madmonster*

All done!

The best advice any of us can give you is to talk to us AT THE TIME! When you arrive make yourself known at the organisers desk, explain to them that you have a problem with queuing and normally (I won't say in all cases as there are always exceptions!) things will be sorted out for you. Alternatively talk to a PIT BOSS - the ones in the red shirts- They and only they have the authority in the actual area to get the crew to give out an extra VQ ticket. If the pit boss is engulfed (as was the case at LFACC), then try and find one in a quieter area, have a word with them and ask them to help. They are normally in radio contact with each other. As crew we are human and do care about people having a good time, but you must excuse us for being skeptical as people do try it on all the time. Complaining the day after the event doesn't enable us to fix it and get you a VQ ticket. It does enable us to try and learn from our mistakes, but I have to admit that in this instance from what I have read none of the crew did anything wrong in the circumstances and with the information available to them. All I hear is demands for compensation from someone other than the offended party, in each and every post and the skeptic in me immediately jumps out and thinks "are they trying it on now!".... Just goes to show what a cynical world we live in... so forgive me if this is the immediate reaction we take when asked for extra VQ's, or free autographs or being allowed to take photos when it's a no photos guest. BEFORE YOU SHOUT AT ME ABOUT THE LAST PARAGRAPH PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN'T SEE ME SMILING AS I TYPE THIS... WORDS DO NOT CONVEY ON A PAGE MY TONE....I DO NOT FOR ONE MINUTE THINK THAT YOU ARE COMPLAINING JUST TO GET COMPENSATION!

You would be surprised. As a regular member of crew I have even had someone come up to me in a wheelchair saying that they couldn't queue for long and would I be so kind as to let them join the queue early. I then saw the very same person at the party later that evening dancing!!! We have people who "borrow" friends crutches to jump the queue as it is known that we normally bend over backwards for people with a disability. So I'm sorry but unless we see someone with a wheelchair then we will generally ignore requests for that "extra VQ", knowing that if a wheelchair user comes up to us later to join the queue with just one ticket we will always let both the person in the wheelchair and their helper through.

Thank Stuart. I had the best possible weekend. I love being busy.

I'm glad you enjoyed your day and that my little insight helped. As for how we got the jobs.. we volunteered just like everyone else. I've been volunteering for SM for many years now and work for them at nearly every event. Myself and Donna who was with Jack were ourselves very tired as we'd been part of the Glasgow crew from the weekend before. Any member of the crew has as much chance of any other of getting a good job, just as easily you can be doing something that will keep you miles away from the guests; I did a day on the front door at Glasgow for instance. My pay back for a nine hour drive to Glasgow, paying all my own bills to get there and stay there and turning in 12 hour days for two days before a hefty drive back last weekend, was that after yet another hefty drive up to London, as I live in Devon I got given a really nice job. (OK in my opinion the BEST job of the weekend! but I'm biased). I like to think that I've proved myself reliable and trustworthy, not likely to pinch the guests bottom or be rude and that I can stay calm under pressure. Any member of crew that can show that has a very good chance of being given top guests to look after. The jobs are rotated so you normally don't do the same thing two days running and we never know until each morning of the show what we will be doing. I'm glad because had I known I was to be with Adrian I probably would have not slept a wink. It is like any other job the harder you work and the better you become at it, the more likely you will find yourself with a busy guest or taking on a job with responsibility. I'm certainly not a full time SM or a permanent member of staff, I could find myself not picked to crew any event, I apply each time just like anyone else can. Hope that helps.. There is a full how to become crew section on the forum here Just to add that normally as guest assistants we don't "kiss and tell" quite as much as maybe I did this time. I just felt that it needed to be said as so many people were worried that he'd had a bad time.

umm 1200 autos is normally an all day signing! Definately not a three hour one.

oh no he didn't have to put up with you did he???

I can echo what SM have said. I was lucky enough to be sat with Adrian, he was absolutely gobsmacked when he realised just how many people were waiting to see him and he saw all the crowds. He even sent an email to Masi telling him what he was looking at... He would have loved to have time to chat longer to everyone and he did try to talk to people as much as he could, whilst keeping an eye on the huge magnitude of people still waiting. Neither him nor Milo could believe how many photo shoots were sold in one day. It certainly wasn't the amount they expected and I think that had an effect on the photo session and their reaction on the day.... This is not to say they didn't enjoy it, just that they were "all flashed out!". They really enjoyed seeing and meeting the people who love the show. It is amazing how proud they are of it and how much they love it and each other. They are all incredibly protective of each other, at the end of the day, when Adrian still had people in his queue and Hayden had finished she came over and massaged his shoulders whilst he signed the last few and was encouraging him over his shoulder. When Milo was tired, Adrian was giving him pep talks. It really was a case of one for all and all for one with these guys. Adrian was really concerned it would turn into a cattle market scenario and I admit it did at the end. When they came back from the photo session I explained that there were more people waiting than time and we had a quick chat re the effect of continuing to personalise or not personalising and we took the decison to stop personalising as did Milo, he was disappointed at this, but the guys had to leave at 5pm. Either he or I apologised to everyone that we were sorry we were not personalising, (he actually preferred to personalise), he also said that I should overlook anyone taking photos in the queue as long as the flash didn't get too much or if they were getting in the way. He did enjoy himself until the last half hour when he felt he was disapointing people and he loved the thought of doing it again without so much pressure either at a "convention" like Eclipse or with more days such as at MK. He loves the UK having lived just round the corner from Earls Court for years and his sister has a flat in Islington, so "any excuse to visit is a good one!" Neither Adrian or Milo were there to make money, their sole reason for attending was to keep Hayden and Jack company and so they could all fly home together; they also just really wanted to get out and meet the fans so it doesn't surprise me that they would want to come back.

