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.
Glad you had such an amazing time! I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. :)
ReplyDeleteWow Tom is more than 2 heads taller than you are.