Thanks

Discussion and posts relating to the 2014 Knightmare Convention in Norwich
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Mogdred2k14
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Big Thanks to Alan Boyd and Co

Post by Mogdred2k14 »

Hi

I wanted to be honest and say a big thanks to Alan Boyd and his colleagues including James A. Never have I known anyone more driven and passionate about something, than what Alan is about Knightmare. Sure Knightmare is Tim childs baby, there wasn't anything like it back in the 80's, certainly nothing like it today and I don't think there ever will be.

But this whole event, the first ever knightmare convention is truly Alan's baby, this makes him and it unique and puts him and everyone else, including the fans who helped, in a class of their own. I was very proud to attend and to have the experience of a lifetime, because ever since I was 6 yrs old, one of my dreams to go on knightmare and meet treguard and all the characters associated with it. and because of alan and co, my dream became a reality.

It just goes to show that hard work does pay off, dreams do come true. I hope Alan deep down is very proud of himself and giving himself all the credit he rightly deserves. What hes achieved, I'm sure will live with every knightmare fan for a long time, if not forever. I certainly will take this experience to my end game with me.

Also was so happy to meet as many very nice and like minded people. and I apologise for not remembering everyones name, as I met that many. But many thanks to snowcat, billy, gretl & skarkil, emma, Natalie the gunner, dessimator, the 2 geordies from my neck of the woods, mashibinbin who handled my dungeon game for me, all cast and crew on the hunt, Philip. also I'm trying to remember the guy whos in the legal proffesion from Southampton, whats he called? he wore a suit. max and Helen were also lovely people.

apologies for anyone else I met, you are all great people and i'll never forget any of youz.

overall I have no regrets, it was exactly what I expected and more.

and remember...

WHEN THE FIRE BURNS, THE KNIGHTMARE RETURNS!
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FoxyLF
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Re: Thanks

Post by FoxyLF »

Ditto to all the comments here, Alan and team did an amazing job in such a short period of time!
It was so lovely to meet everyone, couldn't ask for a friendlier bunch of people, both guests and visitors, and to prove to Max that I'm not the only one with a bit of a KM obsession 8)

It's all been said above, so I'll stick to a big THANK YOU!!
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gretel »

FoxyLF wrote:Ditto to all the comments here, Alan and team did an amazing job in such a short period of time!
It was so lovely to meet everyone, couldn't ask for a friendlier bunch of people, both guests and visitors, and to prove to Max that I'm not the only one with a bit of a KM obsession 8)

It's all been said above, so I'll stick to a big THANK YOU!!
... With that shirt of his it's almost like he's joining our crazy fun bundle of people anyway!
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Re: Thanks

Post by Drassil »

Hello. For those who didn't make the connection, I'm David, the man with the travelling microphone in most of the Q&A sessions.

First, in defiance of the title of this thread, some apologies. Sorry to anyone who had a question that they didn't get to ask. We do have a Cast & Crew Questions section on this forum, and if you post your question there then with any luck it will get answered in the future. And I'm sorry that I didn't get to chat to more of you and put faces to names for all the forum users in attendance, which I had been hoping to do.

There were times when looked like the Knightmare Convention wasn't going to happen. Or at least, wasn't going to happen in the way that the organisers wanted it to. At one point, I remember watching the intro with the knight riding up the mountain and thinking, We're not going to reach the top of our mountain. We're going to let Knightmare down.

Now the convention has happened. And I don't think that anyone let Knightmare down. Quite the opposite. The organisers and crew, the guests, the venue and the attendees all did the Greater Game proud.

One of the aspects of the convention I found most satisfying was seeing various Knightmare fans I've known for years meeting each other for the first time and closing the circle. I got to meet plenty of other fans for the first time myself, and to reunite with friends I hadn't seen for some time. It reminded me of Doctor Who two-parter The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, where all those characters from DW, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are brought together.

It was my privilege to be as involved with the convention as I was, to have that opportunity to give something back to the programme and the fan community that have made such a difference to me. In some ways, wearing the Convention Crew T-shirt felt like having a superhero costume on; in other ways, it was just another layer of my own skin. Sort of like SuperTed - who, incidentally, was drawn by the same animators who drew the Knightmare intro. I hope that other loyal devotees felt rewarded too by their convention experience. The sense of karma was quite strong at times.

