see the Corrie set so it wasn't an entirely wasted journey!!!! ;D). If you fancied the long trip to Stockton, I'll be there so at least you'd know someone friendly. Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by Nick on May 24, 2005 9:06:04 GMT
Thanks for all the info Patsy..It would be good to go to a convention...and as i am not taking a holiday abroad this year,this coud be the ideal oppurtunity..I will look into it...do you have any pics of last years convention..I would be interested in seeing them..??
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 24, 2005 17:13:37 GMT
Yeah. I've got some others to scan anyway so will do them at the same time. I'll try and get them done tomorrow since there's absolutely nothing on telly for me. I've got William Russell at the autographs and on stage, Paul McGann at the autographs (he's nice and I'm annoyed I missed his panel but I was queuing for William Russell), Kate O'Mara on stage, Katy Manning and Richard Franklin on stage, Louise Jameson and Simon Williams on stage, Wendy Padbury at the autographs (missed her panel too) and janet Fielding right at the end (missed her panel but wasn't that bothered). I didn't have my camera for the cabaret but I was sent some pics of me with that juggler (Steve Rawlings my dad reminded me of his name because he was on some new channel on Sky on the opening night doing his act). He wandered down the aisle, went to my friend Jo on the other side which got her worried. Then he came back, grabbed me and dragged me up there! I couldn't stop laughing. Here's a pic of that which I already had on the Net:  I love conventions but don't do as many as I did. I never thought I'd ever miss Coventry but after going there for 5 years on the trot it would be nice to see how all that building work came along. Oh and that peeking out from behind the sofa in the pic is the Dalek thing they used for BBC2's DW night in 1999. Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 31, 2005 16:13:38 GMT
Here you are, Nick. Photos from last year's Dimensions as promised. William Russell:  Paul McGann:  Kate O'Mara:  Richard Franklin and Katy Manning:  Simon Williams and Louise Jameson:  Wendy Padbury:  Janet Fielding:  |
|
|
|
Post by Nick on May 31, 2005 18:46:05 GMT
Great pics...thanks Patsy..i have always liked Simon Williams,as i am a big fan of Upstairs,Downstairs...have just watched every episode on DVD..brilliant series
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on May 31, 2005 20:20:19 GMT
Me too but he defends James's treatment of Hazel. He's such a nice man. It was his first ever convention. They'd lost 3 guests due to work commitments and managed to get 2, so asked Louise if she could think of anyone and she suggested him, since she was touring with him in a play he'd written. He was very nervous but Louise kept telling him DW fans are the best in the world. I had a lovely long chat with him in the photos on the Sunday after Louise's coffee club because no one was queuing so I was there the last 15 mins and he even gave me a glass of water. My poor friend Paul was left waiting for me outside. LOL! 5 mins before Simon's coffee club, I nagged Paul to get that last ticket because he wasn't interested but bought it since he had nothing else he wanted to do and enjoyed it. Simon told me to sit next to him so I ended up sat next to all 3 guests whose coffee club we went to (William Russell, Louise and Simon). 10th Planet have had Jean Marsh at one of their Invasion events but I couldn't make that.  Anyway, here's a pic of me and Simon:  Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by Nick on Jun 1, 2005 16:54:04 GMT
What a lovely pic Patsy..its nice to put a face to the name and your invaluable comments !!
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Jun 1, 2005 19:57:25 GMT
LOL! There's ones of me with William Russell, Mark Eden and Brian Capron (even though he was Blakes 7 rather than DW) in the autographs thread on the Corrie section.
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 14, 2005 20:29:07 GMT
I'm back and knackered! Ah, it was a good weekend. Got some interesting goss but that will be sabed for the next issue of TV Whispers.  But I can tell you about the guests. Annette Badland and Alan David were very nice and funny. My friend and I saw their panel yesterday (the first all weekend!) and we were almost wetting ourselves laughing. We were pissed off though their coffee club was before the panel because that would have been good to go to. We did go to their photos though and got them to sign the pic towards the end of the day. Annette was still around in the bar last night so we had a natter to her. Maureen O'Brien is titchy! Not as small as Debbie Watling. She's really nice. We went to her writers club which, unlike the coffee club, was free and lasted the full hour. She had never heard of fan fiction surprisingly so it had to be explained to her. When I told her I'd killed off about 26 Corrie characters and blown up half the street she said, "You're worse than me. I've only blown up a house." LOL! I went to her photos afterwards and she thanked me, saying because I started the club off by asking questions, other people did (there was only 6 of us) so I told her that's because I'm a chatterbox. LOL! Frazer Hines was a special guest on Saturday  I was furst at his autographs and guess what? He remembered me after 3 years! ;D I told him I was his stalker but far too lazy to be a proper one. Then my friend showed me up saying I want to me Mrs Hines the 3rd. Frazer was shocked. Didn't stop him agreeing to a pic and giving me a kiss though. Later that night in the bar after the entertainment, he was dressed like Jamie in a Highlanders outfit. I got another pic and he put his hand on my bum so I slapped his. LOL! Paul Darrow was there to plug the Blakes 7 convention, Star One. We went to his coffee club Saturday and he gave me a fag! That's about all I can remember due to the lack of sleep and all that booze. LOL! I'll add some pics when my brain's more wide awake. Can't wait for next year! But so hope they have less new series non-entities but even though we ignored most of them, it didn't make it a boring weekend like Panopticon 2002 was. Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by Nick on Nov 14, 2005 23:29:51 GMT
