Worldcon Trip Day 15: Welcome to Glasgow
Lisa and I had the Full Scottish Breakfast in the dining car on board the Caledonian Sleeper, and were in the final seating, so we were just finishing breakfast as the train pulled in to Glasgow Central. We made it to Glasgow, and it was the day before Worldcon.
We exited our coach and started up the platform. Then I realized that I'd forgotten to get our larger bags from coach H. I went back down the platform and checked out one of the luggage trolleys to carry the bags. (You put a pound coin - Lisa loaned me one as I only had bills - into a slot to release the trolley and get it back if you return it to one of the return points elsewhere in the station.)
This class 92 locomotive was on the lead of our train today.
We exited the platform and entered Glasgow Central station. While we do know the way from Glasgow Central to Exhibition Centre station (for SEC), we had too much luggage to haul through Glasgow's suburban rail system. I sprung for a taxi (£10) to the Crowne Plaza Glasgow.
Not surprisingly for an arrival before 9 AM, our room was not ready, so we decided to go run a chore: laundry. We went through our luggage and separated the clothes we wanted washed, then put that in my WFC duffel bag, and checked the other luggage.
We walked over Bell's Bridge across the River Clyde, stopping at the Village Hotel, which is scheduled to be the site of the WSFS Business Meeting starting on Friday morning at 10 AM. (If you're planning to attend, you should plan to be there early.)
Around 1.7 km from the hotel we found the Cotton Fresh Laundrette. For £16 ($20), we got one large-ish load of laundry (including soap) washed and dried. It's a staffed laundry, so we went down the block and had a second breakfast while we waited for the laundry to be done.
By the time we got back to the hotel with our laundry, they had our room available for us. It's a decent sized room.
The working space has room for me to set up my computer without Lisa having to climb over me to get to the rest of the room.
There is a refrigerator and "food service" area, but in order to actually use the kettle, you have to move it to the work desk, because that is the only place where there are outlets convenient enough to use with the kettle.
The room has a shower/tub combo, as do most rooms in this hotel. Apparently this hotel hasn't been gutted and most of the bathtubs removed like what seems to be the trend in the hotel industry.
The view from our fifth floor room shows the Clyde and the rear of the Armadillo. I sure wish I'd had a room this convenient to the Armadillo when I ran Events for the 2005 Worldcon.
One unfortunate thing about the room is that it was hot and stuffy. We turned it down as cool as it would go. Having been cheated out of a shower by the Caledonian Sleeper, I took one in the hotel room and turned the water temperature down cooler than usual to try and cool off.
We went to the SEC to register. Unlike this photo that I took later, there was no queue and registration went quickly.
With our badges obtained, Lisa and I went grocery shopping. There is a Lidl store on the other side of the railroad tracks (via the bridge to Exhibition Centre Station). We bought a couple of bags worth of groceries. Unfortunately, the intermittent rain got heavy, and rather than wait it out, I agreed to get a taxi back to the hotel. Lisa managed to flag down a cab and we headed back to the Crowne Plaza.
I was responsible for two things in the Exhibit Hall that obliged me to get a MIMO (move in/move out) wristband. The first was to deliver my 2002 Hugo Award trophy (display copy). I had this packed in my luggage with great concern that an over-eager security person would misunderstand what the chrome-plated zinc rocket was. I left it wrapped with an explanation of what it was, and while Icelandic airport security left a note saying that they'd opened my bag, then didn't explain any farther.
The second task was to help Cheryl Morgan unload the Wizards Tower Press books from her car. We rolled everything over to her table and stacked the boxes there.
Cheryl recently upgraded her mobile phone and as a favor to me put a new SIM card in the old phone and loaned it to me. Experimentation shows that it only receives and makes domestic UK calls, but if you need my temporary UK phone number for the period I'm here at Worldcon, contact me and I'll let you know.
After helping with the loading, I returned to the hotel room, pausing to get a photo of the Armadillo. Lisa had made a meal of some of the groceries and was making up for the lost sleep charged against the Caledonian Sleeper.
After confirming that all was well (and that my new temporary UK phone could make calls), I returned to the dealers room.
Cheryl had completed the table set up. I helped her secure the table for tomorrow.
