Hope you enjoy!
The Journey There
I decided this year to change up my trip to Auto Assembly a bit, in the past I pretty much arrived on the day of the convention, and was stuck at the hotel for the entire time (where there is no shops really remember). So as a change I arrived on the Wednesday, which gave me all of Thursday, and the start of Friday to go shopping or sightseeing :)
The actual train ride in had no issues, until I got to Birmingham where (as I discovered the day earlier) the guy who sold me my train ticket in July decided to send me to Birmingham New Street, instead of International. Meaning I had to travel to New Street, and find another train to International from there.
This wouldn't have been a problem really, but the platforms at New Street have the WORST information areas, so me, along with a few other groups of families clearly heading to the airport had no idea what train they were supposed to take.
In the end though I reached International, and made the 15 or so minute walk to the Hilton, where I waited for my friends to arrive!
Pre-Convention Time!
I arrived at the Hilton at about 4pm on the Wednesday, which of course meant that no-one was around from Auto Assembly, or at least not waiting in the Lounge area anyway, so I went and got something to eat from the Subway at International Station (yes, I walked all that way back) but luckily along the way I discovered the NEC's free WiFi, which I immediately hooked up to, allowing me to talk to people (BTW I'm such an idiot, that I only JUST learned how to use the 3G on my phone on the Saturday night! I HAVE HAD THIS PHONE SINCE CHRISTMAS!!!).
When I got back to the hotel with my om-noms I decided to get a move on reading my book (The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith/Not-JK Rowling) and just relaxed for the night.
The next day, as I said earlier, I went shopping in Birmingham, got a load of souvenirs for my family, and just stocked up on things I would need for my room - a 12 pack of coke cans lasted me the whole trip just for the record, so I had to bring the other stuff I bought home with me :(.
That evening I went down to the Lounge area, and found my kin, my fellow Auto Assemblers! I mostly hung out with Sprite, Pinkie-Pie, Temple and Andy that evening, and headed out to a meal at the new "All Bar One" restaurant at the Airport with them...let's just say it wasn't great and leave it at that okay?
Following that we were just hanging out with people, chatting away and having a generally fun time. The next morning I went for another small shopping trip, but nothing major happened, until Friday evening....
The Convention!
Don't worry, this won't be a blow-for-blow on the whole convention, that would be way too long, but sufficed to say, this was definitely the best Auto Assembly yet! The guests were wonderful, the attendees were just as fun as ever (and of course how both groups are able to interact so freely, unlike some other conventions where the guests are kept hidden)
Okay a few things to talk about with the convention...firstly the Pub Quiz! I decided to not enter the quiz this year (because I'm so lazy, and the forms were on the other side of the hall) but I was playing along with some friends, but as it turned out I actually knew most of the answers, so I could have actually won! Guess I'll just have to do it next year instead...
I bought a load of great stuff (will discuss later) and met a lot of great people, most of whom I've added on Facebook of course. One surprising thing I did find from the convention though was how many people there actually played Cardfight: Vangaurd! I only decided to bring my deck on the off chance that someone there played it, but now there's actually talks about maybe doing a mini-tournament next year!
One great memory I had from the convention though was when I was at my signing for Michael Mcconnohie (voice of Cosmos and Tracks in G1) and asked for him to sign my copy of "Mars Attacks the Transformers", which he just loved the look and concept of, especially when he found out that Cosmos actually had something to do in that comic (rather than just being a space taxi). It was so great to see him so happy after seeing that comic :)
Going Home :(
Of course, all good things have to come to an end, the final ceremony was fun, but then it was all over, and everyone was in that mixed state of euphoria and depression that always comes at the end of a great convention, and the prospect of leaving your extended Auto Assembly family once more.
But even saying that it was a good Sunday night. I ended up hanging out with a few friends in Swerve's Diner (originally just for some dinner, but it ended up being a 3 hour chatter session). Then after a quick trip upstairs to shower and start packing, I came down again and hung out with a different group of friends, and (as a poor decision) I stayed up until about 2am...I think I almost fell asleep on my friend a couple of times that night (all whilst avoiding a stalker too lol).
As a result I woke up at about 8am the next day, quickly ran for breakfast, and got ready for the sadness, which was sitting in the lounge waiting for my quite early train home :(
Again, my train was pretty uneventful, until I got to Reading and discovered that the next train back to my village wasn't for another hour or 2.....grumble grumble...
The Haul!
I bought so much stuff this year (not a stupid amount, but still a lot), most of it as just figures that I would have no chance of finding in UK shops (like some of the latter Generations figures, Kreons and some PCC guys) but I also found a few older comics (like the Universe series, which will be up on this blog soon for reviews guys -- hint hint, plug plug!)
Two of my favourite sets of things to pick up this year though were the AA exclusive set of Trench and Bluster (TFA Huffer and Pipes in Mario and Luigi colours) and my sets of the KFC Not-Slamdance and Not-Squawkbox. With both sets being £10 for a pair :)
One other thing I loved getting was my Livio Ramondelli commission of Nova Prime...which now sits above the Covenant of Primus case on my wall :)
My final Thoughts
Simply put, this year's Auto Assembly was incredible. The team had clearly put a lot of time and effort into making sure everything went smoothly this year (which showed from the lack of delays etc) and I want to thank them for all of that hard work.
I'm very confident to say that this is the best Auto Assembly ever, but the problem with that is that I say that every year! I'm sure that next year will be even better (however that could be possible!!??). I can say already that I intend to pay for my ticket for next year's convention on my next payday (end of the month) and even if I manage to get my own flat by then, I'll still go, even if it means I only have £100 of spending money.
I think I'll keep my decisions for the trip intact for next year (arrive Wednesday, leave Monday) as that worked so well for me, but I may arrive in the evening on Wednesday, so there's not so much quiet time. I'll definitely try to have more spending money next year (maybe save £100 a month or something) but again, if I have my own place by then, then that could be a problem.
One thing I am looking forward to for next year though, is the lack of Quiltcon (our loving name for the Festival of Quilts) as despite the two groups getting along, it just got so crowded in the bar and breakfast halls!.
All in all I'm happy with the trip this year, and cannot wait for the next year to pass by, so I can see all my wonderful friends again in person :D
Thank you all for making this year as great as it could be for me
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