Excellent event - well done!

[Diabolik]

Hi Guys, just made it back from this event and thought I'd add my feedback.

 

As per usual I found the Hilton to be excellent and enjoyed the amenities and found the staff helpful as ever.

 

Some great guests, managed to see everyone I wanted over the 2 days - yesterday Marilyn Galsworthy, Ann Lonberg, the 2 Bond guys from AVTAK -all really chatty and pleasant and only too happy to pose for photos. Same with Gerald Harper too.

 

I think someone summed up Tippi Hedren well in another link very "school ma'am" -pleasant and talked about the film role on the poster she signed for me but declined to shake my hand when I offered it which did take me aback a bit having gone to tons of these events in the past and never having had that happen. She elaborated that this was due to catching germs, to which I was tempted to say I wouldn't mind if I caught something off her, but resisted it! I can completely understand her though when you think about it, just took me off guard that's all and I just offer to shake hands out of force of habit.

 

Today met up with George Baker, complete gent and Leslie Nielsen after his early finish on Saturday -again absolute pleasure to meet and funny too.

 

Thanks also to the Showmasters staff who were more than helpful to me and my partner as usual.

 

Overall we really enjoyed our time and roll on the next!

[Count Fooku]

Glad I was able to get my question in during Jim's lecture about whether it was true he left NASA management because he disagreed with the crew rotation policy.

 

I was in that talk when you asked that question. If I remember rightly Al Worden said last time he was over here that Jim McDivitt resgined specifically over Cernan's appointment as commander, interesting to hear it from the horses mouth this time round!

Edited May 9, 2010 by Count Fooku

[Nick]

Had a really good day, and thanks go to Dave and Jason.

 

Met Leslie Nielsen, Sylvia Anderson, Simon Weston, Dave Prowse and Tippi Hedren.

 

Although problems meant we didnt arrive til 12.30 on Sat we got a VQ ticket for Leslie straight away, number 124, so we got to meet him thankfully. He was tired though by that point, but was pleasant nonetheless.

 

Tippi Hedren was unfortunately the rudest guest I have ever met at an Autographica, and that's a shame as I have been with this show since the start. She did not seem keen to chat and her general approach to me and my Fiancee seemed very much like a false veneer. After her aide had taken my 25 quid and she had signed the picture, whilst looking everywhere else but at us, I extended my hand to shake hers and was met by the extremely rude and utterly unacceptable rebuffing of "I DON'T SHAKE HANDS!" Thanks very much for robbing me of 25 quid and treating me so nicely! A real shame when real heroes such as the WW2 Vets and Simon Weston etc are all too keen to shake hands and do not treat their admirers like leppers!

 

Simon Weston was undoubtedly one of the nicest men I have ever had the pleasure and priviledge to meet. He signed the photo beautifully, asking us which pen we wanted him to use, and where we would like the signature to go. He then initiated a long conversation with us, and we chatted and laughed for about half an hour. He too said how it felt 'odd' how some people elected to take a 'moral high ground' in a room that was full of so many diverse people with such a range of stories and interests to share.

 

Sylvia Anderson was a real pleasure to meet, as was Dave Prowse as always, and it was great to see Sylvia's puppets making an appearance. They were easier to interact with than Tippi Hedren too!

[keithporter23]

I must had met a different Tippi yesterday to most people! I found her to be absolutely lovely. You should have mentioned cats/lions to her, and you'd have been engaged in conversation for at least ten minutes!

 

Leslie Nielsen was also a treat, obviously very tired, but a real trouper.

 

It really is fantastic being able to meet these real legends, so thank you again Showmasters (PS any chance of more guests of this calibre next time - and any possibiilty of announcing them soon?? )

Edited May 9, 2010 by keithporter23

[indio]

Great weekend - just got back. Leslie Nielson was great as was Sylvia Anderson, all the Bond guests, Maurice Roeves, George Baker and Nigel Planer. Tippi was okay but I missed Alex Higgins. Did he turn up?

