Elijahspecialappearencepage

The Photo's were taken on Monday 6 October 2003
at CollectorMania4 in Milton Keynes UK

Reviews on Collectormania4 on Saturday 4,Sunday 5 and Monday 6 October 2003 in Milton Keynes UK by Celtic Lassie, Sheila Waters and Pauline

After about 8 hours of shopping at the mall: Finally meeting Elijah at about 17.45 As the queue was still very long behind me, Elijah wasn't able to pose for the photo. Oh well, maybe next time...

Sean was also very sweet and chatty with me.

Dominic adored my "Fellowship"cloak I'm feeling flattered now... as I wore it the first time I saw "The Fellowship..."

I'm glad that "Gollum" wasn' t aware that I too had my one ring with me that day....



	Here' s my review of my two long days at Collectormania4 in Milton Keynes UK. by Celtic Lassie Just arrived home from Milton Keynes and had an in person meeting with Elijah , Sean Astin, Andy Serkis and Dom Monaghan on Monday afternoon!! I went on Sunday, but the 1000 tickets that were available for that day were all given by ten in the morning. People spent the night camping outside the shopping mall. There were quite a few disappointed fans who weren' t able to attend on the extra Monday, because of work and school. Dom was also sitting next to Elijah with the meet, greet and signings. My friend Sheila and I left the house at 7 o 'clock in the morning on Monday and at 8 o'clock there was also a long queue, but this time our luck was with us to get tickets for Elijah, Dom, Sean Astin and Andy Serkis. It took us all day and early evening to get a signed photo. The guys even made a few short moments with the fans to talk to them. I take my words back that I didn't know what to think about Elijah's new do. Now I've personally seen it it, suits him well. I shook hands with him and when I told him that I came all the way from the Netherlands to see him, he felt very honoured and said "Wow!" Elijah was so lovely and adorable(I wanted to take him home with me:) ) to everyone and even Dom found the cloak I was wearing very beautiful. I always wear one all year round, but now I'm calling it my Fellowship cloak and never going to part with it. My friend Sheila, who was with me received a very nice complement about her glasses from Elijah, as he has a thing with glasses. Speaking about glasses, Elijah had to wear his sunglasses indoors on Sunday as the windows of the mall was blinding him. The fans that weren't able to get tickets for the Sunday were outside yelling everytime they saw him wave and were taking pictures from outside.I stood there with them and tried to make pictures, so I'm hoping for the best. It was a complete madhouse then. The Monday was brilliant. I also had a nice little chat with Sean and Andy. It was worth the wait. Didn' t want to miss it for the world.

		HOBBITMANIA by Sheila Waters We were two of the lucky ones – extremely lucky in two ways. First; that we were able to return to Milton Keynes on the Monday, and secondly: that we arrived early enough to get tickets to meet all the four main actors. Following the disappointment of Sunday – more of which later – I was very frustrated. Frustrated because Lisa had come so far and only had a few days with us. There have been so many reports already about the chaos of Sunday at Collectormania 4 so I’ll not repeat them. Suffice to say that we were only four of those who had arrived around 10am only to discover all tickets to see Elijah and Dom had already been given out – one thousand so we later learned! Those for Sean soon followed the ‘non-available’ message on the boards. There was nothing for us to do but wander around the crowded dealers’ area and to get a couple of autographs from other guests. My husband obtained Rene Aberjoinios’ signature and my 22-year- old son paid for that of Doug Bradley, star of the Hellraiser movies. Later in the day, we followed the crowds who decided to go outside the building for glimpses of the four main actors. Why? Because the organisers thought it would be a neat idea to obscure the view from within. I actually asked why they had ‘boxed-in’ the actors and was told it was on instruction from the centre management. Odd that they didn’t consider that in May when the less fortunate then could at least take photographs of Andy Serkis and Billy Boyd. And so there were hoards of screaming teenagers banging on the windows to catch the attention of Elijah and Dom on one side of the building – and refusing to move away so that everyone had a fair chance to at least see these two. My son suggested to the stewards that they bring out a barrier and allow people to filter through, take a photo and move on. Although they claimed it would be done it didn’t happen that way! On the opposite side of the shopping mall was a smaller and more sedate crowd looking in at Andy and Sean, but we had more or less resigned