Chris164

If anyone's been keeping up with the images and posts I've been making over the past few days, you'll probably know most of the story of my convention experience, but if you want a more in-depth recap or simply want to pass the time, I've got you covered! Also Wrong Name's round was fascinating, so I thought now would be a good time to jump on the recap train before I forget some of what's transpired last weekend. It's a bit surreal typing out this blog post. I've been anticipated my 3rd LFCC for a good while now after some disappointing convention experiences elsewhere. Unlike the previous two years, I planned on going to the convention two days this year: initially, Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald from Doctor Who, Joanna from The Cry) was announced as a Saturday-only guest. Followed by Ian McDiarmid, my schedule was looking to be only Saturday which would break tradition from the usual Sunday-only experience I've had. Eventually, Jenna was scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday, and the cast of Iron Fist was announced. Specifically, Sacha Dhawan was announced as a Sunday-only guest, and given I missed out on meeting him at the convention 2 years ago, I wanted to meet him without fail this time: as such, this was my first LFCC across two days. Alongside Carrie-Anne Moss who I knew from the Marvel-Netflix TV series, my lineup was looking to be a little more diverse than my previous two visits to LFCC. Initially, I had my agenda of meeting Jenna on the Saturday, but seeing as I could move to Sunday since no batches of photos or Diamond Passes were filled up, I thought it'd be a wise move in the hopes of maybe getting a couple of seconds of extra interaction time. At one point, Alex Kingston was announced, someone else alongside Jenna who I really wanted to meet as a big Doctor Who fan. Sadly, she cancelled at the very last minute, which left my Saturday schedule cut in half as Ian was now the only guest I concretely would meet that day. It was disappointing to hear this at the last minute (literally, she had to cancel at 7pm the day before I was due to attend), but it opened up my agenda a bit more for Saturday and to run around with other autographs. As such, here was my agenda for the weekend: Saturday: Ian McDiarmid, DP Batch 1, Photoshoot Area E, 6:30pm Sunday: Jenna Coleman, DP Batch 1, Photoshoot Area E, 11am Carrie-Anne Moss, DP Batch 1, Photoshoot Area D, 10:30am Iron Fist Group Shot, Batch 1, Photoshoot Area A, 10:40am With the Iron Fist group (Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Sacha Dhawan) since only Finn had a Diamond Pass (which I wasn't planning on buying), I would try and fit their autographs in at some point when I was free, and with two days to go off of, Saturday would be the preference for when I could meet Finn and Jessica in particular. So, let's talk day 1. With Alex's cancellation late on, I decided to leave for the convention on Saturday significantly later than I usually do at 11:30am. Having collected my Passes for Jenna, Ian and Carrie-Anne the day before, the average journey time was 1.5 - 2 hours, so that'd leave me plenty of time before Ian's photoshoot at 6pm to try and get Finn's, Jessica's and Ian's autographs beforehand. Seeing as her queue was fairly quiet, I walked up to Jessica as my first autograph of LFCC 2019 at around 1:15pm. Amusingly, it took 2 or 3 minutes before I could actually get my chance however to speak to her, as the guy in front of me took forever talking to her - he had this massive book filled with tonnes of signatures (which was both impressive and terrifying), as he showed her a couple of big names that were at the convention. I'm not sure how long it took, but I stood there patiently as the man continued to proudly show off his book to Jessica. Eventually when he’d finished his long presentation, it was my turn. Immediately, Jessica lit up again and was thrilled when I presented her a copy of the drawing with red acrylic spray to make it feel a bit more than a photocopy. She was very gracious with it (with “wow” being said many times over), before asking if she should add a little message alongside my name. I’m always happy with extra messages; it makes my autographed drawing stand out amongst all the other signatures actors and actresses write (though I wasn't expecting the phrase straight out of Iron Fist for some reason, but I dig it). A handshake later and a parting to look forward to the group shot the day after, I left Jessica feeling positive that the first signature of the convention went very well. I couldn't jump straight into Finn's line who was stationed to Jessica's left: a. he wasn't back, and b. he was still calling Diamond Passes. I wasn’t expecting to get Finn’s autograph without a Diamond Pass - these days, Diamonds are the only sure-fire way of guaranteeing an autograph. But on Saturday, a.k.a. the busiest day, Finn got through all his Diamond Passes, and it went from virtual queuing to an open queue. Seeing this chance, I went to get his autograph whilst it was quiet approximately an hour after Jessica's, and I’m glad I did. When I gave him the drawing, he was real