A bit later than I would have liked (RL has a lot to answer for!) - here is the first part of the Rosie Ramble from NOLA...
Friday 28th JanuaryI had fun day exploring. It was a beautiful clear sunny day so I walked down to Café Du Monde for the traditional square doughnuts for breakfast (very sugary even for my sweet tooth) and then just wandered the streets taking photos of the buildings and the wrought iron. New Orleans doesn’t seem to start waking up until about 11am, so it was very peaceful with very few people about. I spent some time just sitting by the Mississippi – I had wanted to go on a riverboat cruise, but the steam boat The Nanchez was being repaired so wasn’t running.. In the flea market, there was a wonderful 3 piece band playing blues and country rock so I sat and had a drink to listen to them. They were so good, I decided to have lunch there too so I could keep listening! I tried out a local delicacy and had fried alligator – it was yummy!
I explored the shops on Royal street and bought a couple of Mardi Gras masks to give to James as a gift from Jessie and I on her suggestion, along with a couple of bits for myself whilst enjoying a variety of great music, as at every cross street there was another band or musician playing – including a fabulous skiffle band complete with tin washboard player; a motorcycle-riding blues guitarist and a classical cellist!
My shoes were rubbing by now from so much walking and I was - to use the British expression – knackered! So I walked back to the hotel where I collapsed in a heap and literally put my feet up for a couple of hours.
I did make a sortie out to the Con centre later before it got dark to see just where we were going to be as the building was huge. Although I could see it from my hotel window, Hall G was a couple of blocks over to the right. I peered in the doors to get an idea of the layout. Then it was just waiting for my other 2 roomies to arrive and when they did, there was catching up to be done and planning for the following day. We had no idea what time they would be starting to give out passes, so decided we really wanted to be down at the con centre by about 8.30 so we could be well up the line and then go and immediately start the line up for the Q and A, That meant we were going to have to be up early.
Saturday 29th JanuaryA 6am start (though not so bad for me as my body clock was on a different time!) – I chose to go in the bathroom first as I take about 15 minutes tops whilst the others needed much longer! It gave me time to be thoroughly organised and ready for the day – and to nip downstairs and partake of the very good breakfast buffet whilst the other two were getting ready!
We met up with Adrian, Chad and their son Caleb and made our way over to the centre. There were a few people about but not too many. No one seemed to know what to do with us at first – we formed a rough line in the end whilst they started to get organised and started handing out passes. The first guy in the line was for a full VIP ticket which he managed to get eventually. Second up were a mother and daughter who were James VIP’s like us – and the organisers seemed to know nothing about such a thing and tried to give them VIP. Eventually, someone went looking and found the James passes, but then didn’t know about the photo op, autograph or concert tickets and so said we would have to come back for them later..
I sneaked up the escalator and checked out the Q and A room – which was a better size than Boston - and then came down again to report to the others, and we were shooed outside to join the official entrance line, to be let in at 10am. We saw Steve and various JM Live people going in so at least we knew James was around! When we finally were let in, a whole group of us just galloped straight up the escalator and started the Q and A line up – James’s was the first one, but not until noon. And I was first in line! Two hours to wait was nothing compared to some line ups I’ve done - there was good company and conversation and people took turns to report what was going on in the main hall. We kept on trying to fond out about the photo op tickets etc as the first of James’s photo ops were immediately after the Q and A and for some, that would be the only photo they had. I took my turn to go down to go and buy an extra couple of photo ops and check out the lie of the land. James wasn’t at his table yet so I couldn’t report back on what he was wearing or anything.
We had been talking with some of the volunteers and organisers in the line – it always amuses me when they tell you stuff that they think is new and exclusive about James, that we have normally known about for months! But everybody was very polite about it…
Eventually, the VIPs were let in and so I galloped to the front and took a seat slightly off centre. The stage had a table right across it, with no space at the front, so it looked like James was going to be sitting up on the back of his chair rather than walking about. There were also the normal cups and jugs on the table, including a big vacuum-flask type right in the middle. Having been caught out by bloody water jugs getting in the way of photographs several times before, (DragonCon comes to mind!) I was going to get it moved! There was no one to ask, so I just hopped up and moved it right to the end of the table, well out of the way!
The room pretty well filled up and we had a fun warm-up with a guy that apparently has been on US
, he was moderator for the panel but said he wouldn’t need to do anything as James had been doing this for a long time. And then, there was our man. He was wearing blue jeans (that might even have been new!) the soft mid blue v-neck t shirt and some rather splendid black boots. Grabbing one of the mics off the table he did his usual introduction “Hello all you beautiful people!” and then doing his “You can ask me anything you like, but I won’t necessarily answer” spiel. He was looking very fit, probably a bit thinner again, but not in a bad way!
