What are your favourites this year?

[thehornets]

Sorry for being lazy, and not looking back at the last year or two on here. What have been your favourite graffs this year, regardless of source? It will help me catch up a bit. Ta.

[film4watcher]

My best result this year was finding three prints signed by pilots including Bob Stanford Tuck, Johnnie Johnson and Douglas Bader. Lovely historical pieces and a steal at a £60 donation for the three. 

I have enjoyed seeing the many successful replies this year including:

Greg's who has managed to collect some more great pieces for his Star Wars collection. Stuart has often kept the forum going with many replies this year. And Alex continues to find some amazing signed books. His multi-sig programmes are still a pleasure to see.

[wheel-lose]

my recent abba replies for me nigel,,a baron year for me otherwise,,i seem to have a motivation problem right now,,im trying to get out off

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/abba-again/gpm-p/4347873#M139370

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/another-abba-reply/gpm-p/4316844#M138...

[thehornets]

That is fabulous Suzanne - some great historic names. No wonder you are pleased. You got an incredible bargain.

I have stayed in touch with Greg, and been lucky enough to see his continued successes, especially his brilliant Star Wars collection. I will finally meet him at Walker Stalker Con in London next February.

When I came on here at the weekend I was blown away by the amount of successes from Stuart! A serious dedication to the hobby.

The forum would not be the same without Alex's Accy in persons.

[thehornets]

Good to hear from you Daz. I am thrilled you are still adding to your ABBA collection. I remember how special it is for you. Did you get the limited edition ABBA monopoly or do you only go for the signed items?

I hope you find your autograph mojo Daz. I have some sympathy as I remember from older conversations that things have not been so easy for you in recent years, and it takes it's toll. Life has largely come first for me this year, and although I tried to keep the ttm going there have been long spells without requests.

I sent one panto request off today - my first of any kind for 5 weeks. I am also finding it hard to get going again with Doctor Who requests as for the first time ever, apart from the first 2 episodes, the season has been a stinker and the Christmas special looks really iffy. It has put me off a bit. I hope to get a bit of time to get going again over the holiday.

[robboh2006]

Denis law for me

[wheel-lose]

yes a bad spell for me nigel..lost my uncle grandmother and dad in the space of   2 years,,then lost my accomodation within 2 weeks of my gran dying,,,[i was looking after gran for 10 years]and then ended up in hospital with mild stroke..so took it out of me,,my abba stuff i mainly only collect autographs,however have bought the odd books on the subject,i will get my ttm mojo back im sure,i think the problem now is im depressed and you must know how draining that can be,,hopefully soon ill be back to my old argumentive self

[thehornets]

What a great player and character Robboh. I really enjoyed meeting him a few years back.

[thehornets]

I hope you have some better days soon Daz. Depression takes it's toll. Always feel free to message me if you need to vent or talk. It can sometimes help.

This last year has changed me without a doubt. Kelly had a cancerous growth removed from her thyroid last December. It forces you to rethink things. Thankfully she was given the all clear. In early January I saw a young punk singer/songwriter Louise Distras, from Wakefield, and her energy/passion reminded me I have let a lot slip in my life, and made me realise it is never too late to fight for what you believe in. I saw her silence a tough crowd with the power of her words when she supported UK Subs at the 100 Club. It sent a tingle down my spine. I enjoyed meeting/chatting with her, and support her efforts to make people rethink and fight for truth, freedom and better liives. End of January then saw me have a bad fall which buggered both of my knees, and hindered my weight loss. It was not until August that I started to get full mobilty back, but still get tweaks in my left knee. Kelly had continuous stomach/nausea problems, and was diagnosed with gall stones, so surgery was scheduled. September brought jury service (including a very unpleasant case), but 2 days before that started we found out our landlord was selling up. It was tough having to move at short notice, and keep Mandy in her relevant services.We aso had to re-home our three cats as it was impossible to find a place that allowed cats. Trained dogs are fine, but still limit the options. With limited properties available we have ended up paying £375 a month more where we are now. We moved on October 24th, and two days later Kelly had her gall bladder out. We los the last of my aunts at the same time which was a sad time. I had to sell a large chunk of my EE collection, and other stuff to fund everything. I am not collecting the EE card a third time. That is in the past now. Throughout all this I had to hold down my job, and that has been stressful in it;s own right. I need an op myself next year, but have to lose more weight first. For long spells collecting autographs took a back seat.