I wasn't sure how approachable the guests would be, and was delighted by how friendly, open and good-humoured every one of them was throughout the weekend and in the face of growing tiredness (particularly in Mark Knight's case, what with jetlag followed by a long Friday followed by the Midnight Hunt). I was also impressed at how, when they were unable to answer a question directly or fully, they still said something insightful that was as close to the theme as possible.

Knightmare is of course a team game, and my deepest gratitude goes to Alan and the rest of the crew. Of all the Knightmare-related group activities I've participated in over the past decade, this felt like the most harmonious. I hope that this camaraderie came across to others. I'm also especially grateful to the most generous Indiegogo contributors, who snatched us from the jaws of defeat and opened doors in a way that Casper the Key could only dream of. (Did you know that Lawrence Werber, who played Casper and Cedric, has since become a dentist? From dogsbottoms to canines.)

As I headed home, Treguard's parting words to the Series 6 winning team came back to me. "You're going home now. I hope you won't find it a trifle dull."

That is my thank you.
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Re: Thanks

Post by dogmanjack »

I've managed to find most of the chaps I met on here. Who is the chap from Stirling who lead one of the Hunt teams?
I should've stayed up for that, I love a good hunt. Just not used to being able to go out at night and not be legitimately killed (I live near Hull).
I can imagine how hard it was to set up the convention. Even organising the blue screen set and booking the studios must've been pretty tough.
So thanks for putting in the hours. Glad other guys came through with the cash too. Studios cost big time!
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gretel »

Drassil you did your best running around like a crazy person, I'm sure we all accept that not everyone can get questions in? either way, thank you again and stop apologising!

I will say Mark was wonderfully snarky when I got a little tense and instantly had me laughing so hard I un-tensed enough to have fun even more than I had before. He's a wonderful chap. All of them are.
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Re: Thanks

Post by Dessimat0r »

I'm glad I seem to have made a good impression on most people! I got very drunk the first night after watching KM Live (which was really good) but got back to the hotel, then a furious hangover on Saturday which followed through into Sunday :-*

The main convention was great - talking to the actors (who were surprisingly friendly and approachable), seeing the American pilot / extended Geek Week ep / David Rowe art / panels / playing the room of the dungeon. These were all amazing.

Lord Fear's Midnight Hunt was great, I regret not buying a ticket for it but enjoyed spectating regardless and hope I stayed out of the way of the camera, lol

Anyway, thanks to the organisers of the convention and all involved - it was a great weekend! I wish I could have stayed for the Sunday, bu added costs were prohibitive :(
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Re: Thanks

Post by Rhea »

Just popperd back on after a very long time of lurking, then some time away to say thanks for an amazing convention. Although I could only atetnd on Saturday, then had to leave early (boo) but a prior commitment came first unfortunately.

I had an absoluetly awesome time, a real trip down memory lane. As a local, it amazed me to be standing in the original studio, even if it does look a bit pretties than the last time I was in there ;)
Tim's description of where everything was originally was great to hear, and I count myself lucky I waz able to picture it so vividly.

Everyone I spoke to was really friendly, and happy to chat. Coming alone, that is a great thing. Noone I knew was able to come unfortunately, or had forgotten the date, or just plain not interested. A shame reallu, but a lot of them didn't see the series originally, or haven't seen it at all! (SHOCK! HORROR! This will be remedied in the near future ;) )
This includes the cast, crew, convention volunteers (you're all awesome btw..and looked like you were having fun, even when people were badgering you with questions and through not a little stress, I'm sure)

A few particular memories...
Having a discussion about what YouTubers could also have done a GeekWeek show, and running into Tim Child round the corner, oops hehe.

Having a conversation with said produver about vintage computing and how the different ones have been used in TV shows.

Meeting Hugo Myatt..A lovely gentleman and a pleasure to meet.

Mark Knight's sense of humour, as well as how he works with Cliff :D Fantastic to see that this doesn't really change out of character. See above also :D

Seeing the American pilot. I think the change of style suited the market really well, and to see a TimeBusters star in the main role made me giggle.