ourselves to the fact that these views were the closest we were going to get to the actors concerned. My husband and son both had to work on Monday so it was just Lisa and myself who made the return journey. Taking the advice of the stewards, we made certain of arriving in good time for the 9am hand-out of tickets. Leaving my home at 7am, I drove the hour’s distance and arrived in the car-park behind the Next shop at precisely 8:22 – according to the parking ticket. The centre was very quiet as we made our way back to the actors’ areas; the dealers’ tables were all covered over, the main area was closed as it was just ‘hobbit-day’ and there was already a small crowd in the aisle containing the tables of Andy and Sean. We turned to our right to head for the parallel aisle where Elijah and Dom were set up. There was already a vast queue! We joined it as it snaked around on itself, forming three full lines up to the ticket-man. There we stood for around half an hour. It was subdued down there; no hysterical girls this morning but we spoke to a couple of people and learned about the one thousand tickets the day before and that everyone had got an autograph. It gave us hope. Around 10am we at last received our tickets for Elijah and Dom; mine were 539 and 521 respectively and the steward informed us that ‘there was only one book today’ and to come back in five hours! So that told me that they only had a book of 500 tickets on Sunday!! It seems they vastly underestimated the amount of people who would want to meet our hobbits. Stowing these tiny bits of paper in a safe place, Lisa and I then repeated the process on the other side to get tickets for Sean and Andy. My number for Sean was 477 and as I had met Andy in May, only Lisa obtained one for him; hers was 276 so I guess I wasn’t the only one to have met him earlier this year. Then it was waiting time again; and what a wait. Unlike in May, only ticket holders were allowed down to see the guests so I wasn’t permitted to walk down to Andy’s table with Lisa and take her photo for her. Why that was I have no idea especially as multiple signings seemed to be allowed, and they must have contributed to the slowing down of the lines. Stewards were taking photos on behalf of everyone; which seems sensible until you look at the results. Each of three stewards seemed to be ensuring that everyone looked at the camera as he took the picture – it was only Elijah’s steward who didn’t! Anyway; Lisa met Andy around 11:30am but it was after 2pm before we got to Sean. Remember, many miles must have been walked as we went back and forth to learn the progression of each queue. Having got two autographs we decided to hang around the ‘major’ aisle; but there was nowhere to sit except on the floor. Those of us who perched on the low walls around the ‘foliage’ were soon told to move. No doubt they thought we would leap through the shrubbery and jump the queue! Doh – as if… One thing I can say about the crowd on Monday is that everyone was orderly, good humoured and courteous. There wasn’t any pushing or screaming at all. We talked to each other and one thing that I liked the sound of was that the three hobbits attending this manic event did so on the recommendation of Billy Boyd! Come 4pm and our numbers came up to join Dom’s line; by then the multiple signings were stopped and even dealers weren’t being allowed down. I know they work hard but when you see some people going down the line with at least half a dozen items it tends to make the hackles rise a little. Then there are the TV people who interrupted Andy earlier on. Did the event organisers not run a press conference? Back to the point. Dom really is a bit of an idiot and he was fooling around as he met people. I did notice that he and Elijah seemed to make a fuss of kids – and they too were well behaved. Then to the main one… This is now a bit of a blur because of being hurried through, but I do recall Elijah commenting that he liked my glasses! Now that threw me off balance since it was so unexpected. I do recall asking him if he was well and he must have said he was as I replied ‘good’. Yes, it’s all a bit lame but what else can you expect from a 60 second time-slot. I did get to shake hands with him and Dom before being shown the door so to speak. Was it worth it? In retrospect I have to say it was. I did wonder during the two days that we were there, what might have happened if the gang had been able to attend for the full three days. Something tells me that things would not have been as chaotic at all. Does anyone else think that maybe our hobbits should have been rescheduled for the May one instead? However, all due respect to them all for coming all this way and giving so generously of their time and effort. I do hope it hasn’t put off any one of them from maybe a return visit sometime in the future.

