Eastercon 2011 Days 1 and 2
Eastercon (I can never remember to call it 'Illustrious' - not an intuitive name), was better than expected, though just as expensive.
Friday
We put the cats and dog into storage on Thursday so we could make an early start on Friday - not trusting the state of traffic on Good Friday on the M1. As t turned out, despite the interminable roadworks round Luton, and stopping for a coffee at a service station, we made good time and, following the excellent instructions in the PR, managed to get safely into the hotel car park at midday. Although rooms weren't supposed to be available until 3pm they had one ready for us so we went straight up to settle in (it was conveniently a short stagger from the lifts - much better than the usual long trek to the end of a receding corridor).
Registration opened at 2ish and there was a long queue (I was a bit confused by things being sorted in badge-name order - since I can never remember which badge name I'm using these days but fortunately the spreadsheet was working and it was sorted fairly quickly and we retreated clutching a slim envelope of con info (I like the idea of splitting the Read Me to 'inside' and 'outside' - though sadly there was not nearly enough going on 'outside' to make this as valuable as it might have been).
I could have used a list of attendees just to check that the people I expected to meet would actually be around. I suppose there's an assumption that twitter will have superseded the need for this - but with no (free) internet access you just had to hope that you'd eventually bump into the people you wanted to say hello too. Apologies to those into whom I failed to bump.
We caught the 'Great Women in SF' panel - which was pretty much as advertised - a bit of a gentle no-brainer finding female characters in modern SF with a bit of sense (even if they often fall for totally unworthy males).
Then off to explore the food and drink situation. Despite what others have said, the con food was surprisingly good (I had a decently sized piece of salmon, well cooked, with beautifully crisp vegetables and a 'nouvelle cuisine' smudge of messed-about-with potato), but commensurately expensive. The real ale bar was serving real cider too, so that was all right...
And so, despite having marked up three more panels (including Victorian Fandom - presumably Holmes-maniacs and their vampire-fiction brethren - and Medical Horror Stories - probably not a good idea before bedtime), as possibly of interest, to bed.
Saturday
Habituated by being woken by the animals at dawn, we had a pre-breakfast swim in the hotel pool - which demonstrated to me exactly how impossible it is to move my shoulders and I was reduced to doggie-paddling round the edges in small bursts, interspersed with what I hope were useful muscle-building exercise (supported by the water I managed a rather greater range of movement than I've been able to achieve on land), and a welcome relax in the spa pool.
Breakfast included black pudding and fried bread - two of my favourite breakfast foods, and no, I have not had my cholesterol levels checked lately...
I popped along to the Is Facebook Evil panel (conclusion: Yes, but it's probably too late to do anything about it now). This morning session did demonstrate one of the drawbacks of the otherwise sensible idea of running one hour programme items in 90 minute slots - it was midday before the next scheduled sessions - which were abandoned in favour of a walk round the lake in the centre of the NEC complex in the sunshine. During which we encountered rabbits and bluebells and a fisherman actually landing a fish, and (in the deserted and echoing cavern of the NEC buildings), a cash machine that did not charge for withdrawals.
Thus replenished we returned for a liquid lunch in the fan/real-ale bar - which was also serving real cider. I had a pint of Wilcox 'Traditional' (translation: scrumpy) to start with ("Is it supposed to be that colour?") , followed by rounds of the art show and book room prior to the George Hay Lecture in which Dave Clements blended WOW factor Herschel pictures of sparkly space objects with just enough physics and mathematics to make sense of it all, with the added bonus of shots of the con audience using an infrared camera (who knew so many fans wear glasses?). Given the 'military' theme of the con I did wonder what purpose the concom might put these to. Why yes, I am naturally paranoid - why else the Facebook panel?
We had intended to join the programmed watch of Dr Who, but by 5.58 the queue was still out into the lobby, and tech was panicking (though they did get it working just in time), so we went up to watch in comfort in our room. This meant missing the CBBC Lis Sladen tribute programme - since the hotel didn't have digital/freeview channels - I do wonder what hotels are going to do after the switchover.