pleased with it, double checking that it was cool to personalise. Randomly, I noticed the fan he had on his desk and couldn’t help but comment on it, to which I got a flamboyant “thank you”, a minor amusing anecdote there. I did find it funny when he wrote my name on the drawing: you can see he started quite casually until he realised he was going to run out of room and sign straight past the face. The slow-down in his signature and the realisation on his face as he noticed was indeed a sight to behold. Before I left, I also gave Finn a copy of the drawing for him to keep, sprayed with acrylic red paint to liven up the copy. Hilariously, he suggested it was a “seductive choice” and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was quite a random encounter, but Finn came across as a genuine character who wholly was absorbing the entire convention atmosphere. In a fun way, he reminds me the guys from Class who aren't afraid to just speak their mind and have fun, what a chill guy. With these two autographs now guaranteed, I decided to return and try again to queue for Ian around 2:40pm. I'd tried earlier but he needed to go for a lunch break, hence why I jumped off to the Iron Fist cast to get their autographs. I’d heard that Ian’s quite a chatty man and that’s why his queues are always so long. I can confirm that report is true and Ian is a genuine guest who takes such an interest in his fans, always talking, always giving eye contact and always being positive. When I approached his table, he extended a firm handshake even though I had passes and bags and coats all over the place and patiently waited till I cleared my hands of all the passes before shaking his hand. I handed the drawing over and Ian looked at it for a while, showing it and talking about it to the stewards nearby who were impressed. He then joked that this is the first time he saw the Emperor smile, to which I jokingly gestured I was aiming for evil but that clearly didn’t work out. Ian then proceeded to sign, making sure to be as careful as he could and suggesting the name go above and the signature below. There’s been a precedent for that so I’m not one to say no by any means. Before I left his autograph table, he shook my hand again and once again complimented my drawing skill, happily praising my work to which I'm grateful for - often guests simply sign and pass back with some minor praise, so to have a name as big as Ian taking his time to look at the work was a sensation indeed. With this over, I had 3 and a half hours to pass before I could go to his photoshoot. With nothing on the agenda, I simply roamed the stalls for three hours in the hope I could pass time. I had no one else to meet as they were all scheduled for the day after, so time went slowly before 6:30pm arrived. As such, there's nothing really to report in these 3 hours. When his photoshoot began, I greeted him warmly as he remembered me from before, offering a handshake again and thanking me for coming by as I thanked him also. Ian is one of the friendliest guests I’ve met ever, and with his return in Star Wars, I do hope more people meet this kind man. Roll on day 2. Day 2 started off at 5:30am, as I left early to try and get an early spot in the queue. I'd sadly lost my copy of a drawing for Sacha Dhawan to keep, but despite this, I was prepped with everything else. That day, I was wearing a 12th Doctor cosplay for my photo with Jenna (ironically not Peter last year because Matt Smith, a.k.a. the 11th Doctor was in attendance so I had to choose). With my tieless smart look, Sunday was looking to be the more exciting day. I arrived approximately at 7:30am and managed to get into the second line right in front of the hall. Time passed and eventually at 9am, I was in the hall. I quickly took a scouting stroll around to see where some of the guests I missed on Saturday were, quickly identifying where Sacha, Jenna and Carrie-Anne were before I started to try and queue for autographs. Jenna wasn't scheduled to arrive till about 10, so the steward suggested I try and grab some other autographs in the meantime. At around 9:30am, Carrie-Anne arrived and her queue got underway real quick. As there weren't too many people there, I jumped in line to get an early signature under my belt. Out of all guests I was meeting that weekend, Carrie-Anne was the one who I had the least idea about in terms of what she'd be like and how she'd interact. Her convention appearances have been limited so I couldn’t gauge a reaction of what she’d be like or how she’d engage with her fans. It definitely was a surprise, and I could only find out on the day. Perhaps the queue being short contributed to this perhaps it was the fact that I was in her queue almost immediately as it opened, but I had at least a good 2 minutes of dialogue with Carrie-Anne - not even about her work, but about my drawing! Like Ian, she opened with a firm handshake and pleasant formalities, before taking a second to look at my drawing and show it to her son before guessing it was her character of Hogarth from the MCU Netflix series. I very rarely have conversations about what it’s like to draw or how I developed - the last time I can