How does
one explain to ones fellow men and women that you are a sci-fi fan, a
passionate geek, the nerd in the back of the class reading the Hitch Hikers
Guide to avoid calculus? When I was that
young…. Some decades ago now, being that ‘that way’ inclined was rather like
having the plague, especially for a girl. It rather explains why I only had a
few friends and those I had were the best.
I was
raised on a diet of Dr Who, Blake’s 7, Asimov, Douglas Adams etc etc etc the
list is rather long… So my blood group is definitely….out of this world.
Okay so
what about Torchwood? Well I was up to
my neck in business with work so heard nothing about it. A friend had recently told me of his extreme
excitement about working on Season One of the new Doc Who and I watched all
that with great expectations which were thankfully not let down…. Remakes do
not have a good reputation but this was more of a re-birth and as we all know
it continues to be so. So I was
skeptical about a spin-off Doctor Who show and watched it with great prejudice,
expecting it to be crap…..
HOW WRONG
I WAS.
So I was
hooked from episode one and it was Ianto Jones that landed me. The first episode established that Owen
Harper was willing to go to any measure to get laid…. Lets face it, half a step
away from being a rapist. Tosh had no
social life, Gwen had no social skills and Jack had no social boundaries….WHATS
NOT TO LOVE?
It just so
happened that the first Torchwood Convention was right on my doorstep in
Northampton…. So I went….. Had the coolest time ever, met some bloody amazing
people and got to have a quick cuddle with Gareth David Lloyd and a rather
drunken discussion about breasts at the bar.
From this
point I began collecting stuff, as you do…so here are some of the things picked
up along the way.
WITHOUT
MEANING TO BE CHEESEY, THE BEST PART OF MY TORCHWOOD EXPERIENCES HAS BEEN
SHARED WITH MY FRIENDS AND THOSE MEMORIES ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS.
I HAVE
BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET TO SOME OF JOHN’S CONCERTS AND THE CALENDARS AND
SCRIPTS HAVE COME FROM EBAY…NATURALLY THERE IS SOME BLUE GILLESPIE TOO BECAUSE
I LOVE THE MUSIC THAT GARETH AND HIS MATES CREATED. I WENT TO A LOT OF THEIR
GIGS TOO.
I HAVE
LOTS OF POSTERS, WHICH GET SWAPPED OUT EVERY SO OFTEN, THEY ARE MOSTLY OF
GARETH/IANTO AND JACK. I ALSO HAVE A GIANT OWEN ONE TOO.
THIS SUIT
WAS WORN BY IANTO…GARETH IN SEASON ONE AND TWO… IT WAS RATHER EXPENSIVE, BUT I
HAD TO HAVE IT. I GUESS IT IS ONE OF THOSE QUDOS THINGS YOU JUST DO WHEN YOU
HAVE MONEY TO WASTE…. WHICH BY SOME RARE FREAKISH COINCIDENCE… WELL THE DETAILS
ARE NOT IMPORTANT. THE SUIT ACTUALLY
FITS ME, WHICH WAS RATHER NICE AND I WORE IT FOR HUB 7 AND ALSO FOR A FRIEND’S
FUNERAL BECAUSE WE MET THROUGH OUR MUTUAL LOVE OF A CERTAIN WELSHMAN AND I KNEW
SHE WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED IT. THE
FOLLOWING YEAR I GOT INTO A BIDDING WAR WITH SOMEONE IN AMERICA OVER ONE OF
IANTOS TIES, SHE TOTALLY OUTBID ME AND ENDED UP PAYING OVER 300 QUID FOR IT… I
CRIED. I DO HAVE THE CORRECT COPY OF THE
RED AND BLACK TIE AND A RED SHIRT, THOUGH WOULD LOVE THE ORIGINALS TO COMPLETE
THE SUIT.
THE CHAIR
WAS PURCHASED AT HUB THREE BY A DEAR FRIEND AND THEN HE GAVE IT TO ME, MUCH TO
MY GOB-SMACKEDNESS. HUB 3 IS SPECIAL TO
ME BECAUSE IT WAS SPENT WITH A FRIEND NO LONGER WITH US, A WELSH FLAG AND
CLARKY (FROM BLUE GILLESPIE). WE ALSO
HAD GARETH AND GEMMA SITTING WITH US IN THE BAR WHICH WAS REALLY NICE… GEMMA IS
LOVELY.
WHAT WOULD
ANY COLLECTION BE WITHOUT ACTION FIGURES?
YES I BUILT A HUB… SORT OF.
THE SIGNED
PICTURE IT TOOK ABOUT THREE YEARS TO GET ALL THE SIGNATURES ON IT; HAS PRIDE OF
PLACE ON MY WALL.
I WON'T
BORE YOU WITH PHOTOS OF BOOKS AND PHOTO ALBUMS AND DVDS. BUT HERE IS THE STAR I NAMED AFTER IANTO, I
DON’T THINK IT’S VISIBLE FROM THE UK BECAUSE I CHOSE ONE I COULD SEE FROM MY
HOME IN NEW ZEALAND. AS I SAID EARLIER
IN THIS PIECE, MEMORIES ARE MY MOST TREASURED, THE GOOD FRIENDS AND GETTING TO
MEET A REALLY NICE BUNCH OF ACTORS, WRITERS ETC.
IANTO…..
GARETH DAVID LLOYD…. GOT ME WRITING A STACK OF TORCHWOOD STORIES WHICH CAN BE
FOUND UNDER THE NAME DEETATARANT ON FANFICTION.NET. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE MOVED BY THE JOURNEY
OF A FICTIONAL CHARACTER ON TV AND WAS GUTTED WHEN OWEN, TOSH AND IANTO AND
FINALLY TORCHWOOD ITSELF WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM US.
THANKS FOR
READING THIS AND PROJECT TORCHWOOD, THANKS FOR ASKING ME TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR
WEBSITE.
FINALLY
LET’S NOT FORGET…. COSPLAY, BUT THAT’S FOR ANOTHER TIME.
BELOW
IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MISS A CON….
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