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I arrived at the Jarvis International feeling tired and wet. I had spent a few hours travelling by train and, when I arrived at Temple Meads Station, I made the mistake of thinking that I could reach it in a few minutes. If you know the way, it only takes about five minutes but if, like me, you have no sense of direction...Well, after wandering around in the pouring rain for awhile and receiving directions from about three different people, I finally made it.

I dragged my suitcase to reception and managed to check in quite quickly, which was a pleasant surprise since I had had some trouble booking a room. In fact, I had my confirmation letter tucked in my purse, fully prepared for a showdown. As I clutched my key card, I probably oozed gratitude instead!

After I had deposited my luggage and attempted to dry my hair, I headed back downstairs to register. As I was still a little out of sorts, I bid a very timid “hi” to the guy I met in the elevator. It took me about 20 seconds to figure out that it was Gary Rhodes, a member of the con committee and owner of the Silver Arrow site. I believe his Silver Arrow 2000 con badge helped... *g* Anyway, I introduced myself and he directed me to the registration desk.

While I valiantly fumbled for my ticket, someone passed me my badge and a woman said not to worry about the ticket. That was when I met Janet Reedman. I was about to match a few more names to faces.

I walked into the lounge in search of someone I knew. Fortunately, I spotted Kathye, who I had met in Toronto last year, almost immediately. It wasn’t long before I was introduced to two ladies I knew very well but had never met - Anita Jaconelli and Rina Floryn! Anita was just what I thought she might be (fun, crazy, outgoing and kind), but I didn’t expect Rina to be so nice! I mean, she is a Nasir fan after all... *g*

I soon met some other more cyber pals. One was Fiona, who I’d only known for a few months (but knew a lot better by the end of the con!), and Lady Em, who I’d known for almost three years! In fact, she was one of the first people to email me after I started this site! Needless to say, I was thrilled to finally meet her and her boyfriend, Mark!

Kirsty and Alys had been absent from the lounge when I arrived, but they returned. I knew what they looked like (and even sounded like thanks to a tape Puck made during last year’s Robin Hood conference!), but they didn’t recognize me at first. I stood in front of them and waved. After they glanced down at my con badge, they both cried "CLAIRE!" and we hugged. Suffice it to say, we were happy to see each other. :-)

Robert studies Alison Bick's 1978 Pony Annual

Because we couldn’t get a table in the dining room until 9:30, we continued to chat in the lounge and I made some new friends, like Caroline and Louise Kelly, Alison Bick and some people I had heard about through Addie’s Faction: Anne-Marie from Denmark, Melanie from Germany and Magdalena from Polland. So...when 9:30 rolled round there were a lot of people at our table! However, conversation came easily and we had one subject we could always fall back on, of course!

I had heard rumours that Robert Addie had arrived with this girlfriend - *BOO! HISS!* - but I hadn’t seen him yet. Then we spotted him at the buffet and tried not to stare too much. However, when we visited the buffet ourselves in search of dessert, I couldn’t resist saying that Robert must have taken all the good stuff since the selection seemed a little scant... *g*

After supper we gathered in the lounge again and Kirsty went to the bar to find Robert. I hadn’t been nervous before, but I started to feel a bit jittery as we pushed chairs in a circle and waited for Kirsty and Robert to arrive. We didn’t have to wait long.

I think I remained remarkably calm as Kirsty introduced everyone to Robert. She introduced me as "Claire from Toronto," then added that I was the one with the "Nasty Knight Page". I’m not sure if I was flattered or afraid that he remembered my site! *VBG* Anyway, after he’d been introduced to everyone, he sat down and chatted with us.

Because almost everyone was too shy to say anything poor Kirsty asked most of the questions. However, she did a fantastic job and we heard a lot of interesting things! For example, we learned that he had recently been interviewed for the DVD release of Robin of Sherwood, which was very exciting news! Alison Bick also had a surprise of her own.

She pulled out a certain book she had purchased - a 1978 Pony Annual that contained a photo of an 18-year-old Robert Addie! We’d thought he’d be horrified and order Alison to burn it, but he smiled instead and said, "Leonardo DiCapprio, eat your heart out!"

Leonardo DiCapprio, eat your heart out!
(Alison Bick and Robert Addie)

It wasn’t long before Robert’s girlfriend, Lizzie, came over. Even though most of us probably wanted to hate her, it was impossible. *g* She was very patient with us for pulling Robert away and even made the ultimate sacrifice of sitting at the bar with Terry Walsh and listening to his stories!

Say sh*t! - Posing with RoS stunt coordinator, Terry Walsh

Terry Walsh (the RoS stunt coordinator) eventually made his way to our circle as well. He insisted that we keep asking Robert questions. When no one spoke up, he started singling people out! He was also helpful enough to give us Robert’s room number. Then Robert informed us that it was actually Terry’s room, but that it wouldn’t be the first time he doubled for him! *g*

Before we knew it, it was about 1:30 a.m. and we decided that it was probably time to call it a day. As we rose from our chairs, I asked Terry (since he’s such a celebrity) if he would mind me taking a picture of him. He agreed and asked me if I would like to pose with him. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Then he gave me advice on how to smile for photos: Just say sh*t and it will look lovely. I think that’s when I knew it was really time to go to bed!