remember was at least well over a year ago, but to have a relatively big guest like Carrie-Anne show genuine interest was surreal to say the least. She listened as I talked about how it started to click, before saying that the “click” was similar to her son and how he too started to click with drawing one day. I wasn’t really expecting her to encourage me to keep drawing, but there we have it. I’d argue that this was among the highlights of the convention, and maybe of my run of conventions so far. Class act through and through, would absolutely love to meet her again one day. Immediately after this, I was allowed in Jenna's queue which was already starting to build up. She in fact arrived later around 10:20am, so I was stuck queuing a bit longer than I'd hoped, but given Jenna was my initial draw to the convention, she was the one I'd be most looking forward to interacting with. Despite the mixed reports I'd been hearing the day before about Jenna, I managed to finally meet her around 10:30am. Normally guests aren't the ones to carry a conversation, but in my small amount of time at the start of the day, Jenna was the one carrying the conversation! Whilst I was getting my pass clipped, Jenna decided to start with the general pleasantries such as asking how I was doing, to which I responded and answered in kind. As she became aware of what I was getting her to sign, she praised and complimented my print which was an illustration I made from the series The Cry. According to her, it's rare in terms of fan art as not many people have gotten her to sign art from that series. She quickly signed away before moving onto my sketchbook drawing, which again she gave praise for. Before signing, she specifically asked if she could sign in silver. I've had my fair share of problems with the colour silver on signed drawings, but I was willing to give it a shot. Jenna was particularly careful signing: she wrote down the letter "C", and gestured to me if it looked alright. It came out darker and hence better than I expected, so I was happy for her to keep going, before she signed away the rest of my name and her character name. Having heard the rumours that Jenna was stressed the day before, I gave an additional copy of my print for her to keep, to which she graciously accepted. For an apparent "frosty" guest, she surpassed my personal expectations. Normally a "hello" and "how are you?" are fine by me, but I do truly appreciate the extra effort of looking after my drawing and carrying the conversation when she signed away. . Having met Jenna at 10:30am meant I missed the morning shoot for Carrie-Anne, and in turn, that meant I was going to have a very long day at the convention. Alas, time would hopefully be less torturous than the day before as a collage friend Ellie would be attending, so I could hopefully kill some time by hanging out and seeing how she would be doing given this is her first convention. But before that, I had two more photos and one autograph to hunt before reuniting. The Iron Fist Group shot was in Area A. Having had Ian's photo in Area E, I was unfamiliar with where A was. For those unfamiliar, Photo Areas A-D were in a different room from E-G, so I had a mad dash to try and find out where I was going as their photoshoot was only a 5 minute window. Thankfully, I found it and I was in and out quickly. Finn and Jessica didn't seem to recognise me, but given the sheer number of people guests meet in a day, it was hardly surprising. It also was something that didn't bother me given how fun their photoshoot was, pulling amusing poses for some attendees and Finn and Sacha were yelling out random words which led to some genuine reactions from their fellow castmates and attendees. I haven't seen a fun photoshoot like that in years. With that fun photoshoot out the way, Jenna's photoshoot came. Honestly, I didn't mind that Jenna wasn't talkative during the shoot - I've come to expect that time for conversations aren't in the photoshoots: it's one of the reasons why I get autographs as there's more time there than in a photo-op area which essentially is a production line as people way to move into shot. As I walked up to Jenna, I couldn't tell if she recognised me from earlier or not, but given my cosplay, she went into an immediate Doctor Who-esque pose that she'd been using over the weekend: precisely the pose I was after. I immediately went and pulled a pose I'd seen Capaldi use in early series 8 promo images of having my hands central and crosses with a smile/smirk approach. Honestly, I'm pretty happy with the photo: part of me wonders if I should have mimicked Jenna's pose, but it works all the same as a Doctor-Clara photo so no complaints here. With Jenna's photo finalised, I only had two items on my agenda left: get Sacha's autograph and Carrie-Anne's photo. I went around to Sacha's autograph table close to 12pm, seeing as the queue was down to two people. This would give me ample time to have a conversation which wouldn't feel as rushed and I could take the moment in better. The nice thing about all this was Sacha was with his dad, taking him along to see what the show was like. And as I presented the drawing, both