G-Mex; Manchester, UK - 11-12 February 2006

[Harry]

GUYS! ON-TOPIC PLEASE!

[Harry]

Guys,

I wrote a report about G-Mex 1,5 week ago, but it still is offline. The reason is I'm currently changing my website and this takes more time than expected. So I'm placing my report here:


February 14th 2006

Last weekend it was finally time to attend another convention in the United Kingdom. This time I traveled to Manchester where for the first time the ‘Collectormania G-Mex’ would take place. After a very smooth trip I arrived at 11:30 AM at Manchester airport. A few minutes later fellow collector Caroline and her brother picked me up. After a short drive Caroline’s brother dropped us off at the G-Mex Central hall. And so our mission began.

When we entered the hall it was extremely crowded. We walked to the back of the hall where the actors and actresses were signing and there were even more people waiting. I was very surprised about the huge amount of visitors and I was getting a bad feeling about it. Fortunately Caroline attended the convention earlier before she picked me up at the airport, and she was nice enough to get some virtual tickets for me.

Still, because of the huge amount of visitors, I was not in the mood to join a que and decided to have a smoke first. Then we entered the hall again and I discovered I had no virtual ticket for Avery Brooks. Caroline explained this was because he would have an open que. I couldn’t believe her but a few minutes later I got a confirmation because it was written on an announcement board. No time to lose and so I joined the que. Mr. Brooks responded like a gentleman to his fans and he signed my first picture of the day. Unfortunately there were no posed photos allowed.

My second victim was Jay Laga’aia, who played Captain Typho in Star Wars episode II en III. He was also very nice and signed a picture for me and one for my fellow collector Dennis. Right after this stop I joined the que for the next guest: Brent Spiner, better known as Lt. Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mr. Spiner was a gentleman too, although I got the impression he reacted in some ‘routine’ way to his fans. Can’t explain it exactly, but this was the impression I got. Unfortunately: again no posed photos.

Then it was time for a little break. Caroline and I had a little drink to regain some energy. We went to the backside of the hall again to check if we could join a que. My numbers for none of the guests were high enough, but fortunately Jorge Garcia just had an open que. I spotted a sign with the text ‘no posed photos’ again, *sigh*. For me, Mr. Garcia was the disappointment of this convention. He didn’t look up to his fans and in my opinion his attitude was quite arrogant. Some other visitors thought he was just nervous though. At least I got a photo signed.

Then we decided to join the que for Andy Serkis. Caroline’s number wasn’t high enough and I didn’t even a number at all. But, because of Caroline’s magical powers we still could enter the que. I still don’t know how she did it but I didn’t complain of course. Mr. Serkis was a very nice guy and was happy to meet his fans. And finally somebody who allowed posed photos! In short: Mr. Serkis signed a Gollum picture for me and I got a posed photo with him! After the con I heard that a while after us posed photos weren’t allowed anymore so I guess we were quite lucky.

Then, it was time to meet the last two guests on my list: James Callis and Katee Sackhoff. These two guests were the main reason for me to attend this con. First I went to Katee Sackhoff. When you see her in real life, you immediately understand why she got the role of Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica. Damn, this woman possesses charisma! I was (and still am) impressed by the certain magic she has. She was so sweet! She signed a picture for me and my fellow collector Michel and was more than happy to pose for a photo. She truly knows how to care about her fans!

Finally, I entered the que for James Callis. He was very enthusiastic and talked my ears off. He asked were I came from and when he heard it was the Netherlands he started talking about a theatre show. It was a musical he did in ‘Hoogezand’ in the Netherlands for children. But the children always started to throw candies and stuff on the stage so he was always happy when he finally could leave the stage. In the meanwhile, he signed a picture for me and Michel and of course he was happy to pose for a photo. Very sympathetic guy!

Then, the con was over for us since we got all of the autographs we wanted. We spend some time in the centre of Manchester. Later in the evening we went to the pub and talked with some other guys that were also on the convention that day. The next day we moved back to the Netherlands.

Finally I had to conclude that it was a great convention again! Especially Andy Serkis, Katee Sackhoff and James Callis were lovely people to meet. A big thanks to Caroline for getting the tickets for me before she picked me up at the airport. If she didn’t do that, I would probably not have been able to meet all the guests. I’m also very grateful to Caroline’s brother and his wife for opening their house to me and let me stay there. I really appreciate your generosity!

[starbuck]

As usual a great report. It was very kind of Caroline's brother to have let you spend the night at their house

[mikedx]

Thanks Harry.

I always enjoy reading the report. It makes me feel like I am there.

Mike

[Bill]

Jep, another cool report from tha Slayer!