He started taking questions from the audience first before it was pointed out there was a mic for people to use and very quickly, during his answering the first question, decided he didn’t want to be stuck behind the table, so he climbed up over and swung his legs round so he was sitting on it at the front. The mic was in a stand, so he just took that with him! That worked well as he left it in a (rather phallic!) position between his legs a lot of the time, so it didn’t get in the pictures. And he was forever swinging his legs and sticking his feet straight out, as we know James can never keep still!
There is nothing new to report from the Q and A – except that no one asked the JB question!! He was asked about Torchwood in general, but that was as close as it got – it’s a miracle! The first interesting thing was about 15 minutes into the Q and A when James said something in passing about being married. Everybody who picked up on it suddenly perked up and wondered if they had heard that right…
I was busy taking photos of a happy, smiling James who was obviously enjoying himself. After a while, the blackout blinds on the big windows on my side of the room started to rise automatically, letting in natural light. What a joy – I could turn off the flash on the camera and take normal pictures. Sadly it only lasted for about 20 minutes and then they went down again – so it was back to the flash. I’ve no idea why they went up and down like that – but hey – good lighting is not to be sniffed at for whatever reason! And then, during some rather tacky question from someone who wanted to show James their tattoo, he said something about “my wife”. The second mention of marriage had me thinking he and Patricia had finally done it – once might be a slip, but twice? There was only one person to ask – the man himself!
The Q and A lasted 45 minutes and as usual, there was no shortage of questions, From there it was practically straight to the photo ops so I dashed to the nearest bathroom for a quick tidy up – no time to do much – and then down to the main show floor and join the looong line. I need not have rushed quite so much as it still took a while to file everyone through. We were lined up round the photo booth area and Steve said hi to me through the curtains – he was sitting in the corner eating his lunch whilst James did the photos!
I was having three photos and luckily I had my pre-bought ones to use (since the front registration desk still hadn’t got their act together!) As Julie who was in front of me left, I stepped up towards James and he turned towards me with his hand held out, about to say hello to whomever was next. On seeing me, he did a complete change of demeanour when he recognised who it was! A huge, genuine smile and “Hey, it’s Rosie!” He did take hold of my hand but used it to pull me in against him, where upon I was thoroughly hugged! James is always so warm and the t shirt was the old very soft one, so it just felt wonderful. I just murmured “Hi James” into his shoulder as we hugged and then as he moved back, leaving one arm round my shoulders he asked “How are you enjoying New Orleans?” To which I enthusiastically replied “Loving it! This place is fantastic!”
“It’s got a very European feel” added James, but we couldn’t talk anymore as Froggy was waiting for us. I just had a hug for the first shot, which was lovely (though all I see is my big fat chin) and then I suggested we both be superheroes. This one was pretty funny - James was playing it up beautifully, all puffed out chest and self-important look, but I really couldn’t pull it off, I’m just too rounded. (Not sure what my super power would be anyway – squeeing everyone to death maybe???)
Third shot was one I had come up with that had the added advantage of hiding my fat chin! I asked James if he would put his hands on my head and lean on his chin with his eyes looking down and I would be looking up (propping my chin on my hands). I spread my legs a bit so I was lower, and the James put his hands in my hair and leaned his elbows on my shoulders. It’s hard to hold your eyes turned up, and I didn’t know what expression to put on my face. I heard Froggy muttering, think he took a shot but as I turned my eyes back to him he then said “And now the camera has fucked up again…” then I couldn’t help my face breaking out into a grin. I rolled my eyes upwards again and this time Froggy got it. I thought it probably wouldn’t work at all and I would look totally stupid (no worries about James as he always looks good) but it did come out pretty well – in fact we look cute!
Both of us laughing, I straightened up and turned back round to say thank you to James and got hugged yet again. He squeezed me in close and I automatically put my arms round him and so had another wonderful close encounter with a warm, soft t-shirted James!
From there, Adrian and I went to try and get out various tickets from the front desk. They were printing them out, but only had enough so that I could have all three of mine – as Adrian was trying to get Chad’s and Caleb’s as well as her own, she was going to have to go back again! I went and joined the autograph line, though James wasn’t back yet, and waited to see him. There are always people to talk to! I was able to talk to Steve in passing – he said he had a pinched nerve in his shoulder which was bothering him, so he was a bit quieter than usual – though he was happy to receive his normal gift of dark chocolate from me. I was able to take a few photos of James before it was my turn, and then I stuck the camera onto video.