proceeded to admire it for a good minute. Sacha asked in surprise if I had drawn it, to which I happily responded that I did. He showed his steward next to him as well as Jessica who was next to him, before proceeding to sign slowly and asking me if he could take a picture of it: I’ve never said no before, last time someone asked was over a year ago! As his dad was taking the photo, I snuck into the back and photobombed the photo to which Sacha laughed and approved. His dad suggested I give my phone to get a table photo with Sacha, but my brain was still in meltdown mode and I thought he meant give my phone number (I didn't by the way, I asked if airdropping was an option! Silly me.). Sacha was happy to take extra photos on my phone so he stood up and held the sketchbook as I pointed quite amusingly in the background. To have a table photo like that for free just for coming by with a drawing is so rare in comic cons today, and I departed with a firm handshake and such a cool memory. This is the thing I like about smaller guests: it doesn't detract from their fame, but smaller guests are often more friendly and more excited when you present them drawings or fan creations like this. Like Carrie-Anne, this conversation came as a real surprise, given I'd heard he'd been somewhat reserved. Given that I'd have a few hours left before Carrie-Anne's photo, this left me buzzing with joy. After all this, Ellie found me hours into the convention as we walked around the stalls to pass the time, see the sites and catch up on how our convention experiences had been. We eventually bumped into another friend of Ellie's, Mason, who joined us briefly before the hours passed and we eventually found a place to sit as we waited for Ellie to meet Ian Somerhalder who had a ton of photo batches to go through (arguably one might say he was oversold on Diamond Passes). Admittedly, Ian overran a significant amount more than we'd anticipated, with Ellie not being able to see him till about 4pm if I remember correctly compared to when he should have finished by 3pm. Still, she was buzzing as she left, so I'm glad for her first time at a convention, she could meet one of her heroes - it's always a unique feeling meeting one's heroes, and it's different for everyone as each individual has their own hero. With Ellie heading home after that, I had an hour to wait around an extra hour for Carrie's PM shoot. At this point, I was significantly weak: my legs could barely stand, my arms ached, I was barely awake and dehydrated and was relatively hungry by this point. Time however moved faster here than it did previously. I continued to walk the stalls for any last-minute impulse purchases (which I didn't get), made conversation with fellow 12th Doctor cosplayers as we discussed jackets and ensembles of the costume before Carrie arrived. She came a little earlier than expected, and I remember she was casually leaning against the Photo Area with not many people noticing her presence. Eventually, 5 minutes later, we were in and out, greeting each other warmly, before the day's end finally came. I really wasn't sure what to expect going into the convention: at LFCC, I normally get 8-10 people to meet, and the activities are spread across one day. So to have only 6 on my agenda across 2 days was worrying, as I imagined I'd get blank periods where I'd be bored out of my mind. I was not wrong there. However, each and every one of the guests I met were beyond what I was expecting. Each conversation felt truly special, each interaction felt like there was genuine interest from both sides - from the guest, an interest in my drawings and my skill; from me, an interest in the guest and their work and talent. I normally suffer what I call "post-con blues", basically missing the unique experiences I had over the weekend. But whilst last year was incredible with a huge Doctor Who lineup, I've not experienced post-con blues quite like this. LFCC, for the 3rd year I've gone to this convention, you've left one hell of an impression. I'm already wanting my next convention, specifically LFCC given the calibre of the interactions this year. - Christopher Nguyen, 01/08/19

Guess I ought to type out how my interactions went: all were above what I could have asked for honestly, which is why this particular event has left a positive impression since. Jessica Henwick: Jessica lit up and was thrilled when I presented her a copy of a drawing with red acrylic spray to make it feel a bit more than a photocopy before asking her to sign the original. She was very gracious with it (with “wow” being said many times over), before asking if she should add a little message alongside my name. I’m always happy with extra messages; it makes my autographed drawing stand out amongst all the other signatures actors and actresses write. A neat interaction, nothing bonkers but pleasant all-the-same. Finn Jones: When I gave Finn the original drawing I wanted to get signed, he was real pleased with it, double checking that it was cool to personalise. Randomly, I noticed the fan he had on his desk and couldn’t help but comment on it, to which I got a flamboyant “thank you”, a minor amusing