Review Of Our Weekend At Collectormania4 In Milton Keynes By Pauline We arrived at the hotel on Friday night. Saturday was nice and relaxed – no pressure as we knew the hobbits wouldn’t be there – so we were able to just amble around the stalls and have a nice lunch. Kept remembering that Elijah was here, right now, in Milton Keynes – tucked up in bed fast asleep as it happens. The talk prior to the FOTR screening was due to start at 6.30 – we got there about 5pm and there was already quite a long queue. They let us in quite soon but we didn’t get seats as close as I’d hoped – they weren’t too bad though. There seemed to be a crowd of youngsters at the front so I looked round nervously and was relieved to see, dotted here and there, a few people as old as and even older than me! I still wasn’t 100% sure that Lij and Sean would be the guests – it just made more sense for them to be at FOTR rather than TTT. As the time grew closer it all started to feel surreal – someone at the front had a Frodo standee and was waving it about, for some strange reason that made me feel really nervous, it hit home that I was probably about to see him in the flesh for the first time. Finally, the CM person appeared, told us we could take photos for the first 5 minutes but then no more as it wasn’t fair to the guests to have flashes going off all the time. He then said “We have two nice guests for you this evening ….. Sean Astin and Elijah Wood!! And on they came to rapturous applause and screaming (no not me, though I felt like it). So there he was – my beloved Elijah/Frodo. The emotional rush of seeing him for the first time in real life can’t be described – but because we were some way from the stage I didn’t get the full impact of seeing his face close-up, that was still to come. I had bought a new digital camera especially for this and tried to take a couple of pics, not sure yet if they’ll come out, it was a bit far away. I realised I was missing what was being said by fiddling about with this so I abandoned it. Its impossible to relate everything that was said during the following hour as I wasn’t taking notes – I’m just relying on memory and sometimes may not have the wording exact. It will be very disjointed & out of order & I may even get the two evenings mixed up: Elijah told us he has literally just got out of bed. Sean & someone from the hotel were knocking on his door for a long time trying to wake him. Lij spotted the standee and the person passed it over to him so he could stand next to it to compare heights. Someone asked them to sing the Hobbit drinking song, which they did, they faltered over the words a few times but remembered most of it. Not long after the start there was a high-pitched sound which no-one could detect and Elijah kept copying it, just humming this same sound (you had to be there!). It was finally traced to the phone belonging to one of the crew. Elijah was asked what he would have studied if he’d gone to university. He said English. Someone then asked if he ever wrote anything – he said he used to write stories but now exercises his love of writing through his emails. He was asked what he’s reading right now – he said “House of Leaves” which he really loves (I’ll definitely be getting that!). When they were asked what they thought they’d be doing 5 years from now, Lij said he hoped he’d have directed his first film. He has already set up a production company. He would love to direct a film based on the book “Girlfriend in a Coma” – he went on to talk a bit about the story. Said he’d actually approached the author about this but he wasn’t really interested. Someone asked Lij if he’d ever do stage work and he said Dom & he had actually been talking about that today. He said “that is a muscle I’ve never exercised” – he’d find it very scary but would love to try it – especially with Dom and Billy. They were talking about the flight over and Sean said “Elijah & Dom were talking about ….” He then stopped & asked Lij if he should mention this – he whispers in Lij’s ear for some time and then Lij pipes up “Nocturnal emissions”! Sean said “I don’t ever have those” & Lij said “Women have these things too – hands up how many women have had a nocturnal emission?” I didn’t put my hand up as I wasn’t too sure what he meant – thought it was a man thing!! They were asked about the food in NZ. Lij said it started off well but then deteriorated so they used to get food elsewhere. There followed a discussion about various foods and when cheese came up someone in the crowd said he had to use a certain hand signal which he found quite amusing – not sure what this was all about. He said “Do you have hand signals for all foods?”