OK…so, many other people have been writing on Tumblr about the Cheltenham Festival, and I don’t particularly feel I have anything new to bring to the mix with regard to talking about the actual interview itself, so I’ll just talk about my own personal experience and how cool the whole thing was!

I knew a couple of people who were going down from Liverpool, but they already had a lift and I was planning to be in Leeds all day at a meeting of the Scandalous Bohemians (traditional Sherlock Holmes canon group). SO, I advertised my car on Tumblr and said that I had a few seats available for a Sherlockian road trip. I ended up giving a lift to two really nice girls from Indonesia who are now students in Newcastle.

I picked them up in Leeds at 5pm and we drove down to Cheltenham. It was a fun trip. We talked endlessly about Sherlock, whilst listening to the official soundtracks of series 1 and 2, and then we listened to a special Johnlock playlist I had made of songs that reminded me of John & Sherlock.

We arrived at the race course at around 8:30pm, which was perfect timing as the thing was meant to start at 8:45pm. It was however, running a little late, due to the large crowds who all had to get in and get their seats. I hadn’t really known what to expect, so I was quite surprised by the amount of people. It was packed and there was a great atmosphere, at some points it reminded me of like Beatlemania or something (Bennymania), with mass hysteria and girls screaming. Quite exciting stuff. I have to say, I screamed a couple of times myself too!

My seat was at the side and wasn’t all that great, but they had a big screen so we could see and it was more about just being there, and of course I could hear perfectly well what they were saying as they were mic’d up etc. It was a really good interview and very funny in parts, more like 2 good mates chatting and having a laugh with each other than a proper serious interview.

In the end I didn’t get time to meet up with the people I knew from Liverpool because they left almost immediately afterwards. The two girls I’d given a lift to were sat in different seats, but they had saved me a place in the queue for the signing, which was obviously good news!

We had about 50 people in front of us, but a hell of a lot more behind us, so we were in quite a good position. I’d say we probably waited for about 40 minutes to get to the front, but it passed quite quickly because we were talking and generally getting excited about everything.

I was trying to stay calm and indifferent about the whole thing, and I wasn’t nervous when I approached the front of the queue. I actually had a conversation with the security guard in a really casual manner, just talking about how his evening had been etc, which was totally random, then it was my turn and I stepped up. My ticket had already been handed to him by the security people, and he signed it for me then looked up. I offered out my right hand which he shook and I said “nice to meet you."  He smiled and winked at me then said, “you too, thanks for coming"  then handed me back the ticket he’d signed and I moved on. He was so sweet!!

It was only afterwards when I walked away and met up with my friends again that I realised my hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, I was dizzy and all the muscles in my body felt weak and wobbly. And all because of Benedict Cumberbatch. WOAH. We managed to make it downstairs and wanted to contain ourselves as we walked past the long queue of people who’d not got to meet him yet, so we didn’t make them jealous or upset by acting too pleased or excited, but as soon as we got downstairs into the main foyer, it was literally like…jumping up and down, rolling all over the floor, squealing, shouting, screaming, hugging each other, eyes watering, shaking, spasming, and everything you could possibly imagine for the next ten minutes.

When we finally managed to make it back to the car, my hands were still shaking and it was like “WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?! OH MY GOD!!! WE JUST MET BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH!! WHAAAAAAAAT?!! sdgksdjlkgjsdjgsjfdgisdgj"  I didn’t know whether I’d actually be able to drive the car OK after that, but thankfully I calmed myself down, put my autographed ticket safely away, and we all managed to make it back up North in one piece, listening to the Sherlock soundtrack REALLY LOUD and singing along. Yes. Singing along to a soundtrack. Trust me, it works.

By the time I actually got back to my house, it was 4am and I still couldn’t get to sleep. I ended up watching The Reichenbach Fall (WHYYYYY??!!! WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF!!) and getting about an hour’s sleep before waking up again really alert and on edge at 6:30am and I was feeling all Sherlocky so made some iodine and some invisible ink. Anyway, the whole thing was an absolutely brilliant experience. I took some pictures on my phone but they weren’t all that great and we weren’t allowed to pose for pics with Ben (although some people managed to get away with it!), I’m posting my best ones…


Almost at the front of the queue…

Then, after I’d been through, I took some pictures of my friend getting her book signed…




And finally, this is my ticket, complete with Ben’s autograph:


We left at 11pm and there was still a ridiculously large queue of people. I said to my friends that I felt sad for the people at the back who wouldn’t get to meet him. When I learned on Tumblr yesterday that he stayed till about 1:30am and literally signed for everyone, WOW, I have even more respect for the guy than ever. What a gentleman, really. He deserves all his successes and more.

