I was meant to meet a co-worker at C14 but she didn't turn up - due to a huge hangover. I had the feeling this would happen when she said the day before that she would be drinking in bars with her best friend. These things are very easy to predict so I was of the "whatever lah" mind for the rest of the day. After saying she would see how she feels later on in the day I insisted she not worry and get some rest. Too bad she missed out on eyecandy seeing as she is a Smallville fan >:)

For the curious-minded...



Saturday

Reason for going today Get Amber Benson's autograph, attend her photoshoot and hopefully get Michael Rosenbaum's autograph

As soon as I walked from Milton Keynes Central train station to Middleton Hall at 9:30AM I went straight to the organisers booth to buy autographs for Michael Rosenbaum and Amber Benson. Somehow my rushing in straight from the station made me say photograph instead of autograph to the crew member. Blonde moment >_> Thankfully the prices for the photoshoots were the same as the guests' autographs so I just had to change my photoshoot slips to the autograph vouchers. Got virtual tickets for Amber (113) and Michael (241) but had to wait for a while till the boards changed.

I spoke to a Sailorjupiter cosplayer at the organisers booth, saying her costume looked nice and that she was cosplaying my fav "scout" (yes I prefer Senshi but just to make things even with her I used scout). She didn't bother tying her hair in a ponytail and just had the PGSM uniform. The lady said people would tell her to pick things up for them from the floor just so they can look at her panties underneath the fuku. She could still wear the costume after 7 years. Whoa. Not many cosplayers this time. Saw a Sailorvenus, FF7:AC people and a Tenth Doctor but that was it. Spotted a few mainland Chinese though they seemed to be hanging out in the stalls and shopping centre rather than mingle with the guests. Was I one of the few Chinese to get autographs? Because I felt singled out :/

I still find it hilarious how people don't know half the guests and ask crew members why there are big queues at photoshoots or who is who. The information on the signs exist for a reason you know? -_- Another thing which struck me with a small ounce of fury are those taking the mickey out of the popularity in such an event. I heard one man with his wife and child how he had better things to do than hang out here. Selfish git I thought. In fact half the geeks were parents so he had no right to criticize. Now I'm not an ultra scifi/horror geek by any means but when something's good I'll make a pass at it. Will write more on this in another entry.

While Michael had gone for the morning photoshoot I asked the crew member supervising the fans queue what number Michael was up to on the signing and it was only 80. Had a long way to go for my number so I decided to go get Amber's autograph first since she was going quicker. Picked a simple photo of "Tara" in the queue and got my camera ready in case there was the chance Amber would do a posed photo at the desk. The first time I saw Amber I didn't recognise her with the highlights and layered look. Mercedes McNab wasn't any different to how she looked on Buffy and Angel. Looking totally blonde and pretty. She didn't say much to me though others had a better experience than I did. Maybe it was the photo I picked of her that made her frown :/ The thing is most of the photos were of her looking beyond sultry which was perfect for the pervy crowd. Her signature ended up being right in the bottom left hand corner.

When it got to my turn in the Amber queue the cliche fan nerves appeared. I greeted Amber and she said, "Hi how are you?" I replied with an "I'm good how are you Amber?" She seemed hyper while she signed. I told her I liked her hair and how the style was nice. Amber explained she got her hair done recently then suddenly said how my hair was almost similar to hers XD. Seriously?! I thought. Couldn't help grinning over that. I think she must have said that to other girls as well. How cool!! She knew I wanted to take a photo and was happy to oblige. Would also like to mention she put a smiley next to most of her signatures :)

"We could almost be sisters," she said when I showed her my photo rofl. I thanked Amber and shook her hand (well she shook with both hands) then replied with a you're so very welcome before I left. OK you know what I have to agree with other fans' comments on her being such a great guest. Amber is a regular at Showmasters' conventions and I can see why they ask her to come back a lot. She enjoys interacting with fans and is just super friendly. With the photoshoot I was a bit late and ended up quite far back in the line. When it came to my turn what surprised me if not relieved me was that Amber remembered who I was. The reason for the relief was because I didn't want a guest to think I was stalking him/her for asking them for a posed photo then turning up for the photoshoot. Amber didn't seem too fussed by this as I'm sure other people do the same thing, right?

