Or perhaps that should be "Why I Love the Idea of California," because I've never visited there before.

It hit me when I was walking home from town the other day, battling against a stark-bollock-freezing wind that pushed me back three paces for every step forward I took. England has its moments of splendour, of course, but the weather isn't one of them. I've always felt more comfortable in a warm climate - I simply can't bear the cold, not even when mummified under several layers of clothing; jumpers, gloves, scarves and a great fluffy coat. My cold-phobia could be some kind of genetic legacy from my Sicilian heritage; memories of mellow sun, lemon groves and the scents of summer encoded deep in my genes.

I suppose I see California the same way. Not the California of plastic fantastic or dozy New-Age nuttery. It always felt to me like the grand finale of a specific journey - which, for thousands of prospective gold-rushers back in the mists of time, it was. It represented the very pinnacle of success - it was no coincidence that the fledgling movie companies of the 1910's chose to set up shop there.

Wind, rain, hailstones harbour no romance for me. I want blossoming gardens, golden fruit and happy, suntanned people living life and loving it.

And in a few days time, I'll be there.

Current Mood: peaceful

So here we were, back in the land of free booze and Fortnum and Mason's canapes, surrounded by LOTR stardust. After loading up on champers and nibbles, we went upstairs where the VIP bit was located. We couldn't actually get IN to the VIP bit (you needed a snazzy little wristband thingy for that privilege, or have got through to round three of Pop Idol at least,) though the stars would come out to mingle with the lumpen masses fairly frequently, which is always a Very Good Thing.

The food was nice. Roast meats, cheeseboards, fancy salads. Copious booze. I mixed my drinks for the first time since, um, Master and Commander. The cast and crew were better, though. Dom's a rock star, of course. Billeh was on fine form - a lady asked me to take a photo of her with him and so I did my good deed for the day. Richard Taylor and his amazing Ring-inscription suit. The fabulous Rick Porras, bags of energy and very friendly. Andy Serkis and missus giving it loads on the dance floor to Love Train. (There was a band instead of a DJ.) Sir Ian (I am not worthy,) Viggo, Dave Wenham (who was asking for advice on where else to party after the do wound up.) It was an excellent evening all round. We saw PJ from a distance, though unfortunately didn't get the chance to shake his hand - he stayed in the VIP section most of the night. There's always the TORN Oscar Party!

I spotted a smattering of British 'celebs' (note the inverted commas) at the do - Darius, whatsername from Fame Academy, some of Liberty X, a few Corrie peeps. Shame there won't be another one (praying New Line options The Hobbit,)and a bit disappointed neither Lij nor Orli showed, but them's the breaks, and we were lucky to be there at all. I'll never want for anything again!

Current Mood: accomplished

Ok, it's a week late, but seeing as I've spent the last seven days vaccillating between sheer elation and sheer exhaustion, I've been either a) too knackered or b) too hyper to steer my thoughts towards anything resembling coherence. I'm better now, though. So here goes;

London was brillo pads. We'd sweated blood trying to secure premiere tickets through our Sekrit Sources - to no avail. What happened was that the distributors held the tickets back until the very last second just in case an army of Z-listers decided they wanted tix for themselves and Little Johnny after nixxing on the In Style party or something. By the time Becks, Taz and I got to Leicester Square, it was packed out (though we seriously doubt there were 3000 people there, as reported in the press.) As we sat down to dinner in Chiquitos next door, we exuded an enviably Zen calm. We expected nothing, except maybe a glimpse of the stars as they left the building, followed by drinkie-poos and mucho chortling back at the hotel. We did, however, have Plan B tucked away in the dark eval recesses of our mind...

*cue eval laughter*

So it was that after the meal we went outside to watch a handful of stars leave early (some of them do that, you know - show their faces for the obligatory Heat appearance before buggering off to the party.) Having stupidly partaken of too much liquid stuff in Chiquitos, I rushed off for a wee in All Bar One, only to find when I came out that the police had cut off all entry to the front. I spent an agonising 20 minutes or so biting my nails, moaning profusely and cursing the meeeeeenness of the London Metropolitan Police Force before they finally let me through. Sad to say my 'don't you know who I am?' act didn't work this time.

