It’s been a while since we headed to the National Space Centre in Leicester for any kind of event, but when that event is Return of the Garrison and the guest list is as good as this, it’s hard to say no. Not that we would, Return of the Garrison has been a very happy hunting ground for Fantha Tracks over the years, and the weekend of 17th – 18th September was no exception.
Fantha Tracks were represented by Mark Newbold and Paul Naylor, with Rebel Legion UK Commanding Officer Mark Mulcaster pulling double duty for Fantha and the RL. Given that, we were given our own table between the UKG and the Mando Mercs, allowing us to hand out free badges, Desert Planet Discs stickers and flyers to kids of all ages. The bad side – that went down so well, we were out of pretty much everything by the end of the Saturday, so cheers to the RL for giving us some additional swaggery to fritter out. The good side – when the show was over, all we needed to do was fold up the table cloth and head for the car park.
As mentioned, the guest list was superb. At the show and not far from the town of Coalville was Bob Brechin, chief designer for Palitoy who was joined by Roger Morrison who’d worked with Brechin back in the day. They were joined at the table by dozens of interested fans keen to know the history of the legendary company and check out the drool-worthy vintage items on his table.
The shows other guests brought amazing Star Wars artwork to the Space Center. JAKe is a convention staple, an old pal of the site who’s art has graced Star Wars Celebration tickets and official posters going back many years, while Jake Lunt Davies was attending one of his very first show. Jake’s concept art was behind the creation of BB-8, the Porgs, Constable Zuvio and many other incredible innovations, and his table had many images of those characters on show. Even better, the two Jake’s made for a formidable double act (one which continued onto the Saturday night at the bar at the ApartHotel we were staying in, but that’s another story).
Around the Space Center there was plenty going on. Booths selling current, 90’s and vintage items, the Saturday bringing Warwick Davis and his family to the event (in on the 2.00am red eye from the States straight to the show – we hope he knows how appreciative we and the many folks who met him on the day were for that).
There’s plenty of places to eat, grab drinks and chill out, while the built-in attractions at the NSC kept fans of all ages occupied for the afternoon. And then there’s the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, which was busy for the whole weekend.
Fantha Tracks were given two slots at 3.10pm each day, giving us the chance to record two episodes of Making Tracks, both of which you can hear above. It was a great experience, playing that amazing room to such a cool crowd, and we hope to get to do it again at the next show.
As part of our Fantha Tracks Radio Friday Night Rotation you can hear Bob’s panel and his chat with Paul Naylor on a special episode of Making Tracks.
As part of our Fantha Tracks Radio Friday Night Rotation check out this special episode of Making Tracks with JAKe Detonator and Jake Lunt Davies.
Costuming is a key part of the event, and this years running was no exception. There were kids dressed up, joining the more formal ranks of the Rebel Legion, Mando Mercs and UKG at the show. Always a pull for the crowd, it kept the days buzzing along and remains a popular event on the UK convention calendar.
While sadly we didn’t record any of the audio from the Saturday night mixer (which saw members of all the costuming groups along with Fantha Tracks and Jedi News sing a very haphazard version of Hotel California) we can guarantee that a good time was had by all, just as the significant crowds who made their way to Leicester did. A great event, with good people in a superb venue, we can’t wait for the next time we all get together again.