Lisa doesn't care for Indian food, so I was happy to be invited out to dinner at a local Indian restaurant. This might be my last relaxed dinner out for the entire Worldcon. With the schedule we have for the Business Meeting, I'm not expecting late evenings. I'm too old to burn the candle at both ends the way I once did.
We exited our coach and started up the platform. Then I realized that I'd forgotten to get our larger bags from coach H. I went back down the platform and checked out one of the luggage trolleys to carry the bags. (You put a pound coin - Lisa loaned me one as I only had bills - into a slot to release the trolley and get it back if you return it to one of the return points elsewhere in the station.)
This class 92 locomotive was on the lead of our train today.
We exited the platform and entered Glasgow Central station. While we do know the way from Glasgow Central to Exhibition Centre station (for SEC), we had too much luggage to haul through Glasgow's suburban rail system. I sprung for a taxi (£10) to the Crowne Plaza Glasgow.
Not surprisingly for an arrival before 9 AM, our room was not ready, so we decided to go run a chore: laundry. We went through our luggage and separated the clothes we wanted washed, then put that in my WFC duffel bag, and checked the other luggage.
We walked over Bell's Bridge across the River Clyde, stopping at the Village Hotel, which is scheduled to be the site of the WSFS Business Meeting starting on Friday morning at 10 AM. (If you're planning to attend, you should plan to be there early.)
Around 1.7 km from the hotel we found the Cotton Fresh Laundrette. For £16 ($20), we got one large-ish load of laundry (including soap) washed and dried. It's a staffed laundry, so we went down the block and had a second breakfast while we waited for the laundry to be done.
By the time we got back to the hotel with our laundry, they had our room available for us. It's a decent sized room.
The working space has room for me to set up my computer without Lisa having to climb over me to get to the rest of the room.
There is a refrigerator and "food service" area, but in order to actually use the kettle, you have to move it to the work desk, because that is the only place where there are outlets convenient enough to use with the kettle.
The room has a shower/tub combo, as do most rooms in this hotel. Apparently this hotel hasn't been gutted and most of the bathtubs removed like what seems to be the trend in the hotel industry.
The view from our fifth floor room shows the Clyde and the rear of the Armadillo. I sure wish I'd had a room this convenient to the Armadillo when I ran Events for the 2005 Worldcon.
One unfortunate thing about the room is that it was hot and stuffy. We turned it down as cool as it would go. Having been cheated out of a shower by the Caledonian Sleeper, I took one in the hotel room and turned the water temperature down cooler than usual to try and cool off.
We went to the SEC to register. Unlike this photo that I took later, there was no queue and registration went quickly.
With our badges obtained, Lisa and I went grocery shopping. There is a Lidl store on the other side of the railroad tracks (via the bridge to Exhibition Centre Station). We bought a couple of bags worth of groceries. Unfortunately, the intermittent rain got heavy, and rather than wait it out, I agreed to get a taxi back to the hotel. Lisa managed to flag down a cab and we headed back to the Crowne Plaza.
I was responsible for two things in the Exhibit Hall that obliged me to get a MIMO (move in/move out) wristband. The first was to deliver my 2002 Hugo Award trophy (display copy). I had this packed in my luggage with great concern that an over-eager security person would misunderstand what the chrome-plated zinc rocket was. I left it wrapped with an explanation of what it was, and while Icelandic airport security left a note saying that they'd opened my bag, then didn't explain any farther.
The second task was to help Cheryl Morgan unload the Wizards Tower Press books from her car. We rolled everything over to her table and stacked the boxes there.
Cheryl recently upgraded her mobile phone and as a favor to me put a new SIM card in the old phone and loaned it to me. Experimentation shows that it only receives and makes domestic UK calls, but if you need my temporary UK phone number for the period I'm here at Worldcon, contact me and I'll let you know.
After helping with the loading, I returned to the hotel room, pausing to get a photo of the Armadillo. Lisa had made a meal of some of the groceries and was making up for the lost sleep charged against the Caledonian Sleeper.
After confirming that all was well (and that my new temporary UK phone could make calls), I returned to the dealers room.
Cheryl had completed the table set up. I helped her secure the table for tomorrow.
Lisa doesn't care for Indian food, so I was happy to be invited out to dinner at a local Indian restaurant. This might be my last relaxed dinner out for the entire Worldcon. With the schedule we have for the Business Meeting, I'm not expecting late evenings. I'm too old to burn the candle at both ends the way I once did.