maxf

Hi, It's my first time posting here, but Saturday was my 2nd Autographica. I meant to sign up here after the last one, but life got in the way. I drove up from London, so Heathrow would have been easier, selfishly, but Birmingham has excellent transport links for north and south, so thumbs up for the location. Also, being able to pay at the desk for everything by card was excellent and very useful. My GF and I arrived at about 12pm and a few of the guests were tied up in photoshoots so we wondered around looking at the stalls. I like to enjoy the day as much as possible so don;t just jump in to getting autographs! The stalls were nicely done and well spread out - I recognised a few faces from Collectspace. First I went to Al Worden who seemed to have a steady stream of people. I hadn't met Al before but he was a real gent (as all of the Apollo Astronauts have been when I've met them). We chatted for a few seconds about jet lag, and he signed my book, shook my hand and we were done. While I was waiting for Al, a couple of people wondered past and muttered that we must be mad paying £50 for an autograph! A little random I thought. Next was Tom Stafford. Contrary to the gasps when his fee was announced, there seemed to always be a few people waiting to see Stafford, which was good to see. I waited in line and got to the front to be told that unlike the other guests they didn't accept the 'autographica money' at this desk! Arrrgh - back to the back of the queue after obtaining the correct ticket. Stafford was a friendly chap, although we only said hello and shook hands (I couldn't think of much to say and there were people behind me waiting) - he signed my book as requested and off I went. I can understand why Stafford has decided to not do any more shows/signings. Seeing him on Saturday really bought home that he is an elderly man entitled to a few years of peace and quiet. I hope he has a very happy 'retirement'! I opted not to get another Dave Scott signature or meet Scott Carpenter, mainly due to the cost of Tom Stafford, which was an unfortunate compromise but one of those things. Both seemed to be doing well without my funds anyway. Finally, it was time to see Stirling Moss. He was absent for a while and I'd like to think he was off watching the F1 qualifying somewhere! Again, he had a short but continual queue. I picked one of his photos and had it dedicated to me - it's already framed in my office! He was a real gent, but it was another short and sweet meeting. After that it was off to the restaurant for a couple of club sandwiches before the drive home. All in all, it was a very good few hours. Hello to the guys behind me in the Stafford line also with the 'Full Moon' book - I hope to get mine that full of autographs eventually! My only critisisms would be the signage wasn't too clear and I felt a bit of a wally not realising Stafford didn't have the same payment system as the other guests (but that didn't really matter). I don't tend to take photos so that issue didn't bother me. What I really like about autographica is that it is laid back and relaxed. The guests all seem very friendly and tend to be willing to 'give as they receive' - by that I mean if you just want a friendly hello and handshake they are as willing as if you want to know what they meant in minute 1067 of the Apollo 10 transcript Sorry for the huge 1st post! Looking forward to A15 already.