Due to unforeseen circumstances, two places have unexpectedly become available for this event. If you would like the opportunity to dine with Fiona Spence on 14th November, please email admin@val-lehman.com NOW!

An update from The Official Val Lehman Website:

“*~*~*~ AN AUDIENCE WITH FIONA SPENCE *~*~*~

(‘Vera Bennett’ in ‘Prisoner: Cell Block-H’, ‘Celia Stewart’ in ‘Home & Away’)

DATE: SATURDAY 14th NOVEMBER 2009

VENUE: THE OLD JOINT STOCK THEATRE
4 TEMPLE ROW WEST
BIRMINGHAM (CITY CENTRE)
B2 5NY
(Mins from New Street Railway Station)

COST: £100.00 per person

The Official Val Lehman Website is delighted to announce the first of our 2009 events, ‘An Audience with Fiona Spence’. As with previous similar occasions this will be a bespoke event offered to a LIMITED number of chosen guests in the company of a ‘Prisoner’ stalwart seldom seen on UK shores. The chance for you to dine and ask all those questions, perhaps not possible at a larger gathering. Fiona needs absolutely no introduction, and many of you will want to ask about her time in ‘Home & Away’ as well as ‘Prisoner’. It’s 16 years since this popular Actress was last in the UK, so no die-hard ‘Prisoner’/'Vera’/'Celia’ fan will want to miss her!

Over the years we’ve frequently been asked about the possibility of bringing Fiona to the UK, so you can’t say we didn’t listen!!

PLACES ARE NOW EXTREMELY LIMITED and booking fast! DO NOT MISS THIS CHANCE!

Below Fiona has written a lovely personal message to you all:
___________________________________________________

MESSAGE TO ‘PRISONER’ and ‘VERA BENNETT’ FANS

“Hi Guys

November can’t come quickly enough!

It has been 16 years since I was in the U.K. performing “Prisoner the Play” in some of the most wonderful theatres I have ever performed in. At that time I was astounded and delighted by the reception I received. I met some great people backstage – all fans of ‘Prisoner’ and I’m now looking forward to catching up with some of you again.

I will be hosting a Luncheon for ‘Vera’ fans in November and would like to invite you to join me. We should have lots of fun and some laughs at a time when the world can do with it!

I will also be bringing photos and merchandise from both ‘Prisoner’ and ‘Home & Away’. Not being of the website brigade this will be an opportunity for me to be able to thank you all for being such amazing supporters and followers of both myself and ‘Prisoner’.

I look forward to meeting you all in person and testing your memory which is probably better than mine!

Very warm wishes

Fiona Spence”
___________________________________________________

Booking enquiries for this unique occasion to be sent to:
admin@val-lehman.com

Please entitle your message ‘An Audience with Fiona Spence‘

Many thanks”

For more information and to book for this event, visit the bulletin board of the Val Lehman website.

Note: This event is run by The Official Val Lehman Website so please direct any enquiries about this event to The Official Val Lehman Website.

PLACES NOW EXTREMELY LIMITED

“The hugely popular ‘Prisoner’ star is returning to the UK in September, and is very much looking forward to meeting all the fans, many of whom have been writing to her for many, many years! Glenda is extremely excited about the prospect of arriving back in the UK after so many years, and will also be bringing with her some rare memorabilia to delight the Prisoner fans! This is one event you won’t want to miss.

Places are strictly limited, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. This truly is a unique and ultra rare opportunity to meet a Prisoner legend, and the event is set to be another highlight of 2009 for all Prisoner fans! We welcome enquiries and questions, and will do our best to furnish you with as much information as possible.

Those of you who have attended our events in the past will know we always go the extra mile for the fans to bring you something special and memorable, and this event is no different! It really is set to be a fun, and thoroughly enjoyable day in the company of such a highly respected and popular actress.

~ An Evening with Glenda Linscott ~ [who played Rita Connors in Prisoner]

Dine with Prisoner star Glenda
Photographs and autographs
Question and Answers
Rare Memorabilia
Auction
Plus more!!

Saturday 12th September 2009 – Birmingham
Cost per person: £100*

Don’t miss out on your chance to attend another very special occasion, as past of Prisoner’s 30th anniversary celebrations!!!”

