Claudia Con, The Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow, London.

Today was the first day of this event, ostensibly organised by Claudia Christian herself. I had anticipated that the day would be quite quiet, as the entry was set at a whopping £50 pre-booked and an additional £10 if paid on the door!

Claudia giving her speech of welcome.

Claudia had done all she possibly could to publicise the event, but really to no great avail. The opening ceremony was held in a theater in the hotel and Claudia gave an interesting and entertaining speech of welcome, explaining the ethos of the event - an anti-convention, where full access is granted to the guests and the attendees are encouraged to mix,greet and be photographed with anyone that wants. But we, the  guests, outnumbered the public by a sizable majority.

Peter Roy

I found out too late that I had forgotten to charge my camera, so, apart from one, the photos that  appear are all my exhausted battery could manage - sorry!!!

As it turned out, the attendance numbers never really increased, but we had a good time in each other's company. I met a really nice guy called Mark Shepherd (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0974122/), who appeared in the various spin-off incarnations of Star Trek and who played 'Morn'. He and his wife were over from Germany en route to the States and dropped in to see what was happening. A truly nice guy!

Mark Shepherd of Star Trek and his wife. Photo courtesy Pam Rose.

I found myself sandwiched between Derek Lyons and Pam Rose and we were kept amused and entertained by the few visitors, who were enjoying unlimited access in an otherwise empty room.
However, the organisation was patchy and with too many arranged panel events going on with too few attendees, it became obvious that no business was going to be conducted!  It was obvious many had cancelled thanks to the proximity in date to the recent civil unrest in London (miles away!). So, we became mischievous, as most actors are really children at heart, and endeavored to entertain ourselves with jokes. To be honest, I have seen more life at a seance, but we did our best.

Lindsay Muir and Toby Philpott mid afternoon!

Also in attendance were the Galactic Knights, of whom I am an honorary Senator. These guys are a great bunch and deserve to be accepted by other groups to co-troop with! But they too were thoroughly hamstrung by the hotel, which forbade any 'weapons' within the building!!! Being on the A4 outside Heathrow Airport, there was no footfall of passing potential customers for them to interact with, but they did their damnedest and I applaud them heartily for their good-natured efforts under the leadership of their very charming CO, Jo Beck.

As the day progressed, I could no longer stand the heat of the room we were in. I was uncomfortable and looked forward to the end of the day. Unfortunately, by the time Claudia came to her auction, which assembled everyone in one room for the first time all day since the opening, I was packed up and making my exit via the back door - I shall not be there for the second day.

I am sorry for Claudia - she seems a genuinely nice person, but the venue was too large and far out, the programmed events too ambitious and the concept under-promoted. I hope that Claudia will seek the advice and help of an established organiser in the future - if there is a next time....