THE PLANNED NSSFCON FOR 12 OCTOBER HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
One of the smallest conventions that I like to attend regularly is the North Staffs Sci Fi Convention, held twice a year (so far) at Bradwell Hall, near Newcastle Under Lyme. It might be small, but it punches above its weight - "Judge me by my size, do you?"
It doesn't have the star-pulling power of the other conventions - in particular, Stoke Con Trent - but it does what it does and it does it well. I've been to three of the last conventions, and it's generally a meeting of traders, some static props and some cosplay. The North Staffs Stormtroopers are regular guests, as is the North Staffordshire Tardis. As far as I recall, they've not drawn any celebrities, but this doesn't stop the convention from being a great place to meet like-minded enthusiasts, talk about your particular hobby (everything from Blake's 7 to Battlestar Galactica through to Star Trek, Star Wars and Transformers) and pick up some merchandise for your favourite book, film or TV show.
The traders offer a wide range of new and used items - toys, magazines and comics, DVDs and books are most prevalent (do you count Funko Pop as toys?). They come from near and far - the most recent convention back in April 2019 also include Retro City from Longton (they've just moved to larger premises, but still in Longton) and I was able to grab a number of photos of their stall.
Entry is reasonably priced, and there are also fairly-priced refreshments served in a spacious seating area, and there are plenty of characters in costume milling around and entertaining the visitors. On our last visit, we arrived early, and were able to enjoy meeting the Star Wars characters and other costumed entertainers before it became crowded.
As I mentioned, it's small, but this is not a disadvantage (especially if you're a sci-fi enthusiast with younger children). Think of it as compact. It won't take you too long to get around all the stalls, and you can be sure that you've seen everything and taken in all that's on offer. In my case, it was a chance to see some 1980s G1 Transformers 'in the flesh' for the first time in 30 years, grab some photos and move on. Younger children will enjoy some of the rummage bags and boxes of smaller items and you'll be able to get round everything without over-stretching their attention span.
And one other thing: the focus here is very much on Sci-Fi. I mentioned in my previous article that Stoke Con Trent has grown by becoming a Film, TV and Comic Convention - which is fair enough, and it's great to see it fluorish - and the North Staffs Sci Fi convention is much more strongly focused on Science Fiction (and superheroes). It's very much a comic con, and the smaller size is partly a consequence of its narrower focus.
I highly recommend North Staffs Sci Fi Convention - it's great to be able to support local traders and local fans, and I will continue to visit.
Next date: Saturday 12 October (the day before the next Stoke Con Trent - either by coincidence or design, the two fall very close together on the calendar!).
I've been attending Stoke Con Trent since their first convention back in September 2014. I was delighted when our home town (city?) hosted its first comic convention and was very pleased with the organisation, guests and layout. In the five years since then, it's become a regular bi-annual event at Staffs University, and one which I've only missed twice, through a family emergency and unforeseen circumstances.
The convention has grown in scale from one event to the next, and in January 2016 was recognised as 2015's convention of the year. It has new guests with each iteration, and is frequently visited by:
- comic book artists (both Staffs University's own students, but other professional comic book artists, such as Lee Sullivan and Lew Stringer who appeared at SCT 10)
- 1990s TV Stars, including BBC comedies, Gladiators, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Star Trek - on one occasion, Garrett Wang, aka Ensign Harry Kim from Star Trek Voyager.
- local cosplay teams - the North Staffs Avengers; North Staffs Stormtroopers and so on (and on at least one occasion, the UK Garrison).
The level of visitor participation in cosplay is also excellent, partly due to . We've met a wide range of characters, from Stormtroopers to Spiderman and Daleks to Nintendo's Mario and Luigi. The standard of cosplay costume is generally very good too (ranging from semi-professional to dress-up-for-the-day). This really adds a signficant element to the whole convention (encouraged by a cosplay competition), so even if the guests don't appeal to you, the range and professionalism of the cosplayers will definitely entertain you.
There's a very wide range of stalls, covering the full range of merchandise, from Lego to Star Wars, comic books to models, posters, and the stars tend to have tables for photos, autographs and so on.
