Hi everyone

On Sunday, May 25th 2008, at The Kintyre Suite in the Quality Hotel, by Glasgow Central Station, Glasgow Who, the Glasgow Doctor Who Society, proudly present Army of Guests 2008.

Guests confirmed so far (subject to work and personal commitments) include the fabulous Sylvester McCoy, the 7th Doctor, TV icon Peter Purves, who played Steven Taylor opposite the first Doctor, the ever lovely Louise Jameson, who played one of the fourth Doctor’s most popular companions, Leela, fan favourite Sarah Sutton, who appeared with both Tom Baker and Peter Davison as Nyssa of Traken, the fabulous Anna Hope, the popular guest star who played Novice Hame in New Earth and Gridlock, and Davros himself, Terry Molloy.

The convention itself will run between 10am and 8pm (doors open 9am) with a disco to follow in the evening.

Standard ticket availability for this event is STRICTLY limited to 150 places. Almost a third of this number of tickets have already been sold so you have to be quick! And, as our queueing system on the day will be based on your ticket number, it pays to buy early!

We are offering attendees who buy their tickets before the end of 2007 a very special opportunity to win a full refund on their ticket price PLUS front row seats AND first place in all the queues for additional activities AND the opportunity to attend all those additional activities, such as our photo sessions and The TARDIS Tearoom, ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE!

All you have to do is buy a ticket before 31st December 2007 and you will be automatically entered into the draw for our Platinum Ticket!

And that’s not all! There will be a further draw for anyone who buys a ticket before 1st March 2008, with the opportunity to win a refund of your ticket price!

And that’s STILL not all! There will be a further draw for anyone who buys a ticket before 31st March 2008, with the opportunity to win a 4Gb iPod Nano with Video!

Standard adult tickets are only £35, child tickets £20. All ticket prices include at least 2 autographs per attendee per guest. A range of group discount prices are also available.

If you need assistance with accommodation or travel, feel free to drop us a line at glasgowwho@yahoo.co.uk - we can help you find accommodation near the convention hotel for as little as £32 per night or in the convention hotel for as little as £45 per night for a single room! Return flights from London can be as little as £50, including taxes!

Full details of the event are available at our website at www.glasgow-who.co.uk including the option to buy tickets online.

Hope to see loads of you there!

Cheers!

Al.

Forgot to mention with regard to the prize draws - whoever wins the refund draws for our convention is still elligible for the ipod nano draw, too.

Cheers!

Al.

Group Coordinator
Glasgow Who

Hi everyone

Just a quick note re ticket orders over christmas - the official last posting day before Christmas for first class mail (the way we despatch all our tickets) is December the 20th.

To be on the safe side, we won't be sending out any tickets after the 18th and won't resume despatch until the new year.

This does not affect entry into the end of year Platinum Ticket draw - all tickets bought (and, of course, paid for!!!) by 31st December will be entered into the draws.

So if you want tickets in time for Christmas, there's just today and tomorrow left to order them!

Cheers!

Al.

Just a quick update.

Our first draw has now taken place and the winner of a full refund on their ticket price PLUS front row seats AND first place in all the queues for additional activities AND the opportunity to attend all those additional activities, such as our photo sessions and The TARDIS Tearoom, free of charge, is Martha Simpson from Glasgow.

Congratulations, Martha!

There are still two prize draws left. Will YOU be the lucky winner next time?

Cheers!

Al.

We're now in a position to announce our seventh guest for Army of Guests.

We're delighted to confirm that Colin Spaull, who played Lilt in Revelation of the Daleks and Mr Crane in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel, will be making his convention debut with us.

If you'd like a ticket, please remember that standard ticket availability is strictly limited to 150. We have already accounted for over half that number of tickets (about 2 months ahead of our budget plan!) so you're going to have to be quick!

Hi everyone

We've decided to extend the deadlines for our second and third prize draws for Army of Guests.

The draw for a ticket price refund, originally intended to close on March 1st, will now be extended to March 31st and the iPod Nano draw, originally scheduled to close on March 31st, is being kept open to anyone who buys their tickets before April 30th.

There are literally dozens of reasons why we're doing this but the main ones are;

Part of the reason for the early deadlines in the first place was to encourage enough early purchases to cover "startup" costs for the event (promotion, venue etc.) Ticket sales have gone so much quicker than we were expecting that this is no longer necessary and we have already made enough to cover those initial costs.

