posted 03-24-2016 04:28 AM               

However, it would be wise if you are is planning on bringing something that may be considered controversial to bring a fall back "conventional" piece... just in case.

One of our regular patrons had her arm signed by Alan Bean and subsequently had the signature tattooed on. But when she offered a leg to Jim Lovell for more of the same, after a few moments deliberation Jim declined to do likewise.

posted 03-26-2016 01:15 PM               

I know Laura (member on here) is coming to the Cernan event and has already asked me if it would be possible for him to sign her foot. Anyone at the last Autographica might have noticed her having Buzz Aldrin and Al Worden sign her other foot, which she subsequently had tattooed over. Also Brian Cox signed her leg at the Lovell event.

posted 03-26-2016 02:01 PM               

There are sometimes surprises which crop up and I will always remember the request for having Alan Bean sign a limb. Alan was surprised but duly obliged.

The astronaut guests work very hard throughout the signings and enjoy looking and asking about some of the material placed in front of them. We try to accommodate placement of signatures, pen type/colour and at the same time keep a free flowing queue.

posted 04-02-2016 08:56 PM               

Myself and my friend Colm (who was at the Mattingly dinner with me) will be at the lecture on Saturday and will be staying in the Good Night Inns on Old Great North Road on the Saturday night.

posted 04-06-2016 03:29 AM               

As recently as Tuesday morning the Cernan camp were finalising hotel details. Capt. Cernan was determined to make the trip but fate has not been kind and while this comes as a huge disappointment to everybody (not least to Capt. Cernan himself) we must respect his decision to postpone and we wish him all the very best for a speedy recovery.

But all in not lost!

We are delighted to confirm that retired General Tom Stafford (GT-6, GT-9, Apollo 10 and ASTP) has kindly agreed, with just 48 hours notice, to take Gene's place.

posted 04-06-2016 04:55 AM               

General Stafford is a true statesman of the space programme and has many great tales to tell.

posted 04-06-2016 06:03 AM               

Any feelings of disappointment are of course tempered with the great news that the Space Lectures team have worked a miracle and managed to get General Tom Stafford to step in and come over the pond to talk to us.

Personally, I hope Gen Stafford will talk about the Apollo Soyuz joint flight, but I'm sure that whatever he has to say, it will be the usual fantastic Space Lectures event, and I'm looking forward to it just as much as Capt Cernan.

posted 04-06-2016 10:09 AM               

As a consequence, for the single digit numbers that have enquired we are unfortunately not in a position to offer refunds at this late stage. Whichever course of action we took there would be some people left disappointed: all things considered pressing on with a revised event was the best option available to us.

posted 04-06-2016 11:44 AM               

What an amazing effort by the team to get such an outstanding replacement and a heartfelt vote of thanks to Tom Stafford for agreeing to save everyone's weekend. What a bunch of stars you all are.

posted 04-06-2016 12:14 PM               

All being well, Nick, Bryar and Richard's work in readiness for Capt. Cernan is not wasted; merely postponed for a future event in Pontefract.

In every other regard, the signings for Gen. Stafford will be the same as for Capt. Cernan. One signature per ticket. And at the signing table we will group people by coloured pen (ie a handful of black, then blue, silver and so on) so the General is not constantly having to change pen. It may sound cumbersome but it made the Lovell signing so much smoother... and quicker!

posted 04-06-2016 01:29 PM            

As I have already had the privilege of hearing Gene speak I am looking forward to adding a new Apollo astronaut to my collection!

posted 04-06-2016 02:34 PM               

We have maintained the previous price for a number of years where other events have charged considerably more and some charge per person on the photo.

As Rick has said on a previous post we do not take any profit. The events are run by volunteers who all share the same passion as the audience.

Yes it has been a setback but Space Lectures has worked incredibly hard to bring in a high quality replacement guest within a matter of hours.

posted 04-06-2016 03:55 PM               

As mentioned previously a sell out of all tickets does not of itself cover the cost of the event. Were the event funded entirely by ticket sales the ticket prices would be considerably higher.

The cost of each event is eventually covered by income from all aspects of the weekend; the auction, the raffles and a portion of the photo sales.

We had a pretty good idea of the number of photos we were likely to sell for Capt. Cernan based on Jim Lovell and umpteen events previous... and priced them accordingly.

Were we to keep the photos at £20 a pop the lecture and dinner tickets would be dearer; it is as simple as that. Incidentally, from memory this is the first price increase for the photos in 7 years or so.

