ASFA Convention, 2eme edition. 3/4 May, 2014 at Amelie les Bains, South of France.

With my previous run-up discourse, I said how much I was looking forward to this show and, believe me, I was not disappointed in the least!!!

Robert Pujade, the one-man whirling dervish of an organiser, tech-man, fundraiser, show compere and most congenial of hosts, brought together an excellent weekend of entertainments, exhibitors, vendors, vehicles and us - the invited signers. Pam Rose and I flew down to Perpignan on the Wednesday before the show and were joined the day after by Andy Herd and Claudia Wells. Claudia had come over from the U.S.A for the show and we were very soon a family of friends, albeit a bear family in Claudia's eyes. Pam was Momma Bear, I was Daddy Bear, Andy was Brother Bear and Claudia (the youngest) was Baby Bear!!!

Amelie is not a big town and we were soon recognised everywhere we went, especially as Claudia is gifted with a complete openness to strangers, who tended to view her and us (hanging back and grinning ear-to-ear at the confrontation of Old World France with New World America) as very strange fellows indeed! I think I agree with them!!! LOL.

Pam and Andy at 'our' cafe in the town center. Pam had bought the lily of the valley
for her room at the hotel. The gypsy sellers were astounded that she took all they
had off them and initially thought she was trying to steal it! LOL

A mosaic encrusted end wall facing 'our' cafe depicting the town plan pictorially.

One of our all-time favourite pastimes was 'people watching'. Nothing gives you a better flavour of a place than the people in it. I think many of the residents viewed us with as much curiosity!

Pam on the bridge over the river dividing the town in two.

A view across the river.

Andy found his own to-scale palm tree all to himself!

L'Espace Mediterranee - otherwise known as 'the venue'.

View from my hotel window of a rather lovely terraced room opposite.

Pam and Claudia experiencing the famous wind, Le Tramontane.

Standing (and seated) by for the beginning of Day One.

My second visitor of the day - a one-footed Pied Wagtail! Kept me amused for all of 30 seconds! :)

Extraordinary art from the artist who drew the poster for the show.

Beautifully detailed figures.

Amazing detailed work!!!

Star Wars figures belonging to Janick Cazaubon - Lady Vador.

One of the two - yes! TWO - Deloreans on show!

More extraordinary figures.

One of a collection of extreme toilet seats - it takes all sorts, you know!

A very charming drawing from Janick Cazaubon - Lady Vador.

The sun came out and the river became a magnet!

Mountains in the distance.

The river looking upstream

Claudia looking mischievous!!!.

Whilst Andy catches up on the internet, Pam and Claudia indulge in a baguette!

As you can see, there was plenty to see and do and we were blessed with a few days downtime to get about and see something of the town. Andy, Pam and Claudia even went to the Spa, founded in Roman times and experienced some of the treatments. I cried off due to my knee preventing me from walking too much

Claudia gets her own back!

Pam in the market place with her tablet

One of the beautiful original houses in the Place de la Republic.

The vegetable market.

Momma Bear gets a cuddle from Baby Bear!

I can honestly say we had a lovely time and there are copious photos on Facebook of the event, which I will not reproduce here. Claudia was a breath of fresh air and great fun to be with! I look forward to meeting up again in Peterborough later in the year.

On the drive back to Perpignan and the airport for the flight
home. Farewell Pyrenees and farewell Amelie!!!

The run-up to ASFA 2014 in Amelie les Bains, France.

Coming very soon is the second convention, organised by the very excellent Robert Pujade, called ASFA. Taking place in the picturesque town of Amelie les Bains in the foothills of the Pyrenees, this convention covers a fusion of interests - steampunk, science fiction, horror and fantasy.

Last year,Pam Rose and I were accompanied by Ken Coombs and Paul Markham. This year Pam and I are back with Andy Herd, Andrew Lawden and Claudia Wells. Whilst Europe has not avoided being sucked into the worldwide economic depression, this area, so close to Spain, has suffered as much as any and so I congratulate Robert and his family and helpers for the initiative they have realised. I am sure this year's event will be as much fun as last year and I look forward to Andy, Andrew, Pam and Claudia's company.

Randers Star Wars& Sci-Fi Messe, 12 April, 2014.

The prospect of travelling for however brief a visit to Denmark still fires me up with enthusiasm, as it means I will be meeting up with friends and yet more friendly people! This trip was a real pick-me-up for me after quite a long time being ill! Of course, the main consideration about flying again was .. ... .. would I be able to fit in the seat and do up the seat-belt? Happily, with the aid of the addition of a children's orange seat belt to my own, both were accomplished! :)

Met on arrival by Michael HR Nielsen and Per Valgreen of Dansk Star Wars Loge. who had organised that Pam Roase and I should appear at this new show, we set off westward in Per's 'Chelsea Tractor' across the islands for the Danish Mainland. The mainland of Denmark islinked with Sweden by a series of munumental bridges known as theGreatBelt- www.storebaelt.dk/english/bridge. 

         

On the way through, we stopped to visit the town where Hans Christian Andersen had lived and where today a 

museum encloses his home. The town is very picturesque in parts, with some very old houses dating from the 

late medieval times. Colour features strongly in those streets and make an attractive sight for us jaded travellers!

 

                   

We didn't have time to go through the museum and so visited the gift shop and viewed some interesting art,
including a very interesting table fountain, below.

Randers turned out to be quite a good sized town with quite an extensive suburban belt, within which we saw, 

unlikely as it seems, a replica Graceland mansion to which we had been invited to visit after our event!!!