 

All in all a great weekend.

i arrived today at 12.45pm and went straight to alex higgins queue, there was about 12 of us or more in the queue, he kindly signed for all of us and was very pleasant then stopped signing around 1pm, his assistant said he only signed from 12.30pm-1pm due to his sadly declining health. not sure if he returned later on in the day because after i met george baker at 1.45pm i had to dash to make my train connection. i hoped to meet leslie nielson however i would have missed my train.

 

im pleased i met george baker who ive always wanted to and he was a real gent and also so pleased i got to meet alex higgins too, very brave of him to do a public signing due to his state of health. thankyou also to dave and jason, i couldent see dave anywhere however, well could have been having lunch.

[spacemen1969]

Hello from France

 

We are 3 space fans arrived Friday and just come back home tonight (due to a muliples flights cancellation this afternoon).

We have spent a GREAT WEEK-END... We have spent longtime with astronautes, talk wich all of them, including Gerry Griffin... The celebrity dinner was wonderful and unforgetable (we are at the table with Vance Brand and Gerry Griffin with her wifes and 3 others great space fans (thanks again Tony for the photo). The astronauts have found a nickname for us : The Space French Connection

Saturday was a great day with astronauts and Pilots. Sunday a great day with Tippi Hedren, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Jill Curzon... It was amazing to chat with Tippi Hedren and the astronaut Ed Gibson about Sci-Fi Movies...

 

The only ''problem'' (except our planes cancellation and delays) was sunday the queue with Leslie Nielsen. I have wait 45 min without made a meter. The only reason it was some ''collectors'' have many many many many many many photos for Leslie autograph. I think when you have more 5/10 items, it would be polite to begin with 5/10 autographs requests and go again to the queue because the main categorie of Leslie's fans would like one or two autographs. After one hour, I left the queue to go to Airport...

 

But the essential was THE GREAT TIME we have spent here... Thanks again

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1262/459305...77d1193c9_m.jpg

Edited May 9, 2010 by spacemen1969

[theentsrgoingtowar]

I loved this show was amazing, not too busy so mamanged to meet everyone I wanted to!! The lovely Leslie Nielson, what a great pleasure he was to have at the show. A true gentleman.

 

Tippi Hedron on the other hand was very rude to me. I am so unhappy with her for that, When I met her on Saturday she was just talking to Ray Lonnen didnt once even look up at me, didnt say hello, didnt shake my hand when i put it out, really thought she was a waste of my money, sorry to say as I am one to never complain!!! But she really bugged me!!!

 

Every one else was fantastic, George Baker was a true legend and loved meeting him, all the bond guests were fantastic and chatty and so happy to be there, Sylvia Anderson, what a woman, she was so lovely and chatty and friendly. Gerald Harper and Maurice Roeves both really chatty and friendly.

 

Nigel Planer again very chatty and friendly, was a brilliant experience for me to mee him!!!

 

Overall I am very happy with this event!! Loved every second was immense!!! More Bond guests though Lawrence, we need me bond girls hehe

 

Tom

x

[spocks-brain]

Really enjoyed this Autographica. I've only missed the very first one and today Sun was one of the very best.

 

Met Leslie at the photo shoot. Real pleasure to meet. He was fun and very much how we remember him best at the shoot. I think he tried very hard for everyone this weekend. He gave everything that he had.

 

I also did photo shoots with most of the space guests - Fred, Jim and Vance. All were great.

 

I then did signing room meetings with Gerry Griffin and Ed Gibson. Both great guys.

 

The space guests are usually my favourites to meet. I never thought I'd get the chance to meet these true heroes as I grew up, but over the years thanks to Autographica we've had some truly memorable moments.

 

As always I want all the space guests to return again for future shows and talks (and following on from a previous post I'd love to see a return visit from Valentina Tereshkova at the next show. That would be a dream come true as I have lots more items to get signed since I last met her).

 

Also in the signing rooms I met Alex Higgins at about 2.45pm. The next time I looked he was gone so I think I met him not long before he left. I agree with earlier comments about him being there despite his obvious bad health - very brave of him to try his best and meet his fans. A true legend and if SM have him at any future shows I would say to meet him, he's definitely worth it.