James turned to me, smiling and said “Hey Rosie” as we shook hands to which I responded “Hey sweetie” and James started giggling – though that stopped when he saw what I had for him to sign, as it was passed across to him – the cover of the “She Stoops to Conquer” recording! Actually he grinned and said “Oh God…!” in mock horror. Being unable to leave a gap in a conversation unfilled, I said “Don’t know if you want to sign it on the front or the back”
James was still looking at it – probably it was the first time he has seen the CD - and said again, in the same mock-horror voice “Oh my God!” as he indicated the picture of him with the sharpie. I didn’t want to start into that potential minefield so just said “Do it on the front!” with a wave of my hand.
“You got it!” and started to sign (he did put to Rosie, but nothing else apart form his signature) There was a pause as he was writing, and so I asked “Come on then, have you really got married??”
James looked up and replied very softly “Yeah!”
I laughed in delight and exclaimed “oh yeah – man, you snuck it in on us, you devil!” and he grinned back and confirmed “Yup – went down the courthouse and tied the knot!”
“Hey – well done! Congratulations! It means you’re going to have to wait a hell of a long time for your wedding present…!” which made him laugh like mad as he finished signing and passed over the CD cover.
“I have a few things for you – two DVD’s – one for you and one for Sullivan - of Mars Police and Ghost of the Robot…”
“Oh fabulous!” James commented, focusing intently on me
“I’ve only done the Sullivan bits, cos I knew you would only be interested in them – so that’s got all the video I took”
“Fabulous” James said again
“And I did you some pictures of Sullivan…” I was about to explain, but instead said “well – have a look” and I gave him the two black and white 10 x 8 prints I had put in either side of a document pocket. James picked it up and actually did a quick intake of breath as he saw it “Ha! Isn’t he cute??? God…”
I said “Turn it over” so he would see the other one, which he did and straightaway made a happy sound of delight and immediately showed it to the next person in line saying “That’s my boy!”
Then he turned round and held it up at arms length behind him, so it was facing outwards and saying again, only louder “That’s my boy!”
“There’s a load of smaller ones in there as well” and I indicated the photo folder which had about twelve 8 x 6 prints in of the other pictures I had taken and James was just looking at them, smiling a big smile and murmuring “Awesome!” as I managed to repeat myself, saying that it was all the pictures I had taken of Sullivan. (I really do repeat myself something awful when I am in James’s presence!) Then he looked back at the bigger black and white photo again with a proud smile on his face and said “That is awesome!” and he was still smiling!
“The trouble is, the lighting was so rubbish, I couldn’t do them any better!” James laughed at that and reached out to take my hand to shake it “That was as good as I could do, I didn’t really get the flash going” Then he picked up one of the smaller pictures that was on top of the pile and remarked “Oh, that’s a great shot!” (And it was – I’m not sure why I didn’t get that one enlarged!) “I love it! Thank you Rosie, that’s fabulous!”
“Well I knew you would rather have him – you’re not interested in you! And I started laughing as James agreed “…in myself, yeah, exactly, you’re right” and shrugged with a little laugh.
JM crew then offered to take the photos, so James passed them all across to her saying again “That’s awesome” as he took one more look.
I was then muttering under my breath to myself “And that’s about it” but James came back, took my right hand in his again and then covered it with his left, and looking me in the eye said “Thank you babe, you make my life a lot happier” and squeezed my hand between his before letting go again with just the left, so it was a normal handshake
“You keep saying that to me – and you are being all really happy at the moment” as the handshake turned into the hand clasp with out thumbs interlocked
“Well, we parents, we love pictures of our kids, it’s very important an I was on stage and I couldn’t…” he mimed taking a picture “take any photos of him”
“Exactly!” I agreed “I do it for you” and he grinned happily.
It was time for me to move on so I just said “Okay honey, I’ll see you a bit later” and I started to move away but was still looking back at him
.
“Right on!” James did that quick head dip in acknowledgement as he was still smiling and holding my eyes even as I had to reluctantly drag mine away to see where I was going (one day, I will trip over something at this point – I’ve seen other people do it!)
Then I was able to indulge in my favourite activity – taking pictures of James! The table alongside his was for Julie Benz and she was only going to be there the following day, so I could stand by there with a lovely view of James. Since I was not in the way no one minded and I was able to take photos to my hearts content. So I did!
I stayed there until James went for a break and then 4 of us decided we were hungry and went off in search of a (late) lunch since it was gone 3 o’ clock by now (for some reason, none of us thought to look at the back of the hall where there were some concessions – but at that point I don’t think any of us had actually been any further down than the photo op booth!) We found nothing nearby as it’s the warehouse district and that really is all there was about – warehouses! So we walked up to the hotel – only to find that the restaurant there wasn’t open again until 5pm. Reception pointed us in the direction of an eatery, though the bar we ended up in probably wasn’t the one they sent us to, people never seem to be very good at saying where on a block a destination is – it did good sandwiches so that was fine.
Part two should be following shortly - just a bit more to write on that