I refuse to let things get me down, and use the occasional gig as a way of letting off steam. There have been other pliuses. Getting our Yorkshire Terrier Alfie in January has been awesome. I love the little man, and he has helped bring much needed life to our home. He is 13 months old. Watford's good fortunes have been positive. Getting to LFACC in July for one day was a much needed boost.

Part of all this is why you are talking to me now. Life is too short - we need to make the most of what we have in our own little worlds. I still ramble a lot - that's just part of who I am. 🙂

I hope you do find some peace, and happiness Daz. We all deserve to smile once in a while.

[thehornets]

I did start re-building my website earlier in the year, but the second half of the year has slowed its' progress.

http://cyshp.co.uk/

Thinking of my favourites.

Getting the General Hospital book started in person at LFACC, and picking up some other GH (plus Orange Is The New Black) via ttm and purchases was brilliant as it has helped put a smile on my wife's face at various times.

Rapidly buidling a Walking Dead collection, and getting my first ttms and in persons for it was a personal buzz.

My outright favourite was meeting Troy Deeney at Watford in April. You can see the pics on the front of my site. I still need to add my Watford graffs and a whole lot more.

[wheel-lose]

really sorry to hear about kelly and your problems nigel,thankfully as you say she now has the all clear,..admire you positive mental attitude given the circumstances you have sufferered recently mate,,maybe i need to follow your example,i will be ok eventually im sure,,just have to concentrate on better things i suppose

[obree]

Hi Nigel I hope 2016 is a better year for you and yours .

My favourite replies this year have been my Scotland team pic and my Scotland shirt . I was really pleased to complete my Scotland pic in May this year .

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/My-Scotland-team-pic-is-complete/gpm-p...

My shirt has been an ongoing project this year , there is still room for a few more autographs so it will be going back out again in the new year .

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/Alan-Brazil-signs-my-Scotland-shirt/gp...

[thehornets]

They are superb Brian. I can see why you would be pleased with those, especially after the long journies they have both had.

[loobyloo6]

Evening all.

Big thanks to Suzanne and Nigel for mentioning my efforts....I bet Nigel is still the King of the charity shop finds..I've done well this year and it's always nice to see members comment on the signed Stanley programmes I put up afer each home game, Makes it worth while.

Not done too much myself TTM wise this year, Biggest dissapointment was the Paris St. Germain shirt I sent off to the training ground hoping Lauren Blanc and some squad players would sign it....came back after 3 months unsigned and with 4 player promocards one with a preprinted graph...then I find a player in the Prem who'd played for PSG, send it to him, he signs and returns it dedicated to Alex Grook, Not Crook, You gotta laugh sometimes..had far more sucesses than failures, Even got a RTS from Sir Geoff Hurst.

It was nice to see the 3 home Stanley programmes all come back in various stages of a good to awesome replys, The ones I missed due to Ill health and holiday, Just a note on the Dagenham reply.....http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/Stanley-V-Dagenham-programme-TTM/gpm-p...  I told manager Wayne Burnett to carry on what he was doing, Believe in himself and his squad and things would change for the better, We had been rock bottom of league 2 in the past 2 seasons but always came good sooner or later.................He was sacked today with Dagenham rooted at the bottom of league 2 again, I wish you well Wayne. Might not mean much to some collectors but having a full set signed is massive for me.