 

Sylvia Anderson was terrific. One of the best guests I've met. I really hope she's back at future SM shows and I'd love to see her do a talk next time. I think that would be very entertaining. She would fit in brilliantly well not only at Autographica but any of the SM shows.

 

And I also met the incredible Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown, 91 years young. What a man he is. Amazingly modest but a true hero to me and so many others. I spoke to him naturally about some of the planes he flew, then I asked about when he met Wernher von Braun. He said that von Braun was the most confident man he ever met, totally convinced that he could achieve anything. And von Braun thought that the Americans should be very glad that they had him.

 

He also then spoke about his friendship with Neil Armstrong. He said Neil never opened up much in conversations about his space days, but much more preferred to talk about his time as a test pilot where he felt a lot more freedom than during his time as an astronaut.

 

For anyone who didn't meet Captain Brown, if he's back at a future show I would 100% recommend doing so. His history is fascinating to read -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_%22Winkle%22_Brown

 

Regarding Tippi Hedren. I didn't meet her this time as I'd met her a few years ago at Autographica in Northampton. That appearance also brought mixed reports. And yes back then she also didn't shake hands although at least with me she was polite about it.

 

Back then my meeting with her went great. As keith says above, he talked about lions with her and got a good response this weekend, the same happened to me at that earlier Autographica. I mentioned her Shambala animal preserve where she has about 70 big cats and she started talking like an old friend, very taken with my interest and extremely pleasant to talk to. So with Tippi conversation wise that is definitely the best route to take for best results.

 

I was hoping to go to Tippi's cancelled talk today as when she did Autographica before there wasn't a talk if I recall correctly. What was her talk on Sat like, if anyone on here went?

 

Big thanks to Dave, Jason and Paul for yet again putting together a brilliant show. All your hard work is very much appreciated.

 

I can't wait for the next one.

 

As always, I'll be back for more great memories - and just walking through Autographica is like walking through history.

 

It really is great to meet so many true legends all at one event.

 

Autographica will always be my favourite show to visit.

Edited May 10, 2010 by spocks-brain

[God L'Eponge]

Although at first i wasn't sure to attend this edition because there were only 2 guests i REALLY wanted to meet (Leslie Nielsen and Tippi Hedren), i finally decided to make my way over there as that would maybe the only opportunity to meet them and those were surely the most interesting guests for me of the whole 2010 year, all cons/signing considered as i'm not at all into Star Wars, Star Trek and Twilight stuff.

 

In the end, i met Nielsen, Hedren and Sylvia Anderson, and had a couple more photoshoots with Fred Haise and Jim McDiviit.

 

All the guests seemed pretty nice to me, including Hedren who DID shake my hand on saturday morning. So i guess i was lucky on that one lol because that's something i just can't stand (or the guest should have a sign "no shaking hands" like Patrick Stewart had at LFCC i believe). That experience happened to me though at another event with Bruce Boxleitner who i still find the rudest guest i ever met (not only because of that).

 

But things went fine at Autographica, and alongside with Tippi Hedren that was okay to me, Nielsen was very chatty (even during the photoshoot lol) and funny, and Sylvia Anderson was a joy to meet.

 

I also noticed though at some point that the doors were left unattended and that everyone could just come in even it they didn't buy an entrance ticket and i also think it's unfair to those who did buy one.

Why don't you just leave one or two doors open and leave someone there to check who's coming in? That's the way it works usually for other kind of events and i don't find it that difficult to plan.

 

Anyway, overall, a good experience although i wish there would have been more hollywood guests Hopefully next time!

[swan]

I arrived at Autographica at noon on Sunday. Wondered why I bothered to buy entrance tickets before hand as there was no one there to check!

 

Also - certain volunteers - please don't volunteer to work for Showmasters if you are going to be rude and miserable to the paying public.

 

The most curteous staff who had impeccable customer service were the ladies in the food court! You made our day, thank you!

 

Swan

Edited May 10, 2010 by swan

[MikeDonovan]

I arrived at Autographica at noon on Sunday. Wondered why I bothered to buy entrance tickets before hand as there was no one there to check!