anecdote there. I did find it funny when he wrote my name on the drawing: you can see he started quite casually until he realised he was going to run out of room and sign straight past the face. The slow-down in his signature and the realisation on his face as he noticed was indeed a sight to behold. Before I left, I also gave Finn a copy of the drawing for him to keep, sprayed with acrylic red paint to liven up the copy. Hilariously, he suggested it was a “seductive choice” and I couldn’t help but laugh. What a fun guy and an absolute laugh. Ian McDiarmid: I’d heard that Ian’s quite a chatty man and that’s why his queues are always so long. When I approached his table, he extended a firm handshake even though I had passes and bags and coats all over the place and patiently waited till I cleared my hands of all the passes before shaking his hand. I handed the drawing over and Ian looked at it for a while, showing it and talking about it to the stewards nearby who were impressed. He then joked that this is the first time he saw the Emperor smile, to which I jokingly gestured I was aiming for evil but that clearly didn’t work out. He was very careful signing, taking his time and considering where to write the name and signature to avoid ruining the drawing. Expensive, but such a joy to meet. Carrie-Anne Moss: I really wasn’t sure about how Carrie would interact - her convention appearances have been limited so I couldn’t gauge a reaction of what she’d be like or how she’d engage with her fans. It definitely was a surprise, and I could only find out on the day. Perhaps the queue being short contributed to this perhaps it was the fact that I was in her queue almost immediately as it opened, but I had at least a good 2 minutes of dialogue with Carrie - not even about her work, but about my drawing! Like Ian, she opened with a firm handshake and pleasant formalities, before taking a second to look at my drawing and show it to her son before guessing it was her character of Hogarth from the MCU Netflix series. I very rarely have conversations about what it’s like to draw or how I developed, but she took a genuine interest and found it similar to her son who one day started to click with drawing. Beyond my expectations, and perhaps one of my favourite conversations I've had in a very long time. Jenna Coleman: I've heard she's been getting a lot of criticism for a lack of engagement, but I don't want to open that can of worms. I got her autograph twice Sunday morning: one on a sketched drawing, the other on a print from the series "The Cry". I found Jenna to be very engaging at the autograph table - she initiated the conversation as my diamond pass was being clipped, asking how I was before I responded and asked in kind. She took a moment to look at the print before noting that it was the first time she'd been given any art to sign from that series, before complimenting the print and the drawing. She was also particularly careful when signing the sketch, suggesting a silver pen and then writing "C" and pausing to check if I was okay with it before carrying on with the rest of my name. I wasn't expecting much of a conversation, but to be honest, this too was more than I had been expecting, so I left her table happy with the signatures but also that lasting memory of having a general pleasant chat with her. Sacha Dhawan: Given he was a one-day guest, I wasn't sure how busy Sacha was going to be. When I came over to him, he had only one or two people at the table, and was with his dad also which was nice. As I presented the drawing, both proceeded to admire it for a good minute. Sacha signed slowly, before asking me if he could take a picture of it: I've only ever had a guest ask to photograph my picture once or twice before, so that was surreal. As his dad was taking the photo, I snuck into the back to which Sacha laughed and approved. His dad suggested I give my number to text the image, but my brain was still in meltdown mode and took a moment to realise what he was suggesting. Sacha decided that it’d be easier just to take the photos on my phone: free photos are one thing, but being asked by a guest to have a photograph is another. I departed with a firm handshake and such a cool memory, honestly such a humble guy.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what meeting Carrie-Anne would be like given that she doesn't attend that many conventions, so I couldn't gauge how she'd interact, if she'd want to chat or simply sign and move on. The fact she gave people a few minutes each to talk was incredible: in my case, she spent all that time talking about my drawing and asking how I learned and finding similarities between me and her son in how drawing "clicked" one day. A normal "hello" and "how are you?" is all I ever really ask for, but it was lovely that she gave everyone a firm handshake and took the time to make conversation with people. An absolute class act.

4 photo ops over the weekend (with an extra free table op as requested by Sacha, no included since it'd crop all the other photos), honestly I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. Just posting them in a collage instead to save people space!