It did mean that we got to the food before the queues turned out of the viewing, and refuelled for the evening - though neither of us ever go near the disco (and I gather that hardly anyone else did either - time to re-think that slot I expect). I had intended to get to the Sex and Sensawonda panel, but sleep beckoned.
Sunday
Another pool start (I should probably arrange to use one of the local pools when I get back).
Sunday was, from our pov, very lightly programmed, and what we did want to get to clashed - so we missed the 2013 bid session (hopefully someone will come up with something) in favour of the Diana Wynne Jones memorial panel, which was advertised as including readings but was more of a reminiscence. As the genre loses more and more of its older talent (not that Diana was actually old) there may be a place for a regular obituary session at future cons - it's good to remember those we have lost through their works and their impact on friends and fans.
Sunday was also the day the BBC chose to broadcast its all too brief coverage of the Badminton Three Day Event, and, since there wasn't anything we desperately wanted to see on the programme, we retired to our room to watch 21 year old newcomer Laura Collett having a fairytale competition on Rayef - so nice to see some new names coming up, especially with the Olympic team yet to be decided. She finished a respectable 8th overall, with experienced old hands in the top three (not that one begrudges Mark Todd his 4th win. I do love the way that (on the ground) horse people aren't interested in national competition but more concerned with horsemanship and sportsmanship. The BBC, as usual, edited their coverage to produce a 'last minute climax' . I wonder how football fans would feel if every pre-recorded match was edited on the same lines?
Then we went down to the bar for a chat and laze until it was time to get the gladrags on for the Military Ball. I clean forgot to add the feather to my fascinator that I spent ages hunting up over the last week, but apart from that it was a comfortable and impressive end to the day (wish I could take part in the dancing, but an inability to raise ones arms above waist-level tends to cramp one's dancing style).
And I have no memory of Monday at all. Must have been good then *g*
Not a vintage Eastercon. At least it got me out of the house for a weekend and into good company.
Friday
We put the cats and dog into storage on Thursday so we could make an early start on Friday - not trusting the state of traffic on Good Friday on the M1. As t turned out, despite the interminable roadworks round Luton, and stopping for a coffee at a service station, we made good time and, following the excellent instructions in the PR, managed to get safely into the hotel car park at midday. Although rooms weren't supposed to be available until 3pm they had one ready for us so we went straight up to settle in (it was conveniently a short stagger from the lifts - much better than the usual long trek to the end of a receding corridor).
Registration opened at 2ish and there was a long queue (I was a bit confused by things being sorted in badge-name order - since I can never remember which badge name I'm using these days but fortunately the spreadsheet was working and it was sorted fairly quickly and we retreated clutching a slim envelope of con info (I like the idea of splitting the Read Me to 'inside' and 'outside' - though sadly there was not nearly enough going on 'outside' to make this as valuable as it might have been).
I could have used a list of attendees just to check that the people I expected to meet would actually be around. I suppose there's an assumption that twitter will have superseded the need for this - but with no (free) internet access you just had to hope that you'd eventually bump into the people you wanted to say hello too. Apologies to those into whom I failed to bump.
We caught the 'Great Women in SF' panel - which was pretty much as advertised - a bit of a gentle no-brainer finding female characters in modern SF with a bit of sense (even if they often fall for totally unworthy males).
Then off to explore the food and drink situation. Despite what others have said, the con food was surprisingly good (I had a decently sized piece of salmon, well cooked, with beautifully crisp vegetables and a 'nouvelle cuisine' smudge of messed-about-with potato), but commensurately expensive. The real ale bar was serving real cider too, so that was all right...
And so, despite having marked up three more panels (including Victorian Fandom - presumably Holmes-maniacs and their vampire-fiction brethren - and Medical Horror Stories - probably not a good idea before bedtime), as possibly of interest, to bed.
