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indio
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A very enjoyable day at Autographica.

 

Lovely and relaxed, chilled atmosphere.

None of the ridiculous sci-fi fan rugby scrums, that i, personally cannot abide.

Great guests.

Attentive, polite and helpful staff and volunteers.

Beautiful, high quality Hotel. Perfect location for this event.

 

Thank you to the fantastic Astronauts. So classy and courteous.

Thank you Showmasters.

Already looking forward to Autographica 2012...bring it on.

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How can anyone answer that based on attending today unless they visit a paralel universe where Buzz did attend ?? :whistling:

 

My original question was intentionally vague, so not to open a can of worms.

 

But what I was getting at, was that following the high level of debate about the guest list.

 

Are numbers lower than usual, the same, or even higher?.

Edited by Donkey
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I went today and am planning to go again tomorrow. I met Rodney Bewes and Michael Cochrane. When I went in they were at lunch, but I didn't have to wait long for them to return. The only problem I had was working out how to get from the Tube station to the hotel! I was trying to get there on foot but it turns out you have to get a local bus (which is free, thankfully).

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I went today and had a great time! I was only there for the Astronauts and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation guys who I've ordered directly from in the past.

 

I got there just prior to 9am and everything was very relaxed. I wandered into the room and chatted to the ASF guys. A great selection of signed photos with 20% off and no postage. Too good to be true!

 

Edgar Mitchell was the busiest as expected and so had the least time to chat but both Bruce McCandless and Thomas Jones very friendly and were happy to talk about their experiences. As has been already mentioned, real class acts and ironically very down the Earth! No issues with personalisations, choice of pens etc.

 

I had achieved everything I wanted within an hour with no queues or hassle and I'm delighted with the additions to my collection. Will be looking out for details of next years event.

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If you are attending on sunday, and pre-ordered a Buzz Aldrin photoshoot, i can heartedly recommend that you go for the substitute Group Astronaut shot.

 

Possibly the best Photoshoot shot, in my modest collection....and wow, what a lineup!! :D

 

Thanks to Showmasters for organising this, more than worthy, replacement. :whistling:

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Could only do a couple of hours but found it very enjoyable. I've not met astronauts before and I found them all very friendly, engaging guests. Only wish I could have stayed for the talks, I'm guessing they would have been hugely interesting.

 

The event itself was like most Autographica events, very laid back and well organised. Although I would suggest some more signs to help find guests and the dealers room, but that's probably a 'hotel policy' thing. I was asked by a few people for direction while we were waiting in queues.

 

As for the numbers of punters, SM will have the exact figure, but I got the impression there were more people there then I've seen at other events.

 

Anyway, looking forward to the next years event. Did I read the poster about the Hilton in Birmingham next October correctly?

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It was excellent!!! I arrived the night before - long story short - met some Americans who where a bit lost at Hatton Cross tube station, so Our Lass and I helped them out with the tube map...

 

Saturday morning dawned bright... I got the early bird ticket and met the four shuttle astronauts (OK Norman Thagard, Cosmonaut! ;o) ) all very nice people - Thomas Jones asked me where I came from and I said York, he got all excited and told me about his interest in archaeology, of course York been some 2,000 years old has 'a little bit' of history! Norman told me loads of stories about his 3 Omega Speedmaster’s. I think Kathryn Thornton seemed tired but she came over as very nice. Bill Oefelein was great to chat with and told me he had just got of the ‘plane, I replied it was appreciated. Some of you may remember a shuttlenaut been poorly at a past Autographica… Jerry Bostick was up next and he added to my NASA mission controllers list. (Pllleeeaazze Showmasters lets have Gene Kranz….) Jo Lancaster signed my Saunders-Roe A/1 flying boat fighter book. What a grand old chap he is! He had not seen my ISO book and was very interested.

 

I thought I was done, it was time to go, but I met our ‘lost’ American’s and they told me that they where over here with there friends Rich Graham and his wife, well, that did it, looks like am collecting SR-71 pilots ‘auto’s’ now! I said to Rich it was great to have him and he should send his fellow SR-71 pilot friends over and not let the Shuttle Astronauts hog it all!

 

All-in-all, excellent venue, well done Showmasters for returning to the Radisson. Hardly any queuing and no 'rugby scrums' very relaxed and great atmospher. Easy to get to (4 hours from York including ‘pitstop’) and fantastic guests. Keep up the good work and if any of you are reading this and may have time to get there please try and make the effort!

 

 

 

BTW - I did see a certain young gentlemen - Ewan I think his name is working for Showmasters!!! I so wanted his autograph but could not get it... oh hum next time may be....

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I went today, and had a pleasant experience.

 

Although not as good as the Birmingham venue, the free parking outside does compensate.

 

It really is a maze inside, in fact I only found the dealer room by chance (and this isn't my first time!).

 

I felt a bit sorry for Johnny Johnson too. He seemed completely isolated.

