MCM ComiCon London

Saturday saw myself and Anais out for some girlie time together – just her and me . Nope, not shopping and lunch – Comicon !

it’s something she’s been dying to do after watching numerous youtube videos 

And she wanted to Cosplay too – as James from Team Rocket in Pokemon which meant i had spent a goodles few weeks putting together a costume cheaply (ish).

So Saturday morning, we found ourselves drawing blue eyebrows on the train to complete the “James Look” and I even managed to spot Wally of Where’s Wally fame! 

Another stop bought us Robin, Maleficent and a couple of mini Jedi s !

Luckily I had the foresight to stop and eat at Westfield Cross as we had another two trains to catch before we arrived at London Excel .

I must say we were greeted by the most surrealist site – people drested up from all their favourite comics/ tv shows / animae – surreal but amazing.

After an hours queue to enter , the time spent spotting the different costumes we were finally in!

Being our first time we mainly spent five hours wandering around gawping athe everything – and there was so much to see and do !

There was an indoor funfair complete with sidestalls to win prizes ( We got an emoji cushion and an inflatable batman hammer)

Loads of friendly Cosplay ers to take photos with …. including team rocket 

Cardboard Cutouts to pose with ….

Pikachu s…

The Mad Hatter and friends …

Two ghostly girls ….

and a normal Harley Quinn !

The expo itself featured lots of stalls selling geek goodies and previews of games coming soon …

and display areas where you could dress up and get your photos professionally taken.

With shows and interactive features all included it was difficult to fit it all in and in fact we missed quite a bit but I swear to you I now want to go again and maybe next time I ll dress up ! 

All in all it really was a wonderful day with my wonderful girl 

The True CRIME Museum

Any person fascinated with crime and all its gory splendor will be in heaven here – I know I was !

Get nicked in Hastings!

 Though a small venue , it is an IMPRESSIVE collection , even more so when you consider its the private collection of just one man!

Dare you strap yourself in ?

The variety of exhibits and the displays themselves are so fascinating and well put together – you can tell this is a passion for all involved. Even the staff travel from out of town in order to work there they love it so much !
With some great interactive features such as taking your own mugshot and measuring yourself against famous criminals and even an electric chair prop -this easily rivals any London exhibition and feels a lot less gimmicky and certainly more authentic.

The Krays display

A good hour can be spent here , and there’s a lot to take in – my reasons specifically for wanting to visit was The Krays display which contained a bullet found in the gun that jammed at the crime scene of the murder of Jack the Hat Mcvitie .

signed by both Reggie and Ronnie

 It included signed boxing gloves by the twins, a memorial service programme from Ronnie s funeral and even a bitter pump from the Double R club. It was not only fascinating but lovely to see these items in the hands of an enthusiast who not only cared for them but wished to share these with fellow fans.

Found at the crime scene

However, I was surprised at the items that really made an impact with me – Amelia Dyers , the infamous baby farmer s display with her own blouse I found really chilling .

Despicable woman, you can feel the evil

The six containers used in one of the Acid Bath Murders were an impressive addition , the death mask of the “beautiful woman found in the Seine” serenely beautiful and the most disturbing had to be John Child’s bathtub that he used to chop up his victims !

The mysterious beauty of the Seine

 Even more fascinating is the story of how that came to be in the collection so be sure to ask on your visit !!!!So if you have a fascination with crime or are simply in the area , The True CRIME Museum is a must visit . It simply is amazing , with friendly staff and a vast array of items. Plus it includes a well stocked book shop and some fantastic souvenir items to take away.

Yep, even i got nicked !!!!

Having visited I just know this collection is going to grow and grow and the museum with it – they already do special events which just sound amazing and hire the venue out privately and they were renovating other areas for future exhibitions when I was there – the perfect excuse to return soon I think 😉

The Jolly Boys Outing

I grew up with Only Fools and Horses , every Christmas the highlight would be the special on TV showing del boy and rodney s latest antics.

So when I heard there was to be an exhibition down Margate featuring props and costumes from the show on just had to go ! Especially when it turned out that for the opening weekend Boycie and Marlene would be there to sign autographs and have pictures taken! Cushty…..

So off we traisped dahn Margit as the Londoners would say to Dreamland where the 1989 Christmas Special was filmed and the host of the exhibition.

As we preordered our tickets , it was only £4.95 per person and photos with Boycie and Marlene started from £10.00 with autographs free of charge.

Now, this is where the queues were – 2 hrs spent waiting but two hours well spent . John and Sue were absolutely lovely and so natural. Sue was dressed in Marlene s trademark leopard print even her knee high boots and John was suited and booted like Boycie as they sat in a replica of the trotters front room. It was an amazing experience.

