WEEKEND IN SHERWOOD IX CON REPORT by Robin Here's a short version of some of the con highlights. Dealer's room: Slow. Very, very slow. Barely any sales at all. The only things that really sold were cast photos at the Sprit of Sherwood booth. The ladies next to us sold some teas, and Barb's booth seed to sell a bit. All in all, it was just all around slow the whole weekend. Early Friday morning, Loraine fell down the stairs and broke her arm in a couple places. By late Friday, she'd rejoined us looking none the worse for wear. (Christine Haire: Lorraine didn't actually fall down the stairs--she tripped coming through a hotel entryway. She was really a trooper and came back to the convention from the hospital in a sling (which of course, Mark Ryan autographed for her---LOL) and she will be seeing an orthopedic doc and getting surgery once she is home in Cleveland.) The banquet was a lot of fun, there were several stations around the room with different dishes - one had little steaks on a stake, another had fish (which was really tough I thought) and chips (fries), there were soups at another station - though I never got to it. Dessert was a bread pudding, which I'd never had before. I tried it and loved it...really good stuff. Rebekah and I got the pleasure of sitting at the head table with Mark and Tamara, his girlfriend. Tamara was beautiful, sweet and a sheer delight to talk to. For the ladies interested in that sort of thing - she wore a dark maroon colored dress, floor length (Forgive me if my memory is a bit fuzzy -by the time the dinner rolled around, Rebekah and I had both been up for over 24 hours - She worked all day Thursday, I worked around the house and slept, then we literally drove all night to Southgate from Waukesha - west of Milwaukee, did the con all day, and then the dinner), and I think the dress had - I think they're called spaghetti straps. It had a sort of color changing quality to it - it looked slightly different colors from certain angles. I know there's a word for it, I just can't think of it. The costume contest was held during or just after dinner (again, my brain is not at full capacity yet - I think it still somewhere south of Chicago). I got the award for longest weapon - my broadsword that I brought, because it was easier than keeping up with a longbow and quiver of arrows. Saturday, Rebekah and I had breakfast with Mary Ann McKinnon and her son Charles at the hotel restaurant. The service was awful. Roughly a dozen people and not one of them seemed to have their head out of their posterior exteriors. When we wanted a refill on our water glasses, I finally had to go to the kitchen and strongly request a pitcher of water, from which I refilled all the glasses at our table. Charles' meal they never seemed to get right, and the last part of it that he wanted - salsa and avocado - they didn't bring until after he left to attend a rehearsal for the Major Oaks skit. The food quality wasn't bad though. Not great... The highlight of the day for me was the Q and A with Mark and also the phone chat with Clive Mantle (Little John). Clive was busy feeding his son and I believe he said watching Wimbledon on the telly...I don't remember his son's name now, but I'm sure there's someone out there who can fill in the blanks. (Christine Haire: Clive and Zoe Mantle's baby son is called Harry.) Clive took a number of Q's from the room, via Mark. He shared some stories from behind the scenes at RoS, that, to me, were new. Including the gristle story. Speaking of phones - I suppose I should relate the cell phone story to you... So, its just about the end of the panel with Mark, on Saturday. Rebekah's manning our table in the dealer's room, while I'm two rooms over in the discussion. Suddenly, my cell phone rings, reminding me I forgot to set it to silent mode. So I answered it, and it's Rebekah wanting to know how long I'll be. I'm just forming an answer when Mark, who had been answering a question of mine, got up, went around the table, and walked down the center aisle and insisted on taking my phone. He then starts talking to Rebekah. She's confused because all of sudden my voice changed from a slight Texas drawl to an English accent and dropped a couple of octaves. This had the entire room busting out laughing. Mark was a terrific guest. Playful, charming, wacky...and completely different than Nasir. Nasir is soft-spoken and seldom speaking and Mark is talkative and vibrant. Mark was a delight to talk to. I enjoyed speaking to him immensely. I had him sign two postcards from the RoS vhs set as well as my Green Arrow annual 4 that he co-wrote (I now have autographs by Mike Grell and Mark Ryan on that book), as well as the Greenwood Tarot book I had. He was friendly and patient and talked to fans as he signed stuff, sharing anecdotes about certain items. I can't remember when I asked him about the Green Arrow project, but he shared the story about how the project came about. Sunday, the skit for the Major Oaks was hilarious. The players all did a great job. I'm not going to try and list all the winners, because I simply don't remember, plus I'm sure that they'll get posted over at Spirit of Sherwood soon anyway. Mark ran the charity auction. Bidding was slow there too. The thing that got the most bids was a second unit jacket from the movie King Arthur that Mark donated. The art auction only had a small number of pieces go up. None of mine even got any bids. (Christine Haire: We actually collected over U$1400 for our charity, Cancer Hospice. The storyboards from King Arthur also went for a lot of bucks.) So...there you have a run down of the con...albeit rather muddled and what have you... As I said before, I'm sure others can fill in the blanks and elaborate. -- Tejas, RobinDesert Moon Art http://www.desertmoonart.com