The premiere was held on 24th July. Two days before my 33rd Birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day, very different from the wet and cold November day for the recent Hunger Games premiere.
My photographer friend and I sat in Leicester Square with our usual premiere picnic and Ice Cream, and I got to open my presents from him a whole two days early. One of which was the Lego Hawkeye below.
We were moved into the holding pens outside the Empire and waited patiently for the stars to arrive. We then heard the surprise news that two Avengers were also coming to the premiere, at which point I became ridiculously nervous thinking I might finally see Jeremy Renner and have nothing for him to sign.
I had nothing to worry about as the two "Avengers" were actually one Avenger, Chris Hemsworth, and the director Joss Whedon. I would have loved to get something signed by Joss as I have long been a huge fan of his, but regrettably he spent little time with the crowd owing to the fact that he was recovering from knee surgery. I am still hopeful that one day I will get my chance to shake his hand or get his signature. Which was something I did manage to get from Mr Hemsworth for the second time. What can I say, he clearly just likes me.
My subscriber edition of Empire Magazine had only the villains on the cover, so from that point on I knew I wasn't going to be able to get anything for myself and made it my mission to get as many signatures for my buddy as possible.
Director James Gunn with host Alex Zane.
Former Wrestler Dave Bautista, who at
one point, the crowd was just chanting DAVE BAU-TISTA, DAVE BAU-TISTA
at. Whenever I think of Drax I just hear that chant over and over
again. 
The very beautiful Zoe Saldana. Looking a lot less green here than in the movie.
The man of the hour, Chris Pratt in his very tight trousers (I think my knack for spotting the men in tight pants is the thing I bring to premieres, in the same way that my photographer friend always manages to get a photo of an actress' behind). 
Just when you thought things couldn't get more amazing, Vin Diesel showed up on stilts wearing an 'I AM GROOT' t'shirt!
Just before they all got back in their cars to leave, Chris Pratt took a moment to thank us all for being there. With all the camera crews packed up it was a genuine moment of thanks for us fans who had been standing out in the hot sun all afternoon. In all the premieres I've been to, I've never known an actor to do that and I hope it's something Chris continues to be grateful for as it was a lovely moment to witness.
My only regret is that I didn't take my Star Trek: Into Darkness edition of Empire magazine as I probably could have gotten Zoe Saldana's signature for myself, rather than just for my friend, but I was still proud of the signatures I managed to get that day, even if they weren't for me.
