As I was friending my Twitter girls on Facebook yesterday morning, I was briefly taking a look at their Facebook walls to see what they had been posting since ColdCon. One of them had shared a photo from a Colin Morgan Facebook fansite. When you're looking at a Facebook wall, you can only see part of the photo until you click on it - then you can see the large version. This is what I saw as the "thumbnail" version.
For anyone who knows me, what is your first thought? Probably the same as mine... "Gee, that looks like the back of my head!" Also keep in mind that I know where I was sitting for Colin's Q&A, so it was plausible that this could actually be my head. So I commented on my friend's post about it looking like my head, and then I clicked on the picture to see the full version...
And I screamed. OH MY GOD THAT IS THE BACK OF MY HEAD! There's no mistaking me holding my video camera, and who else has hair that looks exactly like that? *giggles uncontrollably* So, I finally got a picture of Colin and me together...even if you can only see half of the back of my head and my right hand. But the kids know it's me and love to see the picture of Mommy and Merlin.
ColdCon was one of the best days of my life. I got to hang out with the coolest people (celebs, Twitter friends, etc), briefly talk to Colin Morgan himself, relax and have a blast. But it didn't start out so well...because my phone battery died and my alarm never went off in the morning. Bless the soul of the person I was staying with who woke me up (at 10:30am). I got dressed so fast and ran like heck out of there to the event site. I didn't even take time to brush my teeth, eat breakfast or put on makeup because I was so late. Luckily Eoin and Tom were also running late due to having a plane flight early that morning, so I really didn't miss much.
As soon as I arrived, Karen (the woman in charge) gave me a ColdCon Crew t-shirt, which I have now declared to be my favorite article of clothing ever...even if it is just a black t-shirt. That shirt made me feel SO cool. And people kept asking me questions as if I actually knew what was going on and had any authority whatsoever. :-D She then had me get in line to meet Tom, Alexander and Eoin (in order), and you can watch that below.
After the line of people getting photos and hugs was finished, the group sat down for a Q&A session with the three men. I was in and out during that, trying to see what I could help with, but I did ask them one question... "Do you ship Merthur?" Unfortunately the person who took this video (not me) didn't start taping until after I had asked the question, so you don't get to hear me. But Tom's answer (and Alexander's question) were both hilarious.
Prior to the Q&A I had asked one of the other volunteers if she knew who the special guest was. She was hesitant to tell me, but figured since I was a volunteer that I could be trusted with such knowledge. She whispered in my ear "It's Colin," and I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly, thanking her for making my whole trip worth it. He was only there for 20 minutes, but I took a video of his Q&A session, which you can watch below. If you fast forward to 2:30 you'll see him look at me several times and answer my question "Where's your favorite place to visit?"
I screen-captured the images of him looking at me, because it was so special. And the fourth one, when he looks back right before he goes to answer another question, is priceless. (Click on the picture to see it larger)
Right after Colin finished his Q&A, I knew they were going to rush him out of the building faster than I was going to be able to run. So I grabbed the peanut butter I had brought for him (all the way from Boston) and hightailed it out of the room to catch him. As he was being shuffled out, I was running after him calling "Colin! Colin!" until he stopped and turned around. I walked up holding the peanut butter and said "I have something for you. I brought you peanut butter from the US. I know it's not your favorite kind, but it's mine" and then handed it to him. He smiled and thanked me with a look on his face that plainly said "I really want to hug you right now, but I can't." He then asked where I'm from, and I replied that I'm from Boston. This earned a grin, since Boston is probably his favorite city in the US. He wanted to know where in Boston I'm from, and I told him Brighton. He responded that his brother is currently visiting Boston and staying in Roxbury. *record screech* What? Roxbury? You mean the part of Boston that I visit EVERY SINGLE DAY? Yeah...so somehow I now need to find his brother before he leaves town. LOL But only because of Colin's next comment to me before he was out the door. As his "bodyguards" were really rushing him out he called something back to me, but he was talking very quickly, and of course he has that gorgeous accent. It sounded to me like he said "I'll see you in Boston" or something of that nature, but that sentence doesn't really make logical sense given he doesn't even know my name. But unfortunately since I was too stupid to keep my video camera running and at least get our interaction on audio *facepalm*, I can't re-listen to it and determine what he actually said. Dang. But the good news is that both Eoin and one of Colin's "bodyguards" (Tom's girlfriend, Laura, who is also in Cold) both know that I was the one who gave him the peanut butter, just in case he asks. :-D
As soon as Colin was gone, Karen asked me who I wanted to sit with during the morning autograph signing. Wait, what? I was going to get to sit with someone? WOOO!!!! Well, who do you think I picked?