Got all 6 guest drawings signed (of course Alex cancelled so I won't be counting that currently), but with the extra money back from that diamond pass, got Jenna to sign a print I made of "The Cry" which was a neat curveball since she wasn't expecting it (apparently it was a first, so I'll take it!). Honestly, all of these interactions were really special, especially Carrie-Anne who had a conversation about when drawing started to click with me and Sacha who wanted to take a photo with me and the drawing. Honestly, incredible moments I'll remember for a long time. Also, I apologise for the humongous post!

Absolutely have no self-restraint when it comes to Doctor Who guests, so add Alex Kingston to my list of drawings...!

As always, I'm getting some drawings signed. Got six in total so far, may go up or down but here's 4 of them I've scanned.

First time I'm going two days to the event, got a smaller list than most but here's my current list* Saturday: Jenna Coleman (Diamond Pass, Batch 1) Ian McDiarmid (Diamond Pass, Batch 1) Sunday: Carrie-Ann Moss (Diamond Pass, Batch 1) Iron Fist Group Photo (Batch 1), aiming to get all their autographs as well *Subject to change because of the constant announcements which successfully drain my wallet.

In case anyone's missed them, some more Sunday shoots have been added including Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie.

Ones that spring to mind are: Benedict Cumberbatch, who from what I saw engaged with everyone as much as he could, asking names and how people's days were etc., top notch experience! Andrew Scott, had the pleasure of getting him to sign a drawing which he loved, and then flicked through my whole sketchbook for 5 minutes! Matt Smith, instantly welcomed me into the photo and complimented my cosplay (even though the green jacket isn't his personal preference)! David Tennant, who even though we were told not to engage in conversation or give handshakes, had conversations and handshakes and complimented gifts and cosplay! Peter Capaldi, welcoming and kind, listened to stories, gave people handshakes and hugs, loved artwork... what more can I say? The cast of Class as mentioned earlier by Sam, once I spent 2 hours just playing card games with them! Pearl Mackie, just so engaging and so bubbly and friendly, took the time to have a chat where possible! Benedict Wong, so down to earth and constantly giving handshakes, I couldn't fault him!

I've noticed one or two of these topics pop up, and both have been fascinating reads. So since it's my birthday today, I thought I'd take another shot at this. And I also apologise in advance for the long post coming right up! So LFCC has gone and passed, an event which lived up to, and surpassed my expectations in every way! As a massive Whovian, meeting the likes of Matt Smith and David Tennant have literally been childhood dreams, and it still feels like the events that passed were all a dream. With several photos and autographs on my agenda, I can safely say this LFCC was the most I've ever spent at any convention... and it was damn well worth it. So, here's the play-by-play of my day: After waking early at 3am, and getting the earliest train at 6:45, I arrived around 8:10, picked up my diamond passes and queued until 9:15 when they let us in. I had bought 3 diamond passes, and got some relatively decent numbers for Pearl and Peter, but I had one of the first diamond passes for Matt which made it a lot easier to get my photo and autograph later on. With that in mind, my photo schedule looked a little something like this: Guest Photoshoot Times From To Area Batch Peter Capaldi 10:05 11:00 B Diamond 15:00 15:55 Pearl Mackie 11:20 11:50 B Diamond 16:15 16:45 Matt Smith 09:30 10:25 D Diamond 15:00 15:35 Arthur Darvill 09:30 10:00 B 2 13:35 14:00 Paul McGann 11:40 12:05 C 1 Ingrid Oliver 13:35 14:00 C 1 Doctor Who Group Shoot 14:30 14:55 D 1 David Tennant 14:00 15:00 G 2 Now, I personally like meeting a guest at the autograph table before having a photo - it's mainly because sometimes, a guest recognises me in the photo op which is a gratifying feeling. And as you can see from the schedule, it seemed less likely events would play out in this order. So with that, I moved straight to Matt’s photoshoot where I would meet Matt around 9:50. I have to say, Matt is a genuinely nice guy (no bias, I promise). When it got round to my turn to meet him, he was taken aback by the cosplay I was wearing (I was potentially the only person who met him in his green jacket). We both grinned at the camera, he praised the cosplay and gave a solid pat on the chest, something I didn't see coming! That's not the last of him in this post, but I couldn't feel more acknowledged by the childhood hero I grew up with in secondary school! With that decision, I missed Arthur's morning shoot, which wasn't a major problem, I could come back later to meet him. And with a bit