Who are We?
Sue Griffiths
The great thing about being a member of LOTNA and going to conventions is that you end up with a very full diary and doing stuff that you might not otherwise. Personally, I remember a time when I used to stay in every night and used to dream about going places and doing things. These days, I try not to be without my diary as I need it to keep track of my nights out, weekends away and other activities. This has included going to Chessington World of Adventures in Star Trek (and later Stargate) uniform, marching down the street with many others with a banner declaring "Save Farscape" not a million miles away from where I worked at the time and acting in The X Spoof and Stardoor SD1, which were just cool!
The latter inspired me to take to the stage whenever I could at Cult TV both with the LOTNA in the Long, Long, Long, Long, Long Night of Londo Mollari, then reading poetry on stage in the style of Frankie Howard in Up Pompeii and also taking a turn as a yellowcoat, I Di Hi style - well, that year Cult TV was held in a holiday camp so it seemed only right! On the subject of Cult TV, I first attended it in 1999 and would look at the crew interviewing the guests on stage thinking "I want to do that" and last year, I did! It was nerve racking and kinda scary but also a great deal of fun, rewarding and a brilliant experience and I look forward to the next Cult TV. It's fun getting involved in things like that …
Sci fi has also played a part in my academic achievements when I took a year out to do a Master's degree in Leisure, Tourism and the Environment and based my dissertation on my interests in ancient history and sci fi - so "naturally" Stargate SG1 found its way into the work in question - as did Battlestar Galactica, Thunderbirds and Doctor Who!
On the subject of the history thing, I got talking to some re-enactors at one of the Salute events and ended up getting involved in some re-enactment events, something I'd wanted to do for a long while and this year ended up going to the Military Odyssey event in Delting as a participant in an English Civil War re-enactment! It was a brilliant experience and one I intend to repeat. Ah … the smell of gunpowder, the boom of cannons - why watch it on TV when you can experience it in the name of bringing history to life? Oh …and I also enjoy laser tag as well and enjoy the combination of skirmishes and role playing - as well as getting out and about in the fresh air, too!
I travel quite a distance both to work and to the pub for LOTNA meetings (it's well over an hour each way for me) so what can I do during the journeys but read? I review books for Concatenation who provide me with all manner of books to peruse and provide my opinions on which keeps me quiet on many a train journey. I like all manner of sci fi and fantasy, but particularly like historical fiction and non fiction, mythology and autobiographies.
Right now, my favourite shows/movies are Stargate Atlantis, Lost (which exasperates me but I am, sadly, hooked), Tru Calling, Babylon 5, Farscape, Sharpe, Firefly, Andromeda, Hi De Hi, Highlander, V for Vendetta, Serenity, Shaun of the Dead, Lord of the Rings and … er hellip; I'm sure there are more!!
My other interests include kickboxing, which I hold a red belt in, writing of all manner and description from fan fiction to regular articles for The Contact newsletter, travelling, going to conventions and events, American comics and, of course, going down the pub for LOTNA nights!!!