Going to a Film Festival or Convention is like going to a frat/sor reunion. People you have interacted with in the past seem to turn up at some time or another to swap common interests.

Take last weekend's Memorabilia Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Way back in another century, around 1994 AD, I think. a bloke called Henry Cook rang me to say he was starting a show called Memorabilia and wanted me to come along and add some gravitas to the event. The limelight was to be shared with the gorgeous Caroline Munro.

The idea was that we would sit at a table, strategically placed in the centre of the show, surrounded by security men in case there was a stampede, and flog personalised phone-cards. Carrers and I sat there like a couple of lemons left on the shelf after the late night shopping rush and by lunch time had sold less then a dozen between us. We stormed the organiser's office and Henry graciously allowed us to flog our own photographs. Business picked up after that.

Through the years Miss Munro and I have been frequent flyers at the show. So on Saturday as I settled behind my table of collectables it was pretty much more of the same. Phil Daniels (Quadraphenia, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire etc). dropped by to say hello and discuss golf. We both used to play for a charity team called SPARKS but hadn't met up for a few years.

Dapper Edward Morley, the quasi-official Fan Club photographer checked in and then went off to convert some of the rarer sights to digitals. Dave Prowse (Darth Vader, Horror of Frankenstein etc), came over to discuss hip-ops. I'm just a novice in this department with only one to discuss. Dave has had five now and is lined up for another in a couple of weeks. And I thought only insects had six hips. It's nice to talk to someone who has turned mundane surgery into a pastime.

After Dave left I looked up to see two Den of Geek T-shirts looming over me. Our gracious editor, Simon Brew and his wife Irene. As rear gunner they had brought along 3-year old Eliot. We discussed various topics and I tried to get him to explain exactly what a 'Geek' is. I'm still no wiser.

The still toothsome Maddy Smith, one of my victims in Vampire Lovers, was the next up. I gave her a bit of a cold shoulder for not turning out for my birthday bash on the 17th but she pleaded a birthday in the family and promised to be there next year, so I forgave her.

The Club's cub reporter, Bob Lee, brought me a beautiful pot plant. Bob has become famous for the huge bunch of roses he used to turn up with in the past. (at least with me.), One of the bunches, in situ in a glass pot, is responsible for the distinctive water mark on the front seat of my car , although narrow minded people believe that another, less poetic accident is responsible for the blemish.

La Munro sashayed across and I was happy to be wearing the the beautiful cashmere scarf she had given me for my birthday. She told me she had brought the new edition of the Hammer Story, written by Marcus Hearne and Alan Jones and published by Titan Books, with her and would send the copies I had been promised across as soon as she could coerce someone strong enough to carry them into doing the deed. The books are a special limited (600) addition in black leather with the new, well newish, Hammer logo on the front. They cost a whopping seventy five quid a piece. Which isn't bad when you consider that each copy has genuine autographs by Caroline Munro, Maddy Smith, Barbara Shelley, Valerie Leon, Martine Beswicke and me on a special flyleaf . That little lot would cost £90 on the going market. So that means you get the book and £15 thrown in for nothing! Convinced?

In my fifteen seconds of glory on Beyond the Rave I briefly met producer Ben Grass. The crew and some of the actors were on hand at the show and Ben came and sat with me for a while. We chatted about this and that. It couldn't have been about my role in the film that was for sure.

Melanie Light,who has acted as official greeter at the Bash for the last three or four years, is also working with the Rave crew as art director. Melanie has the greatest bunch of tattoos seen outside Sing Sing. She's just back from working in America and dropped in to share her reminiscences with me. Everything was going swimmingly.

Then I had to go and blow it. The organiser, Mark Griffin, brought his lovely little daughter, Evie, to see me and stayed for a chat when her mother had to cart her off to the comfort station. I had to let the bee out of my bonnet which had been annoying me for some time. "Why" I posited, "Didn't I get any recognition on any of the publicity material?" (actors think like that). Mark apologised and said he would look into it. I had a full head of steam up and snapped a haughty "Don't bother. I won't do another of your shows"

Norma Desmond where are you? Perhaps he didn't hear me?

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You can find Ingrid's website at www.pittofhorror.com.

You can find last week's column here.

And Ingrid will be back with more next Tuesday!