For more information and to book for this event, visit the Screen Star Events website. Note: This event is run by OTI the official fan club in conjuction with their sister site so please direct any enquiries about this event to Screen Star Events/OTI.

There was a silent auction for a number of signed prints. The event also included a quiz, fancy dress competition and the opportunity to have a mugshot taken in an original inmates jacket.

Here is a message from event organiser Steve:

“Hi all,

I’d like to thank everybody who attended Prisoner Recaptured and made it such an enjoyable day. The team and I had a fantastic time organising it. It was a pleasure to finally meet and chat with a number of you including John, Mark, Judith and Andrew. Everybody behaved immaculately and it was a pleasure to see fans enjoy the rare memorabilia, exclusive screenings and files full of original articles.

The fancy dress contestants went to a lot of effort and brightened up the day. The winner, ‘Zara Moonbeam’ bore an uncanny resemblance to the character, right down to the Northern accent and stubble …

The winner of the Pris Quiz got an impressive 24½ out of 25 questions correct. Some were quite tough, so well done to Jay, who also won 2nd prize in the fancy dress contest!

For those of you who had your mug shots taken in the original inmate’s jacket and would like JPEG files of your photo, please PM me [send message using the forum] and I will be happy to email it.

Most importantly, the generosity of the fans who bid in the silent auction helped to swell the donation for The Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal to over £500 which is being donated on behalf of Prisoner fans.

I’d like to publically thank ‘the team’ who generously gave up their weekend to manage the event. Particular thanks go to Greig and Ian who helped with lots of the preparatory work and donated contributions to the display. Also, Robert who put in a LOT of work in a ridiculously short amount of time to edit together the three videos, especially the incredibly polished Locations: Then and Now video which was produced specifically for the event. Watching it premiere on the large screen was one of the main highlights of an astonishing day and we would be interested to hear people’s feedback to it.

Hearing fans positive reactions to the event firsthand and reading the comments on this blog and the forum makes all the hard work worthwhile. There was a lot of memorabilia which we were unable to display due to space and time constraints and we hope it can be included in a similar event at some point in the future, but not within the next few months as I need time to put my collection back into order…

Cheers
Steve West (Network 10)”

Fan comments..

Zara Moonbeam: “I went and was pleased to win the competition for dressing up. I went as Zara Moonbeam but got mistaken for Rita Connors. There was a lot to see and the comparative footage shown at the beginning was very good. The venue wasn’t bad at all either. Thanks to N10 for organising and hope there was a good amount of dosh raised for the cause.”

jaydeeh28: “There must have been about 30-40 people there, I think a very good turn-out, including somebody who’d come over especially from Northern Ireland.

There were several major features of the day. We had dvd session, where first there was a message to us from Amanda Muggleton, reminiscing about being on Prisoner and what she has done since. We then saw a video about various locations used in the series and what has become of them now. A film of Val Lehman in Q & A session with fans when she was here in 1998 was also shown. Although I did see this at the last Prisoner convention I attended in London, it was worth seeing again.

There was a photo and prop exhibition on the stage which was open throughout the day including rare photos of the cast and things like scripts and prison bars, and the original name badge worn by Joan Ferguson and Pat Slattery’s actual uniform.

We also had a silent auction of various memorabilia, including posters signed by the cast, a tee-shirt and a program from the Musical Tour. I myself was very lucky to win a poster of Karen Travers and her QC that she had a relationship with, actually signed by Peta Toppano herself! The starting prices of the other items were, understandably, way beyond my budget, but I was delighted to come away with something!

A few fans turned up in costumes, so there was a small fancy-dress competition, with ‘Zara Moonbeam’, who won, ‘Kay White’, a male fan dressed in the Navy blue officer’s uniform and another lady wearing the light brown one. She told me that her mother had been up till the small hours of the morning getting it ready! Both uniforms could easily have passed off as the real thing.

Finally, there was also a quiz about the show; I was surprised at how many of the questions I didn’t know the answer to. There were also many people there who only became fans later on and haven’t yet seen the whole series, so don’t know the ending.

