SEASIDE DINOSAUR ATTACK!

Okay, okay, so that's not strictly true.

Well, unless of course you have a very vivid child like imagination, which we all once had (I have desperately tried to hang on to mine). So when a mere excursion to buy a dress collided with a slice of my favourite film; Jurassic Park - well, I was in a momentary, somewhat abstract version of heaven.

Predating the 1086 Domesday Book, ye olde 'Brighthelmstone', or Brighton as you may know it today, is constantly surprising me. A source of many a chuckle from the myriad of weird and eccentric residents, to the open arms it provides for all forms of art and adventure, with the powerful summer city pulls of seaside and scintillating entertainment; it really is 'the place to be'. But if you need a little more convincing, here is a shining example of how even the blandest part of Brighton; the shopping mall, gets involved with the fun with a prehistoric flash-back...

INTERVIEW: Buck Roger's Erin Gray at LFCC with 'The Guild' exclusive!

On Sunday 10th July I attended the London Film and Comic Con 2011. You can read my full account of it here, but one of my absolute highlights from the weekend was meeting Erin Gray. With a background hum of R2D2 tweets and the crowd of avids milling about the Earl's Court 2 arena, a beacon of beauty in the form of Buck Rogers' very own starlet Willma Deering, kindly gave me a few minutes of her time to talk about the cult 80s TV classic as well as a web series exclusive that I cannot wait for! Here is my audio file, plus the transcript...enjoy!

DOCTOR WHO SIGNING @ FORBIDDEN PLANET, LONDON

I love Forbidden Planet. The magical hive of merchandise from the 'cult cream of movies and television' makes my heart flutter a little every time I step foot in one of their stores. From the beautiful to the bizarre, I wish to covet 90% of what they sell. But I'd never taken advantage of one of their exclusive signing events until this weekend. Mainly because a signature is just that; a signature. Instead I have always personally treasured the value of holding a conversation with said luminary, perhaps also a photo to capture that megapixel memory vividly; the setting, the clothes, the facial expressions, that moment of (I hope) happiness. It's just how I roll.

So I hopped, skipped and tripped the Brighton-to-London fantastic with the aim of meeting Carole for a time more generous than fleeting. I travelled up with friend and presenter of The Geekend (radio show that I contribute to weekly) Wayne. It took me a whole hour to realise when he says 'I know exactly where we are, we are just 2 minutes away', that he is indeed, navigationally challenged, and an impressive bluffer. Not the best discovery when the heavens decide it is time to water the mortals. So we eventually arrived, on time (just, as we set off super early, we both hate being late), looking like drowned rats. A secondary dowsing of juice all over my dress (clumsy moment) and a snaking-queue-of-doom later, I was soon stood in front of an all star Doctor Who line-up:

LONDON FILM AND COMIC CON 2011

Oh what fun. It's definitely convention fever what with Kapow! popping it's cherry back in April and fan boy mecca San Diego kicking off on 21st July.

London Film and Comic Con 2011 sandwiches nicely between the two, held at London's Earls Court over the course of three days.

Now, I've been to a few conventions now, and I am happy to report that LFCC was, by far, the medal winner for star access and star turnout. Row upon row of desks, row upon row of stellar sci-fi and fantasy names, I honestly didn't have time to meet them all! The only exceptions to this rule were Doctor Who hot property Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston, who were strictly shepherded to and from the stage, with no brazen photo ops in between (unless you paid the princely sum of £15+).

It wasn't all pleasure for me though as I worked hard, running a live Twitter feed for all who couldn't attend, with as many of the juicy exclusives and surprise moments to come out of the panels that my typing ability would allow. Any faster and there may have been smoke.

My highlight's included:

• Voice of Doctor Who's K-9; John Leeson doing his finest K-9 for me
• Having Brent Spiner wave finger guns at me as we passed each other
• Singing 'Happy Birthday' (along with the rest of the audience) to Corey Feldman, who celebrated his 40th birthday on the day of his panel
• 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy showing me to my seat as I budged up to get closer to the action.
• The life size R2D2 replicas that were scooting around causing mischief 

Skunk Anansie's Skin has confirmed for our October event

WE RETURN ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 6TH TO KOMEDIA WITH TWO MORE GREAT GUESTS INCLUDING ROCK SINGER, DJ AND ICON – SKIN

A groundbreaking presence, Skin is one of Britain’s leading female rock singers, having made a huge impact with Skunk Anansie. She is also a fashion icon, a renowned DJ, a charity activist, and an inspiring role model for different generations of fans.

After giving up her career as an interior designer to write songs and devote herself to music, she played in bands in the London indie scene before forming Skunk Anansie. Within a year after their first gig, they were voted Best New British Band by the readers of Kerrang! In 1997 they were nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The latter 90s saw them dominating the UK album chart with their top twenty albums: Paranoid and Sunburnt, Stoosh and Post Orgasmic Chill. The decade saw them achieving ten top forty hit singles, including Weak and Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good). Skunk Anansie toured globally with such acts as U2, Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz, and headlined Glastonbury in 1999. In 2001, however, they split up.

Skin later launched a solo career, releasing and touring the albums Fleshwounds in 2003 and Fake Chemical State in 2006. Spawning the hit single Trashed, Fleshwounds was a pared-down, soulful album. Skunk Anansie reformed in 2009 and the same year they released a greatest hits album. In 2010, they recorded their fourth album, the sensual and funky Wonderlustre.

As well as fronting one of the UK’s key rock bands, Skin is a multi-talented artist involved in varied projects. She is also an established DJ, playing house and rock. She has modelled for top fashion designers, such as Alexander McQueen and Gucci. Skin does a lot of charity work, from The Medical Foundation and the Baobab Foundation, charities that focus on torture victims and asylum seekers.

www.skinmusic.net

www.skunkanansie.net

Chris Dickens & Andy Parfitt

Presented by Lisa Holloway, the highly acclaimed Space event returned with gusto and a powerful line-up of Oscar winning editor Chris Dickens and Controller of Radio 1, Andy Parfitt. What ensued was a clear juxtaposition of personalities, but also a convergence of determination to follow what comes naturally, demonstrating that success beyond your wildest dreams can be achieved…

The Space present Chris Dickens & Andy Parfitt: Review

• July 7th: Latest 7, by Steve Clements

"An essential event."