Another Lull...

Yup. It's all gone quiet again, with a couple of exceptions...

I have had an email from Manchester United saying that in order to request an autograph from Sir Alex Ferguson I must 'write' to the training ground, so, this being an email only experiment, that's the end of that one and sends him to the bottom of this particular league table! I just don't see why they can't forward on fans requests themselves? I am happy however to have received a great big autographed picture from Deborah 'Dragon' Meadon though, hand signed and personalised! Great! It's going to be time to start sending out second emails soon...

Still nothing from Gok...

Here's the latest league table...

1. Jason Bradbury - 100,095 Points
2. Jim Bowen - 749 Points
3. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
4. Marco Pierre White - 699 Points
5. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
6. Frank Skinner - 630 Points
7. Adrian Chiles - 500 Points
8. Nick Owen - 410 Points
9. Terry Wogan - 339 Points
10. Deborah Meadon - 290 Points
11. Lorraine Kelly - 250 Points
12. Jenni Falconer - 249 Points
12. Penny Smith - 249 Points
14. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
15. Andrea McLean - 151 Points
15. Fiona Phillips - 151 Points
15. Clare Nasir - 151 Points
18. Karren Brady - 150 Points
19. Janice Long - 0 Points
19. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
19. Gok Wan - 0 Points
19. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
19. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
19. James May - 0 Points
19. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
19. Dani Behr - 0 Points
19. Lucy Pinder - 0 Points
19. Jamie Oliver - 0 Points
19. Tom Cruise - 0 Points
19. Will Smith - 0 Points
19. Chris Evans - 0 Points
19. Tony Blair - 0 Points
19. Steve Wright - 0 Points
19. Kate Moss - 0 Points
19. Davina McCall - 0 Points
19. Steve Coogan - 0 Points
19. Boy George - 0 Points
19. George W Bush - 0 Points
19. Jade Goody - 0 Points (No negative points on time due to illness)
19. Richard Madeley - 0 Points
19. Judy Finnigan - 0 Points
19. William Shatner - 0 Points
43. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
43. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points
45. Sir Alex Ferguson - Minus 105 Points

More soon...

I've Got A Confession To Make...

I have a confession to make... I'm getting a bit bored with this blog. Why? Well, because, errrm, everyone is being so nice! I really didn't start this just so that I could write about famous people ignoring their 'fans' and not sending out autographs, but I really did expect some balance to this experiment... I've either received autographs, autographs with notes, emails or compliments slips, or nothing at all, but not one negative response! This isn't reality is it? There are nice and nasty people wherever you go, except in the world of this blog to date it would seem... I'm genuinely pleased that it's so successful, groovy and positive and that these people are spreading the love back to their fans, but a tabloid type devil, deep down inside me really, really wants to slag someone off just a little bit... Maybe when I start sending a few second request mails, we'll start to separate the celebs that are all bunched together on 0 Points..? We'll see...!

Three new photos today, all with personalised autographs! Nick Owen from Midlands Today wrote a lovely note to go with his, Jim Bowen stormed into second place with a speedy reply and a 'highish' ebay value, and, the mighty Wogan blasted into the top ten with only a low ebay value stopping him breaking the top five! Top Blokes all three of them...!

I thought a few stats at this point would be interesting...

Requests Sent - 45
Autographs Received - 16
Highest Placed Local Celebrity - Ed Doolan (13)
Highest Placed National Celebrity - Jason Bradbury (1)
Highest Placed International Celebrity - Gordon Ramsay (3)

Occupation Breakdown Of Autographs Received
Presenters - 8
Comedians - 2
Chefs - 2
DJs - 2
Magicians - 1
Business People 1

Here's the latest league table in full...

1. Jason Bradbury - 100,095 Points
2. Jim Bowen - 749 Points
3. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
4. Marco Pierre White - 699 Points
5. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
6. Frank Skinner - 630 Points
7. Adrian Chiles - 500 Points
8. Nick Owen - 410 Points
9. Terry Wogan - 339 Points
10. Lorraine Kelly - 250 Points
11. Jenni Falconer - 249 Points
11. Penny Smith - 249 Points
13. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
14. Andrea McLean - 151 Points
14. Fiona Phillips - 151 Points
14. Clare Nasir - 151 Points
17. Karren Brady - 150 Points
18. Janice Long - 0 Points
18. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
18. Gok Wan - 0 Points
18. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
18. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
18. James May - 0 Points
18. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
18. Dani Behr - 0 Points
18. Lucy Pinder - 0 Points
18. Jamie Oliver - 0 Points
18. Tom Cruise - 0 Points
18. Will Smith - 0 Points
18. Chris Evans - 0 Points
18. Tony Blair - 0 Points
18. Steve Wright - 0 Points
18. Kate Moss - 0 Points
18. Davina McCall - 0 Points
18. Steve Coogan - 0 Points
18. Boy George - 0 Points
18. George W Bush - 0 Points
18. Jade Goody - 0 Points (No negative points on time due to illness)
18. Richard Madeley - 0 Points
18. Judy Finnigan - 0 Points
18. Sir Alex Ferguson - 0 Points
18. Deborah Meadon - 0 Points
18. William Shatner - 0 Points
44. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
44. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points

More soon...