I felt "hanyan" for a few hours after this XD Here I thought James Kyson Lee was the best guest I had met over my convention visits. Looked like he had competition. Michael Rosenbaum had to take a few breaks since his photoshoot and from signing a lot. That is something very understandable. I'd say he was the key attraction of C14 but even Jeff Cohen of Goonies proved popular. Overall every guest there had some fans to see them which was nice.

Went to eat lunch in BHS' restaurant to kill a bit of time while the guests were taking a break. I had a whole day to look around the stalls and shops. I even assumed I wouldn't get much of a chance to obtain an autograph since my number was still big - though when I look back at this and LFCC 2007 my number for Milo Ventimiglia was 900+ which is a huge difference in comparison. After lunch I browsed around the usual stalls I see at each convention esp the weapons one *needs to stop drooling at Hiro's sword and the Squall gunblade.* Twenty mins or so later I went to check the status of Michael Rosenbaum's queue. The numbers had gone up to 280 which was fine by me. I didn't think the numbers altered so quickly. I suspect Michael was signing really fast.

Before joining the queue I went to clean up in the ladies and got my Flash photo ready. I managed to find a simple photo of Flash from JLA and got it printed on glossy paper for signing. It was a last minute decision to meet Michael and purchase a photoshoot because I had been hesitant all these months since I've not watched a great deal of Smallville to call myself a fan. It was the same with Justice League but I knew who his character was. Flash's cheeky attitude is memorable. I had decided to be nutty and go for two autographs - one of Flash and the other of Lex.

My experience with Michael was temporary and it would have been a lot better if the man in front of me didn't overload my hands with his stuff. Namely his camera. I had two of my bags, the photos I wanted signed and his camera altogether. My arms had started aching since lunch but I endured the fatigue for many hours. I was secretly irritated -no thanks to the heat- because I told the man I can take a photo for him if there's a chance but it may be difficult since Michael had a sign saying no posed photos. There are some guests who ignore the sign and are happy to pose for a picture for you but most of the time they don't want to do that which is fair enough. The man even forgot his camera after his so-called happy greeting with Michael and I didn't get the chance to walk up to the desk to say hi wassup and talk about how good he was voicing Flash/Wally West on the Justice League animated series. I had these comments all lined up :(

Michael did ask if I wanted both photos dedicated to me and I said yes please so I then took the opportunity to ask how he was. That was something I've learnt to do when meeting guests. It's polite and the stepping stone to getting a conversation with the guest unless they greet you first. Michael said he was doing great and asked if I was having fun today which I replied with an "I am thanks. It is very hot today though, isn't it?" because omg it really was burning in the shopping centre He and the crew member sitting next to him agreed. No wonder he needed to drink loads of water and smoothies (someone took photos of him doing this XD).

"Here you are, my dear," Michael said after he finished signing the photos. I shook his hand, said thank you twice then dashed off. Wow my mission for today had been accomplished. I was thinking I could wait till tomorrow morning if I wasn't able to get Michael's autograph but wow I got it on Sat. W00t. Heh he's the first guest to call me a pet name. I know that's cheesy but it felt kinda cool this once ^_^;; I am still rather envious of other fans getting a better experience with him but then again they're bigger Smallville fans than myself so they had more to talk about. Understandable. Hopefully if he gets invited back and I have gotten through all seven seasons of Smallville by this time (good luck) it'll be better for me...unless he still thinks I'm weird O_O At least his "Love ya" message on my Flash photo was very IC. Hehehe.

