B (Part 1) Badland to Blakiston
B (Part 1) Badland to Blakiston
As I wrote in the first blog, I came late to conventions and so I have relatively few photographs to share. I know there are some serious convention attendees out there with massive collections of photographs, autographs and memorabilia. They’d probably think this effort is quite pathetic but the reason I attend, the reason I like to meet actors whose work I admire, is that I have the opportunity to say ‘thank you’. Thanks for the joy your work has given me and countless others. Thanks for adding colour and warmth to a sometimes cold and grey world. Anyway, moving on…
For the sake of brevity, and my sanity, I have divided the next batch of celebs into two entries.
Annette Badland
Colin Baker
Jamie Bamber
John Barrowman
Steven Berkoff
Michael Berryman
Martine Beswick
Caroline Blakiston
March 2018, a very snowy Sunday morning, and I drove from Mansfield to Birmingham pretty much to grab this picture with Annette Badland and then drive back again. A wonderful actress, she’s appeared in just about everything from Miss Marple (the Joan Hickson era) to Doctor Who. I had gone armed with my Show People Podcast pen: Annette had been the third guest interviewed on that series (hosted by the magnificent Andrew Keates) and I thought it appropriate having recently received it in the post. She was lovely but of course you just knew she would be.
Colin Baker is the person I’ve met most attending conventions. He seems to be at everyone. But that’s OK, because he’s always good value. He was always relaxed and he always had a story to tell..the one about William Shatner was quite something. He seems to have a genuine affection for the fans that queue to meet him. This is one of my favourite pictures.
The second convention I ever attended was Em-Con in Nottingham. It was the 29th April 2017, and I had pushed the boat out and bought an early access ticket, which I hoped would mean less queuing. I was literally one of the first people through the door and some stalls were still setting up and there wasn’t a famous person in sight…or was there.
Sitting on a folding chair, near to his autograph signing station, was Jamie Bamber. He looked up and I nodded and smiled politely. He stood from his chair and said ‘good morning’. That was the start of a lovely long chat with this very talented and apparently very pleasant young man. We chatted about loads of things, from Battlestar Galactica to Law & Order plus Monday Mornings, which had been a favourite show in our household, and deserved not to be cancelled after only one series. Later in the day, when I went to have my proper photo taken with him, he remembered my name. You just know that made this old fool feel pretty special for a while. Definitely one of the nicest encounters I’ve had along the way.
Mrs B loves John Barrowman. Never a fan of Doctor Who, she would never miss Torchwood. We’ve seen him on stage several times, in concerts and musicals, and he is a naturally gifted entertainer. He’s also, as can be seen from this photo, very tactile. I literally spent as long as it took to take that photo in his company that day, but it was a nice experience.
As a lover of the theatre, meeting Steven Berkoff was something I looked forward to. I half expected a grumpy intense encounter but maybe age has mellowed him, for at the age of 81 I found him warm and chatty.
This was one of those occasions when nobody was in his queue, so I took full advantage of that opportunity. Yes, that was a rewarding encounter with a theatrical legend.
Michael Berryman has a CV dripping with horror films and yet in real life it was a joy to meet him. Such a lovely man. Happy to talk about his films, I asked him about One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. We spoke also about his Star Trek experiences. He seemed a genuinely friendly man.
I love watching Hammer horror films. On the list of people I wish I’d met would be Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Hammer didn’t only make horror films though, they made movies in many diverse genres including films like One Million Years BC and the rather eccentric Prehistoric Women, which funnily enough featured a young Steven Berkoff.
These films, featuring scantily clad, voluptuous ladies, (we all remember Raquel Welch in a fur bikini I’m sure), made quite an impact! Of course featuring in both of these movies was Martine Beswick who was also known for appearing in two Bond films and the brilliant Dr Jekyll,Sister Hyde.
I had gone to a convention in Birmingham with the sole intent of bagging a chat with Sian Phillips, but as I’m walking through the crowds, there is the vision in black, smiling and chatting to passersby. I’ll be honest, it took a moment to register who it was, but when I did, I was hooked. She was there with three other former Bond girls, and so I got to meet all of them too. It was a lovely bonus to be able to add them to my list.
A convention wouldn’t be a convention without some link to Star Wars. I am a fan, of course, and although I never got to meet any of the stars I have met several of the actors who played supporting roles. At one particular event, a phalanx of storm troopers were providing a guard of honour to Mon Mothma herself, the incredibly talented actor, Caroline Blakiston.
I had planned that day to seek her out for a chat, not because of Star Wars, but because of a production I’d recently seen at the National Theatre. The piece was totally devised on the night and featured actors of a certain vintage shall we say. Lost Without Words was one of the best pieces of theatre I had ever seen and I meant to tell her.
I waited for a lull in the queue and made my move. As soon as I mentioned I’d seen the play she became very animated and dragged me behind her desk and we chatted for a good ten minutes about theatre and that play. Eventually, I was gently moved on by her minder, but later in the day, when I went to get a photo, she once again chatted away about the art of acting. A special day.
That ends this section of B’s. Back next week with batch two…Blessed to Burton (Levar not Richard).
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