Geoff K

A good 360 degree virtual tour of the various Olympia halls can be found here http://www.sphericalimages.com/earls-court-and-olympia-360-virtual-tour.htm The Superstage is West Hall, level 1. Zone 2 is Central Hall, Level 1. Zone 1 is National Hall, Level 1.

When I check the TFL journey planner for this Friday it shows a 'replacement' bus running every 8 mins between Earls Court & Kensington (Olympia), and which looks like it's departing from outside the Exit that leads to the old Earls Court venue. I'm assuming this is because of LFCC & that the District Line to Kensington (Olympia) only runs on Saturday & Sunday. If you do want to walk to Olympia from the Underground, Baron's Court is closer than Earl's Court, about a 10 min walk from it.

Reflection on glasses are a potential issue. But if it's a medical need of course the photographer will accept that. In photoshoots, the photographer often has problems with the flash reflecting off my glasses, but if it does then they ask me to move my head slightly until the reflection is eliminated or minimised. Does mean I get a little more time with the guest though

In 'experience' terms, I'd say getting an auto is better, as you get a little more time to interact with the guest, but I can see how sometimes photoshoots can be as good or better, if something amusing happens as you pose with the guest. For myself, if it's either a photoshoot or an auto, then I prefer to go for the auto. The reason being that I like to get them to sign a book, DVD cover or CD cover, which means I have the pleasure of seeing the auto & remembering our meeting each time I read/use the item. Sadly, my photoshoots don't get looked at so often as the autos, so I shall be (hopefully!) getting Michael Gambon to sign one of my Doctor Who books. There are exceptions, next week I shall be having a photoshoot with Catherine Tate, but not getting an auto as I have had the pleasure of meeting her at a stage door & she kindly signed a couple of Doctor Who things for me. In this case, I want to get a 'proper' posed photo to go with the one in my avatar. I have other things I'd like to get Catherine to sign, but hopefully I will be able to meet her again at a stage door for those.

Having a photoshoot with the leader of my people - the future Queen Catherine.

Wilkinson do the Sharpie 'Gold, Silver, Bronze' 3-pack for £4, if that's more convenient than getting to Ryman. I think gold or Bronze Sharpie look very good on black & white 10x8s. Might be worth considering - if you've got any B&W images to get signed. Personally, I wouldn't advise getting the cover of anything (book, DVD, CD booklet etc.) signed in metallic Sharpie, as the auto can get scratched over time. For these,I find it best to restrict the use of metallic Sharpie to the inside pages, where the auto will be protected, and don't forget to let the auto dry before you close the book.

And every time you read that book, you will remember the time you met them. at Jon.

I've had quite a few autos in books, at signings & stage doors, without problems. I would say that if it's being signed with a metallic Sharpie, give it time to dry before you close the book. Also as said above, watch out for the Sharpie bleeding through to the other side of the page in paperbacks. For those you're better off using a biro.

Wasn't coming to LFCC until Catherine was announced - now I've got a weekend ticket.

No problem. If I wasn't from London, I'd be the same. Travel here can be confusing if you're not familiar with the system. Just sorry for saying 'platform 2' when it should be 'platform 4' at West Brompton to get to Kensington (Olympia).

Anyone getting an Overground train from West Brompton to Kensington (Olympia) should get the train from platform 4, NOT platform 2 as I said in a previous post. Sorry for any confusion.

Not directly, though the TFL Journey planner is showing a 'Replacement bus service' from Earls Court to Kensington (Olympia) on Friday. Presumably this is for LFCC, but I don't know where the bus leaves from outside Earls Court. If you're getting a District Line train to Earls Court, get one with 'Wimbledon' on the front & get off at West Brompton (stop after Earls Court) you can then get a London Overground train from Platform 2 back the way you came which will call at Kensington (Olympia), which is the next stop. No problem, I'm glad I've been of help :) The train you will need from Earl's Court on Friday will have 'Wimbledon' on the front (which is where it terminates) & West Brompton is the next station after Earl's Court. The station where you change to the Overground on Friday is West Brompton, and your train will leave from platform 4. The District Line train from Earl's Court to Kensington (Olympia) will have 'Olympia' on the front, which is where the train terminates.

