Sunday, 26 March, 2006: Memorabilia

Wow.

Yup, that's a pretty good way to start. This Memorabilia show was one of the best I have attended. Ever.

The day got off to a great start. We were up and out the door on time for a change-even Dale and Alun were on time. And, thanks to my brilliant organisational skills (ROFLMAO), we actually remembered everything! (Except for Jay's fags. Ahem.)

We made great time and were at the NEC with almost an hour to spare. We even got to park in the lot nearest the building. I think that's the first time that's ever happened.

To be perfectly honest, I think a lot of our good luck was down to daylight savings time. We were up at the right time because we remembered about the clocks at the last minute. I wonder how many people arrived at 11am, expecting the doors to just be opening?

Dale amused me. We were all waiting for the ticket booth to open for about twenty minutes or so. Jay and Alun went out to have a smoke and left me waiting in line with Dale. "What happened to you," he asked, "The last time I saw you, you were a shy, wilting flower." Lol.

He accused Jay of being a bad influence on me. Lol. I think he's a great influence. ;)

We were among the first through the doors when they opened. It was great fun to watch the stormtroopers file though. Then, this blue Dalek showed up and started creating mayhem. He passed the stormtroopers, singing the Star Wars theme. He'd pose with anyone and everyone, shouting "Cheese!" and they took the photo. You could tell exactly where that bloody Dalek was the whole day. Lol.

I liked it when a little boy got a telling off from his mum for giving the Dalek a hard time. "Johnny," the Dalek shouted, "You must obey...Your mother!"

We pretty much made a beeline for Mick Foley when the show started because we were worried that he'd be the bustiest celeb all day. I think it was a good thing too. There was already a line when we got to his table. Of course, the line would have gone a lot faster if the first guy there hadn't been such a chopsy gobshite.

Meeting Mick Foley was quite fun...Although...I thought he was on autopilot. He had the look of someone who had done it so often that it was second nature. Like he knew exactly what was expected of him but wasn't really enjoying it at all. Jay was amused because Mick had Socko with him. I had to agree with Jay: If he'd been any other bloke with a sock puppet, you'd think he was a prat.

We'd already pre-booked a photo session with Mick (while we were waiting for motor-mouth) but he let us have both our photos taken with him anyway. We did loose one of our nice autograph pens to Mick because he liked it so much. (We really should have gotten a few dozen of those things!)

At first, Jay was surprised at how small Mick Foley seemed. He changed his mind, though, when we were actually standing next to him for the photo shoot. (With Socko, of course.) There was almost trouble at the very end of the day when we went to pick up our photo. We were both getting very tired and achy so we weren't very happy to be kept waiting when the photographer's machine packed up. The picture was good, though. I looked like a dwarf compared to Jay and Mick! (And I looked really fat too!)

I was surprised by the way Mick walked. Like an old man! He's definitely an advert for DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

We had a nice wander around the dealers' stands after we finished with Mick. Jay noticed that there were fewer DVD dealers this time around. Seems like there were fewer dealers, less stuff, to look at. Period. I wonder if it has anything to do with what Monkeyboy Toys said before: That the new owner is more concerned with making things look good than making dealers happy.

Still, it is well organised.

So...While we were outside waiting for the doors to open, Jay was fascinated by the guy behind him. "He's a Ferengi!" He had me in stitches, eyes darting back and forth. "Profit," he said then quickly looked away. I would have felt bad for the guy if it hadn't been so funny. That and, "Quick! Someone mention gold pressed latinum!"

Anyway, I just had to mention that before I got to Armin Shimmerman. Armin is a strikingly neat and deliberate person. He amused us by telling about how he passed out while filming "Profit and Lace." (Thanks to the fat suit.) He also pointed out that Principal Snider had no first name and Quark had no last name. I'd never even thought about that before. I did love the way he so very carefully singed our DS9 cast photo.

I was thrilled to finally meet Peter Tork of the Monkees. As we walked up, I could feel myself reverting to a giggling 16-year-old school girl. And he was SO fun! And funny. Especially when he did an impression of a "gothic Monkee." Throughout the entire show, we could hear the strains of Peter's electric guitar. Al complained about it once but I told him to shush.

Ooh....There was another time during the convention when I turned into a squealing child: When I discovered a dealer selling American sweets. I ran to Jay and begged him for money to buy candy. (Will run for chocolate.) Reeses, Pixie Stix, Gobstoppers, Sweetarts...It made my day.