If there is any one criticism I would make of Stoke Con Trent, it's the selection of guests. For example, in the Autumn 2018 convention, in my opinion the organisers over-indexed on Gladiators (there were easily four or five attending) and there was a lack of range of other guests - e.g. from other TV programs or from films. They tend to rotate their guests, but it's worth mentioning that SCT 10 and 11 both have Gladiators headlining (clearly Jet and Wolf are significant crowd-pleasers).
I would not describe STC as a Comic Convention or a Sci Fi Convention, and to be fair, I don't think the organisers would. The first convention is 2014 was marketed as a "comic and memorabilia exhibition"; that subtitle has disappeared more recently. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but please be aware that this isn't a pure comic convention; it's a more of a TV convention with a slight comic twist. By widening the scope of their convention, the organisers have been able to appeal to a much broader audience, and then pull in some of the more famous (and more expensive) stars - this just means that the guest list reads like a mixed bag.
Overall, my criticisms aside, I thoroughly enjoy attending STC, and can recommend it. We enjoy the range of guests, the variety of stalls (including collectibles, and just regular merchandise) and in particular the wide range of visitors who attend in cosplay, and who are all very happy to have their photos taken (but always ask first).
SCT 11 (or XI) is coming up in just over a month, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing the Jurassic World Jeep; the DeLorean car and Paul McGann (star of Doctor Who, among other things). I'm slightly interested in seeing Jet and Wolf (again), but have no interest in seeing any of the other 'headline' guests (Paul Cooper, Justin Lee Collins, Sheila Reid and Clinton Baptiste). Like I said, it's a mixed bag.
I mentioned in my previous post that this year, our family has Merlin Annual Passes, and we're putting them to good use by visiting as many of the attractions as possible, including those that aren't most local to us. This year, this meant going to Blackpool for the Sea Life Centre and Madam Tussauds.
Madam Tussauds Blackpool is situated on the sea front, as part of Blackpool's "Golden Mile". We visited on the last Friday of the school summer holidays, and it wasn't busy. You start (as you do in London) with a ride in a lift to the top floor, and then work your way downwards through the floors. A word of warning: pushchairs aren't allowed. There's a buggy park just off the foyer, and if you have a toddler or pushchair person, be prepared to carry him or her around (especially on the stairs... did I mention the stairs?). Still, since you've just taken the lift to the top, most of the stairs are downwards!
The displays are very innovative: the Coronation Street exhibit was very well done, set up as the Rover's Return pub - with seating and eating areas, which are always welcome when you have little people to look after. Spiderman was clinging upside down on a wall, on a scene which was built to make it easy to look like you're hanging on to the edge of a tall building. Bear Grills is climbing up a large boulder, with another one alongside for you and your friends to climb - great photo opportunity. The exhibits are well spaced out, and are laid out in a way that gives you plenty of unusual and interesting photo opportunities.
There's a series of musicians - dead and alive - with a collection of listening booths (CD jukeboxes and a selection of tracks to choose from). Not exactly waxworks, but still a very interesting addition to the experience. There's even a set of drums to play on - just for fun. You can play along with the music, or you can just play (depending on your age and ability!). The range of activities make the museum an interesting place to visit, even if you aren't interested in waxworks and celebrities.
Facilities: I mentioned that push chairs had to be left at reception, which in theory sounds unfortunate, but is definitely better than lugging child plus pushchair down all the stairs. Apart from the Rovers Return, I don't remember any large seating areas or places selling refreshments. The shop at the end was geared more towards celebrity merchandise - clapper boards, microphones, all that stuff.
Overall, we all enjoyed our visit to Madam Tussauds. The range of activities in between the waxworks helped break up the visit - it wasn't just a series of relentless statues, and the changing scenery and backdrops really made it very interesting. Our children range from loving having their photo taken to hating it, but still everybody had an enjoyable time.
Ticket Pricing
There's the option of buying multi-tickets for Madam Tussauds, the Sea Life Centre; Blackpool Tower and Blackpool Tower Dungeons, but if you want to visit just Madam Tussauds, the tickets are £16 on the door (£13 in advance) for adults, and £13 (10.50 in advance) for children aged 4-15. Family tickets are £54 (£43 in advance).
