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i had a fun day and enjoyed the show :-)


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Our first Showmasters event was Lords of Time last year when we were so impressed how well everything was handled, and we were happy to find that Collectormania was no different. Every member of the crew was polite, efficient, and ready to jump in and give directions or help if required. Even when frazzled and obviously tired there was never a trace of anything being too much bother, or of guests being a nuisance asking the same old things over and over. The Crew are the glue that holds the whole event together and you guys should be proud of how good you are. =)

 

My daughter and I had a fantastic time on Saturday and Sunday, really enjoying the atmosphere and buzz you get with these events. We did have a couple of wobbles when looking around the merchandise area as it was *very* crowded and she's very petite and not fond of crushes due to her small size and we kind of wished there was a one way system or a left and right side for walking to alleviate getting swept away but that didn't detract at all from the enjoyment of the two days and in the end we simply hopped out of the stalls area and came back when it was less crowded.

 

We had a really great time interacting with the many talented cos-players, posing for photos and just fooling around, all friendly and lovely people and there's nothing quite like popping out for lunch and looking up to find yourself sharing the space with everyone from the Jedi to Austin Powers!

 

Every special guest we met was wonderful. My daughter was absolutely over the moon to meet both Jenna and Billie and loved the photographs she ended up with, saying that they were both so sweet and friendly to her, in fact she was on a high all weekend. We were both thrilled to get to meet Bernard Cribbins too, he was just lovely, and a bit cheeky and has that amazing ability of sounding like he's known you for years, he's a national treasure. I'd never expected to get the chance to meet him so this was a real treat. Chris Judge was a great too, a lovely, friendly guy with a great sense of humour.

 

My favourite two meetings were with Malcolm McDowell and with John Rhys Davies. Malcolm McDowell iwas utterly charming and very charismatic. I was nervous while we were waiting for a photo re-take & muttered how I dislike having my picture taken as I always end up looking ridiculous in it, upon which he put his arm around me and turning to make eye contact, smiled and told me it was okay, not to worry, and best of all 'really, you look lovely.' He then kept his arm there for the photo itself giving me a hug / squeeze for reassurance. Of course I still look ridiculous in the resulting photo because now I'm grinning like an idiot but to be honest I don't care because it was a rare and special moment. I wasn't expecting him to say anything at all in response, and he could easily have just ignored me but he took the time instead to reassure me and make it feel like it really mattered. It was a real treat to meet him, he was so friendly and more than exceeded all expectations. I really hope we can see him again at a future event.

 

John Rhys Davies was, as many have already said, simply amazing. It was a pure pleasure to meet him and to see him enjoying himself so much. He made time for everyone on the photo line, was spontaneous, witty, affectionate, and funny (and LOUD), and he was up for all sorts of silly poses. Nothing was too much trouble for him. He has an amazing, warm, larger than life presence that just makes you smile, and I really hope that we'll get to see him at another Showmasters event where he gets to on a panel and can really let loose like the mischievous kid-at-heart he is. The tickling everyone was a great touch too and helped everyone to relax and act more naturally for photos. The photo of us hugging is definitey one to treasure! What a lovely guy.

 

All in all an amazing weekend with many great memories. Looking forward to the next one(s) so thank you everyone for making it happen, you rock. <3

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My first convention was just last year...DSTL, and I've definitely caught the convention bug since that amazing weekend. So this was my first Collectormania, and although I don't like the venue much, the event itself was fantastic. Well run, professional and friendly crew, fantastic guests and even more fantastic cosplayers (wish I had the guts to dress up).

 

Highlights for me were meeting Gillian Anderson, Jenna-Louise Coleman (she's simply gorgeous - but don't tell my Wife I said that), Billie Piper and Henry Ian Cusick (I'm a big fan of Lost, so meeting Henry was just great).

 

A great event and a super weekend. Thanks Showmasters. LFCC next for me I think...if my wallet recovers that is :smile:

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My second Showmasters event after CM18. Unlike last year, I attended every day, I was a bit worried before about the increasing number of guests I was planning on meeting cancelling very close the event, particularly Doctor Who guests.

 

I arrived at the hotel on Friday after a 7 and a half hour car journey.

 

On Saturday I queued at 8:40 for Jenna and went in and got a VQ for her, John Rhys Davies and Henry Ian Cusick.

I went to John Leeson first, then John Rhys Davies, then Henry. Before that I was told that a) I may not actually get Jenna's autograph and B) she was only doing personalisations (which I didn't want as the things i was getting her to sign were multi-signed items). Because of this I wasn't sure if I was going to bother and it would be out of place on the items, but I went back to her area and was told she was doing non-personalisations and my ticket had been called.

I got table photos with John, John and Henry and a photo shoot with Jenna.

