MCM London October 2018

Skye Fawkes Returns to MCM

Following all my personal events this year should I have still been pregnant I wouldn't have been attending October MCM however as this was no longer the case I decided to brave one day and attend for the Sunday. I decided to bring my SSR Agent Carter cosplay to London for the first time.

My friend drove us to London and we parked on site at the Excel which was simple and easy to do. It was a £20 flat day rate to park.

The queuing system to collect your wrist band was smooth and easy. As ever I checked my bags into the cloakroom and set off for the day. The only downside to this was the huge queue at the end of the day and not enough staff to get through it quickly. Lesson learnt for next time not to wait until the very end of the day to collect my things!

For this convention I decided to take it easy with it being my first big event after Leia so there were no interviews or pressure, just to soak up the convention like your average con goer/cosplayer would. This was I could take in what the con had to offer for your average attendee. As always with MCM there is lots to see and do. I only just about made it around everything, There is certainly a reason the convention lasts a few days as it can take you a lot of time to get around everything especially if your queuing for guests, watching the competitions, talks, etc. 

My favourite area of the convention is always Artist Alley. I was great to see new faces and old behind the stalls. We worked our way around the con floor taking in all there was to offer. There were lots of interactive areas, companies promoting their products. I saw some areas set up for photos/selfies which was good to see. More of these and mock sets for cosplayers would be great!

We went outside by the stairs to check out the cosplay. It was pretty busy even with the cold weather! We were very lucky to miss the rain that there was the day before! Its always a good place for people watching and getting photos taken of your cosplays/take photos of cosplayers.

For the average person I would like to see more sets/photo areas, more freebies (seeing as you pay so much for your ticket), more big names in attendance with prices kept reasonable.

I had a great day. A fab way to reintroduce myself to the bigger conventions this year. My next MCM con is Birmingham, my favourite con of the year! It will be nice to see what there is to offer this time around! I hope to see you there! 

Skye Fawkes

Editor Daily Cosplaynet 

Photos: Skye Fawkes Cosplay

Top and bottom post photos of The Basingstoke Cosplay Collective

Jolly Holly Cosplays Practically Perfect Con 

Last weekend saw me returning to MCM Expo London for my 5th year and attending all three days as usual. For this weekend I brought back one of my favourite and first characters, Mary Poppins, the character that gave me my cosplay name. With the upcoming release of Mary Poppins Returns many people were excited to see the flying nanny, including many of this years security staff.

The security personal are often the cause of many rants and groans in the MCM Expo Facebook group, with many "security did this, security did that” posts. I myself have experienced unfriendly, grumpy members of the security teams in the past, but this year I have nothing but praise for them.

Not only did they all greet me with their best, or worst, Dick Van Dyke impressions but two of the bag checkers made my day when searching through my magic carpet bag and pretending they were reaching into its depths. I also have to say a thank you to a few security personnel in particular for rescuing me from battling queues and crowds when I had resorted to using my crutches, this year I have been suffering with the return of my childhood arthritis which makes walking painful at times when my ankles swell to the size of beach balls. I counted many smiles and friendly hellos over the course of the weekend, if you are using a new company this year MCM/Reed Pop then please use them again in the future.

On the whole the con felt a lot less busy this year. Friday has always been the quietest day but compared to previous years this was much quieter, zero queues and crowds, a result of the price increase? Possibly. Yet Saturday was the busiest I have ever seen it. Who knows what the capacity of the Excel centre is, but it definitely felt overcrowded to me. Journeying from one end of the concourse to the other took well over 30 minutes during the peek times of 12 and 2pm. It's no surprise that many people stay outside once they have claimed their wristband.

The temperatures this year had plummeted, in a complete opposite to May's soaring heat. October saw people huddling together for warmth or risking the cold to get that perfect photo or video clip for a CMV.

I did see an improvement in sniping this year, my biggest pet hate at a con. In May I confronted multiple togs/con goers who we sniping people eating, smoking or fixing their costume. Personally, I cannot understand wanting once of these unflattering images as opposed to a nice posed photo that truly represents the character.

It's still early days in the Reed Pop MCM take over, the price hike has certainly been a concern, so I was intrigued to see if we were going to get any more for our money. Other than a few added selfie sets I didn't see anything new or improved. I'd love to see some sets built for people to take photos against.

On the whole an enjoyable con this year, next up MCM Birmingham.

Jolly Holly

Writer Daily Cosplaynet

Photos: Jolly Holly Cosplay