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ravenHeeee. After the nicest tute in the world - seriously; Kinch, my Mill tutor, is a lovely guy, and he was so nice and friendly and generally laid-back - I went back to my room for a bit to recover from a headache, and after a while I went to fetch Claire and we went to Borders. I thought the event started at six-thirty, and so did most people, but they'd redone the advertising to make it seven, which I thought was slightly unfair. That said, Claire and I were there at half five, and were lucky enough to get seats. Borders seemed to have got seats everywhere they could - ordinary plastic chairs, wooden stools and squidgy armchairs arranged randomly in rows - and we sat down to wait.
Which was no mean chore; there were lots of people, including![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jacinthsong and kuteki, and lots of chatting and general relaxing to be done. Life is so continuously hectic that it was actually nice to sit down for an hour and more and just not do much. After a while, they started playing something over the loudspeakers; the audio book of The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, which was just wonderful. I haven't sat and listened to a story like that since I was little. And it was lovely to see a room full of adults sitting back and listening to a kids' story being retold. Such fun.
We whiled away the time, somehow, and Claire retreived a copy of American Gods, and then just about on time, the nice people at Borders announced that lovely man, Neil Gaiman. And he really was lovely; all scruffy in his leather jacket and astonishingly irreverent. He started off by doing a reading from Anansi Boys, right from the beginning. I've never read it, and everyone was leaning back and listening and it was really like being four again. He reads very well. I was really sorry when he stopped reading, and started to take questions. He started by answering lots of FAQs right off the bat, and then opened the floor for interesting questions.
Someone then asked something about Morpheus, which I didn't quite get because of my lack of Sandman knowledge. I then put my hand nervously up, and he picked on me. I don't know what drove me to it, but I asked him: "What did you do with the satanic tomato?"
He grinned, told the story to everyone, and then gave me my answer: evil demonic salsa!
After that he didn't take many questions, but everything he said was interesting, and then came the signing. Claire, Katia and I blatantly pushed, but thankfully no-one noticed. We weren't far down the queue at all, and in about ten minutes we got to the front and I presented him with my copy of Good Omens and also Endless Nights. "Oh," I said after a minute of mute idiocy, "Terry Pratchett says hi."
"I'm very glad to hear it," he said, and signed my book. Beneath where Pterry wrote "Burn This Book", he's put "Apply match here", and signed below. I'm just gobsmacked that my Good Omens got signed by both authors in the space of three days. But I like Endless Nights better; in elegant handwriting in silver pen, he's written: "Iona - dream!"
Gleeeee.
Claire got American Gods signed (he wrote "believe!"), and then we took pictures of Katia and Katia took pictures of me and Claire. We now have another picture of us looking gleefully insane with an author!
Sigh. He was so nice. I love being a fan. Afterwards Claire and I went out for a sandwich, having missed dinner entirely, and went home to do essays! Groan. But we met Neil Gaiman, so yay. I am pleased.
Edited to add:daegaer! I went past the theatre on my way back, and there is a whole crowd of old ladies on deckchairs and in sleeping bags who have been queueing since Thursday for Daniel O'Donnell tickets. They go on sale tomorrow. I thought you should know.
Which was no mean chore; there were lots of people, including
jacinthsong and kuteki, and lots of chatting and general relaxing to be done. Life is so continuously hectic that it was actually nice to sit down for an hour and more and just not do much. After a while, they started playing something over the loudspeakers; the audio book of The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, which was just wonderful. I haven't sat and listened to a story like that since I was little. And it was lovely to see a room full of adults sitting back and listening to a kids' story being retold. Such fun.We whiled away the time, somehow, and Claire retreived a copy of American Gods, and then just about on time, the nice people at Borders announced that lovely man, Neil Gaiman. And he really was lovely; all scruffy in his leather jacket and astonishingly irreverent. He started off by doing a reading from Anansi Boys, right from the beginning. I've never read it, and everyone was leaning back and listening and it was really like being four again. He reads very well. I was really sorry when he stopped reading, and started to take questions. He started by answering lots of FAQs right off the bat, and then opened the floor for interesting questions.
Someone then asked something about Morpheus, which I didn't quite get because of my lack of Sandman knowledge. I then put my hand nervously up, and he picked on me. I don't know what drove me to it, but I asked him: "What did you do with the satanic tomato?"
He grinned, told the story to everyone, and then gave me my answer: evil demonic salsa!
After that he didn't take many questions, but everything he said was interesting, and then came the signing. Claire, Katia and I blatantly pushed, but thankfully no-one noticed. We weren't far down the queue at all, and in about ten minutes we got to the front and I presented him with my copy of Good Omens and also Endless Nights. "Oh," I said after a minute of mute idiocy, "Terry Pratchett says hi."
"I'm very glad to hear it," he said, and signed my book. Beneath where Pterry wrote "Burn This Book", he's put "Apply match here", and signed below. I'm just gobsmacked that my Good Omens got signed by both authors in the space of three days. But I like Endless Nights better; in elegant handwriting in silver pen, he's written: "Iona - dream!"
Gleeeee.
Claire got American Gods signed (he wrote "believe!"), and then we took pictures of Katia and Katia took pictures of me and Claire. We now have another picture of us looking gleefully insane with an author!
Sigh. He was so nice. I love being a fan. Afterwards Claire and I went out for a sandwich, having missed dinner entirely, and went home to do essays! Groan. But we met Neil Gaiman, so yay. I am pleased.
Edited to add:
daegaer! I went past the theatre on my way back, and there is a whole crowd of old ladies on deckchairs and in sleeping bags who have been queueing since Thursday for Daniel O'Donnell tickets. They go on sale tomorrow. I thought you should know.
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no subject
on 2005-11-11 10:14 pm (UTC)Btw brokeback mountain is released on Jan 6th, will you be here?
And another btw my mother is voting you next woman prime minister if you run.....don't ask!
no subject
on 2005-11-12 12:54 am (UTC)I shall be, yes! Also - I plan to come into school on December 5th. Is that an ordinary school day, will you all be in?
As I have said so many times, your mum is amazing. :)
no subject
on 2005-11-12 09:24 am (UTC)And yay for your icon!
no subject
on 2005-11-12 01:28 pm (UTC)And, yay!
no subject
on 2005-11-11 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-11-12 12:54 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-11-11 11:16 pm (UTC)Um, Morpheus I think is another name of Dream, THE Sandman :D
xx
no subject
on 2005-11-12 12:55 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-11-12 03:29 pm (UTC)xx
no subject
on 2005-11-12 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-11-12 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-11-12 07:51 am (UTC)I hope those old ladies really enjoy Daniel O'Donnell. They're such committed fangirls.
no subject
on 2005-11-12 10:31 am (UTC)HOW DO YOU COPE WITH THE EXCITEMENT.
*is jealous*