In November of this year, it was revealed that the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings - the eagerly anticipated film version of JRR Tolkien's classic novel - would take place at the prestigious Odeon Cinema in London's Leicester Square on 10 December 2001.

As soon as I heard about this occasion, I came to a conclusion - there was absolutely no way whatsoever that I was going to miss probably my one and only chance of seeing Mr Viggo Mortensen in "real" life, and I vowed that come hell or high water, I would be in London on that day!

I immediately began thinking of ways to play hookey from work on the 10th - which fake illness should I pretend to be suffering with?! The more important question was would my manager tell right away that I was faking when I phoned in sick?!

It was only at that point that I realized that I had no idea what actual day 10 December 2001 fell on, and I was relieved (to say the least!) when I checked my calendar and found it to be a Monday, which happens to be my legitimate day off from work!

In anticipation of this event, I bought a brand new film for my Advanced Photo System camera weeks in advance!

On Sunday 9 December 2001, I woke up feeling incredibly ill - feverish, shivery, exhausted! So many of my friends, family and colleagues had recently come down with the flu, so I was convinced I would be bed-ridden for days afterwards and that there would be no chance of making the 40 minute train journey from Brighton to London the next day.

Come Monday 10 December 2001 - I awoke feeling marvelous, absolutely 100% better! I didn't want to get to London too early, so I wrote and snail mailed some Christmas cards, took my dog Jack for a good long walk, had a quick bite to eat at lunch time and was on a train to London by 1pm!

Once in England's biggest city, I caught the tube aka subway to Piccadilly Circus. To kill an hour or so, I wandered around some of the best department stores and finished my holiday shopping. Then I made my way to the Odeon Cinema.

I had not expected so many members of the press and television to be present, all of whom looked just as excited as the fans!

Many of the people were dressed in long, flowing cloaks and carried fake swords and axes! These were the people that the journalists wanted to chat to, naturally!

I wasn't as near the front as I'd hoped to be, when something wonderful happened - a guy right in the middle of the front row began complaining to his girlfriend about the cold weather and the fact that no celebs would turn up for ages.

After much bickering, the pair of them wandered off together to the nearest pub. In a flash, I shoved my way to where they'd been standing and ignored the evil looks of those behind me who hadn't been quick enough!

I had never been to a London premiere before, and I was pleasantly surprised by the friendly atmosphere. Everyone there was of different age, sex and nationality and all of us chatted constantly!

I was stood next to three twentysomething German students (one male, two female) who could speak brilliant English and were studying at a University over here. The three of them were so excited and told me that they come from a very small village where nothing EVER happens, so this was a thrill for them!

One of the girls is the BIGGEST Peter Jackson fans I've ever met - she could quote his 1992 gore fest comedy Braindead word perfectly! We chatted about the cast of LOTR and I told them how great an actor Viggo Mortensen is. They had NO idea who he was, so I started listing some of his movies. It was only when I mentioned A Perfect Murder that they realized who I was referring to!

An hour or so later, at 5pm, the crowd began cheering. Immediately, I got my camera ready, wondering who must have pulled up in a limo. By the manic screams of "ELIJAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ELIJAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" it was pretty obvious!

Yes, Elijah Wood was the first star to arrive! He smiled and waved, but rushed into the Odeon so quickly that it was nigh on impossible to take his picture!

A small crowd of smartly dressed people arrived next. One of them was a young guy who looked vaguely familiar, but I could not put a name to the face. Suddenly, a man in the audience yelled, "He was in The Goonies!" and all of us realized it was Sean Astin, son of Oscar winning actress Patty Duke (of The Miracle Worker fame) and John "Gomez Addams" Astin! By this time, he too had entered the cinema.

Seconds later, the crowd began cheering once again - for the simple reason that Liv Tyler had arrived! She looked very elegant in a red, all-in-one trouser suit. (For the record, a work colleague of mine went to high school with Liv's British boyfriend in Leeds!) Thankfully, she walked fairly slowly towards the main doors, so I was finally able to take a photograph!

Film legend Christopher Lee arrived with little fanfare, followed by Dominic Monaghan, who allowed himself to be kissed by several of his female admirers in the crowd and looked like he was enjoying himself immensely!

This was followed by the arrival of Sir Ian McKellen, who graciously ignored the press and spent at least five minutes signing fans' autographs and posing for photos. Sean Bean did exactly the same, a few minutes later, which pleased the crowd to bits! Sean Bean's arrival meant that everybody ignored British actress Saffron Borrows (Deep Blue Sea) as she walked past!

Patiently, I waited to see Viggo and FINALLY a woman in the crowd screamed his name like a banshee: "VEEEEEEEE-GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I grabbed my camera and could not believe that one of my all-time favorite actors was SO close to me!

Yes, Viggo Mortensen had FINALLY arrived and the first thought that leapt into my head was the fact that he was the only male celeb who opted NOT to wear a tuxedo!

Instead, he looked very smart, cool and casual in an ordinary shirt and long black coat. It was hard to tell whether he was uncomfortable or just non-plussed by all the cheering and camera bulbs flashing! He was escorted by an attractive brunette lady, who I believe his Hilda, his agent from the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, California.

I am not ashamed to admit that when I saw Viggo Mortensen "in the flesh" I made a total fool of myself, screaming things like, "VIGGO! VIGGO! OVER HERE! IT'S ME - BARNABY!" which made the German university students laugh like crazy!

Then, Viggo Mortensen and his guest disappeared into The Odeon Cinema without looking back, and I came to the conclusion that I would probably never see him again, except when I re-watched A Perfect Murder, or A Walk on the Moon, or GI Jane - or in a week or so, when I actually go and see LOTR at the movies!

After that, the vast majority of stars who turned up are famous for British television - my favorite comedian Graham Norton, an absolute genius; comedian Ruby Wax; talk show husband-and-wife team Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan; TV presenter Cat Deeley; boy band A1; etc. Also, Sir Bob Geldof and Sir Cliff Richard arrived, which pleased the fortysomething female members of the crowd!

Suddenly, the Odeon manager greeted the crowd and told the thousand or so of us that the film was now beginning and, as it is nearly 3 hours long in running time, we would have a long wait if he wanted to see the stars again!

I bid the people I'd been chatting to on-and-off goodbye and wandered back towards Piccadilly Circus, totally silent. All I could think was how much I wished I could have gone in and watched the movie and have an opportunity to chat with all the famous people I'd just seen... particularly Viggo Mortensen.

I was also aware of how starving hungry I was, so I popped into a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken before heading back to Brighton. The minute I got home, I turned on the news to watch coverage of the LOTR premiere - and saw myself for a millimeter of a second!