Quinzel

Wasn't planning on cosplaying this time around, but gave in to the inevitable after seeing Age of Ultron and will be cosplaying Scarlet Witch :).

You won't be the only one! I will be cosplaying at least on the Saturday and my friend and her boyfriend who I'm going with will probably be cosplaying too. I think with the less than stellar guest list there may be more people going for cosplay and other things.

I'll be cosplaying Bellatrix Lestrange one of the days, and thinking about taking my Hathor cosplay for the other, seems appropriate with Amanda Tapping being there :).

Forgive me if this is obvious, but I understand the split shoot thing, though was wondering if you were bound to say session 1 or session 2 by your photo ticket number. For example if you were number 10 you'd have to go to session 1, or could you go to session 2? I ask because I do have an early bird ticket along with a Lena photoshoot ticket for Sunday and it's quite a low number, but it would be more convenient for me to get to the afternoon shoot - I'm not sure that I will be able to make it to EC2 in time to get there for the shoot, given queuing times I have come to expect from the event.

Making progress on Hathor! Hope to see some more Stargate cosplayers there!

I hope so. Because if mine were dispatched on the date stated on my account then they're probably lost in the postal system...it has never taken this long for any recorded item to arrive. Would be nice if I could get a reply just so I know what's going on. Is there a number to call to actually speak to someone? Gonna send another email, but just in case.

I'm not sure on this, but my order includes a Lena Headey ticket and it's been almost two weeks since the dispatch date and almost three since the bought/ready for dispatch date and no sign of any of them. I tried emailing a couple days ago but haven't had a response so far :/.

I was initially in the pay on the day queue, and I saw staff members walking down (was only stood in it about 10/15 minutes). There were more with the pre-paid line but I think the reason for that was that, as we were told, the pay on the day line had been closed and someone had been down the line telling people after a certain point that they weren't going to get in. Seemed to be a mix of event staff and arena security. I think the priority was with the prepaid line because of photoshoots, etc - they were trying to prioritise who needed to get in.

It seems that there are a lot of complaints about the event, but I just wanted to take the opportunity to post a little good (since positive experiences are rarely shared!). I bought an early bird ticket but due to something popping up last-minute I was unable to get to the Arena until about midday, at which time there was an enormous queue. For us it was a two hour wait. The staff made the wait much more bearable than it ordinarily would have been. Everyone around me was in good spirits, there were staff members walking down the queue frequently to keep us updated, visitors with photoshoot tickets were being escorted to the front so that they wouldn't miss their slot, vendors were selling snacks and drinks, and the Storm Troopers, etc. were keeping the kids entertained. I was extremely impressed with all this, having in the past at other events just been left to queue with no idea what was going on and amidst increasingly frustrated visitors. I loved that the photos from photoshoots were printed off instantly rather than having to continue returning to a crowded table throughout the day to find yours - this saved a lot of time and space. The food and drink situation was great - never saw much of a queue anywhere. The arena was not the perfect venue for an event of this scale, but the space was utilised very well and obviously there was never a shortage of seating. Issues with attendance aside, I honestly thought that this was one of the best organised events I have been to in the UK. The problem was in the number of people that showed up. Perhaps it would have been worth making it a pre-bought ticket only event - if there were any tickets not sold online, they would be available on the door. As there is already a thread of negative experiences/opinions, how about we have a thread of positive feedback? Certainly some things did go wrong, but there was a lot that went right too and the organisers definitely need and deserve to know about that.

Quick question about the talks...my friend and I want to attend both the Danny John Jules and Chris Judge talks on Saturday. With them being one after the other is it permissible to remain in our seats or would we have to leave and queue again?

I accompanied a friend who was a runner in the Junior Great North Run quite a few years back and they had set the hall up for stalls and displays very similar to how Showmasters events are set up. It was a very effective space, lots of room and quite spacious, and the plus side? All those tiered seats, they aren't removable so........all teh seatz . None of the issues you have at LFCC when your feet give in and you need a rest. The flat seats are all removable and the hall is always set up differently for different events - some gigs/events use half the hall, some use the full space. So if you've been to a smaller gig there chances are you've only seen half of the floorspace. And the lobby area could also be utilised; definitely can get a few vendors/areas in there.

A friend pointed out that David Morrissey was often around the North East before he became really busy. Walking Dead S4 may have finished filming by March, right? Not that I'm the guv's biggest fan but would be cool to see him there and apparently he's a nice bloke. My random personal list: Lena Headey (she partially grew up in Huddersfield, I believe) Steven Yeun Maggie Grace Jensen Ackles Jared Padalecki Idris Elba Robert Kazinsky Max Martini Ian McKellen

There are so many of the 'why's I could have ticked. Kinda going because I am a cosplayer but most of all because I genuinely do enjoy the atmosphere at these events and it's wonderful just to be there. Also gaming and all that jazz.

Always said that Newcastle was a good location for an event, but every other major organiser seems to have avoided the North East like the plague. Just so glad and thankful that Showmasters is going out on a limb and trusting that this is going to be worth it. From the guest list so far it looks like it's going to be a success! So long as people find out about this, I can't see numbers being a problem. On another note, will you be looking for crew/volunteers nearer the time?

YES! I met him at LFCC 2012 and he was the nicest guy. Guess I was wrong about NFCC's guests not being up to the level of the London ones XD.