OT: Meeting Amber

[annelise@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Yesterday I met Amber Benson in Forbidden Planet in Manchester.

I went with CaveSpik, because queues are always slightly more fun 
with company, or at least, someone you can bitch too.

The God of Old Israel plied us with plagues of Greenfly, Big Issue 
Salesmen, Whiny 8-Year-Olds, Cool Breezes, Old People Asking: "Who?", 
and so on.

My evil-twin kept whispering things like, "Maybe she's still a 
vegetable." and "These are the lips that Alyson graced."

After 2 hours waiting in the cold, we got in and bought the expensive 
photo of Amber, and a copy of Buffy & Willow: Wanna Blessed Be, and 
we met her.

She'd been on the road for a whole week, and she looked shot. She was 
gaunt rather than bovine and she had dark circles under her eyes. But 
even so, she smiled, chatted with us, signed our comics and photos, 
and she hugged us and let us take photos of us together.

And for a moment, my heart went out to her. She wasn't Tara, or the 
hellhound that stole my Willow from me, she was a struggling young 
actress in a grubby comic shop in grim Manchester, wanting a bath and 
a bed. Yet here she was with a smile in her eyes, and a kind word for 
our hearts.

So here's to Amber, who for a moment let me touch something beyond 
myself, and made me feel graced by a Muse.

On Thursday, I get to meet Chris Golden. I wonder, will he make me 
feel the same way?

Anne-Lise.