I go to my first Convention

The Thirtieth Anniversary convention, Panopticon 93, was the very first Doctor Who convention I attended, just two years after marrying into fandom.  I really was not sure what to expect, but took along some jelly babies for emergencies.  It was held at a hotel in Hammersmith, which charged what I thought was an extortionate amount for a pot of tea. 

This was during the time when Doctor Who was off the air and unfashionable.  The convention was run by fans, for fans, most of whom were male. The event was hosted by Nicholas Briggs, now known as the voice of the Daleks, who encouraged the audience to shout ‘Get lost Nick, you bald git’ every time he appeared. (This has proved a hard habit to break.)  The highlight of that event was an appearance from Tom Baker – the first time I had seen him live in his full and entirely bonkers glory. 

One of the fascinations of the event was the dealers' room. In those days Daleks and Sonic Screwdrivers weren't available at all good retailers.  If you wanted merchandise, you got it at a convention, or by mail order. (For younger readers, 'mail order' involved sending off a thing called a cheque in the post, and waiting 28 days for delivery.]  We were particularly struck by one piece of merchandise: a cabinet for storing your Doctor Who VHS cassettes, that looked like a TARDIS.  It was quite expensive for us, but we needed somewhere to keep all those tapes, so it would earn its keep.