Thoroughout the day, you were able to look at a selection of files each containing a vast selection newspaper-cuttings about the show. There was a separate file for each year, so literally, if you did nothing else whilst there, you could have spent the whole time reading the files and really enjoyed yourself. Steve West, whose collection it was, told me that he’d collected so much Prisoner memorabilia over the years, that it eventually filled his entire loft!

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, well worth the journey from London and the cost. I hope that we can have an event like this at least once a year. Now that the series is out on DVD, I’m sure those fans who watched it originally will show them to their children, so that this fantastic, timeless and unique show will be passed from generation to generation and never be forgotten.“

“It was a fantastic afternoon and it seemed everyone present was having a good time. It was well organised and must have been a nightmare for Val and her helpers to co-ordinate but I think they did a great job. The day began with everyone lining up outside and then around the inside of the front gate and then being ushered into the big marquee that contained seating for the 216+ guests and all the stars. There were plasma/lcd screens up all around the marquee showing the first run of episodes. There was a main stage where Margo was MC alongside Val.

Proceedings began with all stars being introduced one by one as they entered from one side of the tent up to the head tables reserved for them; this was a fun part of the day as all of them received a huge ovation and some played along with their characters (such as Fletch) by walking in with a scowl and saying a couple of well-known lines into the mic. They all looked thoroughly bewildered by the turnout and the response of the audience. I was impressed by the youthfulness of Patsy King as she wandered in; she’s clearly getting on but had a big smile on her face and made it to the stage without any help.

The only photos I got of inside the marquee aren’t great ones and since there were hundreds of others taking photos I won’t bother putting mine up as no doubt someone will put some rippers up soon. After the intro Val announced that you could go outside and start getting autographs. I took this as an opportunity to evade security and sneak down the road towards the Wentworth building. I was sorely disappointed that the marquee was set up nowhere near the actual building; it was kind of right outside the main Grundy entrance. The main reason I wanted to go was to get up close the building and get some pics as I’ve never had the opportunity, so I was going to do it no matter what!

So myself and my partner got close enough for the following shots”

“Hey Everyone in PCBH land.. What an amazing out of this world day!! The whole thing started with me at first thinking that i had SLEPT IN !! Couldnt believe it as it was a long night before. I had met up with Rob and he had come to the Crown Promenade Hotel to meet up. We watched a few eps i had taken the last Volume with me on my flight to melbourne. haha ( don’t say anything haha ) as i was nearly finished the total boxset i had bought over a year or so ago. I guess you dont think that 692 episodes is a sh*tload to watch when you start.. But i was so glad i enjoyed it from start to end. ( which i might add that i have approx 16 episodes in which to watch before that happens)

Anyway to the juicy bits of info your probably hanging out for.

As i was saying i thought i had slept in as i didnt get to bed until after 3AM .. after Rob and i had watched a few eps we headed off to the Crown Casino .. What a bloody huge complex .. i think its aproximately 4-5 times bigger than our Burswood casino back in perth. We got lost trying to find the entrance as we came in from the crown promenade hotel walk over bridge. I was just trying to find it as i heard it had massive marble entrance with massive waterfall inside.

We did find it and i just looked so in amazed by the mass of it. After we left there we headed to southbank i think LOL it was a big walk area where there was people doing all sorts of balancing tricks .. a guy on a little bicycle doing tricks and a lady in chains wrapped around her body trying to get out. Which she did !! There were restaurants applenty and we were hell starved. Anyway we got our meal which was nice if you like wraps.. Which we both enjoyed.

Back to sleeping .. ( Rob had left way before i did this ) As i hadnt set my alarm after watching a few more episodes before going to bed. I woke up and was spewing as the time was 4:30 PM and i hadnt even felt like it was more than a few hours since i put my head down.

I could only swear the worst words consecutive as you do .. when things like this are very important or the same magnitude as this 30th anniversary was to me.

But … Lucky for this it was only a dream … a bloody nightmare !!! as when that had happened i Jumped out of bed as if i had seen a ghost !! .. i looked at my clock next to my bed and realised it was only 10:20 AM … I think my heart was racing at about 50 miles per hour at that time.. f**k !! thank f**k for that !!