Mercifully reunited with Taz and Becks, we got in a taxi and headed for Sharon and Erica's hotel. After picking them up, we made haste for Pizza Hut in Leicester Square so S and E could eat and I could steal Becks' ice-cream sundae. We noticed people queueing up for coaches destined for the party (a la Master and Commander - details below and in marysiak's journal) and pondered the chances of piling onto one, all sneaky and Gollum-like. They were checking tickets, so no chance. Instead we got a taxi and headed for Old Billingsgate Market, location of the fabled M and C party, and a good guess (we'd also heard Savile Row being bandied about, though I think that was for the Entertainment Film's 50's anniversary soiree.) Our hunch was correct - heaps of press outside the venue, braziers, fans.

It is at this point that I would like to take pause and pay homage to Taz the Magnifico, whose hobbit-like stalwartness in the face of adversity finally got us in to the Sacred Parteh. She claimed we'd spent thousands of pounds on premiere tickets assuming they were for the party as well, and so, labouring under this assumption, we'd boarded the bus. The security guy said no at first, but advised us to hang around just in case. Good job we were all dressed to the nines. So we hung around for a bit, then when things relaxed a little we approached the guy again. He had a word with his mate, who went inside and picked up five used tickets from the book and handed them to us. Deeply grateful and disinclined to argue the toss in the face of our good fortune(!), we scuttled inside.

... but I had the best weekend (and Thursday) anyway. My friends and I achieved the near-impossible and gatecrashed the ROTK post-prem par-teh at the Old Billingsgate Market! Full report upcoming tomorrow, by which time I should have finally sank back into the land of the living dull.

Things I discovered on Saturday ...

kazzik gives the best hugs and has braids to die for. hugsnkisses_ squeaks adorably whenever I pinch her nose. _peapod has a wonderful way with a cigarette holder. clockworkwasp is mad as tits and therefore all is right with the world. :) thisdistance is a champion snogster and has thus inspired me to relocate to Oxford sharpish. :)

Other news of note - I'm going to the TORN Oscar Party!

Current Mood: giddy

PIE

Dying from the funn-ee ...

http://www.stryder.de/anigif/viking_kittens.swf

This is cute. :)

Once inside, we were ushered to our seats. I honestly thought the cinema would be bigger than it was - big, yes, but not quite so big as Le Grande Rex in Paris, which was HUUUGE. Anyway, they showed Russell Crowe introducing Prince Charles to the cast (all male, hee.) They played the National Anthem then the stars were introduced on stage. I have to say Billy got the biggest cheer. The film itself was great - darker and more atmospheric than I anticipated (I initially thought it would be like a po-faced version of POTC,) it had an almost documentary-like quality at times. Script was mostly terrific. Oh yes - Paul Bettany's performance was the standout. I risk lynching when I say this, but if he's nominated for Best Support at the Oscars, Sean Astin just might have his work cut out. Reserving judgement until I see ROTK. :)

Billy was solid, but he wasn't at the forefront as much as I thought. He was always around, though. He was billed above James D'Arcy, yet had less screen time.

Some scenes definitely had slashy potential, too.

After the show, Billy was standing in the aisle nearby and Marysia went to speak to him. Taz got a text from Becks saying she was feeling better and was it possible to have her party ticket back? Cue minor panic stations as her party ticket had already been sold to Andrew, but we decided Marysia and Andy should get on the coach with us to the party venue and we'd settle it there. Andy very kindly and graciously returned the party ticket to Becks, I felt terrible because I wanted neither Becks, Andy nor Marysia to miss out, but luckily the worry was short-lived as Andy and Marysia managed to get in - the bouncers had spare tickets at the door!