 

Like I said elsewhere, it's probably not that cost effective to keep someone on the door all day. I'd suggest that probably < 1% of all punters arrive after noon.

[swan]

Like I said elsewhere, it's probably not that cost effective to keep someone on the door all day. I'd suggest that probably < 1% of all punters arrive after noon.

 

Next time I will not buy tickets, and see if I can sneak in!

[mr fagan]

I thought it was a very good event but i do agree with other posters on the site, that some guests are getting a bit up themselves as some of them rather talk to their neighbour rather than acknowledge the person in FRONT of them. Irrespective of how much the auto cost, good manners do not cost anything. On the whole i thought the day went well but i was a little dissapointed with the disticnt lack of variety in the dealers hall. Now before everyone says "well its was an autograph show what do you expect?" i can well appreicate that but surely some variety would not have gone amiss? i was hoping to purchase a few 10x8 photographs that pref UNSIGNED and add a bit more to my star wars trading card collection. As it happened i only came back with 2 items which werent even for me.

 

Talking of lack of variety once again i was amazed at the choice of photos or lack of them that was on offer, i am really glad i took with me a 10x8 of Susannah York with me as her choice was limited and Slyvia Andersons choices were not that inspiring, i know that you cant please everybody all of the time and you cannot expect every guest to bring with them 20 different photos as you would then need a very large table but lately as i attend these shows i get the impression that 10x8 photos are being phased out in favor of other items like books cds and 20 x 40 placemats. Yes i do try and bring my own photos with me i am only to happy to if i could find somewhere tidy that sells them (like at the actual show thats running at the time would help ).

 

But it does pay to get there asap as within the first hour i was done and dusted and was only hanging around for one more guset to turn up on the Sat.

[Count Fooku]

I'm not sure how much control Showmasters would have over the range of dealers at the show. Certainly Autographica is much more autograph heavy in terms of dealers than other shows, that said there did seem to be a few more dealers selling unsigned pictures this time round. To be fair I don't think Autographica has ever really been advertised as an event to buy merchandise, I've never really seen anyone selling things like trading cards and the like.

 

I have to say though I couldn't quite get my head round the White House 'stall', I couldn't work out if he was selling stuff or just talking to people!

[MikeDonovan]

I have to say though I couldn't quite get my head round the White House 'stall', I couldn't work out if he was selling stuff or just talking to people!

 

I hear what you're saying, but I think he was selling that stuff. There was a fantastic 70s WH phone on his stall (which I took a picture of), and it had a £700 price tag on it. £250 and I'd have ripped his arm off, but £700 was too much. I meant to have a chat with him, but didn't get around to it. I guess all those photos of him knocking about in the press room etc. were to add credibility.

[keithporter23]

 

I have to say though I couldn't quite get my head round the White House 'stall', I couldn't work out if he was selling stuff or just talking to people!

 

I have to say I loved that stall! I went back several times, and was so tempted to stick that WH telephone on my credit card lol. The guy running it was obviously enthusiastic about his merchandise and was great to talk to.

[Count Fooku]

It wasn't that I had anything against it as a stall, certainly a bit different, I just couldn't quite work out whether he had turned up seriously intending to sell anything or if it was just a show and tell.

 

I'm fairly sure I've seen the bloke who was running it at previous Autographicas but usually just as a regular punter.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Count Fooku

[Nick]

I have to say though I couldn't quite get my head round the White House 'stall', I couldn't work out if he was selling stuff or just talking to people!

 

No, I agree Count. That completely bemused me also. It was a cross between an exhibition of photos of a bloke proving he had been in many rooms in the White House, with an assortment of items from there, some of which had prices on and others didn't. Very pleasant seeming chap, but very odd as regards what the purpose was.

[MikeDonovan]

I liked the press room picture. I can just imagine him hanging back from the tour and saying to his wife "Quick, Martha, I'll pretend I'm giving a press talk by waving my finger, you take the picture before they realize we've gone!". I especially liked the fact that, even though he was posing as if he was addressing the crowd, he said on the photo "(No one was present in the press room at this time.)"