Also, it has taken SO much longer than anticipated to get ourselves into a position to accept orders by post that it would be unfair on those buying in that manner to only have a few weeks in which to place their orders rather than the months originally envisioned. This SHOULD be sorted out in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled for announcements!

It also means that the next main publicity drive isn't going out with only a few days for people to decide whether to come along or not if they want to qualify for the draws.

And, having now experienced what it's like to work for a shower of incompetents who can't give you a shift rota more than 3 minutes in advance, (not my current employers, I hasten to add before they sack me..!) I feel it would be a little unfair for some people to be unable to take part simply because they don't know yet if they CAN take part due to work commitments.

So the closing dates for qualification in the remaining two draws are now March 31st for the refund and April 30th for the iPod Nano.

Tickets can, of course, still be bought online at our website or, if you prefer, in person at one of our meetings, the next of which takes place this Sunday, Feb 3rd at the Crystal Palace on Jamaica Street. And we should be able to start taking payment by cheque very soon.

Cheers and hope to see you all soon!

Al.

Hi everyone

We are now (finally!) in a position to start taking payments by cheque / postal order.

If you'd like to order your tickets this way, just send a cheque for the appropriate amount made payable to "Glasgow Who."

The address to send your order is;

Glasgow Who
c/o Alan McWhan
Top Right Flat
12 Percy Street
Cessnock
Glasgow
G51 1NY

Please remember to include the names of the people for whom the tickets are being bought and the address to which the tickets should be sent.

Group discount rates as advertised on the website apply to orders by post, too, with additional discounts if there are any children in your party - e-mail us at glasgowwho@yahoo.co.uk for a price if you're not sure.

Please note - due to the UK cheque clearing system, the last date we will allow orders by cheque is 12 May 2008.

Sorry about the delays but that's everything up and running now. Happy ordering!

Cheers!

Al.

We're now in a position to start thinking about guest number 8 for this event.

If you have any suggestions of who you would like to see, please feel free to either post them on this thread or e-mail to glasgowwho@yahoo.co.uk

There are only 3 weeks left until our second prize draw. You could win a full refund of your ticket price so what are you waiting for?!

Ticket sales are going really well and we currently expect to sell out by mid to late April. So if you want a ticket for what has already been described as "the most ambitious guest list ever for a one day Doctor Who convention in Glasgow" you'll have to be quick!

Cheers!

Al.

I'll come, never been to a convention before.

Hi everyone

Couple of short announcements with regards to this year's event.

First of all, as you probably know, qualification for the second of our prize draws closed on 31st March. The draw took place at the end of Sunday night's meeting and I'm pleased to announce that the winner of a ticket refund is... <drum roll> ...Nicola Russell from sunny Glasgow.

Congratulations, Nicola - your refund is winging its way to you as I type.

Don't worry if you didn't win - there's still the chance of a fabulous prize for anyone who buys their tickets before 30th April. Provided you buy your ticket before the deadline, you'll be in with a chance of winning a fabulous 4Gb iPod Nano with Video. So what are you waiting for???!!! (Please note, qualification closes 30th April. The draw itself will take place at Army of Guests 2008.)

As if that's not reason enough to buy early, remember we have a limit of only 150 standard tickets available for the event. We have now sold 125 tickets. So availability is ludicrously limited. At our current rate of sales, we expect to sell out by the end of April. Buy now or you WILL be disappointed.

Remember, you can buy your tickets at our "live" meetings as well as online or by post. And our meetings are every Sunday at the moment, while the new series is on. So we'll see loads of you at the meetings and even more of you at Army of Guests.

See you all soon!

Cheers!

Al.

Is it only Glasgow people who win these draw things?

So far, yes.

Bearing in mind it's a Glasgow based event, it's just statistically more likely that a Glasgow based person will win because we've simply sold more tickets in Glasgow...

Hi everyone

Quick note to remind everyone that orders by cheque close on May 12th so if you're sending us a cheque you'll have to hurry!

Online ordering - via www.glasgow-who.co.uk - will stay open until May 19th.

We have a little over a dozen tickets left so you really will have to be quick if you don't want to miss out on what's shaping up to be a great day...

