I visited the book launch at the Piccadilly Circus branch of Waterstones today to catch a glimpse of Gollum. Brian Sibley and Jude Fisher did a fantastic job of holding the Q and A on the movies and the new books, and really kept the kids attention. Then Andy Serkis arrived, and wow were we treated! Again he was excellent with the children from the two local schools and the adults alike. The high point of the event came when Brian skilfully tricked Andy into a demonstration of Gollum's voice, for the next minute or so Andy reeled off Gollum lines, FANTASTIC. The room went silent, and the voice, the voice, it was eerie.

I managed to track Andy down to a small corner on the 5th floor where he was being interviewed by numerous magazines. After a short wait I was able to meet him. He's a truly great person, very friendly. My signed copy of the Fellowship of the Ring from the Christopher Lee signing, now has an extra signature to keep it company. [More]