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Of interest, the only place, as a wheelchair user that I got priority was a photoshoot (Shatner's) and his autograph queue (although I did not get bumped to the front, just slotted in somewhere half way along in that one. (But I suspect my Diamond Pass also played a role in that) Elsewhere, in other autograph queues, despite having the wrist band no priority was given, neither with a VQ ticket nor in open queues. Basically I was told to queue as per 'normal' folk. Thus rendering the orange special needs wrist band all but useless. But yes, to that women who thinks sitting all day in a wheelchair is a lark, well, as the saying goes, I will trade you your ability to stand and walk for my disability. Sitting in a wheelchair for many hours can get downright uncomfortable, issues with pressure and for me, with FSHD, my preferred position is lying down, sitting puts enormous strains on my lower back and abdominal areas and staying like that for prolonged periods leads to serious pain and breathing becoming more difficult. Rather than 'sitting' in a wheelchair in a queue for long periods, I'd rather get things over quickly and go lie down. But yes, those orange wrist bands did not seem to get much help at all anywhere this weekend just gone.

Yes, there is that strange thing where people assume that because you are sitting in a chair, it's all 'easy'. Depends on the disability though. And big power chairs in tight, packed queues is always a bit of a worry, as they can really hurt if you bump the back of someones legs with the footplate or maneuver a little bit too much with the joystick. And accidentally rolling over someones foot in a densely packed area with 70kg or more of powerchair hurts a lot more than a manual wheelchair ! But yes, I was lucky to get Sam Neill on the Sunday morning because despite his queue being closed, those left in it were not that many so the blue shirt waved me in. The Saturday VQ ticket I got numbered 751 was just a joke. Likewise, I got waved in on Jewel Staites queue on the Friday afternoon whereas earlier it had been no go. Funnily enough though, had I needed to, it would have been much easier to get her on the Sunday as she had been moved round to the Central Kitchen area and no longer had a separate pay desk. I'll still maintain though that any perceived misuse of the bands in previous years was not adversely affecting the queues in the way that dealers do seem to be doing now (based on numerous comments about that!), so we have been penalised for very little improvement in the system it seems. And no longer allowing us to go up front in empty aisle spaces in paid talks seems a little too authoritarian. (I couldn't get any photos from the Capaldi talk because of that because hey, I can't raise my arms, so couldn't lift my camera up above knee height to clear all those people in front of me, now we are relegated to further back irrespective..damn!) The two larger lifts at Olympia West, although they go to the ground floor, if I recall correctly, that part of the ground floor is not directly connected to the main halls, so you need to go out onto the street ?But yes, given there were only two usable lifts, both of them being small, that makes for real problems at times..

Take a look at the five tiers of ticketing available for October's Star Trek convention at the NEC, that's even worse.. Does anyone know or have an idea of what the ratio of DP tickets to standard tickets available was though?

I was told by a red shirt that the new policy being put in place for those with extra help bands (ie now having to get a VQ ticket) was due to the feeling (or would that be complaints?) that there had been too much 'positive discrimination' in previous years which had led to queues being backed up, jammed etc. Funnily enough, there seems to be some negative expressions about the queuing this year which now can't be blamed on a few wheelchair users being bumped to the front etc. So, to be honest, based on there still being complaints, I don't think past queuing issues were caused by the occasional disabled person going to the front...we are still a minority after all. (in previous conventions, providing we legitimately had an extra help band, we didn't need to get a VQ ticket) This new policy also now seems to be more rigidly enforced in paid talks too. Wheelchair users usually have to position themselves at the end of a row in the aisle and previous years there seemed to be no problem for us rolling up to the front in any empty aisle space. Now they are enforcing 'Diamond Pass only up front' policies it seems, so even if the aisle is empty up front (ie, no Diamond pass wheelchair users have occupied the disabled slot there) they won't allow non DP attendees to roll up there. Strange since there never was a visible problem with this before.

Highs : Strange turn of events in trying to get Sam Neill's autograph on Saturday, was handed a VQ ticket numbered 751 (at that number a pointless piece of paper really), as towards late afternoon the queue was still Diamond Pass only, so absolutely no chance of getting that. Sunday morning went to get another VQ ticket for Sam, noting the queue was marked as 'closed' (though Sam was still there). The blue shirt on duty, however, stated I could go on in (perhaps because I was in a wheelchair), so within minutes I had his autograph, no VQ needed. Lows: Unlike the Pearl Mackie queue, in which the blue shirts let in a couple of people right in front of me into the short queue, but wouldn't let me in, despite my VQ ticket being within the range ( which if I understand the new policy regarding 'extra help bands' and VQ'ing, meant I should have been allowed up to the front ?) Excuse was, "Pearl's manager say's no more". So, from this, I deduce the new VQ rules relating to 'extra help bands' wasn't really being put into practice. In fact, there was a palpable feeling that the extra help bands have now become pretty much useless, unless you are also a Diamond Pass holder. As has been mentioned in a previous post, what smart person during the planning stage decided to put one of the photoshoot queue areas smack in front of one of the only two lifts ? Seriously, getting out of that lift in a wheelchair straight into and through a massed queue was a navigational challenge.

More free talks the better in my opinion. And less 'elitism' in the paid talks. When, after the DP queue has been let in and seated there are still a lot of empty seats in the Diamond Pass rows, and the crew have been told not to let others from the lower tier queues entering next sit in those empty seats, but rather to stay back that's a poor reflection on the spirit of the venue. Sam Neill's talk had an awful lot of empty seats up front, especially on the flanks as a result of this policy and it looked silly. (I estimated getting on for a third if not more of the allocated DP seating was empty) But 'rules are rules' and all that stuff Sure, some DP members might turn up late after the talk has started but in most cases, that's then down to them not being where they should be in time.

