Collectormania report + TW talk details

[pirate_moose]

Well, all the signs seemed to point to a not very good day. The trains were down, so we had to take a replacement bus/coach service to Newbury Park and get the underground from there; resulting in a 3 hour journey, as opposed to a 1 hour. Also, the rain was unbelievable so, as you do, I gave my so-not-waterproof Yoda backpack priority under the brolly (I was slightly concerned about the camera and other electrical equipment getting wet!). And, to top it off, we got mobbed by screaming teenage girls at the station (who were going to the T4 concert thingy at Earl’s Court) and people wanting to sell us JLS flags - I mean, flags, really?! Anywho, we got there eventually, that’s the main thing!

Once we’d dried off a bit, we figured it would be best to get the autographs first. We finally managed to find Gareth David-Lloyd [GDL] and Kai Owen [KO] upstairs and, surprisingly, there were no queues! GDL very kindly signed the picture already signed by Eve Myles at Comic Con and the photo that came free when you paid. We said the usual ‘hello’s and ‘how are you?’s and I asked him whether it was true that he would be guest starring in the new series of Being Human. He looked quite surprised and said something along the lines of: “No. No, but I’d love to! If they asked me, I’d love to!” We had a photo together and he gave back the autographs with a: “There you go, angel” *melt* Let’s just say, the rest of the conversation is a bit fuzzy after this because at that point I was on Cloud 9 (and still am! :) ) I’m just glad he didn’t recognise me from last time - I think I might have freaked him out a bit! It was at a signing in Upminster and, because there was no one in the queue, I went up to see him 3 times, and then I was in the coffee shop where he went to have his break. The only table left was the one next to us and we could see him looking for somewhere else to sit -we assured him that we weren’t stalking him, to which he replied: “That’s ok, you were here first!” He was really lovely though!

Next we went over to Kai Owen, who was also just as lovely. We had quite a random conversation with him! We said the usual, then he complemented me on my smile *blush* and Mum started laughing. He said she also had a nice smile, which was followed by “Thank you! [Adding:] I’m her mother.” “Yes, I figured that!” *embarrassed-facepalm* Anyway, he then asked where we had come from and that everyone was having train trouble today - when we answered Billericay, he seemed to think we were joking. He then smiled and said: “Gavin and Stacey!” Yes, Billericay is a real place lol! We had a photo and said our thank yous and he complemented my coat as we were leaving. He was such a nice guy, really down-to-earth and chatty - much like Rhys, really! ;)

We wandered around the stalls for a bit and had lunch, taking sneaky photos of the guests as we went. However, I couldn’t get any distance shots of John Barrowman [JB] signing because one of the minders kept standing in the way of the camera - deliberately, of course. I made up for it at the talk though! We joined the talk queue early in case the seating was first-come first-serve - which it wasn’t. But we were standing right beside the door where the speakers went through, so JB walked right past us to wait by the door to go in. I watched him go past and turned around to see him giggling into his coffee. When I said this to Mum, she said that she had wiggled her eyebrows at him! Not in that way, but it was still a *double-embarrassed-facepalm* moment!

The talk was brilliant and was definitely worth the money in the end! As we walked out, they gave us each a limited numbered print - cool, you might think, and it would have been if it hadn’t been a flippin’ photo of dead Ianto! I wish I hadn’t traded my ticket in for it now, but never mind. From what I heard other people saying, they didn’t particularly like the picture either! As I was heading back to meet Mum, I heard a familiar voice just ahead and saw JB picking up a cardboard stand-up of Taylor Lautner and saying: “Ooo, I want one of these!” Lol! What would Scott say? ;)

Because our tickets for a JB autograph were numbers 595 and 596, we got sent to the back of the queue several times for not being within the current number boundaries. We did get to the front eventually though! The signings were being carried out with military operation, so you literally got to spend about 20 seconds with him before you had to move out of the way. I got to the table and JB kindly signed my photo, looking lovely in his glasses and Clark Kent-esque shirt. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask whether he would possibly sign my other one but, faced with a number of shaking heads and resounding ‘no’s, he said: “Sorry, but they’re not my rules, sweetheart.” To be honest, I really wasn’t expecting him to say yes, but the ‘sweetheart’ made up for it! *melt* :)

Overall, despite the weather gods and train deities being against us, it was an awesome day! A special thanks going out to GDL, KO and JB! :)

