So last weekend I went to the Birmingham Memorabilia and MCM Expo, usually I would go to the Expo because it never interests due to being full of Anime freaks, Anime being something I have nothing but disdain for. Now I wasn’t going to originally go due to two facts; the first being that I had work on the Saturday until one o’clock and also there were no guests attending that I wanted to see. However, I did end up going due to a desire to see my friends, many of which I had not seen since November.
Once I arrived at the NEC I had a stupidly long walk from the train station to the two halls that were hosting the two events. I mean seriously! It was about twenty minutes of walking to get there, just stupid in my opinion. Once I got there though I did have a great time. It was great to see my friends, even though I didn’t see a lot of them on the Saturday due to the time in which I arrived but it was great to see those I did see. It was even better when I got to meet Rachel who I had only chatted to online. Towards the end I looked to have a chat to Colin Baker, who played and still does play the sixth Doctor, about his latest Big Finish audio story which I loved. Sadly people kept on butting in before I could get a chance and I never got to talk to him. I also ran into Natasha from Franks Autographs, who is responsible for my knitted Doctor Who dolls, I always enjoy having a chat with her and Frank about their products and I was delighted to learn that the Sylvester McCoy doll, which I ordered in November, had been completed and was on it’s way to them so they could send it to me.
After the event closed me and some friends ended up at the Hilton where I got to see Ruth, Nat and Liz again, along with Tim and his lovely little girl. I also saw John, who I met at Dimension last November, and his girlfriend who is also a major Doctor Who fan. WE spent the majority of the night drinking and chatting, with Nat trying to get me to come to stop at hers for a few days after Utopia in May. Eventually me and Carole bade goodbye and retired to our hotels to sleep the sleep of champions.
Come Sunday and I found myself in the Weatherspoons near the halls having a full English breakfast and washing it down with a cider, which was divine. Following this I booked myself into the event and checked my bags into the clock room. Once again I had a fantastic day. I gained a few Doctor Who necklaces for a fiver each, bargain! I also acquired an A3 copy of Sheldon Cooper’s Friendship Algorithm from the Big Bang Theory TV show. I also got a proper chance to hangout with Steven, who is one of the best 11th Doctor cosplayers around, he spent the day as the Raggedy Doctor from The Eleventh Hour episode and greatly impressed me by only changing his outfit once towards the end of the day. Francesca also attended this day and dressed as the Kiss-O-Gram Amy Pond, once again from The Eleventh Hour episode. Those two quickly stuck together and proceeded to shang-haid Stephen who was taking photos. I also joined them and we actually ended up with around 3 memory cards worth of photos I’m sure.
Overall the weekend was a huge success for me, not in terms of guests but then I never go to Memorabilia or Collectormania for them, but in terms of seeing my friends and those that I care about….well like I said it was a huge success. I am now eagerly looking forward to my next convention, it being Utopia in Oxford, where I will get to meet Carol Ann Ford who played Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter in the classic series.