of time before Peter Capaldi's shoot, I went off to bug Ingrid at 10:06 and Pearl at 10:15 for some autographs. Ingrid was very engaging, talking about art styles, the shading and the overall look of my drawing. We briefly discussed how I'm an inconsistent artist because I can't seem to replicate the shading (which she seemed fascinated by). With this enjoyable conversation over, she allowed me to choose the colour of the sharpie, and after letting her know she'd see me again, we parted ways for the signing. Pearl was up next, who was in awe of my artwork (both of them!), and I couldn't have been more impressed by how genuine and welcoming she was. We briefly talked about how long each one took, decided the colours of the signatures before I went on to give her a copy (in black) of the screen print that I made. I probably spent a good 2 minutes just talking to her as she shook my hand twice during this encounter. Out of the many guests I've met, she's certainly one of the fondest encounters I've had to date, it was simply incredible. With these friendly encounters over, I headed over to Peter's shoot with something in hand at around 10:50. Basically, I wrote a letter 5 years ago, and received a response 6 months later whilst he was filming his first series. When I got to the shoot, I showed him the letter which he briefly read before realising how much time had passed. I may have distracted him from the photo by accident, but off-camera, his response was "I'm glad it made it through!" I've waited 4 years to meet the man, I couldn't resist showing that letter! With Peter's photo over, I headed to Paul McGann's photoshoot (meaning Pearl's photoshoot would have to wait till the afternoon). A quick 10 second encounter of shaking hands, talking about my cosplay and Paul teasing me that I'd be warm, and I was off. Initially I had a drawing I wanted signed, but I was so busy that getting a VQ ticket was off the list. Also, don't ask about my hair in this photo, I don't know either. When 11:30 rolled around, it was time to get Matt's signature. I briefly engaged in a 1 minute conversation where he asked "is this your handiwork?", giving him another drawing to keep (which he appreciated very much), and ending with a fist bump. It was a short encounter, and not surprising given how big of a guest he was, but to finally have a signature from him was just surreal. An utter joy to talk to, my encounters with him couldn't have been any better. After that, I went off to get my photos with Ingrid at and Arthur. Missing the morning shoot, batch 2s were further ahead in the line, so I quickly dashed out of Ingrid's line and moved into Arthur's line at 1:40 where a quick 5 second encounter passed, and a photo I was happy with. I returned to Ingrid's line for a photo at 1:55, where we spoke for about 20 seconds as she remembered me, and suggested we do a classic Doctor Who pose. All her idea, and I'm happy she suggested it. Okay, 5 photos down, 3(ish) signatures done, I headed over to David Tennant's queue, where I stayed till 2:28. However, the queue wasn't moving, and I needed to head to the Steven Moffat-era shoot in two minutes, so I quickly decided to leave Tennant's queue to go down in size, and head to the Doctor Who group shoot, where my photo was taken at 2:50, where I was greeted warmly by Matt and Peter once again, alongside David Bradley and Steven. Before and after the photo was taken, Matt and Steven were discussing "the other jacket", aka my green one that I was wearing. Matt was saying how he didn't particularly like it (although did say it looked good on me, so thanks for the compliment!). Out of all the photos I took that day, it was certainly my favourite. My two favourite Doctors, plus the previous showrunner and Bradley, how could I resist? With that great and wonderful encounter out the way, I headed back to Tennant's queue, where I was at the back of a quieter queue (shoulda done that from the start!). We were explicitly told that we would be immediately in, snap, and out, so we couldn't engage in conversation or hugging etc.. However, when I got to meeting David at 3:15, I found he didn't seem to care about those rules, engaging in conversation with everyone and giving hugs to various people. He complimented my cosplay, though noted that I must've been boiling, to which I replied "you're totally right". A big, last minute name like Tennant and yet he was so gracious with time, that's what they call a Time Lord. With the big shoot out of the way, I decided to kill more time before Pearl's photoshoot. Peter wasn't returning for a few hours, so I went and met Arthur Darvill, whose queue had gone from virtual queuing to open by 3:20, with nobody there. I showed him my drawing, he signed, and that was it. I don't know if he was simply tired, but he didn't seem to want to engage in conversation, only ever really looking up when returning the