My Favourite this year has to be the Claudio Raniei reply, Picked his bok up for little money in a charity shop written a nice letter welcoming him back to the Premier league and what a great character we had missed....reply came back with a note in the book , dated and his full sig...usually just signs Ranieri. This time last season Leicester City were rooted at the bottom of the Premiership.I wish them well.  Istill have a few out there but not expecting anything  back sometime soon.

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/Claudio-Ranieri-signed-my-book/gpm-p/4...

The Forum has just about ticked over this year, Big thanks to Stuart who at times has kept the replys ticking over, Nice to see Richard back posting and of course Nigel and the few who have stuck by us since the beginning, 

Merry Christmas to all..And a happy new Year..............let's hope 2016 is kind to us all.

[loobyloo6]

Forgot to mention the Jimmy White IP graphs from last week, Great to have 5 minutes with the Whirlwind and chat about his beloved Chelsae FC, he was pretty sure Jose would survive the season........Top bloke and gentleman he is. Still my all time favourite snooker player.

[thehornets]

Fantastic stuff Alex. It's awesome when you get something back like the Ranieri book, and it gives yu such a buzz. It's fun reading about it as well, as the excitement comes across. I think what Leicester are doing is awesome. It is richly deserved as they play some great football. It has also helped Watford fly under the media radar to an extent, taking some of the pressure off. The cat's out of the bag now, and a lot of people will be watching Watford at Chelsea on Boxing Day.

When we lost 2-1 to Leicester it was one of my favourite Watford performances of the season (until yesterday - lol). I thought Watford gave them a cracking game, but Leicester were better. Watchng MOTD I have nohing but respect for them. They are the best of the teams to beat us. Man City beat us early on, but we caused them a lot of probems, and like when Arsenal beat us 3-0, the scoreline was flattering to the winners. Palace edged us 1-0 but it was hard to see a difference between the sides. Man Utd were actually lucky to come away with a 2-1 win.

It's brilliant to continue seeing your Accy successes, and also see they are having another decent season. Especially cool the teams you missed were able to respond so well via ttm. That's class!

I know from our Facebook chats you have had a great year with your charity shop finds, and am really chuffed for you. I still find stuff in the charity shops, but the main difference is I rarely find something I want to keep. 9 out of 10 items I find end up on ebay at some point. Best finds this year - George Best signed paperback for 20p, Man Utd ball team signed inc. Beckham, etc from circa 2001 to 2003  for £10, and my personal favourite, one of Bob Monkhouse's signed books for £1. Bob is one of my all time favourite funny men. I did have a nice ttm reply from him years back when he was alive, but never managed to get one of his books, so was over the moon when I found it.

I hope everyone is lucky, and that 2016 is a brilliant year.

[swain6666]

My favourite was not one autograph but the day itself ATHLETICS AT BIRMINGHAM the British championship very sunny hot day athletes were on the hole very friendly Colin Jackson Paula Radcliffe Denis Lewis commentator s ADAM GEMILI. if you want a great day out to get autographs I suggest Athletics the British indoor championship is in Sheffield last year I met Steve cram linford christy it really is a good day 

[thehornets]

What a wonderful day for you Richard. I remember how much you like the athletics.

Also, nice to meet you (in the pictures). Always nice to visualise a face with forum posts.

Some cracking autographs as well as a great day out.

[serenamorgan]

struggled to pick my favourites from this year as though it has been a good year for replys there havn't really been many stand out ones.

Anyway, decided to opt for my first reply from Christine Allsop, which she sent back with a bonus autograph from her Mother, Connie Reeve who was the head of Make Up on Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.  I didn't even realise they were related so it was a real bonus and filled gaps in both my Star Wars and Indy collections in one hit:

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/AUTOGRAPH-COLLECTORS-TTM-GROUP/Christine-Allsop-a-surprise/gpm-p/4146...

[mr_clough]

Looking forward to spending some time on your wbsite Nigel, looks excellent.

Not sure about favourites, it has been a quiet year for sending out requests. Long waits like my Karen Gillan request are always satisfying and my Doctor Who collection has developed a little which is nice.

Will have a further think and reflection later.