UNITY – First con of the year

UNITY is something I heard about on Facebook, I’m part of the Devon Geek Group and one of the key members, Kai Wong, owns the venue (a rather good chinese restaurant in Rockbeare).

As usual, I persuaded the youngest dort to come with me and have a look around. It’s a very small, friendly and local con and I felt that if I wanted to see more cons happening, I should get off my increasingly fat arse and actually support it. I’m so glad I did.

Two memories of my childhood. Blake 7 and one of the scariest Dr Who episodes I watched as kid.

Wow, just wow. It made all the right noises.

A number of people that I correspond with electronically were there, with Lee Rawlings doing a great job as the compere, Simon Brett displaying his amazing Dr. Who work for Starburst Magazine and local Dalek operator Dan Barrett regaling people with stories about his life in a moving pepper pot.

Also there were Jon Davey (a Dr Who actor who has been a member of UNIT, one of the founding members of the Cybermen and in something like 29 episodes), Nick Joseph who has been in Dr Who, was the medal bearer in Star Wars: A New Hope and even had a stint in Blakes 7, and Sarah Louise Madison, another Dr Who actress and Weeping Angel.

All of the actors took part in a great Q&A, with Jon teaching Lee how to walk like a cyberman (they actually had cyberman training sessions).

The even had a lovely atmosphere, with some great cosplayers who were more than happy to interact with the kids and attendees, live music, good food and some excellent dealers tables. Considering entry was free for kids under 10, and only £3 for everyone else, this was a great do. The raffle was full of excellent prizes and there was a good bit of banter as people cheered on the winners.

At the end of the day, Unity managed to raise a grand total of £1061.33 for Honeylands Childrens Charity. Registered Charity No. 268363.

This is an excellent event, great for a couple of hours worth of fun and a good way to get to meet members of the group. If you can pop along, have fun and raise money for charity, I heartily recommend you do so.