The two people Jay wanted to meet the most Anna Karen and Cerina Vincent pulled out at the last minute. I felt really bad. :(

One of the people I wouldn't have chosen to meet turned out to be one of the most entertaining. Melvin Hayes (It Ain't Half Hot Mum) was a joy to listen to. He told us about working with Peter Cushing and about his Ain't Half Hot co-stars. He also told us a story about The Artful Dodger pub in Newport that made us laugh. I honestly would've loved to have taken him out for a cuppa so he'd keep telling us stories.

It was really sad, though. He was using a cast photo to show us how many of the so-stars have passed away now. "And," he finished, "I don't feel so good." I know he was only joking but it struck a chord. As Jay said, he didn't look that healthy.

Well, a day wouldn't be complete until I made an ass of myself some how. See: Lou Ferringo. Did you know that the Incredible Hulk was/is completely deaf? Funny...Neither did I. I wish some one had mentioned it! I thought he was a bit...You know. Slow or something. How embarassing.

I don't know why, probably because of how long ago the show ran, but I thought Lou Ferringo would be an old man. I was surprised by his size and physique.

The Flash Gordon trio ("Flash! Ah-ah") were as busy as Mick. Did it have anything to do with the incomparable Brian Blessed being at the end of the line, making it impossible to escape with only a polite "thank you?" Possibly.

Jay said it and I agree. Sam Jones looked nothing like he did back then. If anything, he's become more imposing, more commanding. Butcher. Someone who missed his photo shoot went to Sam for help and he whipped into action, dragging the other two away from their tables to do the photo. I'm guessing he doesn't hear "no" very often.

I missed the chance to meet Melody Anderson because I was off checking on the Mick Foley photo. (Could it have taken any longer?) Jay said it was impossible to stay and chat anyway, because of the way she was squeezed between the two boys.

We didn't even get Brian Blessed's autograph this time and we still spent several minutes talking to him. Brian naturally draws an audience with his booming voice. He kept saying how he loves things to be "PRIMAL." Tattoos, piercings and hair dye, etc. When Jay asked him if he had any piercings he said no, he was primal enough. Just look at him. Lol.

There were a couple of celebs that we met because of what they could do rather than what they have done. Ezra Buzzington was one. We haven't even seen the new The Hills Have Eyes yet (Please, please be better than the original!) but we figured....Why the hell not? We almost missed our photo shoot with Mick because this lady with a gigantic ass was taking an amazingly long time in front of us.

The other was Tamara Gorski who was in one episode of Angel. (Jay could tell you which one but I had no clue.) She was nice but a little flighty. I wondered if she was new to the whole thing because he eyes seemed to be everywhere at once. She's obviously trying to make a name for herself but really...She needs to make herself a cheeseburger. The girl is TOO DAMNED SKINNY.

Jay and I had a slight...disagreement over which photo we thought was best resulting in two separate autographs from Barbara Bouchet. (One which was made out to just Jay...She was amused.) It also resulted in us (playfully, thankfully) bickering over which photo we would have from Pamela Salem and Caroline Bliss. Jay won in the end because...Well, it was my fault to start with. (Don't rub it in, alright?)

I was surprised and impressed by the amount of stuff that Joanne Cassidy has done. She was really nice to talk to as well.

Marion Ramsey and Leslie Easterbrooke were the best part of the show for me. Marion made a comment about me pushing Jay around and he totally played it up. Swine. ;) She told me to keep him in his place which amused me to no end.

Leslie Easterbrooke was the most fun. I was doubled over in laughter talking to her. Jay asked if she would dedicate a photo to just him with "Thanks for last night, you were incredible." And did she? You betcha. "Why not," she said, "What have I got to loose? I'm OLD!" She even added "Big Jay" to the inscription.

She made it even better by draping herself over Jay for the photo. How could I be jealous when it was so funny? And Jay can't wait to tell his mates that he shagged her. ;)

I swear, Easterbrooke is the American version of Joanna Lumly. She has that kind of poise and looks pretty darn good for her age.

Dee Wallace Stone was incredibly talkative, talking about her movies and how "brilliant" is her new favourite word. Jay was amused because she'd just bought a Critter's poster from the show.

This spring's Memorabilia was one of my all-time favs by a long shot. It ran ultra smoothly and wasn't overly crowded. Plus, the day only got better after we left. :)



Edit:

Something happened today regarding the convention that was worth a mention...

Jay and I went into town early to have the photos developed. When we went to pick them up, the guy at Boots was like, "We always look forward to seeing who you've met. You must have quite a collection!" Lol.