I also looked in the dealer area a lot and bought Julian Bleach's autograph.

 

On Sunday, I wasn't meeting Billie as I already had, so I joined the general entry queue. I went in and got a VQ for Bernard Cribbins. I then waited for Jacqueline King to arrive and met her and got a table photo. I then went to the signing tables and met Richard Franklin, Bonnie Langford and Paul Marc Davis. I got table photo with all of these. I then went back to Bernard to get his autograph. I then went to my Bernard photo and went back to the hotel until my Jacqueline photo at 4pm.

 

Today, I went in and queued for Carole Ann Ford. I then met Rachel Bell. Then I left, checked out of the hotel and came home.

 

Overall, it was an excellent event. The crew were very helpful and went the extra mile. Every guest was very friendly and talkative. I am pleased with all of my photos and it is fantastic that they print straight away.

 

The only negative was on the Saturday morning because there was a lot of confusion over the queues outside and people didn't know if they were in the right one and a lot of people queued for Jenna by mistake, thinking it was main entry.

 

Apart from that it was an excellent event.

 

Thank you showmasters, the crew, the guests and everyone else!

 

PS. you may have seen me at the event. I was wearing a navy jumper, black glasses and had my hair gelled. I was carrying a black bag with the Doctor on, and I was sometimes carrying a poster of a classic dalek that had a few autographs on. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @TheBoyWhoWaited to see photos from the event. :dance::smile:

 

I'm now in pre-con depression :thumbdown::sleep::grump::closedeyes::no:

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Overall i had a enjoyable day. Although when i got to mk i had no clue where the bus stop was xD. The only thing that probably the down side of it was my own phone which i found out later had the wrong time on so i missed one of the photo shoots. But ended up seeing Luke barnes ( who accidently spoilered season 3 as i'm nearly finished with season 1, making for a interesting auto a little while later, as well as a short chat about craig charles/red dwarf!) and Mark Stanley ( who asked me if i wanted the autograph in silver since the photo was a little dark in places and also was pretty nice when i came back after forgetting to ask for a photo!).

Pretty happy i got to meet craig charles, hes really nice and when it came to the photoshoot he was quite funny too. Expecially asking if we were mad.( i think i was the only one who replied to that...lol xD)

 

On another note i would like to thank the crew who were brilliant, especially the crew at the organizers booth(for when i had a few problems xD), crew that were with the guests i met and shabs (who i got the correct time off of as i didn't want to miss Craig's photo shoot to the same mistake)

 

Thanks guys for another memorable event :)

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I had a good weekend overall.

Thanks to all involved.

I got to meet Torri Higginson, finally, and she was lovely. She wrote a long message personalised with my name and the location, which was really nice. I think she was doing it for everyone, but that didn't make it feel any less special.

I've already posted about how great Steven Robertson was in another topic, but it's worth a repeat! Lovely guy.

In fact, all the guests I met for Being Human were great.

Colin Hoult was my reason for staying until Monday and he was worth it; friendly, chatty and fun to talk to.

Jacqueline King turned out to be a great last minute addition. Talking to her was like talking to a friend, super comfortable and relaxed.

As usual the crew were polite and helpful.

And other fans were very patient with the snail pace walking around areas of the arena on Saturday in the crowds - no elbowing or shoving!

Looking forward to LFCC!

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My second Showmasters event after CM18. Unlike last year, I attended every day, I was a bit worried before about the increasing number of guests I was planning on meeting cancelling very close the event, particularly Doctor Who guests.

 

I arrived at the hotel on Friday after a 7 and a half hour car journey.

 

On Saturday I queued at 8:40 for Jenna and went in and got a VQ for her, John Rhys Davies and Henry Ian Cusick.

I went to John Leeson first, then John Rhys Davies, then Henry. Before that I was told that a) I may not actually get Jenna's autograph and B) she was only doing personalisations (which I didn't want as the things i was getting her to sign were multi-signed items). Because of this I wasn't sure if I was going to bother and it would be out of place on the items, but I went back to her area and was told she was doing non-personalisations and my ticket had been called.

I got table photos with John, John and Henry and a photo shoot with Jenna.

I also looked in the dealer area a lot and bought Julian Bleach's autograph.

 

On Sunday, I wasn't meeting Billie as I already had, so I joined the general entry queue. I went in and got a VQ for Bernard Cribbins. I then waited for Jacqueline King to arrive and met her and got a table photo. I then went to the signing tables and met Richard Franklin, Bonnie Langford and Paul Marc Davis. I got table photo with all of these. I then went back to Bernard to get his autograph. I then went to my Bernard photo and went back to the hotel until my Jacqueline photo at 4pm.