. Someone said that she’d noticed Frodo’s voice was pitched lower than his own and asked if this was deliberate. He said yes, it was – to make Frodo sound a bit wiser. Mention was made of PJ making a two-hour documentary about LOTR. Someone said something about his tan jacket (he was wearing The One Jacket, of course) – and they called it the Tan Jacket of Godliness. He found this amusing and said it was ‘vintage’. Lij was asked to show his tattoo, which he did. Sean mentioned that Lij had recently had his appendix out and was still in some pain. Lij adopts funny, high-pitched voice he’s so fond of “Its hurting me” [and I wants to kiss it better, baby]. Someone asked the ‘Deep Impact’ question, as in “Do you realise, now you’re famous, you’ll get asked for sex much more?” Lij’s reply “It hasn’t happened yet!!” I had intended to ask a question – probably about their English accents in the films – but I’m ashamed to say nerves got the better of me. I think if I’d been closer I may have – but I just didn’t feel that my voice would carry enough – they really should have had someone going round with a mike for this. At the moment I can’t remember much more about the Sat. night talk, but I’m sure things will keep coming back to me which I can post later. It was all done in a relaxed, casual and totally unrehearsed manner and they were just delightful and obviously very happy in each others company. We then watched the greatest film of all time – it was wonderful to see it on the big screen again. I promised myself that tomorrow we’d get closer seats. I had read on the CM website that the shopping centre opens at 11am on Sundays so it’s a good job I checked at the desk – they said 10am. “We’ll get there at 9” I informed my husband, thinking myself very clever. When we arrived we were directed to the queue for Lij – my God!! It went on forever!! I was given ticket no. 435 and I asked the woman if I stood a chance – she said there was a possibility. What I later found out was that this was the second book of tickets – so it was really no. 935. When they reached 1000 they stopped giving them out. The signings were due to start at 10 but at about 9.40 there was a sudden commotion and lots of screaming. They had arrived. They had put these huge screens around them which was a great disappointment. When I was there in May when Billy was a guest, they didn’t do this, you could see the guests all the time, so I’d assumed this would be the same. I’d had visions of being able to gaze at Lij all day long, but it wasn’t to be. It was so tantalizing, seeing that screen and knowing he was just the other side. Later we saw some people had gathered outside which was the only place you could see them. There are huge floor-to-ceiling windows and they weren’t screened off that side (but I bet they will be next time!!). So outside we went. The sun was streaming through these windows right onto them – it must have been like sitting in a greenhouse, I was quite worried for them. There were people standing in the way inside so it was difficult to get a clear view. I spotted Dom first as he was closest – looking very good with his blond-streaked hair. I would catch a glimpse of Lij’s arm, or the top of his head, it was so frustrating – but then, miraculously, everyone seemed to clear for a few moments and I got my first real sight of him, much, much clearer than the previous night. I can only describe it as a huge emotional electric shock – to see that face in clear detail which I’d seen so many times in pics, on tv, pc and movie screens, - its beyond words. He really is stunning – just took my breath away. I stood there for some time getting intermittent glimpses of him – at one point he had a lollipop in his mouth a la Dom! We then went off for coffee! I felt I was walking in a daze. I saw him two or three times throughout the day when he and Dom were going off to or returning from breaks. When he came back from lunch he passed right by me, just inches away. I’d say he’s about 5’4” (I know he’s supposed to be 5’6” but I doubt that very much) – and so petite. And the new hairstyle, which I wasn’t too sure about from pics, is just gorgeous in reality. At one point in the afternoon he appeared with Dom & Sean from high up outside and they stood waving down at us. The rest of the day was spent just wondering if I was going to make it to him and knowing, deep down, that I wouldn’t. I was in a dilemma because I wanted to get to the cinema really early to try to get a better seat but couldn’t leave until I knew for certain there was no chance of getting my turn. Finally, at about 4.30, I was told I wouldn’t see him. The tickets do not count for the following day – you have to start afresh. I started to feel quite panicky – what if I didn’t get to see him tomorrow either!! Anyway, off we went to the