London Oct Expo 2016
Another London Expo has come and gone and this one was really good.
I feel more went on this year than previous ones in terms of socialising. We started off the weekend on Thursday night with dinner at Bodeans, Tower Hill. I'd been there before and it serves some nice food, though their service wasn't great. We had to wait nearly an hour for our starters (which I didn't order) and didn't eat our main until close to 11pm. On the plus side they gave us a free round of drinks. Can't complain.
We've given up staying in hotels now and instead opted for Air B&B which turned out to be the best idea ever. We were staying in an apartment 5 mins walk from the Excel centre and it was self catering so we had a kitchen, dinning room table and two sofas, so I didn't have to sleep on the floor. We're hoping to get if for May next year and even prepare food for the day, since food is so expensive in and around the convention.
On Friday I tried out my new cosplay: The Hogfather, or Death dressed as the Hogfather. I had a sack full of cheap little presents, mostly random crap I'd found in the Pound Shop and Wilkos, which I gave out to anyone who recognised my costume. It went down well, although it is so hot. I was bathing in a latex head filled with my own sweat, but it was worth it. I made the cloak myself, which I'm particularly proud of.
On Friday night we just hung out at the apartment eating take-out, but on Saturday night we'd been invited to a dinner at the 02 arena. To get there you can take the sky lift which carries you over the river. I'd never been on it before and I was pretty scared. You get some incredible views from it, but I was still shaking most of the way. I'm glad I tried it though.
The dinner was at a harvesters and was nice, but it turned into an engagement party as a friend of ours got proposed to. We suspected that would happen and I'm really happy for her. Congratulations Mooney!
The Sunday was another day in costume, only this time I had Matt to guide me around, which was a lot easier. I even met a Santa and a Susan, which was pretty cool.
We also attended a panel with 3 members of Red Dwarf. It was sadly only 30 mins, but it was really cool. RD is one of my favourite comedies ever and I'm enjoying the new series.
In the evening we travelled to Canary Wharf and watched Doctor Strange at the cinema. It was really good, I enjoyed it much more than I thought. Very trippy, but beautifully shot. We ran for the train on the way back even though we didn't have to and for back after midnight, which was our latest night.
And Monday was just about coming home after breakfast at a cafe opposite the apartment.
It was certainly one of the better expos I've been to with so much going on, an enjoyable costume and some great people to hang out with.
Bring on May next year!
I feel more went on this year than previous ones in terms of socialising. We started off the weekend on Thursday night with dinner at Bodeans, Tower Hill. I'd been there before and it serves some nice food, though their service wasn't great. We had to wait nearly an hour for our starters (which I didn't order) and didn't eat our main until close to 11pm. On the plus side they gave us a free round of drinks. Can't complain.
We've given up staying in hotels now and instead opted for Air B&B which turned out to be the best idea ever. We were staying in an apartment 5 mins walk from the Excel centre and it was self catering so we had a kitchen, dinning room table and two sofas, so I didn't have to sleep on the floor. We're hoping to get if for May next year and even prepare food for the day, since food is so expensive in and around the convention.
On Friday I tried out my new cosplay: The Hogfather, or Death dressed as the Hogfather. I had a sack full of cheap little presents, mostly random crap I'd found in the Pound Shop and Wilkos, which I gave out to anyone who recognised my costume. It went down well, although it is so hot. I was bathing in a latex head filled with my own sweat, but it was worth it. I made the cloak myself, which I'm particularly proud of.
On Friday night we just hung out at the apartment eating take-out, but on Saturday night we'd been invited to a dinner at the 02 arena. To get there you can take the sky lift which carries you over the river. I'd never been on it before and I was pretty scared. You get some incredible views from it, but I was still shaking most of the way. I'm glad I tried it though.
The dinner was at a harvesters and was nice, but it turned into an engagement party as a friend of ours got proposed to. We suspected that would happen and I'm really happy for her. Congratulations Mooney!
The Sunday was another day in costume, only this time I had Matt to guide me around, which was a lot easier. I even met a Santa and a Susan, which was pretty cool.
We also attended a panel with 3 members of Red Dwarf. It was sadly only 30 mins, but it was really cool. RD is one of my favourite comedies ever and I'm enjoying the new series.
In the evening we travelled to Canary Wharf and watched Doctor Strange at the cinema. It was really good, I enjoyed it much more than I thought. Very trippy, but beautifully shot. We ran for the train on the way back even though we didn't have to and for back after midnight, which was our latest night.
And Monday was just about coming home after breakfast at a cafe opposite the apartment.
It was certainly one of the better expos I've been to with so much going on, an enjoyable costume and some great people to hang out with.
Bring on May next year!