No questions are stupid Josh. If you're not sure it's always best to get things clear in plenty of time. Your journey will not be affected by any engineering works etc. On Saturday/Sunday from Finsbury Park, you can take Piccadilly Line to Earl's Court & then get the District Line to Kensington (Olympia). Alternatively you can take the Victoria Line from Finsbury Park to Green Park & join the Piccadilly Line there, which involves one more change & takes 4 mins longer at 35 min.

Depends on what days you're attending. On Friday you can get the District Line from Victoria to Earls Court & then another District Line train to Kensington (Olympia). On Saturday & Sunday, quickest way from Victoria to Kensington (Olympia) is to get Victoria Line from Victoria to Green Park, then change to Piccadilly Line. At Earls Court you can get a District Line Train to Kensington (Olympia).

If you're talking about Friday, then yes you can take Piccadilly Line from Kings Cross to Earls Court, District Line to West Brompton & West Brompton to Kensington (Olympia). Journey time should be 30min. On Saturday and Sunday, you can get a District Line train from Earls Court direct to Kensington (Olympia). Not directly, though the TFL Journey planner is showing a 'Replacement bus service' from Earls Court to Kensington (Olympia) on Friday. Presumably this is for LFCC, but I don't know where the bus leaves from outside Earls Court. If you're getting a District Line train to Earls Court, get one with 'Wimbledon' on the front & get off at West Brompton (stop after Earls Court) you can then get a London Overground train from Platform 2 back the way you came which will call at Kensington (Olympia), which is the next stop.

Not directly, though the TFL Journey planner is showing a 'Replacement bus service' from Earls Court to Kensington (Olympia) on Friday. Presumably this is for LFCC, but I don't know where the bus leaves from outside Earls Court. If you're getting a District Line train to Earls Court, get one with 'Wimbledon' on the front & get off at West Brompton (stop after Earls Court) you can then get a London Overground train from Platform 4 back the way you came which will call at Kensington (Olympia), which is the next stop.

And for us Doctor Who fans, Kerry also appeared at the 2013 Doctor Who Proms, as one of the soloists singing the music from 'The Rings of Akhaten'.

Thanks for the info, I was just asking for a friend who can't get there until about mid-day on both days.

Will we be able to buy Early Bird & Standard Entry tickets on the day, or must we buy entry tickets before the online shop closes? Geoff

A joint photo with Colin would be great.

I think what I'll do is get VTs for John & Jenna, then get autos from John, Adjoa & Jemma, and do John's first photoshoot. If I have time I'll get Jenna's auto, but if not I'll go to the other thing, & come back for Jenna. I have got an auto from Jenna already, so if for some reason I can't get one on Saturday, it's not a problem. Geoff

Cheers

Thanks for the feedback so far. I'd like to go for option 2, but my only worry there would be not getting back in if EC2 reaches capacity. Is there any chance of this? Geoff

I have an early bird ticket for Saturday, and would like to meet Jenna Coleman, Jemma Redgrave, Adjoa Andoh, and John Hurt. I also have a photoshoot booked with John Hurt (ticket No 67). However, I have somewhere else I would like to visit on the Saturday morning, so I'm looking for your opinions on the best way to manage this. Option 1) Do the other thing first, which would mean arriving at LFCC around 11.30 - 12. I know that I would be able to walk straight in, rather than queue, and that I could go to John's second photoshoot, but if I got VTs for Jenna & John around noon, what are the chances of me being able to get autos from them before the event closes. Option 2) Go to LFCC first, pick up VTs for Jenna & John and then leave for the other thing, returning to LFCC around 12.30 - 1 Option 3) Go to LFCC first, get VTs for Jenna & John, and then get autos & do John's photoshoot before leaving by 11.30 at the latest, and not returning. Option 4) Forget about the other thing. I have left LFCC before for a couple of hours & returned, but with how busy things will be this year, I'm just concerned that I might not get back in (if EC2 reaches 'capacity') or that it would take too long to get the things that I want to before leaving for the other thing. Any advice or reassurance welcome! Geoff

There are no underground trains calling at West Brompton all weekend, but London Overground is unaffected. Geoff