Collectormania

Collectormania takes place at Milton Keynes main shopping centre twice every year. It's free to get in and usually takes place over three or four days. At the show there are a number of stalls plying their wears, from Star Wars Figures to Comics, from Autographed memorobilia to trading cards. Also at the show though are a number of guests, and this is what draws the crowds to this event time after time.

Usually for a fee of £20 you can ask one of these guests to sign a picture for you, and if you happen to have your camera with you, they are usually happy (ask first) to pose with you for a photograph.

Previous guests have included Elijah Wood, Carrie Fisher, Rutger Hauer, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Ray Parks to name just a few.

The Jitty is aiming to be there on the 30th September, and we're hoping to get some photographs of celebrities holding our beloved logo again! Results will be posted here!

Hunter's View

Well we've been, we conquered, and we are ever so slightly cheesed off at Mr Shatner and his agent. The days started early, with a colection of bad weather, speed checks and huge traffic jams.

We were aiming to have a good time and hopefully get some photo's of celebrities holding our beloved logo. On a personal level we had also gone with the intention of meeting some of the celebrities who's shows we watch week in week out. This time round at Collectormania, virtual queuing systems were everywhere, and seemed to work surprisingly well, and of course there were the usual collection of stalls. Let this be a warning to you;

- First, be very clear in your head how much money you are prepared to spend because it's very easy to go a little mad and want to get everything.
- Second, have a look around all of the traders first before you by anything, it's very annoying to buy something for say £30 and then find it elsewhere for £20.
- Autographed pictures. Be very careful buying these and only buy from a reputable dealer.

Let us also say that some of the celebrities there are fantastic people, and actually restore your faith in the hollywood populous. This wonderful person photographed here is Erin Gray, who played the part of "Wilma" from the series Buck Rogers, now sadly no longer showing. Erin doesn't support the Jitty but was kind enough to pose with the logo once we explained what our website was about. Embarassingly I was in the photgraph but cropped myself out as she looked younger then me....humph. If you look closely you can just about see our logo.

Trekkies everywhere are now fainting...*thud*, yes that is Marina Sirtis who played Counsellor Troi from Star Trek (Next Generation). We had exactly the same response from Marina as we had had from Erin. Again we point out that Marina in no way is a sponsor of our site, but was happy to pose with our logo, which this time round is actually visible :O) After signing tons of autographs she was still very smiley and happy, very approachable and wasn't afraid to bolt the desk she was sat at to go for a coffee across the way!

Here we have our very own Bratpack with Andy Hallett (same as before, doesn't sponsor the site but happy to pose with the logo) who plays Lorne from the series Angel. What a great guy he is. He had huge queues all day long, but still had enough about him to chat to every single person he met, and I mean every single person.

This finally brings me to William Shatner. I must say I was very dissappointed. We were herded like cattle, instructed that there were no photographs to be taken under any circumstances (they were even putting boards up so nobody could take a sneaky picture), and that any autographs were not to be dedicated to anybody. When we were at the head of a queue, no hello, no hand shake, no acknowledgement of our existence, head down, signing pictures. I appreciate that the press are intrusive, I also agree that you should have the right to refuse photography, but maybe an acknowledgement would have softened the blow. I heard a number of people expressing their disgust, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Mr Shatner's popularity has wained a little. I even contemplated tearing his signed picture up and dropping it in a bin.

So anyway, a big thank you to Marina Sirtis, Erin Gray and Andy Hallett for being such great sports and asking what the site was about. Also a huge thank you goes out to Erika for making my day :O)

Bratpack's POV

I’ve come across the concept of Collectormania before, but never had the opportunity to attend. So when Hunter approached the Editorial Team asking for volunteers to accompany him, I very nearly took his arm off in my eagerness to go. And what a day!

Okay, so the day started off bad. A stupid o’clock start, leading to us being stuck in traffic for the very best part of an hour (note my use of sarcasm there) leading to us having twice the journey time there we should have.

We get there, and immediately swipe our tickets for the virtual queue for Mr Shatner. Thereafter, Hunter disappeared to go start bothering….sorry, queuing orderly and chatting nicely to some people he’s wanted to. Meanwhile, myself and KrazyKate go to find breakfast, or in my case, the strongest coffee on offer.

Our first celeb of call is Andy Hallett, who plays Lorne in ‘Angel’. I was a bit nervous about approaching him, but he was amazingly friendly. He talked amicably to anyone and everyone, had no problems about posing for photos, and was even happy to pose with our logo (look up) after we explained what the site was about. Nerves firmly settled, we trundled happily off.

Next up was Marina Sirtis, otherwise known as Counsellor Troi from Star Trek. For some strange reason, I opted to not ask for her autograph. A decision which I am now kicking myself for. Ah well. Hunter had no such qualms and happily chatted away to her, even getting a photo. Another down to earth celeb, whose love for coffee sees her happily rocket away from her place at the table to the store opposite. Could it be that fame doesn’t change a person after all?

Buck Rodgers anyone? Erin Gray was just as nice as the rest of them, and yet again, only too happy to pose with our logo. Now, let me just re-iterate what Hunter has already said, none of the celebs photographed sponsor The Jitty.

A bit of time now to go until William Shatner turns up. So what do we do? Shop, of course! The stalls there are amazing. Star Wars stuff, to comic books, to film cells, to general memorabilia. I had to be dragged away from the comic stalls kicking and screaming. Yes, I AM a comic geek, so what? Not to mention the convention (rhyme not intentional) is based in the middle of a HUGE shopping centre. There’s no way you can be bored during your wait.

Then to see Mr Shatner. After queuing for quite a while, and being yelled at by a loud, brassy woman with an American twang, we made it down to see the man himself. Who was surrounded by boards to prevent people from taking photos (any photography was banned for him), there were no name dedications, and the man was kept frantically signing by aforementioned woman, who snatched the photos from the hands of people waiting to meet Mr Shatner, pushing them at him, where he had enough time to put pen to paper to sign his name, and then you were ushered out immediately. I’m rather glad I didn’t pay to have an autograph, as it seemed to lack the personal touch that you would like from something like that. Perhaps the woman had forgotten that Mr Shatner was there to meet his fans, not just sign objects for them. So that was my grumble of the day.

Then, just as we were about to leave, who did I spot but Nicholas Brendon, who you might know as Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That was it, Hunter and KrazyKate were NOT allowed to go until I’d gone over, got an autograph and a photo. I went over, more than happily paid the fee and moved forwards. To be told that flash photography was not allowed. And as luck would have it, my camera had just died…I’d completely filled a 256mb card with all the filming I’d been doing and the few photos in a short space of time. Typical! So no photo. But I got my picture signed and to talk to the man himself. Who was very friendly, and in no way sullied my view of him. I’d already been told, in no uncertain terms by James, that I couldn't take any of the celebs home with me (read: Nicholas Brendon)…he always spoils my fun ;-)

So that’s my experience of the day. There are still two days to go, so if you get the chance, head on down. There’s no entrance fee, and it makes for a great day. Thanks to everyone we met today, and BratCam, my experience of the day will be up on here within the next few days :-D