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Thursday Night Metting in London


lee_c00per
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LOL. The Birmingham venue has its own international airport!!!, its own railway station with national and local rail links, it can be accessed directly from the motorway and has free bus services from all the massive car parks. The only other forms of transport that i can think of that arent covered are airships and hovercrafts. This poor transport issue was just propaganda that was put about when london got the millenium dome, national stadium etc etc etc. Just an excuse for the metropolitan bias that seems to be getting even worse since ken took over in the capital.

 

PS. Vote Boris!

 

I think you were probably in the hotels at the west side of the venue because the east side was like a wasteland.

Would i be right in thinking you aren't a fan of that brummie place because it isn't in London?

 

I didn't stay at any hotel, but I know the area you mean and I agree, it is stark but that's to do with the history of the area (which some will appreciate, and some wont) but slightly beyond that, in either direction, you have some very nice views, sites and landmarks.

And yes, it's fair to say one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the Brummie centre is because of where it is. It just doesn't have the transportation links the ExCel has, nor the various large airports London has, so from an international POV ExCel is far superior. It's also easier to convince guests to come to London then it is anywhere else in the UK, hence why Richard & Judy moved from Liverpool.

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To be fair in terms of transport links I think the excel centre just shades it. At least with Excel you have the DLR which virtually drops you at the door, with the Birmingham place when you arrive at the station you still have a bit of a walk when you get there, which when you are in a hurry seems like the longest walk known to man!

 

There's just something about the Excel centre I don't like, I suppose its because of the events that another firm operates there which are generally so badly organised its not true!

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this was myfirst time to Excel and overall impression was good, I liked the setting, away from the hustle and bustle. Really easy to get to - DLR was great and surrounding motorways easy too

Signage within the halls could have been better as it took a while to find the Platinum stage, but as a venue Id like the next CE to be there.

 

obiton

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we had a grand old time at that other event at excel...

you're talking poop,mate.

 

You must be one of the few then :YAHOO:

 

There's far more negatives coming out of that place than positives these days from people that go to shows like these, unfortunately.

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I'd agree with that, the lot that usually use the excel centre really aren't good. I'll give them credit for trying to organise lots of different things but they just don't seem to realise you can only fit so much stuff into one hall.

 

They organisation is pretty shoddy too, I usually get early entry tickets if I go there and I dont think I have ever been let in on time, quite often it can be up to 15 minutes late. Definately a get in get the autos and get out again that one!

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I thought the Excel was a near perfect venue for CE. It needs all those seperate rooms for the talks and shows. However I'd like to see more of the hall's utilised at any future possible CE's, they could have done with spreading some of the stuff out a bit more. Also the opening ceremony should have been inside - they can do it at Indy and LA so it shouldn't be too much of a hardship, but it is the first show so some teething problems are bound to occur.

 

Obi

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we had a grand old time at that other event at excel...

you're talking poop,mate.

 

You must be one of the few then :angry:

 

There's far more negatives coming out of that place than positives these days from people that go to shows like these, unfortunately.

 

I'll always be grateful to them for bringing James Doohan over before he died, but lately they've just not had anything to persuade me back, especially since they never listen when people suggest ways to improve things. Besides, they don't seem to want to cater for my kind of interests any more.

Edited by nosfer2
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Yeah they seem to have a totally different set of guests to other events. Mainly non-scifi/fantasy like CSI or 24.

 

we had a grand old time at that other event at excel...

you're talking poop,mate.

 

You must be one of the few then :angry:

 

There's far more negatives coming out of that place than positives these days from people that go to shows like these, unfortunately.

 

I'll always be grateful to them for bringing James Doohan over before he died, but lately they've just not had anything to persuade me back, especially since they never listen when people suggest ways to improve things. Besides, they don't seem to want to cater for my kind of interests any more.

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Is Max the only one with photos from this so far? Surely others took pics?

 

Obi

LOL it seems that way! I just finished collecting my photo prints from boots today I didn't realise that I had took so many photos!

 

I am happy to post them if others want to see just let me know

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Is Max the only one with photos from this so far? Surely others took pics?

 

Obi

LOL it seems that way! I just finished collecting my photo prints from boots today I didn't realise that I had took so many photos!

 

I am happy to post them if others want to see just let me know

 

Have you got one of Derek Maki when someone threw gum at him before the Bily Dee Williams talk/snorefest?