Alexander Vlahos (Mordred), of course! (Like my shirt?) The two of us sat there for over an hour and a half while he signed autographs for people in line. I was trying to entertain them by being funny, and the two of us were also chatting. I must tell you, he is the coolest and nicest guy ever. Remember that I hadn't eaten all day? Well Alexander noticed that I was starving. Karen had asked him what he wanted to eat, and he ordered a Caesar salad. He ate some of it but saw that I still hadn't gotten any food, so he offered to share his salad with me. I ate a crouton and a piece of lettuce, since I was incredibly hungry. And now I have Alex germs. ROFL He also asked Karen if she could get us some crisps, and she brought us the food (read junk food and candy) you see pictured above.
There was one woman (pictured above) who was wearing the most amazing shirt ever! She had designed it herself, and I want one just like it! The front says "Keep Calm and Wear a Neckerchief," and the back says "Keep Calm and...hug your manservant...save the King's arse again...blame sorcery...flip your hair back...wear sleeveless chainmail...come back from the dead...call Gaius...smirk the smirk of doom...raise an eyebrow...double the guards." It's just brilliant!
Alexander and I had a lot of fun during the signing and ended up with tons of inside jokes (Where's your sticky? Don't forget your sticky!; Wake up!; passing photographs is so mundane; I don't want to look at my face any more!; crisps, gummies, and Caesar salad) that kept cracking us up. Watching Merlin last night was especially emotional since the episode was centered around Mordred, and now I feel particularly attached to him and his character.
When the morning session was finished everyone took a short break before Eoin and Tom did a Q&A for the afternoon session. My video camera had run out of battery, so I couldn't film it, but luckily my friend Alice had. The highlight of that was Tom "proposing" to Eoin...
We had taught the men about "ships" in the morning session - Merthur, Perwaine and Merdred - and Eoin accidentally gave us a new one in the afternoon. Eoin-Spoon...
I got one great picture of the three men all smiling at the same time. I took a ton of pictures, but the vast majority either came out blurry or with someone making a silly face.
After the afternoon Q&A it was time for photos and hugs. I helped out with the photos and got to chat with Tom & Eoin in between. Eoin kept making fun of me for being American... Some of my friends from Twitter were at the afternoon session, so we made sure to get a group photo since we all finally got to meet each other. From the left the girls are Me, Ellie, Alice, Flora, and Toni-Louise. The men are Tom and Eoin, of course.
In the middle of the photo session we had another surprise...Bradley James (King Arthur) was going to Skype with us! He couldn't make it in person as he's currently in the US, so we got the next best thing.
After Skype we went back to finish with the photos and then the men moved on to do signings for the afternoon group. I got a whole bunch of things signed at this point - pictures for me and my nanny and my pocketbook. :-D
At one point I asked Eoin if he would now follow me on Twitter, and he said that he would because we were now friends. Awwwwww! (Still waiting for him to make good on that...lol) And right before I left I asked him if there was anything else he wanted from me, and he answered "Your soul." O.o I was like "Ummm...ok." To which he answered, "Yes, but you don't know what I want to do with it." LOL He's such a great guy, and I hope he's taking good care of my soul. Haha
Tom is also sweet, though incredibly tall. We were joking during the photo session in the afternoon that I'm vertically challenged and he's vertically gifted.
I had the most amazing time in London, and I appreciated everything Eoin, Karen, Tom and Alexander (and Colin!) did to make me feel as though my trip over was worth it. I can honestly say that it was worth two 6+ hour flights, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, if they plan the premiere for some time during my winter break, I may consider a return trip to see everyone again.