I'll be posting an itinerary for the event online around the 19th and, if you're a Gold or Platinum ticket holder, I'll be sending you an e-mail soon about some of our "optional extras" on the day!

Cheers!

Al.

Hi everyone.

(This is a long one even by my standards but it does pay to read it all as there are some REALLY important pieces of information about the event throughout.)

Only just over a week to go until Army of Guests 2008.

So here's our packed programme of events for the day - No video material at all - just guests, guests and more guests! You lucky people...

http://www.glasgow-who.co.uk/Timetable.pdf

We have a whopping great 10 hour schedule of events lined up for everyone with doors opening to let all you lovely people in at 9am ready for our 10am start!

So what does it all mean???!!!

THE PHOTO FACTORIES

As the name implies, this is a rapid fire photo session with each of our guests. It's a quick chance to say hello and have your photo taken. Quite simple really! The photos will then be printed up onsite ready for the star to sign at their autograph sessions. Each photograph will be A5 sized on glossy photo paper and will cost just £10. Bargain!

Who could ask for more???!!!

(The eagle eyed amongst you will have already spotted that Sylvester McCoy has his autograph session before his photograph session - no worries! Sylvester will quickly sign any photos from his session at the reg desk towards the end of the day.)

These sessions will be roughly organised by ticket number, starting with our Platinum Ticket holder (who also receives each session absolutely free of charge!) followed by our Gold Ticket holders and then standard tickets 1-25, 26-50 and so on. (Child ticket holders should join the queue at the same time as the accompanying adult.)

In a slight change to last year, payment for these sessions will be taken at the time of the photograph being taken rather than upon collection during the autograph session. This is simply to simplify the task of our autograph managers, who have a very complicated task at hand anyway!

THE INTERVIEWS

We have a fabulous list of interviewers primed and ready to go for our interview sessions with the guests - Alistair McGown, Jon Melville, David McCallum, Mark Owen and Kenny Smith will be asking the questions for us. If you've been to one of our events, or one of the Edinburgh group's events, in the past the chances are you're familiar with them already and know how good they all are. There will also be an opportunity for your own questions to be asked - more on that on the day!

And who knows? There may even be time for a few probing questions from our very own TARDIS Tin. (Not ripped off from DWM at all, no sirree. )

THE AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS

Our autograph queues will be divided by ticket number and our plan is for nobody to have to be away from the main stage action for longer than 15-20 minutes tops unless they want to... and why would they do that??!!

All autograph sessions will kick off with our Platinum Ticket holder, Martha Simpson (+1), followed by our Gold ticket holders. Then standard tickets 1-25 (plus any children with parents with those numbers,) 26-50, 51-75 and so on. It is anticipated that their will also be a little time at the end of each session as effectively a "free for all" where any ticket holders who have not yet got their autographs can pop in.

We REALLY wouldn't recommend waiting for this session unless you really don't want to miss any of the stage action at the time - time is likely to be very limited for these "catch up" sessions and the more people who opt to use them, the more likely it is for some to have to leave without the autographs they would like.

Please note - if you join the queue once and then later join the queue again for more autographs, even if you haven't used your full allocation, you will be charged the £5 autograph fee for EVERY autograph on your second visit.

Double visits really affect the time these sessions take and have a big impact on other attendees so we hope you understand our reasoning for trying to discourage them.

THE TARDIS TEAROOMS

One of the most popular features of last year's event was undoubtedly the TARDIS Tearoom. Well, it's back and it's looking groovy!

For a very limited number of people, this is the chance to spend a little time with the guests on a more intimate footing. A chat, a cup of tea / coffee, and maybe even a biscuit thrown in...

There are only 9 places available at each session. Our Platinum Ticket holder has first refusal on each session, along with free entry... How lucky can one person be???!!!

For all other attendees, the sessions are on a first come, first served basis, with priority to our Gold Ticket holders. Just drop me an e-mail saying which sessions you would like to take part in and we will arrange payment on the day. We will try to accommodate as many people as possible but you're going to have to be VERY quick...

Places at each session cost only £5 per session and that includes your tea / coffee... Mental!

THE LUNCHES

Also available are a TINY number of places at lunch with our guests. Only 6 attendees will be able to attend each of the two lunches, along with the listed guests and a small number of event organisers. The lunches will take place at Di Maggio's on Royal Exchange Square (only a couple of blocks away from our venue) and attendance will cost just £15 per head.

