I'm a Addict I Admit It! ~ Islands of Excellence: Angelina Jolie

The past two days have given my youngest daughter some fabulous memories to hold onto. We went to two premieres ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ & ‘Larry Crowne’.

The first was Kung Fu Panda 2 and Sophia had a fantastic time. The minute she saw the panda she would not stop shouting Po. Then when Jack Black came round the corner in a rickshaw she kept shouting his name until he came over to chat to her. Jack Black gave her a high five and signed our book which made her day and mine. He was so warm and funny to watch in person.

The following day we went to the Larry Crowne premiere. There were loads of people there and Sophia had a photograph of Tom Hanks waiting to be signed, but sadly we did not get his autograph. Instead I managed to get Ronnie Wood, Sophie Ellis Bexter and Cherie Blair in our book.

Whilst there I managed to chat to a few autograph hunters at both events. They let me into a few little secrets about getting autographs. You can actually reserve your patch by putting your coat on the barriers or get a camping chair and no-one will touch it.That some people are there because of profit to be made on autographs, but I explained that I want to get pictures signed so I could raise cash for cancer research. They admired my determination to check out the competion first rather than run in head on. It is a very dark industry where people are very competitive for the perfect patch to gain autographs. Some would sooner you were not there at all. The signature I have of Ronnie Wood alone is worth £50 or more on eBay.

It all goes on how clear the signature is to the value a collector will pay. With me being just off the central line to central London. I can hunt theses signatures down and forward them onto friends for their charities, or set up a webpage and sell them making sure the monies go to cancer research direct from me. This is only an idea that I am playing with, but the people I am now networking with say it is an excellent one to do if I can set it up.

Yes I admit it I am becoming addicted to collecting autographs, but I have another personal reason also for doing this with my young daughter. Although this is nothing to do with BC it is everything to do with BC. Sophia is six years old and if the BC took hold I might not have seen her reach seven. Memories are important to a child’s personal development especially fun ones with Mummy. The other autograph hunters understood, but are still weary of my intentions. To me it is a bit of fun, but to them you’re stealing an autograph that could be sold making them a profit.