 

Today, I went in and queued for Carole Ann Ford. I then met Rachel Bell. Then I left, checked out of the hotel and came home.

 

Overall, it was an excellent event. The crew were very helpful and went the extra mile. Every guest was very friendly and talkative. I am pleased with all of my photos and it is fantastic that they print straight away.

 

The only negative was on the Saturday morning because there was a lot of confusion over the queues outside and people didn't know if they were in the right one and a lot of people queued for Jenna by mistake, thinking it was main entry.

 

Apart from that it was an excellent event.

 

Thank you showmasters, the crew, the guests and everyone else!

 

PS. you may have seen me at the event. I was wearing a navy jumper, black glasses and had my hair gelled. I was carrying a black bag with the Doctor on, and I was sometimes carrying a poster of a classic dalek that had a few autographs on. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @TheBoyWhoWaited to see photos from the event. :dance::smile:

 

I'm now in pre-con depression :thumbdown::sleep::grump::closedeyes::no:

 

Same here, I have terrible pre con blues :(. Can't wait for LFCC.

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Highlight for me was definitely getting a hug from Lita for giving her some specially made Pee Wee Herman, El Santo & 7 Seconds cupcakes. She even tweeted a picture of them on her twitter.

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Just like to say, A great weekend thanks SM, your staff were great. No major problems. I had a few clashing tickets, told the staff and they looked at the queues and put me at the back... Oh well. I missed Craig charles photo shoot he left early. But your staff were tops, they called him back and I got my photo. I was late getting to Jacqueline King but the staff were aware and kept her there waiting for me, When I got there Jacqueline grabbed hold of and kissed me then wanted to dance, it was a good photo. In total over the three days 39 photos with the stars. I am so knackered now and need a holiday (shouldn't be going back to work, but have too, to pay for the next show at Earls court)

 

Once again for my first MK I loved it, even one of your staff remembered me from the Star Trek show... Wow :YAHOO:

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As mentioned above, It was a good event, I had great time meeting the guests, Ariana espicially was good to talk to, told me about how Steven pretended to be a Dinosaur making dino noises whilst filming a scene in JP, which was funny and i asked and she spoke about her amazing artwork. Torri was great to talk to as I have missed her at other events it was gr8 to finally meet her and it did not disapoint. GOT guests were gr8 especially Gethin, lets hope that the King of the North makes an appearance at LFCC. Gillian was great and would have like to talk to her more about her new work maybe next time.

 

Great guests, Great time, :thumbup: wallet now empty. :thumbdown: only a few weeks to LFCC :dance:

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It was an amazing time, I really hope I get to return later this year if not then I definately will be returning next year, so many of the guests were very pleasant and willing to spare the time to talk even if it was for a few moments (even with a huge que), it was sometimes quite hectic in some areas but overall everyone was nice and willing to help one another out.

 

I look forward to my return to CMK in the future.....Well done to all the team and guest stars

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Thank you so much to everyone at Showmasters! Once again you delivered a top notch show with fantastic guests, a wonderful atmosphere and helpful and friendly crew members who all worked hard to ensure it was a fun day for all. All the guests we met shook our hands and asked us how we were. It is a credit to Showmasters that they create an atmosphere where guests are relaxed and seem to genuinely enjoy interacting with fans. My boyfriend Matt and I had a nice chat with Ronnie O'Sullivan who was happy to chat while our 8x10. It is very impressive that Showmasters got a current world champion to attend and was a golden opportunity for snooker fans. Ronnie was definetly Matt's favourite guest. We met Frank Bruno for a 2nd time (first was at EMS) and he was very friendly and jokey. Gillian Anderson was friendly and we chatted with her about The Fall. She said that episode 3 (tonights one) is her favourite episode and that there will be a second series. We were very happy to get a dedication and signature on our Rolling Stone poster (hopefully one day we can add a Duchovny signature to it too!) Billie Piper was friendly and chatted as she signed our copy of her autobiography. I asked her if she had any plans to write another book and she said that she had no plans to at the moment. She then remembered me when I had a photoshoot with her. Lou Ferrigno was also happy to chat while he signed our photo. We had photoshoots with all of the 5 guests that we met and the instant photos meant that we didn't have to wait around after shoots. The photoshoot staff worked hard to keep the crowd moving and the photos themselves were great quality. There was a good mixture of stalls to look around and lots of bargains to be had. Can't wait until LFCC!

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Had a brilliant time on both Saturday and Sunday! Unfortunately my lack of organisation and terrible habit of procrastination meant that I couldn't cosplay but this didn't detract from my enjoyment!

 

My family and I met John Rhys Davis, Billie Piper, Bernard Cribbins, Gethin Anthony, Rupert Young, Jacqueline King, Lou Ferrigno, Dave Legeno, Eddie the Eagle, Charles Dance, Alfie Allen and Denis Lawson.