drawing. It was a little disheartening to be honest, but I know these days can be long and tiring, so I don't hold anything against him, and scouring the forums told me that I wasn't the only one with this kind of encounter. Ultimately, I'm just happy to have another drawing dedicated. Now came Pearl's PM photoshoot. Again, a quick in-and-out experience, though Pearl did recognise me from earlier, we greeted each other warmly, and departed both incredibly happy. I can't emphasise how amazing Pearl is, and how friendly and engaging she is. With that, all my photos were done at around 4:30pm. Now lastly, I needed to get my autograph from Peter Capaldi, which took longer than expected. Peter was behind on diamond passes from the day before, and was taking his time, talking to people and hugging. Eventually, pass numbers up to 100 was called and I got into the main line with one drawing in hand. 5:30 rolled around, and I got to stand face to face one again with Peter. He was incredibly gracious with my drawing, and even though he apparently stopped doing personalisations, it seems he made an exception to artwork. Because I showed him that letter from years ago, he remembered my name without need for a postick note. I then handed him a copy of the screen print in red I made for Pearl, which he graciously accepted. A fond handshake later, and a joke about how it better not take another 4 years to meet him, and I was on my way, in disbelief that any of the events that had transpired had even happened. So that's the play-by-play done, and without a doubt, the show was absolutely brilliant! Even with the massive crowds, I found the crew to be incredibly helpful, and most of the events transpired smoothly and without trouble. If I had any regrets, it was not being able to have a drawing ready for David Tennant to sign, and also not meeting Christopher Eccleston, who I've heard positive stories about post-con. Ultimately, this was one hell of an event, good job Showmasters. You've got my attention for next year!

Shame you couldn't get the autographs in person, would have been interesting to see how Matt reacted to your name! Either way, great choice of prints and glad they were personalized!

I just googled his fan mail address, it seems reliable and I think people are still getting successes out of it.

Positives Meeting Matt Smith, the Doctor I grew up with. A total legend, so down to earth, complimentary about my cosplay and drawings, and all-round an engaging man to his fans - I couldn't have asked for more from him, one of my favourite guests to date. Meeting Peter Capaldi after 4 years of receiving a letter from him. His reaction was amusing when I showed him the letter, remembered my name throughout the day after showing said letter, and was complimentary of the poster I made for him to keep and the drawing I got signed. Like Matt, one of those unforgettable meetings. Pearl Mackie: an absolute joy. So warm and bubbly, loved the drawing I got her to sign and was incredibly appreciative of the other poster I gave her to keep. Incredible guest indeed. Getting a photo with David Tennant - despite the short few seconds I had to meet him, he was incredibly friendly, complimented my cosplay (whilst noting the fact I was boiling), for a big guest, he made time for everyone. Talking to Ingrid Oliver about drawing - we spent a little while just discussing how I drew, how I've forgotten how to mimic the artstyle I used in her drawing and just being engaged - it never felt like a one-sided conversation. Meeting Paul McGann for a photo - it was a small interaction, but he jokingly noted that I must've been warm, to which I could respond "I'm pretty toasty at the moment!" Nothing major, but it's moments like these that brighten up the day. Mixed Feelings Like some others have previously noted, Arthur Darvill was relatively quiet when meeting him. It was 3:20pm so I could understand he was tired and can relate, and at the end of the day, he signed my drawing with no problems. The queue for getting Peter's line was a bit messy, and it took some time before the gravity of the situation was grounded. It was late in the day and tiring and some people around me were starting to get rowdy, but I was okay with it once Peter had guaranteed he'd stay for all, and was much happier once they started calling the line out in batches. Overall Feelings Given that this is my second LFCC, I was genuinely pleased with how the day went. A few clashes happened with my photo schedule, and I didn't quite get to meet and get the autographs in the order I wanted to, but this has been the best event I've personally attended (and of course, there's no bias because I'm a Whovian ).

Totally feeling the post-con blues. Just looking at the photos and autos and I'm constantly asking "Did this really happen?" It all felt like a dream, especially my encounters with P Capaldi and M Smith.