cinema, knowing that I’d lost my chance for a better seat. We ended up slightly further back that the previous night. Lij & Sean were due to start at 6.30 again, but at nearly 6.45 they hadn’t appeared. We were told not to worry, they had arrived but had had a very hard day (as we knew) and were just chilling out for a while. When they were announced a few minutes later they actually came in the same way we all had – and Lij just ran manically round and round the theatre, touching any hands that were being held out – must have been three or four times all round the first tier of seats – he has such energy, and considering he’s not long ago had surgery its quite amazing. Sean followed him and also ran around but not quite so much – I wonder if Lij warned him he was going to do that! When Lij finally landed on stage he said “Why did we do that?”. They asked if anyone had been at their talk the previous evening – there was only us and a couple of others. Several people gave them pressies & sweets. Lij said he’d been overwhelmed by all the gifts he’d been given during the day. Someone gave them a sparkly cowboy hat each, red for Lij, black for Sean, which they put on at various stages during the evening, causing them to break into cowboy songs! They started asking if there was anyone from various countries and it seemed that whichever country they came up with there was someone from there. Which reminds me that the previous evening there was someone in the audience from Wellington, New Zealand. They were asked about their favourite scenes in the movies and they mentioned the cave troll and the balrog. Lij was greatly amused by the dwarf tossing joke. He seemed to realise that this was more British humour than American. There was a question about their backpacks to which Sean said “Backpacks? My backpack!!” Lij agreed it was Sean who had to carry the most stuff. Apparently they were rather uncomfortable. There were slits in their cloaks for the straps to go through. And they said they were always getting stabbed in the neck by their elven brooches! Someone asked them how they felt about the merchandise and the commercialism and whether they had any say in this. Lij said that they were asked for their approval of certain things. Sean made a very valid point by saying that Tolkien had tried to create a mythology for the British people which could be enhanced by other art forms and the toys and merchandise were just another facet of this. He mentioned that even the various religions had their commercialisation. He also mentioned something about LOTR toilet paper but can’t remember exactly what! At one point someone asked Lij if he would give her mom a hug and he obliged. This was good for me as he stood only a few feet away while he did this. I had a clear view of his face – I could have easily forgiven him if he’d looked a little bored or fed-up after all the hugs he’d already dished out that day – but he looked joyful, as if he really was enjoying the moment – he is just amazing. Of course, this set off a rather annoying chorus of requests for hugs – he did come down again and I got another nice view! Lij was asked to show his tattoo again and I think this was when he mentioned that he’d had his appendix op done by laparoscopy, using three incisions. He said that the site of one of the incisions kept swelling up. “I think its going to burst again” Not sure what he meant by that. Someone asked if he ever visited the TORN site and he said he just read the news page. He was also asked if he visits Billy’s site – he said he used to but not so much now. Someone brought up the subject of all the girls that had been screaming at him today and asked if this happened every time he went out. He said no – only at events like this. Someone asked what I thought was a great question – “Who is the real hero of LOTR. Lij said “Sam”. There was applause and cheering. He went on to say “Sam is so loyal and picks Frodo up when he can’t go on”. However, Sean said he considered Frodo the hero. He said that Frodo is holding this huge weight which he can’t drop or the world will end. He said Lij had really nailed Frodo’s internal struggle. The story of Sean’s foot injury came up and Lij playing with the blood clot – apparently PJ told him off about this. They also talked about Sean’s loom accident. I always think how ironic it is that Sean is so safety-conscious and yet he ended up having more accidents than anyone! Sean related the story about being told he’d got a big brain and Lij teased him about having a big head. Someone shouted out something I didn’t catch and Lij said “See, they don’t like it when we’re nasty to each other”. Sean said “We love each other really” and someone shouted “Give him a kiss then!”