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| One thing that usually makes a difference at events such as these is having a low ticket number, especially when the number of attendees is well over 2000 and you want a signature and/or picture with one or more of the stars. The only way to get a low ticket number is to book early, but many of the people attending the event had left it late to register. Fortunately, I had a low ticket number (sub 100) and arrived early on the Friday to collect my registration and passes. The organisers were keen to take care of the autograph and picture hunters quickly so queuing, autographs, and pictures all got done by Saturday afternoon for the lucky ones who had low ticket numbers. I feel sorry for the poor folks who had lots of queuing to do on Saturday and Sunday - during the weekend there was more than one case of people joining the backs of queues without quite knowing what they would find at the front! The added benefit of a sub-100 number ticket together with early arrival was a small cocktail party with the stars for ticket holders 1-150 although the organisation left a little to be desired (a theme which crops up quite often at events of this magnitude). The party started late, with delays largely thanks to Richard and Judy's live TV intervention shortly before 6pm, which held up a photograph session with Victoria Pratt. Several photo and signing sessions later there was the obligatory opening ceremony which thankfully didn't drag on too long. Most people were waiting for the parties that evening but they were in for some disappointment. THE TALKS Talks are the staples of convention tradition. They usually come in the form of questions and answers but some convention guests like to ramble and go into anecdote territory without much prompting! As with all live events the more experienced, or more fun, guests know how to work the crowd, or operate as part of a double act to entertain the audience. It also helps to get a good seat near the front and, fortunately, I was close enough to take some decent pictures. The unlucky ones had to make do with a reasonable giant screen, which projected a decent picture of the guests from the front stage. This was essential for the guests who were quite a way back at the other side of the hall which, to me, resembled an underground bunker! Guest Talks: Emma Caulfield. I have seen her before at a previous convention 3 years ago in Manchester (Must have been one of her early conventions). She was still a little shy even though she has been in 3 full seasons of Buffy since I last saw her at a convention. She had only been a guest star a Alyson even went as far as getting balloons and decorations made to deck out Emma's trailer with plenty of 30th birthday congratulations.couple of times prior to this. She has a psychology major and, while acting is not the love of her life, she seems happy that she can still blend into the crowd when she doesn't want to be noticed. Emma would one day like to work with animals - and she does like rabbits unlike her on-screen character Anya. One of her favourites episodes of Buffy, the musical episode 'Once More with Feeling', was a fun experience for her. Of the musical, she said "We had so much fun doing it. I just love that Tony Head! He's just the nicest man on the planet!" She told a great story about her 29th birthday this year being hi-jacked by a practical joke played by Alyson Hannigan (who plays Willow) who made everyone on-set believe she had turned 30. Emma spent a long time trying to persuade the disbelieving crew and cast that she was, in fact, only 29! |