A Moment in Time (Beauty and the Beast convention)

Convention
Name:	A Moment in Time (Beauty and the Beast con)
Dates:	1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002
Frequency:
Location:	UK
Type:
Focus:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Organization:
Founder:	Sandra Deville and Joy Faulkner (registration organizers)
Founding Date:
URL:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

A Moment in Time was a Beauty and the Beast (TV) convention held in the UK.

Its con zine is A Moment in Time (Beauty and the Beast zine).

1996

May 24–27, 1996

flyer for 1996

flyer for 1996

The fan-created video, Live the Dream, was a fundraiser for this convention.

Convention photos can be found archived here.

From an ad placed in Of Love and Hope #3:

"A CONVENTION FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. JOIN THE BEAUTY AND THE

BEAST STARS AT SACHAS HOTEL IN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND. FANCY DRESS - ART COMPETITION - DEALERS TABLES - Q & A - DISCO - PANEL GAME - BALL - AUCTION - RAFFLE - WORKSHOPS - AMONG GOOD FOOD, GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD COMPANY - THIS STAR STUDDED WEEK-END IS ALREADY TO MAKE HISTORY ... AS THE BEST YET!

INVITED GUESTS: JAY ACAVONE AND ROY DOTRICE WITH MORE TO COME

"MYHR" AND JAMIE MURREY ARE THE MC's

AFTER THE CONVENTION THERE IS AN OPTIONAL TOUR TO THE "CORONATION STREET" TV SET

SIGN UP NOW

The hotel we have chosen for this event is SACHA'S, where the gleam of marble staircases, dark polished wood and chandeliers provide an apt setting.

The convention will run from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, when an optional tour to the Granada Television Studio is offered. This is a unique opportunity as, in addition to the many other attractions of the tour, we can walk down the famous Coronation Street where the T.V. soap is actually filmed.

We have negotiated favourable rates with the hotel which they guarantee will not increase. All the en-suite rooms have the usual T.V. and tea making facilities. The hotel is fully air conditioned. Registration will be L20 a day or L40 for the full weekend (excluding Granada Tour). There is also free admission, on the Friday, to the night club which is situated within the hotel. Sacha's has an excellent health studio with all the usual equipment plus swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, solarium, and hairdressing. Hotel guests can use these (1995 prices are L2.50 a day).

For further information about the convention and registration form, please send an A4 S.A.E. to one of our registration organisers."

Con Reports: 1996

[We offered] "sign language presentations at the opening ceremony and on Saturday evening plus a sign language workshop on Sunday afternoon. The song at opening ceremony was "Keeping The Dream Alive" by Frei Heit and was very well received. Sat evening Zoe & I signed "Listen To Me" by The Hollies and dedicated the other song "Simply The Best" to Jamie/Myhr. This was also well received! The workshop on Sunday afternoon was a sombre affair... it was soooooo hot and we were all sooooo tired but you can't win 'em all!"

Laura's Cavern member Joan Chiu brought a selection of her sculptures to the con! One of Vincent sitting on the edge of a bathtub wearing only a towel (it was real towelling too!) was donated to the charity auction. Another was an excellent figure of Myhr, which she presented (privately) to Jamie. I know that he was very impressed with her work and honoured by the gift.

Joan sent me a sculpture of Laura as she was leaving the Tunnels (hand behind her back making the sign "I Love You") but, unfortunately, there was no way I could get this to Manchester without risking breaking it :(

The convention ended with the Closing Ceremony in which the light was passed to someone who could bring it to the Convention in Virginia Beach next year... Yes, it was passed to me!

Everyone was so very kind and warm to us, some friends we hadn't seen in such a long time, but it was just as if it was yesterday. This is something that does happen at B&B Conventions!!

We thought the hotel was beautiful, with marble staircases and giant crystal chandeliers everywhere you looked. The two buffets were excellent and we had more than enough to eat. We found the staff very helpful, [...] we shan't forget their thoughtfulness, they were great.

[...]

Even the fire alarm only seemed to add to the excitement - for some of us in more ways than one!! Again, I can't praise the hotel staff enough, they got everyone outside so quickly, making sure that we were all safe and asking about those in wheelchairs. It was very reassuring. Such a lot happened over the weekend and I really can't remember when I have known Tom to miss his "lie-down". He was having such a good time, he managed without - I don't think he wanted to miss anything! The organisation that made the Convention possible must have a headache, but you'd never have guessed. Those involved seemed happy just to be there themselves!