***

This is my favourite review of the interview, by mugenmine: (off Tumblr) http://mugenmine.tumblr.com
THE building was already packed to the rafters with the 2000 fans leaving the JK Rowling event when the 2000 Benedict Cumberbatch devotees began to arrive.

Benedict’s unbelievably brilliant portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes - in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s incredible reimagining of the tales for the BBC - was the reason he was at the 2012 literary festival, and there were screams when the actor finally appeared, casually clad in a blue duffel coat.

After warming everyone up with a routine borrowed from Elbow’s Guy Garvey, he took a seat opposite his interviewer on stage, his charming Sherlock co-star Louise Brealey, whose character Molly is in love with the genius detective (and who may have played a key role in aiding him to fake his death at the conclusion of series two).  Their sparky chemistry throughout made for a revealing chat, with lots of giggling. Louise even revealed that she’d had countless dreams about the interview, including one where she admitted that she “wet herself on stage and tried to blame it on Benedict" . It was a relief, given Benedict’s recent reticence in interviews after having been misquoted/inadvertently dragged into media storms.

One recurrent topic of the evening was what the third series of Sherlock will be about. The creators have recently revealed three clues, rat, wedding and bow, but will say no more – as will Benedict: “No comment – as I am now used to saying. Nothing. In the past year, what has been extraordinary is that I have met some of the most extraordinary people…and they all ask one question. And I have to say no comment. I can’t tell you. Secrets are a good thing to keep."

He revealed that his mother hadn’t thought him right for the role initially - “My mum went, ‘You just don’t have the right nose.’ Thank God he [Moffat] picked the right nose!"  - and that he hadn’t been sure about the project until he read the script: “I heard about it…and was rather dubious about how cute it could be and an excuse to make money. And then I read the script and was blown away by it. It was so funny and so fast paced and at the heart of it was this friendship."

The role is, he said, “such a rich gift for an actor. [Arthur Conan Doyle] makes the ordinary extraordinary… and Watson is the audience being dragged through. It’s about the thrill of the relationship. It’s been copied…I hate the word sidekick – I’m sure Martin [Freeman, who plays Watson to Benedict’s Sherlock] does too. It’s a double act."

There was effusive praise for Martin from Benedict – he recalled that when they first read together, “I felt my game go up. He can ground this extraordinary extravagant character"  - and for the pair from Louise, who revealed that she’d been frightened by how good they were at the first script reading: “it felt like you were both already there."

And there were very warm words for his Frankenstein collaborator Jonny Lee Miller, who is now to play Sherlock for American television in the series Elemental, with Lucy Liu in the Watson role. Several American sites claimed Benedict had been critical of his friend’s decision to accept the role.

Benedict said: “Under no circumstances would I want Jonny to have anything but rip roaring success. First and foremost he is my friend – it would be pathetic. I made a joke, which doesn’t translate when written (something I’ve learned this summer). I’ve seen him and it’s fantastic. It’s really good and you should all watch it. He’s stunning to watch – he really knows what he’s doing. He asked if I was alright with it – I said of course I am. Don’t take me out of context. Lucy Liu is wonderful – it’s another great relationship."

There were also revelations that he’d corpsed during a production of Hedda Gabler when a woman’s stifled sneeze became ‘apoo’ instead of achoo – “I was crying with laughter. I could not speak"  – and he talked about his own education at Harrow (his old head teacher was in the audience), his gratitude to his parents for working so hard to pay for it, and his frustration at yet another media blow-up.

Referring to ‘tall poppy syndrome’ wherein those who rise to fame are knocked down to earth by a harsh media, he said: “This summer I’m poster boy for anti posh bashing, I’m some sort of voicepiece for poshness. One of the reasons I got involved in acting is to be free of that."

There was also loud approval from the audience when he mentioned his forthcoming charitable cycle from Buckingham Palace on October 14 in aid of The Prince’s Trust – set up in the year of his birth – and spoke of his passion for its giving a voice and an opportunity to those who might not otherwise be “taken count of."

He still takes the Tube, likes his motorbike (and the anonymity of the helmet) – “I want to be a human being"  – but that he’s sadly beginning to realise that he must “curtail accessibility to remain safe or sane."

Those who were lucky enough to attend this select gathering will have been wholly enchanted by his intelligence and winning warmth. The ascension of Benedict Cumberbatch’s star is surely set to continue.

Last edited by Sherlock Holmes (October 8, 2012 12:52 pm)