 

Anyway, if he's back next time I'd definitely like to talk to him - when I went up, he wasn't there

[Pooks]

thank you Showmasters from those who organised it to the guys who crewed it, especially the redhead sat with Ed Gibson on the Saturday, you were a very charming and polite Lady, I was there for Dr. Gibson but you were a breath of fresh air, but nevertheless this is my Thirteenth Autographica and not my last!

 

 

 

Really glad to hear this:0) Sitting next to Ed was an amazing experience I can tell you. Also when Reg one of the RAF pilots came over to chat to ED and they were relaying stories to one another it was amazing. I am glad the experience was good for you ;o)

 

xxx Pooks/Kelly ( readhead:0)

[dragonsanddaffodils]

I know what you mean Pooks, I was with Gerry when pilots came over to say hi, and that was wonderful to see

 

A truly wonderful weekend

[Aldrin]

Glad I was able to get my question in during Jim's lecture about whether it was true he left NASA management because he disagreed with the crew rotation policy.

 

I was in that talk when you asked that question. If I remember rightly Al Worden said last time he was over here that Jim McDivitt resgined specifically over Cernan's appointment as commander, interesting to hear it from the horses mouth this time round!

 

Aye his lecture ran out of time last time so I never got the chance to ask, was determined to this time! I did read something similar to what Al Worden said, so I followed up with the question about Dick Gordon as CDR for 17, which he gave 'I didn't give 2 hoots who commanded 17!' reply which was very funny! Wasn't it a great lecture though, a chat with someone I'm in awe of as if we were all just sat in a pub yakking! Fabulous!

[Hannerzzz09]

Aye his lecture ran out of time last time so I never got the chance to ask, was determined to this time! I did read something similar to what Al Worden said, so I followed up with the question about Dick Gordon as CDR for 17, which he gave 'I didn't give 2 hoots who commanded 17!' reply which was very funny! Wasn't it a great lecture though, a chat with someone I'm in awe of as if we were all just sat in a pub yakking! Fabulous!

 

I was also in that talk on Sunday - a very insighful lecture I have to say!

 

I also enjoyed when he said the most fascinating sight in apace was "a urine dump at sunrise!"

Also his story about him & Dave Scott fighting over the sleeping bag on Apollo 9 was fantastic.

 

A true legend & I am honoured to have met him.

[Count Fooku]

He was great to have along, he seemed to be really enjoying himself as well which is always good to see.

[Avengers7]

I thought it was a very good event but i do agree with other posters on the site, that some guests are getting a bit up themselves as some of them rather talk to their neighbour rather than acknowledge the person in FRONT of them. Irrespective of how much the auto cost, good manners do not cost anything. On the whole i thought the day went well but i was a little dissapointed with the disticnt lack of variety in the dealers hall. Now before everyone says "well its was an autograph show what do you expect?" i can well appreicate that but surely some variety would not have gone amiss? i was hoping to purchase a few 10x8 photographs that pref UNSIGNED and add a bit more to my star wars trading card collection. As it happened i only came back with 2 items which werent even for me.

 

Talking of lack of variety once again i was amazed at the choice of photos or lack of them that was on offer, i am really glad i took with me a 10x8 of Susannah York with me as her choice was limited and Slyvia Andersons choices were not that inspiring, i know that you cant please everybody all of the time and you cannot expect every guest to bring with them 20 different photos as you would then need a very large table but lately as i attend these shows i get the impression that 10x8 photos are being phased out in favor of other items like books cds and 20 x 40 placemats. Yes i do try and bring my own photos with me i am only to happy to if i could find somewhere tidy that sells them (like at the actual show thats running at the time would help ).

 

 

 

Some people just want everything!! Autographica is a quiet event, there was not going to be as many dealers as other events and most dealers were selling things associated with the guests that were there. Spent a fortune at the dealer area myself.

 

As has been said, if you are not happy with the pictures available then you should have brought your own.

 

The guests were very good at this event and all were willing to chat and acknowledge you. Bond guests were ace. It was a great event

Edited May 10, 2010 by reddragon