A Look Back At Destination Star Trek, Birmingham 2018 – Pt 3

Sunday 21 October 2018 – Day Three of DST

Day Three started with a free talk on the Excelsior stage with Jeffrey Combs, Martha Hackett and one of the make-up artists on Star Trek. It was a fascinating talk on what it was like for those who underwent hours and hours of make-up on a regular basis.

Jeffrey Combs & Martha Hackett – DST2018

I headed over to have my bridge photoshoot (I chose the TNG bridge) followed by my green screen photo shoot (I chose Emperor Georgiou’s throne from Discovery) and I was really pleased with how they turned out.

The Voyager stage (which I think was my favourite stage over the course of the weekend as it had some big names and great talks) was my next stop for the ‘Meet the Admiral’ talk with Jayne Brook who plays Admiral Cornwell in Discovery. She was great – so positive and friendly. She took loads of questions and I even managed to get one in. I commended Jayne on being such a cool, badass Admiral and asked her what it was like working with someone you get along with so well on and off-screen (Mary Chieffo) and whether she had any predictions on what might happen to L’Rell and Cornwell in season 2 and future seasons. Jayne said how much of a delight it was working with Mary but gave very little away, rather predictably (worth a try though).

I got to hang out with the people I had met on the previous two days of the convention and later on had my Jeri Ryan photoshoot. Jeri Ryan was very popular and the queues for her were very long! Clearly, there are a lot of Seven of Nine fans out there, myself included!

Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook) – DST18

Next was the Primitive Culture talk all about Star Trek history and culture. As one of my favourite Star Trek podcasts, it was a real treat to hear Duncan and Clara live and their talk was really interesting. If you haven’t listened to their podcast you definitely should – I highly recommend it. They cover some fascinating topics from the influence of World War Two on Star Trek to mental health in Star Trek.

I managed to take a look around the costume and props exhibition which was really cool. There were some fantastic original costumes and props. There were Enterprise phase pistols, TNG compression rifles, uniforms, original blueprints of starships and architecture and lots more.

My penultimate talk was with Mary Chieffo and Kenneth Mitchell and the seating area was packed, owing to the popularity of these two new Klingons! They discussed a whole range of topics from Discovery and were really popular with the audience.

Mary Chieffo and Kenneth Mitchell – DST2018

I headed over to the Eaglemoss stand as I’d heard on Twitter that they were doing a giveaway to get rid of their display models. The staff at the stand asked trivia questions and whoever shouted out the answer first won a prize. I was hoping for the USS Glenn but that went really early and I wasn’t quite quick enough. Up came a question “Who initially played Kathryn Janeway before she quit and was replaced with Kate Mulgrew”. As quickly as I could I blurted out Genevieve Bujold and I won a USS Voyager plaque! I was thrilled!

The final talk of the convention was with Chase Masterson and the Trekkie Girls, who I finally got to meet at DST! Chase discussed her charity and showcased the awesome t-shirts that are available to purchase with sales going to her charity.

I decided to have one last look around the vendor stalls and see if I could make any last minute purchases. It was a good idea as lots of official DST merchandise was reduced for clearance. I managed to get a Voyager ‘There’s Coffee in that Nebula’/DST mug, a DST pin and some autograph/photograph protectors. I also purchased an Eaglemoss model of the U.S.S. Equinox as I’ve been wanting one for ages.

I took a few final photos of the convention hall and made my way to the train station for my journey home. I was quite sad to be leaving after such a fantastic weekend filled with Star Trek and meeting some awesome people. I made my way to the platform at Birmingham International and who should be waiting for the train on the same platform but Alice Krige, so I literally went home with the Borg Queen! I even saw an Andorian at London St Pancras International!

I finally made it home and put everything I had purchased or been given over the weekend at the convention out on my dining room table to marvel at the awesome stuff I’d amassed! It was an impressive Star Trek stash!

My impressive Star Trek stash from DST2018

Final Thoughts

Destination Star Trek in Birmingham was a fantastic event and I had a great weekend. I’m so glad I went. Although I was initially nervous I had nothing to be worried about. There were so many nice people. I feel like I’ve made some life-long friends out of attending the convention!

I’ve already booked my hotel for DST 2019! Hope to see you there!

Tips

  • I know it sounds nerdy, but make a schedule, even a brief one, of which talks you are planning to attend, which photoshoots you have booked, which autographs you want and timings etc.
  • Saturday is incredibly busy – get stuff you desperately want in terms of autographs and photoshoots on Friday or Sunday if you can so Saturday isn’t so manic for you!
  • Water, snacks and proper hot meals! I was so busy on Saturday I forgot to drink or eat for a large chunk of the day and had a massive headache – don’t follow my poor example!
  • Save purchases for Sunday toward the end of the day – prices often reduced! Especially official merchandise.
  • Make time for meeting up with friends – I wish I’d spent more time with friends and people I’ve met through twitter.
  • Accommodation can get really expensive, really quickly. Book early if you can. You can always book a refundable hotel if it all falls through so you don’t lose your money. Look into Airbnb or holiday lettings if you can share with friends – it works out a lot cheaper.
  • I saved up a bit each month for a year to have enough spending money, money for travel and accommodation – might be worth putting a bit of latinum aside each month as DST can be expensive.
  • If you are coming alone then don’t be afraid to interact with Trekkies on twitter and arrange meet-ups – Trekkies are such nice people and are incredibly welcoming and friendly. I did just this and got to meet some awesome people. I tweeted a picture of what I was wearing each day and several people found me and introduced themselves and said hi.
  • Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation in queues or around the convention hall. It can seem daunting but people are more than willing to chat and discuss what we all share a love of…Star Trek!

Most of all – ENJOY YOURSELF!

 

@TrekkieRob

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