Saturday
Habituated by being woken by the animals at dawn, we had a pre-breakfast swim in the hotel pool - which demonstrated to me exactly how impossible it is to move my shoulders and I was reduced to doggie-paddling round the edges in small bursts, interspersed with what I hope were useful muscle-building exercise (supported by the water I managed a rather greater range of movement than I've been able to achieve on land), and a welcome relax in the spa pool.
Breakfast included black pudding and fried bread - two of my favourite breakfast foods, and no, I have not had my cholesterol levels checked lately...
I popped along to the Is Facebook Evil panel (conclusion: Yes, but it's probably too late to do anything about it now). This morning session did demonstrate one of the drawbacks of the otherwise sensible idea of running one hour programme items in 90 minute slots - it was midday before the next scheduled sessions - which were abandoned in favour of a walk round the lake in the centre of the NEC complex in the sunshine. During which we encountered rabbits and bluebells and a fisherman actually landing a fish, and (in the deserted and echoing cavern of the NEC buildings), a cash machine that did not charge for withdrawals.
Thus replenished we returned for a liquid lunch in the fan/real-ale bar - which was also serving real cider. I had a pint of Wilcox 'Traditional' (translation: scrumpy) to start with ("Is it supposed to be that colour?") , followed by rounds of the art show and book room prior to the George Hay Lecture in which Dave Clements blended WOW factor Herschel pictures of sparkly space objects with just enough physics and mathematics to make sense of it all, with the added bonus of shots of the con audience using an infrared camera (who knew so many fans wear glasses?). Given the 'military' theme of the con I did wonder what purpose the concom might put these to. Why yes, I am naturally paranoid - why else the Facebook panel?
We had intended to join the programmed watch of Dr Who, but by 5.58 the queue was still out into the lobby, and tech was panicking (though they did get it working just in time), so we went up to watch in comfort in our room. This meant missing the CBBC Lis Sladen tribute programme - since the hotel didn't have digital/freeview channels - I do wonder what hotels are going to do after the switchover.
It did mean that we got to the food before the queues turned out of the viewing, and refuelled for the evening - though neither of us ever go near the disco (and I gather that hardly anyone else did either - time to re-think that slot I expect). I had intended to get to the Sex and Sensawonda panel, but sleep beckoned.
Sunday
Another pool start (I should probably arrange to use one of the local pools when I get back).
Sunday was, from our pov, very lightly programmed, and what we did want to get to clashed - so we missed the 2013 bid session (hopefully someone will come up with something) in favour of the Diana Wynne Jones memorial panel, which was advertised as including readings but was more of a reminiscence. As the genre loses more and more of its older talent (not that Diana was actually old) there may be a place for a regular obituary session at future cons - it's good to remember those we have lost through their works and their impact on friends and fans.
Sunday was also the day the BBC chose to broadcast its all too brief coverage of the Badminton Three Day Event, and, since there wasn't anything we desperately wanted to see on the programme, we retired to our room to watch 21 year old newcomer Laura Collett having a fairytale competition on Rayef - so nice to see some new names coming up, especially with the Olympic team yet to be decided. She finished a respectable 8th overall, with experienced old hands in the top three (not that one begrudges Mark Todd his 4th win. I do love the way that (on the ground) horse people aren't interested in national competition but more concerned with horsemanship and sportsmanship. The BBC, as usual, edited their coverage to produce a 'last minute climax' . I wonder how football fans would feel if every pre-recorded match was edited on the same lines?
Then we went down to the bar for a chat and laze until it was time to get the gladrags on for the Military Ball. I clean forgot to add the feather to my fascinator that I spent ages hunting up over the last week, but apart from that it was a comfortable and impressive end to the day (wish I could take part in the dancing, but an inability to raise ones arms above waist-level tends to cramp one's dancing style).
And I have no memory of Monday at all. Must have been good then *g*
Not a vintage Eastercon. At least it got me out of the house for a weekend and into good company.