. Sean immediately got down from his stool, swept Lij into his arms and gave him a passionate kiss – Lij’s arms and legs were waving about wildly. It was so funny. Sean returned to his seat and said “And that wasn’t the firs time”. It was delightful! I wish someone had got a pic of this. Someone asked Lij if he did a bunjee jump and he said “No, I’m a pussy”. Sean said “Hands up anyone who’s offended” – two or three jokingly put their hands up. Then Sean told how he got a fish hook stuch in his thumb – yet another accident! They talked about music and Lij raved over the latest Led Zeppelin live CD. They were asked about Tig and Cup and Lij said he really didn’t realize they were joking with him over Cup. Said when he found out it was like when he found the Christmas paper in his mom’s drawers. Then he realised how this sounded and said “Well…not really in her drawers!!” Someone asked Sean about the short movie and said “Wasn’t there enough for you to do?. Lij found this hilariously funny and had a massive giggling fit. He was actually putting his hand over the mike – Sean said “its ok – he gets like this sometimes” When someone asked if they’d read the books, Lij said “I don’t want to answer that question”. I’m first in the bottom-smacking queue, but he said “Please forgive me” so sweetly I don’t think I’ll smack too hard! Sean said he used to read passages to Lij in NZ. To the horror of some of the girls in the crowd, Lij said he was not a fan of ‘Pirates’. This was during a discussion about how polite they were about each others work. Someone asked about Lij’s audition tape – sounds like we may get to see it on dvd some time, also everyone else’s. Someone mentioned they’d heard Viggo’s costume got very smelly and asked about theirs. Lij said he liked the smell of his costume, it just became very familiar to him as the smell of Frodo. Sean said the hobbits were in touch with each others pheromones and knew when each other was randy. Lij said “Naughtly little hobbitses”!! They were asked if they’d be coming to the ROTK premiere in London and Lij said yes, they’d be going all round the world. Someone asked if he’d go to the TORN Oscar party and he said he’d like to. Someone asked what it was like meeting Ozzie Osbourne. He said he was very nervous and couldn’t tell a word he was saying the first time. Someone asked what the most unusal gift was they’d had from a fan. Lij couldn’t think but said he kept everything given to him. Sean was raving about the first edition copy of atheDouglas Adams book that the hobbit lady gave him at ComiCon. At one point someone must have asked something about internet rumours but I didn’t hear the exact question. Sean said “You’re talking about the rumours about Elijah and Dom” and he sort of stepped aside with a “The stage is yours” gesture to Lij – it was obviously something they’d discussed and Lij seemed relieved to have the chance to speak out on this. He said they’d heard about the rumours from Ian McKellan a few months ago – Sean interjected with “He loves that stuff, doesn’t he?!” Lij went on to say that he thought it was realy funny and that at one stage there was a rumour that Dom was going out with his sister Hannah as a cover-up and that they were under contract to not come out until after ROTK. He also mentined rumours about all the hobbits being gay and getting up to stuff in NZ. He admitted they’d played along with it for a while. He then said, and I may not have the words exact but it seemed so heartfelt “Can’t men just be really good friends without having all these rumours” ( Someone said “In the book the orcs take everything from Frodo – will this happen in the film?” Lij said “I won’t be naked – but nearly!” I can only remember a few more snippets and not exactly how they were said. Out of the other guests Lij said he was most excited to meet the guy who played Pinhead. When someone said she’d have to take a sickie to see them tomorrow she asked who they’d take a sickie for. Lij said probably somebody in music such as Radiohead. Sean said the President of the US! Can’t remember if it was Lij or Sean who asked the audience which change from the books were they most upset about – lots of people shouted out “Faramir”. Lij said he likes lots of British comedy tv programmes inc. Steve Coogan’s The Day Today and Fawlty Towers (one of my favourites). Both of them thought the enviromental message in the books was very relevant today. Their favourite locations in NZ were Queenstown and Milford Sound. Lij said “I want to buy a house there” (I thought they already had!) They were asked which were the hardest scenes to film – Lij mentioned Council of Elrond, they both said the scene on the mountain in ROTK, and any scene involving Gollum At the end they put their cowboy