The venue, Old Billingsgate Market, was a real treat - kitted out in a nautical theme, with hanging nets, sails and gymnasts spinning between them. There were alcoves and marquees and private dining sections, free booze (cocktails, beer, brandy, champagne,)and divinely dinky canapes. We said hello to Ridley Scott and shook his hand, noseyed around, ate and drank, the usual stuff. Trigger from Only Fools and Horses was giving it loads on the dancefloor to Beyonce. Brilliant. :)

The VIP section was closed off, but the cool thing was that there were gaps in the wall - glass-less windows, really - so you could see right in. Marysia called Billy over and we spent a good 15-20 minutes nattering away about the film, Dom, various stuff. Billy was very relaxed and chatty and absolutely delish. I asked about the motion of the ship in the film - was it real or was someone waving a camera around? Billy told me it was real, that they acted on a wobbly set half the time for authenticity. :) I'm postive he fancied Marysia. :) Taz was delighted she'd finally met Billy, and Becks was chuffed to bits because in her own words, she'd fallen to pieces before him at Collectormania 3. This time she was fine, and looked absolutely stun-tastic in her black ballgown with train and white fluffy stole. Taz was adorable in a Fifties-style dress and fab red shoes.

I was a little sad Andy didn't get to meet Russell - but we heard he'd only stayed at the party for a short while before returning to his wife, who is expecting a baby, at their hotel.

Circa 1:30 the place started to wind down. Billy left around this time, and we departed about 15 minutes later on a high. We chatted outside with an actress from Casualty who;d taken a liking to Beck's stole (her boyfriend was in the movie.) We bemoaned the fact that there are still no decent party dresses in the shops. Then we all said byesie-bye and headed home in taxis. Back at our hotel, I rather disgustingly ate some of becks' leftover and very congealed pizza. :)

Much of the time, you'll find me slouched before a monitor in my scruffs, chipped nail varnish and hair like a bird's nest. Now and again, I like to rouse myself from my pit, sandpaper my face, get my nails done and spend a small fortune on (faux) diamante and Bourjois cosmetics as the occasion demands. And so it was on Monday night, when I was fortunate enough to attend the Master and Commander premiere in London, followed by the swanky post-prem do at the Old Billingsgate Market. :)

The evening had the potential to be either a riproaring success or a complete wash-out. Things got off to a somewhat worrying start when my friends and I went for lunch in an Italian bistro and Becks started to feel very, very ill. She looked a little off-colour when I arrived, but initially I thought she was simply tired (I was - I'd managed to grab a mere three hours' sleep the night before.) Unable to finish her meal, she went back to the hotel for a nap.

When Taz and I went back to the hotel to get ready, Becks' condition had worsened considerably. She was vomiting every five minutes, had severe stomach pains, and had turned a ghastly shade of yellow. She told us she simply wouldn't be able to go. We volunteered to stay with her, or call a doctor, but she refused and told us to go out and enjoy ourselves. So we got dressed, feeling really terrible, as Becks had spent £500 on a lovely evening dress and stole especially for the prem. The place we'd got our tickets from didn't do refunds for late cancellations, either.

It was then I had an idea. I had plans to meet up with Marysiak at the barrier, (Marysia had unsuccessfully tried to secure a premiere ticket via contacts of her own) and believed I could offer Becks' ticket to her so long as Becks agreed. If Becks was unable to go, the least we could do was to help recoup some of the money she'd spent, and also Marysia would have the chance to attend the prem and possibly the party as well. Becks agreed, and Taz and I went to the Hamilton Radisson in Leicester Square to meet Phil, the ticket rep, and Marysia. Marysia had brought her friend Andy, a huge Russell Crowe fan, and seeing as it was his birthday she made the incredibly noble and generous gesture of allowing him to have the tickets. It transpired someone else had cancelled too - Phil had a second spare ticket for the premiere, so Marysia took that instead.

By the time we entered the cinema, the stars had already gone inside, and we were ushered straight to our seats (Prince Charles was attending, security was tight as a gnat's arse following the recent allegations.) I bumped into Katie and her sister outside, and she told me Billy had already gone in, was wearing his kilt, and had come over to talk to everyone. Earlier on, we'd been slightly worried he wasn't going to turn up at all, seeing as he wasn't in New York or LA, so we were all deeply relieved to know he'd made it.

