Tue Feb 9th, 2010
Picture this: two weekends ago, I received an innocuous text from a mate, Barry, which asks me if I'd like to go to a Science Fiction Convention - he'd won two tickets to the SFX Weekender and asked if I wanted to go with him.
Gareth with you know who!
It took me about 4 seconds to answer him - I had to give myself enough time to stop bouncing off the walls in glee. Y'see I've never been to a sci-fi convention before - always wanted to- and now I was being given a chance!
The weekend started perfectly; we were stopped by a contingent of Storm Troopers before we even had a chance to park. Luckily I got to use my Jedi Mind powers on them:
"These aren't the droids you're looking for..." I said, as I rolled down my window.
"These aren't the droids we're looking for." The Storm Trooper replied.
"Move along." I said.
"Move along, move along." The Storm Trooper signalled as we drove off.
Great!!! That's one fantasy fulfilled! The weekend got better and better from then on in...
For those not familiar with the format of a Sci-Fi convention, it's a whole boat load of geeks; nerds and summary science fiction impresario's gathering together to pool our collective resources and.. rule the world!! erm - sorry. It's a chance for us to embrace the inner nerd within; to join with people of a like mind and to geek out without ridicule or discrimination. It was a wonderful weekend, with talks by leading comic book artists; science fiction writers; TV stars and producers from beloved sci-fi programmes such as Dr Who; Buffy, etc.
Split across two days, the SFX Weekend was pure bliss. They had people dress up in amazing costumes (hence the storm troopers) who were only too pleased to pose for various photo's. Amongst the personal highlights for me, were six 10ft tall stilted, Valkyrie warrior maidens in skimpy costumes... Other highlights include seeing interviews with the extremely erudite and hilarious Tom Baker (the wonderful 4th Doctor Who); Jeff Wayne who composed and produced the amazing War Of The Worlds musical; playing Guitar Hero and rocking along to "Sunshine of Your Love" in the amusement arcade... oh, and singing "Mac The Knife" in the karaoke bar. Oh, what larks!
Whilst there I was able to make contact with a couple of independent graphic novel publishers - so hopefully we can start reviewing their stuff. I also bumped into the very generous Robert Rankin. Last year he kindly donated a limited edition (very limited, as ours was the only one produced) hand-coloured print of his most recent book cover -which raised over £200 for the adult autism specific services at the Disabilities Trust. He's an extremely kind man, and spent the entire two days signing autographs and posing for photo's.
I would definitely love to go to another convention - I never realised that they would be that much fun. It's the first time that I've really embraced the "geek" inside of me, and I enjoyed it immensely.. .and y'know what?
WE RULE!!!
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