The exhibition itself you could do in an easy half hour , it’s so compact. But that’s not to say it isn’t a treasure chest of goodies.

Costumes, props and del boys bedroom recreated complete with leopard print blanket, a packet of jaffa cakes and a copy of Modern Men sit atop the bed with its massive bright pink headboard with radio cassette players installed in the headboard.

Signs from the show, scripts, del s jewellery and triggers medal – in fact the only thing missing was the blow up dolls !

Each piece brought back memories of specific episodes and I couldn’t stop grinning as I moved from piece to piece.

In fact, I suddenly felt a bit sad as I thought of all the great characters no longer with us – Trigger, Mike and Denzil

That’s the thing with Only Fools , it’s like we ve known these people all our lives , we ve grown up with them and they are a part of our lives where we hold them in great esteem and affection. They’re practically a British institution as natural as a cup of tea in our culture.

So to be able to be so close to these items, to meet characters and chat, to recreate the infamous chandelier scene was an amazing experience.

The only dissapointment was that the van , although there, was surrounded by costumes therefore it was unable to see a clear view of it let alone get close enough to take a photo.

Last but not least , I’ve got to mention the gift shop – I love a gift shop- and this didn’t disapoint! An immense amount of leopard print assaults your senses as masks of Boycie gurn at you , the opportunity to buy dels filofax or flat cap awaits . Or how about a savings tin for this time next year we ll be millionaires?

Personally me and dad settled for fridge magnets – him Del , me Rodney and I had to get a specially designed Jolly Boys Outing plastic bag for 5p ( the only time I will enthusiastically pay for a plastic bag ) .

So there you have it, a fantastic day out and a wonderful exhibition of memorabilia from a much loved show.

If your are near the area , I’d definitely recommend paying a visit as the exhibition runs until the 3rd June.
So , what are you waiting for ?
You know it makes sense 😉

My Kent Big Weekend -The Dover Transport Museum

Every year Visit Kent open a ballot to Kent Residents to apply for free tickets to a Kent attraction as part of its Big Weekend.  I ve been lucky in the past three years to get tickets for The Roman Museum , Canterbury,  The Tudor House , Margate and this year, The Dover Transport Museum.

With two tickets allocated to each lucky household it’s a great opportunity to get out for the day and see what the county has to offer.

Dover isn’t far from us at all so after a short 20 mins drive we arrived on an industrial estate where the museum is located. The car park and entrance alone had so much to see and do I wondered if we d actually get in !

First a huge blue steam train called Sir Thomas (apparently named after Thomas A’Beckett but Foo and I thought Thomas the tank) which you could climb the stairs up to and get in,  pretending to be the driver.

A fantastic army jeep was next covered in the Union Flag and poppies which the kids happily posed by as you passed a massive propeller from a hurricane.

Outside the entrance was a multitude of period cars including the Bedford which was one of the volunteers who works there own car which had been refurbished.  He was kind enough to let the Foo who was very excitable already a sit in the drivers seat and pretend to drive !

Next stop was the air raid shelter – my particular favourite , as I kid I was fascinated by my grandmother s stories of being a child in the 2nd world war so seeing one in replica and being able to go in was just amazing !

Finally,  we actually made it inside and after a detour in the gift shop where the kids got some little bits we entered a huge room filled with Vintage cars and made to look like a street from days gone by.

From the morris minor police car to the 1958 firetruck ,  there were vehicles you could sit in like the working man’s wagon equipped with cooking, sleeping and eating space.

The Foo adored the open top bus which still goes out today -I can’t tell you how many times we went up and down those stairs but I think my face says it all in the above picture!

My mother loved it as she remembered not only the items her grandparents used to have but also things from her childhood which she ended up wailing:

“ nothing like seeing things you used to have in a museum to make you feel  old !!!!”

With lots of exhibits and things for the children to do and see including a massive  railway set the children could activate and a replica of Snargate Street, Dover this was a fascinating and exciting day out.

As we left The Foo was asking to return again and talking of his favourite part being the train St Thomas which of course he had to go on one last time before we left – hilariously when asked what her favourite part was active Girl replied “the gift shop”. Personally I loved it even if I did have to chase a very excited Foo around who just had to look at EVERYTHING and do EVERYTHING but it just goes to show how good it really was.

You can check out The Dover Transport Museum for opening times and prices at their website and I also recommend Visit Kent to see this and all the fantastic other attractions Kent has to offer