More in my next entry ... :)

... and we're still here!

Looking forward to the weekend, even though I'll probably be doped up on antibiotics. Meeting Suzanne, cinema, (Kill Bill most likely, if it's out) dinner at either the Koreana or Samsi. Seems I have no resistance to infection since returning from Milton Keynes.

New diet tomorrow - I'm wondering if my present lethargy has to do with coming off Fat Flush and plunging right back in without gradually upping my carb intake. Fat Flush worked a treat - I lost a stone and a half, and I didn't gain at all during Collectormania, despite subsisting on KFC Zingerburgers and other wretched provincial treats. :) The extra carbs have left me blitzed, though. So it's back to cranberry water, flaxseed oil and steamed fish tomorrow.

Current Mood: tired

Found this over at Marysiak's journal...


Where the Wild Things Are


Which children's book are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Totally shattered. Going to sleep for 1,000 years.

Current Mood: sleepy

Anyway, we got our tickets and just generally hung around until our turn came. I kept watch near the queue so I could see which numbers were being called. We were briefed that there would be no personalising as Showmasters were trying to get as many people through as possible, which was a bit of a downer, but when we finally got to meet Elijah, he was an absolute doll. He loved the prezzie we'd bought him - again, a bottle of something very nice and very expensive - he pulled it out of the giftbag and waved it at Dom and went "Woo-hoo!" He also complimented my friend's jacket, which was brilliant. When it came to my turn for him to sign, something happened which made my whole fucking weekend. Anyway, here goes:

When you pay for your signatures, you may choose from a selection of photographs. This applies even if you've brought an item of your own to sign (in my case, my beautiful Alan Lee-illustrated hardback of LOTR.) I put my book down on the table for Elijah to sign, together with the photograph. Elijah started signing the photograph by mistake, until I, feeling totally embarrassed, asked him if he could sign the book instead. Elijah was absolutely lovely about it, turning to the security guy who asked me if I wanted one or two signatures, and said something like "Dude, it's okay, it's my fault,' before turning back to me, winking, smiling and signing a second autograph for free!

Elijah was gorgeous and chatty and bouncy and utterly, utterly cool. I congratulated him on his conversion to the 'Red cause' (the Man Utd fan club) and he laughed and said "It's all his fault, man," pointing at Dom, who grinned. I gave him his second present, a book from me and Emily, he asked me a bit about it and I described it as best I could, (dark, smart SF) and he was like, "Hey, sounds fuckin' cool! Thanks!" After this I got a massive hug and in a moment of delicious madness, kissed him on the cheek! I also got a photo. :)

Not long afterwards I realised I'd lost my mobile phone (shit,) and thought I might have left it on Elijah's desk. I had a word with security and they checked and it wasn't there. Bugger.

Seriously though, the guys were fantastic and utterly professional. They must have the patience of saints - I'm not sure I could sit there for nigh on eight hours without betraying some temperament. They were great with everyone, young, old, inbetween, and did their best to try and personalise your experience under fast-moving circumstances.

Current Mood: accomplished

Anyhow - on to the Sunday night talk, which was Dom, Andy, Sala, Lawrence and Brent. I was in the second row for this. (Apologies for not providing a full transcript for this talk or the Elijah/Sean one on the Saturday, I was sitting within eyeshot of them all and I didn't want them to see me scribbling down notes in case they thought I was a journalist or something.) Again, no real controversy. My recollection of this one is piss poor, so please bear with me. They all have a terrific sense of humour. Dom mocked the proposed LOTR musical with something like "Can you imagine it? 'I am Gandaaaaaalf....' They talked about the movies they wished they'd been in/admired, and towards the end Dom mentioned that he'd like to get scarves as a present, after which some girls ran over to him to bequeath their scarves to him. At the beginning, a group of fans sang 'The Dom Song' and 'The Andy Song.' (On a sadder note, one of those girls found out her father had passed away moments before, and Dom gave her a huge hug as she was leaving.) The guys also did this cool barbershop quintet thing.

