Gallifrey One 2019 got off to a slightly rocky start, with LA weather creating a bit of difficulty for folks flying in. Luckily for me, the worst of my travel was turbulence. And everyone I talked to who came in on Wednesday said the same—a few flights never even turned off the “fasten seatbelt” sign. By Thursday, things were even more dodgy; the skies opened.

As a Midwesterner, I tend to roll my eyes fondly at places that freak out over a little bit of rain or snow, but this time LA had real reason for concern. There was flash flooding and some serious nastiness (which sadly prevented me from getting together with local friends). But of course inside the Marriott, all of us nerdy types kept doing our own thing, and LobbyCon was effectively rolling by midday. (Okay, if I’m honest, it was rolling on Wednesday.)

The Thursday night ice cream social kicked off the officially sanctioned events. To my surprise, I couldn’t just walk into the ballroom when I got to the con floor. By the time I got there, a queue snaked and stretched well down the hallway. I didn’t actually want any ice cream—I only wanted to get in and find my friend Jeff to get one of his commemorative coins—but I played by the rules and stood in line until I got into the room. I made it to Jeff in the nick of time.

I even managed to overcome my introverted tendencies long enough to insert myself in a conversational circle with Simon Guerrier (with whom I paneled my very first year, without realizing he was one of the guests) and Stuart Manning. I didn’t know Stuart by sight, but when I saw his name tag, I was very pleased to be able to tell him that I really love his art.

I passed the rest of the evening LobbyConning, and got to bed later than I’d have liked, but such is the way of con-going! I woke on Friday ready to dive into programming. I started with the now-traditional opening event, the Radio Free Skaro live show, though this year there were also other panels opposite RFS.

I stayed long enough to hear the guys interview Colin Baker (always a delight) and Yasmin Bannerman (who played Jabe of the Forest of Cheem in the Eccleston episode The End of the World), and then ducked out to get in the autograph line for Catherine Tate. By the time I got there—some fifteen or twenty minutes before the designated timeslot—I was already well back in the line. After an hour’s wait, and some severe confusion on the part of the staff regarding how to get attendees to choose and pay for their photos for signing before getting to the guest, I was successful.

Sadly, that meant that I only got to the last few minutes of the interview with Caitlin Blackwood (young Amelia Pond), who was a last-minute addition to the roster after Pearl Mackie had to cancel due to a new work commitment. She still struck me as slightly reserved, though at age eighteen she’s (unsurprisingly) much more sure of herself than she was at eleven, when I saw her last.

Staying in place in Program A, I next watched the interview with William Russell and Carole Ann Ford. While this had been a panel I’d been greatly looking forward to, it ended up being slightly sad. Carole carried the panel well, coming to Russell’s rescue time and again, and when he did answer the questions at hand, he was animated and had great things to say. The experience contrasted sharply with what I saw of him during my first Gally, and gave me the impression he is fading. A friend suggested he is merely hard of hearing (clearly true) and really tired from jet lag. I find that a kinder interpretation that I’ll adopt as my headcanon.

After a brief break, I was back at the panels, attending the screening at The Complete Doctor Puppet. I had seen a couple of the earliest installments of that delightful stop-animation story, and plenty of pictures of the various Doctors Puppet, but hadn’t seen the majority of the story, so I really enjoyed the chance to watch the entire arc. I’ll have to check out their YouTube channel for the Christmas specials and behind-the-scenes goodies.

Next was the main stage interview with Katy Manning, who was just as off-the-wall and energetic as ever. She is simply a delight, and I hope everyone gets a chance to meet her at least once. She is a big shot of love and positivity that it seems like everyone could use these days.

I then left my friend holding down the fort (read: saving seats) while I ducked out to see part of the Academic Symposium. I have a couple of friends who presented, but could only fit one into my schedule; since this was their first time presenting like this, I particularly wanted to support them.

I ducked out before the Q&A to get back to my friend and our seats in Program A before the end of the Big Finish panel, and be in place for the Catherine Tate panel. Primarily she just took questions from the audience, but that didn’t make for an uninteresting hour. She is super energetic, naturally funny, and felt very “real” onstage. I could see that there were little ways in which Donna came out of Catherine herself, though they’re clearly distinct people. I hope I get to see her at least in passing today (Saturday), when I stop by her table to give her my ribbons to add to her chain and help her in her quest to beat out Barrowman for most ribbons.

We headed outside to the food trucks for dinner. I love this new lunch/dinner option that Gally and the Marriott have agreed upon. It really eases some of the crush at the on-site restaurants, lets attendees grab something substantive without leaving the premises, and is pretty damn tasty.

To cap of my programming day, I went to the Pointless game panel run by Paul Cornell and Lizbeth Myles. As one would expect with those two personalities at the fore (with several of their podcasting friends as helpers), the hour was entertaining. The fan contestants were delightful, and good sports. I left feeling energized.

That energy didn’t last a whole long time, though it did help get me through a couple more hours of LobbyCon and ribbon trading. I cashed it in well before midnight, as is my way, and hoped to get enough sleep to last me through the madness of Saturday.