hats back on and gave us a rendition of “Happy Trails to You”. It was all superb – they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves so much and they went way over the scheduled time – it was like they didn’t want to stop. Wonderful! Because of the extended talk the film was much later finishing and I knew the only way I’d have a chance of getting to Lij on Monday was to be there really early. So, we were up at 5am and at the centre by 6am. At first the place appeared deserted but we made our way round to the back and there was the queue. When I eventually got my ticket just after 9am my first question was “Is this the first book?” – “It’s the only book” I was told. I had heard them say the previous day that if you’re in the first 500 you’re guaranteed to get your turn. I was in the first 200 (can’t remember exact no. right now). I didn’t try to get tickets for anyone else because I wanted several autographs from Lij and at £20 a time it mounts up. And anyway I was so on edge about getting to Lij that I couldn’t really concentrate on anything else. About half an hour later Lij, Dom & Sean arrived and were waving down at us from on high again. During the morning I had a few more glimpses of Lij, either through the glass or when he was coming and going for breaks. When my number finally came up and I got in the line behind the screen he’d gone off again – so I sat down on the little wall knowing that at any moment he’d probably come sailing past. While I was mulling things over in my mind – how many things was I going to get signed, what was I going to say to him – I was suddenly looking right at him – you have to experience a moment like that to know what it was like. He came past us saying “Hello, hello, hello” – all smiles as usual. I chose four pics for signing inc one for a friend in the US (I decided against the one I’d brought with me as I noticed a couple of marks had suddenly appeared on it – a pity, it was one of my faves). We were told we could take pics while we were queueing but he was no longer doing personalisations or posing for pics. When I think back I am really annoyed by the sense of urgency created by the staff, especially the big guy hovering over me on the left, it really made me start to panic and everything I’d planned to say to Lij just evaporated. Suddenly it was my turn and there he was smiling at me and saying hello – to me!! As he was signing my pics and I was struggling to find my voice this guy said “Now would be a good time to take a pic, while he’s signing” – perhaps he was trying to be helpful, but I’d rather have just spoken to Lij at that point or at least looked at him instead of trying to take a pic with my trembling hands – he was looking down anyway so it wasn’t a good time. He blew for a long time on the last pic to dry the ink – wish I could remember which one it was, that one would be especially cherished! He smiled at me as he handed them back and I just about managed to say “Thankyou very much for coming” – he said “You’re welcome”. I also said “I hope you’ll come again” – he said “We will”. The few moments I had with him will stay with me forever – but if I ever get another chance I’ll make sure I say more and won’t let myself be rushed past by the CM people who are only interested in lining their own pockets. However, I do appreciate than I’m very privileged to have had this chance to actually meet Lij, to see him so many times and to attend the wonderful talks – I know there are many who can only dream about this. Afterwards we went round for another look through the window, he and Dom were just preparing to go for another break and he was putting on The One Jacket. As he caught sight of the group of us looking through the window, by a sheer fluke he looked straight at me, his face lit up with a smile and he waved. I, of course, waved back. What a wonderful image to carry home with me. We left shortly after. If I’d had only myself to consider I’d have stayed to the bitter end in the hope of getting a few more glimpses of my precious but I decided that I could ask no more of my husband who I think should be canonised. And so it ended. Ever since I got home I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster – elated that I’ve finally met him, sad that its all over – and every new pic I see of Lij at the event brings it all back with a rush. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined, back on that day in Jan. 02 when I saw FOTR for the first time and fell under the spell, that I would one day meet that adorable young man in real life. All the things I loved about him before have been confirmed a hundredfold. There is something very, very special about that young man.

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