Clacton Sci Fi Report

Clacton Sci-Fi Convention September 15 2002

I have to be honest, the only reason I went was to see Ed Bishop again, and I
wasn't disappointed - he is such a nice man. I've been a fan since the late
1980's and I kept in touch with him for a long time, but lost touch in the
1990's so it was great to meet him again and he remembered me which was
really nice.
While I was speaking to Ed, a committee guy came over and asked Ed if he
wanted water, Ed replied "No, but we could do with the doors open" he was
concerned that people would get too hot then the guy said "Its dark too" and
Ed quipped "Well, I don't need good lighting any more but I do need oxygen.."
they got the message and opened the doors. Ed is such a considerate man that
he wanted to ensure everyone was comfortable, but the heat was unbearable, it
hit you like a wave as you went in

The con itself was geared towards Star Wars and the 2 dealers room reflected
this, although there was a tiny amount of Anderson related merchandise. The
area had been set out so that as you walked in through the entrance and
turned left you went into a packed dealers room and if you looked closely you
just caught a glimpse of the guests on the stage, almost hidden behind a sea
of people queuing for autographs (bizarre set up).
If you turned right, you went into another dealers room and on through into
the speaking area and bar - again bizarre.

The organisers allowed smoking in all areas at the con (which is not
pleasant), it was a very warm day inside and it was stifling. This is the
first con I remember going to which allowed this, there were a lot of people
here too and it was exceptionally warm. Both myself and my husband are
asthmatic and it made the day difficult to say the least.

A little later Ed gave a talk - question and answer session and it was ruined
by the antics of two females in the ajoining bar (not good planning to put a
guest next to a rowdy bar) who were singing over Ed - very rude to say the
least. But Ed being the professional he is soldiered on, the session started
slowly and at first no-one seemed to want to ask questions, and I almost
asked my standard question (who did you base Straker on, cause he's such a
hard ass and you're.....not) to keep momentum going, I know the answer, but
it just keeps things ticking over till someone else gets an idea and it
doesn't leave Ed standing there with nothing to do. He gave us the voice
over from the start of Captain Scarlet which drew loud applause and cheers
(and he deserved it). He told us how when he was filming Whoops Apocalypse
how he took a glass of water in to the studio and the guard said "Ere mate"
(exact words) "No food and drink on the set", to which Ed responded "I'm an
actor and its for the show", the guard said ok and let him in with it. Ed
then hid the water under the table and when he thought no-one was looking
took a drink, it went quiet for a moment then he heard laughter and looked
around to see a camera on and his furtive water drinking was being seen by
the live audience who were tickled by it. Ed went on - by then of course, I
had the audience on my side, they thought it was gin and I played up to the
camera every chance I got, you know slicking my hair back, adjusting the
tie....that sort of thing.

Someone asked a question about Peter Gordeno and Ed told us that he is now a
leading interior designer in Beverly Hills.

All in all, a good chance to see Ed Bishop again, and he did exceptionally
well in the Q&A session despite strong competition from the 2 tipsy females
singing in the bar!.

In my opinion, I would have had the talks in the dealers room where they were
having the autographs done and moved that dealers room to the bar. I have
suggested this to the organisers and raised the issue of the smoking, so
perhaps it will be a little better next year (and yes, I will attend if Mr
Bishop goes along).

There will be a few photographs which I took at the con, but I have to have
them developed first, hopefully won't keep you waiting too long.

Thank you.

Claire Steed
Teynham, Kent, UK


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>Someone asked a question about Peter Gordeno and Ed told us that he is now a
>leading interior designer in Beverly Hills.

That is very interesting Claire as from what I hear so is Ayshea. Anyone
think this might be SHADO new cover ploy? The next series would be SHADO
90210.

James K(realizing he has been driving way too long the past two days)


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In a message dated 17/09/02 03:46:38 GMT Daylight Time, [hidden email]
writes:


> That is very interesting Claire as from what I hear so is Ayshea. Anyone
> think this might be SHADO new cover ploy? The next series would be SHADO
> 90210.
>

Sounds very much like it to me, we have to worry if a certain blond commander
suddenly shows up, giving orders about which colour paint to put on the walls
and whether velour is a good idea for curtains <giggle>

Claire


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