*****

Things learnt/said during the TW talk (in no particular order):

• When they sat down, GDL said that JB always likes being in the middle and said something about a [stuffed?] sandwich
• JB wishes to voice an animated Disney character, but refuses to tell anyone who his favourite is in fear of being sent hundreds of cuddly toys
• KO would like to voice Ivor the Engine and GDL “Fifi the flowerpot-thing” (who he is starring in panto with)
• GDL does not like lists. When he asked the writers for more lines, he really did not mean lists. The usual dialogue is apparently easy to learn because the scripts are so “beautiful”. KO said his lines were also easy to learn because they mostly consisted of “Yes, Gwen”, “No, Gwen” etc
• JB’s new album, which he has just finished recording, will be out on Mothers’ Day. There’ll be a special i-tunes exclusive song also - he promises we will like it
• JB and GDL have both spent the week singing High School Musical songs for panto rehearsals - this followed with a short rendition of ‘We’re All in This Together’. GDL decided to give panto a go because it looked like JB was having lots of fun in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’
• JB was completely uncovered (apart from his feet) during the quarry scenes for COE - everything was “blowing in the wind” according to GDL
• JB has kept every dress and pair of heels from La Cage. He loved the role and invited GDL and KO to his house to play “dress up”
• GDL said - totally deadpanned - that he would “do” Zaza (don’t think I need to explain that one…!)
• JB has all the action figures and has a degree of creative input, especially with the new Tonner Dolls. There’s also a possibly of a JB doll in the future. GDL said he would play with them in the bath, then acted a little scene using his mic and a beer can
• They were all impressed with the money raised for charity in Ianto’s name - JB made sure that the BBC bosses knew of it. They’re glad that the characters have had such an impact - Ianto Jones was the biggest tweet that night, even beating Michael Jackson (this received a big cheer from GDL!) People in [Asia?] were tweeting: “Who is Ianto Jones?!”
• GDL and KO asked one of the girls in the audience to read out her t-shirt - something along the lines of: Ianto Jones 1982-2009. Fell prey to the misconceived notion that death propels the narrative. JB moved swiftly on
• JB visited the Ianto shrine in Cardiff with his parents. He wore his hood up so that he wouldn’t be recognised, but when people saw him he said he was “just paying his respects”. Some people thought Ianto was a real person, and so a disclaimer was put up saying it was a character who was “removed from the programme”. GDL was most miffed at this
• JB has never had anything weird in his mouth - said he would never put an animal in there, would not eat spiders etc. To be honest, this was a bit of a stupid question!
• JB is currently writing a TW novel with his sister Carole - we learn something new about Jack, which is carried throughout the story. He said it was possible film material and that he thought it was “really exciting”. GDL asked if he was in it - JB didn’t say yes, but didn’t say no
• JB announced that he wasn’t going to be in series 4, followed by “ONLY JOKING!” KO said he nearly crapped himself just then. It will be 13 episodes and will be bigger and better than before. GDL was offended by that last past: “How can it be better? I’m not in it!”
• KO joked (I think) that it was in his contract that if James Masters was to return, then he won’t be in the series as well
• GDL only said JB was a rubbish kisser (“YOU SAID WHAT?!?!” cried JB) because he kept getting asked the same question and was a bit fed up with answering the same thing
• GDL would like to control the Cybermen because you could tell them what to do, have cybersex etc - “I did date one!” JB would like to control the Daleks (though he would have chosen Cybermen also, to which GDL said something like “Ooo, we’re the same! We should so get together some time!”). KO added that the Cybers would have been his third choice
• Eve Myles smells like cabbage, joked KO
• JB likes the ‘Single Ladies’ video (if you haven’t seen it, go and youtube it right now!). It was made by the editing company for TTN using outtakes and general messing around. “The cameras are always rolling…”
• All three gave a rendition of the Harwood’s advert
• Will JB go to California? Watch this space. “This one right here” said KO
• JB likes cheese - especially M&S sesame seed crackers with the soft one wrapped in garlic. He also likes hard cheese. So overall, yes, he does like cheese
• GDL had a diva moment during the filming of Adam - he was cold, wet and miserable, and just wanted a pasty

That’s all I can remember for the moment, but if I think of anything else, I’ll add it!

*** Keep an eye out for photos - I’ll post them within the next few days! ***

[This report has ended up longer than the English essay I’m supposed to be writing at the moment… oops!]