I left Boston at 9pm on Thursday evening, terrified that I was flying for the first time in over 2 years. I took a sleeping pill almost immediately upon getting comfortable in my seat on the plane, but I didn't fall asleep until we had been in the air for a while. I barely remember them serving us dinner, and I think I ate maybe two bites. I woke up after about a 3 hour sleep with 2 hours left until landing. For those 2 hours I was surprisingly calm...and so was the airplane. I got particularly excited when I saw on our flight map that we were flying over Ireland.
I even tried to take a picture out the window of the airplane, but it was still quite dark so you can really only see a little twinkling of Irish lights and the wing of the plane.
My next excitement came when we starting flying over England.
And since it was starting to get light out, I was able to get a very nice picture of us landing in London.
On my way to the place where I was staying I had to go through Kings Cross station. Even though it was superiorily out of my way, I went up to the area with the trains so I could visit Platform 9 3/4. *grin*
After I found my way to my host's home, I planned my adventures around London and headed back out. My first stop was The British Museum.
Once inside, I headed straight for the Rosetta Stone.
One of the rooms in the museum is dedicated to money. The neatest thing is that there's a woman sitting at a desk who will let you look at and touch various objects that were once used as currency.
In that room they even had a Harry Potter coin and a fake Dr. Who £10 note. They even play a video showing the episode of Dr. Who where they needed all of that fake money.
After the museum I was feeling peckish, to borrow the British term, so I went for a real afternoon tea! It was beyond delicious with so much food that I had to take some of it back with me. And the tea was spectacular.
After tea it was only proper that I visit Westminster Abbey! I wasn't able to go inside because they were already closed for the day, but I got some great pictures of the outside.
Of course you can't go to Westminster Abbey without seeing Big Ben! In fact, I heard Big Ben chime 4 o'clock. That was incredible.
In the background you can see the London Eye, which is a gigantic ferris wheel. I walked over there next.
I didn't actually ride on the London Eye because there was a gigantic line and it would have been quite expensive, so I just took a bunch of pictures of it. There were also some people performing right near there, so I stopped to watch them. First were a group of people dressed funny - I think they were trying to be statues except they kept moving and chatting with people. LOL Second I saw a card magician who was doing some pretty amazing tricks. Then I saw someone blowing gigantic bubbles, but I couldn't get any good pictures of the bubbles.
After I watched the performers I walked back over the bridge and took a bus to St. Paul's Cathedral. Unfortunately neither of my pictures of the outside came out so well, but it was gorgeous to look at. I then walked all over the area looking for anyone who had a Merlin wall calendar for sale but to no avail. It was suggested to go to Liverpool Street Station, which was where I was headed anyway. I looked in all the shops there, but no one had the calendar, so I sat to wait for my friend Kevin who I was going to have dinner with that night. We had a lovely dinner together before I headed back to where I was staying and passed out from exhaustion. My trip continues with ColdCon in my next post...
I want to post about my adventures on Friday first, but I know you guys want to know about the special guests and ColdCon as well. I'll leave you with a few things while I go to write my post about Friday.
Colin was there. I got to talk to him incredibly briefly and give him a jar of peanut butter. No, I have no pictures or videos of it. *sob*
I got to volunteer and it was epic!
We got to Skype with Brad.
The photo below is me and Alexander Vlahos (Mordred)
Yes, I know I promised no posts until after ColdCon, but I just had to tell you something. I emailed Karen, the girl who is actually in charge of ColdCon, to ask about volunteering, since Steve seems to be away from his email this week. ColdCon is only two days away (eep!), and I really needed to know what my plans were going to be. I expertly crafted an email asking her if I could volunteer to help, and she replied within minutes thanking me for the offer to help and basically welcoming me to the crew. She told me to be there over an hour before the event starts to get my assignment and briefing. OMG MY DREAM HAS BEGUN! I AM VOLUNTEERING AT COLDCON! This just made my plane flight bearable and worth it. I'm seriously dancing around the room and getting anxious to get to the airport. LOL Me? Looking forward to getting to the airport? Someone must have switched me with someone else... See you from the other side of the ocean!
