Now the pace starts picking up. Slightly.
The day started off down at the Trunk restaurant for breakfast. Back to those child-size chairs again. But the breakfast was marvellous – good quality orange juice and a cooked English breakfast fit for a king. The only problem was the waitress shouted across several tables to ask whether I wanted tea or coffee. I asked for coffee and (eventually, for it took a while) ended up with tea instead. Oh hum.
The rest of the morning was spent tinkering about in the room – this would make a wonderful writer’s retreat. It’s quiet, comfortable and good internet access. Will consider coming here again so I can finish off my screenplay one of these days.
Before 2pm, I made my way down to the third floor and the atrium where they were starting to register everybody under their respective ticket types (standard, silver and gold/VIP). I was the first person in queue for silver ticket holders. And this is what you get:
The glossies are a nice touch, but alas some of the images are of lower quality resolution that have been blown up to fit, so doesn’t quite look as good. I do like the little badge which shows Richard Dean Anderson as O’Neil with a so-called Furling (from the episode “200″).
The glossy booklet contains a lot of information already on the web site, but also adds actor biographies (which aren’t). It nevertheless serves as a nice momento for the occasion.
After a small afternoon snooze, I wondered out to check out The Pheasant Inn that somebody recommended on the Showmaster forums – but unfortunately having checked out the prices, it’s no different (and in many cases actually more expensive) than Trunk at the Radisson. So I decided to forgo late lunch/early dinner there, but stayed for a pint of London Pride. Made my to McDonalds afterwards and ate there. Twenty quid cheaper than both places. The most surreal moment for me is when a group of convention-goers dressed in Stargate SG-1 costumes came in to eat. The staff at McDonalds must see it all, I guess.
Having changed into a smarter shirt for the evening, I went along to the opening ceremony where the guests are briefly introduced on stage. Wasn’t aware seating for these events start 15 minutes beforehand and the acoustics in the atrium are god-awful, so couldn’t hear when my group were due to go in. All the good seats in the silver ticket holders had gone as a consequence, but found an aisle seat with a reasonably clear view.
The only problem is that where I was sitting, the guests were smaller in real life than they are on the TV. HD and UltraHD be damned, my own retinas struggled to see them properly from this distance (in part because I’m short sighted – d’oh). Despite this, the vaguely human shaped people on stage were almost all present and correct with the exception of Joe Flanigan who wasn’t available that even due to a dodgy sandwich. But we’ve been told he’ll be about tomorrow.
Having said all that, there are the personal photo shoots with all the guests over the next few days which will mean that us silver ticket holders to see them up close and personal – so the talks and events won’t matter too much if you can’t see them too well. At least we could hear them from the middle of the room.
After the intros, everybody was kicked out the room except for the golden ticket holders who got to mingle and schmooze with the guests. A party for everybody regardless of whatever ticket is held was laid on at 9pm, but at this point I gave up and retired to the room. Up early tomorrow for photo shoot/talk shenanigans.
I’m not feeling the vibe at the moment. Maybe tomorrow, perhaps.
