We came blinking into the light after our Winter hibernation… Actually, that’s what we would have wanted, however, we had two exhibitions to take care of during January so any plans we had of a gentle start to the year were stymied!
Exeter was our first con of the year, and it was a bit lovely.
We set off on Friday and arrived in plenty of time to set the stall up with Lisa and Andy taking care of the proceedings on the UKCGF side of things. Then onto our AirBnB where we were treated to a fish supper with locally caught fish and an impromptu double bass performance by our hosts. After a comfortable night, we woke to fresh orange and bananas with good luck messages written on them that sent us on our way with goofy grins.
The convention was run at the Westpoint Arena, which is a good-sized purpose-built venue, which generally makes the day run smoothly. It was rather lovely to get back into the swing of things again, meeting old trader friends and a bunch of talented cosplayers.
In attendance was Grant Perkins (master of the one-liners) and his lovely wife Eva, along with Solly and Fatima aka SMArtworks. It seems that both these guys are at almost every event we’ve done recently, it’s good to trade with such talented folk. We also met up with the gloriously-bearded Jon Campling, aka King Regis from Final Fantasy and Nathan James Pegler who is not only in the latest James Bond movie but is also a talented artist. Finally, we met Tasha Achellios, widow of the incredibly talented artist Chris Achellios. It’s great to see that she is out on the circuit, such a lovely person. We were extremely flattered when she was very complimentary about my art and bought one of our pieces.
The Somerset Cosplayers hosted the Cosplay area, ably run by Noname Cosplay with Rose Magpie as guest judge. The team put on a cracking show and there was a great atmosphere on both days.
Overall, we had a great time at the con and we will definitely be trading with Lisa and her team at UKCGF again.
Symon and Pamela
Cosplay gallery