The beginning...
Somewhere in 2000 I decided that I would go to the Convention in Birmingham, so I took a piggy bank and wrote with big letters "BIRMINGHAM" on it! I never went... But now, 7 years later, "my dream came true": I would go to the Convention!!!

The preparation...
My dad wanted to accompany me, so I booked 2 flights to the Birmingham National Airport and reserved a hotel, but still could
not believe that it was really going to happen. We would fly on the 2nd of June, at 7.00 am, from Düsseldorf to Birmingham
andreturn the next day at 7.30 pm. The next week I was only thinking about which figures to buy and which collectors to meet. I was
totally prepared, so ready to go!

The 2nd of June...
We set the alarm at 4.00 am, because we would drive to Düsseldorf and had to check in an hour before departure.
I was also a little bit curious what kind of plane we would fly with, because the last - and only - time I flew, the plane was nothing
more than an old school bus with wings. At the airport my dad kept telling me that "if we would crash, he would never ever go to
the Convention with me again."
We arrived at 7.25 in Birmingham (it is one hour earlier in the United Kingdom) and took the train to Witton, where we arrived half
an hour later. After withdrawing cash, we were heading towards Villa Park! That is where we took our first pictures.

The queue...

The Convention...
When the doors opened at 9.30 I went immediately to the traders' tables, because it was not busy over there and I did not
know that everybody was waiting to grab their figures in the Pik 'n' Mix. I got a lot of freebies and bought a total of 170 figures.
There was also a game called "Beat the Goalie". You would get 4 figures when you score all 3 penalties. Well, I did!
There was also the opportunity to take a picture with the Jules Rimet Trophy (World Cup), the FA Cup and the Charity Shield.

Beat the Goalie...

The collectors...
I have met a lot of people with who I have dealt with and it was fantastic to put some faces to names. I have met Shaun
(ArsenalCorinthians), Kuba and his Polish friend Tom, as well as Dave Rule, Steve Driver, Keith Sinfield, Nick Allen,
Tony Sharpe, David Allen (Flob), Chailos, David Sands, Catherine, Family Saunders, Peter Smith, Chums75,
DangarysCorinthians, Rob (2extreme), some collectors from Japan (Footcircle), Richard (CorinthianSeller), Colin Gibson,
Stephen Walker, Simon Shaw, Tom (Hovis21) and last but not least the very nice Corinthian girls Vicky and Luisa!

I stayed in the same hotel as Kuba and "Polish" Tom and after the Convention we opened a lot of Microstars packs and
dinnered together with them and their lovely wives Anna and... Anna!

Kuba, Chums75, Richard (CorinthianSeller), Tom (Hovis21) and Lennart...

The End...
It was a fantastic day with a lot of laughing, buying, meeting and Maradonas! I would like to thank all of you, it was one
of the best days of my life! Special thanks to my dad, for accompanying me and taking care of my bags.

Hope to see you again next year!

Lennart Van de Winkel