Shopping from the stalls --> just a signed Jared Padalecki photo. Was tempted by a Death Note which was probably imported from China since the writing inside was Chinese rather than Japanese.

Sunday

Reason for going today Meet Miriam Margolyes and Dean Andrews. Get to Michael Rosenbaum photoshoot

The fast train I wanted to take was delayed by ten mins so I managed to catch it but it was so full -_- 45 mins later I'm walking from MKC station and back to the shopping centre. I spot Dean Andrews waving to the Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes fans queuing up. He was sitting next to Amber Benson and my assumption on there being an open queue turned out to be true. He and Miriam Margolyes' autographs cost £10 and they had quite a queue forming since 10AM which was when the day started for the convention.

Miriam Margolyes aka Professor Sprout was polite and pleased when I told her she was good in Wicked as Madame Morrible. It inspired her to tell me she met Idina Menzel and Helen Dallimore for tea last Friday and she showed me a photo of the three on her IPhone. I think she got slightly peeved from posing for photos because she knew she had a photoshoot later on in the afternoon. I had to miss this as I was going to the Michael Rosenbaum one. I couldn't go to the Michael one the day before as there was the Amber photoshoot. Thankfully I got a photo with Miriam but we were facing the sunshine so we looked bright as a result. I found one Wicked photo where Madam Morrible was right near the top of the photo on the right hand side. I had no idea it was a Wicked photo until I took a closer look and another lady in front of me asked the crew member which musical it was. It just happened to click as soon as I saw Adam Garcia as Fiyero and Helen Dallimore as Glinda.

I feared meeting Dean Andrews would turn out freaky as most of my interactions with guests had been in the past because I wasn't a Northerner or a Caucasian-looking Southerner that majority of the people looked like at the convention (my freaking out is um...complicated). However Dean ended up being friendly to *all* his fans. Once again I am agreeing with the fans' feedback regarding his previous convention meetings. The man is down-to-earth it is unbelievable. Is this the meanie we know as DC Ray Carling? He was a complete contrast to his character. He spent probably five mins talking to the fans in front of me. Cool bloke indeed. When it came to my turn he asked me how I was and I said I was very well -despite my hands hurting from my bags and my feet from walking around a lot- then asked how he was in return.

Dean - "Did you travel far?"
Me - "Yeah I came from London."
"Oh really? Whereabouts?"
"North London."
"Ah I'm living in Barnsley but currently staying in Greenwich because we're filming right now. So how did you travel here?"
"Took the tube to Euston then the train to MK for an hour." Then there was a conversation on public transport which is kind of easy to imagine ^^;;

Dean asked me what I wanted on my photo. Either a "lots of love" or "best wishes." I had no idea I could choose and the lady crew member sitting next to him whispered "lots of love."

"Go on be cheeky," he suggested. Ahahaha I thought oh go on XDD Dean was very curious about what the fans were like and how they felt about the series. I told him I watched LoM and A2A and that if I had to pick a really fav character it might be Guv Gene Hunt. As a joke since Dean was pointing to himself I said he was my favourite :P There was also mention on the possiblity of the Guv/Philip Glenister coming to a signing event in the future. Dean said he talked Philip into it and maybe Keeley will tag along if possible. Now those two would cost a lot. Imagine the prices and the length of the queues. I said to Dean it would be cool to get Philip along because Dad is a fan of Gene Hunt. This surprised him. He asked what my Dad does and I just said he helps in the Chinese community and he asked what I did. My reply was, "Just a temp in the office."

"You're not just a temp," he says.
"Well I've been a temp for four years Dean," I replied.
"Yeah but it's alright."
have you tried temping for that long I wonder? "I've been moving around different companies trying to get a perm job but it's hard when you don't know what career to go for."
"Yeah it is, isn't it?"

