Judith Proctor's Journal

Thursday( Read more... )

The short version of the con report (as I've got serious work commitments today - which is why I couldn't stay on for the 'dead hedgehog' party)).

A month or two before the con, they contacted me and said "How would you like to be a guild deputy?"

I thought about it for all of three seconds and said "Sure, why not?"  (And when they gave me a choice, I opted for "Explorers, Wandering Teachers and Librarians")

About a month before the con, they contacted me and said "We're looking for someone appearing in the Maskerade who's willing to be filmed pre-con by a TV crew doing a documentary on Pratchett and Alzheimers"

I thought about it for about ten seconds, and said "Sure, why not?" and then "Oops, guess I'd better work on a suitable Maskerade entry" (So I started rehersing a new poi routine)

About a week before the con, they contacted me and said "The people running the dragon racing simply aren't going to be able to manage it, could you possibly take it on for us?"

So I thought about it for long enough to send a few emails to find out just what the dragon racing actually was, and said "Sure, why not?" and started working on a few ideas to add to the entertainment of the event.

How did it all go?

The members of the Guild were wonderful people, came up with lots of great ideas, entertained many people, entered/won competitions, manned a very popular book-crossing table that re-homed several boxes full of books, worked many hours as volunteers and propelled us to a very respectable second place in the Guild competition.

The TV man was great, filmed both pre-and at con, and I dare say (following the normal rule of these things) that I'll appear for a few seconds somewhere in the final version.

The poi routine (after many disasters and accidents learning it and loads of practice sessions in odd moments at the convention as I adapted the routine after leaving my original set of poi on a train...) came out fantastically well and without a single hitch on stage (and loads of people were lovely enough to say how much they'd enjoyed it).

The dragon races went really well.  The extra entertainment that I'd asked the Guilds for meant that the gaps between races had everything from Klatchian dancing to a spirited performance of the Dwarf national anthem.  (The words are "Gold, gold, gold, gold")

The (pre-arranged with the people who came up with the ideas) 'cheating' included everything from a pair of blue-skinned Nac Mac Feegle picking up a dragon and carrying him down the track at great speed, to the witches dosing a dragon with scumble and using a MacGonnagle to bewitch another with a sad ballad, to the assassins killing all the riders in the last race (apart from the one they'd bet on).  (I gave guild points to all the victims who sporting died in suitably dramatic poses).

It was fun - and loads of people were lovely enough to say afterwards how much they enjoyed it.

The rest of the con was good too - I even saw some parts of it!

So I went up to as many of the committee as I could find afterwards, and told them how much I'd enjoyed it.

The Birmingham Metropole works as a con hotel (a few glitches, but more than overweighted by the plus factors) and those who went on the Explorer's Guild bat walk will tell you that there are three species of bats within spitting distance of the hotel!

I'm reposting this as we're getting closer to the date and I know a couple of people missed the original posting.  We've got several people down as definites now, and a large number of 'maybe's.

We're not quite sure what number this particular Silvercon should be as the numbering method is rather eclectic, but we feel 3.something is about right, so the next one will be Silvercon pi.

This event is being held to celebrate the Silver Wedding (plus a few bonus years and months) of myself and Waveney.  It's also the first weekend after my nth birthday.

Everyone reading this journal is invited (you don't have to be on my friends list).

The date is 19-21 October 2007.  The place is our house in Dorset (address available on request if you don't already know it - you can get there by bus from Poole station).  The aim is to do as much gaming and general socialising as possible.  The price is a fiver which you can give us when you arrive (this includes free floor space and all food for the weekend).

The first few people to arrive get the limited number of spare beds (but anyone with back/knee/whatever problems that benefit from a bed can put in a request to have a bad saved for them) - after that it's floor space.  We have a fair number of sleeping bags for people who can't bring their own - just ask in advance to be sure we have enough.

Let us know if you want to come!

You can make up your mind at pretty much the last minute if necessary, but we need a rough idea for catering purposes.  Tell us if you have any particular food problems (at least half the food will be vegetarian, so don't worry on that score).

The last few events have been great fun.  Come along and enjoy the next one!

We're not quite sure what number this particular Silvercon should be as the numbering method is rather eclectic, but we feel 3.something is about right, so the next one will be Silvercon pi.

This event is being held to celebrate the Silver Wedding (plus a few bonus years and months) of myself and Waveney.  It's also the first weekend after my nth birthday.

Everyone reading this journal is invited (you don't have to be on my friends list).

The date is 19-21 October 2007.  The place is our house in Dorset (address available on request if you don't already know it - you can get there by bus from Poole station).  The aim is to do as much gaming and general socialising as possible.  The price is a fiver which you can give us when you arrive (this includes free floor space and all food for the weekend).

The first few people to arrive get the limited number of spare beds (but anyone with back/knee/whatever problems that benefit from a bed can put in a request to have a bad saved for them) - after that it's floor space.  We have a fair number of sleeping bags for people who can't bring their own - just ask in advance to be sure we have enough.

Let us know if you want to come!

You can make up your mind at pretty much the last minute if necessary, but we need a rough idea for catering purposes.  Tell us if you have any particular food problems (at least half the food will be vegetarian, so don't worry on that score).

The last few events have been great fun.  Come along and enjoy the next one!

Almost finished packing for Novacon. Will add toothbrush and inhalers tomorrow morning. I'm going via my nephews' carrying a large bag of Brio wooden railway (early Xmas present that would cost a small fortune to mail). I look forward to going down the park with them, pushing swings and playing games in general.

(Note to new readers, because they seem to be a lot of you recently - my nephews are the sons of my late sister Rosalie. She died of cancer a couple of years ago, leaving two pre-school children. Their father, David, has proved to be a fantastic single parent and puts ordinary mortals to shame by never forgetting a birthday on Rosalie's side of the family and making us all feel wonderfully welcome whenever we drop by. The boys are a credit to him and to their mother. Happy, well-adjusted, sociable and generally delightful.)

I've also packed several Tarot decks. Sitting on a con table at Novacon can often by a slow job, so reading Tarot for people helps to pass the time. I recently finished 'Last Call' by Tim Powers which has a plot based around Tarot. He'd done reasonable research, especially on some of the historical Italian decks and the major arcana, but he shot himself in the foot as far as I was concerned when he had the five of diamonds used as a card to predict future wealth. 5 diamonds (or coins/discs) is *always*, in every deck I have ever owned and plenty that I have not, used to represent financial disaster and poverty.

I get annoyed by flawed research, whatever the topic of a book. Bad science can do it. Bad historical research can do it. And, I've now discovered that bad Tarot can do it. (whether you as a writer believe in it or not is irrelevant, the details should still be correct)

I was pondering this one yesterday, because the answer is very different for different people.

Some people find a sense of security in having posessions, others in people, some in a particular place. Or it may be a combination of several of these.
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