On to Monday. Sunday's queue for Elijah had been terrible, so we'd decided to concentrate on Sean and Dom that day. We reasoned that most people would be back at school or work come Monday, so the queues for Elijah would be less intense. How wrong we were - they were almost as bad, and this was AFTER we'd made a point of getting to the centre two hours earlier than the previous day. It transpired many of those who had missed out the previous day had called into work sick, or bunked off school/college, to see him. I can't criticize them for this - I'd have done exactly the same thing had I been in their shoes.

Current Mood: drained

The next day we met Dom and gave him his present - a bottle of something very nice and very expensive. :) He was delighted and showed it to Elijah, who went, 'Woo-hoo!' and we told him there'd be something for him tomorrow. Dom is totally laid-back, very friendly and cucumber-cool. He said he knew where I lived when I told him (not the house, the town!) as it's not too far from his old stomping-ground, Manchester. He signed two autographs for me (one for me, one for Eso) and I got a big hug.

Does he ping? Not to me, though there's room for interpretation I suppose. To be honest, I wasn't really thinking in those terms when I met him. He certainly has that foppish, laid-back rock star thing happening. He's absolutely intoxicating in the flesh. :)

I had a ticket for Sean, so I went and queued while my friends did other stuff. There was this annoying-as-hell Ebay guy in front of me who wanted 15 things signed (unpersonalised, of course) so I hung back a bit so Sean wouldn't think I was with him. Unfortunately the rush was insane and the queue supervisor was telling everyone that Sean would be unable to personalise signatures in order to speed up the queue. Sean, however, was absolutely terrific and personalised both my signatures for me (one of me, one for Rak.) I thanked him for coming, told him he was a great ambassador for LOTR and for the charities he represents and we chatted a bit about BitOfEarth. He thanked me for coming too, which was cool. He looked really healthy and he has lovely eyes close up. I shook his hand and got a photo.

... but my eye is still killing me, and I'm dying for a wee, so I've just copied and pasted from dl_anon. Hopefully HnK won't subject me to a slow and lingering death-by-papercut for doing this. Apologies for the grammatical poo.

Arrived on Thursday, there was a minor disaster with the hotel which, thankfully, was sorted out. Even so, I'm never staying at the Holiday Inn again. The vibe was all wrong. I originally wanted to park my bum at the Travel Inn where I stayed last time, it's homelier and cheaper, but it was fully booked within days of C4 being announced. Ah well.

On the Thursday night we hooked up with a friend of mine who was fortunate enough to be working there. On the Friday, we got up early and went to the centre. No autographs today - we just wandered around and did normal convention stuff - browsed the stalls, bought a few items. We took advantage of the afternoon lull by going to the Xscape building to see Pirates of the Caribbean for the second time, hoping they'd show the ROTK trailer with it, but alas, twas not to be.

Saturday - got Sala and Lawrence's autographs, took some pics of our group squashed between them. :) Very nice. Lawrence has gorgeous hair - shame he wears it in a bun half the time.

Met up with the lovely HnK for lunch and to give her my spare Fellowship screening ticket. Was accompanied by HnK's fab sister Emily, who had me in stitches almost all afternoon. I was experiencing something of a seasonal low before this, they really cheered me up. Much discussion of the latest wank and 'will they/won't they do shoutouts' type stuff.

Onto the screenings - at this point, it still wasn't clear who would be attending which talk. We managed to get front row seats for Fellowship, then Emily and HnK (who were sitting some rows back)came to the front to tell me that they'd overheard a Showmasters person allude to 'Sean' and 'Elijah.' There was a lengthy wait, then they appeared. Elijah was wearing The One Jacket (does he own another?!) and his little mohawk was still intact. He was looking seriously good, and he was sitting less than three meters away from me! Sean was more or less right in front of me - can't really remember what he was wearing, was too busy gawping at Elijah soaking up the atmosphere to notice! I detected no hostile vibes between them whatsoever. They were totally relaxed and very, very chummy. My screening wasn't the 'controversial' one (ie, no-one asked questions about Teh Gay) but it was extremely enjoyable nonetheless. The 'nocturnal emissions' stuff was terrific. Sean was talking and Elijah ribbed him a little by making humming sounds. A German girl stood up at the start of the talk and asked Elijah whether he'd be at the Berlin premiere, to which he replied 'Sure, if you're gonna be there, sweetheart,' and everyone went crazy. They talked about their favourite books/writers - Elijah mentioned Douglas Coupland (kudos) and a book called House of Leaves which I might check out for myself. Elijah also said he'd like to set up his own record company in the future. He mentioned that he used to write short stories, and that he stopped out of fear, which is something I personally can relate to. He said he tends to pour his creativity into emails these days (hee hee!)

