The Wild Hunt’s evening performance outside the banquet hall
After lunch we returned to the hotel and banquet hall. They were playing the blooper tape and various interviews, commercials and clips involving the RoS cast. Then the afternoon panel began with the addition of Nickolas Grace and Jeremy Bulloch. There was an immediate request for Nickolas Grace’s Evita story, but he refused to tell it. He said he had gotten into enough trouble the last time when the papers somehow got wind of the story, and he was almost sued for slander. However, even without the Evita story, Nick was still his usual hilarious, entertaining self. I, uh, just can’t remember what else he said…
Look, I asked a number of people what they could remember from the panels and they all drew blanks too! So it’s not just me rapidly aging and losing brain cells, or that possible head injury I mentioned earlier. No, it’s…it’s…Oh, this is the WORST con report ever!!! *SOB!*
{{Insert moment of intense melodrama}}
*Sniff, sniff* Where was I? Oh, yes, the second guest panel I can’t remember. Well, for those of you who didn’t shut down this window or scroll down too far, it ended. Then The Wild Hunt Morris Dancers came out to perform! And when I say Morris Dancers, I don’t mean those middle-aged men you sometimes see with funny hats, suspenders and white hankies (They do exist. I saw them in Stratford-upon-Avon after the 2000 con. Ask Kathye. It’s true.), but a group made up of various ages and both men and women.
Those wacky Morris Dancers again!
I have to admit that I questioned their choice of costumes, at first, as they seemed to consist of mostly ribbons or long paper streamers. Then they began to dance and I understood as I watched the ribbons and/or streamers begin to whirl around in an exciting frenzy of colour. Oh, and there were also some talented musicians in the group playing drums. What I liked best were the sticks the dancers kept whacking as they moved. Sometimes the stick-whacking resembled a kind of duel between dancers and sometimes it…Well, it just looked and sounded really cool.
When I picked up some pamphlets afterwards, I learned (though I had my suspicions at the time) that the dance contained such figures as the Green Man and everyone’s favourite forest god, Herne the Hunter. There was also Odin and Cernunnos, Celtic lord of animals. The dance celebrated the cycles of life and the changing of the seasons, as represented by Herne hunting the white stag, taking the magic antlers and transforming into the god Cerunnos. The Wild Hunt ended up being so popular that Richard Carpenter supposedly requested a repeat performance when he heard about them.
After The Wild Hunt, it was time to queue up for autographs from Nigel Bell, Robert Addie, Phil Rose and Jeremy Bulloch. As I hadn’t managed to get Nigel Bell’s autograph at the last con, I was happy that he could sign my programe this time around. Robert Addie had started joking around. I think he and Phil Rose had been making fun of the rather strange deer headdress that was gracing the table. Then Robert was placing it on his head. I immediately grabbed my camera (along with at least one or two other fans) and snapped a picture. He ripped off the headdress and said, “All right, who took a picture?” I said nothing, attempting to appear innocent and probably failing miserably.
Robert (Herne the Hat Rack) Addie
After seeing Phil Rose again and getting his autograph, I found myself standing in front of the Herne the Hat Rack wannabe. I said, “Hi!” and placed my programme down on the table. He returned the greeting and simply signed his name without asking me for mine. I don’t know if this was in revenge for the picture I had just taken. I suspect it might have had something to do with the pint of beer at his elbow…and possibly the pint or two he had consumed before that.
Although I had met him at the previous con, I didn’t expect him to remember me. It had been three years, he must meet a lot of fans, and I don’t think I’m the kind of person to leave a lasting impression. Maybe if I had informed him that I’m the one who runs Gisburne’s NASTY Knight Page, he would have said, “Ah, yes, you’re that barking mad woman”. Anyway…
Jeremy Bulloch did ask me for my name (Not that I’m at all bitter, Robert. Really.) and behaved quite well for a serf. It was a pleasure to meet him, though I was looking forward to watching Sar interact with him even more. When I realized that she was just behind me, I readied my camera.
Sar meets Edward of Wickham
You see, Sar is a self-confessed Edward of Wickham fan and damn proud of it too. She considers herself the head of his fan club, his champion and defender. She once tried to fix a favourite character poll at the Nottingham Bakery by voting for Edward of Wickham about 500 times – or, at least, it seemed that way then. You don’t know the lengths she’ll go to protect this thane of Wickham’s honour. And as I had watched her practising the speech that she would be delivering to Jeremy Bulloch a couple of days before, I sure as hell was going to be there with my camera to capture the moment.
Sar immediately told Jeremy Bulloch that Edward of Wickham was her favourite character. Then she delivered the speech to her astonished but amused audience. I believe she covered such topics as Norman tyranny and the need to maintain village solidarity. I couldn’t resist bringing the issue of Wickham’s cabbages to the table and the importance of preserving them against the danger of trampling. I think my interruption might have shattered the deep integrity of Sar’s words. It certainly earned me an interesting look from Jeremy Bulloch.
I was just considering what havoc I might wreak next when I learned that Richard Carpenter (creator of RoS) was signing autographs in the bar…