It Was The Calm Before The Storm... The Floodgates Have Opened...

I thought it had gone dead quiet on the autograph front but when I got home today, a great big pile of post was waiting for me, and only one envelope contained a bill...! The highlight was a signed picture of Marco Pierre White, but hearty congratulations also go to Frank Skinner, Adrian Chiles (including Christine Bleakley's autograph but sadly she can't really score points as I didn't ask for it!!), Karren Brady and the ladies from GMTV...! A bumper day!

I'm finding that so far, celebrities 'do' seem to care about the little people and have no problem sending something out, in the main by first class post, with a compliments slip and in a DO NOT BEND envelope, but it will be interesting to see how I get on with the megastars! I have tested the water by sending requests to Tom Cruise and Will Smith via their official websites. All of the autograph hunting sites say that your chances of getting an autograph from a huge name will be increased if you send a photo or magazine picture for them to sign, along with a pre-paid envelope and a nice letter... Nah! That isn't for me... I think that makes it far too easy. This is about spending no money at all, after all, their true fans will have spent loads on their products and merchandise already...

I am having some difficulty in contacting certain celebrities, but more of that will be in another post...

Here's the latest league table...

1. Jason Bradbury - 100,095 Points
2. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
3. Marco Pierre White - 699 Points
4. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
5. Frank Skinner - 630 Points
6. Adrian Chiles - 500 Points
7. Lorraine Kelly - 250 Points
8. Jenni Falconer - 249 Points
8. Penny Smith - 249 Points
10. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
11. Andrea McLean - 151 Points
11. Fiona Phillips - 151 Points
11. Clare Nasir - 151 Points
14. Karren Brady - 150 Points
15. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
16. Janice Long - 0 Points
16. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
16. Gok Wan - 0 Points
16. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
16. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
16. James May - 0 Points
16. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
16. Dani Behr - 0 Points
16. Lucy Pinder - 0 Points
16. Jamie Oliver - 0 Points
16. Terry Wogan - 0 Points
16. Tom Cruise - 0 Points
16. Will Smith - 0 Points
16. Chris Evans - 0 Points
30. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
30. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points

New requests sent out today...

Tony Blair - Former PM
Steve Wright - DJ
Kate Moss - Model
Davina McCall - Presenter
Steve Coogan - Comedian
Boy George - Singer/DJ
George W Bush - President Of The USA
Jade Goody - Errrrrrrr?
Jim Bowen - Comedian
Richard Madeley - Presenter
Judy Finnigan - Presenter
Sir Alex Ferguson - Manchester United Manager
Deborah Meaden - Dragon!
William Shatner - Actor

More soon...

He Was Determined To Beat Paul Daniels And He Has...

Jason Bradbury seems like a decent, regular bloke with a sense of humour! I think that he 'gets' the point of this Blog and realises that i'm not some kind of celebrity obsessive or fame seeker (in a Big Brother contestant kind of way) and that this is simply a fun, social experiment into the way that famous people look after their fans... To cut a long story short, he has taken the top spot in the league table, with an invitation to meet up for a quick hello in Brum while he is filming his new show! Ace! I'll take my lad with me as he is Gadget Show mad and really wants to talk to him about i-phones and other stuff like that...

Still nothing from Gok (he must be smoking) but i'll be fair and give him (or his 'people') a month or so to respond before I send another email and sending him to the bottom of the table... Does it sound like I am anti Gok? I'm not, but it was his arrogance that gave me the idea to do this...

I've also been thinking about what to do with the autographs when this all comes to an end as you may have guessed by now that i'm not really a big celebrity worshipper... Maybe a charity auction on ebay or something? I dunno, the values of most are a lot lower than I expected. If anyone has any ideas, let me know...

So here's the latest league table...

1. Jason Bradbury - 100,095 Points
2. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
3. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
4. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
5. Karren Brady - 10 Points
6. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
7. Janice Long - 0 Points
7. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
7. Gok Wan - 0 Points
7. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
7. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
7. James May - 0 Points
7. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
7. Dani Behr - 0 Points
7. Frank Skinner - 0 Points
7. Adrian Chiles - 0 Points
7. Lucy Pinder - 0 Points
7. Marco Pierre White - 0 Points
7. Jamie Oliver - 0 Points
7. Lorraine Kelly - 0 Points
7. Terry Wogan - 0 Points
7. Andrea McLean - 0 Points
7. Fiona Phillips - 0 Points
7. Jenni Falconer - 0 Points
7. Penny Smith - 0 Points
7. Clare Nasir - 0 Points
27. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
27. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points

New requests sent out today...