The auction had some particularly high value, impressive pieces that were bespoke to Capt. Cernan and had been acquired over many months. We hope eventually to bring these to a future event but they would not be suitable for Gen. Stafford and despite a re-jig of some of the auction pieces I am expecting a lower return from the auction this time around than we had hoped for.

As we stand at the moment, or more to the point as Ken stands at the moment, he is considerably out of pocket and he will do well to break even on the event, and that is with photos at £30 a pop.

Apologies if I am going on a bit but one last point if I may. Were Gen. Stafford to appear at Autographica and you wanted a photo (unmounted) with yourself, your wife and two kids you are unlikely to see change out of £100. Were it Buzz you would be looking at £280 for one photo. I have no beef with Autographica; those guys do a great job but I hope people will appreciate that Ken pitches ticket prices, photos and such to cover the cost of the event and hopefully leave a bit over for charity. Nothing more.

posted 04-07-2016 03:12 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
I'm off to spend a few days with a certain General.

---

posted 04-07-2016 04:10 AM               

To put things in context, we have organised some very successful events and attracted guests over which others could never attract.

We have kept all our events as affordable as possible (please note Tom Stafford signature on ASF is $275) due to the fact that we are not a commercial enterprise.

posted 04-07-2016 05:39 AM               

I've always seen 'us' enthusiasts as one group who are all in this together and are willing to take the odd 'hit' every now and then (if meeting yet another Apollo astronaut who has been to the Moon can be described as a 'hit') because, let's be honest here, we've had some absolutely wonderful experiences at Ken and his gang's previous events and I think we should give them some slack. They are not a profit making organisation and to be blunt, we wouldn't have met some of these heroes if it wasn't for them.

posted 04-07-2016 07:04 AM               

I'm already saving the pennies on the assumption it can be rescheduled. My only fear is that given the demand this last time, we'll have to be quick off the mark to secure a ticket!

posted 04-07-2016 12:18 PM               

Gene Cernan was taken ill a few days before he flew out which happens when you are in your 80's. That's life! If you ever go to the theatre to see a famous name in the lead role and owing to an illness the understudy has to take their place you are not entitled to a refund as the show has gone on.

Some people have commented on them wanting a refund. The dinner is still happening, the lecture is still happening and an astronaut from Apollo 10 is still attending.

Ken and Space Lectures has done a fantastic job in getting Tom Stafford to step in at the last minute and I find it incredible that people are complaining about this last minute change of speaker. If Gene Cernan had changed his mind or done something else or space lectures had changed their minds and got someone else then maybe you would have grounds to be unhappy. Gene Cernan was taken ill so what do you not understand about that.

If Gene had not attended then I am sure that all the money that had been paid and was due to be paid to him would have been returned to Space Lectures. Once the event had been rescheduled then all the tickets would have been still valid. The vast majority of the cost is the astronauts appearance fee and in the contract it would say that in the event of a no show for whatever reason the the fee would be refundable.

There are still costs involved in bringing over Tom Stafford and for those asking for a refund then are you happy for someone else to make a loss owing to circumstances beyond their control.

I certainly hope General Stafford is not reading the comments as he would be wondering why at the age of 85 he was bothering to come over.

It should be remembered that a lot of people are not within driving distance of the event. They will have paid for hotels and flights and if the event was cancelled then they would have lost a lot more than the cost of a ticket.

Three of us attend every Space Lectures event and I have asked Ken to put us down for three sets of dinner and lecture tickets for every event. We see it as a social event that happens twice a year and we always buy our tickets before knowing who the speaker will be because we would never say that we would not be interested in seeing a particular astronaut.

I saw Tom Stafford at Autographica in 2014 but am more than happy to see him again. I went to both of James Lovell's lectures as well as the dinner.

Last year at Autographica, Edgar Mitchell and Dave Scott were due to attend but cancelled due to illness. In their place was Buzz Aldrin. Buzz has now retired from attending autograph shows and I believe this was one of, if not the last show he did. I spent £660 having Buzz sign and do inscriptions on my poster and I do not regret it one bit. If I had had the opportunity but chose to pass it by then that is something I would have regretted.

This year I have seen Don Thomas at the National Space Centre, am attending dinner and lecture at both Space Lectures events, Autographica in October and in June am going to Spacefest in Tuscon, Arizona and a week and a half later am in Tenerife for Starmus.

Buzz was originally down to attend Spacefest but has now pulled out. In 2014 at Starmus Harrison Schmitt was due to attend but pulled out. This happens.

posted 04-07-2016 02:21 PM               

The sad news hadn't even sunk in yet when I promptly received my refund from the National Space Center. But that still leaves me with a useless plane ticket...

I think you can guess where my preference is in this situation. Looking forward to see Tom Stafford!