( sorry guys about swearing) but thats exactly what i said LOL hope you dont mind.

At 11:30 Rob had picked me up to go shopping for a few items ( autograph Book , Pen , Food .. etc.. ) Along the way we detoured to the famous studio’s and passed the front gate of our beloved WENTWORTH DETENTION CENTRE !!! it was just so surreal to see it LIVE lol I think rob thought i was mad.. haha

Off to the shops we got our items and then went to the event. We arrrived at 1:35 PM and already there was a number of fans waiting anxiously near the gates for the time of when we all could go in.. ( for the last time )

Rob and i walked down to the gates and also waited where a few passionate fans took pics against the gate and some even went to the lengths of climbing up the fence as if to get in ( mimic Getting out of the prison !! ) it was great to see the enthusiasm.

After was seemed along time as the crowds of fans and the line got bigger , it was time to go in. Val’s Daughter was at the gate ready to hand out Passes and Lanyards and also check off people from the list. The excitment was there instantly. After i got through rob and i waited for Gav and Bianca to turn up to sort their ticket and then it was GAME ON !!! lmao .. we all headed up to the marque’s in 3 groups and inside there was tables and chairs all layed out. As we walked in beingthe LAST group .. the seats seamed to be scarce , in which we thought maybe we were unable to sit together as a group. But we decided to sit down at the round table which had a sign on it stating RESERVED. We had nothing to lose except to be moved onto somewhere else.. this did not happen.

Soon after it was time for all the cast that were invited to come throu the door, and i have to tell you the noise was furiously loud applause.

(and why wouldnt it be) I was stunned , i think my hands were red raw by time they all came though. I was really umm Overwhelmed !! all those famous names .. Margo as MC .. she called it like a roll call.. 1 by one they entered.. im just trying to think of all of them now as i sit here in my hotel .. The applause was so enthusiastic quiet a few of the cast were or seemed overwhelmed at the amount of fans there,just for them. Just some of the names i will try and remember (Not in order Sorry )

FRANKY , DOREEN , VINEGAR TITS , ERICA DAVIDSON , MARILYN , KAREN TRAVERS, MOUSE , CHRISSIE , MYRA , WILLIE , FLETCH THE LETCH, BEA , COLLEEN PO-FACE POWELL , DR GREG MILLER , LIONEL FELLOWS , FAYE QUINN

.. if i’ve missed any im sorry .. just really so much excitement to keep track of. Unfortunately some were unable to attend. JUDY BRYANT , ROZ , LYN WARNER.. but we still love them no matter what.

As we were then told the rules of the day.. autographs , photo’s , auctions , gourmet bbq .. etc.

I think just sitting in the room with all the excited fans , and the cast .. just looking at them all was unbeleivable , really hard to comprehend we were all there together.

Auction Items .. Rare these are from what i can remember .. lol excuse me but im having a few JD’s to celebrate my fantastic day!!

There were 2 x Original Uniforms in which one was worn recently by the lovely Collette Mann (Doreen)

There were also numerous (framed and signed) TV WEEK cover pages of through the years ..

1x Bea ( smoking ) LOL 1 x Jim & Lizzie .. and alot of others that hopefully someone else can tell you what they were as i was still looking at wonder of the cast.

1 x Tshirt type windcheater that belonged to Erica Davidson ( it has her DNA ) lol was said ..

1 x SET of original Fan Cards which were auctioned 1 at a time and signed by who was there..

( The BOXSET door prize was won .. ) not sure by who as the cheer was through the roof.

( $2500.00 Travel voucher was won .. i did speak with this guy but unfortunately i’m not sure of his name it could be Bernard , don’t hold me to it lol)

There was also a presentation from the group from ALCATRAZ presented to Bea and the rest of the cast… A letter of sorts was read out from a special person.

I was however looking for a few other regular people on the forum but was unsure if they were the right people .. those people i think are going to maggie K’s dinner.. now guy’s if you read my post .. come see me PLZ … “CraigJohn, Phil , Brian ” would be nice to say hello and spend a bit of time having a gossip and a drink.