Chris Evans - DJ
Tom Cruise - Actor
Will Smith - Actor

More soon...

Some Contact With Celebrity....

I have no idea how it's happened but I have had my first 'direct' response from a celebrity! Jason Bradbury from The Gadget Show (one of the few people on the list that I actually enjoy watching) has left a comment on the previous post... Take a look! I'm 100% convinced that it's genuine and so he gets 100 points straight off for his personal contact! Assuming that a photo arrives (i've emailed him via You Tube) he is making a real and genuine assault for the top spot...

This is exactly what I wanted to grasp from this experiment and i'm really chuffed! The adventure has really started, eh? What next? A dinner invitation from Biggins? A request to go skydiving with Cat Deeley? A cameo in the next Batman film? Who knows, but it's ace, ace, ace!

So the new league table looks like this...

1. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
2. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
3. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
4. Jason Bradbury - 95 Points
5. Karren Brady - 10 Points
6. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
7. Janice Long - 0 Points
7. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
7. Gok Wan - 0 Points
7. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
7. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
7. James May - 0 Points
7. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
7. Dani Behr - 0 Points
7. Frank Skinner - 0 Points
7. Adrian Chiles - 0 Points
7. Lucy Pinder - 0 Points
7. Marco Pierre White - 0 Points
7. Jamie Oliver - 0 Points
7. Lorraine Kelly - 0 Points
7. Terry Wogan - 0 Points
7. Andrea McLean - 0 Points
7. Fiona Phillips - 0 Points
7. Jenni Falconer - 0 Points
7. Penny Smith - 0 Points
7. Clare Nasir - 0 Points
27. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
27. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points

Still nothing from Gok.... Yawwwwwn!

More Soon...

A New Leader...

Sadly, Paul Daniel's reign at the top is over! Gordon Ramsay has taken the top spot. I was really surprised at this as I really expected the 'internationally' famous people to be the ones that appeared at the bottom, but after the almost instant reply from his office, it would seem that Ramsay cares about the people that buy his gear and watch his shows... Fair play to him!

The Gadget Show team have lost points today as I have to send another email to another office. It's a shame that they didn't forward this on my behalf as these are some of the people on this list that I actually 'do' like a lot... I'm sure that they'll come back and score well in the days and weeks to come...

Here is the latest league table...

1. Gordon Ramsay - 709 Points
2. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
3. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
4. Karren Brady - 10 Points
5. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
6. Janice Long - 0 Points
6. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
6. Gok Wan - 0 Points
6. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
6. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
6. James May - 0 Points
6. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
6. Dani Behr - 0 Points
14. Suzi Perry - Minus 5 Points
14. Jason Bradbury - Minus 5 Points
14. Jon Bentley - Minus 5 Points

New requests sent out today...

Frank Skinner - Comedian
Adrian Chiles - Presenter
Lucy Pinder - Model
Marco Pierre White - Chef
Jamie Oliver - Chef
Lorraine Kelly - Presenter
Terry Wogan - DJ
Andrea McLean - Presenter
Fiona Phillips - Presenter
Jenni Falconer - Presenter
Penny Smith - Presenter
Clare Nasir - Presenter

More Soon...

Envelopes Have Started Arriving...

I am finding that some celebrities DO care about their fans... Signed photos today from Ed Doolan & Paul Daniels...

So the league table now looks like this...

1. Paul Daniels - 649 Points
2. Ed Doolan - 210 Points
3. Gordon Ramsay - 10 Points
3. Karren Brady - 10 Points
5. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
6. Janice Long - 0 Points
6. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
6. Gok Wan - 0 Points
6. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
6. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
6. James May - 0 Points
6. Suzi Perry - 0 Points
6. Jason Bradbury - 0 Points
6. Jon Bentley - 0 Points
6. Jane McDonald - 0 Points
6. Dani Behr - 0 Points

Who'd have thought that Paul Daniels would be leading (helped by his £4.99 Ebay Value) at this (or any) point? It just shows, eh? What a top bloke he is! Nothing from Gok yet...

More soon...

So This Is How We'll Score Them...

Okay, i've come up with something that I hope will judge the celebrities fairly. Here is the explanation of how they will score (and lose Gok, lose...) points...

