Another Adelaide Road Trip

Only four months into the year and I’m already up to my fourth event, and second event with Amanda Tapping. 2014 turning out to be one hell of a year, for events anyway. This event was another interstate one, which meant it was time for another Adelaide road trip. I had worked from midnight to 7am, headed home and packed the car and then headed off to Adelaide. I had a boot full of boxes for another fun packed weekend of helping out Dennys and Ken, plus my costume and other goodies.

Although I was road tripping across by myself this time, there were several other friends who were also driver over. Throughout the drive we were checking in on each others progress and even managed to catch up here and there. The journey to and from is just as much a part of the experience as the event itself.

Arrived in Adelaide around dusk, just in time to witness the gorgeous sunset. I was lucky enough to be able to stay in a hotel with my good friend Jodie, who had flown in earlier in the day. I had several friends who were attending the VIP Cocktail Party, including my UK Travel Buddy Jen. Whilst Jodie and I were out, we decided to drive past the venue with Spice Girls playing up loud. The ladies inside the party could definitely hear us as we drove round as we were getting messages. This was just us being a little bit goofy.

Saturday

After a refreshing sleep, Jodie and I were up early to head to the venue. We had to get Dennys stall set up for the event. We did stop by a nearby Bunnings to buy a trolley to help cart the boxes inside. Whilst there we were very tempted to buy a Sherlock wheelbarrow since Benedict Cumberbatch was a guest. Decided against it but still thought it would have made a fantastic photo opportunity, we found out that he wasn’t doing any prop photos anyway.

For most of the day I kept myself busy working at Den’s stall. Chatting with so many of my amazing friends, and talking to other fans and trying to sell Den’s items for him. We had his Amanda Tapping books to sell, as well as prints of many other actors, like Ryan Robbins, Agam Darshi, Robin Dunne and more… There were also some amazing metallic prints of Amanda for sale too, I just had to get one for myself of course.

I’m really glad that I had Jodie for backup at the stall over the weekend. It meant that if either of us wanted to do something over the weekend, someone was still there to man the stall. Which meant that I had the chance to sneak away to the Amanda and Robin panel, always hilarious.

The Slap Photo Session

When friends came to chat at the stall, I mentioned that I had this brilliant idea for a photo with Amanda. Unfortunately, after the recent trip to the UK I was still trying to avoid spending too much money. So I wasn’t going to get the photo done, but when I mentioned the idea to a friend, she said I had to. She ended up going and buying me a token and telling me I had to have the photo taken. Because of the idea I had, the first thing I did was go and speak with Amanda’s minder for the weekend. I wanted to make sure I had permission and she was aware of what was going to happen. My friends who knew what was going on, all wanted to be able to see it happen so I got to queue with the VIPs.

As seen in the photo below, my idea was to have Amanda slap me on the bottom. You’ll understand the story behind this photo if you have read my Amanda in the UK blog post. The funniest part about this photo is the fact that Amanda didn’t just pretend to slap me. She really did, and then all friends who were watching from the queue were laughing and yelling “Slap her harder!”. It was entertaining and I can’t imagine what everyone else in the queue thought was going on. There were almost just as many laughs when I went to collect my photo after getting printed. And the photo was up on the wall for all to see, everyone was having a good laugh.

Sunday

After having such a great day on Saturday, it was time for day two, Sunday. Spent most of the day working at Den’s stall, selling the books and prints, we were also taking bids on a large Amanda poster we had on display. It was great fun because even though I was working I got to talk and catch up with many amazing friends. Plus got to spend time chilling with Jodie, Den and Ken throughout the weekend.

I did sneak away and attended another Amanda and Robin panel. Dennys was also doing a panel as well, so I made sure that I got to that one as well. Which was gatecrashed by Robin, but they’re amazing and it was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of.

Photos and Autos

My plan for saving money went completely awry, now I had that Amanda photo I had to go and get it autographed. Which then made me want a funny photo with Robin too. I also wanted Robin to sign my Amanda Tapping photo book by Den because he was featured in it. And it had already been signed by Amanda, Den and Ken in England the month before.

I walked in to get the photo with Robin and I ask him to pull a stupid face. He yells “Yes!” and gives me a high five. Asking for a funny photo is always more fun, not just for you but for the guest as well, you can get creative with it.

I waited until later in the day before heading over to get my autographs. Sunday afternoon is always quieter and it’s the best time to get things autographed once the queues have died down. Also often gives you the chance to speak to the guests a little bit longer. Took my photo to get Amanda to autograph it and she loved it, she signed it “Naughty naughty girl!”. Not the first and probably not the last time she’ll call me that.

Den’s Book

Throughout the weekend Den had been autographing items for people as they purchased them. There was an Amanda book that had gotten a big silver Sharpie smudge on it, so we had kept it aside. Throughout the weekend we would get fan’s of Den’s to sign the book, including ourselves. Then as the day neared it’s end we decided to try and get Amanda to sign it to. We rushed off and managed to catch her as she was leaving, and she signed it for him. We did this just for a little bit of fun, and to give ourselves a challenge for the day.

Another Event Done

Another amazing weekend spent with friends having a good time and creating memories. It really was a great weekend, and a reminder of how many friends I have in this world of events. After the event finished it took some time packing up the stall and loading the boxes back into the car. Than Den and Ken invited me out for dinner before I started the drive back home.

I headed off to meet Den and Ken at their hotel, but when I got there, they remembered they already had plans. They were going out for dinner with Amanda, Robin and some others. So I hung around for a little bit and chatted whilst they were waiting. I also sat down and chatted with some friends who were at the GFTG Aftermath party, which was at the hotel bar.

It was whilst I was in the hotel lobby that there was an incident, that was quite upsetting. It was a moment when one of the event staff said something quite nasty about me, very loudly. So it was overheard by a lot of people in the lobby one of whom was Amanda, as well as other guests. It was extremely unprofessional and most definitely uncalled for, I had done nothing to warrant this. Fortunately, knowing who the comment came from I just let it go. It’s a shame that it happened, but I’m not the kind of person who’d make a scene, I just shook it off and kept chatting with friends.

Road Trip Home

It wasn’t long after that incident that I headed off for some dinner, before I started the long trek home. I needed to be home to start work at 11am on the Monday, so I left Adelaide around 10pm. I stopped just over the border, made space in the back of the car with my sleeping bag and got a couple of hours sleep. Then continued the drive home, getting home with enough time to unpack the car and shower before heading into work. It was all a bit of a rush and I was tired, but it was worth it.