[...]

[Cathy R] had her camcorder perched on her shoulder the whole weekend, making memories for [Sara C] to share, as it was only due to ill health that she could not be with us. Amber designed a special book with blank pages for everyone to send their own personal messages to wish Sara well, and to let her know how greatly she was missed.

It goes without saying, that to share the company of Roy Dotrice is always a special moment. My picture with him says it all. He is never any different, I think his genuine charm and the way he takes time to talk to his fans individually, only goes to prove he is a true English gentleman! I feel we are very lucky that he gives so much of his time to attend, whenever he can.

The Closing Ceremony was the worst part, when you know something special is almost over. There were tears, but of happiness, especially knowing that another Convention is planned for the Bank Holiday weekend of 1997.

All those who have ordered video recordings, these are in hand. Thank you for your support.

It was particularly gratifying at our first attempt at raising funds for charity to be able to donate £358.00 to the British Red Cross and The Cinnamon Trust, making a grand total of £716.00!! "Thank you" to all those enthusiastic 'bidders' at the Auction and, in fact, everyone for supporting the designated Charities so very generously. The idea of bringing a contribution to provide hampers for the Salvation Army was very well received by those attending and, needless to say most gratefully accepted by their representative. We were actually told that we were the answer to their prayers, as when they received our call asking them to collect, they were down to their last three tins of food!

I wish I could go back in time and do it all over again, it was so much fun! I understand that some fans were a little disappointed because there weren't many guests, only Roy Dotrice and Jamie/Myhr, but for me everything was just great!

First Day: Friday 24th May:

During the opening ceremony our guests received their presents and Roy Dotrice read some beautiful stories to us. Then there was also the presentation of the 1996 literature awards; and you can say that Amber James was everyone's favourite, because she won many awards.

For people who wanted to buy some B&B items, there was the dealers room, with fanzines, framed photo's, t-shirts, jewellery, and many other things. I believe that there was also a short play that afternoon, but I missed it somehow. I guess I was in the dealers room at that time. At 7.00 p.m. there was the first autograph session, I was very nervous but I got my autographs and photo's. During the evening there was an informal time where the guests could mingle with attendees.

Second day: Saturday 25th: At the question and answer session, Roy Dotrice told us, for example, how he became involved with our show, and his role as Father. It would seem that Myhr - a wonderful character - was discovered by a B&B fan at a Star Trek convention. She asked him to come to a B&B convention because the fans would love him and they did. We are very lucky to have him.

After this, there was the second autograph session. During the afternoon there was a Charity Hunt! This was an opportunity to see a little of the sights of Manchester. For the ones who stayed at the hotel, there was the art competition, judging and the auction. Myhr was doing his best running from one bidder to the other, trying to get them to bid more, and boy, it was difficult to resist. Fans who have had a 'purring' Myhr at their knees, will know what I am talking about!!

During the evening there was the fancy dress ball and disco. Everything went well until there was the fire alarm - really folks, I'm not joking, everybody had to leave the hotel, and a little later the firemen arrived. There was only a little problem, so after half an hour we went back inside.

Third day: Sunday 26th:

As usual, the dealers room was open for the whole day. There was the second part of the auction. You would think that at a B&B Convention, there would only be B&B items to bid for: wrong! There were a few Chippendales videos - yes you're right... those boys! Well, it is a little difficult to describe what happened, but there was a little blackmail involved; someone was bidding for the video, but she had one request: result a little strip-tease by our 'security' man. In the afternoon, there was a panel game with cards, and after that there was a sign language workshop, you could learn some words from a song "Thank you for the music" (from Abba), and demonstrate the things you learned during the disco, later on that evening (but only if you wanted to). Well I had never done this before, but I can say it was a unique experience. When you saw 'our teacher' perform the whole song, well, you became very quiet, it was so beautiful to see. She spoke - signed - with her hands, face and body. It was amazing. During the evening there was the disco, with the sign language group and the raffle draw.

Last day: Monday 27th:

People who didn't have to leave, had the chance to visit the Granada Studios - where they make the soap series "Coronation Street" - and there was, of course, the closing ceremony.

