Meeting the Stars

Woo! What a day. This morning I slept, because of yesterday mostly. This afternoon we went over to a different hotel for the big Prisoner (Cell Block H) event. First was Retrospectively, Rita where Glenda Linscott showed how talented she is by acting out bits from various things she’s been in, ending with a short film about a real life story of how a woman got HIV from her husband (go to http://www.audaciousdreaming.com/ to find out more and donate). She even managed a convincing Scouse accent for one of them (it’s better than mine, and I only lived there for 16 years…). It was really enjoyable.

Next we went to the lobby bar for a bit while they set up the next part. During this time I was in a lot of pain and extremely tired, so was struggling a bit, but I don’t think I showed too much (actually, all day I was exhausted and in a lot of pain, and ended up losing it before the event started, but I think it was okay). When we went back up they’d set up all the tables for dinner, and both Glenda and Maggie Kirkpatrick came out. There were clips from Prisoner with them both, questions being asked, then they both commentated on an episode of Prisoner (692, or the last episode). This was enjoyable, and also funny when they were reminiscing about what was going on (plus Maggie had never seen the episode, even though it was mostly about her, which was also amusing).

After this everyone got their photo taken with them. They came to me at the end of this (I was in my wheelchair, and there was no way I was going to be able to walk to the front as my legs aren’t behaving today) and were really nice, even though by this point I could barely speak (noise, pain, people, exhaustion, and being overwhelmed didn’t help :P). I even managed to smile when they were being all tactile and and having their arms around me for the photos, even though it was very difficult for me. I think it was worth it.
HI
After the photos, it was time for food. All very nice, though I didn’t get dessert as there was none left by the time I was ready for it (the only really bad thing of the event), and for a while Glenda sat at our table and chatted to us. Maggie was also floating around. There were clips of Maggie on the projector while we ate, which was interesting. After the food Maggie and Glenda signed autographs, and I now own a couple of signed photos 🙂 My mum went up as it would have been awkward me trying to get there, but I watched things for a bit, and also chatted to Johan on Google Talk, which helped calm me down.

Next there was some footage shown of when Sammy Davis Jr. visited the Prisoner set, which was from Maggie’s collection (non labeled, some on Betamax). This was interesting to watch. Next was the charity auction, and my mum won a couple of photos (including a big signed one of the two stars that she was determined to win). The last thing were the thanks, and a song.

After that we left to go back to the hotel. Maggie came out while we were waiting for the taxi, said goodbye to us (she remembered my name :P) and waited for her taxi, and tried to steal ours at one point 😛 We came back and now I’m in bed, finishing this off and about to go to sleep. It was a great day and I really enjoyed it.