Sean was brilliant. I could sit and listen to him for aeons. He talked about his charity work and gave a nod to BitOfEarth, which was very sweet of him. Food was mentioned - both of them said the on-set catering standards declined over time so they'd order sushi and curries and yakitori chicken for lunch. Also Peter Jackson's prediliction for pickled onions on set and the somewhat anti-social results. :)

Elijah showed his tattoo, and his appendix scar. He has an ...interesting belly button, to say the least :) Very lickable. By this time my tongue had to be winched off the floor.

Current Mood: awake

Okay, I've been neglecting this journal. But alas, no more! My report from Collectormania 4 will be up this evening. Sorry it wasn't sooner, but I have a ghastly eye infection which prevents me from staring at a computer screen for any great length of time. I'll spare you a description because trust me, it isn't pretty. Hope you like the new layout. Wouldn't mind a background pic.

Okay, Part the Deux of my Collectormania experience. :) Got to the MK Centre bright and early with Shaz and Andrea to queue for Billeh. ;) I was nervous as all hell, but he was an absolute darling... big smiles and hellos, signed my book, and let me tell you, photos simply don't do that guy justice. Had a nice piccy taken with him too, then Andrea and Shaz did the same. Anne decided to have a lie in at the hotel. :) Apparently poor Becks went to pieces when she met him - my legs were a little wobbly afterwards too!

Then on to Andy, and I swear, I was SHOCKED at how friendly he was - and how utterly gorgeous he is. He's the only guy in the world who can carry off that hairdo and still look smoking.:) Andrea asked him to sign her dad's book as a birthday present, and got lots of slurpsome pics. :) Stuff signed, Shaz, Andrea and I decided to wander round the stall for a bit, caught up with Becks, Louise and co (we all met up for a drink at the Hilton the night before - some VEREEE interesting conversation there, Louise had her vidcam and made a little docu-thing of us, pissed as farts and rambling lustfully about hobbits ;))

Met up with Anne, and the four of us relocated to a nearby cafe where I could smoke and we could chortle happily like a bunch of old ladies over the days' events. ;) Met up with Anatsuno from dl_anon: she's lovely and smart and I offered her the spare bed in my room for Sunday night if she wanted, (Andrea would be leaving the next day,) but she was on a flying visit, returning to London that night after getting Billy's autograph.

We had tickets for the special screening of Fellowship that night, so we returned to the hotel to freshen up and make ourselves half-presentable. Erica had arrived by this point too. We went out to dinner at the Snowdome, then upstairs to Le Cinema. Unfortunately we couldn't get to the front, but the cinema was small and intimate enough so it didn't really matter when the guys appeared for the pre-screening talk - Billy, Andy, JRD, Sala and Bruce. Fabulous. Conversation turned to ROTK, and though they couldn't spill the beans, JRD said something that would make Rakshi damned proud - "Look for an oscar nomination for Sean Astin at the very least." He also said that the crew were in tears while filming it, so that's as good an indication as any that ROTK is going to be the emotional rollercoaster to end them all. :)

After the film, Sharon, Anne, Erica, Andrea and I retired to the pub at the Travel Inn for gossip and pints, then beddy-byes. Part the Trois tomorrow!!!