Ahh, sorted then, thanks for the clarification

Can someone just clarify for me. Are all the talks that are listed as 'diamond paid' only allowing diamond pass holders to buy tickets for them and attend them ? Asking as I don't recall this category of talk being listed for any of the celebrities last year, no matter how big their name. (Famke and Mads for example) Last year it was just 'paid' and 'free'.

Sad, so the last memory of him I will have is him and his helper standing at the Hilton Olympia check in desk right in front of me, he in his wheelchair, me in mine. a proper little wheelie queue ready for attention ! Then he disappearing into the elevator to head off to his room. Considering his ill health, he had done incredibly well to keep up appearances at numerous conventions, well done to him and I hope that he enjoyed it too

This year at the Hilton it cost me £180 per night (thats a double 'wheelchair accessible' room). No breakfast included. Looking at next years rates for the Hilton, to book in advance its currently at £240 a night for the same room. So that's a hike of £60 a night, clear example of profiteering on the fact the LFCC is now more or less fixed at Olympia. Kind of annoying as the other 'accessible' hotels in the area are really too far away from Olympia for it to be comfortable trekking to an fro in a wheelchair for me. True, sub £100 per night budget hotels are not going to work for me. The next nearest, less expensive but still accessible hotel compared to the Hilton seems to be the Novatel to the west, but thats getting on for a kilometer away. The only consolation is I don't do these conventions often, so the steep room costs gets spread out across the year. Still not pleasant though !

Yep, she did indeed pose for selfies it seems. For whom I don't know but here's the evidence. Bouncer guy behind looks terribly distraught !

This year at the Hilton it cost me £180 per night (thats a double 'wheelchair accessible' room). No breakfast included. Looking at next years rates for the Hilton, to book in advance its currently at £240 a night for the same room. So that's a hike of £60 a night, clear example of profiteering on the fact the LFCC is now more or less fixed at Olympia. Kind of annoying as the other 'accessible' hotels in the area are really too far away from Olympia for it to be comfortable trekking to an fro in a wheelchair for me.

As several of us have pointed out, she is obviously really uncomfortable with close contact and interaction with fans.....most of the time. On the other hand she seems fairly comfortable on stage with the fans at a distance 'out there'. Proof, well here she is happily taking in the fans applause at the end of her talk, she's certainly not grouchy here. So it's just a personal trait of hers I guess. At least we know one fan got a good photoshoot with her, complete with genuine smile and a direct look, unlike any of the others Lucky him:)

I have just checked rooms for next year the hotel I was in this time. And, a year out, the rooms listed are nearly £60 more a night for next year (in advance) than they were per night last weekend. Surprisingly not cheaper then, way more expensive in fact, even when looking to book way in advance...

Briefly. Kieth David on his way out on Sunday, to which I wished him a safe journey. Prior to that, drove up to Hattie Hayridge and her 'minder' as they were free roaming the hall in the last 20 minutes on Sunday and had a bit of a chat with them. In between those, had a final chat with and said goodbye to Dave Prowse. The night before, Saturday, on the way out came across Rutger Hauer and his minders and before that Paul McGann, as he was leaving and wanted to know the quickest way out..."those lifts over there". He obviously then went back to the Hilton, were he obviosuly bumped into Zonky above. After that, when I finally got back to the Hilton about 30 minutes later, I ended up waiting in my wheelchair, directly behind Kenny Baker's in his (with his assistant), as he was served by the desk staff, before he headed off to the lifts and it was my turn.

When is the date for next years by the way ?

Yup, I don't get out my home that often, being somewhat housebound as a result of my disability (coupled with where I live) so these events are like welcome oases in the midst of otherwise long desert years...

Main issues for me were to do with the main stage. Air conditioning was set a little on the cool side ! The lighting for the stage was not that good either, primarily it seemed to comprise of two LED spots, on either side, plus ambient, so it appeared a bit 'murky' up on there at times.

The security were especially heavy on Famke's queue. Bouncer guy pounced forward on numerous occasions to check out fans with any kind of 'gun' The Deadpool cosplayer I saw getting the treatment seemed to be getting extra special 'attention' Fine, I guess, although if a person bearing real firearms had got that close to a celebrity before security needed an extra look, kind of makes you think how lax it might have been further down the entry chain.

I have not been in enough autograph queues for 'A' list celebrities to know whether it's the norm but anyway, I did get eye contact with her after I tried to engage in some conversation. She didn't really hear what I had said though, her mind not really in that gear I guess, so her response was basically.."oh, ahh, thank you" and then the pressure to move on was felt ! Was her demeanor the result of rib injury ? I doubt it because as many of those who attended her stage talk can attest, she moved freely and didn't really appear to be in any discomfort. Plus, her smiles there on stage were far more spontaneous and genuine, full on duchenne and not the fake kind (yep, we have the photographic evidence for that) she grimaced out in her photoshoots. (The vast majority of which I have seen posted online all appear almost identical in every case, both in pose and fake 'smile', so It is as though its a cardboard cutout people are posing with.) So, I guess from those two experiences of her, it seems she is happy doing stage talks, she feels ok with those but by contrast is not really comfortable 'pressing the flesh' with fans in the more direct sense. (which is fine, some of us don't like that kind of contact) And has little to do with injured ribs or otherwise. Contrast it with Mads and Michael a few seats further along, happily breaking the "no posed photos" rule posted on the board behind him, indulging fans with many a selfie etc:)