Collectormania 6 – Friday 1st October 2004
(as ever click the pics for larger images.)
We arrived at the MK Centre in Milton Keynes at around 8am – expecting long queues to already have formed. This was my first Collectormania event so I wasn’t sure what to expect and was surprised to find that the stalls and guests were actually located amongst the shops.
The location of each guest was clearly indicated by a large double sided card poster so it didn’t take us long
to find where the Buffy guests would be signing. We were pleased to find that, although people had already
started gathering, there were nothing like the huge queues we had been expecting. We settled in to wait
for the tickets to be given out, chatting to other attendees, who had come from all over the country and, indeed the world, to get an autograph from one, two or more of the truly spectacular line up of guests.
We didn’t have to wait too long before the stewards arrived and started setting up and we were soon clutching our raffle tickets which would enable us to get out autographs. After a quick trip to the loo and an emergency lipstick application we returned to the hall to await the arrival of the guests.
Adam Busch arrived first and quickly started stetting up his little Common Rotation stall. Danny and Nick arrived soon after and we got in line for Nick’s autograph first. Nick was looking good, really good. With his hair cut real short, and a t-shirt showing off his toned body, the boy is definitely looking in shape. So that as many people as possible could get through, posed photos with Nick were not allowed, but you could take photos while he was signing your stuff, and the steward kindly volunteered to do this for us.
Adam was next on our list and I have to say he really made a good impression on me. Sporting an unshaven look, he was chatty and all about promoting his band’s forthcoming gigs. He took the time to chat to us, admired the picture Pauline had done of him and posed for photos with us.
And we were on to Danny. I’ve never before noticed what startling clear blue eyes he has.
They had us quite mesmerized, especially when he called out ‘Hey, cute girls’ as we approached him. We just had to comment on the large Union Jack tie that he was sporting before having our photo’s taken with him.
By this time Tom had arrived and we hurried over to get our autographs from him. Tom seemed withdrawn and
quiet,hiding under his tousled hair, nothing like his outgoing and chatty cast mates.
Casting longing glances over in Nick’s direction we sauntered off. Having the rest of the day ahead of us we went for lunch and then took a stroll around the rest of the hall.
The usual stalls were there, but the guest list was quite astounding, including leading cast from the Star Trek series, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars among other people.
The event was very well organised, as mentioned earlier, the location of each guest was very clearly indicated with an overhead picture, located in several parts of the hall were whiteboards telling you which guests were signing and what ticket numbers they were up to, and these were regularly updated. All the stewards that we spoke to were friendly and helpful and the guests felt at ease enough to have a wander around and pick up a couple of autographs for themselves.
Our travels kept us going back past the Buffy guests, just to make sure they were okay. It was rather quiet and, although Nick’s queue was constant, Adam, Danny and Tom often found themselves hanging around and we often spotted Adam and Danny coming out to chat, or hand out Common Rotation flyers.
It was all over too soon and, the Buffy guests all having left, we headed across the road to the pub to look at our photos.
Collectormania 7 will be held over the May bank holiday weekend and several guests have already been announced, including Michael Shanks from Stargate SG. No Buffy guests have been announced as yet, but keep an eye on the website for more guest announcements.
Cider 4/10/04