Gaining Points
10 Points - Will be awarded for receiving a confirmation email either from the celebrity or a member of their team.
50 Points - Will be awarded for actually receiving a signed photograph.
15 Points - Will be awarded for receiving an autograph on a card or paper.
30 Points - Will be awarded for receiving the picture within one week.
20 Points - Will be awarded for receiving the picture within two weeks.
10 Points - Will be awarded for receiving the picture within one month.
20 Points - Will be awarded for receiving a photo with what appears to be a 'hand signed' autograph.
10 Points - Will be awarded for receiving a photo with what appears to be a "pre-printed" autograph.
100 Points - Will be awarded for receiving 'anything else' that shows that the celebrity has had a personal involvement in sending the picture. A note, or short letter, that kind of thing.
100,000 Points - Will be awarded for an invitation to meet the celebrity or tickets to an event, etc.
100 Points - Will be awarded if the autograph is personalised.
10 Points - Will be awarded if the autograph is received and they are a local celebrity.
50 Points - Will be awarded if the autograph is received and they are a national celebrity.
100 Points - Will be awarded if the autograph is received and they are an international celebrity.
1 Point - Will be awarded for each penny of the current ebay value of the autograph. I must stress however, that NONE of these autographs will be sold. That just isn't the point of this!!!

Losing Points
5 Points - Will be deducted for each additional email I have to send, unless I had the incorrect email address, etc.
250 Points - Will be deducted for not receiving a photograph or autograph after six months.
500 Points - Will be deducted for not receiving a photograph or autograph after one year.
100 Points - Will be deducted for receiving an email stating that this isn't their policy or something similar.
50 Points - Will be deducted for receiving an email asking me for postage costs or an SAE! They earn billions and I don't, surely you can pay for a stamp?
2 Points - Will be deducted for each additional week (after a month) that it takes to receive an autograph.

Other criteria may be added as I think of them, but this all seems pretty fair to me. If you have any ideas on this, please let me know.

So, now the scoring has been worked out, The Leaderboard has already started to take shape....

Leaderboard
1. Gordon Ramsay - 10 Points
1. Karren Brady - 10 Points
3. Nick Owen - 0 Points (Out Of Office explaining he is away for a couple of weeks...)
4. Ed Doolan - 0 Points
4. Janice Long - 0 Points
4. Caroline Martin - 0 Points
4. Paul Daniels - 0 Points
4. Gok Wan - 0 Points
4. Jeremy Clarkson - 0 Points
4. Richard Hammond - 0 Points
4. James May - 0 Points
4. Suzi Perry - 0 Points
4. Jason Bradbury - 0 Points
4. Jon Bentley - 0 Points

I'm loving this already, I can't wait to get some more results! Just how cool are the teams of Karren Brady and Gordon Ramsay? I've also sent out a couple more requests to...

Jane McDonald
Dani Behr

More soon...

The Hunt Starts Here...

I read somewhere the other day, that Gok Wan told an autograph hunter to go away as he was too busy smoking! While I do actually find this quite funny, it also made me really angry... Who on earth does he think he is? I'm sure that as this person was asking for his signature, they must have admired him. He or she watches his shows, takes his advice and buys his books, DVDs and whatever else he is peddling at the time! There is nothing wrong with this. We all have heros and famous people that we like and admire, so what gave him the right to be so fucking rude?

This started me thinking...

Do celebrities (regardless of how famous or in vogue they are) value their fans? How many celebrities would take the time to respond to a polite email from a 'fan' asking for a signed photograph? Of course, in reality, the emails probably will not go directly to their own inbox, but where this is the case, are their 'people' instructed to send out a signed publicity photograph or will the request be ignored? I'm going to find out just how much celebrities value their fans...

I'm going to randomly send out some emails asking for an autograph to lots of celebrities. Local, National and International. I'll be starting off by using the best contact emails that I can find on the internet and using the same format every time. I will state I am a big fan, give one line of just why I admire them and then ask nicely if they would mind sending me an autograph! I'll then give my name and address and hit the send button! I'll then score them against a scale which i'll devise and post up here soon! This will then give me a league table of celebrities that value their 'fans' (the people that ultimately finance their 'fabulous' lifestyles) and those that don't! I'll hopefully have a bit of fun and a few adventures on the way!!!

I've started off tonight, 2nd August 2008, with the following people...

Ed Doolan - Presenter - BBC Radio WM
Janice Long - Presenter - BBC Radio WM
Nick Owen - Presenter - BBC Midlands Today
Karren Brady - Managing Director - Birmingham City FC
Caroline Martin - Presenter - BRMB Radio
Paul Daniels - Magician
Gordon Ramsay - Chef
Gok Wan - Presenter - How To Look Good Naked
Jeremy Clarkson - Presenter - Top Gear
Richard Hammond - Presenter - Top Gear
James May - Presenter - Top Gear
Suzi Perry - Presenter - The Gadget Show
Jason Bradbury - Presenter - The Gadget Show
Jon Bentley - Presenter - The Gadget Show

More soon.....