Dude since when did this turn into a career discussion? o.O Really surprised by where this conversation was heading. Anyway aside from this I managed to get a photo with Dean, thanked him and wished him a good day. Overall - top man who is tied as best guest I've met right next to Amber and James Kyson Lee. Wow that's my three people made of win for you XD I didn't even think about meeting Dean/Ray Carling because his character was a meanie in Life on Mars but I let that all slide as I was in Milton Keynes and some guests were right in front of me. Opportunity to meet them was there.

Moving on to later in the afternoon I had finished an early lunch at M & S' cafe and walking around, waiting for the Michael Rosenbaum photoshoot at 2:55PM. I checked to see if I had my photoshoot ticket with me, only to find I had brought the wrong envelope with me. I only checked around an hour before the photoshoot. Grrr... I didn't even have an email confirmation in my folder to prove to the crew I did buy the photoshoot online which made things harder. Luckily I had the envelope with my address on it and the Showmasters staff yeah it was fine plus since I was on my own I wasn't buying a photoshoot for someone else. So I didn't have to spend an extra £20 for the photoshoot thank goodness.

I managed to queue up early for the photoshoot. Ended up as person no 10. Yay :D Since I got my turn early my photo developed quickly before the end of the convention. Sweetness. The crew member found my photo for me right before I approached the collection table XD I think she knew I was walking around and waiting for my photo. Heh my walking into John Lewis wasn't discreet was it? My optimistic side was hoping to get the photo then go home happy otherwise I had to pay a small fee to get it posted. I wasn't expecting the photo quickly for sure.

Shopping from the stalls --> Gah I gave in and got the Chinese Death Note book. I was also tempted by some little Bleach keyrings. There was an Ishida one I wanted to get for my Nii-san because it looked sweet.

I couldn't believe Michael Rosenbaum had an open queue all day on Sunday. Fans just swarmed in when they saw this. I was exhausted from the heat and had to sit down a few times. I just happened to be on the bench that faced Michael Rosenbaum's seat and I must say it's perfect for uh "ogling." If you're waiting or want to relax you've got eyecandy right in front of you XP. There were these other ladies who sat down next to me and one of them asked if I was waiting for Michael because he was on break. I said no I'm just relaxing and that I got his autograph yesterday. The lady explained she and her friends were getting more autographs from him so he could sign their Sat photoshoots which cracked me up. Yep they were indeed big Michael Rosenbaum fanwomen. Before leaving MK I had to fight the rushing temptation to get my photoshoot signed by Michael because of the open queue but I felt greedy and didn't want to provide an even more bizarre impression.

Lex Luthor was the subject of flash photography. Loads of people were taking pics of him while he was signing so I thought I'd try to get some snaps as well. I only managed two on Sunday because the crowd was large but others from the Showmasters message boards got luckier than me so browse around the C14 board for photos.

photo 1 This little girl wouldn't stop blocking my view so it took me ages to get a better shot of Michael -.-
photo 2 Well this is more like it, eh? XD I am envious of the person who managed to take a photo of Michael when he flexed his arms. Got to say he is different with the hair. Some of my co-workers at work were Lex fans and didn't find him attractive with hair which I can comprehend but the more I look at him with the hair the more I find he has that Flash face. The jaw reminds me of Wally West.

My first sighting of a famous face On the slow London Midland train I saw Ryan Sampson (Luke Rattigan in Doctor Who s4) who was one of the small guests at Collectormania 14. His Chibi-ness and big eyes confirmed his presence. I should have got his autograph when I was there but I feared my spending would go wild having met five guests during the weekend. The guy looks charming and is two years younger than me. When I saw him go into my carriage I was half looking with one eye and diverting most of my view in the window. How tempting was it to blurt, "Sontar ha?" However it would make him jump and I had a long day so didn't bother.



Oh dear now I am tempted to go to The Hub (Torchwood convention) as that's two weeks away. The guest list was small the last time I checked but now there's more people. I am down for missing out on Collectormania 13 where the lineup rocked even with the explosive John Barrowman effect and the fans got crazy. I would have gone there for two people.