1997

Hotel: Sach's Hotel, Manchester, England

Date: August 23-24 (Sat and Sun) 1997. Bank Holiday Weekend.

flyer for 1997

Con Report: 1997

Dear B&B friends. The Manchester Beauty and the Beast convention is now just a memory, but A Moment In Time 2 convention will linger long in the memories of those who attended it. Amber James was the convention manager, who chose again the lovely Sacha's Hotel, in the heart of the busy city. Her committee did her proud, over the two day event. The honoured guest was to be Roy Dotrice who as everyone knows, was 'Father' in the series. Sadly Roy had to step down, due to going into hospital for another hip replacement,due to the one he had done 10 years ago starting to crumble. It was a sad blow not to have his charm and whit during the week end, as this was the first one in the UK Roy had missed. it was my job to try and get a replacement at the twelfth hour as it were. I rang David Schwartz in San Francisco USA, and David was a gem. Thanks to him, we had a brilliant guest, who flew in from Palma, to be with us, his name was Christopher Toyne. A name unheard of to us, but to people in the entertainment industry, he is the driving force behind much of what you view on TV or the silver screen. He comes from a four generation line up of famous people, his mother was an actress comedienne Diana Beaumont and his cousin the renowned author Daphe Du Maurier. The list is endless of his achievements to the entertainment world, but to us, he will be loved forever as the man who designed the breathtaking sets for Beauty and the Beast, the TV series, with all the magic and mystery. In 1988 he was awarded the International Monitor Award for best Designer of Video Special Effects in an entertainment series. The B&B show with 21 nominations received 5 emmys over two years. Christopher was clearly moved to see we all held this programme with such respect, love and supported it totally.

Speaking with him, it became clear, that what we have to do, is to get the whole series back on SKY TV and Channel 5. To get this, would mean Republic haivng to allow this, and with a massive petition behind us, they would have to listen to public demand. Once we had this up and running, with their interest again keen due to demand, then we could present our desire for the movie, and they couldn't demand proof of us out there, as the powers that be would already have this, with our petition. So, I need each and every Beauty and the Beast TV series fan, and brothers, sisters, neighbours who enjoyed this series, to send me a one-page letter, asking for re-runs on Sky TV and also Channel 5**. Include your name and address and send it to me. Each letter that they read is worth 100 viewing heads. I need 1000 letters, so think of the demand this will represent for us. Please help me to get this petition underway. Don't delay doing it, and then forget to do it. Please do it today.

The charity auction was a big draw, with Christopher and Jamie Murray (Myhr) the M/C for the weekend, flown in from Texas USA, the life and soul of it all. The banquet and disco, dealers room, and much more, made for an unforgettable time. It was a welcome surprise, to have Sheila Waters and husband Kevin, along with teenage son Ian among us for the weekend, as they are UK Chamber Beauty and the Beast Fan Club. They had a dealers table and their son played guitar, and it was a pleasure to have the four British fractions of Beauty and the Beast under the same roof: The British B&B Fan Club, The UK Chamber Fan Club, Chatterbox Letterzine, and Helpers Network UK, all representing one fandom.

1998

The Salvation Army was the recipient of the Charity Auction, the figure raised was £450.00.

Pat Paone had a quiz that many fans found too difficult.

1999

Lee was the DJ and was assisted by "everyone's favorite dancing partner, Ged."

2001

4th, 5th, 6th May 2001 at the Davenport Park Hotel, Stockport, Manchester

Con Report: 2001

This yearly mecca for fans of this cult USA tv series, was held at The Davenport Park Hotel, in Stockport, Manchester, England, and organized by Amber James and her 'Helpers'. Christopher Toyne flew in from California USA, to be the guest Auctioneer, gracing the entire weekend with his charm, help, and enthusiasm, proving once again, as on previous occasions, to be a wonderful ambassador for the series, of which he was producer on over half of the 56 episodes.

With the Foot & Mouth crisis, it was decided that all monies raised at the charity auction, should go jointly to two charities not one, these being Family First and The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute.

After twelve years, these gathering are like a family reunion, which is a great way to catch up on and exchange news. Anne Maxwell we all knew from 1989 arrives as Mrs Anne Tilsley, along with her bridegroom of a few short months. I'm sure I speak for everyone, when I say congratulations and a happy life. Pat Paone, and Albert Prince made a brave effort to attend, after both have suffered much over the last year, in major battles with their health. Matisse Charles travelled up from London to attend, after major surgery on her back, in Prague. Roy Dotrice missed seeing everyone, but sent a letter to be read out at the opening ceremony, which I asked Marie Carmen to read out, which everyone enjoyed.

2002

24th - 27th May 2002 at the Davenport Park Hotel, Stockport, Manchester

An original flyer is here.