Along with
a fellow Kiwi and my oldest son we journeyed all the way from the land of the
Long white cloud to be there.... I had missed MDI so I had no idea what to
expect from this event. To be honest the
choice of hotel did put me off but certainly not enough to deter me. Bottom line for me - three words.... Gareth
David Lloyd, whom I adore, was going to be there.
Armed with
my very best UK friend and
my other travelling buddies we coached it to Heathrow from Cardiff a buzz with excitement.
The guest
list was impressive so we all knew we were in for a fun weekend.
I only had
two gripes so will get that out of the way, the usual queues for photo-shoots
was stressful especially as many folk including myself were disabled. The con organisers managed this as best as
they could, but the hotel corridors were too narrow and the lines of folk
waiting were a bit chaotic. I think a different space should have been chosen
for this..... There was also no dealer’s room, I guess I was used to this at
the Hub cons of years past; it would have been nice to see some vendors there.
The opening
ceremony was fairly short, but very sweet... JB wasn't there for this and Kai
took great pleasure in ribbing him in his absence. The highlight was Eve in
leggings and boots roly-polling on to the stage to everyone's laughter and
James Marster's facial expression was priceless.....
The meet n
greet session was fun, though being a gold ticket holder I expected less people
and there were 300 of us crammed around tables, I expected a free drink at
least but no just the chance to have a few minutes with each guest at the
table. It was a lot of fun
actually. I met some lovely German
ladies.... Eve squealed at my tattoo of Ianto which resulted in a brief snog
with Gareth.... No complaints there.... But all the guests were relaxed and
good humoured and slowly more lubricated as the night went on....sitting next
to Gareth and then James Marsters, well you can imagine.... Lots.....
The following
morning was taken up with photo shoots and signings.... Thankfully Malcolm
Houghton was behind the camera, a veteran of these kind of events so I knew the
pics would not disappoint. The actors were all very willing to let loose and it
was a lot of fun and I think most people were very chuffed with their
pics.
Of special
note was John Barrowman’s very kind words to my transgender son/daughter and
genuine interest in how things were going for him/her (or they which is the
term my baby prefers). I was brought to
tears. What a lovely man John is.
The panels
came in the afternoon which was a great way to recover from the madness of the
morning. To be honest I can't really
remember the order. Some of the
questions people asked were rather ridiculous and Kai, never one to hold back
said as much, but everything was very good natured...
Highlights? Well Kai is in Hollyoaks now and we all know
about it.
Eve talking about her fight
scene on the beach in Broadchurch and how her husband enjoys watching her in
bed with another man (on the telly).
Gareth and Kai answering with honesty and intelligence about Welsh
independence and culture, and about strength in the UK’s unity.
Gareth talking about the delights of being
back on stage in 12 Angry Men.
John talking about equality and how he shoots
his bow in Arrow....
James Marsters advice...."Come away from this
convention with new friends and new contacts and build relationships with the
people you meet there.", and his admission to this weekend being the
craziest con he has ever attended....we're all nuts.
Naoko
eating her lunch at the foot of the stage until a chair is found and, also her
very cheeky face when she is thinking something naughty. Naoko also spoke about her experiences in the
film "Everest" and made a passionate plea for support for Nepal after the
recent earthquakes.
This gang
of actors are familiar to many of us, more than that many fans know one another
too so it's such a social and lively weekend.
I didn't go to the parties, because my health is naff and I wanted to
sit with my mates and enjoy their conversation without loud music, but I am
told the parties were a good laugh.
I know
Gareth fairly well, having followed his band Blue Gillespie and worked on
Casimir Effect. So was delighted once
again to spend a bit of time with his beautiful family and he also took my iPad
and made a photo of me and my gang of mates together....Also I got some pics of
the family.
I guess
really something like this is where you reconnect with mates, make new ones and
let your inner geek shine.
Day two
worked on a similar line to day one and was just as good. I was happy to get lots of hugs from Gareth
and a chat about life here in NZ and there in Wales, we are both happy with where
we live.
There was
also a man dressed in pink and yellow spandex who was dubbed the Thundercunt
and generated a lot of laughs. Ianto's
shrine also made an appearance in the fancy dress competition as well as a drop
dead gorgeous man dressed as Captain Jack.
The sad
part was Monday morning and saying goodbye to friends and realising that it was
all over and it was time to get back to the real world.
It is
perhaps not the most detailed review, but the weekend has been added to my list
of precious memories that help me get through bad days and enhance my good days
with big smiles.... Enjoy the photos I took.
Credit: Gwynn
Reece Photography