It sounds cracking Patsy..i really must make the effort and go to one...you could be my guide...do they have them in the south East pref London/Brighton areas ?? (yes i know,I'm lazy)
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 15, 2005 16:32:47 GMT
There's Invasion in Barking. That's next year (can't remember when but March I think or maybe later). That's quite popular but I only managed to get to the first one in 2001. It was a great day. Look at the 10th Planet website if you're interested in that. They had Jean Marsh one year and I really wanted to go to that but couldn't make it. They seem to have really taken over the convention circuit. I think they're doing 4 next year including Star One. Stockton is one hell of a trek and a bit of a dump but the staff at the hotel are really nice and so are everyone at 10th Planet as well as most of the attendees (including me!  . My friend really enjoyed it and it was his 2nd convention (his first was last year's event which I nagged at him to go to). I worked out I've done 13 (12 if you don't count DW day at Longleat in 2000) but I'm still a newcomer compared to a lot of people. LOL! You're not lazy. I was talking to some people over the weekend and the general concensus is most people in London won't travel anywhere else like people in the north-east won't travel to places like London. There are a lot of local people attending to Stockton whose first event was when it started in Newcastle in 2001 before moving to Stockton in 2002. I'm sure you'd enjoy a convention though. First time is just finding your feet. Mine was Deliverance in 1998, the Blakes 7 one (not included in my total) and I loved that so much I desperately wanted to do a DW one so we went to Panopticon the following October. I loved that too but generally my friend (a different one) and I stuck together. Then there was an ad for Exeter in the pack for April 1999 and I wanted to go so went on my own. I knew no one at all but came away on the Monday knowing lots of people I catch up with at every event. I saw Martin this weekend who I hadn't seen since Panopticon 2002 in Manchester who was there with his girlfriend. If you've got that 'Where On Earth Is Katy Manning?' video, he's the one who won the auction on the Isle of Man and rescued Katy from a railway line. It's nice catching up with people you only see there and meeting new ones. I also saw one I hadn't seen since Feb 2001. I didn't realise it was him because he didn't have a beard but he remembered me. Soon as he said he was a Tranmere fan I realised who it was. We spent Saturday night with him, my friend Richard (who I discovered Sunday evening fancies me!), Martin and his girlfriend getting totally rat-arsed in the bar. LOL! It would be good if you came along to one so we could finally meet. Patsy |
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 17, 2005 18:02:08 GMT
If anyone wants to see some pics I'll post them here. If not, I won't sulk - honest. LOL!
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by Nick on Nov 18, 2005 10:50:42 GMT
I'd like to see some pics Patsy.....ta
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 18, 2005 17:50:09 GMT
You're wish is my command. I didn't manage to get any of Bernard Holley and David Gooderson. Paul got their autographs for me. I think I was at Maureen O'Brien's photo session at the time (have to scan those pics yet). I'll do them in 2 posts. This is Saturday: Frazer Hines  Nicola Bryant  Mark Strickson  Paul Darrow  Maureen O'Brien (this was the 2nd one because she told me to do it again)  Frazer Hines again  |
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 18, 2005 17:55:16 GMT
Sunday: Peter Davison  Florence Hoath (aka: Eldrad in that top!)  David Brierley (aka apparently: The camp K9)  Alan David (Sneed in The Unquiet Dead)  Annette Badland (is her moustache showing?)  |
|
|
|
Post by sallywebster on Nov 18, 2005 20:33:48 GMT
Great photos Pat
|
|
|
|
Post by RitaLittlewood on Nov 18, 2005 21:32:07 GMT
That room is also a restaurant. We had breakfast there.
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Post by Nick on Nov 19, 2005 0:02:46 GMT
They are great pictures Pats......hasn't Mark Strikson 'filled out'
Did anyone ask Frazer if he was upset that they killed Joe Sugden off in Emmerdale.(I know,its not DW).and if they hadn't would he have considered going back..(Thats what i would like to ask him)
|
|
Anyway, here's a pic of me and Simon:
But I can tell you about the guests. Annette Badland and Alan David were very nice and funny. My friend and I saw their panel yesterday (the first all weekend!) and we were almost wetting ourselves laughing. We were pissed off though their coffee club was before the panel because that would have been good to go to. We did go to their photos though and got them to sign the pic towards the end of the day. Annette was still around in the bar last night so we had a natter to her. Maureen O'Brien is titchy! Not as small as Debbie Watling. She's really nice. We went to her writers club which, unlike the coffee club, was free and lasted the full hour. She had never heard of fan fiction surprisingly so it had to be explained to her. When I told her I'd killed off about 26 Corrie characters and blown up half the street she said, "You're worse than me. I've only blown up a house." LOL! I went to her photos afterwards and she thanked me, saying because I started the club off by asking questions, other people did (there was only 6 of us) so I told her that's because I'm a chatterbox. LOL! Frazer Hines was a special guest on Saturday 
. My friend really enjoyed it and it was his 2nd convention (his first was last year's event which I nagged at him to go to). I worked out I've done 13 (12 if you don't count DW day at Longleat in 2000) but I'm still a newcomer compared to a lot of people. LOL! 