 

The checking of wristbands was non existent. After the ease to get in free last time, this really should have been tightened.

 

Whilst I loved the relaxed style of the event. Turn out seemed generally very low. Other than the space guys which provided a small buzz around the place, the rest looked very quiet.

 

The general feel of the event did feel so much more friendlier, at Birmingham with the 'security' it often feels more about ego's and power trips. But the two ladies on Edgar's stand couldn't have been more friendly, personable, or helpful. The lady on the front desk was also warm and welcoming.

 

I was done in a few minutes. I have no idea what you guys do over the whole weekend. Maybe you were all at the bar?.

 

I can't believe its another 12 months until the next one. :P

 

I'm pleased with my autographs. Cheers Dave.

Edited by Donkey
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Wow, what can I say - this was an absolutely brilliant event and I'm so glad we made the journey.

 

All the guests we met and the crew as well couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.

 

We met Shane Rimmer, George Mikell, Lana Wood, Honor Blackman, Jean Boht, Bettine Le Beau, Lana Wood, Chichinou Kaeppler, Catherine Serre, Irka Bochenko and Sybil Danning.

 

This was the first event that we've taken our daughter Georgia along to (she's only 17 days old lol) and many of the guests were making a fuss over her and wishing us well.

 

My only small disappointment was for Jean Boht as she was the main reason we were attending and she seemed to be placed outside the event in the main concourse with her back to the guests but she was wonderful to meet. We also paid for parking but an earlier post suggests it was free but I'm not so sure.

 

The stalls were interesting and there was a great selection of photos for all the guests we met. My son Ewan now has about 250 autographs and we have many great memories from today - everyone was amazing and I'd place all of them in the top 20% of favourite meetings we've had with guests/celebrities.

 

Thanks for holding such a great event, the four of us loved it.

 

Steve

 

PS: Not sure if Von Ryans Express was referring to my son in the post two above this one - would love to know tho lol

Edited by steevofromglasgow
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I agree with Donkey about the checking of wristbands. My wife and I attended the event today but arrived at the hotel yesterday. We wandered up the stairs to see where we would need to go the following day and we were able to wander around. We looked for the main desk (which we later realised was downstairs before you go up) and left realising that we shouldn't be there. If we hadn't been so honest, we could have got the autographs yesterday and saved £20.00.

 

On a positive note the guests I met (the Thunderbirds trio) were fantastic and the fact that it was quiet meant that they had time to chat and pose for pics.

 

By the way, was Honor Blackman "no posed photos" (as stated by Dave prior to the event)? I didn't bother because I believed that was going to be the case but I couldn't see signs to that effect. Anyway, I ended up spending £100.00 in the dealers' room so didn't bother checking.

 

Great event. Hotel superb. Showmasters staff helpful as always.

 

Cheers.

Edited by Larry David
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concur with Larry, above, re. Honor Blackman and the 'no posed photos at desk' policy. On saturday there were no posters in view to this effect. But the potential of not getting a desk photo with an autograph, put me off spending £15.

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The checking of wristbands was non existent. After the ease to get in free last time, this really should have been tightened.

 

 

Hi

 

We were able to check wrist bands and passes as people approached signing tables and photo shoots with very little problem. I only had to ask 3 seperate people to see them when they were not visible. At each morning briefing all crew were reminded of this and it certainly was one of our priotiries this weekend.

 

Thanks

Mara

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concur with Larry, above, re. Honor Blackman and the 'no posed photos at desk' policy. On saturday there were no posters in view to this effect. But the potential of not getting a desk photo with an autograph, put me off spending £15.

 

I also had a good weekend, except for the Honor Blackman 'no posed photos at desk' policy. It's not because she was always ultra busy at the desk (Before I approached her, there was no people at her desk for at least 8-10 minutes). It's also not because she disagreed with her photo taken (as there wasn't any restriction of taking flash photos of her only). It was only a matter of just a person standing beside her when the photo was taken.

 

I'm not utterly disappointed for that... it's just that I had to leave the hotel before her photoshoot to catch my flight back (I was willing to pay for photoshoot). I'd have to accept the fact that I may never have a photo taken 'with her' because of my long-term overseas job commitment. :WINCE:

 

Anyway, at least I'm glad to have photo taken with Sir Stirling Moss and Lana Wood. :)

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We were able to check wrist bands and passes as people approached signing tables and photo shoots with very little problem.

 

Whilst I appreciate the responce, I struggle to believe that this was carried out as discribed. The fact that it was even mentioned in a meeting makes it even more puzzling.

 

As I wandered around I can only recall seeing a handful of luminous bands. Mine everybody elses was tucked under the sleeve of my jumper, and nobody ever challenged me to see it. It seems bizarre that an event that struggles to break even, has seemingly non-existance ticket checks.

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all the guests that I talked to were very nice, talkative and friendly. I truly enjoyed being there with them this sunday. I think that it was probably the best Autographica I attended in years. The guests were great!