PLEASE NOTE - this price DOES NOT include the price of your meal and is PURELY payment for your participation in one of the most exclusive events we offer. A set menu is available from Di Maggio's for just £15.95 for a 3 course meal so the overall cost of this exclusive experience will be just over £30 each...

Again, drop me a line if you would like to attend. I'll allocate places as far as possible according to each attendee's preference but please say in your e-mail whether your preferred lunch is the ONLY one you wish to attend or, if places are already allocated, whether you would still like to attend the other lunch.

Guest attendance is confirmed at time of writing and we will try our best to keep each session as listed but please remember everything on the day is live and some last minute alterations may be inevitable.

THE EVENING MEAL

An even more exclusive event. After finishing the main timetable of events for the day, the organisers will be taking our guests to The China Sea, a lovely little Chinese restaurant on the corner of Union Street and Gordon Street, for a nice spot of dinner. Don't worry if you don't like Chinese cuisine - a range of European dishes are also available. The dinner will start at approx 8:30pm.

Currently confirmed as attending are Sylvester McCoy, Peter Purves, Louise Jameson, Terry Molloy, Colin Spaull and Anna Hope. (Sadly, the lovely Sarah Sutton has to leave us earlier in the day. ) Again, this may change closer to the day but at least 4 of our guests will be in attendance and almost certainly all of the 6 listed guests.

If you would like to join us, you will have to be VERY quick off the mark - we are offering only 6 places at this meal for the ludicrously tiny fee of just £25. Again, please note that this does NOT include the price of your meal. The restaurant is very reasonably priced and we would estimate the total cost of this extraordinary experience at just £40 to £50, depending on your selection of meal...

You WILL have to be quick with this....

There is a possibility that the group will be split into 3 tables - Sylvester and Colin, Anna and Peter, Terry and Louise. In case this does happen, please let me know which table you would prefer... although with only two places at each it's fairly unlikely I'll be able to accommodate all choices...

Meanwhile, our evening disco will kick off in the Kintyre Suite at around 9pm... we have assembled a playlist jam packed with bangin' beats and hip toons, as I believe is the modern parlance...

TARDIS TEAROOMS / LUNCHES / EVENING MEAL - HOW TO PROCEED

If you would like to take part in any or all of these events, please e-mail me ASAP. I will allocate places (with priority to Gold and Platinum tickets) and get back to you as soon as possible to advise in which sessions you have been successfully placed, along with the total price payable. This should then be settled during the registration process first thing in the morning on the day of the event.

JUST A MINUTE / I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T A WHO

We present our own versions of two popular radio panel shows.

Just a Minute will feature the lovely Louise Jameson and Colin Spaull, along with the fabulously witty Paul Hughes and Ian Bremner. Can any of them speak on a given subject for just a minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition? (Please note - in the event of the first lunch over-running, Just a Minute will swap places with our Louise Jameson interview and photo session and will take place with a revised line-up.)

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Who is the antidote to interview panels. Sylvester McCoy and Terry Molloy will be joining Paul Hughes and Walter Dunlop to entertain us with, amongst other things, Sound Charades, one song to the tune of another and perhaps even a quick wander down Mornington Crescent...

MERCHANDISING

Once again, the lovely Martin Rogerson from Voga (the shop, not the planet...) will be on hand, in pride of place (in a corner at the back of the room...,) with a staggering and bewildering array of quality merchandising.

THE BAR

Grahamston's bar will be open from approx 12:00. The convention bar will open in time for our evening session.



So, there we have it. What a packed day we have lined up for you all!

Please bear in mind that the event is live. This means that some items may drift slightly from the times advertised here. Thanks for your understanding.

If you haven't bought your ticket yet, remember orders by cheque have now closed and PayPal orders are only available until Monday at which point you will have to take the chance of tickets still being available on the day...

We have just under a dozen tickets left and remember - ordering in advance really helps us out! Our stress levels, if nothing else! So, if you're coming along on the day and you're in a position to buy online in advance, please do so. It helps us out and guarantees your own place at what's shaping up to be a very special day.

Take care and I'll see you all soon!

Cheers!

Al.