London 22-25 February: Post 2 - Joss Whedon

So what happened? How did I, a geeky Buffy / Angel / Firefly / Serenity etc etc fan, end up meeting Joss Whedon who brought to life all those wonderful characters through his ideas and his writing?

Complete luck.

There we were heading into Covent Garden to Cafe Pasta, a frequent haunt of ours for food in London. Normally we sit on the Monmouth Street side of the restaurant, but as we went in there were people smoking that side so we headed to the other side, looking out over Forbidden Planet. Great view of the dalek displays et al in the window; very tempting for a girl like me.

And then, as I am counting daleks, a man hoves into view passing the F.P. window: long black coat, wispy gingery hair... "Jesus, that's f-ing Joss Whedon...! I'm sure it is...! I think it IS him!" Cue me frantically diving into my handbag for my camera, just as he is turning to cross the road back over towards Covent Garden. Missing the chance to snap a picture out of the window of the restaurant I leg it outside turning left just as he approaches the restuarant.

And now cue the DUMBEST line I could ever have hoped to utter: "Excuse me, but are you you who I think you are" (yes, I know, shoot me now). He smiled and replied "I'm Joss".

So there's me muttering things about how fantastic it was to get the chance to meet him and tell him how much I appreciated his work and how much it meant to me and wishing him a very lovely time in London and him asking my name and shaking my hand and saying how so many people were nice to him and me asking if he wouold mind awfully if I got a photo to prove I had met him and him offering to hold the camera out so we could get a better shot and... and...

I know, I could have made a much better job of things; said something more meaningful, questioning, even interrogative (like, why are you here in London today? Even asking if he had been in F.P.) But, I really didn't care. I had just met Joss Whedon, which as HolyHoses Rob said, is rather like "the TV equivalent of meeting Bob Dylan!"

I was a VERY happy bunny.