MEAL was tasty .. Typical b.b.q food .. but i thought was cooked rather well. ( Loved the Cooked mushrooms )

Speech was done by Myra (Anne Phelan) thanking everyone and Bea ( Val ) particularly for her acheivement in organising this event.

More photo’s and Autograph’s were taken by fan’s and i would have to say the cast did a magnificent job from what i could see of signing .. smiling cheerfully .. greeting .. chatting .. which was totally appreciated by us all.

There were also a few perimmeter breaches , because of some dedicated fan’s ( Gav & Bianca ) a big WELL DONE !!

pics were taken at high risk with security chasing them LOL.

I’m still quiet amazed and bewildered at the same time of the magnitude of what i and many others experienced today.

Personally i would love to thank VAL again for a tremendous effort .. hat’s off to you !!! Love and Hugs for doing all this for us the fans.

Well guy’s i hope i have brought this to you in a way to make you feel as thou you were also a part of it.

I have some pics to show you and some autographs if you don’t mind.

Cheers,

Brett”.

Posted with permission, thanks Stewie!.

View Stewie’s photos from the event here.

We also wish to thank Amanda Muggleton, Peta Toppano, Fiona Spence and Val Lehman for giving their kind permission to upload their images.

Click on each photo then use the previous/next/close links below the enlarged photo to navigate through them.

Stewie’s Photos

Outside the main gates	Outside the main gates	Stewie outside the event
The Wentworth building	The Wentworth building	The Wentworth building
Jane Clifton (Margo Gaffney)	Patsy King (Erica Davidson)	Fiona Spence (Vera Bennett)
Colette Mann (Doreen Burns)	Amanda Muggelton (Chrissie Latham)	Margaret Laurence (Marilyn Mason)
Carol Burns (Franky Doyle)	Judith McGrath (Colleen Powell)	Peta Toppano (Karen Travers)
Lisa Aldenhoven (Sally Lee)	Barry Quin (Greg Miller)	Anne Phelan (Myra Desmond)
Barry Quin (Greg Miller)	Anne Phelan (Myra Desmond)	Val Lehman (Bea Smith) & Peta Toppano (Karen Travers)
Kirsty Child (Willie Beecham)	Val Lehman (Bea Smith)	Jentah Sobott (Mouse)
Anne Lucas (Faye Quinn)	Anne Phelan (Myra Desmond)	Carol Burns (Franky Doyle)
Lisa Aldenhoven (Sally Lee)	Jentah Sobott (Mouse)	Jentah Sobott (Mouse)
Fans	Jane Clifton (Margo Gaffney)	Fiona Spence (Vera Bennett), Patsy King (Erica Davidson) & Peta Toppano (Karen Travers)
Val Lehman (Bea Smith) & Judith McGrath (Colleen Powell)	Colette Mann (Doreen Burns)	Barry Quinn (Greg Miller) and Stewie
Patsy King (Erica Davidson) & Stewie	Colette Mann (Doreen Burns) & Stewie	Amanda Muggleton (Chrissie Latham)
Amanda Muggleton (Chrissie Latham)	Stewie & Val Lehman (Bea Smith)	Judith McGrath (Colleen Powell)
Judith McGrath (Colleen Powell) & Stewie	Patsy King (Erica Davidson)	Stewie & Carol Burns (Franky Doyle)
Stewie & Jentah Sobott (Mouse)	Anne Phelan (Myra Desmond) & Stewie	Gerard Maguire (Jim Fletcher) & Stewie
Stewie & Jane Clifton (Margo Gaffney)	Rob, Patsy King (Erica Davidson) & Stewie	Gate guard
The Wentworth building	Fans leaving	Stewie
The event marquee	The Wentworth building	Val Lehman (Bea Smith) autograph
Anne Phelan (Myra Desmond) autograph	Patsy King (Erica Davidson) autograph	Jentah Sobott (Mouse) autograph
Kirsty Child (Willie Beecham) autograph	Barry Quin (Greg Miller) autograph	Colette Mann (Doreen Burns) autograph
Judith McGrath (Colleen Powell) autograph	Carol Burns (Franky Doyle) autograph	Jane Clifton (Margo Gaffney) autograph

Read Stewie’s review here.