Isn’t meeting someone you’ve always wanted to meet just so cool? Not just celebrities, but people from the past or fictional characters like Batman? Imagine how cool it would be to meet Batman!
But today, I’m going to be talking about people who I’ve always wanted to meet. And luckily, I’ve met a few! OK, only two. Technically three. I’ve met Steve Backshall, who is the presenter of the CBBC show Deadly 60 (which I used to be obsessed with. Think my Doctor Who obsession, but even bigger).
I met Steve Backshall from Deadly 60
I met him in a big Deadly 60 convention in a Southampton park when I was in Year 4, where hundreds of fans were watching him have a talk and hold a snapping turtle. Since I was at the back, I only saw glimpses of him, but it still counts.
I met Percy Jackson’s creator Rick Riordan
The second person was Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson novels, which are some of my favourite books. I met him in Winchester, in his only talk in Britain in 2010 and I got my favourite book from the series, the Titan’s Curse, signed. I actually talked to him as he signed the book.
- I met writer Rick Riordan in Winchester in 2010.
I met founding father of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew
However my third meeting wasn’t planned at all… In 2009, I was in Singapore with my mum eating in an outdoor restaurant when she poked me and told me look at an old man jogging with two other men. It turned out he was Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore. He had bodyguards with him in case he got attacked. He is sometimes referred to as the founding father of Singapore. Even though bumping into Mr Lee was not planned, I still count it as a meeting.
So what about people I want to meet? Well, I’d like to meet any living Doctor (including John Hurt, though that would be tough, because he is busy making lots of films). I have a framed photo with all the Doctors’ signatures from my grandparents as my 13th birthday present, but to actually meet them, especially Matt Smith, would be amazing.
I would also like to see, maybe not talk to, a member of the Royal Family. How many people can say that they’ve had a proper conversation with the Queen? OK, quite a lot of people, but it would still be awesome! As for historical figures, my picks would be Richard III (to finally clarify the prince mystery), Charles Darwin (to have a nice argument about nature with) and William Shakespeare (to find out if he actually wrote his plays). As for fictional characters, the Doctor, Batman, Yoda and Jack Skellington would all be awesome to meet.
So what about you? What people have you met and want to meet? If you could meet someone from the past or from a fictional world, who would it be?
Editor’s note: The original version of People I want to meet was published on 24th February 2014 in Ben Williams’s World.
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I was there with you. I remember Rick Riordan was very funny. He said he sent his first novel to a publisher when he was 13 years old, but the publisher sent him a letter of rejection. Later his mum framed the letter and hung the letter on the wall. When their house caught fire one day, they rescued the most important thing – the letter! It was a very inspiring afternoon.
That’s very interesting. I wonder if he made it up. The next author I would like to meet is J K Rowling, though judging about the popularity of Harry Potter, meeting her would be very hard.
I’ve met a few distinguished people over the years. Most important is Prince Charles with whom I had an interesting conversation. He had a humorous and risqué chat with the person with me. Diana, Princess of Wales stood by demurely, looking very pretty.
I sat next to a famous scientist at breakfast one day. He hogged the coffee pot and I could not get a second cup. Another, also a Nobel prize winner, sat with a group of us one night in a hotel and we told jokes and drank beers.
Wanted to meet a film star then our daughter briefly became one. We stayed in Malibu, Ca. for a while and you could rub shoulders with them in the supermarket checkout.
Of the historical figures, some of the ancient Greeks might be interesting and Helen of Troy of course.
Meeting Prince Charles. Wow. That is so cool. Meeting Ancient Greeks would be amazing too. Preferably someone like Socrates, so I could ask him questions.
In a science event last month in Oxford, I listened to speeches by five brilliant scientists, Professor Lord Robert Winston, Professor Steve Jones, Professor Mark Miodownik, Professor Andrea Sella and Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, the presenter of BBC Four – The Sky at Night.
These educators have one thing in common – they are passionate about their subjects (DNA, baby-making, materials science, chemistry and space), and their talks were fun and inspirational.
I quite like Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s idea of retiring on a one-way trip to Mars.
I’m lucky to have met these people, to be inspired.
I also quite like to meet the people who visit or write on this website, such as Mike. I hope he is nice.
I would also love to meet Bill Bryson and Boris Johnson one day.