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Im really only interested in LF&CC at this point anyway. Just waiting for guests days so I can work out if it's gonna cost me another night in a hotel or if i can get to most of the people i want on the Saturday. Will suck if they put all the Star wars guests on the last day like at some of the collectormanias.

 

The 24 thing is always welcome!

 

Thinking about it we may be testing SM patience here, I reckon we can just about get away with talking about CE because that event is over now but the other lot are still going!

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Is Max the only one with photos from this so far? Surely others took pics?

 

Obi

 

 

The link to mine are posted on page 18 of this thread so that makes at least three of us

 

A few of mine are on our forum, but I plan to link up the rest, plus the CIV pictures next week.

 

Obi

Edited by obi-wan
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Thought I'd taken loads of pics - turns out I took about 10 and they all seem to be the same as everyone elses - jabba, max rebo band, snowtrooper etc although I did get a good shot of Ian McDiarmid licking his lips!!

 

Met Mark Hamill as he was leaving on Saturday, what a nice bloke. I did get an auto from him but certainly didn't pay £85 for it - volunteering has its perks especially when you're sat with a guest who also wants Mark's Auto and someone to take photo's!! Apparently he told Maki that he didn't want to do signings anymore as he hates not being able to chat with the fans. A couple of blokes I met with asked him what his favourite cheese was and apparently him and his daughter gave a 5 minute reply - imagine if he did that with everybody he'd do about 10 autographs a day!!

 

There seems to be alot of moaning about the staff at the event. On the Saturday half of the volunteers just up'd and left the autograph queue hence why it fell into chaos. I guess many of them thought they could pick and chose what to work on. There was one lad (dressed as a jedi) who was a volunteer and was rude to not only the public but the guests as well - pushing in front of people and demanding that the guests sign his book. Shannon McRandle was quite upset by something he said to her. (I did report it).

 

1 of my highlights was chatting to Simon Pegg after the auction about when we first saw the film and what toys we bought first etc, he was really friendly and chatty.

 

I enjoyed it all and can't believe that it's been a week already (I've still not unpacked!!)

 

Anyway roll on CE2.

 

Darren

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If no one minds, here's the Fan Force's photo thread:

FF Photo thread

 

Roll on CE2 absolutely :chair:

I think I've just about unpacked and recovered, but I'm suffering major withdrawal symptoms. Despite some flaws, it was such a great show. If they can get a top-notch crew for CE2 (read inbetween the lines :P ), then that would really be the cherry on top of the icing. That said, some of the ExCel staff were very good and helpful.

 

Mark Hamill was the star of the show and as he quite rightly said, for him it's all about talking to the fans and being on stage doing panels. Much more satisfying for me too. Ricky boy was on top-form too, and only happy to sign and pose for photos. Good times indeed :D

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I've been on holiday since getting back, so not had the chance to log on an post any more reaction.

 

I think all that has to be said about the queueing/Hamill queue fiasco has already been said, so I'll leave off that.

 

Other highlights for me (other than the all too brief meeting with MH) would be Ray Park and Warwick Davies on the celebrity stage on Sunday morning. They re-enacted the Qui-Gon - Maul death scene and it was most comical.

 

The Clone Wars trailer was also a real highlight.

 

Other than those two though, the event is mainly memorable for the wrong reasons. I maintain that the orgainsation of this event has left a lot to be desired.

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Other highlights for me (other than the all too brief meeting with MH) would be Ray Park and Warwick Davies on the celebrity stage on Sunday morning. They re-enacted the Qui-Gon - Maul death scene and it was most comical.

 

That was funny, random quote of the weekend from Warwick Davies "Don't you lot make sandwiches at home?"

Edited by Count Fooku
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Im really only interested in LF&CC at this point anyway. Just waiting for guests days so I can work out if it's gonna cost me another night in a hotel or if i can get to most of the people i want on the Saturday. Will suck if they put all the Star wars guests on the last day like at some of the collectormanias.

 

Whereas for me that would be ideal as I can only be there on the Sunday.

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Can someone shed some light on this mystery guest thing in relation to LFACC? Can't remember who it was that posted it, but somewhere in this thread there is a reference to a mystery guest...

 

I also am hoping for all the SW guests to be around on the Saturday. I'm uncertain as to whether I can attend for the whole weekend, but the Saturday looks ok for me at the moment - just need the SW guests there on that day otherwise I'll have to rethink and replan....

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