I think the only bad part was having to leave, and then being so tired that I couldn't come back the second day. I would have really liked to hear the rest of the Q and A sessions, and get another chance to see the two extra episodes. I wish I'd been able to come on the Saturday night, if I had been able to get off work, I would have been on that Midnight Hunt dfor sure. I am hearing stories and look forward to the DVD. I also can't wait for Dave Rowe's book :D

All in all, fantastic, and even if I never get another chance to do it, it'll stay with me.
A big thankyou to all once more, and I think after I have met people from here, I will be coming out of lurker mode ;) I am sorry I didn't do it sooner.
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Gretel
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gretel »

Well Rhea, if we get another (which I hope we do) and you can make the days your more than welcome to come hang with me and Skarky-bottom (Skarkill) if you need a few mates! :)
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Re: Thanks

Post by Mashibinbin »

A mere few weeks ago the convention campaign built up albeit slowly and then was whisked into a sucess overnight! Whoever you are that gave the big amount you truly deserve to be spellcast HERO for you have made a great number of public, cast and crew all so very happy indeed. Even if you pledged a £1 then you played your part in creating a truly fabulous weekend.

Knightmare Live was our warm up on Friday along with certain beverages that brought to mind Grotbags but even greater things were yet to come...

As one of the crew (I'm the one that gave the encouragement or otherwise on your Corridor of Blades experience along with my trusty headset) I was privileged enough to meet Iona, Hugo, Mark, Cliff, David Rowe and even Tim on a much more informal basis and they were all you could wish for and more.

Mark was a particular joy as he allowed me the opportunity to not only co-produce but star in his Late Night with Lord Fear slot. Special thanks here to Graham his PA/Manager personange who assisted greatly in getting necessary agreements. Then came the hunt which was definitely memorable for many reasons.

On the Sunday we had things more polished than a shoe shine boy at the Hilton! We learnt more Insights into what made our favourite show just that. Even after nearly 20 years of an untimely demise we learnt many new nuggets over these three days. A particularly proud moment was Mark's acknowledgement in rather a gushing fashion for my efforts the night before. To round things off as crew, and selected guests, we enjoyed a waffle spectacular. Mention 'Boobotty' and you may well have the correct password for Level 3...

On Monday after spending a small but enjoyable time with David and Matt I made my way back to the Wirral. As I approach a third of a century exactly (33 years 3 months) on the 28th I may not be wiser but I have been envelopped by pure joy of nostalgia and teamwork as well as intense satisfaction for helping make others happy. Here's to the next one... :green:
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Gretel
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gretel »

Happy early birthday to you Mashibinbin!
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Re: Thanks

Post by Mashibinbin »

Hehe, very early as it'll be Jan the 28th 2015! lol

What I meant was I will gain the third of a year on top on the 28th of May at 8am making it a 'proper' third of a century since I was born/created. Thanks all the same :)
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Gundrada
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gundrada »

Mashibinbin wrote:Hehe, very early as it'll be Jan the 28th 2015! lol

What I meant was I will gain the third of a year on top on the 28th of May at 8am making it a 'proper' third of a century since I was born/created. Thanks all the same :)
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Re: Thanks

Post by Snowcat »

dogmanjack wrote:I've managed to find most of the chaps I met on here. Who is the chap from Stirling who lead one of the Hunt teams?
I should've stayed up for that, I love a good hunt. Just not used to being able to go out at night and not be legitimately killed (I live near Hull).
I can imagine how hard it was to set up the convention. Even organising the blue screen set and booking the studios must've been pretty tough.
So thanks for putting in the hours. Glad other guys came through with the cash too. Studios cost big time!
That would most likely have been me. ;) I'm picking through what my camera caught now and trying to figure out how best to upload the files (they're pretty damn chunky as you can probably imagine!).

Again, I'll add my voice and say both thanks and congratulations to everyone who made this happen. Long awaited and thoroughly enjoyed. :green:
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Gretel
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Re: Thanks

Post by Gretel »

He does mean you Snow! I'm sure of it!!

LOL, oops? Oh well... good memories all the same and I'm sure to forget the birthday wishes otherwise :(
"you should be able to hear from my voice that I'm terribly pretty, now DO you think I'm pretty?"
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