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SOLOMON AND GAENOR PREMEIRE APRIL 1999
Sheila and I get there early so we wander around for a bit the get snacks from mcdonalds, seeing Alex in the queue but not bloody recognising him!LOL!!! while walking back up we see a car parked wierdly outside the odeon and I'm just making out a familiar face inside when Sheila screams, grabs me and says "OH MY GOD I JUST STARED AT IOAN GRUFFUDD AND HE STARED BACK!!!!!" Needless to say, we leg it...unfortunatly there is no place to leg it to untill the doors open and we are bloody STUCK standing by the car getting sideways looks from and passing looks to Gruffudd...... Once inside we watch a very smartly black-suit and shirted Ioan talk to the news cameras.
S&G wall plaque from upper hallway
Alex and Karen and Karen's sister turn up, and champagne consumption starts.... wahey!! Alex the dappy idiot goes to find his ticket and finds it aint there. MAJOR scuuffle while he convinces nice odeon people to let him in. I filch his phone with Sally Bach on the other end and fill her in on the details.... after a while, sarah arrives too. I'm critically bouncy and chirpy at this point and we're all v.v.v.v. excited and the word "RRRRRRRRRAAAOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR" is seeing a lot of usage.
L-R Clare, Sarah, Kate, Alex, Karen, Sheila
Arrange to meet at the popcorn stand and its off to our rows in the cinema........
Talks from S&G producer and writer director! promise of Ioan appearence after show! woooo! am now sat by sheila but am within waving distance of karen..... just been approached by natashas mum and been chatting. must remember to recall what eliott looks like so can chase him for autograph...teeheeee.....
S&G location/Set design from wall board
Ooooohhhhhhhhhhh S&G. the film rolls and its a bloody masterpiece....... all the way home me and sheila have great speaks about what was good about it and Alex and me have great film critic/didnt he look like horatio? moment about it afterwards standing outside odeon while sheila is plyed with and collects email addressess from all......but I'm ahead of myself.............
Ioan and Nia appear after the film to a standing ovation (which got started in my row ::looks innocent:::: I was 7th up or something, I didnt start it! lol!) then bugger off...we are advised to do same and collect free booze at party. don't need bloody asking twice.
Ballroom/band platform of main hall.. Lets party!
Sarah practices her camera skills, Alex and Sheila take a tip from Ioan and drink all the beer in sight.
Party: Ioan signs and photos for 20 minutes (gettiung Alex in, lucky duck) then goes off for a "breather" that lasts rest of night. karen, tracy, Alex and Sheep set up camp on the table he was using and later sarah, kate and me go and stand by the table hes sitting at and just....gaze....at him for a while while idley snapping a few pics and coming up with"fun size ioan! fits in your pocket!
He chats !!!! He hides!!!!! Come back!
I chat to elliott and natashas mum for a bit, elliot has autographs got from him by me and Alex (who also got a piccy!) and I ascertain PQDR Charlotte is NOT in attendance but his family are (Along with super furry animals, david emanuel, a boxer bloke annnd other S&G cast). Feel quite smug, chatting by the VIP enclosure like this. Poor Nia is sat on table next to us and looks burned out. ioan is two metres away from us sipping beer and waving to the people on the stairs. we make puppy dog eyes and acheive ooodles of eye contact. Rrrrraaaowr!
Eventually Ioan is too knackerd to do any more and I have no autographs piccys or anything. Booohooooo:((((( however, as he makes his way down the alley I catch his eye, grin at him and say "I'm one of the people that runs a webpage about you! Ummm...!!!" He turns back, gives me the thumbs up and grins at me, and keeps doing so all the way to the door.
Ioan smiles, waves, and legs it
Before you know it I'm up and running.
Security somehow let me and kate and sarah through and we're left in a streetlamp-lit court of mcarthur glen watching Ioan retreat with his minders. I;m standing there dazed when i hear someone say "Umm.. I don';t suppose I could have one pic with you for my site? it would mean a lot to me and the others!" I realise, a bit sheepishly, that person was *me*. And the minder is scowling and saying no.
But *Ioan* is smiling at me ever so sweetly, and stopping and turning and oh my god saying "Come on then, just quickly" and looking me in the eye and grinning with real friendliness. I can't believe it. the poor lamb is exhausted and he's actually looking *pleased* for my unnanounced photocall. so he comes over, Sarah juggles cameras and kate stands by, I'm saying "you're such a love for doing this, thank you so much!" and hes hugging me and saying "Oh no, thank*you*" (talking about the site don'tjaknow) and I manage to blurt out in a normal tone "I just think you're the best actor from this country since hopkins and burton and all that" and he thanks me again and pulls me closer again with his arm and damn i'm glad he did because my knees were about to go, and all this while we're fumbling cameras and I'm thinking "god his back is broad, I can hardly reach me arm round it!" and Kate has grabbed him from the other side and basicly within five minutes he's grinned and thanked me again and I've lavished praise and thanks on him and he's off to his car.
L-R Clare, You-Know-Who, Kate
Clare and Kate are still in shock since this photo was taken...
I of course, trot after him, press a scrap of paper with my URL, Sarahs URL, and my email scrawled hastily on it into his hand, and I watch as he dissapears into the dark still opening it.
Thats when I see the entire party nearly watching us through the glass wall. I get inside and I'm like "I just.,...." and alex and Karen are like "we saw" and sheilas like "F******* BOUNCER STOPPED ME!!!!!!!!"
Costumes from the film (Ioan and Nia's)
So I get my ticket signed by Nia roberts, then wonder upstairs, talke a few more pics of the photos, storyboards, drawings, costumes laid out there while karen leaves her address and blags a load of stuff, then sarah and kate are off, then its time for me and sheila to go home and leave karen, tracy and alex to their taxi.
So yes darlings, it was *eventful*............
PICTURES COURTESY OF ANDREW
Andrew is an old pal of Ioan's who spent some time catching up with him and Nia in the VIP area, along with his sister and mates.... he's very kindly sent me the pictures so much worshipping in his direction:)))