Graceland Randers

The hotel we stayed at was very bijou and comfortable, with maybe only seven rooms! Pam and I found it most comfortable and recommend it for short visits for business or pleasure. It is in the center of town and is called Steohansen Hotel and Restaurant. The venue for our show was a good sized leisure hall and, although Pam and I were the only signers, it was very well attended by dealers and costumers of the Scandinavian Garrison of the 501st and members of the Rebel Legion. As soon as the doors opened we knew we had a successful show on our hands and the numbers quickly climbed to over a thousand paying attendees. Pam and I had a busy day signing and meeting lovely people. My heartiest thanks and congratulations to Benny Ray and his crew of lovely helpers! As advertised, the next day we went to Graceland Randers after breakfast and met the owner who graciously gave us a personal tour of the Elvis collection within belonging to himself. He also treated us to a very generous lunch in the American Diner, which forms part of the property. Amongst the highlights was the chance to play a few noted on a piano upon which many famous people had played, including Frank Sinatra! We say many collectable including show costumes worn by the King and a legacy of goodies to enthrall any Elvis aficionado!!!

We sadly had to leave Graceland and our friend Kasper Dahl Finderup who had attended the event and showed up to host our visit in the company of the owner of the mansion. Thank you very much Kasper!!! :)

On arrival back in Taastrup, hometown of Michael and Per, we met up with many more friends for a last meal before flying off. An 'eat as much as you like' buffet (always a challenge to be met by me when offered! :) ) and we ate until we dropped!

Kim Young Mi

Ditte Broens

Michael HR Nielsen and Joan Kidde

Check in with EasyJet was the usual mess-up on their part, occasioning my insulin ending up in the hold - thanks EasyJet! - and a flight only distinguished by a spoilt child attempting to beat some sort of record  throwing up as many times as possible to get his doting mother's attention! And home . . . and breathe!!! LOL.

I note that Benny has already announced a provisional date fro next year! All my very best wishes Benny for the next one! :)

Dale-Con 2 at the Wheatsheaf Shopping Center, Rochdale. 22 & 23 February, 2014

I thought it was about time I started posting on this blog again. This last weekend I was in Rochdale for Dale-Con 2, held in the Wheatsheaf Shopping Center and organised by the very excellent Martin Ballard.

Last year's event was the first and a great success. This year's built upon that success and brought in a great many more visitors to the shopping center than could have been hoped for. Indeed, the whole shopping center seemed to be 'in on the act'! There were appreciably more focused traders also attending and business looked to be brisk. The signers attending, headed by Danny John Jules from Red Dwarf, had a great time and my (our) thanks go out to Martin and Vicky for their superb organisation and entertainment!

Although I have not been in the best of health, I was very happy to be asked back and I must thank Charlotte, one of the helpers, for the diligent care she took of me. I had a bunch of prescriptions which she and her fellow helpers managed to get for me from around the town. Luckily, I was much better the second day and enjoyed the event greatly.

Having had my camera stolen some time ago, I am not able to post any photos of my own, so I recommend you go to the Facebook page for the event (https://www.facebook.com/events/650585661661035/?fref=ts) to see some of the photos posted there by attendees.

Although this is not much of a report, I hope you will support Martin in his future shows!

An apology for my absence.

I have been woefully slack in keeping this up to date, for which I apologise! I had a few issues that have kept me functioning, as opposed to living, these last six months, but I am getting better and will endeavour to restart this blog in the weeks ahead.

STONE FETE 1 July 2012 with the Iconic Legion supporting Vader's Lost

Stone Fete in conjunction with Cherished Memories and Vader's Lost and Iconic Legion

Pam Rose and I had the greatest pleasure to be asked by Steve Smith of Vader's Lost and Iconic Legion to attend this event in Stone, near Dartford Kent. The weather was a typical English affair - mid-summer rain, cloud, and occasional sun, but it made no difference to the day, with a great turnout locally and all for a great cause - Cherished Memories  run by the irrepressible Suzette Abbott!

Ahh! The loneliness of the long-distance Jawa! lol.
 Young Tom Anderson heads out to do his worst! :)

We had a good turnout of costumers, all ready (even though more then a couple had just completed night shifts!) to get out there and mix with the crowds to collect as much as we could. The hero of the piece for me was Tom Anderson, the most junior of our troop, dressed as a Jawa. Tom is a great lad with a heart of gold and unending energy! Even in the pouring rain he was still out there collecting in his bucket!

The brochure of the charity, Cherished Memories.

The event got underway with an announcement from the music stage, onto which Pam, Clare Robson of the Iconic Legion and myself made little speeches of welcome and gave an explanation of what we were collecting for. Our trooping fellows lined up in front of us and, as they were introduced by Clare, were 'marked by Dale Who, a very mischievous Doctor Who, with his inflatable hammer! :)

Dale lends his unique touch to introductions!

As the day progressed, the cloud base descended, but we carried on collecting - especially Pam, whose style of charm/threat illicited a goodly bucket-load of change and notes! Pam has a way with words and some of them are quite surprising! :)

Pam and Adam Leishman as the ever popular Cyberman

On the Cherished Memories stall, I joined Suzette Abbott and her volunteers as they attracted a constant stream of people to the tombola. I was there to encourage the public to participate and provided signed photos to those that spent a lot. Even the Lady Mayor came and got the bit between her teeth..and won a prize! The local scout troops were there in numbers and I have seldom met so many well-behaved and polite children in the atmosphere of a fairground!

Dr Who, the Cyberman and Darth Vader provide an intriguing opening shot for a fantasy episode!

The collecting bucket...

In the end, the weather got the better of us, but not before we had raised in the region of £1,000!!! So, a heartfelt vote of thanks to all attending and to the people of Stone and Dartford, who turned out in such numbers!

The wonderful members of Iconic Legion and Vader's Lost - find them on Facebook!