...Here, finally, is my account of my wondrous weekend at Collectormania in Milton Keynes! Sorry it's late, but what the hell, lateness is fashionable. :)

The first part isn't that interesting unfortunately. Rode to Milton Keynes on a National Express coach with NO refreshments, playing 'Erix' on my mobile phone for, ooo, about 2 minutes before getting bored. Arrived in MK, Land of A Squillion Roundabouts, and checked into my hotel, the Travel Inn, very nice, 5 mins walk away from the convention centre with a pub attached, which is always good. :)

Met up with Sexy Becksie, the Grand High Diva of Jammy Buggers and all-round good sort, and we decided to wander round the shopping centre for a bit. It's where Collectormania was being held, and let me tell thee, my legs had disintegrated by the time we reached our destination. The Milton keynes Centre isn't as big as the Trafford Centre, but fuck me it's LONG. Becks was possessed by the need to buy a cave troll, so we noodled round the stalls looking for one, fruitlessly, before wandering over to the signing section for a nosey.

And there sat Sala (Sauron) and Bruce Hopkins (Gamling,) alone! Twidding their thumbs! Just ITCHING for two foxy, er... okay, I'll cool it. Anyway, no-one was around, so we approached (tentatively, in my case,) and they were both FANTASTIC. Sala is a real gentle giant, incredibly friendly, with a mischievous gleam in his eye. He shocked me by introducing himself to me first! He showed me his tattoo, which is beautiful. And Bruce is just a babe-and-a-half. A lovely bloke all round. :)

So, laden with autographs and in high spirits, Becks and I removed to Fatty Arbuckles and discussed school bullies, Matrix Reloaded and Domlijah over steak sandwiches and ample quantities of beer. Then we went back to the shopping centre, where we cornered the organiser and asked him for hints re: future Collectormania guests. He hinted strongly that Dom would be there, at which point Becks squeed a little, and that he was in talks with other LOTR peeps which I can't really go into, since nothing is verified yet. ;)

After that, we met up with Katie and a couple more of Becks' friends, then back to the hotel for us all. My friend Andrea from work was on her way down; I also phoned Sharon and Anne, who were flying over from Le Continent. We arranged to meet Becks, Louise, Katie et al at the Hilton, their hotel. When Andrea arrived, she and I got into a taxi to pick up Sharon and Anne from the Holiday Inn, then twas on to the Hilton. The bar is right next to the reception desk, kind of an open-plan thing, but that didn't stop us. Needless to say, all got on extremely well. :) It was Katie's birthday, Louise produced a gorgeous cake, Sharon and I nattered with Becks about Datalounge and about the Paris premiere of TTT, which we'd attended, and Louise did an impromptu documentary thingy with her camcorder. :) There was champagne and general hobbit naughty-talk. In all, it was fab. :)

Then we taxi'd back to our respective hotels and sleep. More tomorrow - this time starring Andy, Billy and John!

Current Mood: awake

It's a veritable orgy of LOTR goodies! Billy Boyd! Andy Serkis! JRD! Sala Baker! Bloke Who Plays Gamling! Names, dahling, I want NAMES! Also Tom Felton from Harry Potter will be there! And some Star Wars notables! And it's only THREE WEEKS AWAY!!!

I've only really done the convention thing once before. I snuck into a Star Trek con in Manchester three years ago, while everyone else paid 30 quid a pop. Mugs. :) That's what they get for holding it in a hotel. :)

Still, I've been to enough music festivals to know that the place will be heaving, and that it would be sensible to invest in a mobile for the first time in ages, after losing the last one I had on a train coming back from Manchester. (While we're on the subject - I fucking hate Glastonbury these days. It's all designer mud and corporate hippies now.)

Bestest of bestest, though, is that the divine Shaz, the heavenly Anne, (Paris premiere buddies, natch) the luminous Becks and the omnipresent Erica will be coming! Keeping my fingers crossed that the sublime HnK will show on the Sunday too, and the lovely thisdistance!

My work buddy Andrea (massive Sean Astin fan - you'd love her, Rak) will be rooming with me on the Friday and Saturday nights. If anyone else is coming and would like to meet up, give me a shout or email me. :)

Current Mood: bouncy