Janet Ellicott

I would pay £45 for Ian Holm but not any of the others because I'm not collecting on anything they've been in but the system won't let me vote for Ian Holm unless I vote for one from each group, which I can't because I don't want their autographs. Maybe the system needs to be changed because I can't be the only one with this problem? Janet

I have friends who would go as fairies if they were coming to the con. I have a peach coloured evening dress which will be perfect. Now I have to add that to the pile of other clothes I have to get out and make sure they're clean and relatively crease-free before the con. Janet

Lol. I was Gold at Muggle Mayem 1 (only time I've been gold) and there were about 6 of us at the reception and 3 guests so we got a LOT of time. I imagine the ratios not going to be quite that small this time but any one with a Gold will still probably get a good natter. ^^ That's why I splashed out for the gold pass. I don't usually go for photoshoots, and we get one free autograph anyway, but I have been to a lot of similar receptions at other cons and do enjoy meeting the guests in a smaller group.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I haven't finalised travels plans yet but will probably get there on Friday afternoon and going out to dinner with a bunch of other fans would be fun. On the other hand, I did buy the expensive ticket, so it will depend what time you're going and what the programme for the evening is. Janet

Last year we were sorted into schools rather than houses. Janet

It's probably time I introduce myself. I'm Janet. I'm in my fifties so my school days are a long way away. I went to last year's con - I was in Durmstrang - and can't wait for this one. I did think for a while I wouldn't be able to afford to go as work is very sparse but, hopefully, that isn't going to be a problem now as I got a new client today. I'm a freelance legal secretary. I recently stopped going into clients' offices and started working from home, which basically means I'm taking in typing and formatting documents lawyers have typed. It's far less stressful and ought to be more lucrative once I've built up a new client base. I didn't get into "Harry Potter" until after "Goblet of Fire" had gone to paperback and read the first four books out of curiosity to see what all the fuss was about. I then got hooked. I've met a lot of the cast at cons and stage doors, have lost count of the number of autographs I have, and I'm really into fanfiction as well as the books. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the con. Janet

After the first fire alarm, I decided my age would allow me to get the lift and not walk back up the stairs to my room. In the lift, a young man asked me what had happened and I suddenly realised (because he looked so different) that it was Frank. Not the best way to meet a guest for the first time, when you're in your nightdress and jeans, with a jacket thrown over the top. The second time, I saw one of our guys leaning against a tree when I came out of the hotel, looking as if he'd just gone back to sleep. One of the girls followed me out and said that if we ever found out who'd set off the fire alarms, she was going to kill him. He immediately woke up and told her to get in the queue. So at least we could joke about it. I think they were joking anyway ... It was interesting to see how many people were still dressed the second time too. There was some serious partying going on. Our encounter with Josh had to be brought forward to 9:30 because he had to leave early on Sunday, and several people didn't make it. I was the first there because they'd promised us coffee. Someone asked Josh whether he'd done any other events. He said London Film and Comic Con, looked at me and said "You were there". So it's nice to be remembered. Good luck to him with his audition. It will be good for his career to get a tv series as well as the Potter films. Janet

Anyone paying yesterday got their tickets for the same price as the first con but they said buying online would be a bit dearer, if only because VAT will be going back up to the old rate soon. And it will be Northampton again. The hotel staff were all great, and it's not far from London, so I don't have a problem with that. And, as for the con, it was fantastic. The Tri-Wizard tournament was a bit much for me but no-one minded when I sat some of it out, and the rest of the con was really great, especially the Guest Encounters. Saturday's autograph session has to be the fastest, best organised session I've ever been to. Sunday's only took longer because so many people wanted pictures taken with Robbie. The only problems I had with the con at all were the late announcements of guests and programming and not knowing whether to go for the whole weekend or just Saturday but I can't really blame anyone for those because that was all because of the really short time SM had to organise the event. The guests were a good selection too. I have a lot of HP autographs but four of the guests were people I hadn't seen before which is an excellent percentage, and the others were at signing events so I hadn't heard them talk before. Well done, SM. I'm definitely coming next time, although I'm afraid it won't be as much fun because there'll be far more people there and we won't have that great access to the guests we had this time. Janet

I can see both sides of the problem here. Showmasters need money from attendees to pay guests but no-one wants to hand over their money until they hear who the guests are. I have registered and intend to come to the con whoever the guests turn out to be because two of the guests already announced are people I haven't met before. However, I'm not planning to come for the whole weekend unless some better guests are announced. I only live a bus ride from Euston and Northampton isn't much further than Milton Keynes, so I can commute for one day if I have to. I think one of the main problems from the attendees' point of view is that the hotel wants the room money up front. And no-one wants to pay until they know whether they want to come for the whole weekend or not. I've booked a room I can cancel if I want to and only have to pay for if I stay but I noticed a couple of days ago, when I was looking to see if I could get a cheaper room somewhere else that there are very few rooms available in Northampton hotels on Saturday night. So anyone who can't commute may find it difficult to get a hotel room at the last minute and decide not to come. For those of us who only want to come one day, it would help if Showmasters could tell us whether the current guests are going to be there all weekend or on different days, so we can decide when to come. Janet

It was a great weekend and most of the guests I spoke to were much nicer than I'd expected (not that anyone wasn't nice, just that some were really great). The major problem for me was the lack of places to sit down. My friend and I are both in our late 50s with bad knees. The number of chairs was totally inadequate for the number of attendees and, yes, I saw the comfort zone for cushions but that would have been worse than standing up all day. Goodness only knows how people with walking sticks and crutches managed. On the other hand, I didn't see many of them. I wonder why .... Janet

My friend and I got there after 9am on Saturday and found that prepaying was still an advantage as there were only a handful of people left in the prepay queue and considerably more in the pay on the day, so I'd say it's always worth paying in advance if you can. Janet