 

The atmosphere was warm, friendly and the hotel was very easy to find as opposed to last year. It was definitely a beter choice.

 

I was a bit disappointed by the fact that Honor Blackman did not accept for me to take a photo with her, especially since there was no sign displayed. But in the end, I am quite happy I could talk to her and that I could get her autograph. She was very chatty and I enjoyed being in her presence at Autographica. She is a wonderful, warm and kind lady.

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All in all I thought this was an excellent weekend.

 

I did wonder Friday night if I had been a bit extravagent booking a room for two nights but by Saturday I was glad I did. It was useful to be able to take the larger/bulkier items I had down to the signing room then be able to drop them back off in my room as soon as they were done without having to wait till 3pm to check into a room. It was also useful to be able to leave things up there during the photoshoots rather than having to bother about bag collections etc.

 

The guests were a great bunch this year, everyone I met was friendly and chatty which is what I think sets Autographica apart from other events.

 

I thought the addition of the shuttle astronauts worked really well. They were a great bunch to meet, very friendly and chatty, especially Tom Jones who really seemed to make the effort with everyone who went to see him. I have to say I was a bit sceptical when Showmasters first mentioned about bringing Shuttle astronauts over, and my preference remains for the MGA era to attend the shows while they still can, but if this weekend was representative of what we might see in the future then I think this could be a very positive thing.

 

It was also great to see Edgar Mitchell make the trip over here. I have to admit after all the cancellations (for very understandable reasons), I had started to worry he might not make it over here again but he seemed in good spirits and gave an excellent talk Saturday afternoon. I was pleased to be able to add an in-person autograph from him to my collection.

 

The talks were really good as well, I went to the Edgar Mitchell one on Saturday, then Rich Graham, Jerry Bostick and Tom Jones on Sunday. All very interesting and well presented.

 

Photoshoots came out well, especially the group astronaut picture. I don't know how difficult this was to arrange from a financial/logistical point of view but this is something I would really like to see again at other shows in the future.

 

Decent selection of items for sale on the dealer stands, the 15 photos for £10 deal was very good and as always The Space Station had a great display. I was very tempted by a number of items but had to pass after seeing the state my wallet was in by Sunday morning!

 

I think Dave, Jason and Paul deserve a huge amount of credit for putting on such a good show against what can't be easy times financially. Very much looking forward to Birmingham next year.

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Good to be back at the Radisson, I remember the last time I was there I had the Micra - that seems an age, that was when Gloria Hendry, Trina Parks and Carole Ashby were there, to name a few - anybody remember that? I certainly see that they haven't changed the wallpaper since then!

 

I must say that Susan Hampshire was the most wonderful and sincerest lady I have met in a long time. I went down primarily for her on Sunday, and she was such a fantastic lady - I am glad to have seen her - thank you Miss Hampshire. The photoshoots and attendance were a little sparse, I'm wondering if it was too close after a certain event at Earl's Court, and people were feeling the pinch? That may ccount for some of the sparseness alluded to, but I was still aiming to attend regardless.

 

The organisation was up to its high standards and indeed the water and refreshments were an added bonus, I don't remember this from previous trips.

 

After the photo shoot with Michael Jayston I went for a big run round Heathrow's terminals rather than hanging around for the pics to come back - got heavily lost for an hour and half but finally returned, coming back past the hotel down the road where the previous autographica was held when Tany Roberts and Linda Gray attended - I knew it looked familiar. After a towel down in the toilets - thanks for the towels Radisson - I hung about for the pics and chomped my way through a big mac and fries! After such efforts on the road, boy did I need it.

 

I then saw how the whole of the show finishes, which I have never done before, seeing Kenny Baker wandering around the lounge area and Shane Rimmer setting off with his wife as he exited the lift. The papers with the guests names were strewn around in the rooms with Lana Wood's name and others on it.

 

All in all it was worth going to see Susan and Ed Mitchell. On the way home had to have a kip in back seat at Oxford though, so looking forward to Birmingham and maybe Gene Cernan, or Jane Seymour?

 

www.markdabbsrunningambassador.co.uk

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Hotel was OK for me, they had a small room off to the side of the lobby with PCs for free internet access which was quite useful across the weekend.

 

Food and drink prices were quite high but it's an airport hotel so there are never going to be any bargains on that side of things. Handy McDonalds next door though and an OK pub just down the road which did OK food for reasonable prices. There was also a petrol station opposite the pub and a general store and italian restaurant down a side road near the petrol station.

 

The show layout was the same as previous Autographicas, some guests and dealers in one room at the top of the main stairs, other guests just down the corridor, then the remainder of the guests in the atrium with another dealer room across from there. Photoshoots down a side corridor and the lecture room a bit further down from there.

 

The rooms were nice, reasonable size and all the usual facilities, only real downside was the lack of TV channels in the rooms, essentially just BBC1 annd 2, ITV, C4 and C5 with a load of foreign channels.

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