A long time ago.... well, last September
OUT of this world!
That was the Clacton Sci-fi Convention which was a monster success with more than 700 people coming through the doors.
From before the doors opened there were long queues outside the Princes Theatre, Clacton, Essex, England. And once they opened the main hall was soon swamped with collectors eager to pick up a bargain.
And there were plenty to be found. Some stalls had signed posters, others had the latest Episode 1 figures while some had Dr Who and Star Trek memorabilia.
Up on the stage the nine guests were all there signing autographs and chatting to fans throughout the day.
At midday Jeremy Bulloch gave a speech in the video room, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the event. Jeremy gave a fascinating talk on his career, and then answered numerous questions from fans. One young fan asked if Boba Fett could be in any of the films after Jedi to which Jeremy pointed out that he'd died in the Sarlaac Pit. To which the youngster retored: "No you didn't, you were rescued and got out".
After that the video room returned to showing rare documentaries from
the world of Star Wars, including the famous Troops video, a parady of Stormtroopers.
In the afternoon Caroline Munro went down to Clacton Common shopping village where she signed autographs and chatted to several shoppers who weren't expecting to see a Bond girl on their day out.
A quiz was also held which proved to be a match for some. The full quiz with its answers can be found here if you're still scratching your head. Some visitors made an extra effort to win, calling home on mobiles and checking out encyclopaedias in the hope of finding the answers.
In the end the prizes, including a £50 Spock model, went to 19-year-old Louise Heydon, of Gorse Lane, Clacton, who cracked 27 of the 30 questions. And proving at the same time that it's not just guys who are obsessed with Star Wars!
Pic copyright Clacton
Gazette www.thisisessex.com
The day was a huge success and surprised the organisers with the number of people who came, about 730 in the end.
We've already started thinking about next year's event, which is set for September 9, a Saturday, and at the same venue.
If you've any comments you'd like to add about the day we would love to hear from you. Drop me a line and we'll take your views on board.
Here's some pics of myself, Mark Beales, doing some promotional shots before the convention. For full details of our guests click here.