 

Ultimately, John Rhys Davis, Eddie the Eagle, Rupert Young and Jacqueline King were definitely the most engaging, especially John who wished my sister and I good luck at university when we told him we wanted to study drama and film. We'd met Rupert before, not at a con, and was thrilled to find out that he remembered meeting us! And coming as a family really is a great way of engaging the celebrity, as we've had lots of comments about how 'The Hatherleys' sounds like a band...

 

Overall, it was a brilliant weekend (with the added bonus of winning a prize on one of the charity raffles and having to drive all the way back to the stadium as we had already started home) and I'm really looking forward to LFCC, WHERE I WILL GET MY ACT TOGETHER AND HAVE A COSPLAY OR TWO SORTED. :D

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Haha yeh John was really engaging in photoshoot a I must say. I won't forget how much he made me laugh in the photoshoot and how we laughed at the fact that I laughed so much that I had to have a retake which he then tried to make me laugh again hahaha :D Rupert Young was my favourite. so engaging and I'm sure he remembered me after the autograph session in the photoshoot a he said something to me again and have me the same nod/wink combo backpat as before. Defiantly my favourite guests and the dedicated autograph I proudly keep. :D

 

Can I ask what was Bernard like as I missed out on him :(

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Can I ask what was Bernard like as I missed out on him :(

 

Absolutely lovely. Hilarious in the photoshoot doing different poses and expressions with people and great in person, totally brilliant although my in-person experience was a little spoiled with the girl sitting with him suddenly starting to talk to her boyfriend (another crew member) who had come up to the desk for something. Could have waited until I'd moved away to be honest as I didn't get to say everything I'd intended to Bernard but can't say enough good things about him.

 

A legend who had been a constant part of my growing up. Very happy to have finally met him.

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Had a brilliant time on both Saturday and Sunday! Unfortunately my lack of organisation and terrible habit of procrastination meant that I couldn't cosplay but this didn't detract from my enjoyment!

 

My family and I met John Rhys Davis, Billie Piper, Bernard Cribbins, Gethin Anthony, Rupert Young, Jacqueline King, Lou Ferrigno, Dave Legeno, Eddie the Eagle, Charles Dance, Alfie Allen and Denis Lawson.

 

Ultimately, John Rhys Davis, Eddie the Eagle, Rupert Young and Jacqueline King were definitely the most engaging, especially John who wished my sister and I good luck at university when we told him we wanted to study drama and film. We'd met Rupert before, not at a con, and was thrilled to find out that he remembered meeting us! And coming as a family really is a great way of engaging the celebrity, as we've had lots of comments about how 'The Hatherleys' sounds like a band...

 

Overall, it was a brilliant weekend (with the added bonus of winning a prize on one of the charity raffles and having to drive all the way back to the stadium as we had already started home) and I'm really looking forward to LFCC, WHERE I WILL GET MY ACT TOGETHER AND HAVE A COSPLAY OR TWO SORTED. :D

 

I love your avatar... if you cosplay as that, please let us know in advance so I can bring my camera!

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Hi, I had a brilliant time at my first collectormania!! I cosplayed for the first time since the 1990s and the reaction of people was amazing, that's to everyone involved for a great time, and fab guests!! I think I may well be back, deffo for LFCC

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I had a few clashing tickets, told the staff and they looked at the queues and put me at the back... Oh well. I missed Craig charles photo shoot he left early. But your staff were tops, they called him back and I got my photo.

 

Glad we managed to get that one sorted out ok in the end for you, and also that you had a good time :)

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I had a great day. After having something of a nightmare getting there and ending up arriving about 10:30, I was really worried that I would be too late to meet Billie Piper - I was only going for her and Gillian Anderson (but having heard Gillian had an open queue on Saturday that gave me hope). But both had open queues - I was able to go to Gillian's talk then meet both her and Billie to get my autographs! If, even last year, someone had told me I'd be able to rock up at 10:30am and still be able to get Billie and Gillian's autographs before lunch I'd have been amazed. Showmasters, whatever you're doing, keep doing it! Great event, thank you.

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Thank you... One thing I would like to know, the next event in November, will it be on the same concourse or is it somewhere a little less open to the elements? Can't imagine it being much fun if it's windy and lashing it down with rain, haha.

 

It's usually like that in May too, you weren't there last year :) I believe they expect the exhibition hall to be completed by then so it'll be indoors but that's been promised for years. The owners of the stadium have a lot of money issues which has meant lots of delays in developing the stadium, increasing capacity for football etc. Getting there though so fingers crossed. November on that concourse, you couldn't do it.

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