Last weekend I had the pleasure of going to
Olympia, a great big exhibition hall in Kensington, and attending the literary bit
of a colossal Science Fiction and Fantasy convention. Downstairs there were
sights that wouldn’t look out of place in that strange spaceport of Mos Eisley.
Ramshackle stalls displaying all kinds of memorabilia and tat were being
perused by beings in all manner of dress and disguise. We saw a great many
little ponies, aliens, elves and Jake the Dogs jostling about in the cramped
thoroughfares. Bewildered one-time stars of space shows and cult films sat at
desks with felt pens ready to sign autographs and eight-by-tens bought by
choosy obsessives.
And upstairs the cream of the UK’s Young
Adult fiction writers, publishers and readers were gathering in a parallel and
no less feverishly excited world. Stalls were laid out with shiny new
paperbacks and there were posters, badges and freebies on offer. Lokis and Jedi
and Spidermen sat in deck chairs reading novels about Goths and dragons and
adolescents-with-issues. It was wonderful to be reunited with the formidable
ladies from Firefly, publishers of my new novel. Firefly had what I certainly
feel was the most colourful, sophisticated and classy-looking display of the
weekend.
There were talks and discussions, readings
and workshops. I myself gave a writing workshop with my one-time colleague, Julia
Bell. (Time might have been too short, the acoustics strange and the number of
students a mite too large, but all seemed to go well.) Signing afterwards for
two hours, it was lovely to talk to people and sign their copies of ‘Lost on
Mars’, and also to meet those who brought treasured items of my strange and
varied backlist: I signed Doctor Who audio cds and novels, and proofs of novels
I published many years ago. I love meeting people who’ve kept a far better
archive of my own past productions than I have myself!
The whole thing was fascinating and fun.
There were lots of funny moments and surreal ones. I loved glimpsing the hero
of ‘Gremlins’, now middle-aged and looking lonely in his cubicle without his
pet Mogwai. And heroes from Star Trek: Voyager, long-returned from the Delta
Quadrant but still looking vaguely dazed. The most cheery and magical-looking
of all the Sci-Fi celebs must be Sylvester McCoy, I think. We only glimpsed him
from afar, but he really did look as if he’d dropped in from some universe much
more way-out and fun than ours.
My favourite funny moment involved another
Doctor Who star. Returning, late in the day, to attend the YALC party for
writers and publishers, my companion and I waited for a lift on the ground
floor. When the doors opened a vast stream of tired cosplayers came tumbling
out. There seemed to be far more pouring out of the elevator than it could
possibly contain. When my friend and I stepped aboard, only a few wilting souls
remained, pressed against the walls. One of them was ex-Doctor Who, Colin
Baker, looking mithered in his linen suit. There was a shortish woman dressed as something-or-other
gazing up him in awe.
‘Is this lift bigger than the TARDIS,
Doctor?’ she asked.
He gave a superior and huffy sniff. ‘It’s
certainly SMELLIER!’
It was perfectly in character for his
Doctor persona, but the poor woman looked rather crushed. He rushed to make
amends, ‘Oh, but it’s a lift filled with lovely people, of course!’ But I fear
it was too late.
It was one of those wonderful, charming,
socially awkward moments that always seem to happen when someone from Doctor
Who is in the house. I’ve no idea why that is, but I relish these moments when
I witness them.
And even though we never saw hide nor hair
of Comic Con’s headliners – Sigourney Weaver, Judy Blume or the bloke inside
Boba Fett – it seemed like we’d had our share of classic moments.
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