125 BGCP Largs Comic Con 2020 – 29th February 2020

Location
Clark Memorial Parish Church, Largs 10:00 – 16:00

Personnel

Adi Gallia	Lynn McDavid	Jedi Master
Jey d’Srow	Julie Sword	Rebel Pilot
Kit Fisto	Brian McDavid	Jedi Master
Luke Skywalker	Mark McCreadie	Jedi Master

Mission Report
Last year I remarked about how much I enjoyed this troop as generally with the BGCP events the attendees aren’t quite so blasé about our presence, unfortunately be it down to the weather, change in venue or our being there becoming ubiquitous the needle seems to have shifted in that regard.

The event was pretty quiet all day, that is to say, it was okay in terms of attendance but the punters really didn’t seem interested in us at all, even the relatively unique presence of Kit Fisto seemed to merit little interest. Not that people were unhappy to see us, they just weren’t interested in stopping for photos. Part of this may be down to perception due to the much smaller venue than last year, there was hardly anywhere to stand inside that we weren’t causing an obstruction for someone, be it vendor or member of the public.
The winds were so bad all day that all the cloak wearers were one strong gust away from the danger of kiting over to Millport, so we couldn’t spend any appreciable time outside either.

All in all, slightly disappointing compared to the previous event, but as far encountering the tail end of a storm goes I think we only have ourselves to blame for not having a rule about only trooping between April and September..!

Visual Archive

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122 BGCP Rutherglen Comic Con – 2nd February 2020

Location
Rutherglen Town Hall, Glasgow 10:00 – 16:00

Personnel

Bril Ziveri	Graeme Carmichael	Jedi Master
Luke Skywalker	Mark McCreadie	Jedi Master
Macca Starkno	Calum Macqueen	Jedi Guardian
Princess Leia Organa	Beth Mitchell	Senator
Rydo Sarn	Michael Murray	Rebel Alliance Special Forces

Mission Report
After attending this event a few years back I was slightly wary of the number of costumers attending given the tiny-wee changing facilities from the first time round. Fortunately my fears in this regards were misplaced as we’d been allocated an additional room.

Which was even smaller.

(I mean, excellently appointed, make no mistake, but anyone actually attempting to use the toilet would have ended up peeing over the Rowlf the Dog-style coat Beth had worn.)

On arrival I was welcomed by Michael Murray who had never trooped with me before* and fortunately by only being in the room one at a time we were able to get dressed just about by the time the event opened to the public. It was a fairly quiet start with some persistent rain likely conspiring to keep people away initially, but by mid-morning there was consistent flow of new arrivals into the Town Hall (admittedly some of those were OAPs just in for their morning scone and tea who had to be wondering why all these “Star Trek-people” were blocking the entrance…)

Just before lunch the three Jedi were set upon by a press photographer interested in getting our picture alongside a diminutive Darth Vader (no… not that one…) “outside”. Gamely following him, it quickly became evident that he hadn’t meant “at the front door” as he marched us along the high street, down a lane and into the car park behind the event. Having asked the little Sith Lord to Force Choke us he then had us crouch to his level for dozens of photos before deciding to try it with a different background and walk us across the road to repeat the experience. As a result of this workout my right thigh now resembles Popeyes forearms and I can’t fit into one of my trouser legs.

Not having an “official” photographer we were able to prevail on one of the Cosplayers after lunch to take a suitable photo for the benefit of the Jedi Trials. The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly and as predicted the venue began to quieten down shortly before the Cosplay Competition kicked off next door in the library giving us the opportunity to de-kit one by one.

The slightly truncated duration allowed time to meet up with Lucienne and her companions just prior to us all being brusquely ejected by the cafe staff who wanted to clear the place. Ah well… By then I only had time to engage in a few hurried goodbyes as I was running late for dinner anyway, apologies to those I missed on my way out…

Visual Archive
*As mentioned, we had no photographer on the day. Instead here are a selection of pictures of Michael and I at previous events…

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119 BGCP Kilmarnock Comic Con 2019~ Kilmarnock – 16th November 2019

Location
The Grand Hall, Kilmarnock 09:00 – 16:00

Personnel

Jeedo	Julie Sword	Rebel Pilot
Luke Skywalker	Mark McCreadie	Jedi Master
Macca Starkno	Calum Macqueen	Jedi Guardian
Obi-Wan Kenobi	Alex Dick	Jedi Master

Mission Report
I’ve had a couple of near misses with this relatively local Big Glasgow Comic Page event the past few years, but filming and other responsibilities meant I never quite made it along, this time round though, after bravely enduring the vagaries of the Kilmarnock one-way system we found ourselves with a second early, cold, start in as many weeks.
Fortunately, aside from a moment of bravado early on when we ventured near the entrance before realising our misplaced temperature related optimism and an exciting evacuation due to a fire alarm, this weekend we were able to remain entirely in the interior of the venue.

I seem to wax lyrical about how the locations and nature of the BGCP conventions attract a different crowd of families with younger children and convention novices, many of them availing themselves of the opportunity to cosplay, each time I write a field report on one.
Proving this was no exception to that rule this provided a steady, if not overwhelming, flow of attendees throughout the day for many of whom our presence and the opportunity for a photograph was a new experience which makes a pleasant change from many of the reoccurring gigs we attend.

Once again Mr. Macqueen provided a cornucopia of refreshments for the attendees and oversaw the well-appointed changing areas and deserves our gratitude for ensuring the whole day went off without a hitch.

 

Apart from his “poo in the pool” story.

Visual Archive

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106.1 BGCP Loch Lomond Comic Con – 18th May 2019

Location
Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch 11:00 – 16:00

Personnel

Blue squadron	Steven Walker	Rebel Pilot
CC-11084	Fulvio Becchelli	Commander Cody
Chewbacca	Paul Smith	Wookie
Crake Lisgo	Kenny Crawford	Jedi Consular
DZ-1873	Ian MacPherson	Jawa
IG-5780	Glen Stewart	Imperial Gunner
Nacas “Wolf” Starkno	Calum Macqueen	Rebel Marine
Obi-Wan Kenobi	Alex Dick	Jedi Master
Princess Leia Organa	Beth Mitchell	Senator
SL-77314	Alan Dalgleish	Darth Vader
TA-7240	Julie Sword	AT-AT Driver
TI-13751	Christopher Crawford	TIE Pilot – ANH
UK-29578	Sheraz Khwaja	Spotter

Mission Report
I attended what appeared to be the latest Big Glasgow Passive Smoking Convention as a punter on the Saturday. The retailers room of the event was pretty small (I did at least two laps in under 10 minutes) and crowded making it unlikely that there was much room for the costumers inside.  Unfortunately the weather was rainy for the first few hours and remained dull and cloudy for the second half of the day which meant that those in attendance were pretty much stood in the one area for the duration, just outside the entrance which seemed to be the most popular area for smokers to congregate.

It looked like a long day, although the flow of people wanting photos seemed fairly steady, but I’m not overly surprised nobody seemed to be in hurry to return from the lunch break…

Visual Archive

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