How on earth did you forget - you were her liaison!! Too busy making sure everyone else got her autograph i guess. I didnt think about it until after she'd left lol I didn't get her either and I missed my photoshoot with her - somehow I just couldn't drag myself away from my post to go....but I did manage to get an Adrian auto and a petrelli sandwich photo!! It was a long way up those three desks. Dawn

Great working with you...even if I hardly saw you in amongst the melee in front of me. I'm still on cloud nine.

I wondered why it was fine to take a picture of him posed on his own but not with you. So much for someone before the event saying that wasn't the case. Rght I "may" be able to answer this. I was with Robert Englund on Saturday at LFACC and with him in Glasgow the weekend before and we were running on the "no posed photos at the desk rule". This was imposed by Robert himself as he felt that if he was doing a paid for photo shoot later in the day, it would be unfair on those who had paid if others also got posed photos with him at the desk without paying. He also understood, however, that people liked to get a photo of the guest signing their photo to proove it's authenticity. Robert and William were sat next to each on Saturday at LFACC and so presumably discussed this together and both went the same way. William was a "new" signer, Robert a seasoned pro so it is understandable that William would look to Robert for clues as to how to react. Yes before you say I saw Robert relax the rules.. yes he did, for children!!! Anyone who asked with a child got a posed photo for the kiddie. Anyone else was welcome to take a photo whilst he was signing and if they waited he looked up and posed afterwards as well. I was also the guest assistant with Adrian on Sunday. We had lots of notices up saying no photos please. This was nothing to do with the photoshoot... merely a request that was made by some of the actors. Sitting there all day in a torrent of flash bulbs is very hard on someone. The Heroes guests were very tired even before they started. In discussion with Adrian at the beginning of the day, he agreed that I could overlook most people taking photos from the queue but if they were very snap happy and the flash was irritating I would step in a stop it. Obviously it was very dark in Earls Court and without a flash I'd guess no photos would have come out. Adrian was also aware that people liked to have a photo to say they'd met the guest and understood completely, it was for this reason that the two guys agreed to do so many photo shoots when all they really wanted to do at that stage was go back to their hotel and have a rest. I can't speak for the other Heroes guests, ()believe it not I never even got to meet Hayden! but that's the view from the Adrian queue. The guys were very tired and I think we should instead agree on how nice they were to show up on what should have been their day off to sight see in London, to keep Hayden and Jack company and to meet the fans.

It was precisely because they weren't being allowed to wonder around alone all unstressed that they were escorted so quickly to the photo area. It was all the people chasing with cameras and trying to grab at them that prompted the "march". We weren't exactly an intimidiating group. Two female guest assistants, both of us not exactly tall (I'm 5ft"2), one security guard and Davey ( sorry Davey, but you aren't exactly a "bruiser"!) Yes we were trying to clear a path, we were all asking people to "excuse us" and trying not to push into anyone, but we also didn't want to get into a situation where we stopped because when we did we were literally mobbed. As for the sunglasses and suits complaint! SORRY... these guys were on the last day of a very hard promotional tour, they were tired, the amount of flashes going off as they walked around was killing on the eyes! They also knew that they had to go through a photo shoot, again with flash, so they rested the eyes when they could from the flash!! Adrian didn't for one minute wear his glasses in the photo shoot, or whilst meeting people at his desk. And as for the suit, I say "well done! They were dressed smartly because it's what they wanted to wear, knowing they had a photo shoot to attend. If they had turned up in jeans and t.shirts then you would have complained that they didn't care!

But Jola doesn't like McD's coffee!!! (See I do know her too well!) And with todays guest announcements I'm thinking that I won't get throught the day without sustanence.

What can I say... When Jason starts parting the seas, turning water into wine and walking on water, I won't be surprised.

Please someone confirm that we will pass a shop sellling COFFEE for Jola and food for the rest of us on our way in on the morning.

He's not ill!!! See my post above confirming he's not ill.

I'm sure all Buffy fans are well aware of Andy's history of illness and I would confirm having spoken to Jason over the Glasgow weekend that Andy has not cancelled because of illness.

That is such sad news. My thoughts go out to his family, they must be devasted.

As an out of towner who had travelled a long way to get to the venue, I thought it was excellent. Really well sign posted, easy to find, and park at and plenty of places for people to eat and sit down.

Thanks for letting us be part of it. It was an absolute blast to work and so lovely, friendly and good natured. How about one in Devon next time... I think I won the record for farthest travelled crew member! Now to rest up ready for next weekend! Dawn

Thanks to you as well and amazingly I got to have you as my PB for a day!! I actually think that's a first. Hope you get better soon hun! Looking forward to getting you back as a roomie next weekend, but not if you're going to hog the bathroom.

Andrea I remember it well as it was me who took the photo and I then passed the flash card onto Malcolm to put the photo in with the "proper" ones. I got my flash card back about an hour later and that was my last involvement... The guy was stuck on the train (it was the day of the accident) and he missed the shoot and as the shoots and Tony were so busy we couldn't get Tony back down in time so we did the best we could. it was me and Donna trying to make the best of a bad moment. If there is a problem, I do still have a copy of both photos - I took two just to be safe. I never said I was the official photographer though, but I did show him the photos on the camera and he was very happy with them. Dawn

Ambassadors for me and Donna. Dawn

My birthday is the Saturday night! What better way to celebrate. Now goes off to scheme on how to sweet talk bank manager (or win the lotto).

Well you should've done as you were on the same email that was sent to Andy H and he responded that he got it ok.... odd. Anyway have re-sent it to you. There's always one.. but why is it always him!